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Blended learning: Terms, tools, effectiveness and limitations
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Exploring alternative ways of teaching can be a daunting proposition for academic staff. Juggling their current teaching, research and administrative responsibilities can make learning about new teaching methods a low priority. This report reviews blended learning in terms of current tools as well as their effectiveness and limitations. This report is to be viewed as an introduction to this area rather than a comprehensive guide. Where possible, the authors have given references for interested readers to find information on relevant concepts or tools and, as such, the reference list is a resource in its own right.
Keywords: Blended learning, online learning, traditional learning, pedagog
Can business schools instil ethical values in their students?
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Business ethics courses often face a battle for legitimacy as part of a tertiary level business curriculum. Discourse on whether it is possible for ethical values to be taught in a classroom environment proliferates; with some commentators suggesting ethics can be taught and outlining how best this can be done, and others suggesting that ethics cannot be taught as what is believed to be right or wrong is determined by the individual. This paper addresses the issue of whether it is possible for ethical values to be taught and learnt in a classroom setting, outlines the current challenges and criticisms facing business ethics education and investigates which teaching models and practices are available and effective at instilling and encouraging good ethical values in business school graduates.
Overall, there is support for ethics education within business schools as it encourages students to think critically and helps them to develop the skills and confidence to apply ethical reasoning to dilemmas they may face in the workplace.
It is recommended that a two-tiered structure should be used for teaching business ethics as it integrates the subject across the business curriculum and introduces students to the right principles at the most appropriate stages in their education in conjunction with integration of ethics across all business courses. Further, in an effort to be a good ethical role model business schools need to ensure there are significant consequences for unethical academic behaviour
Strategic alliances in Asian emerging economies
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Following the Industrial Revolution during the past two and half centuries, economic domination is centred in Industrialized European and North Atlantic regions. Economic difficulty in European and North Atlantic regions and the economic boom in Asia in the recent past indicate a possible shift in the economic order of Asia, now home for most of the emerging economies. Asia with its unique cultures and institutional framework Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) may find it difficult to identify the best way of entering the market. Strategic alliances have become a major and a popular entry method in international business despite its high failure rate.
Due to saturation of the developed markets, especially in Europe and North Atlantic, MNEs have started aggressively focusing on emerging economies in the developing world. In addition there is a significant shift in business orientation from targeting the top layer of the economic pyramid to the low income bottom layer which consists of over 4 billion of the world's population, making populous Asian countries more attractive.
The study took two approaches to test the hypothesis; extensive analysis of the literature and empirical analysis. Literature provided considerable evidence to accept all three hypotheses discussed in the study. Empirical analysis carried out to explore the positive contribution of Growth Rate of Value Added (GRVA) - H1, Gross International Reserves (GIR) - H21, Secondary Education - H2, Central Government Expenditure - H31, Fixed Phone Lines - H32 and Official Development Assistance - H3s to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by taking Asian Development Bank (ADB) and United Nations (UN) data for the most populous developing member economies of the ADB (N=10) indicated very strong correlation with significance (p<.05) for first and second hypothesis, i.e. H1 and H2 (H21 & H21) (H1: r-0.83, (p<.05) & R2=0.69, (p<.001); H21: r-0.99, (p<.05) & R-0.97, (p<001); and H22: r=0.97, (p<.05) & R-0.95, (p<.001). However, the institutional forces that included the factors of government expenditure on FDI attraction, communication infrastructure, and assistance given showed no effective contribution to attracting FDI, with significance, i.e., H31: r 0.28 (p<.05) & R2,08 (p<.05); H32: -0.17, (p<.05) & R2-0.03, (p< .001); and H3: r-0.19, (p<.05) & R1=0.04, (p<.001), respectively.
Findings of the study have given the impression that prevailing economic opportunities and resources in emerging Asian economies have strongly increased the attractiveness of strategic alliances as a lucrative entry method to the region. In addition, institutional conditions in emerging Asian economies also have increased the attractiveness to a
certain extent.
The next section will provide an introduction to the entire thesis. Then the background and related work section will discuss the previous research carried out by scholars and recognized organizations. The methodology section takes the reader through the approach taken by author to analyse the suitability of Strategic Alliances in Asian Emerging Economies. The following section analyses the hypothesis of the study. Finally the concluding remarks complete the research.
Key words: Emerging Markets, Strategic Alliances, Foreign Direct Investment, Asian Busines
Implementing problem-based learning to improve students' achievement
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The aim of this research was to improve student achievement by implementing problem-based learning. The action research was done in the Fundamental Mathematics class of students in the Elementary School Teacher Education Department at the State University of Jakarta. Student achievement reached in cycle 1 increased in cycle 2 from 62 to 70 with t test 3.088 and increased from 70 to 78 in cycle 3, a higher increase than the desired success target with t test-2.829, showing that those are statistically significant at the 0.05 level. It can be concluded that implementation of problem-based learning can improve student achievement
Accounting curriculum, design and development: An evaluation
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The organization of schooling and further education has long been associated with the idea of curriculum. This study evaluates accounting curriculum and its implementation in Nigerian secondary schools. In carrying out this study, literature in related field were extensively reviewed.82 secondary schools in (66 private and 16 public) Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of Rivers State were surveyed. A total of 164 questionnaires were issued out of which only 120 were retrieved and analysed using the chi-square statistical tools. Our findings revealed that lack of implementation of curriculum designed for secondary schools impedes the success of teaching and learning of accounting in secondary school. Based on our findings we recommend among others that: Government should at intervals arrange trainings and workshops for accounting teachers. Accounting students should be made to go for field work/practicals at least for 12 weeks which should form part of their course content in the secondary school.
Key words: Accounting, Book keeping, Curriculum Design, Praxis and Evaluatio
Integrating information literacy in "business information editing and translation"
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This paper discusses the importance of and procedure for incorporating teaching information literacy in "Business Information Editing and Translation (BIET)", a course designed for University English majors. The paper adopts the traditional definition of information literacy, contending that an information literate student should be able to: 1) recognise when they need information; 2) know where and how to find the needed information; 3) use a variety of tools to find, modify and assimilate the information; and 4) critically evaluate and synthesise the information. Information literacy is a prerequisite and an important objective of BIET. Different skills are needed at two phases of the class, namely, editing and translation, hence different ways and procedures should be adopted to train the needed skills. This paper discusses in detail the procedures and measures that I adopted to teach students how to search and use online references and resources to fulfil information editing and translation tasks. Finally, the paper concludes that skilful handling and application of online resources can dramatically improve the efficiency and quality of information editing and translation. Students also will realise that online information and online translation tools cannot be overly trusted. The use of information involves many social and ethical issues. Information literacy, which represents a change of thinking in learning and teaching, should be an important part of the curriculum because it is of vital importance for both survival in the information age and lifelong learning, and it has become the standard- bearer for academic achievement, workforce productivity, competitive advantage, and national security.
Key words: information literacy; editing; translation; online resources; lifelong learnin
Are students comfortable with the tools of quality? An empirical study
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This paper investigates the importance of the seven basic statistical tools of quality improvement and the level of comfortableness in using them from the perspective of engineering and non-engineering students enrolled in the total quality management course (TQM) course at the University of the South Pacific. The seven basic statistical tools examined were as follows: cause-and-effect diagrams, check-sheets, flowcharts, histograms, pareto diagrams, control charts and scatter diagrams. The perceptions of engineering and non-engineering students point out that these two groups of students have divergent perceptions on the importance of the selected tools of quality improvement and on the easiness (comfortableness) in utilizing these basic tools of quality management. This underscores the need to formally train and educate these students on the importance and usefulness of the seven fundamental statistical tools. In addition, in-depth knowledge of these tools, and the diffusion of information regarding the use of the seven basic statistical tools at various levels in the university's educational curriculum will assist in transmitting the utility and resourcefulness of these tools
Internationalisation of education and economic growth: What happens in China?
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During the last three decades, China has sent more than 1.2 million students to study in different countries in order to obtain higher education and training. About 26 percent of those international students have returned to China and brought with them improved skills, knowledge and technology which impact positively on the economic growth of the country. The remaining 74 percent, who have not returned to China, contribute indirectly to the Chinese economy in the form of trade, foreign investment, international networking, etc. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of international education on the economic growth of China. Data for this study were collected from the Department of Statistics, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Commerce and Trade of China. The study, based on data from 1978 to 2007, found that the impact of international education on the Chinese economic growth is positive. The findings of this study might be of interest to policymakers, educationalists, development planners and researchers.
Key words: International education, China, economic develop- ment, growth, direct foreign investment, GD
The nature of governance, regulation and growth of private higher education
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In recent years there has been strong growth of the private higher education sector around the world. This has been true in particular in China. What has been lacking is research on the relationship between this sector in China and the regulators. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to provide an overview of the work on this relationship to date and how it affects the governance of private sector institutions, as well as attempt to put it into the general context of the various theories of regulation
Teaching to increase learning
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This article discusses why instructors should focus on the learner to increase student learning. To increase learning, instructors should understand the learning process, current research-based concepts and practices about learning. This article discusses four learning concepts and five learner-centered instructor roles. The concepts are: meta- cognition fosters learning, deep learning facilitates retention, learning for life motivates students, and assessment is not just assigning grades. The instructor roles are: plan instruction, create an environment for learning, foster interactions among students, teach how to use content, and teach learning to learn skills. This article helps instructors change how they teach to focus on the learner, enabling international students to learn and apply more through examples