1,720,962 research outputs found
Exploring definitional and integrative issues in IMC education
No full textIntegrated marketing communication (IMC) is a major communication development that has influenced practice and education (Gould, Grein, & Lerman, 1999; Kitchen & Schultz, 2003). In the 1990s, advertising and public relations educators were sceptical of IMC’s impact on student knowledge and curriculum design (Gould et al., 1999; Griffin & Pasadeos, 1998). Since that time, although the discipline has advanced, there has been a limited number of IMC studies within education settings. This paper explores how introductory units in an undergraduate IMC major define stakeholders, segmentation, and relationships between disciplines by analysing prescribed texts used as a basis for learning and assessment. Within this localised educational context, results showed a more congruent relationship between IMC and advertising than between IMC and public relations in terms of the definition and segmentation of stakeholders. Further, differences in IMC’s conceptualisation of the nature of its relationships with advertising and public relations were identified. The study recommends educators recognise and discuss these similarities and differences in order to enhance student understanding. Educators could use a range of teaching strategies that depict clear integration practices and involve peers from related disciplines in content development and course design
Using poster presentations as assessment of work integrated learning
No full textBackground / context: The ALTC WIL Scoping Study identified a need to develop innovative assessment methods for work integrated learning (WIL) that encourage reflection and integration of theory and practice within the constraints that result from the level of engagement of workplace supervisors and the ability of academic supervisors to become involved in the workplace.\ud
Aims: The aim of this paper is to examine how poster presentations can be used to authentically assess student learning during WIL. \ud
Method / Approach: The paper uses a case study approach to evaluate the use of poster presentations for assessment in two internship units at the Queensland University of Technology. The first is a unit in the Faculty of Business where students majoring in advertising, marketing and public relations are placed in a variety of organisations. The second unit is a law unit where students complete placements in government legal offices.\ud
Results / Discussion: While poster presentations are commonly used for assessment in the sciences, they are an innovative approach to assessment in the humanities. This paper argues that posters are one way that universities can overcome the substantial challenges of assessing work integrated learning. The two units involved in the case study adopt different approaches to the poster assessment; the Business unit is non-graded and the poster assessment task requires students to reflect on their learning during the internship. The Law unit is graded and requires students to present on a research topic that relates to their internship. In both units the posters were presented during a poster showcase which was attended by students, workplace supervisors and members of faculty. The paper evaluates the benefits of poster presentations for students, workplace supervisors and faculty and proposes some criteria for poster assessment in WIL. \ud
Conclusions / Implications: The paper concludes that posters can effectively and authentically assess various learning outcomes in WIL in different disciplines while at the same time offering a means to engage workplace supervisors with academic staff and other students and supervisors participating in the unit. Posters have the ability to demonstrate reflection in learning and are an excellent demonstration of experiential learning and assessing authentically.\ud
Keywords: Work integrated learning, assessment, poster presentations, industry engagement.\u
Assessing and learning in internships: Reflecting on pedagogy and progress
No full textAn elective internship unit as part of a work integrated learning program in a business faculty is presented as a case study.\ud
In the unit, students complete a minimum of 120 hours work placement over the course of a 13 week semester. The students are majoring in advertising, marketing, or public relations and are placed in corporations, government agencies, and not for profit organisations.\ud
To support and scaffold the students’ learning in the work environment, a range of classroom and online learning activities are part of the unit.\ud
Classroom activities include an introductory workshop to prepare students for placement, an industry panel, and interview workshop. These are delivered as three workshops across the semester.\ud
Prior to commencing their placement, students complete a suite of online learning modules. The Work Placement Preparation Program assists students in securing obtaining a placement and make a successful transition to the work environment. It provides an opportunity for students to source possible work placement sites, prepare competitive applications, develop and rehearse interview skills, deal with workplace issues, and use a student ePortfolio to reflect on their skills and achievements.\ud
Students contribute to a reflective blog throughout their placement, with feedback from academic supervisors throughout the placement.\ud
The completion of the online learning modules and contribution to a reflective blog are assessed as part of the unit. Other assessment tools include a internship plan and learning contract between the student, industry supervisor, and academic supervisor; job application including responses to selection criteria; and presentation to peers, academics and industry representatives at a poster session.\ud
The paper discusses the development of the internship unit over three years, particularly learning activities and assessment. The reflection and refinement of the unit is informed by a pedagogical framework, and the development of processes to best manage placement for all stakeholders. A model of best practice is proposed, that can be adapted to a variety of discipline areas
Developing reflective practitioners online: The business of blogs in work integrated learning
No full textReflective practice is widely considered across discussions around educational psychology, professional identity, employability of graduates, and generic or graduate capabilities. Critical reflection is essential for providing a bridge between the university and the workplace, and for ultimately preparing work ready graduates (Patrick et al, 2008). Work integrated learning, particularly through internships and work placements for students, is viewed as a valuable approach for students developing skills in reflective practice.\ud
Reflective journals are one of the tools often used to encourage and develop student reflection. Shifting the reflective journal to an online interface as a reflective blog presents opportunities for more meaningful, frequent and richer interaction between the key players in a work integrated learning experience.\ud
This paper examines the adoption, implementation and refinement of the use of reflective blogs in a work integrated learning unit for business students majoring in advertising, marketing and public relations disciplines. The reflective blog is discussed as a learning and assessment tool, including the approaches taken to integrate and scaffold the blog as part of the work integrated learning experience.\ud
Graduate capabilities were used as cornerstones for students to frame students’ thinking, experiences and reflection. These capabilities emphasise the value of coherent theoretical and practical knowledge, coupled with critical, creative and analytical thinking, problem solving skills, self reliance and resilience. Underlying these graduate capabilities is a focus on\ud
assessment for learning matched with assessment of learning. Using specific triggers and prompts as part of the reflective process, and incorporating ongoing feedback from academic supervisors, students moved from descriptive levels of reflection, to more meaningful and critical reflection.\ud
Students’ blogs are analysed to identify key themes, challenges and achievements in the work integrated learning experience. Suggestions for further development and improvement, together with a model of best practice, are proposed
Choosing public relations as a career : student expectations and implications for practice
No full textInternational studies show students study public relations because they believe it is glamorous, involves public appearances and party planning, and makes people happy (Bowen, 2003; Storto, 1990). Bowen’s (2003) ‘I thought it would be more glamorous’ study established a gap between student expectations and the reality of public relations with most students expressing surprise about the diversity and depth of the discipline. Using international research as its base and drawing from the authors’ previous studies of almost 700 students, this study explores the Australian perspective to identify motivations to study public relations and preferences for positions and workplace environments
Authentic assessment of work integrated learning
No full textThe paper examines how poster presentations can be used to authentically assess student learning during internships. While poster presentations are commonly used for assessment in the sciences, they are an innovative approach to assessment in the humanities. It is argued that posters are one way that universities can overcome the substantial challenges of assessing work integrated learning. The paper evaluates the use of poster presentations for assessment in two internship units at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT)]. The first is a unit in the Faculty of Business where students majoring in advertising, marketing and public relations are placed in a variety of organisations. The second unit is a law unit where students complete placements in government legal offices. The two units adopt different approaches to the poster assessment; the unit in the Faculty of Business is non-graded and the poster assessment task requires students to reflect on their learning during the internship. The law unit is graded and requires students to present on a research topic that relates to their internship. In both units the posters were presented during a poster showcase which was attended by students, workplace supervisors and members of faculty. The paper evaluates the benefits of poster presentations for students, workplace supervisors and faculty and concludes that posters can effectively and authentically assess various learning outcomes in internships in different disciplines
Longitudinal evaluations of student satisfaction with a postgraduate unit using importance-performance analysis
No full textThe Australian tourism tertiary education sector operates in a competitive and dynamic environment, which necessitates a market orientation to be successful. Academic staff and management in the sector must regularly assess the perceptions of prospective and current students and monitor the satisfaction levels of current students.\ud
This study is concerned with the setting and monitoring of\ud
satisfaction levels of current students, reporting the results of three longitudinal investigations of student satisfaction in a postgraduate unit. The study also addresses a limitation of a university’s generic teaching evaluation instrument. Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) has been recommended as a simple but effective tool\ud
for overcoming the deficiencies of many student evaluation studies, which have generally measured only attribute performance at the end of a semester. IPA was used to compare student expectations of the unit at the beginning of a semester with their perceptions of performance 10 weeks later. The first stage documented key benchmarks for which amendments to the unit based on student feedback could be evaluated during subsequent teaching\ud
periods
Great expectations: Understanding undergraduate students' perspectives on public relations careers
No full textInternational research suggests that student expectations differ from the realities of courses and careers in public relations (Bowen, 2003; Storto, 1990). Bowen’s (2003) ‘I thought it would be more glamorous’ study confirmed that students expected to be trained in publicity and public appearances moreso than skills desired by employers such as critical thinking and business skills, and showed limited understanding of non-media specialities in public relations. This limited understanding of public relations has been attributed to the portrayal of public relations in entertainment and by journalists in media articles (Spicer, 1993). Although the gap between perception and reality is not unique to public relations, it has the potential to affect the continued development of public relations as a management function. The employability of graduates must also be considered, especially in light of significant gaps found between desired and actual outcomes of entry level graduates in the opinions of practitioners and educators (Neff, Walker, Smith & Creedon, 1999). \ud
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This study explores the Australian perspective through a survey of more than 350 undergraduate students to identify their preferences for positions and workplace environments. The survey was administered in a first year public relations principles unit across four consecutive semesters in 2004 and 2005. The findings are significant to the development of teaching and learning approaches to engage public relations students and to prepare them for the diversity of careers in public relations
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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