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The impact of a multimedia mobile application concerning self-efficacy about personal evaluation on the academic performance is studied with a theoretical model that emulates the interface with a learning and evaluation educational evolution, delivered one after another, with no time separation between them. Our theoretical model offers an introduction of an indicator metric, symbolized in this paper work with acronym PE, as a tool to define a bridge between the time allocated for each of the three stages of an educational process composed by: teaching, practice and evaluation. A dedicated multimedia mobile application was created to be implemented across a sample population of students using a unique theme and four different versions that simulates a decreasing concentration of multimedia contents. In order to start a parallel approach to our indicator metric, PE, we propose utilization of an interpretation supporting vector analysis starting from our assumption that both formal and informal evaluation could be assimilated together with a scalar vector outcome as a resultant force of final evaluation regarding academic performance. This last objective will be considered as a supplementary evidence on behalf of our indicator metric PE. We emphasized two areas in our laboratory experiment, with different patterns regarding educational energy that flows from instructor or teacher reciprocally toward to the learner, with the status of exothermic and endothermic educational activities. Our last educational energy classification will be considered as a teacher person point of view. In this paper the master objective was to observe the moment when an individual learner uses a multimedia mobile application and to explain with multiple regression analysis outcomes observed. We search possible connections between independent variables represented by time coverage of different educational stages and a dependent variable represented by the indicator metric PE and, furthermore, by the resultant of force resulted from formal and informal evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical study that investigates the role of vocabulary knowledge in listening comprehension with 33 advanced Turkish learners of English as a foreign language. The Vocabulary Levels Test (Schmitt, Schmitt & Clapham, 2001) is used to measure the vocabulary knowledge of the participants and a standardized listening test (Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English) is used to measure the listening comprehension level. The results show that vocabulary knowledge produces a significant correlation with listening comprehension. The 5000-word frequency is found to be the best predictor of the variance in the listening comprehension both of which have valuable implications for listening comprehension in EFL contexts.

In the global movement towards open knowledge society, open educational resources (OER) have become a prominent contributor as a medium of education, research and training. In India, the phenomenon of OER is still in nascent stage. Although the country has been massively investing on growth and usage of ICT, it still requires acceptance of OER as a medium of education, research or training. Particularly, adoption and usage of OER posses several challenges such as accessibility, reliability, copy right etc. There is plethora of research studies on the ICT usage in education in India, but there is hardly any empirical research evidence on OER in India. With this backdrop, at the first instance it is very much essential to investigate the acceptance and usability of OER in India. This paper focuses on faculty perception by applying Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. Apart from this, the study also identifies the challenges associated with OER. For the purpose of this survey data is collected from 22 Indian universities located pan India. The outcome of this empirical research shall certainly useful and provide guidelines for the policy makers and users of OER in India.

This paper investigated the influence of achievement motivation on Nigerian undergraduates' attitude towards examination. Descriptive survey of the correlational type was employed for the study. One thousand, five hundred and thirty-six (1,536) undergraduates in Nigeria were drawn using purposive and stratified sampling techniques. Four research questions were generated to guide the application of the study, while two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 alpha level. "Achievement Motivation Scale" (AMS) and "Attitude Towards Examination Scale" (ATES) were the instruments used to collect relevant data. The findings revealed that majority of Nigerian undergraduates have a high level of achievement motivation. The findings also revealed that majority of Nigerian undergraduates have a positive attitude towards examination. There was a significant correlation between achievement motivation and attitude of Nigerian undergraduates towards examination. The findings also revealed that gender, age, level of study, university and family type had a significant positive influence on undergraduates' achievement motivation and attitude towards examination in Nigeria. It was therefore recommended, among others that counsellors and lecturers should be properly equipped with strategies needed to assist students in developing appropriate achievement motivation level so as to promote positive attitude towards examination.

This paper aims to explore the relationships between educational attainment as expressed in PISA scores and several socio-economic and political variables some of which are sub-indices of Human Development Index. The correlation analysis reveals that there are highly significant associations between educational attainment and civil liberties, political participation, GDP per capita, average years of schooling, expected years of schooling and happiness. However, of these, regression analysis indicates that only expected years of schooling and average years of schooling appear as predictors of educational attainment. The lack of explanatory power of political participation, happiness and civil liberties variables may possibly be due to the inclusion of hard to measure subjective factors in the definition of these, which may not reflect the true state of affairs.

Education system nowadays tends to utilize online learning, including in higher education. Online learning system becomes a major requirement in implementing learning process, including in Indonesia. Universitas Terbuka has implemented online learning system known as online tutorials to support the distance learning system. One interesting issue that needs to be explored is to analyze factors that can influence students' satisfaction in online tutorials. This research aims to analyze factors that determine student satisfaction in online tutorials and what factors that need to be improved. Research procedure includes collecting data via email, validity test, reliability test, and hypothesis test using multiple linear regression. This paper will discuss the results of research procedures to find out what factors are affecting student satisfaction and some improvements required based on the viewpoint of the students.

The corrosion of transformers by multiple sulfides seriously affects the safe operation of transformers. However, there is a lack of quantitative characterization of the extent to which temperature and oxygen as well as changes in sulfide species affect the aging of oil–paper insulation. In this study, the aging characteristics of oil–paper insulation systems were analyzed in terms of the moisture in the oil, moisture in the paper, acid value, and furfural in the presence of multiple sulfides, where the temperature and the oxygen concentration are used as independent variables. A strong positive correlation between the acid value and the furfural obtained by means of Spearman’s correlation analysis. The acid value and furfural content in the oil were then analyzed and compared according to a nonparametric test, and it was found that both the oxygen changes and the temperature changes had a relatively obvious effect on the acid value in the oil. The effect of the temperature change on the furfural was greater than the effect of the oxygen change on the furfural. Finally, a multiple linear regression analysis was performed for the change in the acid value of the oil with the change in the oxygen content and temperature to obtain the linear fitting formulas for the effects of the time, temperature, oxygen content percentage, and sulfide groups on the acid value. This study can be used to quantify the magnitude of the influences of the oxygen, temperature sulfide groups, and other factors on the aging characteristic parameters of the oil–paper insulation system and to provide a certain reference for studying the quantitative characterization of the sulfur corrosion degree by using the change in the acid value in oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of organizational-related variables and the moderating role of career strategies on protean career among employees. Design/methodology/approach: Research data are gathered from a sample of 306 employees in 18 electrical and electronics multinational corporations (MNCs) in Malaysia. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to examine the influences of organizational-related factors and the moderating role of career strategies on protean career. Findings: The results demonstrate that organizational-related variables, namely, employability culture and mentoring are viewed as potential predictors of protean career. There are significant moderating effects of career strategies on the relationship between both employability culture and mentoring toward protean career among employees. Research limitations/implications: This paper provides an empirical framework to explain protean career based on the review of career-related literatures. Practical implications: The findings provide implications to both organizations and human resource development practitioners on new career trends of protean career. Practical interventions are suggested to assist individuals and organizations toward protean career development. Originality/value: This paper offers new insight into the predicting factors of protean career and its moderating role on career strategies.

The proposed interactive online group within the cloud computing technologies as a main contribution of this paper provides easy and simple access to the cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) system and delivers effective educational tools for students and teacher on after-class group writing assignment activities. Therefore, this study addresses the implementation of the most commonly used cloud applications, Google Docs, in a higher education course. The learning environment integrated Google Docs that students are using to develop and deploy writing assignments in between classes has been subjected to learning experience assessment. Using the questionnaire as an instrument to study participants (n = 28), the system has provided an effective learning environment in between classes for the students and the instructor to stay connected. Factors influencing students' learning experience based on cloud applications include frequency of interaction online and students' technology experience. Suggestions to cope with challenges regarding the use of them in higher education including the technical issues are also presented. Educators are therefore encouraged to embrace cloud computing technologies as they design the course curriculum in hoping to effectively enrich students' learning.

Factors affecting the loyalty of students in Universitas Terbuka are investigated in this paper. The aim was to elucidate how all the variables such as trust, satisfaction and participation interrelate with one another. Loyalty was the dependent variable; trust, satisfaction and participation were the independent variables. Data were accumulated using instruments in the form of questionnaires. The population was students registered in the first semester of 2014. Respondents were taken purposively from 22 of 37 regional offices throughout Indonesia, representing the western and middle part of the country; 1,099 questionnaires from respondents were finally completed and processed. Two hypotheses were established and then assessed. Statistically, factor analysis, correlation and multiple regression were thoroughly utilized to comprehend the interaction and behavior of all variables engaged. The results showed that loyalty is significantly influenced by trust, satisfaction, participation and interaction between the independent variables. However, three out of four interaction variables contributed negatively to loyalty. Besides, the variances of independent variables, including their interactions, explain 60% of loyalty's variance.

Determinants of educational achievement extend beyond the school environment to include the home environment. Both environments provide tangible and intangible resources to students that can influence science achievement. South Africa provides a context where inequalities in socio-economic status are vast, thus the environments from whence students draw resources vary. This paper investigates school and home environments to determine what resources influenced science achievement. Multiple regression analyses were conducted on data from 11,969 South African Grade Nine students, who participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in 2011. The findings reveal that both the school and home environments play important roles in students' science achievement, with the strongest associations exhibited with: speaking the language of the test at home, home assets, and the condition of school buildings. Implications for policy are discussed.

The present paper is an outcome of research conducted by authors to examine the effect of gender, degree of impairment and type of school on the mental health of students with visual impairment. The study employed multi-stage random sampling technique to draw a sample of 200 visually impaired students from 52 inclusive and 5 special schools situated in different parts of Haryana State, India. Mental Health Battery for students with visual impairment, consisting of 61 items to assess their mental health status. Multiple regression and two-way ANOVA was used to analyse the data. The results revealed that three independent variables (gender, degree of impairment and type of school) made a joint contribution of 22.1% to the prediction of mental health of visually impaired students. Significant main effect of degree of visual impairment on mental health was observed whereas no significant main effect for gender was established.

A major focus of the Louisiana School Effectiveness Study has been the search for characteristics of exemplary schooling in varied economic contexts. In this paper differential results of analyses of effective, typical, and ineffective schools in middle and low socioeconomic neighborhoods are presented. Implications for practitioners and for future research are discussed.

In this paper we examine whether emotional intelligence (EI) can be taught online and, if so, what key variables influence the successful implementation of this online learning model. Using a 3 x 2 factorial quasi-experimental design, this mixed-methods study found that a team-based learning environment using a blended teaching approach, supported by mindfulness instruction to teach these skills, can make learning about emotional intelligence accessible and meaningful to undergraduate students. Using peer emotional intelligence assessment scores as a measure of emotional intelligence growth, the study showed a statistically significant impact on the growth of emotional intelligence skills from using a blended approach including direct instruction in mindfulness techniques. Supporting this finding, students clearly expressed a noticeable growth in their emotional intelligence and in that of their peers in interviews conducted at the end of the study. In light of these findings, we propose the RESET cycle model (Recognizing and regulating Emotions through Social and Emotional Team-based learning supported with mindfulness) as a potential foundation for a program to teach EI skills.

Information and Communication Technologies have influenced the landscape of education sector by changing the way various education activities are being conducted. From the perspectives of Tanzania, this paper provides an integrated model for measuring the impact of e-learning on students' achievements in universities. A Mixed method research methodology involving survey questionnaires and interviews was employed in the collection of quantitative and qualitative data respectively for building the integrated model. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the construct validity and internal reliability. Multiple regressions technique was used to analyse the hypothesised relationships conceptualised in the research model. The model was built and validated using structural equation modeling and Delphi technique respectively. Indicators such as student engagement, student cognitive, performance expectancy, students' control, student satisfaction, continue using, student enjoyment, students' self esteem, students' confidence on elearning system have positive significance relationship with students' achievement. The integrated model has the potential to policy makers, universities and other stakeholder to understand the impacts of e-learning after implementation in order to justify the total investment based on that technology. The novelty of this research lies in the extension of the findings in literature with new integrated variables including frequency use and intention to use e-learning.

The variance in students' academic performance in a civilian institute and in a military technological institute could be linked to the environment of the competition available to the students. The magnitude of talent, domain of skills and volume of efforts students put are identical in both type of institutes. The significant factor is the physical training, students undergo in a military college. It is important to couple the dominating factor which is academic perceivable effort under a different environment with each students learning capability. This paper determine whether there is a relationship between students' performance and influencing factors like academic aptitude, military or physical training, and the time spent on training need analysis (TNA) modules. A sample of 242 first year- undergraduate students from four different engineering programs (Marine, System, Civil, and Aeronautical) at Military College was used to explore this relationship. The multiple regression model used for predicting the students' performance is adequate for independent variables of aptitude test score, time spent in physical training, and time spent in TNA modules. The values of R2 indicate that at least one of the predictor variables contributes to information for the prediction of the students' performance. The model makes it possible to predict moderately the possibility of attrition in engineering program. This study verifies that military academy has a very defined and directed core engineering course load and TNA course load which every student must take. Therefore, choice of specific discipline have less impact than at civilian institutions. The early detection of students at academic risk is a useful instrument that can help to design mentoring strategies right from the end of admission process.

The unemployment problem of college students in China has drawn much attention from academics and society. Using the 2011 College Student Labor Market (CSLM) survey data from Tsinghua University, this paper estimated the effects of college quality on initial employment, including employment status and employment unit ownership for fresh college graduates. The propensity score matching method was employed to account for the potential endogeneity of elite college attendance. The empirical evidence suggested that students who attended Project 985 colleges were more likely to find jobs immediately after college graduation. Moreover, students graduated from Project 211 universities gained a competitive edge by entering into public working sectors, such as the government or state-owned enterprises (SOEs), compared with students from non-elite colleges. The results imply the students who graduated from non-elite universities faced labor market segmentation. They not only had obstacles in finding jobs, but also ended up in the secondary labor market.

This paper examined predictors of career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria. A sample of 603 higher education students randomly selected from six colleges of education in Nigeria participated in this study. A set of self-reported questionnaire was used for data collection, and multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that 33.3% of career adaptability skill was explained by the model. Four out of the five predictor variables significantly predicted career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria. Among the four predictors, career self-efficacy sources was the most statistically significant predictor of career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria, followed by personal goal orientation, career future concern, and perceived social support respectively. Vocational identity did not statistically predict career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria. The study suggested that similar study should be replicated in other parts of the world in view of the importance of career adaptability skill to the smooth transition of graduates from school to the labor market. The study concluded by requesting stakeholders of higher institutions in Nigeria to provide career exploration database for the students, and encourage career intervention program in order to enhance career adaptability skill among the students.

Research Question: The paper examines the impact of specific Hofstede's dimensions of national culture on entrepreneurial culture, depending on the wealth of the national economy. Motivation: Based on the results of some previous research focused on the relationship between national culture and various indicators associated with entrepreneurship (Hayton, George & Zahra, 2002; Pinillos & Reyes, 2011; Zhao, Li & Rauch, 2012; Hayton & Cacciotti, 2013), the paper analyses the impact of national culture on entrepreneurial culture, as a category closely related to entrepreneurship. The identification of the national culture's dimensions contributing to the affirmation of entrepreneurial culture, provides an insight into the entrepreneurial potential of a particular national economy. Idea: The main idea of the paper is to examine whether selected Hofstede's dimensions of national culture (power distance - PD, uncertainty avoidance - UA, individualism - IDV) affect entrepreneurial culture (EC) in a manner identical to that affecting the other indicators of entrepreneurship. The mentioned relationship is not examined as unmediated, but in the context of the effect that national wealth (measured as Gross National Income per capita - GNI) has on it. Data: The survey covered a total of 108 countries for which the data on the values of three selected dimensions of national culture, the index of entrepreneurial culture and the Gross National Income per capita are available. Tools: In order to examine the effect of three selected Hofstede's dimensions of national culture on entrepreneurial culture, correlation and standard multiple regression analyses were conducted. For data processing, statistical software SPSS (version 22.0) was used. Findings: The obtained results of the research show that in national economies with higher levels of IDV and lower levels of UA, higher scores of the EC index are manifested, regardless of the national wealth. On the other hand, the impact of PD on EC is determined by the level of a particular economy's wealth. In high-income economies (HIE), the index of EC is higher if PD is lower. In low- and middle-income economies (LIE), higher values of EC index are manifested if PD is higher. Contribution: The paper expands the knowledge and research base on entrepreneurial culture and the influence that national culture has on it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of business performance has a substantial impact on improving the internal management and economic performance of companies. By analysing the previous literature, this paper chooses to measure the factors affecting business performance at four levels, including R&D investment intensity, human capital, patents, and brand value. The purpose of the study is to find out whether these selected factors work equally well for small and medium-sized enterprises. The sample size was 846 Chinese small and medium enterprises from different industries. The firm performance indicators were ROA and ROE. The data has been collected through National Equities Exchange and Quotations platforms based on updated annual reports in 2019. Finally, a stepwise descriptive analysis and multiple linear regression were conducted and predicted the tendency of business performance. The analysis provided the linear combination of four independent variables (R&D, human capital, patents, and brand value) which are significantly related to the dependent variable (business performance). In conclusion, we found that there is a positive impact of patents and brand value on business performance. In detail, we concluded that only production and highly educated personnel show a positive influence. For R&D intensity, there is no strong connection could be observed. In practical terms, this paper allows SME firms to appreciate the importance of human capital, patents, and brand value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore connections among perceived caring climate, empathy, and student social behaviors in high school bands. Nine high school band directors (N = 9 schools), along with their students (N = 203), completed an electronic questionnaire for variables of caring climate, cognitive empathy, affective empathy, social behaviors, and victimization. A multiple linear regression was performed and results showed that cognitive empathy predicted positive social behavior. Results from T-test and ANOVA found that students had higher perceptions of caring climate when (a) teachers remained at the school for more than five years, (b) bands had smaller enrollments, (c) schools were Title One schools, and (d) when students did not hold leadership positions in band. [This paper was presented at the 9th International Symposium on the Sociology of Music Education (2015).]

Purpose: Among the gold standards in human resource development (HRD) research are studies that test theoretically developed hypotheses and use experimental designs. A somewhat typical experimental design would involve collecting pretest and posttest data on individuals assigned to a control or experimental group. Data from such a design that considered if training made a difference in knowledge, skills or attitudes, for example, could help advance practice. Using simulated datasets, situated in the example of a scenario-planning intervention, this paper aims to show that choosing a data analysis path that does not consider the associated assumptions can misrepresent findings and resulting conclusions. A review of HRD articles in a select set of journals indicated that some researchers reporting on pretest-posttest designs with two groups were not reporting associated statistical assumptions and reported results from repeated-measures analysis of variance that are considered of minimal utility. Design/methodology/approach: Using heuristic datasets, situated in the example of a scenario-planning intervention, this paper will show that choosing a data analysis path that does not consider the associated assumptions can misrepresent findings and resulting conclusions. Journals in the HRD field that conducted pretest-posttest control group designs were coded. Findings: The authors' illustrations provide evidence for the importance of testing assumptions and the need for researchers to consider alternate analyses when assumptions fail, particularly the homogeneity of regression slopes assumption. Originality/value: This paper provides guidance to researchers faced with analyzing data from a pretest-posttest control group experimental design, so that they may select the most parsimonious solution that honors the ecological validity of the data.

With the aging population, the financial burdens associated with chronic diseases continue to escalate. Among various management strategies, family physician contracting stands out as a significant initiative aimed at addressing this challenge, officially introduced in China in 2016. However, current research has given relatively little attention to the economic benefits of family physician contracting in developing countries. This paper evaluates the economic effect of family physician contracting by employing microdata of patients with chronic diseases at the Yuyuantan Community Health Service Center, Haidian District, Beijing, from January 2019 to May 2021. This research contributes to the theoretical discourse in healthcare services by introducing a modified Anderson model. The empirical findings demonstrated that family physician contracting effectively reduced healthcare costs for patients with chronic diseases. Notably, the effect of family physician contracting on healthcare costs was more pronounced among patients with chronic diseases aged less than 65 years. At the same time, it is inferred that expediting the reform of the health insurance payment system, coupled with the promotion of family physician contracting services, would enhance the wellbeing of patients with chronic diseases. This research offers valuable insights into the ongoing and future development of family physician contracting in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to understand the resistance loss along the way during multistage high‐pressure slurry transportation, the flow state of fly ash slurry in the pipeline was simulated by Fluent software in this paper, and the effects of pipe diameter D, pipe transportation flow rate Q, and fly ash mass concentration Cw on the resistance loss along the pipeline were studied. The fly ash slurry is a non‐Newtonian Bingham fluid that moves in a turbulent state in a pipeline. When simulating the flow of fly ash slurry using Fluent software, the mesh type is a mixed mesh of hexahedron and wedge shapes, and the viscous model is selected as realizable k‐ε Turbulence Model, with Enhanced‐Wall Function (EWF) selected as the wall function, combined with a four‐layer boundary layer mesh, which can more accurately capture the details of velocity changes at the wall, thereby improving the accuracy of the model. The inlet of the model is the velocity inlet, and the outlet is the pressure outlet. The coupled algorithm is chosen as the solution method. Under these conditions, the model converges quickly and the calculation accuracy is high. The results show that the resistance loss along the pipeline decreases as a power function with the increase of pipeline diameter, and there is a polynomial relationship between the pipeline flow and the resistance loss along the pipeline, while the mass concentration of fly ash slurry changes linearly with the resistance loss along the pipeline. In addition, three friction coefficient models, namely Blasius formula, Colebrook–White equation, and Wilson–Thomas model, were selected according to the flow characteristics of fly ash slurry. Based on the Blasius formula with the smallest relative calculation error, the Blasius formula was modified by multiple linear regression analysis to improve the accuracy of the frictional resistance coefficient model and to provide help for the design and use of separate layer grouting conveying system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple-choice (MC) items are commonly used in high-stake tests. Thus, each item of such tests should be meticulously constructed to increase the accuracy of decisions based on test results. Haladyna and his colleagues (2002) addressed the valid item-writing guidelines to construct high quality MC items in order to increase test reliability and validity. However, violating these guidelines is very common in high-stake tests. This study addressed two of these guidelines: "AVOID the complex MC (Type K) format" and "Word the stem positively, avoid negatives such as "NOT" or "EXCEPT", respectively. After reviewing a total of 2,336 MC items extracted from university entrance examination (UEE) in Turkey administered over the past 15 years, we investigated impact of the violations of item-writing guidelines on test difficulty using multiple regression analysis. The findings showed that test difficulty was not statistically changed when MC items with negative stem were used in a test. They, however, indicated that the use of complex MC items has a statistically negative influence on the test difficulty. The paper concludes with possible results of the cases whereby items constructed by violating item-writing guidelines are eliminated from the test, and directions for future studies.