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Purpose: The present study aims to reveal the predictive role of parents' empathic tendencies in children value acquisition. Research Methods: We conducted a relational survey study, including 170 children aged 60-72 months, 85 of whom were girls and 85 were boys, who were attending the kindergarten school in Malatya City, and their parents. The Pre-school Values Scale Student Form, Empathy Tendency Scale and Sociodemographic Information Form were used to collect data. Findings: Results indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between value of children and parent's empathic tendencies. As empathic and sympathetic tendencies of parents increased, the children's respect, honesty, responsibility, cooperation, friendship and sharing scores increased. The findings showed that the values which had the highest average score were sharing, respect and honesty among the study group. Although the mean total empathy level of the mothers was higher than the fathers', it was found that father empathy level was positively related with the child value levels, suggesting that the fathers had important role in child value education. Implications for Research and Practice: Parent training can be organized to increase the empathy skills of the families. Besides, different studies can be carried out to examine the factors affecting children's value acquisition.

There are many voices today discussing the necessity of changing the ways we teach, for example, Gen Y studies about the way students learn, employers' lists of skills they say current graduates need, and colleges that desire to always improve how they deliver information. These have led to classes where the learning styles are more hand-on, less lecture-focused, and more engaging for the Gen Y learner. The purpose of this paper is to give an illustration of how an analytics class can be restructured to address these issues. We develop an undergraduate class that focuses not only on analytical methods, but also on presentation, writing, and team skills. These are all developed within the framework of an original student research project.

This paper studies the reasons for low response rates in online evaluations. Survey data are collected from the students to understand factors that might affect student participation in the course evaluation process. When course evaluations were opened to the student body, an email announcement was sent to all students, and a reminder email was sent a week later. Our study showed that participation rates increased not only when emails were sent, but also when faculty used in-class time to emphasize the importance of completing the evaluations.

The purpose of this study is to compare the results of paper and online evaluations. The following analysis examines data from six departments of the School of Business Administration during a programmed switch from paper to online evaluations. The courses that participated in this study were divided and compared in the following manner: advanced and core classes, large and small sections, and courses taught by full-time and part-time faculty. The data was collected over a one-year period and contrasts the Spring 2008 and 2009 semesters, during which a total of 4,424 evaluations were reviewed. In addition, data on the years from 2005 to 2008 are provided as a comparison benchmark of typical responses collected when paper evaluations were used. The conclusions of this study show that while a drop in response rate did occur when the switch was made, no significant change in instructor and course ratings was observed. Furthermore, the students who did complete online evaluations provided lengthier and more numerous comments.

Over time, each school builds its own culture and approach to education. Students, faculty, and alumni become accustomed to the style and pace of their university setting and expect it to continue. Thus, deliberate changes to this culture are not undertaken lightly and the effects of such changes are watched closely. This paper discusses the process and results of a change initiated by the School of Business Administration (SBA) at Loyola University Chicago. The change involved the increase of the maximum class size on the undergraduate level. In the fall of 2006, it was increased by 50 percent. The effect of this change was tracked in two ways: both student results, as measured by the grade point average, and faculty results, as measured by instructor evaluations, were collected and are reported here for a period of three years. This study uses data collected over the three years and includes results from 833 sections representing 23,247 student evaluations. For all terms in this period, data from the traditional and larger sized classes were compared and no significant difference was found either in instructor or student performance.

This article reports on a study of research needs and learning preferences of graduate students at a public research university. A sequential exploratory mixed-method design was used, with a survey instrument developed from an initial qualitative stage. Significant differences were found between master's and doctoral students' and on-campus and online students' confidence with several research skills. Graduate students overall prefer asynchronous online options and in-person workshops over synchronous online instruction and in-class presentations for learning research skills. The article concludes with a discussion of the value of the sequential exploratory mixed-method design for informing practice at an individual institution.

Cardiac pacing with temporary epicardial pacing wires (TEPW) is used to treat rhythm disturbances after cardiac surgery. Occasionally, TEPW cannot be mechanically extracted and remain in the thorax, where they may rarely cause serious complications like migration and infection. We aim to develop bioresorbable TEPW that will dissolve over time even if postoperative removal is unsuccessful. In the present study, we demonstrate a completely bioresorbable design using molybdenum (Mo) as electric conductor and the resorbable polymers poly(D, L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) for electrically insulating double-coating. We compared the pacing properties of these Mo TEPW demonstrators to conventional steel TEPW in Langendorff-perfused rat hearts and observed similar functionality. In vitro , static immersion tests in simulated body fluid for up to 28 days elucidated the degradation behaviour of uncoated Mo strands and the influence of polymer coating thereon. Degradation was considerably reduced in double-coated Mo TEPW compared to the uncoated and the PLGA-coated condition. Furthermore, we confirmed good biocompatibility of Mo degradation products in the form of low cytotoxicity in cell cultures of human cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts. Temporary pacing wires are routinely implanted on the heart surface to treat rhythm disturbances in the days following cardiac surgery. Subsequently, these wires are to be removed. When removal attempts are unsuccessful, wires are cut at skin level and the remainders are left inside the chest. Retained fragments may migrate within the body or become a centre of infection. These complications may be prevented using resorbable pacing wires. We manufactured completely resorbable temporary pacing wires using molybdenum as electrical conductor and assessed their function, degradation and biological compatibility. Our study represents an important step in the development of a safer approach to the treatment of rhythm disturbances after cardiac surgery. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies employing numeric scores have observed that anonymous postings on the Rate-My-Professor (RMP) site tend to be more negative than ratings within a school. In this study, rather than using numeric evaluations, we compared the official UNIV evaluations with the RMP evaluations at the individual faculty course level, employing sentiment analysis on the text comments in evaluations. We compared positive sentiments in ratings on RMP to those in a specific business school department at a university. Our results show a statistically significant difference, with higher positive ratings at the university. We also analyzed emotions using NRC, finding a significant difference, with RMP having higher levels of negative emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional development is, in essence, a form of lifelong learning, and as such, can be viewed within the context of pedagogical concepts. More specifically, professional development is a process that builds on the experiences of the professional through assessment and reflection. The library as an organization acts like a teacher or instructor by encouraging growth through the culmination of experience and through interaction with professional activities. Often the performance of these activities then provides an opportunity to engage with the profession by writing, presenting, or contributing to the scholarly discussion in some other way. Professional development and engagement consist of a series of learning experiences where the librarian, as student, creates goals either alone or within the context of an organization and then reports out to the larger library community. Once the goals are set, motivational factors such as personal interest in a topic, tenure requirements, committee work, or institutional mandate contribute to the completion of the projects. No matter where the motivation comes from, the end result is a pursuit of new knowledge and an attempt to add to the body of literature and experiences that embody library science and librarianship. When viewed as a process of lifelong learning, professional development, and engagement, activities become This column explores ways that one such technology, ePortfolios, is being used in and by libraries and discusses some possible expansions on existing models of ePortfolio implementation. Alternative uses for ePortfolios are discussed that include professional development, professional engagement, and fundraising with an emphasis on better internal communication.

At a recent conference on technology and education, the theory of connectivism was a hot topic. Proponents of this educational theory argue that technology has changed so substantially in the past several decades that they must review previous learning theories to ensure that they accommodate new processes that technology makes possible. Connectivism accounts for the vast pools of knowledge accessible through the Internet, social networking, and other databases such as those available in libraries. Perhaps the most obvious connection that libraries have to connectivism is the principle that the "capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known." Libraries must continue to explore ways they can remain relevant to the needs of their users. Connectivism offers libraries one more way to look at how they provide services, this time with less emphasis on the physical and more on the virtual. This article explores the theory of connectivism, with special emphasis on how that theory differs from the education theory with which librarians are already familiar. This article also suggests that librarians are already immersed in several of the main tenets of connectivism, and that connectivism itself is merely a natural extension of the path libraries have been on for many years.

In terms of exploring the status of Second Life (SL) usage in libraries, it would be useful to not only look at how and why the virtual world is being used but also how SL compares to successfully implemented innovations of the past. Comparing and contrasting the characteristics of previously accepted innovations with those of SL will help libraries and librarians to decide the level of attention they devote to the new innovation. In this article, the author considers Second Life in terms of Everett Rogers' "Diffusion of Innovations" theory, which offers insight into whether this technology is actually viable in a library setting. Diffusion of innovation studies look at the somewhat predictable ways in which accepted innovations find their way into mainstream use. According to Rogers (2003, p. 15), the five characteristics of an innovation are relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. By looking at innovations that have taken hold in the library community and comparing them to SL, librarians may gain a better understanding of SL's status in their libraries. Regardless of model, framing one's discussion of SL in terms of diffusion of innovation theory may help librarians understand the SL successes and failures in libraries.