International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, 2016
Institutions of higher education are currently investigating the role of social media technologie... more Institutions of higher education are currently investigating the role of social media technologies (SMTs) as a stronger educational tool in creating engaged learning environments for students. This research explored the faculty's awareness of the value of social media in teaching and identifies possible challenges of integrating these technologies into their teaching at the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA). Results indicated that university teachers hold a positive outlook on the role of these technologies in improving students learning. Further, the research identified five factors that are likely to influence adoption of these technologies in future class room; subjective norms, peer and supervisory influence, perceived usefulness and faculty's positive attitude towards value of these technologies in improving learning outcomes. In addition, effective institutional integration of social media at the SUZA is more likely to be dependent on how the institution addresses unique challenges of adoption such as acceptability and relevance, and the provisions of various forms of support and resources to teachers.
Sensitivity analysis is a mathematical technique for investigating the effects of inaccuracies in... more Sensitivity analysis is a mathematical technique for investigating the effects of inaccuracies in the parameters of a mathematical model. It analyses how variation in the output of a model (numerical or otherwise) can be apportioned qualitatively or quantitatively to different sources of data. Sensitivity analysis is an important statistical validation technique in Bayesian Modelling. It is used to ascertain how a given model output depends upon or determines its input parameters. It often carried out to ensure the quality and accuracy of a model and a way of checking the robustness and reliability of assumptions built into a model. This Chapter offers an accessible introduction to sensitivity analysis of Bayesian models. The Chapter should have been a section in Chapter 12 and presented before the scenarios sections in Chapter 12. But because sensitivity analysis itself is a complex subject, it was deemed wise to present it as a complete Chapter on its own.
Drawing from previous research, this chapter presents major challenges associated with the analys... more Drawing from previous research, this chapter presents major challenges associated with the analysis of interaction patterns in informal virtual communities. Using social network as well as content analysis to understand the structure and nature of interaction in such virtual communities, the goal was understand the physical structure of the community as well as the nature of the themes discussed by community members in an attempt to build a theoretical model of interactions.
Though computational models take a lot of effort to build, a model is generally not useful unless... more Though computational models take a lot of effort to build, a model is generally not useful unless it can help people to understand the world being modelled, or the problem the model is intended to solve. A useful model allows people to make useful predictions about how the world will behave now and possibly tomorrow. Validation is the last step required in developing a useful Bayesian model. The goal of validation is to gain confidence in a model and to demonstrate and prove that a model produces reliable results that are closely related to the problems or issues in which the model is intended to address. The goal of the Chapter is to provide the reader with a basic understanding of the validation process and to share with them key lessons learned from the model of social capital presented in the book. While sensitivity analysis is intended to ensure that a Bayesian model is theoretically consistent with goals and assumptions of the modeller (how the modeller views the world) or the accuracy of sources of data used for building the model, the goal of validation is to demonstrate the practical application of the model in real world settings. This Chapter presents the main steps involved in the process of validating a Bayesian model. It illustrates this process by using examples drawn from the Bayesian model of social capital.
The Department of Anatomy (Anatomy) at the University of Otago delivers programs for students in ... more The Department of Anatomy (Anatomy) at the University of Otago delivers programs for students in diverse areas, including clinical anatomy, neuroscience, reproduction and biological anthropology. This study explored the experiences of alumni during their study and career pathways post‐graduation through an online questionnaire distributed to department alumni. Most of the 190 participants studied anatomy as undergraduates (74.2%) and graduated in the past decade (56.8%). Reasons for taking anatomy included finding the topic interesting, a pathway into professional programs, or a degree requirement. Current employment differed between undergraduate (44.7% currently employed in clinical settings) and postgraduate alumni (26.4% currently employed in research, 19.5% in clinical settings). The main pathways for finding jobs were by direct search (38.6%), completing tertiary education (29.2%), and through social network connections (16.4%). Women alumni were less likely to feel that Anatomy prepared them for their careers than men. Themes related to positive and negative experiences included staff, course material/resources, social events, and peers. Suggestions to improve the departmental “sense of community” included increasing departmental events and resources. Alumni suggested that Anatomy should provide more potential career information, make available recent alumni profiles, and organize career fairs and networking opportunities. Postgraduate alumni were more likely to feel a “sense of belonging” in Anatomy than undergraduate alumni. Findings from this research provide an essential data point in the international evaluation of career prospects of anatomy graduates and provide a road map for other institutions to survey their alumni to obtain local insights.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, Nov 1, 2018
Expressing an authoritative voice is an essential part of academic writing at university. However... more Expressing an authoritative voice is an essential part of academic writing at university. However, the performance of the authorial self in writing is complex yet fundamental to academic success as a large part of academic assessment involves writing to the academy. More specifically, the performance of the authorial self can be complex for English as a Second Language (ESL) student-writers. This research investigated the extent to which ESL first-year students at the Fiji National University perform their authorial voice using interactional metadiscourse in their academic writing. The study employed a quantitative analysis of corpus produced by 16 Fijian ESL undergraduate students enrolled in an EAP course. The research found that the ESL authorial voice was predominantly expressed through boosters and attitude markers, with relatively little usage of other interactional metadiscoursal elements such as hedges, engagement markers and self-mentions. Further, the research showed that this particular cohort expressed their authorial voice and identity through boosted arguments and avoiding language that directly mentions the authorial self. The study concludes that the ESL authorial self for this cohort manifests itself in a selected range of selected interactional metadiscoursal elements, requiring the need to raise the awareness of self-reflective expressions for ESL students. The study also encourages further exploration of ESL authorial identity construction in academic writing at undergraduate level and beyond.
International journal of educational technology in higher education, Feb 28, 2023
Micro-credentials are gaining traction as viable vehicles for rapid upskilling of the workforce i... more Micro-credentials are gaining traction as viable vehicles for rapid upskilling of the workforce in the twenty-first century and potential pathways for gaining employment for some students. The primary purpose of the current systematic review was to understand the current conceptions and discourses of micro-credentials in higher education and to identify the opportunities and challenges in adopting micro-credentials in higher education. The review also aimed to develop a need-driven micro-credentials framework that demonstrates the value of micro-credentials to stakeholders, i.e., learners, higher education institutions, employers, and government agencies. Key findings revealed that there are various stakeholders' needs and expectations. The learner wants short, practical, and up-to-date courses for their chosen career path, education institutions emphasise accreditation for building trust, employers want clarity regarding the competencies gained through micro-credentials, and government bodies expect higher graduate employability with lower tuition fees. Key findings revealed that implementing micro-credentials can be disruptive in the higher education sector and present several challenges. However, these challenges are likely to be mitigated by increased collaboration among stakeholders. The review has revealed several outstanding research questions critical for the success of micro-credentials as significant pathways to supplement traditional degree programmes. The research presented in the article has implications for policy development to guide the implementation of micro-credentials in the higher education sector.
No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual ... more No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual authors. Review Process Papers submitted to this conference have been double-blind peer reviewed before final acceptance to the conference. Initially, abstracts were reviewed for relevance and accessibility and successful authors were invited to submit full papers. Many thanks to the reviewers who helped ensure the quality of all the submissions. Ethics and Publication Malpractice Policy ACPIL adheres to a strict ethics and publication malpractice policy for all publicationsdetails of which can be found here: http://www.academic-conferences.org/policies/ethics-policy-for-publishing-in-theconference-proceedings-of-academic-conferences-and-publishing-international-limited/ Conference Proceedings The Conference Proceedings is a book published with an ISBN and ISSN. The proceedings have been submitted to a number of accreditation, citation and indexing bodies including Thomson ISI Web of Science and Elsevier Scopus. Author affiliation details in these proceedings have been reproduced as supplied by the authors themselves.
... Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (ELEARN) 2004 Washington, DC, USA 2004 ISBN 1-88... more ... Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (ELEARN) 2004 Washington, DC, USA 2004 ISBN 1-880094-54-1 Janice Nall & Robby Robson AACE More Information on ELEARN Table of Contents. Authors. Permanand Mohan, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad And ...
No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual ... more No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual authors. Review Process Papers submitted to this conference have been double-blind peer reviewed before final acceptance to the conference. Initially, abstracts were reviewed for relevance and accessibility and successful authors were invited to submit full papers. Many thanks to the reviewers who helped ensure the quality of all the submissions. Ethics and Publication Malpractice Policy ACPIL adheres to a strict ethics and publication malpractice policy for all publicationsdetails of which can be found here: http://www.academic-conferences.org/policies/ethics-policy-for-publishing-in-theconference-proceedings-of-academic-conferences-and-publishing-international-limited/ Conference Proceedings The Conference Proceedings is a book published with an ISBN and ISSN. The proceedings have been submitted to a number of accreditation, citation and indexing bodies including Thomson ISI Web of Science and Elsevier Scopus. Author affiliation details in these proceedings have been reproduced as supplied by the authors themselves.
Globally, the landscape of higher education sector is under increasing pressure to transform its ... more Globally, the landscape of higher education sector is under increasing pressure to transform its operational and governing structure; to accommodate new economic, social and cultural agendas; relevant to regional, national and international demands. As a result, universities are constantly searching for actionable insights from data, to generate strategies they can use to meet these new demands. Big Data and analytics have the potential to enable institutions to thoroughly examine their present challenges, identify ways to address them as well as predict possible future outcomes. However, because Big Data is a new phenomenon in higher education, its conceptual relevance, as well as the opportunities and limitations it might bring, is still unknown. This chapter describes the conceptual underpinning of Big Data research and presents possible opportunities as well as limitations associated with unlocking the value of Big Data in higher education.
Education and Information Technologies, Jul 20, 2023
The need for data-driven decision-making primarily motivates interest in analysing Big Data in hi... more The need for data-driven decision-making primarily motivates interest in analysing Big Data in higher education. Although there has been considerable research on the value of Big Data in higher education, its application to address critical issues within the sector is still limited. This systematic review, conducted in December 2021 and encompassing 75 papers, analysed the applications of Big Data and analytics in higher education. The focus was on their usage in supporting learning, teaching and administration as reported in papers indexed in SCOPUS, Web of Science and IEEE Xplore. The key findings from the review revealed that Big Data and analytics are predominantly used to support learning and, to a lesser extent, guide teaching and informing administrative decision-making processes. The review also identified a set of studies focused on supporting student well-being. Further, we extend the use of Big Data in higher education to include the well-being of students and staff. This paper contributes to the growing debate on the practical use of Big Data and analytics to provide valuable insights for solving systemic challenges facing high education in the twenty-first century.
International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, 2016
Institutions of higher education are currently investigating the role of social media technologie... more Institutions of higher education are currently investigating the role of social media technologies (SMTs) as a stronger educational tool in creating engaged learning environments for students. This research explored the faculty's awareness of the value of social media in teaching and identifies possible challenges of integrating these technologies into their teaching at the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA). Results indicated that university teachers hold a positive outlook on the role of these technologies in improving students learning. Further, the research identified five factors that are likely to influence adoption of these technologies in future class room; subjective norms, peer and supervisory influence, perceived usefulness and faculty's positive attitude towards value of these technologies in improving learning outcomes. In addition, effective institutional integration of social media at the SUZA is more likely to be dependent on how the institution addresses unique challenges of adoption such as acceptability and relevance, and the provisions of various forms of support and resources to teachers.
Sensitivity analysis is a mathematical technique for investigating the effects of inaccuracies in... more Sensitivity analysis is a mathematical technique for investigating the effects of inaccuracies in the parameters of a mathematical model. It analyses how variation in the output of a model (numerical or otherwise) can be apportioned qualitatively or quantitatively to different sources of data. Sensitivity analysis is an important statistical validation technique in Bayesian Modelling. It is used to ascertain how a given model output depends upon or determines its input parameters. It often carried out to ensure the quality and accuracy of a model and a way of checking the robustness and reliability of assumptions built into a model. This Chapter offers an accessible introduction to sensitivity analysis of Bayesian models. The Chapter should have been a section in Chapter 12 and presented before the scenarios sections in Chapter 12. But because sensitivity analysis itself is a complex subject, it was deemed wise to present it as a complete Chapter on its own.
Drawing from previous research, this chapter presents major challenges associated with the analys... more Drawing from previous research, this chapter presents major challenges associated with the analysis of interaction patterns in informal virtual communities. Using social network as well as content analysis to understand the structure and nature of interaction in such virtual communities, the goal was understand the physical structure of the community as well as the nature of the themes discussed by community members in an attempt to build a theoretical model of interactions.
Though computational models take a lot of effort to build, a model is generally not useful unless... more Though computational models take a lot of effort to build, a model is generally not useful unless it can help people to understand the world being modelled, or the problem the model is intended to solve. A useful model allows people to make useful predictions about how the world will behave now and possibly tomorrow. Validation is the last step required in developing a useful Bayesian model. The goal of validation is to gain confidence in a model and to demonstrate and prove that a model produces reliable results that are closely related to the problems or issues in which the model is intended to address. The goal of the Chapter is to provide the reader with a basic understanding of the validation process and to share with them key lessons learned from the model of social capital presented in the book. While sensitivity analysis is intended to ensure that a Bayesian model is theoretically consistent with goals and assumptions of the modeller (how the modeller views the world) or the accuracy of sources of data used for building the model, the goal of validation is to demonstrate the practical application of the model in real world settings. This Chapter presents the main steps involved in the process of validating a Bayesian model. It illustrates this process by using examples drawn from the Bayesian model of social capital.
The Department of Anatomy (Anatomy) at the University of Otago delivers programs for students in ... more The Department of Anatomy (Anatomy) at the University of Otago delivers programs for students in diverse areas, including clinical anatomy, neuroscience, reproduction and biological anthropology. This study explored the experiences of alumni during their study and career pathways post‐graduation through an online questionnaire distributed to department alumni. Most of the 190 participants studied anatomy as undergraduates (74.2%) and graduated in the past decade (56.8%). Reasons for taking anatomy included finding the topic interesting, a pathway into professional programs, or a degree requirement. Current employment differed between undergraduate (44.7% currently employed in clinical settings) and postgraduate alumni (26.4% currently employed in research, 19.5% in clinical settings). The main pathways for finding jobs were by direct search (38.6%), completing tertiary education (29.2%), and through social network connections (16.4%). Women alumni were less likely to feel that Anatomy prepared them for their careers than men. Themes related to positive and negative experiences included staff, course material/resources, social events, and peers. Suggestions to improve the departmental “sense of community” included increasing departmental events and resources. Alumni suggested that Anatomy should provide more potential career information, make available recent alumni profiles, and organize career fairs and networking opportunities. Postgraduate alumni were more likely to feel a “sense of belonging” in Anatomy than undergraduate alumni. Findings from this research provide an essential data point in the international evaluation of career prospects of anatomy graduates and provide a road map for other institutions to survey their alumni to obtain local insights.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, Nov 1, 2018
Expressing an authoritative voice is an essential part of academic writing at university. However... more Expressing an authoritative voice is an essential part of academic writing at university. However, the performance of the authorial self in writing is complex yet fundamental to academic success as a large part of academic assessment involves writing to the academy. More specifically, the performance of the authorial self can be complex for English as a Second Language (ESL) student-writers. This research investigated the extent to which ESL first-year students at the Fiji National University perform their authorial voice using interactional metadiscourse in their academic writing. The study employed a quantitative analysis of corpus produced by 16 Fijian ESL undergraduate students enrolled in an EAP course. The research found that the ESL authorial voice was predominantly expressed through boosters and attitude markers, with relatively little usage of other interactional metadiscoursal elements such as hedges, engagement markers and self-mentions. Further, the research showed that this particular cohort expressed their authorial voice and identity through boosted arguments and avoiding language that directly mentions the authorial self. The study concludes that the ESL authorial self for this cohort manifests itself in a selected range of selected interactional metadiscoursal elements, requiring the need to raise the awareness of self-reflective expressions for ESL students. The study also encourages further exploration of ESL authorial identity construction in academic writing at undergraduate level and beyond.
International journal of educational technology in higher education, Feb 28, 2023
Micro-credentials are gaining traction as viable vehicles for rapid upskilling of the workforce i... more Micro-credentials are gaining traction as viable vehicles for rapid upskilling of the workforce in the twenty-first century and potential pathways for gaining employment for some students. The primary purpose of the current systematic review was to understand the current conceptions and discourses of micro-credentials in higher education and to identify the opportunities and challenges in adopting micro-credentials in higher education. The review also aimed to develop a need-driven micro-credentials framework that demonstrates the value of micro-credentials to stakeholders, i.e., learners, higher education institutions, employers, and government agencies. Key findings revealed that there are various stakeholders' needs and expectations. The learner wants short, practical, and up-to-date courses for their chosen career path, education institutions emphasise accreditation for building trust, employers want clarity regarding the competencies gained through micro-credentials, and government bodies expect higher graduate employability with lower tuition fees. Key findings revealed that implementing micro-credentials can be disruptive in the higher education sector and present several challenges. However, these challenges are likely to be mitigated by increased collaboration among stakeholders. The review has revealed several outstanding research questions critical for the success of micro-credentials as significant pathways to supplement traditional degree programmes. The research presented in the article has implications for policy development to guide the implementation of micro-credentials in the higher education sector.
No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual ... more No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual authors. Review Process Papers submitted to this conference have been double-blind peer reviewed before final acceptance to the conference. Initially, abstracts were reviewed for relevance and accessibility and successful authors were invited to submit full papers. Many thanks to the reviewers who helped ensure the quality of all the submissions. Ethics and Publication Malpractice Policy ACPIL adheres to a strict ethics and publication malpractice policy for all publicationsdetails of which can be found here: http://www.academic-conferences.org/policies/ethics-policy-for-publishing-in-theconference-proceedings-of-academic-conferences-and-publishing-international-limited/ Conference Proceedings The Conference Proceedings is a book published with an ISBN and ISSN. The proceedings have been submitted to a number of accreditation, citation and indexing bodies including Thomson ISI Web of Science and Elsevier Scopus. Author affiliation details in these proceedings have been reproduced as supplied by the authors themselves.
... Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (ELEARN) 2004 Washington, DC, USA 2004 ISBN 1-88... more ... Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (ELEARN) 2004 Washington, DC, USA 2004 ISBN 1-880094-54-1 Janice Nall & Robby Robson AACE More Information on ELEARN Table of Contents. Authors. Permanand Mohan, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad And ...
No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual ... more No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual authors. Review Process Papers submitted to this conference have been double-blind peer reviewed before final acceptance to the conference. Initially, abstracts were reviewed for relevance and accessibility and successful authors were invited to submit full papers. Many thanks to the reviewers who helped ensure the quality of all the submissions. Ethics and Publication Malpractice Policy ACPIL adheres to a strict ethics and publication malpractice policy for all publicationsdetails of which can be found here: http://www.academic-conferences.org/policies/ethics-policy-for-publishing-in-theconference-proceedings-of-academic-conferences-and-publishing-international-limited/ Conference Proceedings The Conference Proceedings is a book published with an ISBN and ISSN. The proceedings have been submitted to a number of accreditation, citation and indexing bodies including Thomson ISI Web of Science and Elsevier Scopus. Author affiliation details in these proceedings have been reproduced as supplied by the authors themselves.
Globally, the landscape of higher education sector is under increasing pressure to transform its ... more Globally, the landscape of higher education sector is under increasing pressure to transform its operational and governing structure; to accommodate new economic, social and cultural agendas; relevant to regional, national and international demands. As a result, universities are constantly searching for actionable insights from data, to generate strategies they can use to meet these new demands. Big Data and analytics have the potential to enable institutions to thoroughly examine their present challenges, identify ways to address them as well as predict possible future outcomes. However, because Big Data is a new phenomenon in higher education, its conceptual relevance, as well as the opportunities and limitations it might bring, is still unknown. This chapter describes the conceptual underpinning of Big Data research and presents possible opportunities as well as limitations associated with unlocking the value of Big Data in higher education.
Education and Information Technologies, Jul 20, 2023
The need for data-driven decision-making primarily motivates interest in analysing Big Data in hi... more The need for data-driven decision-making primarily motivates interest in analysing Big Data in higher education. Although there has been considerable research on the value of Big Data in higher education, its application to address critical issues within the sector is still limited. This systematic review, conducted in December 2021 and encompassing 75 papers, analysed the applications of Big Data and analytics in higher education. The focus was on their usage in supporting learning, teaching and administration as reported in papers indexed in SCOPUS, Web of Science and IEEE Xplore. The key findings from the review revealed that Big Data and analytics are predominantly used to support learning and, to a lesser extent, guide teaching and informing administrative decision-making processes. The review also identified a set of studies focused on supporting student well-being. Further, we extend the use of Big Data in higher education to include the well-being of students and staff. This paper contributes to the growing debate on the practical use of Big Data and analytics to provide valuable insights for solving systemic challenges facing high education in the twenty-first century.
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