Andrew John Toon, Attallah Samir, Jennifer Huang Mui Kheng, Lim Kin Chew, Moorthy Vythilingam and Stephen Low Wee Kiat
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the blended learning preferences under which adult students study mathematics, electronics and industry certificate examinations like…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the blended learning preferences under which adult students study mathematics, electronics and industry certificate examinations like project management and e‐SAP (systems, applications and products).
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on four case studies in mathematics, electronics and industry certificate examinations like project management and e‐SAP. Case studies are developed based on observations and feedback from students who have undergone different types of blended learning. The four different blended learning models used are: the complete e‐learning self‐study; the instructor‐led programme blended with self‐study e‐learning; the live e‐learning centred with other media added; and the simulation and laboratory‐centred model.
Findings
It is found that unmotivated adult learners may not necessarily like e‐learning courses that are unguided. The e‐learning self‐study model suits the highly motivated students who aim for industry‐based certifications like the project management or the e‐SAP certifications. Using simulation and virtual laboratory sessions does help to reduce the cost of setting up the full‐fledged laboratory and also make it more accessible to the students. In the blended learning model, the instructor and the subject matter expert are the two most important people in programme design and delivery, not the developer or the technologist.
Originality/value
This paper is useful to adult educators and those dealing with an open university type of education where there are less face‐to‐face interactions.
Details
Keywords
MANY of the parish and community libraries of Scotland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were subscription libraries, as this was the best way for people of limited means…
Abstract
MANY of the parish and community libraries of Scotland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were subscription libraries, as this was the best way for people of limited means to amass and maintain reasonable collections, but it was not always so. When William Ewart and his colleagues met to consider the problem of public libraries in 1849, they interviewed John Imray, a civil engineer who had seen several parochial and village libraries in the north of Aberdeenshire. The cross‐examination by Ewart began as follows:
The purpose of this paper is to critically explore the historical background and current approach of the most common statutory instrument to maintain green landscapes in private…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critically explore the historical background and current approach of the most common statutory instrument to maintain green landscapes in private residential gardens in cities and townships in suburban New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
Design/methodology/approach
The narrative presents a transdisciplinary study. While its emphasis is on law and town planning, it also encompasses local government and legal history while touching upon environmental management and ecological science. This panoply of areas reflects the sheer complexity of the topic. While the presentation is initially descriptive, it moves on to a critique of the NSW Government's recent statutory approach.
Findings
The paper demands that further attention must be paid to improving the design and architecture of statutory plans and underlying policies to not only improve urban biodiversity but also retain, as far as practicable, the visual beauty of the suburban landscape. This means reliance on local government to devise their own acceptable approaches. Flexibility rather than rigidity is warranted.
Originality/value
The amount of scholarly material on this topic is relatively rare. The majority of information relies on excellent on-ground research and experience on the part of local experts, namely council employees and consultants. Academic and practical material must be drawn together to improve biodiversity conservation at both the local and regional spheres.
Details
Keywords
We have from time to time suggested that librarians should pool experiences in regard to annual estimates, but there seems to be no enthusiasm for the suggestion. If library work…
Abstract
We have from time to time suggested that librarians should pool experiences in regard to annual estimates, but there seems to be no enthusiasm for the suggestion. If library work is to develop it must be by gently progressive finance, and nothing helps one librarian more than to be able to point to another who is progressing. We all tend to wait upon one another. In such a matter as salaries, a librarian circulates his colleagues to learn what they are getting; and library authorities almost invariably ask, “What is paid at So and So ?” This is a vicious circle which cannot be broken unless librarians in consultation can reach a Standard. Perhaps the active London and Home Counties Branch of the L.A. will give a lead since the L.A. itself is too busy to do so.
THE idea of a central service and supplies organisation for libraries—a “Library Centre”— such as exist abroad and are described in Library Supply agencies in Europe, is like most…
Abstract
THE idea of a central service and supplies organisation for libraries—a “Library Centre”— such as exist abroad and are described in Library Supply agencies in Europe, is like most ideas in librarianship, not a new one, even taking into account the establishment of Norway's Biblioteksentralen over 60 years ago in 1902, which at that time was called Folkeboksamlingenes Ekspedisjon. This idea, like so so much else, seems to have originated in the fertile brain of Melvil Dewey, taking its final and lasting form as the Library Bureau, established by Dewey himself in 1882.
Jean Herold and Frederic Messick
The various indexes published by the H.W. Wilson Company are now helping a fourth generation of library users to find articles in hundreds of periodicals and journals. One Wilson…
Abstract
The various indexes published by the H.W. Wilson Company are now helping a fourth generation of library users to find articles in hundreds of periodicals and journals. One Wilson index in particular, the Social Sciences Index (SSI), has undergone major revamping in recent years. It was originally called the International Index (1907–1965). In April, 1965 it became the Social Sciences and Humanities Index; then in April, 1974 it split to form separate indexes for each area, simultaneously expanding the scope of coverage of both parts.
THE luncheon given by the Lord Mayor, Sir Ralph Perring, to more than 700 guests at Guildhall on November 14, officially launched the country on National Productivity Year. Apart…
Abstract
THE luncheon given by the Lord Mayor, Sir Ralph Perring, to more than 700 guests at Guildhall on November 14, officially launched the country on National Productivity Year. Apart from representatives of the 120 local committees these were people from trade and employers' associations, trades unions, professional bodies and research organisations. It was, in effect, a token mobilisation of Britain's industrial might, because behind it stands a large army devoted to the task of increasing the country's output.
Publishers are producing new reference sources on film at an astonishing rate. Each week reviews and advertisements appear to announce yet another book. Books vary in scope…
Abstract
Publishers are producing new reference sources on film at an astonishing rate. Each week reviews and advertisements appear to announce yet another book. Books vary in scope, subject emphasis, size, price, and of course, quality, and represent both new works and revised or added editions. Not only are American publishers active, but European firms are getting on the bandwagon, too.
A VERY interesting winter lies ahead for all students and other librarians; for, we suppose, almost immediately attempts will be made to harmonize the practice of the Library…
Abstract
A VERY interesting winter lies ahead for all students and other librarians; for, we suppose, almost immediately attempts will be made to harmonize the practice of the Library Association with the expressed wishes of its last Annual Meeting. We publish some notes in Letters on Our Affairs on the crisis, if it may be so called, but we would add such voice as we have to that of those who plead for moderation. Violent changes are rarely justified, and violent expressions still less rarely, and as there appears to be now a disposition to bury hatchets and to get to work we hope that every advantage will be taken of it.
Andrew Arnette and Barry Brewer
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of strategy and concurrent engineering (CE) in driving design for procurement (DFP) actions and results via the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of strategy and concurrent engineering (CE) in driving design for procurement (DFP) actions and results via the role of procurement professionals in new product development (NPD). The strategies of cost leadership, differentiation, and a hybrid approach are compared, and sequential NPD is compared to a CE approach within a DFP context.
Design/methodology/approach
ANOVA was applied to survey data collected for a series of items capturing the activities and characteristics relating to procurement for a new product design, as well as the performance of the product compared to other design events in the firm.
Findings
Several major findings were supported through the analysis. Product-level strategy played a limited role, at best, in driving the implementation of procurement activities and product performance. In contrast, high CE intensity was shown to improve procurement activity and product performance. The results were analyzed along the three dimensions of sustainability, and were especially strong for both environmental and economic-focused activities and performance.
Practical implications
Managers should work to integrate procurement early into NPD activities, ensure procurement uses strategy to drive decisions, and can use DFP initiatives from this research to implement a DFP program.
Originality/value
This research is one of the first attempts to empirically test design-for (DFX) approaches in NPD. It creates one of the first theoretical frameworks for DFX-related research.