Petro Poutanen, Olli Parviainen and Leif Åberg
The purpose of this paper is to describe the conditions that give rise to and support self‐organizing learning and creativity in blended learning environments. Particular…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the conditions that give rise to and support self‐organizing learning and creativity in blended learning environments. Particular attention is given to theoretical and practical suggestions and the roles of on‐ and offline working environments.
Design/methodology/approach
Iterative grounded theory methodology is used to provide a case analysis of a course held at the University of Helsinki in 2010 in conjunction with theoretical discussions.
Findings
Practical advice is provided for organizers of blended learning courses and a theoretical model for self‐organizing in blended learning settings is proposed. Three key considerations of self‐organizing – space, knowledge, and agency –were located and each of them is discussed with a focus on practical recommendations.
Research limitations/implications
More research is needed, especially in a “classroom” context, in order to further clarify the links of different on‐ and offline learning environments and to reach a better understanding of the interplay between them.
Practical implications
The approach presented here can be useful for implementing web‐based blended learning methods in universities and other educational organizations.
Originality/value
Technology‐ and teacher‐oriented views of learning are not successful in the context of blended learning. Conditions for self‐organizing and creativity are needed.
Details
Keywords
Leif Berglund and Per Andersson
Work‐place learning takes place in many settings and in different ways, resulting in knowledge and skills of different kinds. The recognition process in the work place is however…
Abstract
Purpose
Work‐place learning takes place in many settings and in different ways, resulting in knowledge and skills of different kinds. The recognition process in the work place is however often implicit and seldom discussed in terms of recognition of prior learning (RPL). The aim of this paper is to give examples of how the knowledge/skills of employees get recognition in the workplace and to discuss what the consequences of such recognition processes might be.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a study in two companies and two municipalities, where 21 interviews were conducted with human resource managers, team leaders and union representatives. The research questions concerned the ways skills were recognised among employees and how the logics of these actions could be understood.
Findings
The findings show that both companies and municipalities have their own ways of assessing knowledge/skills, mostly out of a production logic of what is needed at the workplace. However, certain skills are also made “unvisualised” for the employee. This employer‐controlled recognition logic is important to understand when RPL models are brought to the work place in order to obtain win‐win situations for both employers and employees.
Practical implications
It seems important to identify an already existing system for assessment of knowledge/skills at the workplace when bringing RPL processes to the workplace.
Originality/value
The approach to understand assessment processes in these companies and municipalities from an RPL perspective has not been widely covered before.
Details
Keywords
Brian Waterfield, G. Kersuzan and Boguslaw Herod
The Benelux chapter has made a habit of organising meetings with a scientific and commercial accent more or less alternately. This approach has proven to be successful in the past…
Abstract
The Benelux chapter has made a habit of organising meetings with a scientific and commercial accent more or less alternately. This approach has proven to be successful in the past three years. The 1986 Autumn meeting will be another display meeting. A number of papers will be presented by suppliers of materials and equipment for the hybrid and surface mounting industry. In a 300 m2 exhibition room about 25 companies will display their products. The programme of the day leaves ample opportunity for meeting colleagues and suppliers. The meeting will be held in the ‘Jaarbeurs Vergadercentrum’ in Utrecht on 16 October from 9.30–17.00. The annual ISHM‐Benelux general membership meeting will precede the lectures.
R. Blancquaert, Bob Turnbull, G. Forster, Lorna Cullen, Boguslaw Herod, Steve Muckett and James Lawson
ISHM‐Benelux held its 1987 Autumn Conference on 29 October, at the Antwerp Crest Hotel. This one‐day meeting focused on applications of hybrid circuit technology in various fields…
Abstract
ISHM‐Benelux held its 1987 Autumn Conference on 29 October, at the Antwerp Crest Hotel. This one‐day meeting focused on applications of hybrid circuit technology in various fields of electronic and related industries.
Natalia Maehle, Nina Iversen, Leif Hem and Cele Otnes
The purpose of this paper is to identify the relative importance of four main attributes of food products for consumer’s choice. These are price, taste, environmental friendliness…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the relative importance of four main attributes of food products for consumer’s choice. These are price, taste, environmental friendliness and healthfulness, tested across hedonic and utilitarian food products (milk and ice-cream). The weighting of attributes involved in food choices is a complex phenomenon, as consumers must consider contradictory requirements when making their choices. Consumers’ decision-making processes might also be influenced by food category. Some food products are mostly consumed for pleasure, whereas others are consumed because of their nutritional value.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a choice-based conjoint technique, which addresses how consumers make trade-offs across a set of product attributes.
Findings
The results indicate that price and taste attributes are rated as the most important for both hedonic and utilitarian food products. However, when the authors group consumers according to their product preferences, the relative importance of product attributes changes. Specifically, the importance of environmental friendliness and healthfulness is much higher among the health-conscious and environmentally conscious segments than for other segments.
Originality/value
To the knowledge, this is the first study comparing the importance of this combination of product attributes (price, taste, calorie content and eco-label) across hedonic and utilitarian foods in a choice-based conjoint setting. Moreover, a new way of grouping consumers according to their ethical-value profiles enables the authors to create a psychographic description of these segments, and to relate it to their food attribute preferences.