Dragan Gasevic, Yi-Shan Tsai, Shane Dawson and Abelardo Pardo
The analysis of data collected from user interactions with educational and information technology has attracted much attention as a promising approach to advancing our…
Abstract
Purpose
The analysis of data collected from user interactions with educational and information technology has attracted much attention as a promising approach to advancing our understanding of the learning process. This promise motivated the emergence of the field of learning analytics and supported the education sector in moving toward data-informed strategic decision making. Yet, progress to date in embedding such data-informed processes has been limited. The purpose of this paper is to address a commonly posed question asked by educators, managers, administrators and researchers seeking to implement learning analytics – how do we start institutional adoption of learning analytics?
Design/methodology/approach
A narrative review is performed to synthesize the existing literature on learning analytics adoption in higher education. The synthesis is based on the established models for the adoption of business analytics and finding two projects performed in Australia and Europe to develop and evaluate approaches to adoption of learning analytics in higher education.
Findings
The paper first defines learning analytics and touches on lessons learned from some well-known case studies. The paper then reviews the current state of institutional adoption of learning analytics by examining evidence produced in several studies conducted worldwide. The paper next outlines an approach to learning analytics adoption that could aid system-wide institutional transformation. The approach also highlights critical challenges that require close attention in order for learning analytics to make a long-term impact on research and practice of learning and teaching.
Originality/value
The paper proposed approach that can be used by senior leaders, practitioners and researchers interested in adoption of learning analytics in higher education. The proposed approach highlights the importance of the socio-technical nature of learning analytics and complexities pertinent to innovation adoption in higher education institutions.
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Shane Dawson, Liz Heathcote and Gary Poole
This paper aims to examine how effective higher education institutions have been in harnessing the data capture mechanisms from their student information systems, learning…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how effective higher education institutions have been in harnessing the data capture mechanisms from their student information systems, learning management systems and communication tools for improving the student learning experience and informing practitioners of the achievement of specific learning outcomes. The paper seeks to argue that the future of analytics in higher education lies in the development of more comprehensive and integrated systems to value add to the student learning experience.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature regarding the trend for greater accountability in higher education is reviewed in terms of its implications for greater “user driven” direction. In addition, IT usage within higher education and contemporary usage of data captured from various higher education systems is examined and compared to common commercial applications to suggest how higher education management and teachers can gain greater understanding of the student cohort and personalise and enhance the learning experience much as commercial entities have done for their client base. A way forward for higher education is proposed.
Findings
If the multiple means that students engage with university systems are considered, it is possible to track individual activity throughout the entire student life cycle – from initial admission, through course progression and finally graduation and employment transitions. The combined data captured by various systems builds a detailed picture of the activities students, instructors, service areas and the institution as a whole undertake and can be used to improve relevance, efficiency and effectiveness in a higher education institution.
Originality/value
The paper outlines how academic analytics can be used to better inform institutions about their students learning support needs. The paper provides examples of IT automation that may allow for student user‐information to be translated into a personalised and semi‐automated support system for students.
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The Integrated Workstation (IWS) was developed by a team at Leicester Polytechnic, funded by Dawson Technology who, in 1986, took over the marketing of AIM, the interlending…
Abstract
The Integrated Workstation (IWS) was developed by a team at Leicester Polytechnic, funded by Dawson Technology who, in 1986, took over the marketing of AIM, the interlending package developed by Leicester. The idea behind IWS was that it should provide for all the librarian's IT requirements from a single desktop PC. It encompasses online searching and downloading and subsequent manipulation of search results, access to CD‐ROMs, access to other packages such as AIM and Dawson's serials system, SMS, and access to a suite of office automation software.
Dawson Technology have developed a new PC‐based system, OASIS (Open Access Strategic Information System), and are marketing it instead of the Data Trek system for which they had…
Abstract
Dawson Technology have developed a new PC‐based system, OASIS (Open Access Strategic Information System), and are marketing it instead of the Data Trek system for which they had been agents. Contracts with existing Data Trek users will be honoured but these users are obviously looking with interest at the new system. The system has been developed with the European market in mind; French, German and Spanish versions are being developed, with a French version of the serials module already available.
Shane Dawson, Bruce Burnett and Mark O'Donohue
This paper demonstrates the need for the higher education sector to develop and implement scaleable, quantitative measures that evaluate community and establish organisational…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper demonstrates the need for the higher education sector to develop and implement scaleable, quantitative measures that evaluate community and establish organisational benchmarks in order to guide the development of future practices designed to enhance the student learning experience.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature regarding contemporary Australian higher education policy and community development is critiqued to illustrate the need for universities to adopt scaleable quantitative measures to evaluate stated strategic imperatives and establish organisational benchmarks. The integration of organisational benchmarks guides the implementation of future practices designed to enhance the student learning experience. A current active exemplar methodology is discussed to demonstrate applicability to both higher education administrators and teaching staff across the various organisation levels.
Findings
While universities are promoting and investing in the concept of community to enhance the student learning experience there are as yet, limited scaleable evaluative measures and performance indicators to guide practitioners. This paper proposes an effective measurement tool to benchmark current pedagogical performance standards and monitor the progress and achievement of future implemented practices designed to enhance the sense of community experienced by the student cohort.
Originality/value
This paper identifies and addresses the current absence of effective scaleable evaluative measures to assess the achievement of stated strategic imperatives implemented as a consequence of reducing government financial support, increasing accountability, and increasing student expectations as result of educational consumerism.
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Abstract
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Jun Li and Dev K. Dutta
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of founding team experience (industry and venturing) in new venture creation. This paper posits the following questions: How does…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of founding team experience (industry and venturing) in new venture creation. This paper posits the following questions: How does founding team experience influence the likelihood of new venture creation, in the nascent stage? How does industry context moderate this relationship? The study aims to fill an important gap in the literature by unpacking the impact of different types of founding team experiences on venture outcome, and by focusing on the influence of founding team in the venture creation process, specifically at the nascent stage.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilizes data from the Second Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, a longitudinal data set of 1,214 nascent entrepreneurs in the USA. Logistics regression was employed to analyze the effect of founding team experience on new venture creation. Post hoc analysis was conducted to ensure the confidence of the findings.
Findings
The paper provides empirical insights about how founding team experience influences the likelihood of new venture creation in the nascent stage. At the nascent stage, founding team industry experience positively affects new venture creation while founding team venturing experience does not. However, in the high-technology industry environment, the influence of the founding team’s venturing experience on new venture creation is stronger than that in the low-technology industry environment.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the design of the data set, there is a risk of “right-censoring” problem. Also, because the study used archival data on founding teams, the methodology did not allow for uncovering the underlying team processes and dynamics during the venture creation process based on learning from experience. Future studies are encouraged to examine other types of founding team experience and the underlying process-level factors on venture creation.
Practical implications
The paper provides important practical implications for nascent entrepreneurs/entrepreneurial teams on team assembling and composition. In general, a team with higher-level industry experience is critical for venturing success. A team with higher-level venturing experience is more desired in the high-technology industry.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an important gap in the entrepreneurial team literature by highlighting the complex and nuanced ways in which founding team experience influences the likelihood of venture creation in the nascent stage of the firm, especially after incorporating the additional impact of the industry context.
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Martin Bosompem, Samuel K. N. Dadzie and Edwin Tandoh
Agriculture and related businesses in Ghana for the past decades have been the preserve for the smallholder, aged and illiterate farmers. Meanwhile, hundreds of students graduate…
Abstract
Agriculture and related businesses in Ghana for the past decades have been the preserve for the smallholder, aged and illiterate farmers. Meanwhile, hundreds of students graduate in Agricultural Sciences from the universities over the years. This study seeks to investigate potential determinants of the entrepreneurial spirit of agricultural students to do self-employed businesses in the agricultural sector. A survey of 165 undergraduate students of agriculture in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana was undertaken to examine factors that influence their decision to enter into agribusiness as a self-employment venture after graduation. The results show that the majority of the students were males (87%) and approximately, 67% were willing to enter into agribusiness after school. The factors that students perceived to be hindrance to entering into agribusiness was the market competition of agro-products with imported products, unstable prices of agro-products, absence of insurance policy for agribusiness and unfavourable land tenure arrangement in Ghana. Correlation analysis showed negative and significant relationship between students’ willingness to enter agribusiness as a self-employment venture and the following personal characteristics: (1) level of education of mother, (2) level of education of guardian other than parents, (3) students who live in farming communities and (4) students who undertake farming activities at home. There were also positive and significant relationships between students’ willingness to enter agribusiness and the following: (1) availability of market for agro-products, (2) accessibility of market for agro-products and (3) accessibility of transportation facilities for agribusiness. Regression analysis showed that (1) level of education of mother, (2) students living in farming communities, (3) accessibility of transportation facilities for agribusiness and (4) accessibility of market for agro-product were the factors that best predict undergraduate agricultural students’ willingness to enter into agribusiness as a self-employment venture after graduation. To motivate students to take agribusiness as self-employment after graduation, the study suggests the development of comprehensive and sustainable long-term policy to inspire and attract the youth into agribusiness; creation of conducive environment to minimise risk and constraints associated with agribusiness in Ghana.
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Brett Abarbanel, Shane Kraus, Qing (Tiffany) Huang, Heather Gray, Eric Louderback, Debi LaPlante and Bo Bernhard
This study investigates how employees perceive responsible gambling (RG) programs, which are part of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework for minimizing negative…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates how employees perceive responsible gambling (RG) programs, which are part of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework for minimizing negative impacts associated with problematic gambling. Casino employees have different levels of interaction with gamblers, which could affect employees' opinions about RG.
Design/methodology/approach
Surveys at two time periods – baseline (N = 2,192) and one-year follow-up (N = 852) to a new RG program – asked employees at MGM Resorts International (MGM) about their (1) perceptions of program effectiveness, (2) gambling behaviors and beliefs and (3) perceived level of employer support. Two one-way MANCOVAs, with years employed in the gambling industry as the covariate, extended results from a prior study. An additional two-way MANCOVA examined contact-level and year-over-year differences.
Findings
Employees who have high contact with gamblers, such as those in security or casino dealer positions, viewed RG programs as less effective than employees who have low contact with gamblers, such as those in culinary or corporate positions.
Practical implications
Employees are vital to harm reduction CSR strategies and MGM should work toward a program with varied RG training content and delivery, depending on the likelihood of employee interaction with active gamblers.
Originality/value
RG programs are key CSR initiatives for hospitality organizations with gambling licenses. Employees play an interactive role in delivering these programs, so their perceptions and understanding help assess program value. This is the first study to examine employee perceptions of a newly-implemented RG program with baseline and follow-up data.
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Entrepreneurial motivations are often defined as fitting into “push” or “pull” categories. To date, research has focused on the factors motivating men and women separately. What…
Abstract
Purpose
Entrepreneurial motivations are often defined as fitting into “push” or “pull” categories. To date, research has focused on the factors motivating men and women separately. What is missing from this research is an analysis of the comparative differences in these motivators of men and women, and an exploration of what this means in terms of push‐pull theory. This paper aims to contribute by applying the existing theory on push and pull factors; and using a gender comparative approach to explore the nature of potential gender differences within entrepreneurial motivations.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study uses a gender comparative approach in semi‐structured, face‐to‐face interviews with 75 entrepreneurs (28 women and 47 men).
Findings
Findings suggest that both women and men appeared similarly motivated by a combination of push and pull factors. Three gender differences were found in the incidence of motivations: women were more influenced by a desire for independence; women considered their children as motivators more so than did men; men were influenced more by job dissatisfaction than were women. The discussion focuses on analysing the nature of gender differences rather than merely their incidence.
Research limitations/implications
A number of further research directions and questions are posed as a way of extending the knowledge in this area. Implications for managers and entrepreneurs are also presented.
Originality/value
Contributes to push‐pull theory by offering a gender comparative approach to advance theory.