bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Student Support Networks in Online Doctoral Programs: Exploring Nested Communities
Authors: Berry Sharla 
Published: October 2017

Aim/Purpose: Enrollment in online doctoral programs has grown over the past decade. A sense of community, defined as feelings of closeness within a social group, is vital to retention, but few studies have explored how online doctoral students create community.

Background:	In this qualitative case study, I explore how students in one online doctoral program created a learning community.

Methodology: Data for the study was drawn from 60 hours of video footage from six online courses, the message boards from the six courses, and twenty interviews with first and second-year students.

Contribution: Findings from this study indicate that the structure of the social network in an online doctoral program is significantly different from the structure of learning communities in face-to-face programs. In the online program, the doctoral community was more insular, more peer-centered, and less reliant on faculty support than in in-person programs.

Findings: Utilizing a nested communities theoretical framework, I identified four subgroups that informed online doctoral students’ sense of community: cohort, class groups, small peer groups, and study groups. Students interacted frequently with members of each of the aforementioned social groups and drew academic, social, and emotional support from their interactions.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Data from this study suggests that online doctoral students are interested in making social and academic connections. Practitioners should leverage technology and on-campus supports to promote extracurricular interactions for online students.

Recommendation for Researchers:	Rather than focus on professional socialization, students in the online doctoral community were interested in providing social and academic support to peers. Researchers should consider how socialization in online doctoral programs differs from traditional, face-to-face programs.

Impact on Society: As universities increase online offerings, it is important to consider the issues that impact retention in online programs. By identifying the social structures that support online community, this study helps build knowledge around retention and engagement of online students.

Future Research:	Future research should continue to explore the unique social networks that support online students.
An Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Constructivist Approach in Teaching Business Statistics
Authors: Maheshwari Greeni , Thomas Susan 
Published: October 2017

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in Informing Science: the International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline (InfoSci)]

Aim/Purpose: The main aim of the research is to examine the performance of second language English speaking students enrolled in the Business Statistics course and to investigate the academic performance of students when taught under the constructivist and non-constructivist approaches in a classroom environment.

Background: There are different learning theories that are established based on how students learn. Each of these theories has its own benefits based on the different type of learners and context of the environment. The students in this research are new to the University environment and to a challenging technical course like Business Statistics. This research has been carried out to see the effectiveness of the constructivist approach in motivating and increasing the student engagement and their academic performance.

Methodology: A total of 1373 students were involved in the quasi-experiment method using Stratified Sampling Method from the year 2015 until 2016.

Contribution: To consider curriculum adjustments for first year programs and implications for teacher education.

Findings: The t-test for unequal variances was used to understand the mean score. Results indicate students have high motivation level and achieve higher mean scores when they are taught using the constructivist teaching approach compared to the non-constructivist teaching approach.

Recommendations for Practitioners	: To consider the challenges faced by first year students and create a teaching approach that fits their needs.

Recommendation for Researchers:	To explore in depth other teaching approaches of the Business Statistics course in improving students’ academic performance.

Impact on Society: The constructivist approach will enable learning to be enjoyable and students to be more confident.

Future Research: The research will assist other lectures teaching Business Statistics in creating a more conducive environment to encourage second language English speaking students to overcome their shyness and be more engaged.
EO Model for Tacit Knowledge Externalization in Socio-Technical Enterprises
Authors: Suresh Rao Shreyas , Nayak Ashalatha 
Published: October 2017

Aim/Purpose: A vital business activity within socio-technical enterprises is tacit knowledge externalization, which elicits and explicates tacit knowledge of enterprise employees as external knowledge. The aim of this paper is to integrate diverse aspects of externalization through the Enterprise Ontology model.

Background:	Across two decades, researchers have explored various aspects of tacit knowledge externalization. However, from the existing works, it is revealed that there is no uniform representation of the externalization process, which has resulted in divergent and contradictory interpretations across the literature.

Methodology	: The Enterprise Ontology model is constructed step-wise through the conceptual and measurement views. While the conceptual view encompasses three patterns that model the externalization process, the measurement view employs certainty-factor model to empirically measure the outcome of the externalization process.

Contribution: The paper contributes towards knowledge management literature in two ways. The first contribution is the Enterprise Ontology model that integrates diverse aspects of externalization. The second contribution is a Web application that validates the model through a case study in banking.

Findings: The findings show that the Enterprise Ontology model and the patterns are pragmatic in externalizing the tacit knowledge of experts in a problem-solving scenario within a banking enterprise.

Recommendations for Practitioners	: Consider the diverse aspects (what, where, when, why, and how) during the tacit knowledge externalization process.

Future Research:	To extend the Enterprise Ontology model to include externalization from partially automated enterprise systems.
Business Analytics as a Tool to Transforming Information into an Informing System: The Case of the On-Line Course Registration System
Authors: Grozdanov Christozov Dimitar 
Published: October 2017

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in Informing Science: the International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline (InfoSci)]

Aim/Purpose: Sharing ideas generated in a Business Intelligence (BI) Applications class to upgrade an Information System in to an Informing System.

Background:	Course Registration is the essential university’s business process in a university that follows a liberal-arts education model. Almost all categories of users are involved, including students, individual faculties and departments, and administration. A typical Information System, designed to support this process, allows departments to schedule selected courses for a particular time slot and location, and allows students to choose courses to study for the semester.

Methodology: The course project is to design a BI application. Domain knowledge is essential for such projects and course registration was the natural choice for this class. The assignment includes (1) identifying the categories of stakeholders; (2) identifying the information needs of different categories; (3) identifying available information sources; (4) identifying how is possible to acquire the additional data; and (5) designing the Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) process and interface scenarios in a way to inform clients.

Contribution: Contributions are in two directions: (1) pedagogy - involving students in such a project motivates creativity, also enforcing students to think in cost-benefit framework may lead to creation of really effective and efficient solutions; (2) practice - implementation of some of the ideas could be with low cost, but with high impact.

Findings: Exploring BI techniques may increase the informing value of existing Information Systems.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Careful analysis of information needs and the way information is used, combined with deep domain knowledge and understanding the value provided by Data Mining techniques, is the way to initiate a process of transforming an Retrieval Information System to better inform clients.

Recommendation for Researchers:	Combining pedagogy with practice allows one to overcome routine thinking and may lead to effective solutions. This needs further structuring and research on outcomes.

Impact on Society: Transforming Information towards Informing Systems has a significant impact by allowing users to make rational data driven decisions in an efficient way.

Future Research: The future of this project is implementation of developed ideas and assessment of the results.
Awareness of eSafety and Potential Online Dangers among Children and Teenagers
Authors: Cohen Zilka Gila 
Published: October 2017

Aim/Purpose: Awareness of eSafety and potential online dangers for children and teenagers.

Background:	The study examined eSafety among children and teenagers from their own perspectives, through evaluations of their awareness level of eSafety and of potential online dangers.

Methodology: This is a mixed-method study with both quantitative and qualitative elements. The study includes questionnaires and interviews. A total of 345 participants from Israel completed questionnaires; 90 children and teenagers were interviewed from among the participants.

Contribution: The study examined eSafety among children and teenagers from their own perspectives, through evaluations of their awareness level of eSafety; potential online dangers; level of privacy online; the degree to which using the Internet facilitates their day-to-day life; exposure to positive, useful, enriching and productive content online; exposure to violent content; the degree to which they communicate or refrain from communicating with strangers online; the degree to which participants feel they require tools to cope with online dangers; the degree to which they define themselves as cautious and prudent Internet users; how they feel online dangers may be avoided – all while accounting for differences in gender, age, and socio-demographic background.

Findings: Our findings show that the children and teenagers who participated in the study reported a high level of awareness. After computing a general variable expressing participants’ eSafety awareness level by averaging their responses to various statements, the study found that participants’ awareness level is medium-high. Issues that participants were concerned about included avoiding contact with strangers and cyberbullying, not necessarily by strangers, but also by friends.

Recommendations for Practitioners: It is important to teach safe practices for Internet use and ways of coping with cyberbullying in order to maximize the potential inherent in the use of the Internet, and to avoid exposure to online dangers.

Recommendation for Researchers:	The study examined eSafety awareness by assessing and questioning children and teenage participants regarding their eSafety awareness level, as well as which aspects of Internet use they regard as either positive or negative. The study recommend incorporating in future studies, individual case studies and allowing participants to express how they perceive complex online situations.

Impact on Society: This study illustrates the dual potential of Internet use within the context of eSafety, as seen through the eyes of children and teenagers.

Future Research: Future studies should analyze differences between children, teenagers, and young adults (up to the age of 24), for the purpose of characterizing eSafety awareness and the effects of abiding by eSafety practices over the years, even after the age of 18, when participants have been using the Internet for relatively many years.
The Impact of e-Skills on the Settlement of Iranian Refugees in Australia
Authors: Shariati Saeed , Armarego Jocelyn , Sudweeks Fay 
Published: October 2017

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Skills and Lifelong Learning (IJELL)]

Aim/Purpose: The research investigates the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on Iranian refugees’ settlement in Australia.

Background:	The study identifies the issues of settlement, such as language, cultural and social differences.

Methodology: The Multi-Sited Ethnography (MSE), which is a qualitative methodology, has been used with a thematic analysis drawing on a series of semi-structured interviews with two groups of participants (51 Iranian refugees and 55 people with a role in assisting refugees).

Contribution: The research findings may enable the creation of a model for use by the Australian Government with Iranian refugees.

Findings: The findings show the vital role ICT play in refugees’ ongoing day-to-day life towards settlement.

Recommendations for Practitioners: The results from this paper could be generalised to other groups of refugees in Australia and also could be used for Iranian refugees in other countries.

Recommendation for Researchers:	Researchers may use a similar study for refugees of different backgrounds in Australia and around the world.

Impact on Society: ICT may assist refugees to become less isolated, less marginalized and part of mainstream society.

Future Research: Future research could look into the digital divide between refugees in Australia and main stream Australians.
Hybrid App Approach: Could It Mark the End of Native App Domination?
Authors: Q. Huynh Minh , Ghimire Prashant , Truong Donny 
Published: October 2017

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the journal Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology]

Aim/Purpose: Despite millions of apps on the market, it is still challenging to develop a mobile app that can run across platforms using the same code.

Background:	This paper explores a potential solution for developing cross platform apps by presenting the hybrid app approach.

Methodology: The paper first describes a brief evolution of the different mobile app development approaches and then compares them with the hybrid app approach. Next, it focuses on one specific hybrid app development framework called Ionic.

Contribution: The paper presents the hybrid app approach as an emerging trend in mobile app development and concludes with the highlight of its advantages and teaching implications.

Findings: The hybrid app approach reduces the learning curve and offers tools to allow the reuse of code to create apps for different mobile devices.

Recommendations for Practitioners: The experience that the paper describes in using Ionic framework to create a hybrid app can be adopted in a web design or mobile app development course.

Impact on Society: The advance in hybrid framework in general and the growing acceptance of open source framework, such as Ionic in particular, may provide an alternative to the native app domination and may trigger the rapid rise of hybrid apps in the years to come.
Enhanced Critical Thinking Skills through Problem-Solving Games in Secondary Schools
Authors: D McDonald Scott 
Published: October 2017

Aim/Purpose: Students face many challenges improving their soft skills such as critical thinking. This paper offers one possible solution to this problem.

Background:	This paper considers one method of enhancing critical thinking through a problem-solving game called the Coffee Shop. Problem-solving is a key component to critical thinking, and game-playing is one method of enhancing this through an interactive teaching method.

Methodology: Three classes of Vietnamese high school students engaged in the Coffee Shop game. The method seeks outcome measurements through the use of analysis of multiple surveys to assess and interpret if critical thinking may have been improved.

Contribution: The study may help to understand the importance of problem-solving in the context of an entrepreneurial setting and add to the variation of methods used to deliver the lesson to students in the classroom.

Findings: The findings show that practicing problem-solving scenarios with a focus on critical thinking in a time limited setting results in a measured improvement of this skill.

Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings suggest that educators could use games more as tools for problem-solving to contribute to their students’ learning outcomes around developing critical thinking.

Recommendation for Researchers:	More research could be devoted to developing problem-solving and critical thinking skills through game-play models.

Impact on Society: Improved critical thinking skills in individuals could make a greater contribution to society.
Future Research	A comparative study between different high school grades and genders as well as between different countries or cultures.
Executive Higher Education Doctoral Programs in the United States: A Demographic Market-Based Analysis
Authors: Freeman Jr. Sydney , Forthun Gracie 
Published: October 2017

Aim/Purpose: Executive doctoral programs in higher education are under-researched. Scholars, administers, and students should be aware of all common delivery methods for higher education graduate programs.
Background	This paper provides a review and analysis of executive doctoral higher education programs in the United States.

Methodology: Executive higher education doctoral programs analyzed utilizing a qualitative demographic market-based analysis approach.

Contribution: This review of executive higher education doctoral programs provides one of the first investigations of this segment of the higher education degree market.

Findings: There are twelve programs in the United States offering executive higher education degrees, though there are less aggressively marketed programs described as executive-style higher education doctoral programs that could serve students with similar needs.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Successful executive higher education doctoral programs require faculty that have both theoretical knowledge and practical experience in higher education. As appropriate, these programs should include tenure-line, clinical-track, and adjunct faculty who have cabinet level experience in higher education.

Recommendation for Researchers:	Researchers should begin to investigate more closely the small but growing population of executive doctoral degree programs in higher education.

Impact on Society: Institutions willing to offer executive degrees in higher education will provide training specifically for those faculty who are one step from an executive position within the higher education sector. Society will be impacted by having someone that is trained in the area who also has real world experience.

Future Research: Case studies of students enrolled in executive higher education programs and research documenting university-employer goals for these programs would enhance our understanding of this branch of the higher education degree market.
Let’s Tell a Story Together
Authors: Kelsey Karishma , J. Zaliwski Andrew 
Published: October 2017

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Skills and Lifelong Learning (IJELL)]

Aim/Purpose: The teaching solution presented in this paper was implemented to overcome the common problems encountered by authors during years of practice of applied business studies teaching.

Background:	In our school, we have deep multicultural environments where both teachers and students are coming from different countries and cultures. The typical problems encountered with students include: not reading the case studies, language problems, different backgrounds and cultures, a different understanding of leadership in teamwork related to various management traditions, lack of student participation, and engagement in teamwork.

Methodology: The above problems were solved on the basis of the novelty use of several tools usually used separately: a combination of case studies with visualization and current representation of knowledge related to the case study. The visualization context is provided by “rich picture” (as a part of SSM methodology) to create a shared understanding among students. Another ingredient of the proposed solution is based on Pacific storytelling tradition and the Pacific methodology of solving problems.

Contribution: It was suggested the new delivery model strengthening advantages of case studies.
Findings	Studies and surveys made from 2009 to the present are promising. There is a visible improvement in students’ grades and observed changes in students’ behavior toward more active in-class participation.

Recommendations for Practitioners: This paper focuses on implementation and technical aspects of the presented method. However, the application of the presented method needs robust and time-consuming preparation of the teacher before the class.

Recommendation for Researchers:	The current results show that the proposed method has the potential to improve students’ experience in applied business courses. The project is ongoing and will undergo progressive changes while collecting new experiences. The method may be applied to other types of courses. By focusing on the storytelling and rich picture, we avoid technological bias when we teach business problem-solving. We focus instead on teaching students the social-organizational interactions influencing the problem solution.
Impact on Society	Implementing of cultural sensitivity into the teaching process. Making teaching process more attractive for multicultural students.

Future Research: Reducing teacher overload when using the method presented by the development of computerized tools. This is undergoing through utilizing Unreal Engine. Also, it is planned to enhance our team by artists and designers related to computer games.
Representations of Practice- Distributed Sensemaking Using Boundary Objects
Authors: Hermanrud Inge , Eide Dorthe 
Published: October 2017

[This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the journal Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology]

Aim/Purpose: This article examines how learning activities draw on resources in the work context to learn.

Background:	The background is that if knowledge no longer is seen mainly as objects, but processes, how then to understand boundary objects? Our field study of learning activities reveals the use of pictures, documents and emotions for learning in the geographically distributed Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority

Methodology: The study is a qualitative study consisting of interview data, observation data, and documents.
Contribution	Contribute to practice based theorizing.

Findings: Three ideal types of representing practices have been identified, i.e., ‘Visualizing’, ‘Documenting’ and ‘Testing’. All three are combined with storytelling, sensing, reflections and sensemaking, which point at the importance of processes in learning. The article also add insights about how emotions can be an important resource for boundary spanning – and sensemaking – by creating the capability of reflecting upon and integrating different knowledge areas in the in- practice context.

Recommendations for Practitioners	: Look for boundary objects within your field to promote online learning.

Recommendation for Researchers:	Study boundary objects in work context to understand learning.
Impact on Society	Role of objects in human learning.

Future Research: Focus on how emotions can be used for online learning.