ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
The Role of Program Notes in Nonmusicians&apos; Enjoyment of Choral Music
Author: Parrott, Samuel M.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Singing,Audiences,Programs,Printed Materials,Listening,Undergraduate Students,Student Surveys,Guides,Program Effectiveness,Statistical Analysis

Many attendees of live classical music concerts are experiencing programmed music for the first time and some are unfamiliar with the performance genre itself, particularly if their backgrounds do not include formal music training. Because listeners are less likely to enjoy music they are hearing for the first time, it could be beneficial for performing musicians to maximize all other factors within their control that may enhance their audience's experience. By programming effectively and providing supplementary information about the pieces being performed in program notes, they may facilitate more positive responses from the audience. Although program notes are commonly included in concert programs created for formal music performances, relatively few studies have examined whether providing listeners with these detailed notes affects their enjoyment of unfamiliar music, and the results of this work are somewhat unclear and inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to determine whether program notes that include the text of unfamiliar choral pieces would affect nonmusicians' listening enjoyment, and to determine whether such effects would vary depending on the compositional complexity of the music heard. Eighteen participants (N=269, male=62, 2 abstained) were undergraduate students between the ages of 18-35 (M=20.22, 61 abstained) enrolled in nine sections of music classes for nonmusic majors at Texas State University (e.g., general music methods for elementary education majors). Participants voluntarily completed a survey distributed during a regular class meeting that required them to read program notes, listen to a prepared recording of three choral works, and rate how much they enjoyed listening to the music. These data suggest that providing program notes containing composed text may have no discernable effect on the extent to which nonmusicians enjoy listening to unfamiliar choral music.
Communication Research in Spain: Weaknesses, Threats, Strengths and Opportunities
Author: Caffarel, Carmen
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Communication Research,Foreign Countries,Research Methodology,Comparative Analysis,Social Science Research,Humanities,Strategic Planning,Mixed Methods Research,College Students,Student Research,Research Projects,Doctoral Dissertations,Gender Differences,Surveys

This article presents the methodological strategies, results and a critical analysis of the national research project MapCom &quot;The Research Sphere on Communication Studies Social Practices, Map of Projects, Groups, Research Objects and Methods&quot;. We present the results obtained within the first two phases of the research project. The complete sample of objects for analysis was selected within this time span, all doctoral research and research projects were included. We performed a specific analysis of descriptive variables associated to gender, objects of study, funding, more present methodologies, as well as a comparative analysis between research projects and doctoral theses from a perspective of the objects of study and the methodologies implemented. We contextualize the work with a comparative analysis of research in Social Science and Humanities in the same period analysed in Spain. We performed an analysis of the weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities which were detected within the analysis, and we propose recommendations aimed at developing a &quot;Strategic Action Plan for Competitive Research in Communication&quot;. The analysis of this research concludes with the observation of similarities between the objects of study, but also of the differences between the objectives of the investigations when we compare doctoral theses and research projects in the analysed period. We also carried out a comparative analysis of the 12 most relevant universities in Spain, in order to identify differences, similarities and research patterns in research teams or groups, associate doctoral programs and universities.
The 21st Century Elementary Music Classroom and the Digital Music Curriculum: A Synergism of Technology and Traditional Pedagogy
Author: Murillo, Robert E.
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Music Education,Elementary School Students,Technology Uses in Education,Curriculum Development,Music Teachers,Teacher Attitudes,Elementary School Teachers,Teacher Surveys,Teaching Methods,Outcomes of Education,Instructional Effectiveness,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions about the viability and benefit of using a digital music curriculum in the elementary music classroom. A survey was created that focused on three leading digital curricula providers: PK-5/8: &quot;Quaver's Marvelous World of Music®&quot;, &quot;MusicPlay Online®&quot; by Themes and Variations, and Silver Burdett's &quot;Interactive Music®&quot; by Pearson and Alfred. An online survey created in Google Forms was emailed in November 2016 and, again, in January 2017 to over 400 Texas elementary music educators that subscribed to digital curricula in and around Dallas, Houston, and Fort Worth. The survey consisted of three sections: 1) General Information of Educator (5 questions), 2) School and Classroom Information (3 questions), and 3) Digital Music Curriculum and Resources (14 questions). The final section allowed participants to provide further feedback about their prescribed digital curriculum. The survey took between 4 and 7 minutes to complete. Music educators believe that the digital music curriculum is a viable method of instruction in classrooms, benefiting their instruction and their students' learning, as there was an overall 71.9% of regular usage and a reported 73.3% of improvement of student and teacher performance. Additionally, the data reflected alignment with both music education standards (95.8%) and traditional methodology (84.7%). Participants in this study viewed the online digital music curriculum as viable for the music program and beneficial to the classroom.
Cyberbullying and Problematic Internet Use in Colombia, Uruguay and Spain: Cross-Cultural Study
Author: Yudes-Gómez, Carolina
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Bullying,Internet,Cross Cultural Studies,Victims,Aggression,Questionnaires,Student Surveys,Comparative Analysis,Incidence,Profiles,Computer Mediated Communication,Computer Use

The goal of this cross-cultural study was to analyze and compare the cybervictimization and cyberaggression scores, and the problematic Internet use between Spain, Colombia and Uruguay. Despite cultural similarities between the Spanish and the South American contexts, there are few empirical studies that have comparatively examined this issue. The study sample consisted of 2,653 subjects aged 10-18 years. Data was collected through the cyberbullying questionnaire and the Spanish version of the &quot;Revised generalized and problematic Internet use scale&quot;. Results showed a higher prevalence of minor cyberbullying behavior in Spain between 10-14 years. In the three countries compared, there was a higher prevalence of two types of bystanders: the defender of the victim and the outsider, although in Colombia there were more profiles of assistant to the bully. Regarding the problematic use of the Internet, there were not differences between the three countries. We provide evidence on the relationship between cybervictimization and cyberaggression and problematic use of the Internet. The dimensions of compulsive use and regulation of mood are the best predictors of cyberbullying. We discuss our results in relation to the possible normalization of violence and its lack of recognition as such.
Modelling the Determinants of Effective Online Tutoring Programs
Author: Sembiring, Maximus Gorky
Date: 2018-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Tutorial Programs,Online Courses,Electronic Learning,Performance Factors,Questionnaires,Structural Equation Models,Student Surveys,Preferences,Design Requirements,Predictor Variables,Likert Scales,Mixed Methods Research,Student Characteristics,Instructional Effectiveness,Student Attitudes,College Students,Foreign Countries

Determinants of effective online tutoring program were modelled and elucidated in this report. It was aimed at clarifying influential factors, how and in what behaviors they were interrelated observed by Universitas Terbuka students. Exploratory-design was adopted; it was qualitatively ascertained first that conceptually five foremost factors involved. They were operationally instigated as: perception of technology, rational for using Internet, perception of media support; tutor learning strategy; effective online tutoring support. Quantitatively, they were independent, moderating and dependent variables respectively. Instruments in the form of list of queries and questionnaires for qualitative and quantitative purposes respectively were elaborated related to those five variables involved. Respondents were proportionally selected by distributing 600 questionnaires to 5,500 students under scholarship scheme, 283 were finally completed. Seven out of nine hypotheses established were validated using structural-equation model (SEM). It was detected that effective online tutorial was influenced by tutor learning strategy followed by rational for using Internet and perception of technology. Tutor strategy was influenced by rational using Internet and perception of technology. Perceptions of technology and media support were influenced by rational using Internet. Inattentively, qualitative approach was improperly verified by quantitative, since effective tutoring and tutor strategy were not influenced by media perception.
Accounting Education in an Open Distance Learning Environment: Case Studies for Pervasive Skills Enhancement
Author: Reyneke, Yolande
Date: 2018-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Accounting,Business Administration Education,College Students,Open Education,Distance Education,Skill Development,Foreign Countries,Qualitative Research,College Faculty,Developing Nations,Case Method (Teaching Technique),Structured Interviews

Distance learning institutions allow access to many students who do not enjoy the luxury of studying fulltime at contact-based universities by providing flexibility in terms of time, space and finances. Globally, accountants are vital for the economy and it is important that higher education institutions empower them with the necessary skills to face the volatile working environment. Equipping accounting students with only discipline-specific knowledge, does not result in practice-ready accountants, which cause great concern for professional accounting bodies as well as employers. Pervasive skills are soft skills, also sometimes referred to as personal attributes allowing effective interaction between people. Using case studies to develop pervasive skills in accounting education, specifically in Open Distance Learning (ODL) institutions, is regarded as a fairly unexplored area. A qualitative research approach was followed whereby interviews were conducted with management members of the College of Accounting Sciences (CAS) at the University of South Africa (UNISA). The interviews provided insight into how ODL accounting educators in a developing country perceived the need to introduce a case study-based module to develop pervasive skills. It is recommended that the training of distance education accounting students should be adapted to include case studies for pervasive skills development.
Automated Quality Assurance of Educational Testing
Author: Doneva, Rositsa
Date: 2018-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Testing,Automation,Quality Assurance,Computer Assisted Testing,Computer Software,Statistical Analysis

This paper presents a study on known approaches for quality assurance of educational test and test items. On its basis a comprehensive approach to the quality assurance of online educational testing is proposed to address the needs of all stakeholders (authors of online tests, teachers, students, experts, quality managers, etc.). According to the proposed approach is developed an original software application Test Quality Evaluation (TQE) for the automation of the stakeholders' activities for quality assurance of educational tests throughout the whole lifecycle. The application retrieves and provides analysis of data from online tests conducted and specially designed surveys for quality evaluation of educational tests by students and experts. It allows tracking and evaluating the quality of educational tests in real time and provides the related quantitative data in different levels of generalization--in the level of a separate educational test, of educational tests of an entire course, or educational tests of a subject area. The software application has been put under real-time testing for quality evaluation of educational tests, included in e-learning courses from different subject areas that prove its applicability.
Digital Device Ownership and Learning Environment Preferences of Students in South Africa and Ghana
Author: Kafui Aheto, Simon-Peter
Date: 2018-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Ownership,Access to Computers,Preferences,Design,College Students,Laptop Computers,Handheld Devices,Telecommunications,Computer Centers,Academic Achievement,Student Attitudes,Statistical Analysis,Library Services,Management Systems,Blended Learning,Instructional Design,Gender Differences,Information Technology,Questionnaires

This paper explores differences in access to technology and configuration of preferences for learning environments among design students in two universities of technology in South Africa (ISA) and Ghana (IG). Laptops and Smartphones ownership influenced and supported design students' learning. In IG, there was a 97% Laptop ownership as against 69% in ISA. IG does not have computer laboratories; hence Laptop ownership is a prerequirement for Design programs. Oppositely, ISA has fourteen computer laboratories for Design programs. There is no statistically significant difference between male and female design students in their choice of learning environments for academic success. Design students are not enthusiastic about accessing library resources via handheld devices. Towards academic success, students ranked low, their institutions' Learning Management Systems. We recommend a blended approach when designing learning environments for Design Education, while promoting the use of media platforms for content management due to device ownership among students.
The Role of Student Support Services in Enhancing Student Persistence in the Open University Context: Lesson from Indonesia Open University
Author: Arifin, Muhammad Husni
Date: 2018-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Open Universities,Academic Support Services,Academic Persistence,Mixed Methods Research,Semi Structured Interviews,Student Surveys,Distance Education,Enrollment Trends,Gender Differences,Educational Quality,Learning Modules,Teacher Effectiveness,School Registration,Student Personnel Services,Student Satisfaction

The high number of non-enrolment students had decreased the retention rates in the Indonesia Open University. Prior studies revealed that student support had a pivotal role in enhancing student persistence. Therefore, this study was aimed to explore contribution of student support in increasing student persistence by employing mixed methods approach. Student persistence in this study refers to continuation of enrolment within four consecutive semesters. This study used sequential explanatory design by collecting the quantitative data from surveying 153 students and then followed by semi-structured interviews with 13 purposefully selected participants. In the quantitative phase, the results of the study revealed that student support had important contribution to student persistence. Meanwhile, the qualitative findings supported the survey results that student support had a pivotal role in influencing student persistence. Moreover, this study suggested the improvement of student support at the level of affective, cognitive, and systemic in order to enhance student persistence.
Mooc-Based Curriculum Model Validation in Higher Education in Iran
Author: Jafari, Esmaeil
Date: 2018-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Online Courses,Curriculum Design,Curriculum Development,Models,Program Validation,Higher Education,Educational Technology,Specialists,College Faculty,Graduate Students,Semi Structured Interviews,Questionnaires,Correlation,Instructional Design,Teacher Surveys,Student Surveys,Qualitative Research,Grounded Theory,Statistical Analysis,Structural Equation Models

The aim of this study is to validate MOOC-based curriculum in higher education in Iran. The research method is mixed and of exploratory type. Method of grounded theory is used in the qualitative section and the Validation Test Pattern among the faculties and PhD students of Tehran's Universities is considered in the quantitative part. The statistical population of the qualitative section include 14 experts in educational technology and the quantitative section include 214 members of the faculties and PhD students of Tehran's Universities who were chosen by Stratified random sampling. To collect data, we used semi-structured interview in the qualitative section and scholar's questionnaire in the quantitative part. Results show that there are 28 general issues in paradigmatic model is obtained which included Terms of cause, Central phenomenon, Underlying conditions, Confounding conditions, Strategies and Implications that reflected effective factor in MOOC-based Curricula in higher education.
Are Free Internet Technologies and Services the Future of Synchronous Distance Learning?
Author: Kotevski, Zoran
Date: 2018-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Internet,Access to Information,Distance Education,Synchronous Communication,Information Technology,Program Implementation,Technology Uses in Education,Learning Experience,Courseware,Educational Technology,Educational Trends,Influence of Technology,Foreign Countries,College Students

Distance education is not a new paradigm, but the latest ways it can be delivered certainly are. In the past couple of decades, the distance learning implementations were mostly realized using videoconferencing technologies and/or learning management systems. Recently, various Internet collaboration services have gained enormous popularity in all areas of human living, especially in distance learning, where many of them are offered free of charge. In this paper we elaborate the deployment of a synchronous distance lecturing solution based on free audioconferencing and screen sharing networking technologies, and we discuss the benefits gained in the context of cost, functionalities, effectiveness and users' satisfaction. The experiences after three semesters of use indicate that this alternative approach provides quite valuable means for effective implementation of distance learning, where the students appeared to be highly satisfied by the possibilities and functionalities that the system offers.
MOOCs: Innovation or Stagnation?
Author: Pilli, Olga
Date: 2018-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Online Courses,Large Group Instruction,Educational Innovation,Educational Benefits,Research Methodology,Access to Education,Lifelong Learning,Reputation,Dropout Rate,Educational Quality,Barriers,Instructional Effectiveness,Nontraditional Education,Cooperative Learning,Higher Education,Communities of Practice,Sustainability,Credibility,Literature Reviews

Issues of the phenomenon of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and its integration into current online and campus education to enhance higher education quality in universities is gaining importance. This large scale form of online education has the potential to escalate the reputations of universities and increase the global access to their institutions. However, the design and implementation of MOOCs is not easy. Thus, many higher education institutions take time for careful consideration before running them. Otherwise, this new online learning phenomenon, which is also called disruptive innovation, might cause some unintended negative economical and reputational results. This study aimed to examine the strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats of MOOCs in higher education. The data from the document analysis was examined by SWOT method to put insights on MOOCs internal and external standing. The electronic data including books, research reports, conference papers, journal articles, blog posts, discussion boards, and web forms were considered as a sample of the study. The findings show that accessibility, lifelong learning and brand extensions are some of the strengths of MOOCs, whereas dropout rates, poor pedagogy and low-quality assessments are major barriers for their effectiveness. Alternative education and collaborative learning are some of the outstanding opportunities MOOCs present, which worth the efforts to create more democratic and innovative higher education. Results indicated that it is worth to explore the ways to improve the completion rates, weak pedagogical structure, degree provision, quality insurance and assessment as well as to discover the needs of new generation in online learning.
Classroom Assessment Practices of Teachers in Turkey
Author: Acar-Erdol, Tuba
Date: 2018-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Classroom Techniques,Educational Practices,Student Evaluation,Teacher Surveys,Alternative Assessment,Measurement Objectives,Evaluation Methods,Performance Factors,Elementary Secondary Education,Mixed Methods Research,Classroom Observation Techniques

Knowing assessment practices of teachers and improving in this direction is important in increasing students' learning and demonstrating their performance. In this research, the aim was to identify the classroom assessment practices used by primary, secondary and high school teachers. Survey and observation form were used to collect the data for the research. The study group consisted of 288 teachers. From the results of the research, it has been concluded that teachers had adopted an approach of assessment for learning for the purpose of making the assessment. Teachers have used largely traditional assessment methods in classroom assessment practices. Teachers identified the main factor influencing classroom assessment processes as student characteristics, but it was discovered that they did not reflect this situation in their practices. It is suggested that teachers use alternative assessment methods that center on student self-assessments and the diversity in the assessment methods to be increased to ensure fairness.