Peer review of assessment network: supporting comparability of standards

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Booth ◽  
Jeff Beckett ◽  
Cassandra Saunders

Purpose – This paper aims to test the need in the Australian higher education (HE) sector for a national network for the peer review of assessment in response to the proposed HE standards framework and propose a sector-wide framework for calibrating and assuring achievement standards, both within and across disciplines, through the establishment of a peer review of assessment network (PRAN). Design/methodology/approach – This study used a “proof of concept”approach to test the need for a national network, using consultations (n = 67) which included teleconference meetings [39], face-to-face meetings [2], Skype [1], presentations [19], state-based workshops [6] and a national forum. Quantitative data from evaluation surveys from state-based workshops and national forum were computer-analysed to generate descriptive statistics. Qualitative data arising from open-ended questionnaire responses were analysed through progressive categorisation and data coding designed to identify and refine data themes. Findings – In all, 63 per cent of participants to the state-based workshops were satisfied with the workshop content. A further 29 per cent reported a high level of satisfaction. The interactive group discussions fostered a collaborative approach and facilitated engagement with the workshop content. A total of 58 per cent of participants to the national forum were satisfied with the forum, with a further 40 per cent reporting a high level of satisfaction. Participants indicated that presentation content was informative and covered a diverse range of topics and viewpoints highly relevant to the current clime across the HE sector. Practical implications – Many participants strongly supported the establishment of a national PRAN, with overwhelming support (88 per cent) for the forum to be made an annual event. Originality/value – This study contributes to existing literature and provides further evidence for the value of networks in the peer review of assessment to support academics in professional learning and calibration exercises.

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-148
Author(s):  
Raminta Jokubauskienė ◽  
Rimgailė Vaitkienė

Purpose This paper aims to reveal the expression and specificity of customer knowledge integration in the open innovation process in the health-tech sector. Design/methodology/approach The collection method of data for this research is hermeneutic interview with top management or employees, which are directly responsible for innovation development in the organization. Only innovative organizations, which act in the health-tech sector and have high level of knowledge intensity, were selected. Interviews with ten organizations had reached saturation of data. Data coding and analysis was conducted by using MAXQDA 18. Findings The results showed that customer knowledge integration research mechanisms depend on different markets and open innovation process in the health-tech sector. Practical implications The results of research increase understanding and ability to integrate customer knowledge more effectively in the open innovation process in the organizations. Following it, organizations become more flexible and gain sustainable competitive advantage. Originality/value Open innovation development is intensive knowledge activity that requires continuous knowledge updating. The success of open innovation with customers requires effective utilization and adaptation of customer knowledge which is the result of customer knowledge integration in the open innovation process. Scientific literature identifies different mechanisms that help to integrate knowledge successfully. However, these mechanisms are common for all kinds of knowledge. Therefore, this research was focused on looking into the specificity of the context of customer knowledge because it is the most complicated kind of all knowledge.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 566-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greta Kliewer ◽  
Amalia Monroe-Gulick ◽  
Stephanie Gamble ◽  
Erik Radio

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to observe how undergraduate students approach open-ended searching for a research assignment, specifically as it affected their use of the discovery interface Primo. Design/methodology/approach In total, 30 undergraduate students were provided with a sample research assignment and instructed to find resources for it using web tools of their choice, followed by the Primo discovery tool. Students were observed for 30 minutes. A survey was provided at the end to solicit additional feedback. Sources students found were evaluated for relevance and utility. Findings Students expressed a high level of satisfaction with Primo despite some difficulty navigating through more complicated tasks. Despite their interest in the tool and previous exposure to it, it was usually not the first discovery tool students used when given the research assignment. Students approached the open-ended search environment much like they would with a commercial search engine. Originality/value This paper focused on an open-ended search environment as opposed to a known-item scenario in order to assess students’ preferences for web search tools and how a library discovery layer such as Primo was a part of that situation. Evaluation of the resources students found relevant were also analyzed to determine to what degree the students understood the level of quality they exhibited and from which tool they were obtained.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Bassi

Purpose The purpose of the paper is the analysis of the evolution of students’ satisfaction over time in a large Italian university and the effects on it because of some characteristics of the teachers: didactic practices, beliefs and needs with regard to teaching and learning. Design/methodology/approach The first step of the analysis identifies a latent construct, measured with items composing the questionnaire, and proposes a reduced set of indicators to measure satisfaction and to model its evolution over time (information collected in three consecutive academic years is available). A second step clusters teachers in homogenous groups with reference to their opinions, beliefs and needs, collected with a new survey conducted at the University of Padova, with the aim of developing strategies to support academic teachers. Then, a mixture conditional latent growth model is estimated with covariates affecting the latent parameters and class membership. Findings Model estimation identifies a large group of university courses with a high level of satisfaction, which stays constant over time, and a small group of problematic courses with low satisfaction, moreover, that decreases over the three considered academic years. Interesting significant effects of covariates related to both the teacher and the didactic activity are estimated. Originality/value Statistical analyses show that the implementation of innovative didactic practices and commitment to quality of teaching are important factors to be encouraged by the university management. On the contrary, the traditionalist way of teaching and a low passion for teaching do not improve students’ satisfaction.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 495-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Hu

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of an integration programme on service users from users’ own perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Multi-method approach was used. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis were employed to uncover and examine service users’ views of the impact of the integration programme. Findings – An improvement in the physical functioning of one in three occupational equipment users; a rise in the level of satisfaction of 85 per cent of occupational health and 82 per cent of physiotherapy users; older people with complex problems and high-level needs were able to be helped to live at home; and waiting times for both assessment and for services within two weeks and four weeks were below the national achievement and ministerial targets. The impact of the integration programme on users was complex. Positive outcomes were achieved for some user groups and individuals but not for others. A lack of change outcomes in social care, and service users’ low level of satisfaction with social care services appears to be associated with the impact of agency work and the predominant aim in social work of achieving maintenance and prevention outcomes. Originality/value – This paper contributes to knowledge on what and how the total integration in Cambridgeshire has benefited users.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Parul Gill ◽  
Poonam Malik ◽  
Pankaj Gill

The present study was undertaken to explore the decision making patterns of college girls in relation to clothing and their satisfaction level with these decision making patterns. Thirty under graduate college girls from Panipat city were approached to record their responses regarding decision making in relation to clothing and satisfaction level through a well structured questionnaire. It was found that most of the girls (56.66%) themselves made the decisions about the type of garment (Indian, western or both) they wear and majority of girls (70%) were highly satisfied with this decision making. Parents performed the role of buyers for their college going daughters' garments in most of the cases (63.33%) and the 73.33% girls had high level of satisfaction with this. In most of the cases (60%) the decision about the garment design was made by the girls themselves and they were highly satisfied with it. Keywords: clothing, college, girls, decision making.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-49
Author(s):  
Ajat Sudrajat

Patient satisfaction at the hospital is a benchmark that is a benchmark for patients in getting health care. Each hospital must run a variety of strategies so that patients feel satisfied with health services, one of the strategies is through a good corporate image and trust, where a good corporate image can increase trust. So that affecting patient satisfaction Mitra Medika Narom Hospital Kabupaten Bekasi.             This research was conducted with descriptive and verification methods, namely knowing, analyzing, explaining and testing hypotheses, and making conclusions and suggestions. The sample in this study amounted to 240 respondents using the Eksplanary Survey method. Data analysis techniques used are ordinal scale techniques and path analysis using the Method of Successive Interval (MSI) tool, Microsoft Excel 2016 computer programs and SPSS 16.             The results of this study reveal that the company's image at the Mitra Medika Narom Hospital in Kabupaten Bekasi is in the agreed criteria, meaning that Mitra Medika Narom Hospital has built and made a good company image so that it is better known to all people. Furthermore, trust in Mitra Medika Narom Hospital in Kabupaten Bekasi is in the agreed criteria, meaning that Mitra Medika Narom Hospital has succeeded in building a good and optimal Trust so that patients trust Mitra Medika Narom Hospital to obtain health services. Then the patient satisfaction at the Mitra Medika Narom Hospital in Kabupaten Bekasi is in the agreed criteria, meaning that the patients as respondents feel a high level of satisfaction after completing treatment at the Mitra Medika Narom Hospital. There is a positive, strong and two-way correlation between company image and trust variables of 0.646. There is a partial influence of company image on patient satisfaction at Mitra Medika Narom Hospital significantly by 11.98%. There is a partial influence of trust on patient satisfaction at Mitra Medika Narom Hospital significantly by 25.08%. Then there is a simultan influence of corporate image and trust on patient satisfaction at Mitra Medika Narom Hospital positively and significantly by 37.06% while the remaining 62.94% is contributed by other variables not examined


2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 1153-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yafei Deng ◽  
Xiaotao Pan ◽  
Guoxun Zeng ◽  
Jie Liu ◽  
Sinong Xiao ◽  
...  

Purpose This paper aims to improve the tribological properties of aluminum alloys and reduce their wear rate. Design/methodology/approach Carbon is placed in the model at room temperature, pour 680°C of molten aluminum into the pressure chamber, and then pressed it into the mold containing carbon felt through a die casting machine, and waited for it to cool, which used an injection pressure of 52.8 MPa and held the same pressure for 15 s. Findings The result indicated that the mechanical properties of matrix and composite are similar, and the compressive strength of the composite is only 95% of the matrix alloy. However, the composite showed a low friction coefficient, the friction coefficient of Gr/Al composite is only 0.15, which just is two-third than that of the matrix alloy. Similarly, the wear rate of the composite is less than 4% of the matrix. In addition, the composite can avoid severe wear before 200°C, but the matrix alloy only 100°C. Originality/value This material has excellent friction properties and is able to maintain this excellent performance at high temperatures. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-10-2019-0454/


2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. e01948-20
Author(s):  
Dalin Rifat ◽  
Si-Yang Li ◽  
Thomas Ioerger ◽  
Keshav Shah ◽  
Jean-Philippe Lanoix ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe nitroimidazole prodrugs delamanid and pretomanid comprise one of only two new antimicrobial classes approved to treat tuberculosis (TB) in 50 years. Prior in vitro studies suggest a relatively low barrier to nitroimidazole resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but clinical evidence is limited to date. We selected pretomanid-resistant M. tuberculosis mutants in two mouse models of TB using a range of pretomanid doses. The frequency of spontaneous resistance was approximately 10−5 CFU. Whole-genome sequencing of 161 resistant isolates from 47 mice revealed 99 unique mutations, of which 91% occurred in 1 of 5 genes previously associated with nitroimidazole activation and resistance, namely, fbiC (56%), fbiA (15%), ddn (12%), fgd (4%), and fbiB (4%). Nearly all mutations were unique to a single mouse and not previously identified. The remaining 9% of resistant mutants harbored mutations in Rv2983 (fbiD), a gene not previously associated with nitroimidazole resistance but recently shown to be a guanylyltransferase necessary for cofactor F420 synthesis. Most mutants exhibited high-level resistance to pretomanid and delamanid, although Rv2983 and fbiB mutants exhibited high-level pretomanid resistance but relatively small changes in delamanid susceptibility. Complementing an Rv2983 mutant with wild-type Rv2983 restored susceptibility to pretomanid and delamanid. By quantifying intracellular F420 and its precursor Fo in overexpressing and loss-of-function mutants, we provide further evidence that Rv2983 is necessary for F420 biosynthesis. Finally, Rv2983 mutants and other F420H2-deficient mutants displayed hypersusceptibility to some antibiotics and to concentrations of malachite green found in solid media used to isolate and propagate mycobacteria from clinical samples.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 599-617
Author(s):  
Fernando Bermejo ◽  
Eladio Febrero ◽  
Andre Fernandes Tomon Avelino

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to provide broader understanding of the significant role that the pension system has in the Spanish economy by estimating the sectoral production, employment and income sustained by pensioners' consumption.Design/methodology/approachBased on input–output tables by the World Input–Output Database and consumption data from the Household Budget Survey by the Spanish Statistical Office, a demoeconomic model is applied to quantify the direct impacts, indirect impacts from interindustry links and induced impacts from income–consumption connections over a nine-year period (2006–2014). Then, the factors driving the evolution of total output, employment and value added during such period have been examined by using structural decomposition analysis.FindingsThe growing participation of consumption by pensioner households in final demand had proven crucial during the 2008 crisis to alleviate the negative trend in production and employment derived from the collapse in consumption suffered by the rest of households.Practical implicationsDetermining the underlying factors driving changes in both employment and income during the 2008 crisis can be of interest in political decision-making on the sustainability of the Spanish pension system.Social implicationsThe results of estimating both the employment and income supported by pensioners' consumption reveal the significant stabilizing effect of the public spending on pensions, particularly during the 2008 crisis.Originality/valueThe current Spanish approach of attaining the pension system sustainability by merely reducing social protection costs ignores the adverse consequences of a lower pensioners' demand. This paper addresses an alternative view in which pension spending is not considered a burden on economic growth but rather a means of improving the level of production and employment.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2019-0047


2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 376-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Huguet ◽  
Caitlin C. Farrell ◽  
Julie A. Marsh

Purpose The use of data for instructional improvement is prevalent in today’s educational landscape, yet policies calling for data use may result in significant variation at the school level. The purpose of this paper is to focus on tools and routines as mechanisms of principal influence on data-use professional learning communities (PLCs). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a comparative case study of two low-income, low-performing schools in one district. The data set included interview and focus group transcripts, observation field notes and documents, and was iteratively coded. Findings The two principals in the study employed tools and routines differently to influence ways that teachers interacted with data in their PLCs. Teachers who were given leeway to co-construct data-use tools found them to be more beneficial to their work. Findings also suggest that teachers’ data use may benefit from more flexibility in their day-to-day PLC routines. Research limitations/implications Closer examination of how tools are designed and time is spent in data-use PLCs may help the authors further understand the influence of the principal’s role. Originality/value Previous research has demonstrated that data use can improve teacher instruction, yet the varied implementation of data-use PLCs in this district illustrates that not all students have an equal opportunity to learn from teachers who meaningfully engage with data.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document