scholarly journals Textbook Evaluation: A Case Study of Cutting Edge

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1021-1033
Author(s):  
Mohd Nazim

This paper, in deviation from the traditional practices of textbook evaluation, reports the faculty members’ evaluation of Cutting Edge, Student Book, KSA Third Edition Intermediate Level, by Sarah Cunningham & Peter Moor, published by Pearson 2013 in terms of Language Development Skills, in general, and, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Grammar & Vocabulary, and Style & Appropriacy in particular. 20 EFL teachers participated in this mixed method approach of study who work at the Department of English Skills, Preparatory Year, Najran University, Saudi Arabia. A google form questionnaire, consisted of 57 numerically rated items & open-ended questions under 7 domains, was created to elicit faculty members’ responses. The validity of the questionnaire was examined by a group of experts in the textbook evaluation and content analysis. The analysis indicates that the respondents evaluated the textbook contents positively and the majority viewed them mostly suitable in terms of language skills, usage, and appropriacy. However, the researcher, based on the adverse comments like video material for listening, lack of specific strategies for conversation or other spoken activities, and hardly distinction between active and passive vocabulary under listening, speaking and grammar & vocabulary domains, suggests that a latest EFL commercial textbook or series be reviewed which, potentially, will cover the space. To conclude, the researcher recommends developing authentic materials that are tailored to the needs and interests of the learners.

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. bjgp20X711569
Author(s):  
Jessica Wyatt Muscat

BackgroundCommunity multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) represent a model of integrated care comprising health, social care, and the voluntary sector where members work collaboratively to coordinate care for those patients most at risk.AimThe evaluation will answer the question, ‘What are the enablers and what are the restrictors to the embedding of the case study MDT into the routine practice of the health and social care teams involved in the project?’MethodThe MDT was evaluated using a mixed-method approach with normalisation process theory as a methodological tool. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through a questionnaire consisting of the NoMAD survey followed by free-form questions.ResultsThe concepts of the MDT were generally clear, and participants could see the potential benefits of the programme, though this was found to be lower in GPs. Certain professionals, particularly mental health and nursing professionals, found it difficult to integrate the MDT into normal working patterns because of a lack of resources. Participants also felt there was a lack of training for MDT working. A lack of awareness of evidence supporting the programme was shown particularly within management, GP, and nursing roles.ConclusionSpecific recommendations have been made in order to improve the MDT under evaluation. These include adjustments to IT systems and meeting documentation, continued education as to the purpose of the MDT, and the engagement of GPs to enable better buy-in. Recommendations were made to focus the agenda with specialist attendance when necessary, and to expand the MDT remit, particularly in mental health and geriatrics.


2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Dunning ◽  
Allison Williams ◽  
Sylvia Abonyi ◽  
Valorie Crooks

Erdkunde ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 323-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Jajtić ◽  
Valentina Galijan ◽  
Ivana Žafran ◽  
Marin Cvitanović

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsi Manninen

This article presents a method for costume design, where empathy and embodiment are used as methodological choices by the designer in the character-creation process. In creating references for the sketching process, costume designers combine photos in which they portray themselves as the character that they imagine. These role-selfies, taken with a handheld tablet, work as starting points for the sketching procedure. The material for the present study is collected from MA costume design students who participated in digital character-creation courses at Aalto University, in Helsinki, Finland, and is a part of doctoral research by the author. The data are collected through a mixed-method approach and is organized as a case study investigating the experiences of using the body as a source for costume design. The research question in this study is as follows: does an awareness of one’s own body facilitate the sketching process? The initial results show that the research participants consider the method useful because it enables them to experience a stronger bodily connection with the digital medium, the imagined design and the emerging character in the costume sketching process. Hence, the findings of this study can be used to develop design and teaching practices not only in the field of costume design but also in other design processes involving character creation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miranda Feasey

This Major Research Paper investigates Street Voices Magazine as an instrument and communications tool to engage and empower street youth in Toronto. The following questions guided my study: What are the ways in which Street Voices Magazine gives voice to the marginalized and silenced? Why is Street Voices Magazine an appropriate medium for connecting with street youth? A mixed-method approach was used to analyze the texts and images in three issues of the magazine to determine the effectiveness of the print medium, what these texts and images suggest about the motivations of the contributors, and whether the magazine meets its objective of serving street youth. The study suggests that the transformative potential of the arts, the role of the magazine in fostering in the contributors the identity of an artist, and the lack of other spaces for expression are significant themes that underpin Street Voices Magazine’s appeal and effectiveness. The study also leads to suggestions for further research, which could improve an understanding of this diverse demographic and confirm the impact of Street Voices Magazine.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Ramon ◽  
Richard Haynes

Through a mixed-method approach, we examine the sports programming offered by BBC ALBA between 2008 and 2016 and identify the value that the channel creates in Scotland through its diverse sports portfolio. In an increasingly cluttered and complex scenario where pay-TV giants Sky and BT hold a plethora of top-tier rights and BBC Scotland and STV cannot fit more sport into their schedules, BBC ALBA serves Gaelic-speaking and national audiences with a regular diet of quality sports programming. Beyond being instrumental to filling schedules, sports content has been a gateway for Gaelic, a key driver of BBC ALBA’s investment in the creative sector and a contributor to the development of grassroots sport in Scotland. However, the financial situation under which the channel operates makes it very difficult to sustain and improve its current position. This case study demonstrates that sport broadcasting offers genuine opportunities to maintain linguistic and cultural diversity in small nations, even in a context characterized by escalating competition, dwindling resources, and the proliferation of multiple viewing portals.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Graham ◽  
Rashid Mehmood ◽  
Eve Coles

Purpose – The purpose of this technical viewpoint is to provide a commentary of how we went about using logistics prototyping as a method to engage citizens, science fiction (SF) writers and small- to medium- sized enterprises (SME’s). Six urban logistic prototypes built on the themes of future cities, community resilience and urban supply chain management (SCM) are summarized, together with details of the data collection procedure and the methodological challenges encountered. Our investigation aimed to explore the potential of logistics prototyping to develop “user-driven” and “SME” approaches to future city design and urban supply chain decision-making. Design/methodology/approach – This Boston field experiment was a case study investigation conducted between May and August 2013. Qualitative data was collected using a “mixed-method” approach combining together focus groups (MIT faculty), scenarios, prototyping workshops, interviews and document analysis. These story-creators could use the prototype method as a way of testing their hypotheses, theories and constrained speculations with regard to specified future city and urban supply chain scenarios. Findings – This viewpoint suggests that the prototyping method allows for unique individual perspectives on future city planning and urban supply chain design. This work also attempts to demonstrate that prototyping can create sufficiently cogent environments for future city and urban SCM theories to be both detected and analysed therein. Although this is an experimental field of the SCM theory building, more conventional theories could also be “tested” in the same manner. Research limitations/implications – By embedding logistics prototyping within a mixed method approach, we might be criticized as constraining its capability to map out the future – that its potential to be flexible and imaginative are held back by the equal weighting given to the more conventional component. In basing our case study within one city then this might be seen as limiting the complexity of the empirical context – however, the situation within different cities is inherently complex. Case studies also attract criticism on the grounds of not being representative; in this situation, they might be criticized as imperfect indicators of what transpires in other situations. However, this technical viewpoint suggests that in spite of its limitations, prototyping facilitates an imaginative and creative approach to theory generation and concept building. Practical implications – The methodology allows everyday citizens and SME’s to develop user-driven foresight and planning scenarios with city strategists’ and urban logistic designers. It facilitates much broader stakeholder involvement in city and urban supply chain policymaking, than current “quantitative” approaches. Social implications – Logistics fiction prototyping provides a democratic approach to future city planning and urban supply chain design. It involves collectively imagining socio-technical futures and second-order sociological effects through the writing of SF narratives or building “design fictions”. Originality/value – Decision-making in future cities and urban SCM is often a notable challenge, balancing the varying needs and claims of multiple stakeholders, while negotiating an acceptable trade-off between their competing claims. Engagement with stakeholders and active encouragement of stakeholder participation in the supply chain aspects of future cities is increasingly a feature of twenty-first century social decision-making. This viewpoint suggests that the prototyping method allows for unique individual perspectives on future city planning and urban supply chain design. This work also attempts to demonstrate that prototyping can create sufficiently cogent environments for future city and the urban SCM theories to be both detected and analysed therein. Although this is an experimental field of SCM theory building, more conventional theories could also be “tested” in the same manner.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-228
Author(s):  
Doniazad Sultan Alshraideh

This study aims at analyzing the English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ and teachers’ perception toward the use of online videos in EFL classes. The current study used a mixed method to answer the question of the study which is: What is the perception of EFL learners and teachers toward the use of online videos in EFL classes? It includes both quantitative and qualitative techniques, namely a questionnaire and an interview. To get the required data and to answer the question of the study, the researcher collected information by distributing a relevant questionnaire among 120 EFL Saudi female students who are studying English in their preparatory year “Unified Scientific Track” at Taibah University. Their ages range between 18 to 21 years old. The questionnaire of the study consists of 10 items. For the first nine items, Likert Scale is used to let the respondents range the statements on a five- point scale. The tenth item asks the respondents to rate the usefulness of the online video regarding language skills and other aspects. The researcher also conducted an interview with six EFL teachers who teach English language skills in the English Language Centre (ELC) at Taibah University. The responses of the participants showed that the use of online videos is an effective technique and has a positive influence in EFL classes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard Ahijah Francis

Over the years the development approval process in Jamaica has been criticised by its major stakeholders as being inefficient and costly. It was also seen as a major disincentive in promoting and attracting investment in the Island. In response to the criticisms and investment concerns, successive governments have implemented reforms to improve the process. The purpose of this research is to use the subdivision process in Kingston and St. Andrew as a case study to evaluate the development approval process given these changes, to see if the process has improved. The research uses a mixed method approach to evaluate the process with respect to its effectiveness. The report concludes that the process has improved but is still not meeting the mandated 90 day timeline. The report finishes by making recommendations on how the system can be improved and reformed to meet these time lines.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document