Expectation vs. Reality: A Sentiment Analysis of Students’ Experience on Distance Learning

The landscape of education is changing amidst the coronavirus pandemic, especially in public schools of which students are not used to remote learning. According to the goal theory, there is a relationship between goal difficulty, level of performance and effort. For this reason, this study surfaced the level of expectation, performance and stance of action of students amidst the pandemic. Data were gathered through a survey questionnaire via online using Google Forms. The survey questionnaire composed of the profile of the respondents, rating scale on the level of expectation and perceived performance of the students. The findings reflected the expectation, performance and action plan of the students of which these data can be used as baseline data for planning of programme and activities to help students not feel the difficulty of learning in distance learning. Keywords: Expectation, performance, distance learning, senior high school, sentiments.

Using importance–performance analysis, goal difficulty and the Kano model to prioritize improvements in the quality of home delivery logistics services

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to clarify the quality of home delivery logistics services from the perspectives of customers and provide insight to aid the prioritization of service quality improvements and guide managerial strategic planning.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a three-dimensional model that integrated Kano model, goal difficulty (GD) and importance–performance analysis (IPA) for investigating service quality aspects emphasized by customers and determine which attributes should be prioritized according to an enterprise's resource and capability constraints. Data were collected through questionnaires administered to the customers and managers of five primary home delivery logistics service enterprises and six small to medium-sized enterprises in Taiwan. Improving the quality of home delivery logistics services has become of increased interest for enterprises.FindingsThe three most important attributes, ranked in order of priority for improvement, were the protection of customers' personal information, delivery of products without damage and reasonable compensation standards for product damage. The study concludes that enterprises should prioritize the improvement of these attributes. Implications, detailed explanations and directions for further investigations are also proposed.Originality/valueThe study discusses the importance and relevant satisfaction levels of service quality attributes from the perspective of customers while also considering the limitations of companies' resources and capabilities. The results indicate that the method can be used to identify service quality attributes of home delivery logistics and formulate strategies for enhancing customer satisfaction.

“Many are the plans”: An analysis of goals described by youth ministry leaders

This article examines the content and appraisals of youth ministry leader goals. Responses to an open-ended survey question by 378 leaders primarily working in the United States who held significant responsibility for the discipleship of high school-aged young people in their ministries were coded, resulting in 29 categories of goals. Participants named goals associated with service, relationships in general, relationships with God, biblical/gospel knowledge, and discipleship most frequently. Leaders rated each goal according to factors that contribute to goal achievement and well-being. Appraisals of goal difficulty (“this goal involves challenge”), clarity (“this goal is well-defined”), satisfaction with progress (“this goal is moving forward satisfactorily”), and support (“other leaders and congregants encourage the pursuit of this goal”) varied significantly across goals. Of note, participants rated discipleship and partnerships with parents/families as progressing the least satisfactorily and as some of the most difficult goals. By contrast, participants rated service goals as some of the least difficult and most clear. The content and appraisals of these goals bear implications for both the psychological study of goals and strivings and for ministry practice.

GOAL SETTING THEORY: THE EFFECT OF INCENTIVE MODERATION ON INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE

This study uses goal-setting theory and reinforcement theory to explain the formation of individual motivation in achieving goals. Testing the effect of goal specificity used the experimental method to test the impact of goal specificity, different goal difficulty on the same quota incentive system as the 2x2x1 experimental design. This study's findings confirm the goal-setting theory shown from the higher achievement of participants' goals when participants are given specific and challenging goals than participant goals in different variations of goal specificity and goal difficulty. This study found that participants have a greater focus on goal specificity in driving goal attainment behavior. The findings of this study confirm the reinforcement theory shown from achieving goals that exceed targets. Positive consequences become arguments for individuals to do the same action

Goal setting and achievement for walking: A series of n-of-1 digital interventions

Objective: Despite evidence that goal setting is valuable for physical activity promotion, recent studies highlighted a potential over oversimplification in the application of this behavior change technique. While more difficult performance goals might trigger higher physical activity levels, higher performance goals might concurrently be more difficult to achieve, which could reduce long-term motivation. This study examined i) the association between performance goal difficulty and physical activity and ii) the association between performance goal difficulty and goal achievement. Methods: This study used data from an e-Health intervention among inactive overweight adults (n = 20). The study duration included a 2-week baseline period and an intervention phase of 80 days. During the intervention, participants received a daily step goal experimentally manipulated by taking participants’ baseline physical activity median (i.e., number of steps) multiplied by a pseudo-random factor ranging from 1 to 2.6. A continuous measure of goal achievement was inferred for each day by dividing the daily number of steps by the goal prescribed that day. Linear and generalized additive models were fit for each participant. Results: The results confirm that, for a majority of the participants involved in the study, performance goal difficulty was positively and significantly associated with physical activity (n=14), but, concurrently, negatively and significantly associated with goal achievement (n=19). These associations were mainly linear. Conclusion: At the daily level, setting a higher physical activity goal leads to engaging in higher physical activity levels, but concurrently lower goal achievement.

Goal setting in distributive and integrative negotiations: a meta-analysis

Goal setting has been shown to be a strong predictor of attaining a negotiation outcome. However, neither the type of negotiation nor the outcome level, dyadic versus individual outcomes, has been systematically analyzed. Using multilevel meta-analysis, we investigate the effects of a) goal difficulty, b) goal specificity and c) scenario integrativeness on negotiation outcomes. We find that for individual outcomes, regardless of the negotiation setting, there is support for the effect of goal difficulty, but we do not find an effect of goal specificity in any setting. For integrative negotiations, we find an effect for the integrativeness of the scenario on joint outcomes: If the negotiation is rather integrative, more of the integrative potential is realized. Additional moderators such as goal symmetry are examined, and recommendations for more research on integrativeness and its impact in negotiations are made.