Implicit Estimation of Paragraph Relevance From Eye Movements

Eye movements were shown to be an effective source of implicit relevance feedback in constrained search and decision-making tasks. Recent research suggests that gaze-based features, extracted from scanpaths over short news articles (g-REL), can reveal the perceived relevance of read text with respect to a previously shown trigger question. In this work, we aim to confirm this finding and we investigate whether it generalizes to multi-paragraph documents from Wikipedia (Google Natural Questions) that require readers to scroll down to read the whole text. We conduct a user study (n = 24) in which participants read single- and multi-paragraph articles and rate their relevance at the paragraph level with respect to a trigger question. We model the perceived document relevance using machine learning and features from the literature as input. Our results confirm that eye movements can be used to effectively model the relevance of short news articles, in particular if we exclude difficult cases: documents which are on topic of the trigger questions but irrelevant. However, our results do not clearly show that the modeling approach generalizes to multi-paragraph document settings. We publish our dataset and our code for feature extraction under an open source license to enable future research in the field of gaze-based implicit relevance feedback.

Introducing Parenting Support in Primary Care: Professionals’ Perspectives on the Implementation of a Positive Parenting Program

While positive parenting programs are an initiative aligned with the Family-Centered Care model and the Council of Europe’s Recommendation on Positive Parenting, implementation in healthcare centers remains a challenge. The aims of this study were to (1) investigate how the hybrid version (online course plus face-to-face activities) of the program “Gain Health & Wellbeing From 0 to 3” was implemented in Spain from professionals’ perspective, and (2) explore the perceived impact of this hybrid version of the program on the implementers’ professional development. We used a qualitative mixed-methods design that included focus groups and surveys. Fifty professionals from 17 centers completed the survey on professional development. Thirty-one of these also participated in the focus groups to address the first aim. The key themes identified from the focus group were professional training, parent recruitment, program features, organizational issues, parental responses, and program sustainability. Survey results related to positive professional impact fit nicely with subthemes concerning collaboration with parents, parental needs, center coordination, and future expectations. The perceived relevance of the parenting program and its positive impact on the implementers’ professional development were potential predictors for the adoption and sustainability of the program in the public health system.

Implementing Gamified Teaching

In this study, a gamification process was implemented in an undergraduate course of Economics that consisted 397 students. The primary purpose of the research was to empirically validate the effects of gamification in terms of the variables of engagement, motivation, entertainment, perceived relevance of the course, knowledge increase and participation. To ascertain these, a questionnaire was administered to the participants. The results indicated that gamification provided significant positive effect on all variables listed above except motivation. Additional objectives of the article were to link the effects to Marczewski’s player types, namely, Philanthropists, Socialisers, Free spirits, Achievers, Players, and Disruptors, and to measure whether there are differences between the types in terms of the variables indicated above. Gamification resulted in positive effects on all player types except the player type of Disruptors.

AN EXPLORATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING FEATURES AND BRAND LOYALTY IN THE FAST FOOD INDUSTRY

The key objective of this research was to test the role of social media marketing features (interactivity, perceived relevance, entertainment, and informativeness) in affecting brand loyalty in the fast-food industry. The required data was obtained through a quantitative survey from customers of fast-food brands in the United Arab Emirates. The findings revealed that most of the social media marketing features positively influence brand loyalty. In detail, it was found that interactivity and perceived relevance positively affect brand loyalty. However, contrary to expectations, it was found that the impact of entertainment on brand loyalty is insignificant. Finally, the outcomes confirmed that informativeness is a significant predictor of brand loyalty. This research adds to the existing marketing literature on this topic through the examination of selected social media marketing features and brand loyalty in a Middle East country as the empirical research on this topic, particularly, in this region is scarce.

An examination of social media advertising features, brand engagement and purchase intention in the fast food industry

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the impact of social media advertising features (interactivity, perceived relevance, informativeness and entertainment) on brand engagement in the fast food industry. It was also designed to identify the effect of brand engagement on purchase intention.Design/methodology/approachThe data was gathered from 258 customers of fast food restaurants in United Arab Emirates using an online survey. The collected data was analyzed via the partial least square approach (PLS-SEM) to verify the hypotheses and reach at conclusions.FindingsThe findings indicated that social media advertising features have positive effects on brand engagement. In particular, it was found that interactivity, perceived relevance, informativeness and entertainment are positively associated with brand engagement. The results also confirmed that brand engagement has a positive effect on purchase intention.Originality/valueThis study provides a noteworthy contribution to the literature by examining the effect of four unique social media advertising features on consumer engagement. By looking at previous studies, it can also be observed there is a limited empirical research on the effect of perceived relevance and informativeness on brand engagement. It further focuses on covering existing gaps in the literature concerning the effect of brand engagement on purchase intention in the fast food industry setting. This is one of the earlier studies that collectively examined these factors in model; particularly, in fast food industry setting with empirical data from a Middle East country.

MATHEMATICS IN THE NURSING PROFESSION: STUDENT AND PROFESSIONAL NURSES' PERSPECTIVE

<p>Mathematical knowledge and skill are needed by all students in their studies and future careers. Students’ perceived relevance of mathematics in their future careers influences their attitude towards learning mathematics. This study explored student and professional nurses' perceived relevance and application of mathematics in the nursing profession. A sample size of 301 nursing students in a University in Ghana and 12 professional nurses participated in the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interview and was analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The study revealed that both the professional and the student nurses perceived Statistics, Ratio and Rates, and Percentages as the topics in school mathematics that they find most relevant and applicable to their study and practice of nursing. It is recommended that the senior high school mathematics teachers may need to always share the professional applicability of any topic they teach, by using authentic and real-life situations in various professions.</p>

Doubting the connection: millennials’ perceptions of the link between higher education and workplace readiness

Purpose While Millennials are the most educated generation to date, the unique contributions of higher education as a source of vocational anticipatory socialization (VAS) for organizational success remains unknown. Thus, this paper aims to establish a formative understanding from the student perspective of how faculty help ready the youngest of the Millennial generation for industry. This also allows for a comparison to their older counterparts. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected via an online mixed-methods survey with nearly 400 Millennials (n = 353). Findings Two prominent themes emerged including the professor as a socialization agent, where Millennials report learning from faculty as they are “managers of the classroom.” Additionally, the data indicate that many Millennials doubt the strength of the connection between higher education and career socialization, though a smaller cohort reported using the university environment, and more specifically, their interactions with faculty to practice and refine future workplace behaviors. In contrast to parents and peers, faculty nearly always ranked as the lowest source of VAS information. Research limitations/implications Some Millennials demonstrate a keen awareness of the importance of relational communication, boding especially well for their relationships with future managers and for their leadership skills as they transition into positions of management. Practical implications Faculty should consider how to address three concerns: a potential lack of perceived relevance, workplace inferences based on college experiences and leveraging interactions to strengthen student practice of professional communication. Managers would be well served to anticipate how to address newcomers’ expectations that stem from interpreting communicative experiences in the college classroom as analogous to workplace interactions. Originality/value The data indicate that traditional ideas about the impact of vocational anticipatory socialization sources and messaging need to be rethought, and instead, it appears some of the most fruitful socialization experiences faculty can provide is in giving students space and opportunity to practice and refine future workplace behaviors.

Exploring the Effects of Blended Learning using WhatsApp on Language Learners’ Lexical Competence

In the wake of COVID-19, online learning has achieved new dimensions and affected all fields of education. As such, one of the emerging fields of ELT is Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL). The proposed study adapts the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to identify factors influencing students’ behavioral intention towards WhatsApp for enhancing lexical competence. Three constructs, namely, performance expectancy, social influence, & hedonic motivation, are adopted from the original model, and two new constructs: perceived relevance and collaborative learning are added. A questionnaire was administered to 203 undergraduate students from select Institutes in Rajasthan. Smart-PLS (ver. 3.2.9) and IBM SPSS (ver. 26) are used for data analysis. Empirical testing confirms the significant relationship of social influence (?=.274, p=.002), hedonic motivation (?=0.639, p=.000), and perceived relevance (?=0.138, p=.035) with the behavioral intention to use WhatsApp for enhancing lexical competence; and performance expectancy and collaborative learning are proved as insignificant predictors of behavioral intention. The findings should aid decision-makers in developing ELT practices and teachers in opting for innovative approaches for the benefit of language learners. The originality of the study stems from the inclusion of external factors in the UTAUT model. The ramifications for MALL theory and practice have been examined in light of these findings.