Why Games? Use of Massively Multiplayer Online Games in English andBusiness CoursesinHigherEducation

The Phenomenological study investigated the perceptions of 4 Community College administrators and 2 faculty, who experienced for the first time, the process of curricular modification using Massively Multiplayer Online Games or MMOs in their Business and English programs. Since administrators and faculty are key stakeholders of any initiative for technology integration in curricular modification, the study contributed to filling the gap in the literature regarding such stakeholder perceptions and added new insights regarding easy and affordable ways to successfully and effectively integrate MMOs within the curriculum in Higher Education disciplines.

Finding an effective way to create learning environments for didactic courses in a virtual classroom setting

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic forced college administrators to do virtual classes using Zoom webinars during the autumn of 2021. The study objective is to examine the relative efficacy of interactive vs non-interactive Zoom webinars in virtual classrooms during the COVID-19 era. Methods: These two modes of live Zoom webinars were used for Year 1 Pharmacy students. Two surveys were conducted among students for general feedback on teaching and their preferred type of virtual learning. Results: Amongst the 177 students present, 87 (49%) responded to the first survey, of whom 20 (23%) provided their feedback about the Zoom webinar. Amongst these responders, a relatively higher number of students preferred interactive Zoom webinars with student panellists. Also, of the 177 students, 118 (66.7%) students responded to the second survey on the mode of live Zoom webinars. Amongst the respondents, around 88-99 (74-84%) agreed or strongly agreed that a live Zoom webinar with interactive sessions is more effective than non-interactive sessions. Additionally, 73 (62%) of the respondents preferred five to ten students in the panel. Furthermore, the survey analysis suggested that the effectiveness of interactive sessions is the same irrespective of the instructors. Conclusion: The results concluded that the interactive live Zoom webinar with 5-10 student panellists is effective in creating a learning environment in virtual didactic courses.

Financial Management, Motivation and the Teaching Effectiveness of Physical Education Lecturers in Colleges of Education in South-South Nigeria

This study was conducted to determine the extent to which financial management and staff motivation associate with the teaching effectiveness of Physical Education lecturers in colleges of education in south-south Nigeria. Two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A 10 item questionnaire was structured to obtain data for the study. Ex-post Facto research design was adopted for the study. A sample of 69 physical education lecturers was used for the study, based on the census technique. Pearson Product Moment Correlation and independent t-test statistical techniques were used in testing the two hypotheses (where applicable). Findings show that financial management and staff motivation significantly affect Physical Education lecturers’ teaching effectiveness respectively. It was recommended among others that the Nigeria Government and college administrators should provide appropriate motivation and adequate fund for Physical Education Programmes.

American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology–Recommended Clinical Pathology Competencies for Graduating Veterinarians

Given the move toward competency-based veterinary education and the subsequent reevaluation of veterinary curricula, there is a need for specialties to provide guidance to veterinary college administrators and educators on the core knowledge and skills pertaining to their specialty to ensure their inclusion in revised or redesigned curricula. The American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ASVCP) Education Committee sought to create a list of competencies specific to clinical pathology expected of graduating veterinarians. The stimulus for this project was the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education Standards of Accreditation for Colleges of Veterinary Medicine, further driven by the 2018 publication of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges Competency-Based Veterinary Education Working Group framework. The recommendations made in this document are the culmination of the 2016 ASVCP Education Forum for Discussion, multiple remote subcommittee communications, and feedback obtained from ASVCP membership. The final framework includes 8 clinical pathology–focused domains of competence with 20 clinical pathology competencies and 61 clinical pathology illustrative sub-competencies. The clinical pathology–focused domains of competence are: the pre-analytical phase of testing, laboratory medicine and instrumentation, principles of test selection and interpretation, hematology and hemostasis, chemistry, endocrinology, urinalysis, and cytology. These are not intended to replace the nine established AAVMC domains of competence with supportive competencies and illustrative sub-competencies but to guide institutions for how clinical pathology aligns within the competency-based veterinary education (CBVE) framework for the practice-ready veterinary graduate. This clinical pathology competency framework may prove useful and empowering during discussions of curriculum revisions and redesigns.

Assessing COVID prevention strategies to permit the safe opening of college campuses in fall 2021

Background: Effective vaccines, improved testing technologies, and declines in COVID-19 incidence prompt an examination of the choices available to college administrators to safely resume in-person campus activities in fall 2021. Objective: To develop a decision support tool that assists college administrators in designing and evaluating customized COVID vaccination, screening, and prevention plans. Design: Decision analysis linked to a compartmental epidemic model, quantifying the interaction of policy instruments (e.g., vaccination promotion, asymptomatic testing, physical distancing, and other non-pharmaceutical interventions), institutional priorities (e.g., risk tolerance, desire to resume activities), and assumptions about vaccine performance and background epidemic severity. Participants: Hypothetical cohort of 5000 individuals (students, faculty, and staff) living and working in the close environs of a residential college campus. Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s): Cumulative infections over a 120-day semester. Results: Under Base Case assumptions, if 90% coverage with an 85%-effective vaccine can be attained, the model finds that campus activities can be fully resumed while holding cumulative cases below 5% of the population without the need for routine, asymptomatic testing. With 50% population coverage using such a vaccine, a similar return to normalcy would require daily asymptomatic testing of unvaccinated individuals. The effectiveness of vaccination in reducing susceptibility to infection is a critical uncertainty. Conclusions & Relevance: Vaccination coverage is the most powerful tool available to college administrators to achieve a safe return to pre-pandemic operations this fall. Given the breadth of potential outcomes in the face of uncontrollable and uncertain factors, even colleges that achieve high vaccination coverage should be prepared to reinstitute testing and distancing policies on short notice.

Motivation and Mental Toughness among Table Tennis Athletes: Achievement in Sports Performance

This descriptive-type study assessed the motivation and mental toughness among table tennis athletes and their achievements in sports performance. The respondents of this study were 68 table tennis varsity athletes who officially played in the singles event during the Mindanao Association of State and Tertiary Schools (MASTS) Friendship Games in Tandag, Surigao Del Sur. The data were gathered using questionnaires and observation and were treated using frequency and percentage to measure the significant relationship between and among the variables. In addition, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation of Coefficient or Pearson r was utilized. It was concluded that schools, universities, and college administrators must give adequate support and provide ample budgetary needs for the varsity athletes to participate in local, regional, and national competitions and tournaments. Government and institutions should equip, train, and manage competitive stress among athletes and enhance their mental capacity to handle performance during games. The researchers concluded that institutions must also consider younger players in their selection process of the varsity. Based on the result of the study, more immature players were more motivated and highly mentally tough compared to the older players.

Rights Relief for College Students: Connotation, Dilemma and Path Choice

In recent years, with the continuous development of the rule of law in our country, the issue of rights relief for college students has attracted more and more attention from all walks of life. In order to specifically discuss the issue of rights relief for college students, it is necessary to define the concept of rights relief for college students. At the same time, it analyzes the reasons why China’s college students’ rights relief is facing imperfect laws and regulations, college administrators and students’ weak awareness of rights relief, content limitations, and single approaches. Therefore, it is necessary to choose the path from several aspects, such as improving laws and regulations, improving the concept of rule of law, optimizing and adjusting the scope of content, and establishing diversified channels.

The International Descriptive Study of Effective Methods for the Recruitment and the Retention of Faculty in the United States

This qualitative descriptive study explored what community college administrators and faculty described as being effective recruitment and retention methods for faculty at community colleges in the Northeastern United States. This study answered two research questions: what recruitment methods do administrators and American faculty at community colleges describe as being effective in the recruitment of American faculty? Also, what retention methods do administrators and American faculty at community colleges describe as being effective in the retention of American faculty? The researcher applied critical race theory to form a framework for best practices in recruiting and retaining American faculty. Data were obtained by interviewing six American faculty and surveying seven community college administrators employed at Massachusetts community colleges who were selected using purposive sampling and community college online staff directories. Using MAXQDA data analysis software, the researcher initiated data analysis using thematic analysis. Data were organized and analyzed to identify codes, categories, and themes. Data analysis resulted in six themes: hiring processes, faculty diversity, recruitment strategies, work environment, student and faculty relationships, and retention strategies. The findings of this study can benefit community college personnel by recommending recruitment and retention strategies to effectively recruit and retain American faculty. There was limited research and data available related to the recruitment and retention of African American male faculty at community colleges. The faculty and administrator participants of this study provided rich data on effective recruitment and retention methods for African American male faculty at community colleges. The critical race theory theoretical framework was summarized. Theoretical and practical implications emerged. Based on the data and new insights, implications for future research were discussed.

On the Spectrum of Communication

By examining which media Japanese college administrators chose to use in order to communicate with their students during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the author argues that the intention behind administrator messaging correlates with the effectiveness of each communication medium. While some new media is used more commonly on one side of the world, the same media cannot function or is blocked in other parts of the world. Depending on the social contexts of the emergencies, the selection of a communication medium can turn out to rather be a hybrid of traditional telecommunication and new media, rather than an either-or selection.

How Students on College Campuses Created Opportunities for Workers in Sweatshops

Political opportunity structure (POS) refers to how the larger social context, such as repression, shapes a social movement’s chances of success. Most work on POS looks at how movements deal with the political opportunities enabling and/or constraining them. This article looks at how one group of social movement actors operating in a more open POS alters the POS for a different group of actors in a more repressive environment through a chain of indirect leverage—how United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) uses the more open POS on college campuses to create new opportunities for workers in sweatshop factories. USAS exerts direct leverage over college administrators through protests, pushing them to exert leverage over major apparel companies through the licensing agreements schools have with these companies.