SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX175176 / BLDSC - British Librar... more SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX175176 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
The discipline of economics has the reputation of being abstract and difficult to understand. Stu... more The discipline of economics has the reputation of being abstract and difficult to understand. Students’ perceptions about the course and its assessment methods may affect their learning strategies and outcomes. A flexible grading scheme (in terms of weights assigned to different assessment components) may help to reduce anxiety about the course, leading to improved performance and higher satisfaction. The present study reports on the implementation of such a flexible grading scheme. Students in five introductory economics classes received their final course grade based on one of three grading schemes that gave them the highest mark. An 11-item satisfaction survey assessed students’ perceptions about the flexible marking scheme. Students expressed a preference for flexibility over a more traditional, fixed marking scheme. This has implications for other courses that create anxiety among students and has the potential to improve students’ experiences at post-secondary institutions.
Three academics from different fields collaborated on a study in which we reflected on our group ... more Three academics from different fields collaborated on a study in which we reflected on our group involvement. Although we originally worked together to provide our different perspectives on how to use debates in online courses, we found that our multidisciplinary collaboration evolved into self-study as we each wrote narratives about our own participation which we then discussed and interpreted from our unique perspectives. Despite the fact that our members consisted of someone from nursing, someone from business, and someone in psychology, we all agreed that we engaged in a successful collaboration, as assessed by our desire to work together again and by the joint publication of an article. This paper presents our individual and collective interpretations of our attempts to understand why we were successful in this project, even though we did not follow most of the principles of multidisciplinary collaboration, nor of the usual conventions of our respective disciplines.
We aimed to find patterns among young people's music preferences in relation to their attitu... more We aimed to find patterns among young people's music preferences in relation to their attitudes towards saving or spending money. Previous research found that certain music genres (e.g. rap and dance) are associated with impulsive behaviour and a pleasure-seeking lifestyle. Other music genres (e.g. classical and oldies) are associated with more adult-approved lifestyles, such as doing well in school. Our hypotheses predicted that those who regularly listened to ‘adult-approved’ music would be likely to save money. In contrast, youths who listened to ‘anti-authority’ music were expected to be more likely to spend their money impulsively. Using data collected from 178 individuals aged 14–24 through self-report surveys, principal component analysis was used to group music genres that measure the same underlying preference. Then regression analysis was applied to examine the relationship between music preferences and attitudes towards saving or spending money. Results revealed that participants who listened to hip-hop, rap, rhythm and blues, dance, house, electronic, industrial, techno and trance (many are anti-authority types of music) reported a tendency to spend money. Those who favoured classical, opera, musicals, big band, world music, oldies, contemporary rock and alternative music (many are adult-approved types of music) were more likely to save money.
The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Jan 15, 2014
This project ascertains how well students taking online, distance education courses at a Canadian... more This project ascertains how well students taking online, distance education courses at a Canadian university recognize plagiarised material and how well they paraphrase. It also assesses the types of errors made. Slightly more than half of 420 psychology students correctly selected plagiarised phrases from four multiple choice questions. Only a minority was able to rewrite a phrase properly in their own words. A more diverse sample of university students also had difficulty recognizing plagiarised passages from multiple choice options. The poor ability of students to identify plagiarised passages may suggest poor understanding of the concept. Students may benefit from training to improve their understanding of plagiarism.
International journal for educational integrity, Sep 12, 2022
Maintaining academic integrity is a growing concern for higher education. Such concerns have incr... more Maintaining academic integrity is a growing concern for higher education. Such concerns have increased since the pivot to remote learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Rossiter, 2020). There have been calls for more studies in Canada (Awosoga et al.
The discipline of economics has the reputation of being abstract and difficult to understand. Stu... more The discipline of economics has the reputation of being abstract and difficult to understand. Students’ perceptions about the course and its assessment methods may affect their learning strategies and outcomes. A flexible grading scheme (in terms of weights assigned to different assessment components) may help to reduce anxiety about the course, leading to improved performance and higher satisfaction. The present study reports on the implementation of such a flexible grading scheme. Students in five introductory economics classes received their final course grade based on one of three grading schemes that gave them the highest mark. An 11-item satisfaction survey assessed students’ perceptions about the flexible marking scheme. Students expressed a preference for flexibility over a more traditional, fixed marking scheme. This has implications for other courses that create anxiety among students and has the potential to improve students’ experiences at post-secondary institutions.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Feb 1, 1998
Two factors have been associated with the quality of sibling relationships : the sex of the child... more Two factors have been associated with the quality of sibling relationships : the sex of the children and their family circumstances. Yet the data on each issue are complex. This study examines the sex constellations of sibling pairs in two groups, one of which had experienced a major family disruption (parental separation), with the aim of assessing both influences more fully. Two 1-hour home observations were conducted on 20 preschool sibling dyads of separated parents and 24 pairs in which the parents were married. In both groups the sex configuration of the sibling pairs was important-same-sex pairs seemed to show closer patterns of interaction, and sister-sister dyads were particularly prosocial. These results suggests that previous research showing that older sisters or same-sex pairs interact more are both partly correct. In addition, preschoolers from separated families interacted more. The results suggest that negative life experiences might promote greater closeness between siblings.
and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study pu... more and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
ABSTRACT The findings support social capital as an important piece in predicting happiness in tha... more ABSTRACT The findings support social capital as an important piece in predicting happiness in that at least one variable from each of the three types was significantly related. However, the results were not always consistent, in that while some variables significantly predicted higher levels of happiness, others did not, and some were in an unexpected, negative direction. More research is deemed necessary in this area, especially on the relationship between happiness and social norms. While people may not be able to change their internal or external characteristics, some aspects of their social world may be modifiable. In addition to demographic and individual factors such as age, income, and health conditions, future research should include variables representing social capital when exploring what accounts for happiness.
The Hawaii International Conference on Education has been held every year since 2002. It aims to ... more The Hawaii International Conference on Education has been held every year since 2002. It aims to allow those involved in education to meet others from around the world to exchange ideas in ways they would not be able to otherwise. The international, cross-disciplinary focus enables input revolving around a variety of cultures, languages, politics, and geographies. In 2012 there were 1300 representatives from 35 countries. Data from the 2013 conference are not out yet. Parallel sessions start at 8:00 in the morning and go through until 6:15 at night. This is one of the friendliest conferences I have been to; participants are very eager to listen and to exchange ideas. They are keen to get to know one another. I would highly recommend this conference to those who would like to exchange ideas related to education.
Recent analyses both question the assumption that parental separation only has negative effects o... more Recent analyses both question the assumption that parental separation only has negative effects on families and suggest that attention should be paid to the diversity of experiences post divorce. The latter may be accomplished by combining methods, examining different levels of individuals' experiences. Seventy-six mothers from separated and married families with a child aged 20 months participated in an interview and a life-events questionnaire and these are compared with a range of developmental tests conducted with the mother or child. Separated mothers reported more recent life events than married mothers and rated some more negatively and also others more positively. In regression analyses the only significant predictor of positive life experiences was marital status. Marital status and expressed difficulties in parenting predicted negative life experiences. The results suggest a subtle balance of disadvantages and gains post separation, which must be explored before longitudinal patterns of child and family adjustment are fully understood.
After four decades of research, scholars of happiness continue to debate its causes. While it is ... more After four decades of research, scholars of happiness continue to debate its causes. While it is generally agreed that a combination of internal and external factors play a role, predicting happiness well remains a challenge. Recent research has proposed that social capital may be a vital factor that has been overlooked. This paper attempts to address that omission. According to Coleman's (1988) seminal work, three dimensions of social capital exist: (1) trust and obligations, (2) information channels, and (3) norms and sanctions. Using bootstrap hierarchical regression on data from the Canadian General Social Survey of Social Engagement Cycle 17 (2003), we identified blocks of social capital variables described by Coleman, as well as an additional factor of belongingness. Even after controlling for major demographic and individual characteristics, the majority of these blocks show significant relationships with happiness. Our findings support social capital as an important piece in predicting happiness. Keywords Happiness Á Social capital Á Trust Á Obligations Á Information channel The authors Ambrose Leung and Cheryl Kier contributed equally to the conceptualization and write-up of the project.
SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX175176 / BLDSC - British Librar... more SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX175176 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
The discipline of economics has the reputation of being abstract and difficult to understand. Stu... more The discipline of economics has the reputation of being abstract and difficult to understand. Students’ perceptions about the course and its assessment methods may affect their learning strategies and outcomes. A flexible grading scheme (in terms of weights assigned to different assessment components) may help to reduce anxiety about the course, leading to improved performance and higher satisfaction. The present study reports on the implementation of such a flexible grading scheme. Students in five introductory economics classes received their final course grade based on one of three grading schemes that gave them the highest mark. An 11-item satisfaction survey assessed students’ perceptions about the flexible marking scheme. Students expressed a preference for flexibility over a more traditional, fixed marking scheme. This has implications for other courses that create anxiety among students and has the potential to improve students’ experiences at post-secondary institutions.
Three academics from different fields collaborated on a study in which we reflected on our group ... more Three academics from different fields collaborated on a study in which we reflected on our group involvement. Although we originally worked together to provide our different perspectives on how to use debates in online courses, we found that our multidisciplinary collaboration evolved into self-study as we each wrote narratives about our own participation which we then discussed and interpreted from our unique perspectives. Despite the fact that our members consisted of someone from nursing, someone from business, and someone in psychology, we all agreed that we engaged in a successful collaboration, as assessed by our desire to work together again and by the joint publication of an article. This paper presents our individual and collective interpretations of our attempts to understand why we were successful in this project, even though we did not follow most of the principles of multidisciplinary collaboration, nor of the usual conventions of our respective disciplines.
We aimed to find patterns among young people's music preferences in relation to their attitu... more We aimed to find patterns among young people's music preferences in relation to their attitudes towards saving or spending money. Previous research found that certain music genres (e.g. rap and dance) are associated with impulsive behaviour and a pleasure-seeking lifestyle. Other music genres (e.g. classical and oldies) are associated with more adult-approved lifestyles, such as doing well in school. Our hypotheses predicted that those who regularly listened to ‘adult-approved’ music would be likely to save money. In contrast, youths who listened to ‘anti-authority’ music were expected to be more likely to spend their money impulsively. Using data collected from 178 individuals aged 14–24 through self-report surveys, principal component analysis was used to group music genres that measure the same underlying preference. Then regression analysis was applied to examine the relationship between music preferences and attitudes towards saving or spending money. Results revealed that participants who listened to hip-hop, rap, rhythm and blues, dance, house, electronic, industrial, techno and trance (many are anti-authority types of music) reported a tendency to spend money. Those who favoured classical, opera, musicals, big band, world music, oldies, contemporary rock and alternative music (many are adult-approved types of music) were more likely to save money.
The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Jan 15, 2014
This project ascertains how well students taking online, distance education courses at a Canadian... more This project ascertains how well students taking online, distance education courses at a Canadian university recognize plagiarised material and how well they paraphrase. It also assesses the types of errors made. Slightly more than half of 420 psychology students correctly selected plagiarised phrases from four multiple choice questions. Only a minority was able to rewrite a phrase properly in their own words. A more diverse sample of university students also had difficulty recognizing plagiarised passages from multiple choice options. The poor ability of students to identify plagiarised passages may suggest poor understanding of the concept. Students may benefit from training to improve their understanding of plagiarism.
International journal for educational integrity, Sep 12, 2022
Maintaining academic integrity is a growing concern for higher education. Such concerns have incr... more Maintaining academic integrity is a growing concern for higher education. Such concerns have increased since the pivot to remote learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Rossiter, 2020). There have been calls for more studies in Canada (Awosoga et al.
The discipline of economics has the reputation of being abstract and difficult to understand. Stu... more The discipline of economics has the reputation of being abstract and difficult to understand. Students’ perceptions about the course and its assessment methods may affect their learning strategies and outcomes. A flexible grading scheme (in terms of weights assigned to different assessment components) may help to reduce anxiety about the course, leading to improved performance and higher satisfaction. The present study reports on the implementation of such a flexible grading scheme. Students in five introductory economics classes received their final course grade based on one of three grading schemes that gave them the highest mark. An 11-item satisfaction survey assessed students’ perceptions about the flexible marking scheme. Students expressed a preference for flexibility over a more traditional, fixed marking scheme. This has implications for other courses that create anxiety among students and has the potential to improve students’ experiences at post-secondary institutions.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Feb 1, 1998
Two factors have been associated with the quality of sibling relationships : the sex of the child... more Two factors have been associated with the quality of sibling relationships : the sex of the children and their family circumstances. Yet the data on each issue are complex. This study examines the sex constellations of sibling pairs in two groups, one of which had experienced a major family disruption (parental separation), with the aim of assessing both influences more fully. Two 1-hour home observations were conducted on 20 preschool sibling dyads of separated parents and 24 pairs in which the parents were married. In both groups the sex configuration of the sibling pairs was important-same-sex pairs seemed to show closer patterns of interaction, and sister-sister dyads were particularly prosocial. These results suggests that previous research showing that older sisters or same-sex pairs interact more are both partly correct. In addition, preschoolers from separated families interacted more. The results suggest that negative life experiences might promote greater closeness between siblings.
and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study pu... more and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
ABSTRACT The findings support social capital as an important piece in predicting happiness in tha... more ABSTRACT The findings support social capital as an important piece in predicting happiness in that at least one variable from each of the three types was significantly related. However, the results were not always consistent, in that while some variables significantly predicted higher levels of happiness, others did not, and some were in an unexpected, negative direction. More research is deemed necessary in this area, especially on the relationship between happiness and social norms. While people may not be able to change their internal or external characteristics, some aspects of their social world may be modifiable. In addition to demographic and individual factors such as age, income, and health conditions, future research should include variables representing social capital when exploring what accounts for happiness.
The Hawaii International Conference on Education has been held every year since 2002. It aims to ... more The Hawaii International Conference on Education has been held every year since 2002. It aims to allow those involved in education to meet others from around the world to exchange ideas in ways they would not be able to otherwise. The international, cross-disciplinary focus enables input revolving around a variety of cultures, languages, politics, and geographies. In 2012 there were 1300 representatives from 35 countries. Data from the 2013 conference are not out yet. Parallel sessions start at 8:00 in the morning and go through until 6:15 at night. This is one of the friendliest conferences I have been to; participants are very eager to listen and to exchange ideas. They are keen to get to know one another. I would highly recommend this conference to those who would like to exchange ideas related to education.
Recent analyses both question the assumption that parental separation only has negative effects o... more Recent analyses both question the assumption that parental separation only has negative effects on families and suggest that attention should be paid to the diversity of experiences post divorce. The latter may be accomplished by combining methods, examining different levels of individuals' experiences. Seventy-six mothers from separated and married families with a child aged 20 months participated in an interview and a life-events questionnaire and these are compared with a range of developmental tests conducted with the mother or child. Separated mothers reported more recent life events than married mothers and rated some more negatively and also others more positively. In regression analyses the only significant predictor of positive life experiences was marital status. Marital status and expressed difficulties in parenting predicted negative life experiences. The results suggest a subtle balance of disadvantages and gains post separation, which must be explored before longitudinal patterns of child and family adjustment are fully understood.
After four decades of research, scholars of happiness continue to debate its causes. While it is ... more After four decades of research, scholars of happiness continue to debate its causes. While it is generally agreed that a combination of internal and external factors play a role, predicting happiness well remains a challenge. Recent research has proposed that social capital may be a vital factor that has been overlooked. This paper attempts to address that omission. According to Coleman's (1988) seminal work, three dimensions of social capital exist: (1) trust and obligations, (2) information channels, and (3) norms and sanctions. Using bootstrap hierarchical regression on data from the Canadian General Social Survey of Social Engagement Cycle 17 (2003), we identified blocks of social capital variables described by Coleman, as well as an additional factor of belongingness. Even after controlling for major demographic and individual characteristics, the majority of these blocks show significant relationships with happiness. Our findings support social capital as an important piece in predicting happiness. Keywords Happiness Á Social capital Á Trust Á Obligations Á Information channel The authors Ambrose Leung and Cheryl Kier contributed equally to the conceptualization and write-up of the project.
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