Alignment Of Theory Research Articles

Evaluating Onsite and Online Internship Mode Using Consumptive Metrics

The paper aims to assess the effectiveness between onsite and online internship mode by measuring the critical components of learning through the Kirkpatrick's ‘consumptive metrics' model. The primary goal of internship is to assist university students in their progression from the academic to a professional work environment. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted this process where it temporarily moved to online mode. Hence, the authors use Kirkpatrick's ‘consumptive metrics' (CM) for evaluating the learning resources consumed using two constructs namely ‘reaction' and ‘learning'. Using 21 onsite and 20 online intern reports, researchers objectively measured the difference in alignment of theory with practice between onsite and online mode. The research revealed that while the CM components namely ‘course satisfaction' and ‘training relevance' on the interns are similar for both modes, there is a considerable reduction in the effectiveness of internship in terms of the CM components namely the ‘training environment', ‘knowledge gained', and ‘career advancement' in an online mode.

Aligning theory with practice: Child health programmes in Malaysia, a Narrative Review.

The Malaysian healthcare system, particularly for maternal and child health, has been well recognised to provide high-quality services and be at par with systems in other developed countries. Current health programmes and technological advancements effectively detect vulnerable groups of children, such as small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants, antenatally. However, the postnatal care for SGA infants is not clearly evaluated, as this group of children is mostly classified as healthy in many medical contexts, especially in primary care settings. Available health programmes and healthcare service delivery must be continuously evaluated by implementing beneficial and relevant evidence-based theories. Articles, reports and guidelines used in providing mother and child health services in Malaysia published since 2000 were reviewed. There was no specific monitoring strategy used for SGA infants without critical health issues in early childhood, as they were commonly treated as healthy infants. Several challenges in aligning theory with the current practice of healthcare service delivery and recommendations for dealing with such challenges were identified. The alignment of theory with the current practice of service delivery should be tailored to the needs and demands parallel to the dynamic change in populations in the urbanisation era.

Assessing student learning during simulations in education: Methodological opportunities and challenges when applying a longitudinal case study design

Simulations are complex learning environments, especially when they are designed such that student agency intensively shapes the simulation process. Investigating student learning during the simulation process requires a methodological approach that is able to take contextual influences and fluctuations of processes into account and produce rich, exhaustive descriptions of how student learning unfolds during a simulation. In this paper, we present a methodological approach to assessing student learning in simulations and reflect upon the lessons learned from this approach. We detail a longitudinal case study design in the context of a role-play simulation of political decision-making and critically examine the research opportunities and challenges it presents by focusing on the alignment of theory and research goals, aspects of context, sampling, measurements and procedures, and the role of the researcher.

Thermodynamics of metallocene catalyst activation: alignment of theory and experiment.

Three equilibria involved in metallocene catalyst activation, including dissociation of R6Al2 (R = Me, Et or i-Bu) and related species such as [L2ZrMe2AlMe2][B(C6F5)4] (L2 = Cp2, 1,2-ethylenebis(η5-indenyl), Me2C(η5-C5H4)2) or [(L2ZrMe)2μ-Me][MePBB] (L2 = (h5-1,2-Me2C5H3)2, [MePBB]- = [MeB(ArF)3]- with ArF = o-C6F5-C6F4) are studied by DFT using various approaches to account for the enthalpy and entropy changes in gas and condensed phases. These studies reveal that both low energy vibrations and translational entropy conspire to cause significant deviations between theory and experiment when it comes to the free energy change in condensed or even gas phase. Alignment of theory with experiment requires in addition, consideration of specific solvation of reactants and products.

Conditional Regard in the Classroom: A Double-Edged Sword.

Teachers’ conditional positive and negative regard are widely endorsed teaching practices aimed to enhance students’ involvement and achievement in school. Previous research has mostly tapped the need frustration and harmful psychological well-being implications of these practices. Yet knowledge of their specific effects on school engagement is scant. This study investigated the association between students’ perceptions of homeroom teachers’ conditional positive and negative regard and their behavioral engagement, while considering the levels at which these practices are conceptualized and operate (a teacher characteristic and a student characteristic). Participants were n = 2533 students from 107 classes in the 7th to 10th grades. Multilevel analysis found conditional positive regard was positively associated with school engagement while conditional negative regard was inversely related. These findings were obtained at both the within- and between-class levels. Based on the findings, we argue conditional regard is a double-edged sword. Consistent with previous research, we suggest conditional negative regard has an undermining effect, and we point to conditional positive regard’s potential to enhance engagement. Lastly, we discuss the importance of the level of analysis and the alignment of theory with measurement.

Students' perspective of internship in vocational higher education

Research Question: This study aims to determine students’ satisfaction, experience and attitude toward internship in hospitality higher education. Motivation: Work integrated learning in the system of vocational higher education should enable young people, who have acquired theoretical and practical knowledge, to increase their employability, develop expertise through the process of socialization in the workplace, as well as to develop work habits and have a better understanding of the work culture. According to Hussien and La Lopa (2018), well-organized internship with detailed feedback, flexible working hours, adequate institutional support, and the ability to acquire a diverse range of skills, can increase satisfaction of all stakeholders. Idea: The main idea is to examine students’ experience, attitudes and satisfaction with internship, in order to propose practical implications for internship improvement. Data: The data were collected by means of a questionnaire during the summer term of 2017/18 academic year. The survey involved 189 students of The College of Hotel Management. Tools: Collected data were analysed and interpreted using some descriptive statistics techniques, as well as non-parametric tests such as Mann-Whitney U Test, Kruskal-Wallis H Test and Spearman's Rho. Findings: A vast majority of students were given employment opportunities during internship, which has increased their satisfaction. Gastronomy and hospitality students most often worked in the profession, while junior and senior students find the curriculum to a lesser extent consistent with the internship program. Students were most satisfied with the mentor’s objectivity in the assessment, and least satisfied with the school support during internship. Student satisfaction is also affected by better alignment of theory and practice, adequately rewarding overtime and doing the job for which they have been trained. Contribution: This study contributes to the identification and understanding of factors affecting satisfaction of hospitality students with internship and proposes measures to better internship organization.

Getting Better or Being Better? Within and Between Effects in Management Research

The premise that statistical models must derive from theory presents an interesting paradox. The alignment of theory and model constitutes the very foundation of empirical theory-testing research, ...

The Impact of Supervisor-Employee Self-Protective Implicit Voice Theory Alignment

Self-protective implicit voice theories (IVTs) represent individuals’ deeply rooted schemas regarding the risks and appropriateness associated with speaking up at work. Based on the similarity-attr...

Integration of Information Literacy into the Curriculum: Constructive Alignment from Theory into Practice

Librarian-teacher cooperation is essential for the integration of information literacy into course syllabi. Therefore, a common theoretical and methodological platform is needed. As librarians at Kristianstad University we have had the opportunity to develop such a platform when teaching information literacy in a basic course for teachers in higher education pedagogy. Information literacy is taught in context with academic writing, distance learning and teaching, and development of course syllabi.Constructive Alignment in Theory: We used constructive alignment in designing our part of the course. John Biggs’ ideas tell us that assessment tasks (ATs) should be aligned to what is intended to be learned. Intended learning outcomes (ILOs) specify teaching/learning activities (TLAs) based on the content of learning. TLAs should be designed in ways that enable students to construct knowledge from their own experience. The ILOs for the course are to have arguments for the role of information literacy in higher education and ideas of implementing them in TLAs. The content of learning is for example the concept of information literacy, theoretical perspectives and constructive alignment for integration in course syllabi. TLAs are written pre-lecture reflections on the concept of information literacy, used as a starting point for the three-hour seminar. Learning reflections are written afterwards. The AT is to revise a syllabus (preferably using constructive alignment) for a course the teacher is responsible for, where information literacy must be integrated with the other parts and topics of the course.Constructive Alignment in Practice: Using constructive alignment has taught us that this model serves well as the foundation of the theoretical and methodological platform for librarian-teacher cooperation when integrating information literacy in course syllabi. It contains all important aspects of the integration of information literacy in course syllabi and reflects constructivist and socio-cultural theories.

Ethos and Practice of a Connected Learning Movement: Interpreting Virtually Connecting Through Alignment with Theory and Survey Results

Virtually Connecting (VC) is a connected learning volunteer movement that enlivens virtual conference experiences by partnering those that are at the conference with virtual participants that cannot attend. In looking to articulate the ethos and intentions of VC, a manifesto was developed by a group of core members and presented at the Digital Learning Research Network in 2015. This paper connects the group’s ethos, as defined in this manifesto, to various learning theories including Connectivism, connected learning, and the practice of online communities. The paper reports on both quantitative and qualitative results from a survey sent to members of the community over February and March of 2016, as well as some information obtained from blogs and other forms of social media, and ties these results to the manifesto items. This alignment of theory and participant feedback shows continuity between the stated ethos of the community and the impressions of those living the volunteer experience.

A WORK INTEGRATED LEARNING PARTNERSHIP MODEL FOR HIGHER EDUCATION GRADUATES TO GAIN EMPLOYMENT

ABSTRACTSouth Africa has embarked on a National Development Plan and Vision for 2030 to promote a triple helix partnership with education, government and industry to reduce the unemployment rate from 27% in 2011 to 6% by 2030. In support of this national imperative, the Human Resources Management (HRM) Programme at the University of Johannesburg pioneered a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Partnership Model to promote the employability of graduates. The WIL model allows students to gain workplace knowledge, skills and experience while industry partners observe the newly emerging talent in the form of future-fit leaders entering the world of work. Research was conducted to elicit the responses of key stakeholders on the proposed implementation of the WIL partnership model. Qualitative focus group sessions were facilitated with industry, academic and student groups to highlight common and profound perspectives on participant support, concerns and questions on the implementation process. Major findings reveal that all three groups of participants supported the implementation of the WIL model. Industry welcomed the model as it provided opportunities for recruitment and meeting national skills imperatives. Academics supported the model as it bridged the theory–practice gap while meeting compliance standards. Students supported the model as they gained workplace exposure and put theory into practice. All three participant groups expressed concerns and raised questions on placement, indemnity, confidentiality, work preparedness, time span, tracking processes and practice–theory alignment. This article presents the current WIL trends, research method, research findings, the WIL Partnership Model, and the implications for implementation of the model.

Aligning theory and measurement in behavioral models of water conservation

Discussion in the water literature has called for research on the role of behavioral intentions in explanations of both water demand and water conservation. But previous research has suggested that individual-level motivations are not good predictors of metered household water consumption. Two possible reasons for the lack of association between intentions and actual water conservation are that: (i) conservation behaviors are habitual and (ii) conservation behaviors and intention are measured at different levels of analysis. These explanations were tested in a sample of 415 residential households who provided permission to access their water consumption billing records. The effects of intentions, habit strength, and their interaction were examined in single-person households where the alignment of theory and measurement were the same. While behavioral intentions were associated with self-reports of past water conservation and habit strength, none of these variables were good predictors of water conservation. The implications of these results for the development of attitude theory using metered consumption data are discussed.

LC-MS alignment in theory and practice: a comprehensive algorithmic review

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry is widely used for comparative replicate sample analysis in proteomics, lipidomics and metabolomics. Before statistical comparison, registration must be established to match corresponding analytes from run to run. Alignment, the most popular correspondence approach, consists of constructing a function that warps the content of runs to most closely match a given reference sample. To date, dozens of correspondence algorithms have been proposed, creating a daunting challenge for practitioners in algorithm selection. Yet, existing reviews have highlighted only a few approaches. In this review, we describe 50 correspondence algorithms to facilitate practical algorithm selection. We elucidate the motivation for correspondence and analyze the limitations of current approaches, which include prohibitive runtimes, numerous user parameters, model limitations and the need for reference samples. We suggest and describe a paradigm shift for overcoming current correspondence limitations by building on known liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry behavior.

Business and Information Technology (IT) Alignment in Theory and Practice: Evidence From Selected Companies in Sri Lanka

This research provides a comprehensive approach to show the business-IT alignment in terms of where they are and what they can do to improve alignment maturity. Identifying an organization’s alignment maturity provides an excellent vehicle for understanding and improving the business-IT relationship. Alignment addresses both how IT is in harmony with the business, and how the business should, or could be in harmony with IT. A survey research method was applied to gather data and Strategic Alignment Maturity Model (SAMM) used to measure the business-IT alignment.

Achieving Process Standardization in Digital Society with ‘ASCP Model’

Process standardization is targeted to address the digital society in general and business community in particular for satisfying the needs of inter-enterprise integration standards that provide real-world value (as mentioned in the Object Management Group Mission statement). For this purpose a unified model that allows a better understanding on the nature and significance of strategic alignment in theory and practice called ‘Abstraction Standardization Customization Personalization model’ (ASCP Model) is conceived based on Abstraction-StandardizationConcretization Methodology. Classification is an important tool for perception and can be found in numerous scientific disciplines. Several application areas of classification are described in the context of information modeling. The usefulness of classification both as a reference model and a methodology is required for the purpose of systematically positioning the macro level problems in various layers defined in the classification scheme and is adopted in ASCP Model. ASCP Model is a classification scheme to drive and derive Process Standardization. Consistency in operations is necessary for claiming the process as a reference to set of standard patterns. Business Process Modeling has undoubtedly emerged as a popular and relevant practice in this regard. Our findings suggest that the critical areas of concern are standardization of processes, process modeling approaches, identification of the value and its proposition in business process modeling and in model-driven process execution. It is believed that ASCP both as a model and methodology is expected to persist as a road for building standard process blocks targeting the digital governance and digital business community in the future.

Donor opr and values-fit incongruence: An improved predictor of donations of unrestricted funds for 501(c)(3) publicly-supported, tax-exempt, faith-based, not-for-profit organizations?

This study examined donor development processes in a faithbased, 501(c)(3) publicly-supported, tax-exempt organizational setting. The conceptual framework is relationship marketing theory as informed from a systems theory alignment perspective. Organization-public relationship (OPR) dynamically predicts donor willingness to contribute unrestricted funds. It is proffered that the discrepancy variable, “values-fit incongruence,” significantly affects this dynamic. This contention is explored by asking the following two questions: (a) does donor-organization values-fit incongruence significantly negatively predict donor willingness to contribute unrestricted funds, and b) is the OPR construct strengthened with the patent inclusion of values-fit incongruence as an interactive moderator variable. Results suggest values-fit incongruence significantly negatively predicts donor willingness to contribute unrestricted funds. The results also suggest the OPR model is not strengthened by patently including the values-fit incongruence variable, as it may already be latently accounted for.

Is educational theory being valued by student teachers in further and higher education?

This article re-examines the theory-practice relationship, by exploring the value and use student teachers make of educational theory in both written assessments and in practice. Educational theory forms a crucial part of the knowledge base which underpins teacher preparation courses within further, adult and higher education. This is particularly so of learning theory and theories which have become part of the commonsense reality of curriculum design. Student teachers are expected to utilise theoretical principles to both support assignment papers and to guide practice. The value of the theory, as perceived by teacher educators, is to act as a resource for facilitating the neophyte teacher in to the practice of teaching; the issue remains, however, as to the extent to which student teachers prize theory in the same way. Informal discussion with student teachers and examination of assignment work suggests that, whilst teachers do attribute value to the use of educational theory, the extent, level and depth of how theory is valued, is extremely variable. Each specific way that student teachers use theory may equate with a particular stance about how they are valuing theory, thus signalling the need for rethinking approaches to curriculum planning to promote a more balanced alignment of theory and practice strands in teacher preparation programmes.