Group Project Research Articles

Breaking Stereotype in the Development of Employability Skills Using Flexible Learning and Pedagogical Tools: A Multiple Study of Business Schools

The study sought to explore students’ and teachers' perspectives on the development of 21st-century employability skills for business students in four different countries through flexible learning pedagogical tools and approaches. Notwithstanding the notable successes recorded in the field of flexible learning over the years, some people are still wondering about the effectiveness of these teaching and learning tools when compared to students being on campus for studies. This study helps to establish the importance of flexible learning pedagogical tools in the development of employability skills for students in business schools across four different continents. The current study argues that flexible learning pedagogical tools should be paid more attention to by higher education providers to encourage and deepen students' learning experience in business schools. The study has shown that some pedagogical tools are more effective in the flexible learning environment than the traditional universities, due to the level of acceptability by the students and academics sampled for this study. Moreover, the use of pedagogical tools such as lectures, class debates, group projects, case studies, internships, technology-embedded tools such as smartphones or iPads, multiple-choice tests, essay tests and term papers were found to be effective and fit for purpose by most of the participants. They linked the level of effectiveness to the employability skills they offer along with factors such as students’ preferences, learning styles, prior learning, motivation, academic choice based on their previous experiences or willingness to deliver certain pedagogical tools, assessment methods, learning cultural aspects and the backgrounds of both academics and students along with where the learning is taking place. It identifies the key tools used within a flexible learning environment such as lectures and especially videos of lectures uploaded on Moodle for the students to access at any time and anywhere (accessibility of learning materials). The study findings revealed role play, case studies, class discussion, group projects, guest speakers, internships, MCQs/essays/term papers, reading, and homework were efficient post-COVID learning in fostering 21st-century employability skills for business students. Also, due to the flexible nature of teaching and learning technology embedded tools such as social media, mobile devices, games, and simulation are becoming more and more popular and adopted by various academics in their teaching pedagogy. The effectiveness of the learning and teaching tools relies on the employability skills undergraduate students develop during their studies. Most of the students and academics sampled for this study were satisfied with the delivery of the course delivery and the level of employability skills developed from them. The main challenge of educators is to identify the key link between pedagogical tools and employability skills they develop and utilise to promote 21st-century graduate skill sets. The current research project confirmed that the flexible learning approach leverages the benefits of pedagogy and learning technology to offer an engaging, educative, and bespoke learning experience that assists business students to realise their potential. It is recommended that learning providers construct and evaluate learning infrastructures, policies, and practices to provide inclusive and accessible learning opportunities that promote successful learner engagement and belonging, to guarantee a positive experience in business schools.

Students and Academics Perception of Flexible Learning Tools and their Effectiveness in Developing Employability Skills within UK Business Schools

With the growth and acceptance of flexible learning after the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to identify the pedagogical tools which are effective in developing employability skills among the undergraduate business students. The paper is the second in the series to investigate the effective pedagogical tools to develop the employability skills. This study seeks to provide an insight into the most effective flexible pedagogical tool especially in the context of UK Business Schools. Indeed, the use of resourceful pedagogical tools are vital in developing the key 21st century employability skills among the business students. In order to ensure that organizations have the right skills to support and sustain their hard-earned success, and people have a relevant set of skills they need to be both employable and individually fulfilled. For this study, a single case study was selected; where a business school in central London was selected which provided both face to face and flexible learning to students in the UK. The study critically reviewed students’ and academics perspectives on the issue of pedagogical tools. Both data strands agreed that case studies, class debates, lectures, group projects, role play, and internships are effective flexible learning tools for the development of 21st century skills or in gaining employability for life values.

Facilitation of practical work in Natural Sciences: experiences and approaches of junior teachers

Background This paper explored junior teachers’ experiences and approaches when facilitating practical work in Natural Sciences during teaching and learning. Grade 7 is the final year of primary school in South Africa, with students between the ages of 11 to 13. The researchers observed that there are enormous challenges encountered by junior grade 7 teachers when preparing, designing and conducting practical work in Natural Sciences teaching and learning. Methods A qualitative multiple case study design was used. Three grade 7 Natural Sciences junior level teachers were selected purposively as participants. Data was collected through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Results The findings of this study revealed that some grade 7 junior Natural Sciences teachers were overwhelmed when facilitating practical work during teaching and learning. In addition, some of the grade 7 junior Natural Sciences teachers were unable to maintain discipline inside and outside the classroom environment when conducting practical work and demonstrations. The grade 7 junior Natural Sciences teachers had to use mechanism to cope with the demands associated with facilitation of practical work in Natural Sciences teaching and learning. Some of the approaches adopted by the grade 7 junior Natural Sciences teachers when facilitating practical work in Natural Sciences teaching and learning included group work, observations, demonstration, illustrations, projects and inquiry-based scientific investigations. Conclusion It is recommended that teachers be professionally trained on how to facilitate practical work to advance the new ways of teaching and learning as advocated by per the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement document while empowering them with pedagogical content knowledge to enable them to achieve the aim and objectives of practical work in Natural Sciences teaching and learning.

Change Implementation – Managing the Transition of a Librarian Service Towards a Sustainable Future

ABSTRACT An essential component of the academic knowledge infrastructure is the services provided by the library to its community of students, staff, and stakeholders. The University of Queensland library recently transitioned from a service model of individual discipline focused librarians to one where Outreach Librarians and Learning & Research Librarians deliver services with an explicit team approach, enabling the future vision of the Library to be seen as an essential component of the academic knowledge infrastructure of UQ. The transition took place over an extended 18-month period, with ten project groups formed from the librarian group to focus on service review and to reconsider the operational processes to implement the required changes. This paper is about the whole approach of transition to change, and the intention of sharing so others will find practical help, as methodical management of the transition was a key factor to enable the change.

State regulation of the use of ESG methodology

The history of banks’ involvement in solving the issues of sustainable development of the society is, on the one hand, short by the standards of economic history, and on the other hand, bright and ambiguous. This is explained by the strategic goal of the banking institution functioning - ensuring a stable turnover of financial resources in the socio-economic system of the country and building up financial capital. It is the latter component that caused the interest of the market and state regulators in the possibility of attracting banks’ capital to finance so-called “green projects” aimed at solving local or global environmental problems of mankind. Today, the strategic agenda of more and more banks includes various elements of ESG-methodology of responsible corporate behavior, implemented in the form of corporate social policy (mainly focused on the bank’s staff and its clients) and a portfolio of “green investments” - a group of projects that are mainly socially-oriented or infrastructural in nature. The purpose of such responsible investment is both to solve specific socially or environmentally important tasks and to strengthen the market position of the bank-investor itself, which forms a positive image in the eyes of its key stakeholders.

Transformation of the multilevel system of transport infrastructure project management

The article is devoted to the development of theoretical and methodological provisions aimed at systemic transformation of the organization of a multi-level system of project management of transport infrastructure. The authors propose to use the method of multi-parametric assessment for groups of projects aimed at the development of transport infrastructure based on economic and environmental indicators, including determining the level of efficiency of the socio-innovative potential of transport, taking into account the degree of possible risks. The significance of the practical component of the study is to determine a set of conditions for the possible practical use of the methodology for managing groups of projects in the field of transport infrastructure considering the effectiveness of the implementation of the tasks and goals laid down in them. The method of organization of project management makes it possible to optimize the number of unrealized groups of projects in a multiple way, to carry out the procedure of ordering and multifactorial selection in the context of each hierarchical management level. The reliability of the results obtained was confirmed by the implementation of projects in the field of transport in Moscow, as well as the use of various mathematical methods.

A group project on governmental accounting standards: Value, design, and efficacy

In Canada, public sector entities follow the Public Sector Accounting (PSA) Handbook for financial reporting. A multi-phase group project has been carefully designed to give students direct experience with current issues in public sector financial reporting via examination of the PSA standards. The project also provides students with an opportunity to improve their critical thinking, presentation skills, writing skills, leadership skills, and teamwork skills. This study reports on the value, design, and efficacy of this group project. Students have shown a high level of satisfaction with the project in their quantitative and qualitative responses to surveys and interview questions, indicating the group project is successful in its learning objectives.

The Evolution of Active Learning in Response to the Pandemic: The Role of Technology.

Active learning has consistently played a significant role in education. Through interactive tasks, group projects, and a variety of engaging activities, students are encouraged to forge connections with the subject matter. However, the pandemic has necessitated that educators adapt and refine their active learning techniques to accommodate the online environment. This has resulted in stimulating innovations in the field, encompassing virtual simulations, online collaboration tools, and interactive multimedia. The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly transformed the landscape of teaching and learning, particularly in higher education. One of the most prominent shifts has been the widespread adoption of active learning techniques, which have increased student engagement and fostered deeper learning experiences. In this chapter, we examine the evolution of active learning during the pandemic, emphasizing its advantages and challenges. Furthermore, we delve into the role of advances in artificial intelligence and their potential to enhance the effectiveness of active learning approaches. As we once focused on leveraging the opportunities of remote teaching, we must now shift our attention to harnessing the power of AI responsibly and ethically to benefit our students. Drawing from our expertise in educational innovation, we provide insights and recommendations for educators aiming to maximize the benefits of active learning in the post-pandemic era.

Effectiveness of group work among the final radiography students of the National Diploma.

Group work is employed in higher education institutions to foster communication, collaborative learning, leadership qualities and teamwork skills. The rationale behind group work as a learning strategy is to ensure that graduates are equipped with teamwork skills. The aim of this study was to establish whether the final-year radiography students of the National Diploma curriculum in three universities in South Africa were exposed to effective group work. The study was conducted in three universities in South Africa, all of which offer diagnostic radiography programmes. This study used a non-experimental descriptive design to collect data. A purposive sampling technique was used to select participants. This was an attempt to conduct a census on 167 students, out of which 124 students responded to the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 74.25%. The findings show that the majority (n = 81; 66.9%) of students did not enjoy group work, as 101 (81.5%) of them preferred less group projects. The results further demonstrated that participants rated factors such as co-operation, leadership, choice, diversity and effectiveness of group work neutral on the Likert scale. The study results imply that factors that contribute towards the effectiveness of group work should be incorporated into group activities in order for student radiographers to be exposed to effective group work. The gaps identified in this study indicate the need for a follow-up study within the current 4-year bachelor's degree in radiography. Identification of a gap in radiography education, which group work needs to be facilitated effectively.

Establishing the Theoretical Constructs for e-Learning in Applied Architecture Programs

Addressing the challenge of bridging the theory-practice gap in academic programs, particularly in applied disciplines, remains a significant concern for the educational system, even in a theoretical course. This issue is particularly apparent in architectural programs where instructors strive to enhance their course plans by incorporating Applied Based Learning (ABL) tasks that connect theoretical and practical knowledge while emphasizing essential skills. This study assesses how well this strategy works in theoretical classes, even for distance learning. Thus, in the fall semester of 2022, a performance assessment module had been added to the online theoretical course “History of Architecture II,” intended for second-year students. The study compared the learning outcomes of 41 students with relevant objectives through quantitative analysis using the Rasch model and WINSTEPS software as a tool. The study’s findings show that their performance generally improves when students participate in group projects. However, the research also shows that when students participated in applied tasks, their learning ability indicators significantly enhanced, which is a novel approach to teaching architecture. This underscores the need to integrate more educational tasks with practical implications into theoretical courses aligned with architecture as an applied science. The findings can serve as a roadmap to enhance the efficacy of architectural online education.

The Impact of Social Media on Academic Performance of the Students of Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria

The advent of information and communication technology is being celebrated today in the whole world. It has become part of everyday life. This modern technology in no doubt has turned the whole world into a Global village. The study aimed at examining the influence of social media on academic performance of students of tertiary institution in Edo State. In other to measure social media platforms a questionnaire was developed based on past literatures. A structured questionnaire was administered to a sample of 300 students assessing the impact of teachers influence, school environment and motivation on performance in Students of tertiary institution in Edo State. The data collected are presented in tables and analysed using mean and standard deviations were used to answer the research questions. The influence of social media on the student’s academic achievement in students of tertiary institution in Edo State was categorized using mean ratings; 0- 1.5 = low level of influence; 1.6-2.5 = moderate level of influence; and 2.6- 4.0 = high level of influence. Findings revealed that students of tertiary institution in Edo State school employ social media platforms for various purposes, including establishing new social connections, engaging in conversations with existing friends, conducting research for academic assignments and educational resources, staying informed about contemporary trends and news, collaborating with classmates on group projects, and exploring potential academic pathways for their future endeavours. The frequency of social media usage does not exert a statistically significant impact on the academic performance of students in the field of Students of tertiary institution in Edo State. The frequency of social media usage by students does not have a substantial impact on their average academic performance in the field of Students of tertiary institution in Edo State. Hence, there is no significant variation in the average academic performance in the field of Students of tertiary institution in Edo State among students, irrespective of the frequency with which they engage in social media usage. The study recommends that the monitoring and management of students’ social media usage by teachers and parents is necessary to mitigate the detrimental impact on their academic performance in the field of students of tertiary institution in Edo State, as the beneficial utilisation of social media platforms has been shown to boost teaching and learning.

Employee involvement in a hospital building project

Employee involvement in the planning and execution of building projects vastly affects both project success and functionality in the operating stage. This study is based on interviews with employees to investigate how they experience involvement in change processes related to a hospital building project in Norway. This answers the call for more qualitative approaches in project management research to unveil what actually goes on in projects.The study uses several theoretical lenses. First, we look at employees’ access to different bases of power and empowerment. Second, we analyse how path dependence affects experienced involvement. Third, we analyse the employees’ reactions to organizational changes; exit, voice, loyalty and neglect.The findings show the high involvement of appointed employee representatives in project groups, although they sometimes felt powerless and without necessary support. Ordinary employees lacked information and had little experience of empowerment. The project mostly followed a strict process of path dependence, and informants described behaviours of both exit, voice, loyalty and neglect. Lack of employee involvement might have resulted in impractical solutions and undesired employee behaviour.

Research of influencing factors of general contracting contracts risk contagion in project group

Research of influencing factors of general contracting contracts risk contagion in project group

Research on the Multimodal Integration of Visual Communication Design and Public Art in Digital Perspective

Abstract With the rise of digital media, the visual design of public art has gradually added multimodal interactive experience from purely conforming to information communication. Starting from the multimodal integration of public art visual communication design, this study takes several groups of public art landscape projects in a certain region as research objects to explore the relationship between the multimodal visual design of public art landscape and its public satisfaction. Firstly, the evaluation standard for public art visual communication design is constructed. The sample visual communication design is analyzed using the semantic difference method and then combined with the factor analysis method to provide a comprehensive evaluation. Based on determining the satisfaction effect indexes, the AHP method is used to assign weights to each index. Finally, the satisfaction effect results of the sample visual communication designs are obtained. After utilizing the result equation, the relationship between public art visual communication design and landscape satisfaction effect is explored. The overall appearance of public art visual communication design is presented better, and the impact of multimodal fusion visual communication design is especially prominent in samples 3, 2, and 10. The satisfaction effect of the sample visual communication design is also more satisfactory, with 70% of the sample landscapes scoring above 1.5. Meanwhile, the study verified the positive and significant influence of public art visual communication design on the satisfaction effect of landscapes. The theoretical basis and methodological exploration for the multimodal integration research of public art can be provided by this study.

Анализ комплементарности организационного развития и цифровой трансформации промышленного предприятия

The digital transformation of industrial enterprises has become mainstream approach to organizational development. This trend is driven by the advancements in information technologies, such as the spread of artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation. Additionally, there is a governmental policy in place that supports this area of development. Therefore, it is essential to not only implement new working methods, but to also monitor their effects on organizational performance. At present, there is an interconnection between the utilization of digitalization techniques and organizational development. The development of an organization has been confirmed through a number of studies. However, in each study, digital transformation and organizational development were measured in different ways, making it difficult to generalize the findings from the research as a whole for the entire global business landscape. Based on the analysis of expert cases (19 individuals with experience in digital transformation processes over the past two to three years), the article concludes that digital transformation has a variable impact on organizational development indicators. While here is a positive overall impact, the rate of change in these indicators within different digital transformation projects varies. The article also identifies three groups of digital transformation projects based on the organizational implications of their digital transformations.

Machine Learning Model for Applicability of Hybrid Learning in Practical Laboratory

Significant changes have been observed from 2019 in the COVID period as study styles shifted from traditional to hybrid learning. This paper predicted the applicability of the hybrid learning mode of education in the programming labs for the informatics faculty. It explored novel vital features that predicted the applicability of hybrid learning in the practical labs of the informatics domain. For this, the Classification and Regression Tree (CART) identified the relevance of hybrid education with an accuracy of 71.7%. The confusion matrix of the CART model has 67.3% correctness (sensitivity) for “Yes”, and 76% correctness (specificity) for “No” during validation. The false negative rate (type II error) is 32.7%, and the false positive rate (type I error) is 24%. The AUC value of the CART model is 0.68. Some obstacles were identified, such as isolation from the natural study environment, reduced quality of interaction with other faculty, and turning offthe mic or camera during labs. Also, it was found that the university initiated and provided support to create less stress and ease of communication. Adopting the Hyrbid learning mode is unsuitable for handling group tasks or projects in the laboratory. Also, the hybrid learning mode proved a vital mode of study in practical labs as online learning with a safe environment.

МЕДИАБІЛІМ ҮДЕРІСІНДЕ СТУДЕНТТЕРДІҢ АҚПАРАТТЫҚ ҚҰЗЫРЕТТІЛІГІН ДАМЫТУДАҒЫ ИННОВАЦИЯЛЫҚ ТҰҒЫР

The proposed work provides an overview of the importance of innovative approach in the development of students' information competencies in the process of media education. The research work included comparative analysis of data, systematization depending on the field of study and conclusions on the part of the authors. The article reveals the role of media education in the professional and personal development of future specialists. Nowadays need for the development of information competence in the process of media education was characterized by the importance of the ability to critically analyze and perceive seen, heard, read information, its use in professional activities. The authors consider how modern technologies and teaching methods can effectively interact with media education, contributing to the development of students' information competence. The innovative technologies applied in modern education are aimed at critical and creative thinking of future specialists, the possibility of working on group and individual projects, easy and attractive perception of the academic discipline, increasing motivation. The article systematized and analyzed the principles, law, opportunities, features and definitions according to the studies of domestic and foreign scientists who studied the theoretical and methodological foundations and development of pedagogical innovations. The definitions of key words and phrases found in the text of the article were also considered. In the process of media education, a number of recommendations were given on the topic and opportunities, the role of innovative approach in the development of information competencies of future specialists.

The critical role of parents within a Learning Health Network.

Parent members of the Pediatric Rheumatology Care & Outcomes Improvement Network are an integral part of the Learning Health Network's work. Since early in the creation of the network, they have been a part of every Quality Improvement project, committee, and work group and have a role in governance on the Executive and Steering Committees. Members of the Parent Working Group (PWG) have played a role in developing QI measures used in the clinical setting as well as initiatives and projects like the guiding work of Treat-to-Target. The PWG also creates self-management supports, including toolkits for families and patients at all stages of life. This article will discuss how integrating parents as partners in a pediatric Learning Health Network is critical for the quality of care received by children with chronic illnesses and to improving outcomes.

A NEW CHARACTERIZATION OF PROJECTIVE SPECIAL LINEAR GROUPS L2(q)

In this paper, we prove that projective special linear groups L2(q), where q ≡±2 (mod 5) (q is an odd prime) can be uniquely determined by |L2(q)| and nse(L2(q)).

Determining the discount rate for complex investment projects in oil and gas industry

In the investment programs of modern oil and gas companies (i.e., PJSC Lukoil Oil Company, PJSC Gazprom, PJSC Novatek), complex projects are gaining more and more attention, and in this case the efficiency for an investor should be assessed in terms of the overall effectiveness of projects. As an object of research, the authors consider a set of projects for the types of gas production and transportation activities. This paper studies the question of finding a discount rate with a focus on specific features of oil and gas industry. The relevance of the chosen topic is determined by the need to find a balanced rate of return of a complex investment project for inclusion in the investment portfolio of an oil and gas company. When evaluating the economic efficiency of complex projects that include subprojects of various types, such as mining or transportation, the discount rate of the entire project should be in balance with the regulatory rates for the types of activities presented in the project. In their work, the authors, drawing on the analysis of the formulas of the mathematical apparatus for calculating complex discount rate, propose a variant of calculating the internal rate of return (IRR) for a group of projects for which there is a formed level of normative values of IRR. The article is designed within the framework of economic research methods. The analysis of scientific literature and the comparative approach are combined with the use of methods of economic and mathematical modeling. The theoretical significance of the study consists in the description of the main postulates related to the analysis of profitability of investment projects in oil and gas industry. The practical significance lies in the development of approaches to determining the discount rate when assessing the economic efficiency of complex high-risk projects on the example of gas industry and the possibility of using these approaches in investment and strategic analysis of oil and gas companies.