The use of learning management systems (LMS) has grown considerably in universities around the world. The University of Minho (UM) has pioneered in this area in Portugal, adopting Blackboard as its official LMS. Moodle is also used in UM in scattered initiatives, allowing for interesting comparisons. Previous studies comparing Blackboard and Moodle have been confined to limited samples and focused on students' perceptions only. In this paper, we also try to relate those perceptions to the impact of the LMSs on student level of engagement. We assess the extent and depth of use of the two LMSs, presenting the results of a study of students' perceptions and experience with both Blackboard and Moodle. Unlike previous studies, more students (46.5%) stated a preference for Blackboard over Moodle, while 34.7% preferred Moodle, and nearly 20% had no preference. Factors that might explain these results are explored in some detail. By and large, a basic utilisation is made of both platforms, as little more than electronic document repositories, in what Francis and Raftery, in 2005, designate as a Mode 1 level of engagement. We could, however, detect some instances of a more sophisticated Mode 2 utilisation, particularly with Moodle, underlining the role of faculty in integrating a sophisticated use of LMSs when designing their courses.
We study the resilience of the “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” in times of financial crisis by analyzing their long‐term financial performance. Apart from implementing methods that tackle the statistical problems of stock returns, we use a conditional model to measure financial performance in periods of market growth (bull markets) and market downturn (bear markets). We find that best places to work are indeed resilient in times of crisis since neither their financial performance nor their systematic risk are affected during bear markets: top companies continue to outperform the market during periods of crisis, and the performance of lower‐ranked great workplaces does not deteriorate. Moreover, we find that previous studies were overestimating performance, and only great workplaces on the top half of the rankings exhibit positive excessive returns. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
This article presents a global overview of the third sector in Portugal drawing on data from a linked employer-employee database-''Quadros de Pessoal,'' which is based on a compulsory annual inquiry to organizations, making it a better source of information than those based on sample surveys and estimates. This study advances on previous overviews by providing more updated numbers for organization size, age, gross revenue and employment levels, as well as their distribution across the ICNPO third sector activity classification. The evolution of these variables from the period 1997 to 2007 is also analyzed. The Portuguese third sector has been fast growing, with revenues amounting to 5.64% of Portugal's GDP and employment representing 4% of the country's employment in 2007. It is mainly composed of very small organizations, with diminutive revenues. Perhaps its most striking features are the uneven distribution of employment and revenue and the strong concentration on social services.Résumé Ce document présente une vision générale du tiers secteur au Portugal en utilisant les informations d'une base de données employeur-travailleur, dénommée «Quadros de Pessoal», qui repose sur une enquête annuelle obligatoire des organisations, ce qui en fait une meilleure source d'information que celles fondées sur les enquêtes par sondage et les estimations. Cette étude vient appuyer les informations générales précédentes en fournissant des chiffres plus récents concernant la taille de l'organisation, l'âge, le revenu brut et les niveaux d'emploi, ainsi que leur répartition dans la classification internationale des organisations sans but lucratif (ICNPO). L'évolution de ces variables pour la période 1997-2007 y est également analysée. Le tiers secteur au Portugal a été en pleine expansion, avec des recettes s'élevant à 5,64% du PIB du Portugal, et un taux d'emploi représentant 4% de l'emploi du pays
This paper describes the experience of peer assessment in a problem-based learning course in a Portuguese university, and presents the results of a survey of 120 students who attended the course over seven semesters. Cluster analysis revealed that students group into two distinct clusters with significantly different experiences of peer assessment. Although the larger cluster (70%) expressed a positive experience, the other group perceived peer assessment results and final marks to be unfair, and reported incidents of friendship-marking and conflict arising from peer assessment. Results show that perceptions of fairness (both regarding peer assessment and final marks) are very much associated with those problems. We reflect on these findings to explore implications for practice as well as future research.
Purpose-This paper aims to examine how functional and numerical flexibility can be successfully combined without workforce segmentation or flexible employment contracts, by implementing a highly integrated human resource management (HRM) system. Design/methodology/approach-Six case studies were conducted between January 2002 and June 2003 in Portuguese affiliates of multinational management consulting firms using a grounded theory approach. Findings-Evidence from the case studies showed that some of these companies were able to explore both functional and numerical flexibility in a combined and interdependent way, by operating a tightly run and highly coordinated set of HRM practices geared towards the development of internal labour markets. Research limitations/implications-The study uses a sample of large multinational companies in a single sector, which limits the scope of these findings. Practical implications-It is suggested that a strategy combining numerical and functional flexibility through an integrated set of HRM policies and practices will be more effective than segmenting the workforce or choosing between those two sources of flexibility. Originality/value-The paper presents a new breadth for the role of HRM in achieving flexibility. Theoretically, it challenges the established notion that commitment-based HRM serves only functional flexibility and that numerical flexibility can only be achieved through precarious employment.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.