This study explored the impact of transactional distance dialogic interactions on student satisfaction in an international blended learning master's degree program. The program examined was collaboratively delivered by three European universities to a cohort of students residing on several different continents. Students reported experiencing transactional distance for learnerlearner and learner-teacher dialogic interaction elements and dissatisfaction in the online components of the program but reported a sense of community and satisfaction for the inperson elements of the program. Transactional distance for the dimension of learner-content dialogic interaction was highest for elements of the program that were impacted by its multiinstitutional nature, but students reported general satisfaction for the program overall. This study has practical implications for distance educators, administrators, instructional designers, and policy makers concerned with student satisfaction in blended courses and programs, and it contributes to the literature on student satisfaction and multi-institutional programs.
This is an exploratory inquiry into signed language interpreters' perceptions of interpreter e-professionalism on social media, specifically Facebook. Given the global pervasiveness of Facebook, this study presents an international perspective, and reports on findings of focus groups held with a total of 12 professional signed language interpreters from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Denmark, all of whom are also Facebook users. The findings reveal that Facebook is seen to blur the traditional boundaries between personal and professional realms-an overlap which is perceived to be compounded by the nature of the small community in which signed language interpreters typically work-necessitating boundary management strategies in order to maintain perceptions of professionalism on the site. Facebook is considered a valuable professional resource to leverage for networking, professional development, problem solving and assignment preparation, but it is also perceived as a potential professional liability for both individual interpreters and the profession at large. Maintaining client confidentiality was found to be the most pressing challenge Facebook brings to the profession. Educational measures to raise awareness about e-professionalism were generally viewed favourably.
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