<p>Interaction plays a critical role in the learning process. For online course participants, interaction with the course content (learner-content interaction) is especially important because it can contribute to successful learning outcomes and course completion. This study aims to examine the relationship between learner-content interaction and course grade to determine if this interaction type is a contributing success factor. Data related to student interaction with course content, including time spent reviewing online course materials, such as module PowerPoint presentations and course videos and time spent completing weekly quizzes, were collected for students in three sections of an online course (<em>N </em>= 139). The data were then correlated against grades achieved in the course to determine if there was any relationship. Findings indicate statistically significant relationships between the amount of time the learner spent with the content and weekly quiz grades (<em>r </em>= .-72).  The study concludes that learners who spent more time interacting with course content achieve higher grades than those who spent less time with the content.<br /><br /></p>

Contingent workers fulfill valuable organizational needs and have functioned as knowledge resources for organizations. Despite their contributions, the literature suggests that a difference in treatment exists between contingent and standard workers in terms of onboarding, pay for performance, and training and development practices within organizations. This paper presents an empirically testable framework that argues for a shift in HR strategies that will allow for equality in treatment between standard and contingent workers within organizations.

Purpose -Within the expansive body of literature on knowledge management, very little research is found that examines the use of teams as a sub-process for knowledge management. This article addresses this limitation by seeking to provide a theoretical framework that examines the similarities between the benefits of incorporating teams into the workplace and incorporating knowledge management principles. Recognizing that knowledge management has several critical dimensions, the framework that ties workplace teams to each of these knowledge management dimensions is built. Knowledge management and teams in the workplace are viewed at the individual, team and organizational level of analysis.Design/methodology/approach -This is a conceptual paper that reviews current literature on teams and matches the functions of teams to those of knowledge management critical dimensions as outlined by Argote et al. knowledge management context and knowledge management outcomes.Findings -The deficit in current literature is identified by placing teams as a sub-process for knowledge management. Additionally, the benefits teams can have on an organization within the knowledge management process are identified.Originality/value -The research contributes to the field by offering a framework that can serve to further the research on utilizing teams as a sub-process to knowledge management. Teams are identified as a sub-process to the knowledge management process within an organizational framework.

The Online Student Connectedness Survey (OSCS) was introduced to the academic community in 2012 as an instrument designed to measure feelings of connectedness between students participating in online degree and certification programs. The purpose of this study was to examine data from the instrument for initial evidence of validity and reliability and to establish a nomological network between the OSCS, the Classroom Connectedness Survey (CCS), and the Community of Inquiry Survey (COI), which are similar instruments in the field. Results provided evidence of factor validity and reliability. Additionally, statistically and practically significant correlations were demonstrated between factors contained in the OSCS and established instruments measuring factors related to student connectedness. These results indicate that for the sample used in this study, the OSCS provides data that are valid and reliable for assessing feelings of connection between participants in online courses at institutions of higher learning.Keywords: distance learning, student connectedness, factor validity, construct validity The Online Student Connectedness Survey: Evidence of Initial Construct ValidityThe struggling economy and increased competition in the job market have helped intensify enrollment in online classes at higher education institutions (Sheehy, 2012). This growth has led to an upsurge in research into factors that result in student success in online classes, most notably online student connectedness (Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007;Ouzts, 2006). Online student connectedness refers to human interactions in computer-mediated learning environments that allow individuals to participate comfortably in group Black, 1986). The ability to understand how students interact and succeed in online courses is critical because online learning is expected to be a vital part of long-term strategies for many higher education institutions (Sheehy, 2012). The need to study factors related to online connectedness has been addressed by several authors (Rovai, 2002a; Slagter van Tyron & Bishop, 2006Shin, 2003;Tu & McIsaac, 2002). However, a review of the contemporary literature yielded three instruments designed to measure the concept of online student connectedness (Bolliger & Inan, 2012 Rovai (2002a) developed the CCS to measure students' sense of community in a learning environment.Subscales were shown to measure social community and learning community, but a test of the psychometric properties revealed that the CCS might be best suited for graduate students (Barnard-Brak & Shiu, 2010).While the CCS measures the relationship between students as it relates to sense of community and perceived learning, it ignores the importance of relationships that students build with the course facilitator and their need for comfort with technology. Evidence suggests that students' feelings toward the facilitator and their level of comfort with technology are critical factors in developing feelings of social connectedness in online educational settings (Boll...