Analysing the correlation between social network analysis measures and performance of students in social network-based engineering education

Social network-based engineering education (SNEE) is designed and implemented as a model of Education 3.0 paradigm. SNEE represents a new learning methodology, which is based on the concept of social networks and represents an extended model of project-led education. The concept of social networks was applied in the real-life experiment, considering two different dimensions: (1) to organize the education process as a social network-based process; and (2) to analyze the students’ interactions in the context of evaluation of the students learning performance. The objective of this paper is to present a new model for students evaluation based on their behavior during the course and its validation in comparison with the traditional model of students’ evaluation. The validation of the new evaluation model is made through an analysis of the correlation between social network analysis measures (degree centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, eigenvector centrality, and average tie strength) and the grades obtained by students (grades for quality of work, grades for volume of work, grades for diversity of work, and final grades) in a social network-based engineering education. The main finding is that the obtained correlation results can be used to make the process of the students’ performance evaluation based on students interactions (behavior) analysis, to make the evaluation partially automatic, increasing the objectivity and productivity of teachers and allowing a more scalable process of evaluation. The results also contribute to the behavioural theory of learning performance evaluation. More specific findings related to the correlation analysis are: (1) the more different interactions a student had (degree centrality) and the more frequently the student was between the interaction paths of other students (betweenness centrality), the better was the quality of the work; (2) all five social network measures had a positive and strong correlation with the grade for volume of work and with the final grades; and (3) a student with high average tie strength had a higher grade for diversity of work than those with low ties.     

Does economic freedom fosters banks’ performance? Panel evidence from Malaysia

The present paper provides new empirical evidence on the impact of economic freedom on banks’ performance. The empirical analysis is confined to the Malaysian banking sector during the period of 1999–2007. We find that overall economic freedom and business freedom exerts positive impacts, implying that higher (lower) freedom on the activities that banks can undertake and entrepreneurs to start businesses increases (reduces) banks’ profitability. The empirical findings seem to suggest that corruption has a corrosive impact on Malaysian banks’ profitability. Interestingly, the impact of monetary freedom is negative, demonstrating the importance of government intervention in determining the profitability of banks operating in the Malaysian banking sector.     

Welfare and technology in the network society—Concerns for the future of welfare

The last decade of explosive innovation thanks to the growth of information and communication technologies (ICT) has left the public sector, and particularly the provision of welfare services, largely unchanged. Where socialising, commerce, information finding, entertainment and travel have all undergone profound structural transformations, the workings of government have not seen a similar shift. To be sure, the pace of decision-making has been sped up, as it has elsewhere, by Blackberries, and a small number of services are delivered online. But these services are still based around their offline equivalents, and usually aim simply at cutting the costs associated with their delivery by moving online. While this will continue to be a key motivation for the digitisation of government, other more fundamental developments are set to take place which will herald new online-only services, and which will encourage radical decentralisation of power.The first part of this paper will look at the private sector's experience over the past decade for clues as to why the public sector has moved relatively slowly, and likely directions of development in coming years. We will also here present evidence from our own forecasts of the likely narrowing of the digital divide. The next two sections will then deal with future developments in more detail, firstly looking at ICT's future role in welfare service delivery, and secondly at the ways in which it might be used for greater citizen engagement, and the reshaping of power structures that will result from this. The final section will examine some conflicts that arise from this reorientation away from the centre.     

A market segmentation analysis of users of a black-owned neighborhood shopping center

This study examines the characteristics and shopping behavior of urban blacks who patronize a black-owned and managed neighborhood shopping center in a large mid-western city. The shopping center is located in a community that reflects typical inner city characteristics of high unemployment, low income, and classic shortage of necessary retail and commercial facilities. The community promotion analyzed in the study was the shopping center's first formal attempt to promote the mall and provided an opportunity both to measure the traffic and the sales generating impact of the promotion and to learn about the profiles of the center's shoppers. Covered in the study are demographic and socio-economic variables, attitudes toward and perceptions of various characteristics of the mall, and various dimensions of the respondent's retail shopping behavior. Analysis of the characteristics of the shopping center's customers indicates two distinct market segments that live different distances from the mall with sex, income, age, and shopping behavior varying by segment. The hypothesis that the two groups of black shoppers, with different demographic characteristics, will also exhibit different shopping behavior was not rejected, and therefore, the authors could suggest marketing policy and strategy recommendations to management to more effectively reach and satisfy the heavy user of such shopping centers. Alpha Development Corp.     

The Impact Of Business Intelligence Systems on an Organization’s Effectiveness: The Role of Metadata Quality From a Developing Country’S View

ABSTRACT

Business Intelligence (BI) systems are extensively used by large hotels in Jordan; however their effectiveness has not yet been researched. The aim of this research is to explore the relationships among definitional metadata quality, data quality metadata quality, navigational metadata quality, lineage metadata quality, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and system effectiveness in enhancing organizational effectiveness of five star hotels in Aqaba, Jordan. To test the research hypotheses, 225 usable responses containing 37 items were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and a Machine Learning technique. Results suggest that organizational effectiveness was directly and positively affected by perceived usefulness and BI systems effectiveness. Nevertheless, perceived usefulness did not impact BI systems effectiveness.     

The nexus between sectoral FDI and institutional quality: empirical evidence from Pakistan

This study investigates short- and long-run bidirectional causality between institutional quality and sectoral-level FDI in Pakistan by using the ARDL technique. The results confirm that long-run bidirectional causality exists between institutional quality and aggregate FDI. The in-depth sectoral-level FDI analysis substantiates the presence of long-run bidirectional causality between institutional quality and FDI in services and manufacturing sectors, while no long-run causality is observed between institutional quality and FDI inflows in primary sector. Furthermore, the results in the study reveal short-run bidirectional causality only between institutional quality and manufacturing FDI and report insignificant short-run causal link between institutional quality and FDI in primary and services sectors. The overall findings of the study suggest that in the long-run institutional quality attract FDI and FDI inflows, particularly to manufacturing and services sectors, significantly enhance the quality of institutions in Pakistan.     

Face Value: Information and Signaling in an Illegal Market

Economists argue that rich information environments and formal enforcement of contracts are necessary to prevent market failures when information asymmetries exist. We test for the necessity of formal enforcement to overcome the problems of asymmetric information by estimating the value of information in an illegal market with a particularly rich information structure: the online market for male sex work. We assemble a rich data set from the largest and most comprehensive online male sex worker Web site to estimate the effect of information on pricing. We show how clients of male sex workers informally police the market in a way that makes signaling credible. Using institutional knowledge, we identify the specific signal male sex workers use to communicate quality to clients: face pictures. We find that there is a substantial return to the signal in this market. The findings provide novel evidence on the ability of rich information environments to overcome problems of asymmetric information without formal enforcement mechanisms.     

Private capital flows,stock market and economic growth in developed and developing countries: A comparative analysis

Empirically we investigate how three types of private capital flows could promote economic growth in recipient developed and developing countries. Our focus is on the role of stock markets as a channel through which foreign capital flows could promote growth. The findings reveal that FDI exhibits a positive impact on growth, while both foreign debt and portfolio investment have a negative impact on growth in all sample countries. However, our results indicate that stock markets might be a significant channel or leading institutional factor through which capital flows affect economic growth. The findings provide clear implications that the negative impact of private capital flows can be transformed into a positive one if the stock market development has attained a certain threshold level, regardless of whether it is in developed or developing countries.     

区域经济合作中地方政府政策选择的博弈分析——以山东半岛城市群为例

根据经济实力的差距将同一区域内的城市分为两种不同类型的组合,通过对每种组合中两个不同城市之间的合作分别进行静态和动态博弈分析,指出：区域合作可以有效促进城市群整体的发展,其中政府任期和政绩考核、政策干预以及利益分配比例是影响区域合作成败的三大重要因素。同时,结合山东半岛城市群区域合作实践中存在的问题和不足指出,只有在三大因素科学协调的基础上,区域经济一体化才能朝着持续、良好的方向发展。     

论我国旅游消费者的权益保护

旅游已逐渐成为我国人们生活中必不可少的消费娱乐活动,但随之产生的旅游消费者的权益保护问题也暴露出来。我国还尚未制定出一套完善的旅游法律体系、旅游信息的不对称、旅游消费者自身的法律意识薄弱,我国旅游消费者的合法权益在实践中无法得到有效的保护,这在一定程度上制约了我国旅游经济的发展,为了进一步促进旅游业的发展,我国必须采取各种措施保护旅游消费者的合法权益。