Effects of web-based versus classroom-based STEM learning environments on the development of collaborative problem-solving skills in junior high school students

Collaborative problem-solving skills are one of the key competencies required in the twenty-first century. In this study, researchers attempted to compare the effectiveness of web-based collaborative problem-solving systems (wCPSS) and classroom-based collaborative hands-on learning activities (cCHLA) in the development of collaborative problem-solving skills in junior high school students who were learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related subjects. A quasi-experimental, nonequivalent pretest–posttest control group design was employed, and 241 junior high school students were invited to participate in the study. According to the results, a wCPSS-supported environment with teacher guidance was found to be more effective than either a wCPSS-supported environment without teacher guidance or a cCHLA-facilitated environment in developing students’ collaborative problem-solving skills in STEM fields. The study suggested that a web-based collaborative problem-solving system with teacher guidance can be used in developing junior high students’ collaborative problem-solving skills in STEM education.     

A causal model for the development of long-term facilities: a case in Taiwan

Elder care is an important issue in many developed countries such as U.S., Japan, and Taiwan. With the advent of population aging throughout the world, the development of long-term care facilities has become a very vital topic. In actuality, long-term care systems involve government oversight agencies as well as interaction between factors such as laws, social environment, culture, long-term care facilities, residents, and the families of residents, forming a complex and dynamic system. This paper uses system dynamics methodology to model the developmental structure of Taiwanese long-term care facilities to explore its system behaviors. The developmental structure of long-term care facilities in Taiwan is primarily composed of the four levels: overall satisfaction, overall service quality, the skill of administrative and medical care personnel and facility hardware resources. Time delay, complex, and dynamic relationships are present in the overall structure. The overall service quality of facilities is one of the most important factors in facilities’ development and that the skills of administrative and medical care personnel is the main critical factor in improving overall service quality. Finally, some suggestions are discussed relevant strategies for the government and the industry.     

The impact of sports ethics of professional baseball player to the development of sports industry in Taiwan

Once countries develop economically to a certain degree, they typically develop sports industries to further improve the welfare of their citizens and to stimulate further economic development. The successful development of sports industries, however, is affected by the impact of many environmental factors. The Enron scandal has caused ethical topics to become a subject of worldwide focus. This paper studies Taiwanese professional baseball to examine how ethical factors impact the survival and development of baseball teams. In reality, the operation of professional baseball is primarily affected by the impact of the ethical views of players as well as cultural environmental factors. These factors interact to form a complex and dynamic system. This study uses system dynamics to examine the systemic structure of the development of Taiwanese professional baseball. We present a dynamic model for the development of professional baseball and examine the impact of sports ethics and societal gambling trends on the development of professional baseball in Taiwan, and then discuss relevant topics.     

Comparing ad valorem and specific taxes with corporate social responsibility

This paper examines the welfare ranking of indirect tax systems with corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a duopoly. Findings show that the two firms' cost and CSR asymmetries both play important roles. If the cost-efficient firm has a higher CSR level, the standard result in traditional tax theory is sustainable. Namely, ad valorem tax (specific subsidy) policies are considered superior to specific tax (ad valorem subsidy) policies. However, if the cost-inefficient firm has a significantly higher CSR level, the standard result is reversed. This result remains robust in an oligopoly model or under a tax revenue constraint.     

Collaboration in the Shadow of the Technology Frontier: Evidence from the Flat Panel Display Industry

The literature on competition through innovation tends to emphasize the benefits of technological leadership. However, we explain why a capable firm might prefer to shadow the technology leader—remaining slightly behind rather than competing directly at the frontier. On the basis of a formal model and the competitive dynamics literature, we propose that the more benefits a firm gains from collaboration with a technological leader through licensing and supply agreements, the more likely the firm is to take a shadowing position. Our hypotheses, particularly regarding licensing from a technological leader, receive support from a large sample in the flat panel display industry. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deteriorating inventory model for ready-to-eat food under fuzzy environment

Decreased costs and enhanced customer satisfaction are two main objectives of SCM, and good inventory policy can achieve both simultaneously. Product perishability is a critical aspect of inventory policy. Ready-to-eat food products are very common consumer goods that are, in fact, perishable. The value the RTE food retains is, however, closely dependent on its quality. From the vendor’s point of view, quantifying quality and remaining value should be a critical business issue. In consequence, we combined the traditional deterioration model and quality prediction model to develop a new deteriorating inventory model for RTE food products. This new model quantifies food quality and remaining value. We also improved the new model by fuzzifying storage temperature to simulate temperature fluctuation. The proposed model uses real deterioration rate data. Numerical analysis is conducted in a case study. Overall, the model demonstrates that high storage temperatures reduce profits and force shorter order cycles.     

Motivated or empowering antecedents to drive service innovation?

Which type of antecedents, motivated or empowering, can stimulate service innovation? We choose the empowering (team and worker empowerment) and motivated variables (creative self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation) as the four antecedents to investigate how they influence service innovation. Positive psychological capital (PPC) was chosen as a key mediator to examine whether the four antecedents have impacts on service innovation through PPC. Hierarchical linear modeling was adopted for analyses. This study provided the following findings: (a) the empowering factors have no positive effects on service innovation. (b) The motivated factors have significantly positive effects on service innovation. (c) PPC completely mediated the relationship between the empowering factors and service innovation and partially mediated the relationship between the motivated factors and service innovation. Our findings suggest that motivated factors have significantly positive influences on service innovation compared with empowering factors. We also confirm PPC as the mediating mechanism to stimulate service innovation.     

Evaluating the effectiveness of Washington state repeated job search services on the employment rate of prime-age female welfare recipients

This paper uses an unbalanced panel dataset to evaluate how repeated job search services (JSS) and personal characteristics affect the employment rate of the prime-age female welfare recipients in the State of Washington. We propose a transition probability model to take into account issues of sample attrition, sample refreshment and duration dependence. We also generalize Honoré and Kyriazidou’s [Honoré, B.E., Kyriazidou, E., 2000. Panel data discrete choice models with lagged dependent variables. Econometrica 68 (4), 839–874] conditional maximum likelihood estimator to allow for the presence of individual-specific effects. A limited information test is suggested to test for selection issues in non-experimental data. The specification tests indicate that the (conditional on the set of the confounding variables considered) assumptions of no selection due to unobservables and/or no unobserved individual-specific effects are not violated. Our findings indicate that the first job search service does have positive and significant impacts on the employment rate. However, providing repeated JSS to the same client has no significant impact. Further, we find that there are significant experience-enhancing effects. These findings suggest that providing one job search services training to individuals may have a lasting impact on raising their employment rates.     

Estimating Congestion Costs and Segmenting Motivations for Recreational Festivals

This paper aims to evaluate the willingness to pay (WTP) of visitors to reduce congestion and to segment the market of visitors by motivations. A double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation method and survival analysis are adopted to estimate congestion costs for tourists. Analysis of variance is used to test the satisfaction and the WTP of tourists among the segmented motivation groups. Exploratory factor analysis method is conducted to extract four major factorial dimensions, and cluster analysis was performed to identify the characteristics of visitors' motivations into three clusters. The average amount that a tourist is willing to pay to mitigate congestion is US$2.22. The most important market segmentation is the “pursuit of multiple goals”, which has the largest segment of the market. Festival managers need to mitigate overcrowding and identify the segmentation information to develop effective strategies and to refine advertising campaigns to attract more people.     

Collaborative Knowing: The Adaptive Nature of Cross‐Boundary Spanning

This article elaborates how experts employ boundary objects to perform collaborative work in situ across boundaries. Our study takes a practice lens to examine the adaptive nature of cross‐boundary spanning. We conduct a field study and analyse engineers' troubleshooting tasks in maintaining sophisticated wafer‐fabrication machines. Our findings report three organizing practices: identifying problem boundaries, orchestrating collective responsibilities, and developing a systemic understanding. This mode of organizing explains how experts draw lessons from boundary objects to facilitate adaptive learning and collaboration for solving complicated problems in interactive systems. Our analysis contributes to theories of cross‐boundary spanning, adaptive learning, and problem‐solving, and suggests practical lessons in managing cross‐boundary work.