IT graduates need a suite of technical competencies and soft skills married with an understanding of the social and business contexts of the systems that they build. To instill in students an awareness of current IT industry practice coupled with the broader impact of their discipline in society, academics from Victoria University and Federation University initiated an across-institutional collaboration. The initiative resulted in a common formative assessment task undertaken by teams of students enrolled in each institution’s professional development units. An initial survey of students was undertaken prior to the assessment task. The survey queried students’ perceptions of a broad range of professional attitudes and skill sets needed by IT professionals when compared to non-skilled workers. Upon the completion of the assessment task, students were surveyed again as to their perceptions of the importance of personal skills, technical competencies, professional and team working skills, workplace knowledge, and cultural awareness for their future professional lives. Comparisons of both surveys’ results revealed that the cohort had a greater appreciation of technical abilities and team-working skills post the assessment task.

Courses on Human Computer Interaction (HCI) largely differ in the conception of the role of the course in the program, in the topics to be included, in emphases, in the instructional strategies that are employed, and more. This paper describes the design and implementation of a HCI course for students of the Management Information Systems department in our college. Students’ intermediate and final homework assignments were analyzed to provide feedback for the course design. Quantitative analysis showed high correlation between the quality of the requirement analysis performed by the students and the quality of the final interface prototype, and also that the quality of design alternatives that were considered by the students can be a good predictor for the quality of the overall interface design. Qualitative analysis of students’ submissions showed the need for practicing skills required in users’ studies, especially conducting interviews and observations. Implications from these and other findings are discussed.

Aim/Purpose: The objective of this study is to understand how video lectures of the same length and content as the current face-to-face lectures can be designed and implemented to have a positive effect on student performance, particularly when there is a campus shutdown. Background: In a number of South African universities protests by the students are on the increase. Often, they lead to the cancellation of academic activities such as face-to-face classes and examinations. Methodology: A quasi-experimental design was used on two video lectures to (1) compare the performance of the students who did not watch the video lectures and those who watched the video lectures, (2) compare the performance of each student who watched the video lectures on the test topics covered in the videos and the test topics not covered in the videos, and (3) determine the factors that influence the effectiveness of the video lectures. Contribution: This study contributes to the literature by investigating the effectiveness of video lectures in improving student performance, the factors associated to the effectiveness of such lectures, and the complexity or simplicity of the two video lectures used, and by providing possible solutions to the challenges identified in relation to designing video lectures. Findings: In terms of student performance, there is no significant advantage arising from watching the video lectures for the students who watch the video lectures, as compared to those who did not watch the video lectures. It is also found that the student performance on the topics with video lectures is significantly associated to the students’ commitment, prior performance, the quality of the content, and the design of the videos. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study recommends how the accounting video lectures can be designed and highlights the environments in which the video lectures of the same length and content as the face-to-face lectures should not be used. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should replicate this study by using short length videos of better quality and appropriate length, which incorporate current issues, games, are interactive, and so forth. Impact on Society: This study examines the use of educational video lectures in order to minimise the impact of disruptions at university level. Future Research: Future studies may use randomly selecting treatment and control groups. They may consider a nationwide research or using qualitative interviews in examining the use of educational video lectures.

Aim/Purpose: Authentic assessments offer students the opportunity to develop skills that implement the formal learning they receive in the classroom. Although there is a need for accounting graduates to possess a plethora of skills to equip them for success, there is a shortage of literature that focuses on authentic assessment design for accounting courses. This paper aims to address this gap by compiling a toolkit for accounting educators aspiring to design and implement authentic assessments. Background: This paper reviews examples of authentic assessments that are available and have been used by accounting educators and educators in general. It highlights the skills that might be developed with each assessment Methodology: A review of 182 articles on authentic assessment design and examples of authentic assessments like portfolios, reflective journals, presentations, reports, peer and self-assessment was conducted. Contribution: A toolkit with examples of authentic assessment to ease the task of authentic assessment design for those new to authentic assessment and seasoned authentic assessment practitioners alike. Findings: Authentic assessments are a form of learning. They help graduates develop skills and attributes that will make them work-ready and capable of handling a lot of real life practical work situations. Rubrics are an important part of authentic assessment implementation and their use is mandated by business school accrediting bodies like AACSB. Recommendations for Practitioners: Accounting educators may find guidelines in this paper which will help them understand authentic assessments and enlighten them on the challenges they may encounter when implementing the assessments. Recommendation for Researchers: There is a need for future researchers to contribute more to this topic so as to increase the variety and amount of literature available for those wishing to engage with authentic curriculum design in accounting. Future researchers could also focus on the perceptions of authentic assessments of accounting educators, students and employers. Impact on Society: This paper may also be of use to prospective employers wishing to gain a clear understanding of the skills inherent in prospective graduates who may have been exposed to authentic assessments. Accounting students and graduates may find this paper useful as it will help them comprehend the importance of some the assessments with the backing and assurance from the literature. Future Research: Future research may focus on the challenges in implementing authentic assessments. It would also be great to see more research addressing the perceptions of educators towards authentic assessments.

Aim/Purpose: The need for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to maximize the use of their intellectual property and strategic resources for research and teaching has become ever more evident in recent years. Furthermore, little attention is paid in developing an enabling system that will facilitate knowledge transfer in the Research-Teaching Nexus (RTN). Hence, this study assesses the current state of practice in knowledge management of the nexus in higher education in Oman. It also explores the context of how Knowledge Management System (KMS) for the nexus can be designed and utilized by HEIs and challenges them to rethink their traditional approaches in managing their knowledge as-sets to boost individual and organizational learning. Background: This study provides a Knowledge Management-based framework and design of a knowledge management system that support the academic community towards the improvement of the nexus. This study sets out ideas from various academic and professional experts on how academic stakeholders in the higher education can improve and promote knowledge transfer and make better use of its knowledge and research assets for teaching and learning. It stressed the importance of having the knowledge assets or resources that can easily be pooled, accessed, and made available to its intended stakeholders. Methodology: Data were gathered from 29 out of 49 institutional quality audit reports of all HEIs in Oman. The panel comments were coded and analysed to extract valuable insights regarding the management of knowledge assets in research. Additionally, data were gathered from the institutional accreditation outcomes page of the same website. Manifest and latent content analyses were used in reporting the findings of the panel. Contribution: The study will contribute to a greater understanding and acceptance of Knowledge Management (KM) in higher education and extended the body of knowledge concerning knowledge management for the RTN. Findings: The reports revealed a very limited practice of the nexus in terms of people and culture, structure ad processes, and computing and web technologies. A few staff are involved in RTN work, there is an uneven understanding of the RTN among staff, limited joint research between staff and students are some of the reasons for this. Significantly, there is no explicit research framework or policy for the RTN, and systems and/or mechanisms are limited. Further-more, the reports did not account any use of computing and web technologies for the nexus. These limitations can lead to students with less academic, research, and graduate skills. Hence, this study presents a feature design of a KMS that incorporates various RTN best practices, as informed by the reports and literature. The design will allow the staff to utilize the research assets in the classroom, at the same time, engages students in research and scholarly under-takings. Recommendations for Practitioners: All HEIs must have a innovative system that integrates a formal agenda and approach, and set initiatives, strategies, policies, and procedures for knowledge management in utilizing research assets for teaching and learning. It must be designed so that RTN practices remain up-to-date, relevant, and responsive to the needs of the stakeholders, as well as, address academic accreditation challenges. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can evaluate the knowledge management of RTN practices of other HEIs outside of Oman to effectively recommend the proper course of action for teaching and learning improvement. Impact on Society: This study will redefine the role and contribution of HEIs, which are key players in advancing a knowledge economy. HEIs are expected to be powerhouses where academic knowledge is discovered, created, disseminated, shared, and re-invented. They must be able to fully grasp the value of managing knowledge to be able to effect positive and purposeful change to the community. Future Research: Future work should include staff and student surveys that examine the knowledge management need of the learning organization to better inform the design of a KMS for the RTN. Thereafter, future research can test the stage to test the effectiveness of the conceptual design.

Aim/Purpose: Designing augmented reality (AR) experiences for education, health or entertainment involves multidisciplinary teams making design decisions across several areas. The goal of this paper is to present a classification schema that describes the design choices when constructing an AR interactive experience. Background: Existing extended reality schema often focuses on single dimensions of an AR experience, with limited attention to design choices. These schemata, combined with an analysis of a diverse range of AR applications, form the basis for the schema synthesized in this paper. Methodology: An extensive literature review and scoring of existing classifications were completed to enable a definition of seven design dimensions. To validate the design dimensions, the literature was mapped to the seven-design choice to represent opportunities when designing AR iterative experiences. Contribution: The classification scheme of seven dimensions can be applied to communicating design considerations and alternative design scenarios where teams of domain specialists need to collaborate to build AR experiences for a defined purpose. Findings: The dimensions of nature of reality, location (setting), feedback, objects, concepts explored, participant presence and interactive agency, and style describe features common to most AR experiences. Classification within each dimension facilitates ideation for novel experiences and proximity to neighbours recommends feasible implementation strategies. Recommendations for Practitioners: To support professionals, this paper presents a comprehensive classification schema and design rationale for AR. When designing an AR experience, the schema serves as a design template and is intended to ensure comprehensive discussion and decision making across the spectrum of design choices. Recommendations for Researchers: The classification schema presents a standardized and complete framework for the review of literature and AR applications that other researchers will benefit from to more readily identify relevant related work. Impact on Society: The potential of AR has not been fully realized. The classification scheme presented in this paper provides opportunities to deliberately design and evaluate novel forms of AR experience. Future Research: The classification schema can be extended to include explicit support for the design of virtual and extended reality applications.

Aim/Purpose: This paper reports our implementation of a prototype system, namely PRATO (Proposals Reviewers Automated Taxonomy-based Organization), for automatic assignment of proposals to reviewers based on categorized tracks and partial matching of reviewers’ profiles of research interests against proposal keywords. Background: The process of assigning reviewers to proposals tends to be a complicated task as it involves inspecting the matching between a given proposal and a reviewer based on different criteria. The situation becomes worse if one tries to automate this process, especially if a reviewer partially matches the domain of the paper at hand. Hence, a new controlled approach is required to facilitate the matching process. Methodology: Proposals and reviewers are organized into categorized tracks as defined by a tree of hierarchical research domains which correspond to the university’s colleges and departments. In addition, reviewers create their profiles of research interests (keywords) at the time of registration. Initial assignment is based on the matching of categorized sub-tracks of proposal and reviewer. Where the proposal and a reviewer fall under different categories (sub-tracks), assignment is done based on partial matching of proposal content against re-viewers’ research interests. Jaccard similarity coefficient scores are calculated of proposal keywords and reviewers’ profiles of research interest, and the reviewer with highest score is chosen. The system was used to automate the process of proposal-reviewer assignment at the Umm Al-Qura University during the 2017-2018 funding cycle. The list of proposal-reviewer assignments generated by the system was sent to human experts for voting and subsequently to make final assignments accordingly. With expert votes and final decisions as evaluation criteria, data system-expert agreements (in terms of “accept” or “reject”) were collected and analyzed by tallying frequencies and calculating rejection/acceptance ratios to assess the system’s performance. Contribution: This work helped the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), a funding agency at Umm Al-Qura University, in managing the process of reviewing proposals submitted for funding. We believe the work can also benefit any organizations or conferences to automate the assignment of papers to the most appropriate reviewers. Findings: Our developed prototype, PRATO, showed a considerable impact on the entire process of reviewing proposals at DSR. It automated the assignment of proposals to reviewers and resulted in 56.7% correct assignments overall. This indicates that PRATO performed considerably well at this early stage of its development. Recommendations for Practitioners: It is important for funding agencies and publishers to automate reviewing process to obtain better reviewing quality in a timely manner. Recommendation for Researchers: This work highlighted a new methodology to tackle the proposal-reviewer assignment task in an automated manner. More evaluation might be needed with consideration of different categories, especially for partially matched candidates. Impact on Society: The new methodology and knowledge about factors influencing the implementation of automated proposal-reviewing systems will help funding agencies and publishers to improve the quality of their internal processes. Future Research: In the future, we plan to examine PRATO’s performance on different classification schemes where specialty areas can be represented in graphs rather than trees. With graph representation, the scope for reviewer selection can be widened to include more general fields of specialty. Moreover, we will try to record the reasons for rejection to identify accurately whether the rejection was due to improper assignment or other reasons.

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze various performance metrics and approaches to their classification. The main goal of the study was to develop a new typology that will help to advance knowledge of metrics and facilitate their use in machine learning regression algorithms Background: Performance metrics (error measures) are vital components of the evaluation frameworks in various fields. A performance metric can be defined as a logical and mathematical construct designed to measure how close are the actual results from what has been expected or predicted. A vast variety of performance metrics have been described in academic literature. The most commonly mentioned metrics in research studies are Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), etc. Knowledge about metrics properties needs to be systematized to simplify the design and use of the metrics. Methodology: A qualitative study was conducted to achieve the objectives of identifying related peer-reviewed research studies, literature reviews, critical thinking and inductive reasoning. Contribution: The main contribution of this paper is in ordering knowledge of performance metrics and enhancing understanding of their structure and properties by proposing a new typology, generic primary metrics mathematical formula and a visualization chart Findings: Based on the analysis of the structure of numerous performance metrics, we proposed a framework of metrics which includes four (4) categories: primary metrics, extended metrics, composite metrics, and hybrid sets of metrics. The paper identified three (3) key components (dimensions) that determine the structure and properties of primary metrics: method of determining point distance, method of normalization, method of aggregation of point distances over a data set. For each component, implementation options have been identified. The suggested new typology has been shown to cover a total of over 40 commonly used primary metrics Recommendations for Practitioners: Presented findings can be used to facilitate teaching performance metrics to university students and expedite metrics selection and implementation processes for practitioners Recommendation for Researchers: By using the proposed typology, researchers can streamline development of new metrics with predetermined properties Impact on Society: The outcomes of this study could be used for improving evaluation results in machine learning regression, forecasting and prognostics with direct or indirect positive impacts on innovation and productivity in a societal sense Future Research: Future research is needed to examine the properties of the extended metrics, composite metrics, and hybrid sets of metrics. Empirical study of the metrics is needed using R Studio or Azure Machine Learning Studio, to find associations between the properties of primary metrics and their “numerical” behavior in a wide spectrum of data characteristics and business or research requirements

Aim/Purpose: The first goal is to develop a decision support system for pricing and production amounts for a firm facing high levels of product returns. The second goal is to improve the management of the product returns process. Background: This study was conducted at a food importer and manufacturer in Israel facing a very high rate of product returns, much of which is eventually discarded. The firm’s products are commonly considered to be a low-cost generic alternative and are therefore popular among low-income families. Methodology: A decision support module was added to the plant’s business information system. The module is based on a supply chain pricing model and uses the sales data to infer future demand’s distribution. Ergonomic models were used to improve the design of the returns warehouse and the handling of the returns. Contribution: The decision support system allows to improve the plant’s pricing and quantity planning. Consequently, it reduced the size of product returns. The new design of the returns process is expected to improve worker’s productivity, reduces losses and results in safer outcomes. This study also demonstrates a successful integration and of a theoretical economical model into an information system. Findings: The results show the promise of incorporating pricing supply chain models into informing systems to achieve a practical business task. We were able to construct actual demand distributions from the data and offer actual pricing recommendations that reduce the number of returns while increasing potential profits. We were able to identify key deficiencies in the returns operations and added a module to the decisions support system that improves the returns management and links it with the sales and pricing modules. Finally, we produced a better warehouse design that supports efficient and ergonomic product returns handling. Recommendations for Practitioners: This work can be replicated for different suppliers, manufacturers and retailers that suffer from product returns. They will benefit from the reduction in returns, as well as the decrease in the losses associated with these returns. Recommendation for Researchers: It is worthwhile to research whether decision support systems can be applied to other aspects of the organizations’ operations. Impact on Society: Product returns is a lose-lose situation for producers, retailers and customers. Moreover, mismanagement of these returns is harmful for the environment and may result in the case of foods, in health hazards. Reducing returns and improving the handling improves sustainability and is beneficial for society. Future Research: The decision support system’s underlying pricing model assumes a specific business setting. This can be extended using other pricing models and applying them in a similar fashion to the current application.

Aim/Purpose: This conceptual review analyzes the designs of global health virtual communities of practice (VCoPs) programming reported in the empirical literature and proposes a new typology of their functioning. The purpose of this review is to provide clarity on VCoP learning stages of (co)evolution and insight into VCoP (re)development efforts to best meet member, organization, and network needs against an ever-evolving landscape of complexity in global health. Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the field of global health has seen an uptick in the use of VCoPs to support continuous learning and improve health outcomes. However, evidence of how different combinations of programmatic designs impact opportunities for learning and development is lacking, and how VCoPs evolve as learning networks has yet to be explored. Methodology: Following an extensive search for literature in six databases, thematic analysis was conducted on 13 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. This led to the development and discussion of a new typology of VCoP phases of learning (co)evolution. Contribution: Knowledge gained from this review and the new categorization of VCoPs can support the functioning and evaluation of global health training programs. It can also provide a foundation for future research on how VCoPs influence the culture of learning organizations and networks. Findings: Synthesis of findings resulted in the categorization of global health VCoPs into five stages (slightly evolving, somewhat revolving, moderately revolving, highly revolving, and coevolving) across four design domains (network development, general member engagement before/after sessions, general member engagement during sessions, and session leadership). All global health VCoPs reviewed showed signs of adaptation and recommended future evolution. Recommendations for Practitioners: VCoP practitioners should pay close attention to how the structured flexibility of partnerships, design, and relationship development/accountability may promote or hinder VcoP’s continued evolution. Practitioners should shift perspective from short to mid- and long-term VCoP planning. Recommendation for Researchers: The new typology can stimulate further research to strengthen the clarity of language and findings related to VCoP functioning. Impact on Society: VCoPs are utilized by academic institutions, the private sector, non-profit organizations, the government, and other entities to fill gaps in adult learning at scale. The contextual implementation of findings from this study may impact VCoP design and drive improvements in opportunities for learning, global health, and well-being. Future Research: Moving forward, future research could explore how VCoP evaluations relate to different stages of learning, consider evaluation stages across the totality of VCoP programming design, and explore how best to capture VCoP (long-term) impact attributed to health outcomes and the culture of learning organizations and networks.

Since the development of Open Educational Resources (OERs), different models regarding the usage of these resources in education have appeared in the literature. Wiley’s 4-Rs model is considered to be one of the leading models. Research based on Wiley’s model shows that using materials without making changes is the most common use. Compared to the extensive literature regarding OER usage in education, the literature barely deals with OER usage by instructional designers or training managers in corporations. The purpose of this research is to examine the OER usage of these two stakeholders, distinguishing between Little and Big OER repositories, in which Little OER repositories such as YouTube and Wikipedia aren’t necessarily designed to fulfill educational purposes. Findings show that these stakeholders almost use only Little repositories and that their usage level is higher than what is documented in the literature: they mostly Revise–modify the form of the resource, and Remix–combine different resources to create new ones. These differences can be explained by the fact that materials from Little OER repositories are raw materials, requiring further editing and adjustment. Significant differences between instructional designers’ and training managers’ usage of OERs were found regarding the Reuse level of resources from internal repositories and the Google Images repository, and the frequency of this Reuse.

Implementing inquiry in the outdoors introduces many challenges for teachers, some of which can be dealt with using mobile technologies. For productive use of these technologies, teachers should be provided with the opportunity to develop relevant knowledge and practices. In a professional development (PD) program in this design-based research, 24 teachers were involved in adaptation of a learning environment supporting inquiry in the outdoors that included the use of mobile technologies. They first experienced the learning environment as learners, then adapted it for their own use, and finally, enacted the adapted environment with peers. We examined the scope and character of teacher involvement in adaptation, and the consequent professional growth, by analyzing observations, questionnaires, interviews and the adapted learning-environments. Findings indicate that all teachers demonstrated change processes, including changes in knowledge and practice, but the coherence of the learning environments decreased when substantial adaptations were made. Some teachers demonstrated professional growth, as reflected by their implementation of ideas learned in the PD program in their daily practice, long after the PD program had ended. This study demonstrates how the Teachers as Designers approach can support teacher learning and illustrates productive use of scaffolds for teacher growth and professional development.

Creative computing is one of the rapidly growing educational trends around the world. Previous studies have shown that creative computing can empower disadvantaged children and youth. At-risk youth tend to hold a negative view of self and perceive their abilities as inferior compared to “normative” pupils. The Implicit Theories of Intelligence approach (ITI; Dweck, 1999, 2008) suggests a way of changing beliefs regarding one’s abilities. This paper reports findings from an experiment that explores the impact of a short intervention among at-risk youth and “normative” high-school students on (1) changing ITI from being perceived as fixed (entity view of intelligence) to more flexible (incremental view of intelligence) and (2) the quality of digital self-representations programmed though a creative computing app. The participants were 117 Israeli youth aged 14-17, half of whom were at-risk youth. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control conditions. The experimental group watched a video of a lecture regarding brain plasticity that emphasized flexibility and the potential of human intelligence to be cultivated. The control group watched a neutral lecture about brain-functioning and creativity. Following the intervention, all of the participants watched screencasts of basic training for the Scratch programming app, designed artifacts that digitally represented themselves five years later and reported their ITI. The results showed more incremental ITI in the experimental group compared to the control group and among normative students compared to at-risk youth. In contrast to the research hypothesis, the Scratch projects of the at-risk youth, especially in the experimental condition, were rated by neutral judges as being more creative, more aesthetically designed, and more clearly conveying their message. The results suggest that creative computing combined with the ITI intervention is a way of developing creativity, especially among at-risk youth. Increasing the number of youths who hold incremental views of intelligence and developing computational thinking may contribute to their empowerment and well-being, improve learning and promote creativity.

This study examined a professional development program designed to support Civics teachers in their efforts to promote empathy among Israeli Jewish students towards Israeli Arabs. The design rationale for the program is that teachers should experience empathic processes themselves before supporting their students in such an endeavor and that meaningful empathic processes can occur online if activities are properly designed. All phases of the program were designed to support teachers to participate as part of an online community of practice. Sixty Jewish teachers participated in two iterations of the design study. Refinements were made in the second iteration to provide teachers with explicit definitions of empathy and specific instructions for reflection. Findings indicate that these changes were reflected in higher degrees of empathic responses among teachers. Teachers also indicated that being a part of an online learning community contributed to the learning process they experienced during the program. We interpret this as a first step in enabling teachers to assist their students to develop a more empathetic approach toward the minority group and conclude with a discussion of recommended design principles for promoting such an approach.