Alina M. Zapalska

Learning styles and online education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to recognize that individual learning styles must be taken into account in the instructional design template used in online education. The paper argues that when students learning styles are identified, it is possible to define an appropriate context of learning.Design/methodology/approach – The paper identifies a set of instructional principles for online learning environments that are derived from multiple theories of learning with a consideration of different learning styles. The VARK questionnaire was used to determine learning styles of students who participated in two online courses. The VARK instrument identifies four distinct learning styles: visual (V); aural (A); reading/writing (R) and kinesthetic (K). These four dimensions are used to analyze the appropriateness of online learning structures.Findings – The paper identifies teaching strategies in online courses while recognizing the four learning styles. The paper concludes that the achievement of online ...

Strategies to infuse global perspectives and industrial collaboration in engineering education

The influence of a global economy and the speed of communications will require future engineers to have a diverse background and develop sensitivity to the needs of other cultures. Engineers must be able to function in this increasingly global market with adequate awareness of engineering needs and practices across cultures. Undergraduate engineering education must be structured to provide adequate balance between theory and practice, as well as industrial relevance and global perspectives in engineering. Current approaches to address this issue include the introduction of technical advisory boards, co-op experience, capstone projects, international exchange programs, and encouraging students to take non-technical courses in humanities, business and management. Creating partnerships with industry and other institutions is another key step that academic institutions have taken to expose students to engineering practice in a global context. Partnerships should be long-term and established at the local and global levels with input from practicing professional engineers. There are other approaches that could be used to generate interest and help develop activities that enable students to acquire the skills needed for global engineering practice. The authors suggest strategies that can be adopted by academic institutions to prepare engineers capable of addressing future global challenges.

Entrepreneurial Decision Making in a Dynamic Environment: The Entrepreneurship Game

Abstract The Entrepreneurship Game creates an environment in which individual teams must make decisions based on possibly imperfect information and with conflicting goals. The game consists of several rounds. These rounds may be conducted separately or in series. This gives the instructor the flexibility to use all or portions of the game to meet individual class requirements. The individual components of the game allow players to explore the effects of production capacity, production costs, market demand, and government controls within a competitive market. The game also allows players to control certain aspects of the information flow relevant to the market.

Female Micro-Entrepreneurship: The Key to Economic Growth and Development in Islamic Economies

This chapter compares an Islamic economic system to capitalist and socialist economic systems, focusing on property rights, incentive mechanisms, interest rates, decision-making structures, and mechanisms for information and coordination. Islamic entrepreneurship has received little attention; recognizing the role of entrepreneurship in Islamic economies is crucial for growth and development. The chapter examines the theoretical foundations of Islamic entrepreneurship, and explores ways entrepreneurship can stimulate economic growth and development in predominantly Muslim nations. Building a new class of female micro-entrepreneurs should be an important element of economic development in Muslim nations. The role of female entrepreneurs in development should not be underestimated as women can be fully independent and contribute to the welfare of the Islamic economy. The chapter emphasizes that Islamic micro-finance is a missing component of Islamic banking. With micro-financing, Islamic banks can finance female micro-entrepreneurs, leading to long-term growth. Although well-established in Islamic countries, women’s entrepreneurship has not reached its potential due to high barriers to obtaining financial capital; most startup capital for Islamic female entrepreneurs comes from personal savings, family, and friends. Muslim nations should help build efficient micro-financial systems with competitive and diverse financial service providers, especially for women.

Portfolio Construction in Global Financial Markets

This paper presents a classroom simulation that can be used to introduce the concepts of portfolio management and asset allocation in the presence of global markets. While there are portfolio management games and stock trading games that are designed to cover an entire semester, this simulation provides a single period introduction to portfolio management. The simulation also creates an environment in which students discover how exchange rate volatility can affect investment returns of global funds.

The resilient Civil engineer with the changing global environment

As the world becomes more globally integrated and interdependent, college graduates must be prepared to meet the new challenges of globalization. Students should be made aware of their critical roles in society as the world economy becomes more globally integrated and increasingly exposed to new challenges, threats, opportunities for innovative solutions, and rewards. Engineering students in particular must understand the importance of leadership and creativity on the social, cultural, political and economic systems in the global economy. An approach that has been successfully used to infuse global perspectives into the Civil Engineering curriculum at the United States Coast Guard Academy is presented. The approach is based on four key pillars (technical, cultural, ethical and leadership) that are complimented with four professional skills competencies.