Clemens Bechter

Cultural Features of e-Learning

Cultural values have a major influence on learning. For learning to be effective, it must be adapted to the cultural context in which it takes place. e-Learning neither eliminates cultural differences nor is it culture free. The qualitative and quantitative findings of this study show two very distinct learning patterns. East Asian participants represent a high-context emphasis. South Asians and Europeans indicate a demonstrably low-context style of learning. The qualitative findings provide evidence that cultural features do have an impact on e-learning behaviors. European participants tend to be individualistic, achievement oriented, and emphasize learning by induction. South Asians reveal high power distance and also an achievement orientation. East Asians also demonstrate high power distance as indicated by a teacher-centric focus. They emphasize affiliation and avoid high uncertainty in learning situations. East Asians tend to prefer theory as the starting point for analysis. The quantitative analysis shows significant differences between the regional groups. East Asians are significantly more involved and active in e-learning than their peers in Europe and South Asia. This suggests that the high-context learning culture has a positive influence on e-learning involvement.

Catering for Different Learning Styles in e-Learning

For online learning to be effective, it should be adapted to the personal learning style. Kolb’s learning style inventory (LSI) is a methodology to assess such individual learning styles. The quantitative findings of this study demonstrate that differences between the four learning types exist, namely, in preferred type of discussion board posting, communication tool, and problem-solving approach. Accommodators and Divergers contribute to an online discussion by challenging point of views, whereas Assimilators and Convergers like to put content into a model/framework. Accommodators like to communicate with their peers via email and Assimilators via general discussion board. Divergers prefer email exchange with the tutor if faced with a problem. These findings have implications for delivery of online learning material. No single e-learning approach will be suitable for all learning styles.

Development and evaluation of wiki collaboration space for e-Learning

– The purpose of this paper is to define standard guidelines for the development of a wiki collaboration space for e-Learning, in order to provide collaborative activities among students, and between instructors and students. , – The general requirements and extended features of wiki collaboration space were determined by conducting a requirement study and discussion with major stakeholders, i.e. students and tutors. Then, the wiki collaboration space was developed based on an open source wiki system. Finally, a wiki collaboration space was evaluated in terms of usability and collaboration effectiveness. , – A comparison was performed between the wiki collaboration space and the original wiki in students’ works in an online course. The results showed that the effectiveness of collaboration and usefulness of wiki collaboration space were higher than original wiki in collaborative assignment. , – As for practical implications, e-Learning developers/managers can use the outcome of this study as a guideline to integrate wiki and/or other social software to supplement e-Learning systems for better collaboration. , – There is a need to define standard guidelines that provide the necessary features for wiki in e-Learning. In this study, extended features of wiki as collaborative learning tool were identified and evaluated to meet the needs of students in e-Learning environment.

Who needs Customised eBooks

In this article we have tried to understand reader’s perception on customized eBooks. Its goal is to assess the value that a reader will put on customized content and other features of an eBook. A survey conducted in autumn 2012 showed that readers are not willing to pay a substantial amount of money for customization. However, certain groups of readers, such as those enjoying fiction, display a higher degree of willingness to spend money on customization. Also, readers associate a high level of risk with the purchase of a self-published eBook. The most desirable customization feature in an eBook was the eBook cover. Convenience was the major factor why people read eBooks. Recommendations by friends and forum members rank top in creating awareness as well as influencing the actual purchase of an eBook. Also, the retail prices of self-published eBooks are about one-third lower than those distributed by publishing houses. We recommend a system based on collaborative filtering to provide customization options to readers.

Cultural Intelligence of German Expatriate Spouses in Shanghai, China - Preliminary Findings

The article analyses the influence of spouse’s cultural intelligence (CQ) on behaviour in a foreign national culture. Plenty of publications on expatriate managers exist but hardly any paper covers the impact of spouses on successful expatriation. The authors hypothesised that a high CQ of the spouse leads to high cultural adaptation and support for the expat manager which in turn leads to successful expatriation or at least no premature return. The analysis suggests that not only people have to adapt to different cultures but also the way in which CQ is measured. Time spent abroad is one additional important parameter to be considered. The authors aimed at providing a CQ framework within the Chinese context and encourage other researchers to adapt CQ tests to their cultural setting. The findings of this research are based on a very small sample and therefore may be classified as preliminary. However, the authors are confident that conclusions and recommendations hold up against a larger sample from different national cultures.