This paper proposes and tests a model to explain how consumers’ perceptions of product presentation technologies may affect online impulse buying. Data from a laboratory experiment (N = 212), which were analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach, showed that vividness and interactivity of online product presentations increased the participants’ perceptions of local presence, which refers to the sense of a product being present with a consumer in his or her own environment. Local presence, in turn, influenced the urge to buy impulsively by generating both cognitive (perceived risk) and affective (product affect) product responses. The implications of these results are discussed.
Over the past few decades, education systems, especially in higher education, have been redefined. Such reforms inevitably require reconsideration of operational notions and definitions of quality, along with a number of related concepts. This reconsideration aligns with the core of higher education reforms: improving efficacy and compatibility with emerging social demands while adapting to competitiveness and accountability trends. As primary players in the teaching and learning process, online tutors have a protagonistic role and, therefore, must be equipped with a suitable set of competencies and attributes in addition to content knowledge. This quantitative research aims to analyze the perceptions of 250 online tutors working in European higher education institutions, distributed in 5 knowledge areas: Business, Education, Humanities, Sciences and Health. This descriptive and exploratory nonexperimental study reveals the technological and pedagogical skills and competencies that online tutors consider fundamental for effective online teaching and proposes professional development actions to ensure quality online teaching.
Bij de Hogeschool van Amsterdam is een nieuwe aanpak ontwikkeld voor studenten pedagogiek in de afstudeerfase. De basis wordt gevormd door wekelijkse online meetings met relatief kleine groepen in een online leer-ontmoetingsruimte (afstudeercafé). De chat is 24/7 beschikbaar waardoor laagdrempelig contact met medestudenten en docenten mogelijk is. Studenten krijgen verschillende keuzemogelijkheden, waardoor zoveel mogelijk maatwerk wordt geleverd om een zo optimaal mogelijke mix te kunnen realiseren per student van online en aanvullend fysieke bijeenkomsten. De vragen die centraal staan zijn: is het online mogelijk om betrokkenheid te creëren? Wat hebben docenten nodig om in een online leer-ontmoetingsruimte hun studenten te begeleiden? Uit de resultaten blijkt dat betrokkenheid online goed gerealiseerd kan worden. Studenten helpen en ondersteunen elkaar en delen kennis en ervaringen via een laagdrempelige chat. De tijd- en plaatsonafhankelijke begeleiding wordt als flexibel, inclusief en efficiënt ervaren. Docenten hebben een open, verbindende en actieve houding nodig in een rol als online coach. Door een deel van de docenten wordt deze rol als lastig ervaren. Studenten geven aan dat het combineren van de studie met persoonlijke omstandigheden, zoals een baan, gezin, ziekte, psychische problematiek, functiebeperking of mantelzorg, door de flexibele vorm beter mogelijk is. De werkwijze kan een aanvulling vormen op bestaande manieren om studenten toegankelijk en inclusief onderwijs te bieden.
MULTIFILE
The reclaiming of street spaces for pedestrians during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as on Witte de Withstraat in Rotterdam, appears to have multiple benefits: It allows people to escape the potentially infected indoor air, limits accessibility for cars and reduces emissions. Before ordering their coffee or food, people may want to check one of the many wind and weather apps, such as windy.com: These apps display the air quality at any given time, including, for example, the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a gas responsible for an increasing number of health issues, particularly respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Ships and heavy industry in the nearby Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest seaport, exacerbate air pollution in the region. Not surprisingly, in 2020 Rotterdam was ranked as one of the unhealthiest cities in the Netherlands, according to research on the health of cities conducted by Arcadis. Reducing air pollution is a key target for the Port Authority and the City of Rotterdam. Missing, however, is widespread awareness among citizens about how air pollution links to socio-spatial development, and thus to the future of the port city cluster of Rotterdam. To encourage awareness and counter the problem of "out of sight - out of mind," filmmaker Entrop&DeZwartFIlms together with ONSTV/NostalgieNet, and Rotterdam Veldakademie, are collaborating with historians of the built environment and computer science and public health from TU Delft and Erasmus University working on a spatial data platform to visualize air pollution dynamics and socio-economic datasets in the Rotterdam region. Following discussion of findings with key stakeholders, we will make a pilot TV-documentary. The documentary, discussed first with Rotterdam citizens, will set the stage for more documentaries on European and international cities, focusing on the health effects—positive and negative—of living and working near ports in the past, present, and future.
