The Internet and World Wide Web provides huge amounts of information to individuals with access to it. Information is an important driving factor of education and higher education has experienced massive adoption rates of information and communication technologies, and accessing the Web is not an uncommon practice within a higher educational institution. The Web provides numerous benefits and many students rely on the Web for information, communication and technical support. However, the immense amount of information available on the Web has brought about some negative side effects associated with abundant information. Whether the Web is a positive influence on students’ academic well-being within higher education is a difficult question to answer. To understand how the Web is used by students within a higher education institution is not an easy task. However, there are ways to understand the Web usage behaviour of students. Using established methods for gathering useful information from data produced by an institution, Web usage behaviours of students within a higher education institution could be analysed and presented. This dissertation presents guidance for analysing Web traffic within a higher educational institution in order to gain insight into the Web usage behaviours of students. This insight can provide educators with valuable information to bolster their decision-making capacity towards achieving their educational goals.

Different Laricobius nigrinus Fender release locations, numbers of predators, and timing of release were evaluated for biological control of the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae). It established at 59% of the sites and location was the most important factor related with establishment and abundance, HWA density, and hemlock vigor index. Cold locations had poor establishment or low abundance, declines in HWA density, and increases in hemlock vigor over time. Paired release and control sites detected a predator impact on HWA density, but densities remained high and tree vigor declined. The phenology of L. nigrinus, L. rubidus LeConte, and HWA were studied at a field insectary and the species were highly synchronized. A cage exclusion study showed that HWA survival and density were lower and ovisac disturbance was higher when exposed to predation. To improve L. nigrinus monitoring, we compared beat sheets for adults or branch clipping for immatures, and the host searching behavior of L. nigrinus was studied to understand how it locates a tree and HWA. In the Appalachians, beat sheet sampling resulted in false negatives as larvae were collected by branch clipping. Adults orientated to a tree visually, fed when prey were present and flew when absent, and showed different search patterns on infested versus uninfested trees. In Seattle, both sampling methods detected L. nigrinus because the predator was common. Predator : prey ratios were high at heavily infested sites in Seattle and low in the eastern US, where is has been released recently. Partial life tables were constructed for HWA sistentes at four sites for 2 yr in Seattle. Unspecified causes of nymph and adult mortality were high and L. nigrinus was the dominant predator of ovisacs. Adult L. nigrinus abundance was positively related to HWA density and immature abundance was related to ovisac density, indicating an aggregation and numerical response to its prey. Laricobius nigrinus has not demonstrated complete biological control of HWA to date, but it may do so in the future and continued release is justified. / Ph. D.

by Lai Hon Kwong. / Chinese title in romanization: Xianggang zi zhu zhong xue jue ce guo cheng zhong di sou suo xing wei. / Thesis (M.A.Ed.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 133-136.

The current period of rapid technological change, particularly in the area of mediated communication, has combined with new philosophies of education and market forces to bring upheaval to the realm of higher education. Technical capabilities exceed our knowledge of whether expenditures on hardware and software lead to corresponding gains in student learning. Educators do not yet possess sophisticated assessments of what we may be gaining or losing as we widen the scope of distributed learning. The purpose of this study was not to draw sweeping conclusions with respect to the costs or benefits of technology in education. The researcher focused on a single issue involved in educational quality: assessing the ability of a student to complete a course. Previous research in this area indicates that attrition rates are often higher in distributed learning environments. Educators and students may benefit from a reliable instrument to identify those students who may encounter difficulty in these learning situations. This study is aligned with research focused on the individual engaged in seeking information, assisted or hindered by the capabilities of the computer information systems that create and provide access to information. Specifically, the study focused on the indicators of completion for students enrolled in video conferencing and Web-based courses. In the final version, the Distributed Learning Survey encompassed thirteen indicators of completion. The results of this study of 396 students indicated that the Distributed Learning Survey represented a reliable and valid instrument for identifying at-risk students in video conferencing and Web-based courses where the student population is similar to the study participants. Educational level, GPA, credit hours taken in the semester, study environment, motivation, computer confidence, and the number of previous distributed learning courses accounted for most of the predictive power in the discriminant function based on student scores from the survey.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-228). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-228). Also available on the Internet.