Research on student success has been highly influenced by Tinto’s integration theory in Europe and America. As part of my PhD research, I investigate the possible influence of the use of social media by first year students in higher education. Based on Tinto’s theory, the amount of variables is diminished by including only the best predictive variables. Hereby, avoiding the capitalization of chance and to establish a more easy to use model for teachers and management. In previous studies the latent variables ‘satisfaction’ was built by using a fraction of the original manifest variables and tested using principal component analysis to proof how the model could be simplified. In this paper I focus on the role of the use of social media, in particular Facebook, and enrich the model of Tinto for a better suit to the students’ contemporary society in the developed world. The principal analysis, on the use of Facebook, measured by purpose (information, education, social and leisure) and by the use of different pages amongst students, is also conducted in a previous study. However, the result of this study provided the different integration or engagement components, which now will be included in Tinto’s simplified model. For the principal component-analysis, internal consistency and the reliability will be shown by Cronbach’s alpha and Guttman’s lambda-2. For testing the fit of the model, SPSS AMOS is used and the normed fit index (NFI), the comparative fit index (CFI), the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) are calculated. Ultimately this paper will provide a better insight into what kind of influence social media can have upon student success.
In January 2022 the new Dutch Civic Integration programme was launched together with promises of improvements it would bring in facilitating the ‘integration’ of newcomers to the Netherlands. This study presents a critical discourse analysis of texts intended for municipalities to take on their new coordinating role in this programme. The analysis aims to understand the discourse in the texts, which actors are mobilized by them, and the role these texts and these actors play in processes of governmental racialization. The analysis demonstrates shifting complex assemblages are brought into cascades of governance in which all actors are disciplined to accept the problem of integration as a problem of cultural difference and distance, and then furthermore disciplined to adopt new practices deemed necessary to identify and even ‘objectively’ measure the inherent traits contributing to this problematic. Lastly, the analysis displays that all actors are disciplined to accept the solution of ‘spontaneous compliance’; a series of practices and knowledges, which move the civic integration programme beyond an aim of responsibilization, into a programme of internalization, wherein newcomers are expected to own and address their problematic ‘nature’, making ‘modern’ values their own.
In the following paper I compare the use of Facebook by first year students, in the Department of Media, Communication and Information at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. Opposed to previous years, in 2012 and 2013 the use of Facebook was incorporated in the student career-counselling course and mandatory to create and join a class page on Facebook. The differences in whether or not students use (self-created) Facebook-groups were measured for both groups of first year students and compared with each other. Furthermore, because this study is part of a broader (PhD) research wherein I investigate the influence of media literacy and its possible effect on students’ success, I will also incorporate other variables derived from Tinto’s integration theory. In previous studies it was proved that these variables were influential factors of students success. All variables are measured using digital surveys and analysed with the help of statistical tests. This will explore the possible differences in Facebook use between the two groups. Furthermore it will investigate the relation between the variables derived from Tinto’s integration theory and Facebook use. Ultimately it will provide a valuable insight in the opportunities of Facebook in an educational setting.
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The transition to a circular, resource efficient construction sector is crucial to achieve climate neutrality in 2050. Construction stillaccounts for 50% of all extracted materials, is responsible for 3% of EU’s waste and for at least 12% of Green House Gas emissions.However, this transition is lagging, the impact of circular building materials is still limited.To accelerate the positive impact of circulair building materials Circular Trust Building has analyzed partners’ circular initiatives andidentified 4 related critical success factors for circularity, re-use of waste, and lower emissions:1. Level of integration2. Organized trust3. Shared learning4. Common goalsScaling these success factors requires new solutions, skills empowering stakeholders, and joint strategies and action plans. Circular TrustBuilding will do so using the innovative sociotechnical transition theory:1.Back casting: integrating stakeholders on common goals and analyzing together what’s needed, what’s available and who cancontribute what. The result is a joint strategy and xx regional action plans.2.Agile development of missing solutions such a Circular Building Trust Framework, Regional Circular Deals, connecting digitalplatforms matching supply and demand3.Increasing institutional capacity in (de-)construction, renovation, development and regulation: trained professionals move thetransition forward.Circular Trust Building will demonstrate these in xx pilots with local stakeholders. Each pilot will at least realize a 25% reduction of thematerial footprint of construction and renovation
