The aim of this article is to evaluate the impact of public sector reform on academic literature from the post-NPM perspective. There have been several investigations into post-NPM public governance models and their impact on public sector reform. Yet, the research problem faced when analysing post-NPM literature is the lack of studies examining the multitude of possible public governance models (PGM) with sufficient comprehensiveness, especially in Central and Eastern European (CEE) states. In order to effectively address the research problem, a bibliometric analysis was performed, following three objectives: (i) an investigation into the evolution of PGM literature, (ii) identification of the core publications and authors based on publication frequency, and (iii) a citation network analysis (a historiograph), indicating the relations among the most-cited publications. It involved the identification of 16,374 publications in the Web of Science database, narrowed down to the 100 most cited between 1994 and 2017, and the application of the HistCite bibliometric analysis software, covering descriptive statistics, bibliometric indicators, and historiographic citation analysis. The research results reveal a growing research interest in the topic, as supported by bibliometric indicators. In addition, important differences as regards coverage and diffusion of individual post-NPM models are indicated. Namely, most publications focus on the "governance" paradigm and subsequent...
COBISS.SI-ID: 5364910
Performed in a Slovenian higher education institution, the presented research was designed to help investigate which factors influence the ways a student perceives an e-course's usefulness in a blended learning environment. The study is based on an online questionnaire completed by 539 students whose participation in the survey was voluntary. Using structural equation modelling, the students' perceptions of different aspects were investigated, including their attitudes to course topics and technology, learning preferences, teachers' role in course design and managing the teaching process. The empirical results show e-learning is positively perceived to be usefulness when: (1) the teacher is engaged and their activities in an e-course, with the (2) a student's attitude to the subject matter and the lecturer's classroom performance having a direct impact, and (3) technology acceptance having an indirect impact. No major differences were revealed when the model was tested on student subgroups sorted by gender, year of study, and students' weekly spare-time activities.
COBISS.SI-ID: 5366958
Purpose - This paper aims to study the relationship between students' activities in the e-classroom and grades for the final exam. The study was conducted at the Faculty of Administration, University of Ljubljana among first-year undergraduate students. In the e-classroom, students learn new content for individual self-study, and their knowledge is checked with quizzes. Design/methodology/approach - In the empirical study, the relationship between performance in quizzes and at the final exam was studied from two perspectives. First, successful and unsuccessful students (in terms of quizzes) were compared. Second, the Orange data mining software was used for two predictive modelling tasks. The research question was based on a student's quiz performances, is it possible to predict whether the student will pass an exam and will the student's grade for the exam be good. Findings - The empirical results indicate a very strong connection between a student's performance in quizzes and their score for the final exam in the course. Significant differences in performance were found between students who had completed most quizzes and those who had not. Moreover, the results highlighted which quizzes, in other words topics, are most important for passing an exam or obtaining a better grade. Therefore, the quality of individual study in the e-classroom positively influences a student's performance. Originality/value - The paper is the first to assess the impact of students' activities on...
COBISS.SI-ID: 5293998