This study reports the out come of a primary qualitative investigation of open and distance learning system of education as a panacea to the problem of socially induced constraints on the acquisition of education, that may lead to the inability to attend higher institutions of learning, acquire certificates, become a qualified skilled worker by being able to study for the course of study chosen...

OBJECTIVES To find out whether there is a potential impact of the appearance of a plain cigarette package on the smoking perceptions and behavioural intentions of Flemish adolescents. DESIGN We performed a cross-sectional study using the qualitative method of focus group discussions. SETTING Flemish adolescents. PARTICIPANTS We performed eight focus group discussions, in which 55 adolesce...

BACKGROUND College or university is a critical period regarding unhealthy changes in eating behaviours in students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore which factors influence Belgian (European) university students' eating behaviour, using a qualitative research design. Furthermore, we aimed to collect ideas and recommendations in order to facilitate the development of effective...

In managing environmental problems, several countries have chosen the management by objectives (MBO) approach. This paper investigates how focus group participants from the Swedish environmental administration used metaphors to describe the mode of organization needed to attain environmental objectives. Such analysis can shed light on how an MBO system is perceived by actors and how it works in...

The increasing prominence of online focus groups in market research and the complexity that the Internet environment adds to the conduct of research with focus groups has led to a certain interest in discovering how this method can be applied effectively and to which situations or purposes it is best suited. Based on an examination of the literature and on an empirical survey of the heads of qu...

The supervision of undergraduate student dissertations is an area in need of research. Although some studies have already addressed this, these are primarily based on academic staff responses. This study contributes to knowledge by gathering the responses of students and focusing on formative electronic assessment. Data was collected using a student focus group and student questionnaire. The fi...

User-based research is strongly recommended in design for older adults. The aim of this paper is to focus the attention on the poorly explored role of medical and para-medical personnel’s perspective on home health care technologies using data that have been gained during the “Active Ageing At Home” (AA@H) project. A focus group was organized at the National Institute of Health & Science on Age...

Empirical evidence reveals positive effects of collaborative learning on students’ cognitive and social development. In daily secondary education, however, collaborative learning and CSCL in particular is scarce. This study examines the potential of asynchronous discussion groups in secondary education for two subjects (biology and history). More specifically, the study focuses secondary school...

This study explores how female students compare learning computer technology in a singleversus a mixedgender school setting. Twelve females participated, all of whom were enrolled in a grade 12 course in Communications’ Technology. Data collection included a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview and focus groups. Participants described learning computer technology in the single-gender sett...