This study employs a survey of undergraduate business school freshmen to examine factors that influence their decision to study business and whether these factors differ by gender. Specifically, the study examines internal factors, such as students' perceived aptitudes and interests in the subject; external factors, such as compensation and job availability; and social/interpersonal influences, such as input of teachers, school counselors, parents, and friends. This paper follows up on the authors' earlier work, which found that despite an increase in the number of male students enrolled in business programs across the nation during the period between 2003 and 2011, female representation declined-an enrollment trend with significant consequences for colleges of business, industry, and the national economy. This study is an attempt to understand this trend by identifying those factors that may influence women to choose business as an undergraduate major.

Higher education increasingly relies on course assessment; however, it is challenging to cover all course and assessed content. Homework has been linked to increased student performance and may be a solution to covering or reinforcing key course and assessed concepts. Instructor time and resources are limited, making additional grading challenging. Moreover, using feedback on homework to improve student performance is time sensitive with many faculty, challenged to timely return homework feedback. Web-based tools may assist with the aforementioned issues; however, research on the effects of homework, paper-based versus web-based homework, and online learning tools is inconsistent. The goal of this research is to improve assessment via web-based homework while requiring minimal instructor effort and time. The hypothesis is stated as employing web-based homework will improve scores on student performance as measured by a university course assessment. The web-based homework occurs via the implementation of discussion boards in multiple undergraduate courses in the college of business of a mid-size regional university. Results indicate discussion boards can be used to effectively improve student performance as measured by assessment.

The practice of including online discussion posts to traditional courses is increasing. Online discussions allow for active learning to occur as students express their ideas and respond to others. The time and thought provided by online discussion posts allows students to utilize higher level cognitive skills. Web-based assessments are another technology tool that instructors are including in their courses. This study examined the impact of online discussion posts on achievement of web-based assessments for an upper level undergraduate business and technology writing intensive course. Using a treatment group and a control group, student achievement scores for the online assessments were measured. Results indicate that assessed grades of the treatment groups were higher than the control group, however statistical significance was mixed among the web assessments. The results further illustrate the need for additional research into online discussions applied to web-based assessments.

No abstract

Cyberbullying affects almost half of the teenagers in America (National Crime Prevention Council [NCPC], 2010). The effects of cyberbullying can be detrimental to teens and may include withdrawal from school activities, illness, depression, eating disorders, or suicidal ideations (Dehue, Bolman, & Vollink, 2008; Mason, 2008). In order to effectively deal with this issue, it is imperative that front-line middle school principals are prepared to address this growing problem. The purpose of this study was to examine how middle school principals of small rural schools address cyberbullying and their beliefs on its effect on the school climate and students. This study examined what middle school principals have experienced with regard to cyberbullying and the ways in which principals have responded to incidences of cyberbullying. A qualitative design using an exploratory multiple case study approach was utilized for this study. The results of this study describe how middle school principals in a small rural setting address cyberbullying and its impact on the school environment.