A variety of factors influence a student’s ability to succeed in college and complete a degree program. Students who live on-campus, at least during their freshman year, have been shown to be more likely to complete their degrees than are students who live off-campus. Students who are commuters may have more demands on their time and may have fewer opportunities to develop a strong commitment to their studies and to their university. It may be hypothesized that students who live farther away from a campus may find it more difficult to attend classes and to complete outside tasks required by their classes. In an initial test of this hypothesis, an examination of the relationship between a commuter student’s distance from campus and his/her overall grade point average is assessed. Results do not support this hypothesis. Possible reasons for this finding and directions for future research are discussed.

Purpose -The purpose of this study is to identify the main drivers which can explain the relative success of BRIC countries (i.e. Brazil, Russia, India and China), collectively and individually, in attracting foreign direct investment (FDIs). Unlike previous studies that have identified gross domestic product (GDP) as a major determinant, we find that for the sampling period 1980-2008, social variables (namely, high population growth and educated labor) and political variables account for 40 and 7 per cent of the variance in net inward FDI, respectively, and no importance for economic variables. Interestingly, for a sub-period (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008), we observe the salience of financial (namely, sizable GDP economy, favorable net trade balance and controlled currency risk and sovereign debt risk) determinants of inward FDI (R 2 is 44 per cent). On the other hand, when testing individual countries, it seems that FDI determinants are not universal as each country enjoys different characteristics and sources of strengths that attract FDIs. The implication is to focus more on those incentives that the host country is weak in to be able to optimize the amount of FDI flowing in from foreign investors. Design/methodology/approach -Three blocks of variables were examined: economic/financial, social and political variables. The economic/financial variable set expands on a prototype developed by Dunning (1981), which distinguishes three types of influences on inward FDI. First, it suggests some domestic market characteristics to influence FDI. They include the market size and the direction of trade flows. Another set of economic/financial factors includes measure of the host country's overall financial performance such as the inflation rate and the effectiveness of the service sector. Social factors of the host country are considered an important determinant of FDI. Our social model included: the degree of human capital development, the extent of urbanization, the quality of life and the adequacy of the health-care system. Political factors were also considered. Using the STATA statistical package, we run a regression analysis on our transformed data twice: once over the full sampling period , and a second time using a partial data set covering the past 10 years (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008), after controlling for multicollinearity and other econometric problems. Findings -Regressing net FDI inflows on all financial, social and political variables during the full data series , and after controlling for severe econometric problems, the nested block regression concludes that the social variables account for 40 per cent of the change in net inward FDI, followed by political variables (7 per cent). The nested regression for the past 10-year data series (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008), however, shows the economic/financial variables block and social variables blocks contribute the most to FDI variations (R 2 is 44 and 7 per cent, r...

This case describes the development of a unique, student-centered, online course management systems (OCMS). The system grew from a fairly straightforward grade reporting system into a full-blown collaborative system within a short — in traditional information systems development terms — timeframe of approximately one year. The Community/course Action/interaction Management System, known as CAMS©, was developed iteratively with specifications derived from faculty and students working together to address the limitations of existing OCMS and to identify new functions and features that would contribute to the value of the educational experience. To address the most critical issue identified — limited interactive functionality — the participant became the focus of the development process. This case describes the evolution of CAMS© from both a product and a process perspective. Changes made to the system and the factors motivating the changes are discussed, as are challenges faced before, during, and after the development process.

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This case study describes the development of a course management system. The system was named Community/course Action/interaction Management System (CAMS) to reflect the goal of using it to create a sense of collaboration and community. The iterative, participative development process and the evolution of the system are described in detail.