Mediation incomplete information bargaining with filtered communication

We analyze a continuous-time bilateral double auction in the presence of two-sided incomplete information and a smallest money unit. A distinguishing feature of our model is that intermediate concessions are not observable by the adversary: they are only communicated to a passive auctioneer. An alternative interpretation is that of mediated bargaining. We show that an equilibrium using only the extreme agreements always exists and display the necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of (perfect Bayesian) equilibra which yield intermediate agreements. For the symmetric case with uniform type distribution we numerically calculate the equilibria. We find that the equilibrium which does not use compromise agreements is the least efficient, however, the rest of the equilibria yield the lower social welfare the higher number of compromise agreements are used.

Percepciones de estudiantes sobre el Aprendizaje móvil; la nueva generación de la educación a distancia

Durante años, muchas instituciones y universidades han comenzado a experimentar con los dispositivos móviles en el aprendizaje a través de diferentes proyectos como parte de su metodología de aprendizaje. La experiencia adquirida con el empleo de estrategias y enfoques en la educación a distancia puede facilitar la conceptualización del aprendizaje móvil, así como el desarrollo de aplicaciones para este nuevo medio de aprendizaje. Los dispositivos móviles abren además nuevos caminos para el aprendizaje y una nueva generación para la educación a distancia, y los investigadores conocen estos nuevos caminos para el aprendizaje y oportunidades de llegar a un público más amplio. Este trabajo, muestra los resultados de un grupo de discusión que se llevó a cabo entre 20 estudiantes de licenciatura con el fin de explorar las percepciones, y en general todo aquello que afecta a la interpretación subjetiva de los individuos y su interacción con un fenómeno social como el aprendizaje móvil.

Interactions with and through Mobile Phones: What about the Elderly Population?

This paper explores the distinctive characteristics of mobile telephone use among the elderly population using the most recent European country-level data on individual use of mobile telephony and advanced mobile services, Eurostat 2008. Through a cluster analysis of mobile phone use data across 30 countries, it is possible to confirm that mobile telephone occupies a peripheral position for the elderly in Europe.

Interactions with and through mobile phones : what about the elderly population?

Peer-reviewed

Adaptive intelligent agent approach to guide the web navigation on the PLAN-G distance learning platform

Hypermedia systems based on the Web for open distance education are becoming increasinglypopular as tools for user-driven access learning information. Adaptive hypermedia is a new direction in research within the area of user-adaptive systems, to increase its functionality by making it personalized [Eklu 961. This paper sketches a general agents architecture to include navigationaladaptability and user-friendly processes which would guide and accompany the student during hislher learning on the PLAN-G hypermedia system (New Generation Telematics Platform to Support Open and Distance Learning), with the aid of computer networks and specifically WWW technology [Marz 98-1] [Marz 98-2]. The PLAN-G actual prototype is successfully used with some informatics courses (the current version has no agents yet). The propased multi-agent system, contains two different types of adaptive autonomous software agents: Personal Digital Agents {Interface), to interacl directly with the student when necessary; and Information Agents (Intermediaries), to filtrate and discover information to learn and to adapt navigation space to a specific student

Web and education, a successful open entanglement

E-learning, understood as the intensive use of Information and Communication Technologies in mainly but not only) distance education, has radically changed the meaning of the latter. E-learning is an overused term which has been applied to any use of technology in education. Today, the most widely accepted meaning ofe-learning coincides with the fourth generation described by Taylor (1999), where there is an asynchronousprocess that allows students and teachers to interact in an educational process expressly designed in accordance with these principles. We prefer to speak of Internet-Based Learning or, better still, Web-Based Learning, for example, to explain the fact that distance education is carried out using the Internet, with the appearance of the virtual learning environment concept, a web space where the teaching and learning process is generated and supported (Sangrà, 2002). This entails overcoming the barriers of space and time of brickand mortar education (although we prefer the term face-to-face) or of classical distance education using broadcasting and adopting a completely asynchronous model that allows access to education by many more users, at any level (including secondary education, but primarily higher education and lifelong learning).

The relationships between technology and open education in the development of a resilient higher education

The place of technology in the development of coherent educational responses to environmental and socio-economic disruption is here placed under scrutiny. One emerging area of interest is the role of technology in addressing more complex learning futures, and more especially in facilitating individual and social resilience, or the ability to manage and overcome disruption. However, the extent to which higher education practitioners can utilise technology to this end is framed by their approaches to the curriculum, and the socio-cultural practices within which they are located. This paper discusses how open education might enable learners to engage with uncertainty through social action within a form of higher education that is more resilient to economic, environmental and energy-related disruption. It asks whether open higher education can be (re)claimed by users and communities within specific contexts and curricula, in order to engage with an uncertain world.

El préstec de documents en un campus virtual : generant un nou concepte

El préstec de documents és un dels pilars fonamentals de la biblioteca per donar suport a l'estudi, docència i recerca. A la Biblioteca de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, la diferència principal respecte a altres biblioteques universitàries, és el nou concepte virtual sense parets, i aquest concepte s'estén també a aquest servei de préstec. Els usuaris no han d'accedir necessàriament a un espai físic per consultar les fonts d'informació disponibles, ni per endur-se documents en préstec. Des de casa, i de manera remota, poden demanar els documents en els que estiguin interessats, des del mateix catàleg i sense cap tipus d'intermediari gràcies al desenvolupament d'un nou servei de préstec de documents, que genera alhora un nou model dins d'un campus virtual.

La Biblioteca Virtual de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya : un nuevo concepto de biblioteca

The Virtual Library of the UOC not only contains its own bibliographic resources distributed in small physical libraries in the Support Centres of the University spread throughout the main cities of Catalonia, it also allows online access from one's place of residence to all the information registered and stored anywhere in the world. Because of this, we can define the Virtual Library of the UOC as a "library without walls". Currently, services offered by the library are available through a website interface within the Virtual Campus of the University.

La gestió dels recursos documentals a les aules de la UOC

La gestió dels recursos documentals a les aules de la UOC es fa de manera compartida entre el professorat i la Biblioteca de la Universitat. La responsabilitat dels continguts que trobem com a 'recursos de l'aula' i de l'actualització d'aquests recau en el professor/a responsable de l'assignatura que és qui decideix quins recursos electrònics han de tenir les aules de les seves assignatures i comunica a la Biblioteca aquests recursos i les possibles actualitzacions i/o modificacions que cal fer-hi. La gestió d'aquests recursos que es fa des de la biblioteca és un element clau perquè, a través d'aquest procés, la biblioteca esdevingui un element realment facilitador de l'aprenentatge i la docència, i situa la biblioteca com un element central en el model d'aprenentatge de la UOC. S'inclou al final de la presentació un seguit de recomanacions per a l'èxit dels recursos documentals a les aules virtuals.

La gestió dels recursos documentals a les aules de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

The management of the documental resources in the classrooms of the UOC is shared between the teaching staff and the Library of the University. The responsibility of the contents that we find as "resources of the classroom" and updating these falls on the teacher responsible for the course which is the one who decides which electronic resources must have the classrooms of his/her courses and communicates these resources and the possible updates or modifications to the Library. The management of these resources done from the library is a key element because, through this process, the library becomes a really facilitating element of the learning and the teaching, and places the library like a central element in the learning model of the UOC. A series of recommendations for the success of the documental resources in the virtual classrooms are included at the end of the presentation.

La Biblioteca de la UOC : continguts digitals per a una biblioteca virtual

En aquesta comunicació, farem un repàs dels continguts digitals que actualment conformen el fons de la Biblioteca de la UOC. Parlar de continguts digitals a la Biblioteca de la UOC implica necessàriament recordar que la nostra biblioteca es defineix a si mateixa com a virtual, una virtualitat caracteritzada per la possibilitat oferta als nostres usuaris d'accedir remotament a continguts i serveis bibliotecaris, en què es combinen notícies bibliogràfiques, textos electrònics, bancs d'imatges i tota mena d'informacions per mitjà d'una xarxa telemàtica. La relació entre continguts digitals i virtualitat és, evidentment, directa: els serveis que s'ofereixen virtualment es fan sobre la base de documents digitals i, al mateix temps, aquests serveis virtuals també generen documents electrònics.

Supporting the reuse of effective CSCL learning designs through social structure representations

Distance and blended collaborative learning settings are usually characterized by different social structures defined in terms of groups' number, dimension, and composition; these structures are variable and can change within the same activity. This variability poses additional complexity to instructional designers, when they are trying to develop successful experiences from existing designs. This complexity is greatly associated with the fact that learning designs do not render explicit how social structures influenced the decisions of the original designer, and thus whether the social structures of the new setting could preclude the effectiveness of the reused design. This article proposes the usage of new representations (social structure representations, SSRs) able to support unskilled designers in reusing existing learning designs, through the explicit characterization of the social structures and constraints embedded either by the original designers or the reusing teachers, according to well-known principles of good collaborative learning practice. The article also describes an evaluation process that involved university professors, as well as the main findings derived from it. This process supported the initial assumptions about the effectiveness of SSRs, with significant evidence from both qualitative and qualitative data.

Technology-enhanced education for Millennials: how the Information Society is changing the way of learning

The Information Society has provided the context for the development of a new generation, known as the Millennials, who are characterized by their intensive use of technologies in everyday life. These features are changing the way of learning, prompting educational institutions to attempt to better adapt to youngneeds by incorporating technologies into education. Based on this premise, wehave reviewed the prominent reports of the integration of ICT into education atdifferent levels with the aim of evidencing how education is changing, and willchange, to meet the needs of Millennials with ICT support. The results show thatmost of the investments have simply resulted in an increase of computers andaccess to the Internet, with teachers reproducing traditional approaches to education and e-learning being seen as complementary to face-to-face education.While it would seem that the use of ICT is not revolutionizing learning, it isfacilitating the personalization, collaboration and ubiquity of learning.