Families, cultural resources and the digital divide: ICTs and educational (dis)advantage in the e-society

By concentrating on cases of family engagement with information communication technologies at a very local level, this paper tries to illustrate that issues related to 'access' and social disadvantage require extremely sophisticated and textured accounts of the multiple ways in which interrelated critical elements and various social, economic and cultural dimensions of disadvantage come into play in different contexts. Indeed, to draw a simple dichotomy between the technology haves and have-nots in local settings is not particularly generative. It may be the case that, even when people from disadvantaged backgrounds manage to gain access to technology, they remain relatively disadvantaged.

Rules and resources: a structuration approach to understanding the coordination of childrens`s inpatient health care

Aim. This paper presents findings from a multi-method study exploring the process of care coordination in children's inpatient health care.

Background. Existing work on care coordination is typified by 'black-box' type studies that measure inputs to and outcomes of care coordination roles and practices, without addressing the process of coordination.

Method. Using questionnaires, interviews and observation to collect data in multiple sites in the United Kingdom and Denmark between 1999 and 2005, the study gathered the perceptions of staff and compared these with observed practice. Giddens' structuration theory was used to provide an analytical and explanatory framework.

Findings. Current care coordination practice is diverse and inconsistent. It involves a wide range of clinical and non-clinical staff, many of whom perceive a lack of clarity about who should perform specific coordination activities. Staff draw upon a wide range of different material and non-material resources in coordinating care, the use of which is governed by largely tacit and informal rules.

Conclusions. Care coordination can be usefully conceptualized as a 'structurated' process – one that is continually produced and reproduced by staff using rules and resources to 'instantiate' or bring about care coordination through action. Potentially negative implications of this are manifested in diversity and inconsistency in care coordination practice. However, positive aspects such as the opportunity this provides to tailor care to the needs of the individual patient can be realized.

Staff and student views of the usefulness of information technology materials within an integrated curriculum: are these educational resources effective in promoting student learning?

This paper reports on a study on the perceived effectiveness of educational resources within the context of a single course in a first-year biology program at the University of Sydney (Australia). The overall study examined the dynamic state of perceptions towards these resources by the major stakeholders involved with the course (students, teaching staff, and technical staff). A major focus of the research was the extent to which the students used the computer-based resources made available to them, and staff and students' perceptions of the usefulness of these resources in supporting their learning. Specifically, results are discussed related to student use of computers and the Internet, use of biology online materials in the virtual learning environment, use and perceptions of communication technologies, and use and perceptions of computer-based online resources. Data were collected from the students using surveys and focus groups and from staff using surveys and interviews within an action-research paradigm. While the majority of students found the resources to be of use in supporting learning, some did not find them useful, and some did not use them at all. In comparison, the staff had higher expectations of both usage and usefulness. The level of student use was not a function of access to computers or the Internet, so the findings suggest that the provision of online resources will not necessarily generate value-added learning.

An agent-based framework for petroleum information services from distributed heterogeneous data resources

For making good decisions in the area of petroleum production, it is becoming a big problem how to timely gather sufficient and correct information, which may be stored in databases, data files, or on the World Wide Web. In this paper, Gaia methodology and Open Agent Architecture were employed to contribute a framework to solve above problem. The framework consists of three levels, namely, role mode, agent type, and agent instance. The model with five roles is analyzed. Four agent types are designed Six agent instances are developed for constructing the system of petroleum information services. The experimental results show that all agents in the system can work cooperatively to organize and retrieve relevant petroleum information. The successful implementation of the framework shows that agent-based technology can significantly facilitate the construction of complex systems in distributed heterogeneous data resource environment.

Text next : new resources for literacy learning

This collection of resources provides classroom examples and case studies, offers a platform of ideas for teachers to investigate new ways of building the literacy development of their students.

Human resources development for sustainable aquaculture in the new millennium

Human resources development (HRD) is pivotal to aquaculture development in the new millennium, particularly so in the changing global pressure for all development to be environmentally and socially acceptable, irrespective of the economic status of nations. In the above context, HRD in the aquaculture sector has to have a more holistic approach, and the type of training provided has to be changed accordingly. Most nations in which aquaculture plays a significant role in poverty alleviation recognise that HRD is a key to sustained development of the sector. The types and levels of training required in the sector in the foreseeable future are discussed. The need to increase specialised training, particularly for researchers, in some of the developing nations likely to play adominant role in the aquaculture sector in the ensuing years, is also underlined. Examples are presented to indicate that current development programmes do not cater to HRD to the extent that is desirable to have a long-term impact.