Guiding e-learning: introducing online informal learning to a global voluntary organisation

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) is the umbrella organisation for Member Organisations from 145 countries around the world, with a total membership of ten million. While Member Organisations offer training and development within their own countries, WAGGGS offers international opportunities. This project seeks to explore how technology can be used to offer similar opportunities to those provided by the face-to-face courses to a much wider audience, while retaining the community and interactive learning aspects of the existing programmes.

iPad use in fieldwork: formal and informal use to enhance pedagogical practice in a bring your own technology world

We report on use of iPads (and other IOS devices) for student fieldwork use and as electronic field notebooks and to promote active. We have used questionnaires and interviews of tutors and students to elicit their views and technology and iPad use for fieldwork. There is some reluctance for academic staff to relinquish paper notebooks for iPad use, whether in the classroom or on fieldwork, as well as use them for observational and measurement purposes. Students too are largely unaware of the potential of iPads for enhancing fieldwork. Apps can be configured for a wide variety of specific uses that make iPads useful for educational as well as social uses. Such abilities should be used to enhance existing practice as well as make new functionality. For example, for disabled students who find it difficult to use conventional note taking. iPads can be used to develop student self-directed learning and for group contributions. The technology becomes part of the students’ personal learning environments as well as at the heart of their knowledge spaces – academic and social. This blurring of boundaries is due to iPads’ usability to cultivate field use, instruction, assessment and feedback processes. iPads can become field microscopes and entries to citizen science and we see the iPad as the main ‘computing’ device for students in the near future. As part of the Bring Your Own Technology/Device (BYOD) the iPad has much to offer although, both staff and students need to be guided in the most effective use for self-directed education via development of Personal Learning Environments. A more student-oriented pedagogy is suggested to correspond to the increasing use of tablet technologies by students

State of the art of learning styles-based adaptive educational hypermedia systems (Ls-Baehss)

The notion that learning can be enhanced when a teaching approach matches a learner’s learning style has been widely accepted in classroom settings since the latter represents a predictor of student’s attitude and preferences. As such, the traditional approach of ‘one-size-fits-all’ as may be applied to teaching delivery in Educational Hypermedia Systems (EHSs) has to be changed with an approach that responds to users’ needs by exploiting their individual differences. However, establishing and implementing reliable approaches for matching the teaching delivery and modalities to learning styles still represents an innovation challenge which has to be tackled. In this paper, seventy six studies are objectively analysed for several goals. In order to reveal the value of integrating learning styles in EHSs, different perspectives in this context are discussed. Identifying the most effective learning style models as incorporated within AEHSs. Investigating the effectiveness of different approaches for modelling students’ individual learning traits is another goal of this study. Thus, the paper highlights a number of theoretical and technical issues of LS-BAEHSs to serve as a comprehensive guidance for researchers who interest in this area.

Non-challenging education and teacher control as factors for marginalization of students in diverse settings

This article discusses teachers’ attitudes towards immigrant students in poor settings and the effect these attitudes have on organization of education on classroom level. It draws on results from two ethnographic studies where some primary school classes in Sweden were followed with participant observation and interviews as main research methods. The article focuses on classroom activities and teachers’ attitudes towards immigrant students and students with low socio-economic status. In the article is argued for the importance of presenting students in poor settings with demanding tasks and challenging education. In these cases, intellectually undemanding tasks in combination with little room for students’ own initiatives resulted in low enthusiasm among students regarding schoolwork and accordingly low learning, while classroom work that demanded active involvement by students in combination with high level of students’ influence on what took place in classrooms resulted in high level of students’ engagement and high outcome.

Health system context and implementation of evidence-based practices-development and validation of the Context Assessment for Community Health (COACH) tool for low- and middle-income settings

Background: The gap between what is known and what is practiced results in health service users not benefitting from advances in healthcare, and in unnecessary costs. A supportive context is considered a key element for successful implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP). There were no tools available for the systematic mapping of aspects of organizational context influencing the implementation of EBPs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Thus, this project aimed to develop and psychometrically validate a tool for this purpose. Methods: The development of the Context Assessment for Community Health (COACH) tool was premised on the context dimension in the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services framework, and is a derivative product of the Alberta Context Tool. Its development was undertaken in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Uganda, South Africa and Nicaragua in six phases: (1) defining dimensions and draft tool development, (2) content validity amongst in-country expert panels, (3) content validity amongst international experts, (4) response process validity, (5) translation and (6) evaluation of psychometric properties amongst 690 health workers in the five countries. Results: The tool was validated for use amongst physicians, nurse/midwives and community health workers. The six phases of development resulted in a good fit between the theoretical dimensions of the COACH tool and its psychometric properties. The tool has 49 items measuring eight aspects of context: Resources, Community engagement, Commitment to work, Informal payment, Leadership, Work culture, Monitoring services for action and Sources of knowledge. Conclusions: Aspects of organizational context that were identified as influencing the implementation of EBPs in high-income settings were also found to be relevant in LMICs. However, there were additional aspects of context of relevance in LMICs specifically Resources, Community engagement, Commitment to work and Informal payment. Use of the COACH tool will allow for systematic description of the local healthcare context prior implementing healthcare interventions to allow for tailoring implementation strategies or as part of the evaluation of implementing healthcare interventions and thus allow for deeper insights into the process of implementing EBPs in LMICs.

Repetition of Suicide Attempts Data from Emergency Care Settings in Five Culturally Different Low- and Middle-Income Countries Participating in the WHO SUPRE-MISS Study

Background: Attempted suicide is a strong risk factor for subsequent suicidal behaviors. Innovative strategies to deal with people who have attempted suicide are needed, particularly in resource-poor settings. Aims: To evaluate a brief educational intervention and periodic follow-up contacts (BIC) for suicide attempters in five culturally different sites (Campinas, Brazil; Chennai, India; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran; and Yuncheng, People's Republic of China) as part of the WHO Multisite Intervention Study on Suicidal Behaviors (SUPRE-MISS). Methods: Among the 1,867 suicide attempters enrolled in the emergency departments of the participating sites, 922 (49.4%) were randomly assigned to a brief intervention and contact (BIC) group and 945 (50.6%) to a treatment as usual (TAU) group. Repeated suicide attempts over the 18 months following the index attempt - the secondary outcome measure presented in this paper - were identified by follow-up calls or visits. Subsequent completed suicide - the primary outcome measure has been reported in a previous paper. Results: Overall, the proportion of subjects with repeated suicide attempts was similar in the BIC and TAU groups (7.6% vs. 7.5%, chi(2) = 0.013; p = .909), but there were differences in rates across the five sites. Conclusions: This study from five low-and middle-income countries does not confirm the effectiveness of brief educational intervention and follow-up contacts for suicide attempters in reducing subsequent repetition of suicide attempts up to 18 months after discharge from emergency departments.

FLOWS OF INFORMATION AND LANGUAGE IN ORGANIZATIONAL SETTINGS

Information flows are formed naturally or formally induced in organizational settings, passing from the strategic level to operational level, reflecting, and impacting in the processes that make up the organization, including the decision-making process and therefore the action strategies of organization. The management of organizational environments based on information requires careful attention to various kinds of languages used for communication between sectors and employees of the organization, whose goal is to share, disseminate and socialize the information produced in this environment.

Learning for well being : Studies using the International Adult Literacy Survey

This thesis is a collection of five independent but closely related studies. The overall purpose is to approach the analysis of learning outcomes from a perspective that combines three major elements, namely lifelonglifewide learning, human capital, and the benefits of learning. The approach is based on an interdisciplinary perspective of the human capital paradigm. It considers the multiple learning contexts that are responsible for the development of embodied potential – including formal, nonformal and informal learning – and the multiple outcomes – including knowledge, skills, economic, social and others– that result from learning. The studies also seek to examine the extent and relative influence of learning in different contexts on the formation of embodied potential and how in turn that affects economic and social well being. The first study combines the three major elements, lifelonglifewide learning, human capital, and the benefits of learning into one common conceptual framework. This study forms a common basis for the four empirical studies that follow. All four empirical studies use data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) to investigate the relationships among the major elements of the conceptual framework presented in the first study. Study I. A conceptual framework for the analysis of learning outcomes This study brings together some key concepts and theories that are relevant for the analysis of learning outcomes. Many of the concepts and theories have emerged from varied disciplines including economics, educational psychology, cognitive science and sociology, to name only a few. Accordingly, some of the research questions inherent in the framework relate to different disciplinary perspectives. The primary purpose is to create a common basis for formulating and testing hypotheses as well as to interpret the findings in the empirical studies that follow. In particular, the framework facilitates the process of theorizing and hypothesizing on the relationships and processes concerning lifelong learning as well as their antecedents and consequences. Study II. Determinants of literacy proficiency: A lifelong-lifewide learning perspective This study investigates lifelong and lifewide processes of skill formation. In particular, it seeks to estimate the substitutability and complementarity effects of learning in multiple settings over the lifespan on literacy skill formation. This is done by investigating the predictive capacity of major determinants of literacy proficiency that are associated with a variety of learning contexts including school, home, work, community and leisure. An identical structural model based on previous research is fitted to the IALS data for 18 countries. The results show that even after accounting for all factors, education remains the most important predictor of literacy proficiency. In all countries, however, the total effect of education is significantly mediated through further learning occurring at work, at home and in the community. Therefore, the job and other literacy related factors complement education in predicting literacy proficiency. This result points to a virtual cycle of lifelong learning, particularly to how educational attainment influences other learning behaviours throughout life. In addition, results show that home background as measured by parents’ education is also a strong predictor of literacy proficiency, but in many countries this occurs only if a favourable home background is complemented with some post-secondary education. Study III. The effect of literacy proficiency on earnings: An aggregated occupational approach using the Canadian IALS data This study uses data from the Canadian Adult Literacy Survey to estimate the earnings return to literacy skills. The approach adapts a labour segmented view of the labour market by aggregating occupations into seven types, enabling the estimation of the variable impact of literacy proficiency on earnings, both within and between different types of occupations. This is done using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). The method used to construct the aggregated occupational classification is based on analysis that considers the role of cognitive and other skills in relation to the nature of occupational tasks. Substantial premiums are found to be associated with some occupational types even after adjusting for within occupational differences in individual characteristics such as schooling, literacy proficiency, labour force experience and gender. Average years of schooling and average levels of literacy proficiency at the between level account for over two-thirds of the premiums. Within occupations, there are significant returns to schooling but they vary depending on the type of occupations. In contrast, the within occupational return of literacy proficiency is not necessarily significant. The latter depends on the type of occupation. Study IV: Determinants of economic and social outcomes from a lifewide learning perspective in Canada In this study the relationship between learning in different contexts, which span the lifewide learning dimension, and individual earnings on the one hand and community participation on the other are examined in separate but comparable models. Data from the Canadian Adult Literacy Survey are used to estimate structural models, which correspond closely to the common conceptual framework outlined in Study I. The findings suggest that the relationship between formal education and economic and social outcomes is complex with confounding effects. The results indicate that learning occurring in different contexts and for different reasons leads to different kinds of benefits. The latter finding suggests a potential trade-off between realizing economic and social benefits through learning that are taken for either job-related or personal-interest related reasons. Study V: The effects of learning on economic and social well being: A comparative analysis Using the same structural model as in Study IV, hypotheses are comparatively examined using the International Adult Literacy Survey data for Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The main finding from Study IV is confirmed for an additional five countries, namely that the effect of initial schooling on well being is more complex than a direct one and it is significantly mediated by subsequent learning. Additionally, findings suggest that people who devote more time to learning for job-related reasons than learning for personal-interest related reasons experience higher levels of economic well being. Moreover, devoting too much time to learning for personal-interest related reasons has a negative effect on earnings except in Denmark. But the more time people devote to learning for personal-interest related reasons tends to contribute to higher levels of social well being. These results again suggest a trade-off in learning for different reasons and in different contexts.

The informal market of education in Egypt: Private tutoring and its implications /// Arbeitspapiere / Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien ; 88

Education is generally perceived as a public good which should be provided by the state. In Egypt, free and equal access to education has been guaranteed to all citizens since President Nasser’s socialist reforms in the 1950s. However, due to high population growth rates and a lack of financial resources, the public education system has been struggling to accommodate rapidly increasing numbers of students. While enrolment rates have risen steadily, the quality of state-provided services has deteriorated. Teachers and students have to cope with high class densities, insufficient facilities, a rigid syllabus and a centralized examination system. Today, teaching is among the lowest-paying occupations in the public sector. One strategy to cope with this situation is the widespread practice of private tutoring, which usually takes place at students’ homes or in commercial tutoring centers. Based on research carried out in Cairo in 2004/05 and 2006, I use an actor-centered approach to analyze the motivations of Egyptian teachers and students for participating in private tutoring and the impact that this practice has on the relationship between teachers and students. Students of all socio-economic backgrounds resort to tutoring in order to succeed in a highly competitive and exam-oriented education system. However, the form and quality of tutoring that can be accessed depends on the financial means of the family. For teachers, tutoring provides a good opportunity not only to supplement their income, but also, in the case of renowned “star teachers”, to improve their professional status and autonomy. On the informal “market of education” that has developed in Egypt during the last decades, the educational responsibilities of the state are increasingly being taken over by private actors, i.e. the process of teaching and learning is dissociated from the direct control of the state and from school as an institution. At the same time, education is turned into a marketable commodity. Despite the government’s efforts to provide free education to all citizens, the quality of social services that can be accessed in Egypt, thus, depends mainly on the financial means of the individual or the family.

Differences in Internet Usage - Social Inequality and Informal Education

In the public debate the internet is regarded as a central resource for knowledge and information. Associated with this is the idea that everyone is able and even expected to serve himself or herself according to his or her own needs via this medium. Since more and more services are also delivered online the internet seems to allow its users to enjoy specific advantages in dealing with their everyday life. However, using the internet is based on a range of preconditions. New results of empirical and theoretical research indicate the rise of a social divide in this context. Within the internet, different ways of use can be identified alongside social inequalities. Boundaries of the "real life" are mirrored in the virtual space e.g. in terms of forms of communification and spaces for appropriation. These are not only shaped by invidual preferences but particularly by social structures and processes. In the context of the broader debate on education it is stated that formal educational structures are to be completed by arrangements which are structured in informal respectively nonformal ways. Particularly the internet is suggested to play an important role in this respect. However, the phenomenon of digital inequality points to limitations consolidated by effects of economic, social, and cultural ressources: Economical resources affect opportunities of access, priorities of everyday life shape respective intentions of internet use, social relationships have an impact on the support structures available and ways of appropriation reproduce a specific understanding of informal education ("informelle Bildung"). This produces an early stratification of opportunities especially for the subsequent generation and may lead to extensive inequalities regarding the distribution of advantages in terms of education. Thus the capacity of the virtual space in terms of participatory opportunities and democratic potentials raises concerns of major relevance with respect to social and educational policy. From the perspective of different disciplines involved in these issues it is essential to clarify this question in an empirical as well as in a theoretical way and to make it utilizable for a future-orientied practice. This article discusses central questions regarding young people's internet use and its implications for informal education and social service delivery on the basis of empirical findings. It introduces a methodological approach for this particular perspective and illustrates that the phenomena of digital divide and digital inequality are as much created by social processes as by technical issues.

Digital Systems for Open Access to Formal and Informal Learning

Today, Digital Systems and Services for Technology Supported Learning and Education are recognized as the key drivers to transform the way that individuals, groups and organizations “learn” and the way to “assess learning” in 21st Century. These transformations influence: Objectives - moving from acquiring new “knowledge” to developing new and relevant “competences”; Methods – moving from “classroom” based teaching to “context-aware” personalized learning; and Assessment – moving from “life-long” degrees and certifications to “on-demand” and “in-context” accreditation of qualifications. Within this context, promoting Open Access to Formal and Informal Learning, is currently a key issue in the public discourse and the global dialogue on Education, including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Flipped School Classrooms. This volume on Digital Systems for Open Access to Formal and Informal Learning contributes to the international dialogue between researchers, technologists, practitioners and policy makers in Technology Supported Education and Learning. It addresses emerging issues related with both theory and practice, as well as, methods and technologies that can support Open Access to Formal and Informal Learning. In the twenty chapters contributed by international experts who are actively shaping the future of Educational Technology around the world, topics such as: - The evolution of University Open Courses in Transforming Learning - Supporting Open Access to Teaching and Learning of People with Disabilities - Assessing Student Learning in Online Courses - Digital Game-based Learning for School Education - Open Access to Virtual and Remote Labs for STEM Education - Teachers’ and Schools’ ICT Competence Profiling - Web-Based Education and Innovative Leadership in a K-12 International School Setting are presented. An in-depth blueprint of the promise, potential, and imminent future of the field, Digital Systems for Open Access to Formal and Informal Learning is necessary reading for researchers and practitioners, as well as, undergraduate and postgraduate students, in educational technology.

Multiprofessional collaboration in teaching practices in all-day-schools in Switzerland

Multiprofessional collaboration in settings of extended education has been an important research topic in the past 40 years and has been discussed as a means to improve educational achievement, foster professional development, and support teachers in their everyday work. Several recent studies in multiprofessional settings found that collaboration practices often remain on a student-centered, time-limited, and superficial level of exchange, whereas higher forms of collaboration are very rare (Dizinger, Fussangel, Kasper, 2011). Furthermore there exists an obvious research gap on collaboration in Swiss all-day schools (Jutzi&Thomann, 2012). In this study we analyzed practices of multiprofessional collaboration in school-based and community-based extracurricular activities of all-day schools in Switzerland. The aim of this qualitative study of 10 all-day schools was to answer the following questions: (a) What forms of collaboration (informal/formal) are used between the different professionals? and (b) Are there different types of all-day schools with regard to distinctive and consistent types of collaboration? We conducted 18 problem-centered interviews (with the principals/heads of the all-day schools) and 10 focus group discussions (teams). In the process of data evaluation, we applied the method of qualitative content analysis. The results show that multiprofessional collabo ration is taking place in all of the all-day schools examined in the study. However, the collaborative practices differ in their level of intensity, design, and purpose.

Educational Systems and Gender Segregation in Education: A Three-Country Comparison of Germany, Norway and Canada

How do institutional settings and their embedded policy principles affect gender-typed enrolment in educational programmes? Based on gender-sensitive theories on career choice, we hypothesised that gender segregation in education is higher with a wider range of offers of vocational programmes. By analysing youth survey and panel data, we tested this assumption for Germany, Norway and Canada, three countries whose educational systems represent a different mix of academic, vocational and universalistic education principles. We found that vocational programmes are considerably more gender-segregated than are academic (e.g. university) programmes. Men, more so than women, can avoid gender-typed programmes by passing on to a university education. This in turn means that as long as their secondary school achievement does not allow for a higher education career, they have a higher likelihood of being allocated to male-typed programmes in the vocational education and training (VET) system. In addition, social background and the age at which students have to choose educational offers impact on the transition to gendered educational programmes. Overall, gender segregation in education is highest in Germany and the lowest in Canada. We interpret the differences between these countries with respect to the constellations of educational principles and policies in the respective countries.

An empirical model to estimate the demand for primary care in urban settings

Objective. To measure the demand for primary care and its associated factors by building and estimating a demand model of primary care in urban settings.^ Data source. Secondary data from 2005 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2005), a population-based random-digit dial telephone survey, conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research in collaboration with the California Department of Health Services, and the Public Health Institute between July 2005 and April 2006.^ Study design. A literature review was done to specify the demand model by identifying relevant predictors and indicators. CHIS 2005 data was utilized for demand estimation.^ Analytical methods. The probit regression was used to estimate the use/non-use equation and the negative binomial regression was applied to the utilization equation with the non-negative integer dependent variable.^ Results. The model included two equations in which the use/non-use equation explained the probability of making a doctor visit in the past twelve months, and the utilization equation estimated the demand for primary conditional on at least one visit. Among independent variables, wage rate and income did not affect the primary care demand whereas age had a negative effect on demand. People with college and graduate educational level were associated with 1.03 (p < 0.05) and 1.58 (p < 0.01) more visits, respectively, compared to those with no formal education. Insurance was significantly and positively related to the demand for primary care (p < 0.01). Need for care variables exhibited positive effects on demand (p < 0.01). Existence of chronic disease was associated with 0.63 more visits, disability status was associated with 1.05 more visits, and people with poor health status had 4.24 more visits than those with excellent health status. ^ Conclusions. The average probability of visiting doctors in the past twelve months was 85% and the average number of visits was 3.45. The study emphasized the importance of need variables in explaining healthcare utilization, as well as the impact of insurance, employment and education on demand. The two-equation model of decision-making, and the probit and negative binomial regression methods, was a useful approach to demand estimation for primary care in urban settings.^

Hacia un análisis cuantitativo de la Ciudad Informal: una aproximación desde la Habitabilidad Básica y la experiencia en Makeni (Sierra Leona)

La importantísima expansión urbana que sufren las principales ciudades de los países en vías de desarrollo, es el mayor reto que afronta la habitabilidad a nivel mundial. Dentro de la teoría general de la Habitabilidad Básica (HaB-ETSAM-UPM, 1995) la ordenación del territorio y el planeamiento urbanístico son las herramientas determinantes para orientar coherentemente los procesos de urbanización, como se reconoce también desde las principales esferas técnicas a nivel internacional. Pero tales herramientas deben enfocarse a una construcción eficiente del territorio, actuando desde una aproximación multidisciplinar, flexible y directa, que incida en las prioridades específicas de cada contexto. Para ello, resulta fundamental comprender a fondo las realidades específicas de estos ámbitos. La ciudad es un fenómeno complejo en esencia. El tejido construido, en constante proceso de cambio, es el caparazón visible que alberga una maravillosa mezcla entrelazada de espacios, funciones, flujos, personas.... Cada ciudad, diferente y única, se integra en su medio, se adapta a geografías, contextos y climas distintos, evoluciona según dinámicas propias, en incomprensibles (o casi) procesos evolutivos. El estudio de la ciudad, supone siempre una simplificación de la misma. La realidad urbana, por detallado que sea nuestro análisis, siempre contendrá indescifrables relaciones que se nos escapan. En cambio, necesitamos de métodos analíticos que nos ayuden a comprender algo esa complejidad. Acercarnos en ese análisis, es un paso previo fundamental para la formulación de respuestas. En este plano, de avance en la comprensión del hecho urbano, se sitúa este trabajo. Se pone el acento en el enfoque cuantitativo, profundizando en datos básicos concretos, siempre aceptando de partida que esta información es una componente mínima, pero esperamos que sustantiva, de un fenómeno inabordable. Y es esta búsqueda de comprensión material y cuantitativa de la ciudad, el objetivo esencial de la investigación. Se pretende proporcionar una base detallada de aquéllos aspectos fundamentales, que pueden ser medidos en los entornos urbanos y que nos proporcionan información útil para el diagnóstico y las propuestas. Para ello, se aportan rangos y referencias deseables, a través de una herramienta para la comprensión y la valoración de cada contexto, la Matriz de Indicadores. Esta herramienta se concibe desde la reflexión a la aplicación práctica, a la utilidad directa, al aporte concreto para quien pueda servir. Ésta es la voluntad decidida con la que se aborda este trabajo, centrado en los entornos urbanos donde el aporte técnico es prioritario: la Ciudad Informal. La Ciudad Informal, entendida aquí como aquélla que se desarrolla sin los medios suficientes (técnicos, económicos e institucionales) que proporciona la planificación, aquélla por donde la habitabilidad precaria se extiende. Es la ciudad que predomina en los países en vías de desarrollo, en los contextos de bajos recursos, allí donde, precisamente, se concentran los principales déficits y necesidades a nivel global. El enfoque nace de la teoría de la Habitabilidad Básica, de la definición de mínimos posibles para, desde allí, construir el espacio necesario para el desarrollo humano. Éste es el ámbito genérico objeto del trabajo que, a su vez, se nutre, de forma muy importante, de la experiencia directa en la ciudad de Makeni, en Sierra Leona. Esta ciudad nos sirve de prototipo experimental en un doble sentido. Por un lado, sirve como espacio empírico en el que chequear la metodología de valoración cuantitativa; y, por otro, el conocimiento de esta ciudad de tamaño medio africana, que se ha ido adquiriendo en los últimos cinco años, es una base directa para el desarrollo teórico de la propia metodología, que ayuda a atisbar lo esencial en contextos similares. El encaje de todo este recorrido se ha articulado desde una experiencia académica que, como docente, he coordinado directa e intensamente. Experiencia muy enriquecedora, que ha sumado muchas manos y mucho aprendizaje en este tiempo. Teoría y práctica en planeamiento urbano se alternan en el trabajo, nutriéndose la una de la otra y a la inversa. Trabajo que nace desde la pasión por la ciudad y el urbanismo. Desde la búsqueda por comprender y desde la vocación de actuar, de intentar mejorar y hacer más habitables los entornos urbanos. Especialmente allí donde las dificultades se agolpan y el camino se alarga, se llena de polvo. Acumular preguntas a cada paso. Cada vez más preguntas. Las respuestas, si existen, aparecen entrelazadas en dinámicas indescifrables de las que queremos formar parte. Fundirnos por momentos en la misma búsqueda, acompañarla. Sentirnos cerca de quiénes comienzan de cero casi cada día. Y otra vez, arrancar. Y compartir, desde el conocimiento, si acaso es que se puede. Y la ciudad. Brutal, imponente, asfixiante, maravillosa, imposible. Creación colectiva insuperable, de energías sumadas que se cosen sin patrón aparente. O sin más razón que la del propio pulso de la vida. Así se siente Makeni. ABSTRACT The important urban growth suffering major cities of developing countries, is the biggest challenge facing the global habitability. Within the general theory of Basic Habitability (HAB-ETSAM-UPM, 1995) spatial planning and urban planning are the crucial tools to consistently guide the urbanization process, as also recognized from the main technical areas worldwide. But such tools should focus on an efficient construction of the territory, working from a multidisciplinary, flexible and direct approach, that affects the specific priorities of each context. To do this, it is essential to thoroughly understand the specific realities of these areas. The city is essentially a complex phenomenon. The urban fabric in constant flux, is the visible shell that houses a wonderful mixture interlocking spaces, functions, flows, people.... Every city, different and unique, is integrated into its environment, adapted to geographies, contexts and climates, it evolves according to its own dynamics, along (almost) incomprehensible evolutionary processes. The study of the city, is always a simplification of it. The urban reality, even studied from a detailed analysis, always contain undecipherable relationships that escape us. Instead, we need analytical methods that help us understand something that complexity. Moving forward in this analysis is an essential first step in formulating responses. At this level, progressing in understand the urban reality, is where this work is located. The emphasis on the quantitative approach is placed, delving into specific basic data, starting always accepting that this information is just a minimal component, but we hope that substantive, of an intractable phenomenon. And it is this search for materials and quantitative understanding of the city, the main objective of the research. It is intended to provide a detailed basis of those fundamental aspects that can be measured in urban environments that provide us useful information for the diagnosis and proposals. To do this, desirable ranges and references are provided, through a tool for understanding and appreciation of each context, the Indicator Matrix. This tool is conceived from reflection to practical application, to a direct utility, concrete contribution to who can serve. This is the firm resolve with which this work is addressed, centered in urban environments where the technical contribution is a priority: the Informal City. The Informal City, understood here as the urban areas developed without the sufficient resources (technical, economic and institutional) which planning provides, where it is extended the precarious habitability. It is the city that prevails in developing countries, in low-resource settings, where, precisely, the main gaps and needs in the global context are concentrated. The approach stems from the theory of Basic Habitability, the definition of possible minimum, to build the necessary space for human development. This is the generic scope of the work object, that is also based in the direct experience in the town of Makeni, Sierra Leone. This city serves as an experimental prototype in two ways. On the one hand, it serves as a space where empirically check the quantitative assessment methodology; and, secondly, the knowledge of this African city of medium size, which has been acquired in the last five years, is a direct basis for the theoretical development of the methodology itself, which helps to glimpse the essence in similar contexts. The engagement of this whole journey has been articulated from an academic experience, directly and intensely coordinated as teacher. Enriching experience that has added many hands and much learning at this time. Theory and practice in urban planning are mixed at work, enriching the one of the other and vice versa. Work is born from the passion for the city and urbanism. From the search for understanding and from the vocation of acting, trying to improve and make more livable urban environments. Especially where the difficulties are crowded and the road is so long, full of dust. To accumulate questions at every turn. More and more questions. The answers, if do exist, appears inside indecipherable dynamics in which we want to be involved. Merge at times in the same search. Feel close to those who start from scratch almost every day. And again, move forward. And share, from knowledge, if possible. And the city. Brutal, impressive, suffocating, wonderful, impossible. Unsurpassed collective creation, combined energy mix that are sewn with no apparent pattern. Or for no reason other than the pulse of life itself. As it feels the city of Makeni.