Promoting Metacognitive Skills in a CSCL environment: implications for instructional and technology design

This paper aims to better understand the development of students’ learning processes when participating actively in a specific Computer Supported Collaborative Learning system called KnowCat. To this end, a longitudinal case study was designed, in which eighteen university students took part in a 12-month (two semesters) learning project. During this time period, the students followed an instructional process, using some elements of KnowCat (KnowCat key features) design to support and improve their interaction processes, especially peer learning processes. Our research involved both supervising the students’ collaborative learning processes throughout the learning project and focusing our analysis on the qualitative evolution of the students’ interaction processes and on the development of metacognitive learning processes. The results of the current research reveal that the instructional application of the CSCL-KnowCat system may favour and improve the development of the students’ metacognitive learning processes. Additionally, the implications of the design of computer supported collaborative learning networks and pedagogical issues are discussed in this paper.

Thick XML client and technology of its construction

Nykyään kolmeen kerrokseen perustuvat client-server –sovellukset ovat suuri kinnostuskohde sekä niiden kehittäjille etta käyttäjille. Tietotekniikan nopean kehityksen ansiosta näillä sovelluksilla on monipuolinen käyttö teollisuuden eri alueilla. Tällä hetkellä on olemassa paljon työkaluja client-server –sovellusten kehittämiseen, jotka myös tyydyttävät asiakkaiden asettamia vaatimuksia. Nämä työkalut eivät kuitenkaan mahdollista joustavaa toimintaa graafisen käyttöliittyman kanssa. Tämä diplomityö käsittelee client-server –sovellusten kehittamistä XML –kielen avulla. Tämä lähestymistapa mahdollistaa client-server –sovellusten rakentamista niin, että niiden graafinen käyttöliittymä ja ulkonäkö olisivat helposti muokattavissa ilman ohjelman ytimen uudelleenkääntämistä. Diplomityö koostuu kahdesta ostasta: teoreettisesta ja käytännöllisestä. Teoreettinen osa antaa yleisen tiedon client-server –arkkitehtuurista ja kuvailee ohjelmistotekniikan pääkohdat. Käytannöllinen osa esittää tulokset, client-server –sovellusten kehittämisteknologian kehittämislähestymistavan XML: ää käyttäen ja tuloksiin johtavat usecase– ja sekvenssidiagrammit. Käytännöllinen osa myos sisältää esimerkit toteutetuista XML-struktuureista, jotka kuvaavat client –sovellusten kuvaruutukaavakkeiden esintymisen ja serverikyselykaaviot.

Risk assessment tool for radical technologies – Case Technology A and Technology B

Työssä testataan radikaalien teknologioiden liiketoimintariskien evaluointityökalua. Työn teoreettinen tausta koostuu teknologia- ja innovaatioteorioista hyödyntäen myös resurssipohjaista yritysteoriaa täydennettynä evolutionäärisellä teorialla. Teoreettisessa osuudessa rakennetaan viitekehys, jolla liiketoimintariskejä voidaan arvioida ja muodostaa riskiprofiili. Liiketoimintariskien muuttujina ovat markkina-, teknologia- ja organisaatioriskit. Primäärisenä tietolähteenä käytettiin teema- ja strukturoituja haastatteluita. Ensimmäinen haastattelu käsitti evaluointityökalun käytettävyyttä ja riskienhallintaa yleensä. Loput haastattelut liittyivät teknologian A ja teknologian B liiketoimintariskien arvioimiseen. Tulokset osoittavat molemmat teknologiat sisältävän radikaaleille teknologioille ominaisia epävarmuustekijöitä. Riskiprofiilin hyödyllisyys liittyy liiketoimintariskien samanaikaiseen havaitsemiseen auttaen näin päätöksenteossa. Tärkeää evaluoinnissa on kiinnittää huomiota näkökulmaan, josta riskejä tarkastellaan riskiprofiilin validiteetin parantamiseksi.

CLARIN: common language resources and technology infrastructure

Presentamos el proyecto CLARIN, un proyecto cuyo objetivo es potenciar el uso de instrumentos tecnológicos en la investigación en las Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales

Effects of institutional environment and technology development on payment choice

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the combination of institutional factors and technology advances as determinants of payment systems choice. The theoretical set up suggests that countries entering into a new institutional environment approach accepting group attitudes towards payment choices as a consequence of institutional pressure and technology development. We apply the results of the model to 2004 European Union enlargement process. Results confirm the relevance of both institutional environment and technology development in retail payment system decisions of newly acceded countries.

Relations between communication and development of family farmers

This research investigates relations between communication and the development of family farmers from the Pontal do Paranapanema region (state of São Paulo), mainly in the municipality of Teodoro Sampaio. Family agriculture in this municipality is represented basically by beneficiaries the Agrarian Reform program. The main hypothesis is that communication contributes positively to the development of those family farmers. Thus, this study aimed to understand communication practices of these farmers and relate them with the development of their families. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. Development proxy is understood as the combination between the family living conditions and production. Among the main results, it was found that the effect of communication for "life and production conditions" increases as farmers at superior levels of "development" are analyzed; thus the main hypothesis should not be rejected for those farmers with higher development condition. For the others, communication did not have the same effect because many settled families are not focused on agricultural activities. The main suggestion is to improve ways for producers and professionals from public services related to them to access information.

MASTER DATA MANAGEMENT MATURITY AND TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT - From theory to practice, case Ineo Oy

After decades of mergers and acquisitions and successive technology trends such as CRM, ERP and DW, the data in enterprise systems is scattered and inconsistent. Global organizations face the challenge of addressing local uses of shared business entities, such as customer and material, and at the same time have a consistent, unique, and consolidate view of financial indicators. In addition, current enterprise systems do not accommodate the pace of organizational changes and immense efforts are required to maintain data. When it comes to systems integration, ERPs are considered “closed” and expensive. Data structures are complex and the “out-of-the-box” integration options offered are not based on industry standards. Therefore expensive and time-consuming projects are undertaken in order to have required data flowing according to business processes needs. Master Data Management (MDM) emerges as one discipline focused on ensuring long-term data consistency. Presented as a technology-enabled business discipline, it emphasizes business process and governance to model and maintain the data related to key business entities. There are immense technical and organizational challenges to accomplish the “single version of the truth” MDM mantra. Adding one central repository of master data might prove unfeasible in a few scenarios, thus an incremental approach is recommended, starting from areas most critically affected by data issues. This research aims at understanding the current literature on MDM and contrasting it with views from professionals. The data collected from interviews revealed details on the complexities of data structures and data management practices in global organizations, reinforcing the call for more in-depth research on organizational aspects of MDM. The most difficult piece of master data to manage is the “local” part, the attributes related to the sourcing and storing of materials in one particular warehouse in The Netherlands or a complex set of pricing rules for a subsidiary of a customer in Brazil. From a practical perspective, this research evaluates one MDM solution under development at a Finnish IT solution-provider. By means of applying an existing assessment method, the research attempts at providing the company with one possible tool to evaluate its product from a vendor-agnostics perspective.

The Brazilian investment in science and technology

An analysis of Brazilian federal expenditures in science and technology is presented is this study. The 1990-1999 data were compiled from records provided by two federal agencies (MCT and CNPq) responsible for managing most of the national budget related to these activities. The results indicate that the federal investments in Brazilian science and technology stagnated during the last decade (US$ 2.32 billion in 1990, US$ 2.39 billion in 1996, and US$ 2.36 billion in 1999). In contrast, a great increase in private investments in research was acknowledged both by industry and by the government during the same period, from US$ 2.12 to US$ 4.64 billion. However, this investment did not result in an increase in invention patents granted to residents (492 in 1990 and only 232 in 1997) or in a reduction of patent costs. Despite this unfavorable scenario, the number of graduate programs in the country has increased two-fold in the last decade and the contribution of Brazilians to the database of the Institute for Scientific Information has increased 4.7-fold from 1990 (2,725 scientific publications) to 2000 (12,686 scientific publications). Unstable federal resources for science, together with the poor returns of private resources in terms of developing new technologies, may jeopardize the future of Brazilian technological development.