The learning about imaging diagnosis technology

Objective To investigate the learning about management of the technology (efficient use, acquisition and maintenance of imaging diagnosis equipment) in the radiology residency program of Escola Paulista de Medicina - Universidade Federal de São Paulo, with a view to improving the education of radiologists. Materials and Methods Exploratory research where residents, faculty staff and tutors of the program were quantitative and qualitatively approached with Likert scale questionnaires (46), and deepening with recorded interviews (18) and categorization based upon meaning units (thematic analysis). Results Among the participants, 66% agreed that they had the opportunity of learning about the use of radiological equipment; for 61% the program should include knowledge on the importance of acquiring equipment; and 72% emphasized the lack of learning about equipment management and maintenance. Conclusion As the major moment in the education of specialists, the medical residency program provides residents with a favorable environment to the learning of the skills required to the future of their professional practice, but with limited emphasis on the management of the technology: efficient use, acquisition and mainly maintenance of equipment, still poorly explored. Both the investigated program and the medical residency in radiology should incorporate, whenever possible, the commitment with the training in supplementary skills related to equipment management, developing the competence of the future radiologists.

CRM and higher education : developing a monitoring system to improve relationships in e-learning environments

Peer-reviewed

Recognition of prior learning in online postgraduate education

The recognition of prior experiential learning (RPEL) involves the assessment ofskills and knowledge acquired by an individual through previous experience, which isnot necessarily related to an academic context. RPEL practices are far from generalisedin higher education, and there is a lack of specific guidelines on how to implement RPLprograms in particular settings, such as management education or online programs. TheRPEL pilot program developed in a Spanish virtual university is used throughout thearticle as the basis for further reflection on the design and implementation of RPEL inonline postgraduate education in the business field. The role of competences as a centraltheoretical foundation for RPEL is explained, and the context and characteristics of theRPEL program described. Special attention is paid to the key elements of the program¿sdesign and to the practical aspects of its implementation. The results of the program areassessed and general conclusions and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Towards automated specifications of scenarios in enhanced learning technology

Recent standardization efforts in e-learning technology have resulted in a number of specifications, however, the automation process that is considered essential in a learning management system (LMS) is a lessexplored one. As learning technology becomes more widespread and more heterogeneous, there is a growing need to specify processes that cross the boundaries of a single LMS or learning resource repository. This article proposes to obtain a specification orientated to automation that takes on board the heterogeneity of systems and formats and provides a language for specifying complex and generic interactions. Having this goal in mind, a technique based on three steps is suggested. The semantic conformance profiles, the business process management (BPM) diagram, and its translation into the business process execution language (BPEL) seem to be suitable for achieving it.

Lifelong learning teachers' needs in virtual learning environments

Peer-reviewed

A catalogue of Primitive Scenario-Types : The First Step to the Automation of Learning Scenarios

Peer-reviewed

Building an open social learning community around a Dspace repository on Statistics

LORs, addressing content management and preservation, have the positive collaterals of institutional positioning and dissemination, but their main benefit is the empowerment of interest-centred learning communities, as we recognise that learning is much more than content, which becomes infrastructure: the LOR provides the learner interaction with the LOs, but also with other learners and teachers.

Learning analytics in practice: setting up a laboratory for action research at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Since its inception in 1994 as a purely online university, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya(UOC) has been able to position itself among the main universities of the Catalan and Spanish university systems. Most of the students at the UOC (currently more than 60,000) are adults who have a profile that could hardly fit into the traditional university system, thus finding in the UOC an opportunity to start or continue their higher education grades, in a very innovative environment. The intensive use of ICT for both theteaching/learning processes and management allowsresearchers and practitioners to obtain data aboutwhat takes place in the UOC Virtual Campus, which is continuously being improved according to suchfindings.

Expanding the Customer Relationship Management scope to the non-profit organizations : an analysis focused on the e-university domain

Peer-reviewed

Enhancement of R&D project management system

Stora Enso has research centres in Finland, Sweden and Germany. The research centres use PIMS as a research project invoicing and monitoring system. Possible reorganization and new financing model for R&D functions have been considered and the project management system should be developed to support the new operation model. The objective of this thesis is to find a model for R&D project management, and to present the project management system of Stora Enso, and to discuss if the current system could be developed to respond to the new needs or should it be replaced with another system. The theoretical part of the study describes challenges in R&D project management, and presents different project characteristics, and methods for managing R&D project portfolio. It is also described how the project management system can support project monitoring and controlling, and how inter-project learning can be enhanced. The empirical part of the study presents the current project management system of Stora Enso and how the system should be developed to support Stora Enso’s R&D functions better. In conclusion, it is stated that there is no relevant reason to replace PIMS with another system, because PIMS can be developed to support R&D project management better with a hybrid system. It is also suggested that the new financing model should not be implemented before more comprehensive analysis of its effects is conducted.

Inter organizational learning within and by innovation networks

The thesis deals with the phenomenon of learning between organizations in innovation networks that develop new products, services or processes. Inter organizational learning is studied especially at the level of the network. The role of the network can be seen as twofold: either the network is a context for inter organizational learning, if the learner is something else than the network (organization, group, individual), or the network itself is the learner. Innovations are regarded as a primary source of competitiveness and renewal in organizations. Networking has become increasingly common particularly because of the possibility to extend the resource base of the organization through partnerships and to concentrate on core competencies. Especially in innovation activities, networks provide the possibility to answer the complex needs of the customers faster and to share the costs and risks of the development work. Networked innovation activities are often organized in practice as distributed virtual teams, either within one organization or as cross organizational co operation. The role of technology is considered in the research mainly as an enabling tool for collaboration and learning. Learning has been recognized as one important collaborative process in networks or as a motivation for networking. It is even more important in the innovation context as an enabler of renewal, since the essence of the innovation process is creating new knowledge, processes, products and services. The thesis aims at providing enhanced understanding about the inter organizational learning phenomenon in and by innovation networks, especially concentrating on the network level. The perspectives used in the research are the theoretical viewpoints and concepts, challenges, and solutions for learning. The methods used in the study are literature reviews and empirical research carried out with semi structured interviews analyzed with qualitative content analysis. The empirical research concentrates on two different areas, firstly on the theoretical approaches to learning that are relevant to innovation networks, secondly on learning in virtual innovation teams. As a result, the research identifies insights and implications for learning in innovation networks from several viewpoints on organizational learning. Using multiple perspectives allows drawing a many sided picture of the learning phenomenon that is valuable because of the versatility and complexity of situations and challenges of learning in the context of innovation and networks. The research results also show some of the challenges of learning and possible solutions for supporting especially network level learning.

Efficiency and Equity in Learning Communities and schools

Traditionally, school efficiency has been measured as a function of educational production. In the last two decades, however, studies in the economics of education have indicated that more is required to improve school efficiency: researchers must explore how significant changes in school organization affect the performance of at-risk students. In this paper we introduce Henry Levin’s adoption of the X-efficiency approach to education and we describe the efficient and cost-effective characteristics of one Learning Communities Project School that significantly improved its student outcomes and enrollment numbersand reduced its absenteeism rate to zero. The organizational change that facilitatedthese improvements defined specific issues to address. Students’ school success became the focus of the school project, which also offered specific incentives, selected teachers, involved parents and community members in decisions, and used the most efficient technologies and methods. This case analysis reveals new two elements—family training and community involvement—that were not explicit parts of Levin’s adaptation. The case of the Antonio Machado Public School should attract the attention of both social scientists and policy makers