Teachers' professional development in a community

The goal of this article was to study teachers' professional development related to web-based learning in the context of the teacher community. The object was to learn in what kind of networks teachers share the knowledge of web-based learning and what are the factors in the community that support or challenge teachers professional development of web-based learning. The findings of the study revealed that there are teachers who are especially active, called the central actors in this study, in the teacher community who collaborate and share knowledge of web-based learning. These central actors share both technical and pedagogical knowledge of web-based learning in networks that include both internal and external relations in the community and involve people, artefacts and a variety of media. Furthermore, the central actors appear to bridge different fields of teaching expertise in their community. According to the central actors' experiences the important factors that support teachers' professional development of web-based learning in the community are; the possibility to learn from colleagues and from everyday working practices, an emotionally safe atmosphere, the leader's personal support and community-level commitment. Also, the flexibility in work planning, challenging pupils, shared lessons with colleagues, training events in an authentic work environment and colleagues' professionalism are considered meaningful for professional development. As challenges, the knowledge sharing of web-based learning in the community needs mutual interests, transactive memory, time and facilities, peer support, a safe atmosphere and meaningful pedagogical practices. On the basis of the findings of the study it is suggested that by intensive collaboration related to web-based learning it may be possible to break the boundaries of individual teachership and create such sociocultural activities which support collaborative professional development in the teacher community. Teachers' in-service training programs should be more sensitive to the culture of teacher communities and teachers' reciprocal relations. Further, teacher trainers should design teachers' in-service training of web-based learning in co-evolution with supporting networks which include the media and artefacts as well as people.

Teachers' professional development in a community

The goal of this article was to study teachers' professional development related to web-based learning in the context of the teacher community. The object was to learn in what kind of networks teachers share the knowledge of web-based learning and what are the factors in the community that support or challenge teachers professional development of web-based learning. The findings of the study revealed that there are teachers who are especially active, called the central actors in this study, in the teacher community who collaborate and share knowledge of web-based learning. These central actors share both technical and pedagogical knowledge of web-based learning in networks that include both internal and external relations in the community and involve people, artefacts and a variety of media. Furthermore, the central actors appear to bridge different fields of teaching expertise in their community. According to the central actors' experiences the important factors that support teachers' professional development of web-based learning in the community are; the possibility to learn from colleagues and from everyday working practices, an emotionally safe atmosphere, the leader's personal support and community-level commitment. Also, the flexibility in work planning, challenging pupils, shared lessons with colleagues, training events in an authentic work environment and colleagues' professionalism are considered meaningful for professional development. As challenges, the knowledge sharing of web-based learning in the community needs mutual interests, transactive memory, time and facilities, peer support, a safe atmosphere and meaningful pedagogical practices. On the basis of the findings of the study it is suggested that by intensive collaboration related to web-based learning it may be possible to break the boundaries of individual teachership and create such sociocultural activities which support collaborative professional development in the teacher community. Teachers' in-service training programs should be more sensitive to the culture of teacher communities and teachers' reciprocal relations. Further, teacher trainers should design teachers' in-service training of web-based learning in co-evolution with supporting networks which include the media and artefacts as well as people.

Teachers' professional development in a community

The goal of this article was to study teachers' professional development related to web-based learning in the context of the teacher community. The object was to learn in what kind of networks teachers share the knowledge of web-based learning and what are the factors in the community that support or challenge teachers professional development of web-based learning. The findings of the study revealed that there are teachers who are especially active, called the central actors in this study, in the teacher community who collaborate and share knowledge of web-based learning. These central actors share both technical and pedagogical knowledge of web-based learning in networks that include both internal and external relations in the community and involve people, artefacts and a variety of media. Furthermore, the central actors appear to bridge different fields of teaching expertise in their community. According to the central actors' experiences the important factors that support teachers' professional development of web-based learning in the community are; the possibility to learn from colleagues and from everyday working practices, an emotionally safe atmosphere, the leader's personal support and community-level commitment. Also, the flexibility in work planning, challenging pupils, shared lessons with colleagues, training events in an authentic work environment and colleagues' professionalism are considered meaningful for professional development. As challenges, the knowledge sharing of web-based learning in the community needs mutual interests, transactive memory, time and facilities, peer support, a safe atmosphere and meaningful pedagogical practices. On the basis of the findings of the study it is suggested that by intensive collaboration related to web-based learning it may be possible to break the boundaries of individual teachership and create such sociocultural activities which support collaborative professional development in the teacher community. Teachers' in-service training programs should be more sensitive to the culture of teacher communities and teachers' reciprocal relations. Further, teacher trainers should design teachers' in-service training of web-based learning in co-evolution with supporting networks which include the media and artefacts as well as people.

Having your cake and eating it too: Can regulatory agencies be both independent and accountable?

Independent regulatory agencies (IRAs) were created in various sectors and on different governmental levels to implement liberalization policies. This paper investigates the link between IRAs' independence, which is said to promote regulatory credibility and the use of technical expertise, and their accountability, which is related to the need for controlling and legitimizing independent regulators. The literature on the regulatory state anticipates a positive relation between the independence and accountability of IRAs, but systematic empirical evidence is still lacking. To tackle this question, this paper measures and compares the independence and the accountability of IRAs in three differentially liberalized sectors in Switzerland (telecommunications, electricity and railways). With the application of Social Network Analysis, this piece of research shows that IRAs can be de facto independent and accountable at the same time, but the two features do not necessarily co-evolve in the same direction.

Exceptional or just well connected? Political entrepreneurs and brokers in policy making

Policy brokers and policy entrepreneurs are assumed to have a decisive impact on policy outcomes. Their access to social and political resources is contingent on their influence on other agents. In social network analysis (SNA), entrepreneurs are often closely associated with brokers, because both are agents presumed to benefit from bridging structural holes; for example, gaining advantage through occupying a strategic position in relational space. Our aim here is twofold. First, to conceptually and operationally differentiate policy brokers from policy entrepreneurs premised on assumptions in the policy-process literature; and second, via SNA, to use the output of core algorithms in a cross-sectional analysis of political brokerage and political entrepreneurship. We attempt to simplify the use of graph algebra in answering questions relevant to policy analysis by placing each algorithm within its theoretical context. In the methodology employed, we first identify actors and graph their relations of influence within a specific policy event; then we select the most central actors; and compare their rank in a series of statistics that capture different aspects of their network advantage. We examine betweenness centrality, positive and negative Bonacich power, Burt’s effective size and constraint and honest brokerage as paradigmatic. We employ two case studies to demonstrate the advantages and limitations of each algorithm for differentiating between brokers and entrepreneurs: one on Swiss climate policy and one on EU competition and transport policy.

Científicos y políticas públicas : la incidencia de una red en el tratamiento de una Ley de Ordenamiento Territorial

Nuestro trabajo tiene como objetivo aplicar conceptos de la teoría de los sistemas complejos y herramientas del análisis de redes sociales para describir y analizar el surgimiento y la evolución de una red social conformada por científicos, docentes, graduados y funcionarios públicos de diferentes organismos científicos y académicos, que crearon y participaron de un equipo multidisciplinario que elaboró un informe sobre un proyecto de ley de Ordenamiento Territorial y Usos del Suelo de la provincia de Mendoza en el año 2006. Para la compresión de la evolución del proceso de elaboración del proyecto de ley de ordenamiento territorial y de usos del suelo, organizaremos la estructura del trabajo de la siguiente manera: - Primero aplicaremos aspectos teóricos y metodológicos, basados en la sistematización realizada por Rolando García en su libro “Sistemas Complejos. Conceptos, método y fundamentación epistemológica de la investigación interdisciplinaria", para realizar el recorte del sistema objeto de estudio. - En segundo lugar utilizaremos la Teoría de Análisis de Redes Sociales para describir la composición y estructura del sistema (nodos y vínculos) en cada momento. La estructura del sistema en cada momento significativo será graficada por medio el Software Ucinet 6 y NetDraw. - Por último, haremos referencia a las dificultades que tuvo el proceso desde el punto de vista de las condicionalidades que generaban los modelos mentales que portaban los participantes.

Antifascismo y redes sociales en provincia : el Ateneo de Cultura Popular de Tandil, 1935-1936

El artículo estudia el surgimiento y la clausura del Ateneo de Cultura Popular de Tandil en el clima mundial de la lucha antifascista. Su propósito principal es identificar los mecanismos de circulación de ideas entre un centro cultural y su periferia y, a la vez, observar el contexto de recepción de ellas. Partiendo de los supuestos teóricos del social network analysis, se propone analizar el tejido de relaciones personales activado en la dinámica del centro cultural para explicar el motivo de su clausura. Así, presenta las dimensiones estructurales e interaccionales de la red social en la que los actores se hallan insertos. Finalmente, el artículo puede ser considerado un ejercicio intelectual para entender espacios sociales de práctica cultural en los que no domina la actividad profesionalizada.

Aplicación de métodos bibliométricos a la evaluación de colecciones : El caso de la Biblioteca del Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía

Con el objetivo de determinar el grupo de publicaciones nucleares a considerar en el desarrollo de la colección de la Biblioteca del IAR, se realiza un estudio bibliométrico de la producción y del consumo de literatura científica de los investigadores de la institución a la que la biblioteca pertenece. A partir del análisis de referencias de los trabajos publicados por los investigadores se determinan la obsolescencia y la utilidad de la literatura consultada. Mediante la extracción de palabras clave y de los autores se determinan también los frentes de investigación del instituto y los grupos de investigadores que trabajan en esos frentes, aplicando los métodos de análisis de co-ocurrencia de palabras, coautorías y análisis de redes sociales. Los resultados dan cuenta de una baja obsolescencia para la literatura consultada, de una elevada preferencia para consultar y publicar en dos o tres títulos de publicaciones periódicas de la disciplina, y demuestran finalmente la existencia de dos frentes de investigación dentro de la institución

Análisis de co-términos y de redes sociales para la generación de mapas temáticos

La mejora de las capacidades de búsqueda y de las interfaces de los opacs sigue siendo uno de los principales desafíos para las bibliotecas, especialmente en lo que respecta al acceso por materias. Las interfaces visuales pueden facilitar la recuperación. El objetivo del presente trabajo es explorar si la combinación de técnicas de análisis de co-términos y de redes sociales resulta ser una metodología válida para la generación de mapas temáticos de la colección. La principal conclusión es que el método es válido, y que los mapas obtenidos podrían servir como interfaz visual para el acceso por materias. También es útil para detectar problemas en los criterios de indización y contribuir a la mejora de la calidad de la descripción temática del conjunto documental

Aplicación de métodos bibliométricos a la evaluación de colecciones : El caso de la Biblioteca del Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía

Con el objetivo de determinar el grupo de publicaciones nucleares a considerar en el desarrollo de la colección de la Biblioteca del IAR, se realiza un estudio bibliométrico de la producción y del consumo de literatura científica de los investigadores de la institución a la que la biblioteca pertenece. A partir del análisis de referencias de los trabajos publicados por los investigadores se determinan la obsolescencia y la utilidad de la literatura consultada. Mediante la extracción de palabras clave y de los autores se determinan también los frentes de investigación del instituto y los grupos de investigadores que trabajan en esos frentes, aplicando los métodos de análisis de co-ocurrencia de palabras, coautorías y análisis de redes sociales. Los resultados dan cuenta de una baja obsolescencia para la literatura consultada, de una elevada preferencia para consultar y publicar en dos o tres títulos de publicaciones periódicas de la disciplina, y demuestran finalmente la existencia de dos frentes de investigación dentro de la institución

Análisis de co-términos y de redes sociales para la generación de mapas temáticos

La mejora de las capacidades de búsqueda y de las interfaces de los opacs sigue siendo uno de los principales desafíos para las bibliotecas, especialmente en lo que respecta al acceso por materias. Las interfaces visuales pueden facilitar la recuperación. El objetivo del presente trabajo es explorar si la combinación de técnicas de análisis de co-términos y de redes sociales resulta ser una metodología válida para la generación de mapas temáticos de la colección. La principal conclusión es que el método es válido, y que los mapas obtenidos podrían servir como interfaz visual para el acceso por materias. También es útil para detectar problemas en los criterios de indización y contribuir a la mejora de la calidad de la descripción temática del conjunto documental

Análisis de co-términos y de redes sociales para la generación de mapas temáticos

La mejora de las capacidades de búsqueda y de las interfaces de los opacs sigue siendo uno de los principales desafíos para las bibliotecas, especialmente en lo que respecta al acceso por materias. Las interfaces visuales pueden facilitar la recuperación. El objetivo del presente trabajo es explorar si la combinación de técnicas de análisis de co-términos y de redes sociales resulta ser una metodología válida para la generación de mapas temáticos de la colección. La principal conclusión es que el método es válido, y que los mapas obtenidos podrían servir como interfaz visual para el acceso por materias. También es útil para detectar problemas en los criterios de indización y contribuir a la mejora de la calidad de la descripción temática del conjunto documental

Aplicación de métodos bibliométricos a la evaluación de colecciones : El caso de la Biblioteca del Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía

Con el objetivo de determinar el grupo de publicaciones nucleares a considerar en el desarrollo de la colección de la Biblioteca del IAR, se realiza un estudio bibliométrico de la producción y del consumo de literatura científica de los investigadores de la institución a la que la biblioteca pertenece. A partir del análisis de referencias de los trabajos publicados por los investigadores se determinan la obsolescencia y la utilidad de la literatura consultada. Mediante la extracción de palabras clave y de los autores se determinan también los frentes de investigación del instituto y los grupos de investigadores que trabajan en esos frentes, aplicando los métodos de análisis de co-ocurrencia de palabras, coautorías y análisis de redes sociales. Los resultados dan cuenta de una baja obsolescencia para la literatura consultada, de una elevada preferencia para consultar y publicar en dos o tres títulos de publicaciones periódicas de la disciplina, y demuestran finalmente la existencia de dos frentes de investigación dentro de la institución

The determinants of the quality of Sales-Marketing Interface in a Multinational Customer Brand Focused Company: The Latin American Branches

Customer evolution and changes in consumers, determine the fact that the quality of the interface between marketing and sales may represent a true competitive advantage for the firm. Building on multidimensional theoretical and empirical models developed in Europe and on social network analysis, the organizational interface between the marketing and sales departments of a multinational high-growth company with operations in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay is studied. Both, attitudinal and social network measures of information exchange are used to make operational the nature and quality of the interface and its impact on performance. Results show the existence of a positive relationship of formalization, joint planning, teamwork, trust and information transfer on interface quality, as well as a positive relationship between interface quality and business performance. We conclude that efficient design and organizational management of the exchange network are essential for the successful performance of consumer goods companies that seek to develop distinctive capabilities to adapt to markets that experience vertiginous changes