Understanding institutional conversion:the case of the National Reporting and Learning System

This article focuses on one type of institutional change: conversion. One innovative approach to institutional change, the “political-coalitional approach”, acknowledges that: institutions can have unintended effects, which may privilege certain groups over others; institutions are often created and sustained through compromise with external actors; and institutions’ external context can vary significantly over time, as different coalitions’ power waxes and wanes. This approach helps explain the conversion of one institution drawn from the UK National Health Service, the National Reporting and Learning System. However, the shift of this system from producing formative information to facilitate learning to promote safer care, towards producing summative information to support resource allocation decisions, cannot be explained merely by examining the actions of external power coalitions. An internal focus, which considers factors that are normally viewed as “organisational” (such as leadership and internal stability), is also required.

The sociological approach to teaching and learning in higher education with special reference to first year sociology courses at a technological university

DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT

Using the e-Class Open Platform for e-Learning Support at the TEI of Larissa, Greece

In the current paper we firstly give a short introduction on e-learning platforms and review the case of the e-class open e-learning platform being used by the Greek tertiary education sector. Our analysis includes strategic selection issues and outcomes in general and operational and adoption issues in the case of the Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Larissa, Greece. The methodology is being based on qualitative analysis of interviews with key actors using the platform, and statistical analysis of quantitative data related to adoption and usage in the relevant populations. The author has been a key actor in all stages and describes his insights as an early adopter, diffuser and innovative user. We try to explain the issues under consideration using existing past research outcomes and we also arrive to some conclusions and points for further research.

The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of using social software in higher and further education teaching and learning

Social software is increasingly being used in higher and further education to support teaching and learning processes. These applications provide students with social and cognitive stimulation and also add to the interaction between students and educators. However, in addition to the benefits the introduction of social software into a course environment can also have adverse implications on students, educators and the education institution as a whole, a phenomenon which has received much less attention in the literature. In this study we explore the various implications of introducing social software into a course environment in order to identify the associated benefits, but also the potential drawbacks. We draw on data from 20 social software initiatives in UK based higher and further education institutions to identify the diverse experiences and concerns of students and educators. The findings are presented in form of a SWOT analysis, which allows us to better understand the otherwise ambiguous implications of social software in terms of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. From the analysis we have derived concrete recommendations for the use of social software as a teaching and learning tool.

Teljesítménymérés és döntéstámogatás az üzleti szférában = Performance measurement and decision support in business practice

Tanulmányunkban a hazai vállalatok teljesítménymérési és teljesítménymenedzsment gyakorlatát vizsgáljuk a Versenyben a világgal kutatási program adatainak felhasználásával. Célunk a döntéstámogatás hátterének vizsgálata: a vállalatok teljesítménymérési gyakorlatának jellemzése, konzisztenciájának értékelése, vizsgálva a korábbi kutatásaink során megfigyelt tendenciák további alakulását is. A vállalatvezetők által fontosnak/hasznosnak tartott, illetve rendszeresen használt információforrásokat, teljesítménymutatókat, elemzési eszközöket a korábbi kutatásainkhoz kialakított elemzési keret (orientáció, egyensúly, konzisztencia, támogató szerep) felhasználásával értékeltük. Az információs rendszer különböző tevékenységeket támogató szerepének az értékelése során a különböző területekért felelős vezetők véleményét is összevetettük, s különböző vállalatcsoportok sajátosságait is vizsgáltuk. --------- The paper analyses the performance measurement and performance management practice of Hungarian companies, based on data of the Competitiveness research program. Our goal was to evaluate the practice from the point of view of decision support, based on our previous framework, evaluating the orientation, the balance, the consistency and the supporting role of the performance measurement practice.

Effects of structured writing versus nonstructured writing as an effective and efficient teaching and learning strategy

This research investigated the effectiveness and efficiency of structured writing as compared to traditional nonstructured writing as a teaching and learning strategy in a training session for teachers.^ Structured writing is a method of identifying, interrelating, sequencing, and graphically displaying information on fields of a page or computer. It is an alternative for improving training and educational outcomes by providing an effective and efficient documentation methodology.^ The problem focuses upon the contradiction between: (a) the supportive research and theory to modify traditional methods of written documents and information presentation and (b) the existing paradigm to continue with traditional communication methods.^ A MANOVA was used to determine significant difference between a control and an experimental group in a posttest only experimental design. The experimental group received the treatment of structured writing materials during a training session. Two variables were analyzed. They were: (a) effectiveness; correct items on a posttest, and (b) efficiency; time spent on test.^ The quantitative data showed a difference for the experimental group on the two dependent variables. The experimental group completed the posttest in 2 minutes less time while scoring 1.5 more items correct. An interview with the training facilitators revealed that the structured writing materials were "user friendly." ^

DIMUSE: An integrated framework for distributed multimedia system with database management and security support

With the recent explosion in the complexity and amount of digital multimedia data, there has been a huge impact on the operations of various organizations in distinct areas, such as government services, education, medical care, business, entertainment, etc. To satisfy the growing demand of multimedia data management systems, an integrated framework called DIMUSE is proposed and deployed for distributed multimedia applications to offer a full scope of multimedia related tools and provide appealing experiences for the users. This research mainly focuses on video database modeling and retrieval by addressing a set of core challenges. First, a comprehensive multimedia database modeling mechanism called Hierarchical Markov Model Mediator (HMMM) is proposed to model high dimensional media data including video objects, low-level visual/audio features, as well as historical access patterns and frequencies. The associated retrieval and ranking algorithms are designed to support not only the general queries, but also the complicated temporal event pattern queries. Second, system training and learning methodologies are incorporated such that user interests are mined efficiently to improve the retrieval performance. Third, video clustering techniques are proposed to continuously increase the searching speed and accuracy by architecting a more efficient multimedia database structure. A distributed video management and retrieval system is designed and implemented to demonstrate the overall performance. The proposed approach is further customized for a mobile-based video retrieval system to solve the perception subjectivity issue by considering individual user's profile. Moreover, to deal with security and privacy issues and concerns in distributed multimedia applications, DIMUSE also incorporates a practical framework called SMARXO, which supports multilevel multimedia security control. SMARXO efficiently combines role-based access control (RBAC), XML and object-relational database management system (ORDBMS) to achieve the target of proficient security control. A distributed multimedia management system named DMMManager (Distributed MultiMedia Manager) is developed with the proposed framework DEMUR; to support multimedia capturing, analysis, retrieval, authoring and presentation in one single framework.

The role of community college faculty in teaching and learning for sustainable development

The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of community college professors regarding education for sustainable development (ESD). In-depth interviews with 14 professors from different disciplines were conducted. The participants taught at Miami Dade College, Florida, a Talloires Declaration signatory since 2006, and all had attended Green Studies professional development workshops. Written documents such as assignments and samples of student work were used for triangulation. The annual report of the college’s Earth Ethics Institute and its Web site served as additional sources. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for common themes. The Talloires Declaration’s 10-point action plan and the key characteristics of ESD (UN DESD, 2006) served as the conceptual framework. The study found that the professors considered ESD an essential issue. The majority discussed the economic and social aspects of ESD; however, the environmental aspect was mentioned most frequently. The professors’ conceptualizations of ESD were influenced by their experiences and evidenced by the metaphors they used. Although their engagement with ESD differed, the professors expressed optimism toward ESD related teaching and learning. They regarded ESD as compatible with their subjects, and most had already been infusing sustainability into their courses or planned to do so. Additionally, the participants’ teaching practices reflected many of the characteristics of ESD. Even though the professors considered ESD challenging, they believed that they could make contributions to the college’s effort. The metaphor of “Planting a Seed” was frequently used to describe this holistic approach. The study also found that many professors regarded interpersonal relationships and communication significant factors for the advancement of ESD. The participants described several challenges to integrating ESD at their college. These related to time constraints, density of curriculum, institutional size and fragmentation, dearth of administrative support and incentives, students’ lack of academic preparation and sustainability awareness, students’ inability to focus on ESD because of personal, social, or economic circumstances, and professors’ frustration about a divisive atmosphere as a result of their engagement with sustainability. Despite these obstacles, the professors believed that ESD could be successfully woven into the community college experience.

Women demonstrate against "Johns" and in support of legalizing prostitution and reducing high bail for prostitutes

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Women against the war in Vietnam and in support of Vietnamese women

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Women demonstrate against "Johns" and in support of legalizing prostitution

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Reform and Redesign: A Review of the Changing Role of the Public Purposes in R&D and Technology Institutes (Working Paper 17)

As the globalization of knowledge has taken hold over the past decade, and as governments around the world review their new roles in support of the production of knowledge, several factors have shaped the context in governments’ approach to public research. Arguably, none has been more affected by these pressures for reform than government scientific and technology laboratories or institutes. Often ignored in the re-shaping of national systems of innovation, these organizations play an important role in advancing national economic and social objectives. This paper, by reviewing examples of reforms underway in several countries, including Canada, France, Germany, the UK, Japan, USA and Latin America, will argue that government research and technology institutes — often historically surrogates for industrial research — are gradually re-defining their mandates to meet the new pressures of globalization as well as satisfying growing public demands for increased relevance and efficiency in responding to citizens’ and industry needs.

Student Loans : Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications (Working Paper 7)

This paper first summarizes the results of an empirical investigation of borrowing and repayment patterns of post-secondary graduates, then addresses a number of related policy issues, including i) the need for further research to generate the information needed to fully evaluate the student loan system, ii) the advantages of extending the assistance available for those facing problems with their debt burdens in the post-schooling period, iii) the need to increase borrowing limits, iii) the efficiency and equity advantages of providing assistance to post-secondary students through loans rather than the grants which many have been calling for, and iii) a proposal for revitalising the cash-strapped post-secondary system with infusions from both federal and provincial governments and students themselves of equal parts, the latter facilitated by the appropriate changes in the loan system (higher limits and more support for those who run into trouble with repayment).

The role of learning design and learning analytics in MOOCs

The last couple of years there has been a lot of attention for MOOCs. More and more universities start offering MOOCs. Although the open dimension of MOOC indicates that it is open in every aspect, in most cases it is a course with a structure and a timeline within which learning activities are positioned. There is a contradiction there. The open aspect puts MOOCs more in the non-formal professional learning domain, while the course structure takes it into the formal, traditional education domain. Accordingly, there is no consensus yet on solid pedagogical approaches for MOOCs. Something similar can be said for learning analytics, another upcoming concept that is receiving a lot of attention. Given its nature, learning analytics offers a large potential to support learners in particular in MOOCs. Learning analytics should then be applied to assist the learners and teachers in understanding the learning process and could predict learning, provide opportunities for pro-active feedback, but should also results in interventions aimed at improving progress. This paper illustrates pedagogical and learning analytics approaches based on practices developed in formal online and distance teaching university education that have been fine-tuned for MOOCs and have been piloted in the context of the EU-funded MOOC projects ECO (Elearning, Communication, Open-Data: http://ecolearning.eu) and EMMA (European Multiple MOOC Aggregator: http://platform.europeanmoocs.eu).

Audit of mathematics learning support in Ireland in 2015 – the key findings

In 2015 the Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network (IMLSN) commissioned a comprehensive audit of the extent and nature of mathematics learning support (MLS) provision on the island of Ireland. An online survey was sent to 32 institutions, including universities, institutes of technology, further education and teacher training colleges, and a 97% response rate was achieved. While the headline figure – 84% of institutions that responded to the survey provide MLS – sounds good, deeper analysis reveals that the true state of MLS is not so solid. For example, in 25% of institutions offering MLS, only five hours per week (at most) of physical MLS are available, while in 20% of institutions the service is provided by only one or two staff members. Furthermore, training of tutors is minimal or non-existent in at least half of the institutions offering MLS. The results provide an illuminating picture, however, identifying the true state of MLS in Ireland is beneficial only if it informs developments in the years ahead. This talk will present some of the findings of the survey in more depth along with conclusions and recommendations. Key among these is the need for institutions to recognise MLS as a vital element of mathematics teaching and learning strategy at third level and devote the necessary resources to facilitate the provision of a service which can grow and adapt to meet student requirements.