Technische auskunft.

Description based on: Juli 1912; title from cover.

Tablets (iPad) for M-Learning in the context of social constructivism to institute an effective learning environment

With the proliferation of mobile devices, educational institutions have experimented with various mobile devices to implement mobile learning (M-Learning). Mobile devices have been used to facilitate, support, and enhance and extend the reach of teaching and learning. Although there are very few empirically evaluated studies on M-Learning projects, these studies reported that mobile devices brought a transformation to the educational process. To be able to view M-Learning as a rich, collaborative and conversational experience, whether in the classroom or outside we need good mobile applications. Studies have revealed that effective learning happens when teachers and learners are actively participating in the knowledge building process. Therefore, there is a need for applications that create effective learning environments which are learner-centred, knowledge-centred, assessment-centred and community-centred.

Bridging East and West : The Establishment of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in the United States Foreign Policy of Bridge Building, 1964-1972.

The dissertation examines the foreign policies of the United States through the prism of science and technology. In the focal point of scrutiny is the policy establishing the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the development of the multilateral part of bridge building in American foreign policy during the 1960s and early 1970s. After a long and arduous negotiation process, the institute was finally established by twelve national member organizations from the following countries: Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), France, German Democratic Republic (GDR), Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Poland, Soviet Union and United States; a few years later Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands also joined. It is said that the goal of the institute was to bring together researchers from East and West to solve pertinent problems caused by the modernization process experienced in industrialized world. It originates from President Lyndon B. Johnson s bridge building policies that were launched in 1964, and was set in a well-contested and crowded domain of other international organizations of environmental and social planning. Since the distinct need for yet another organization was not evident, the process of negotiations in this multinational environment enlightens the foreign policy ambitions of the United States on the road to the Cold War détente. The study places this project within its political era, and juxtaposes it with other international organizations, especially that of the OECD, ECE and NATO. Conventionally, Lyndon Johnson s bridge building policies have been seen as a means to normalize its international relations bilaterally with different East European countries, and the multilateral dimension of the policy has been ignored. This is why IIASA s establishment process in this multilateral environment brings forth new information on US foreign policy goals, the means to achieve these goals, as well as its relations to other advanced industrialized societies before the time of détente, during the 1960s and early 1970s. Furthermore, the substance of the institute applied systems analysis illuminates the differences between European and American methodological thinking in social planning. Systems analysis is closely associated with (American) science and technology policies of the 1960s, especially in its military administrative applications, thus analysis within the foreign policy environment of the United States proved particularly fruitful. In the 1960s the institutional structures of European continent with faltering, and the growing tendencies of integration were in flux. One example of this was the long, drawn-out process of British membership in the EEC, another is de Gaulle s withdrawal from NATO s military-political cooperation. On the other hand, however, economic cooperation in Europe between East and West, and especially with the Soviet Union was expanding rapidly. This American initiative to form a new institutional actor has to be seen in that structural context, showing that bridge building was needed not only to the East, but also to the West. The narrative amounts to an analysis of how the United States managed both cooperation and conflict in its hegemonic aspirations in the emerging modern world, and how it used its special relationship with the United Kingdom to achieve its goals. The research is based on the archives of the United States, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, and IIASA. The primary sources have been complemented with both contemporary and present day research literature, periodicals, and interviews.

On the theory of social change: how economic growth begins.

Includes bibliography.

Official catalogue of the International Electrical Exhibition, Philadelphia, commencing September 2, 1884, under the auspices of the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the promotion of the mechanic arts.

Advertising matter at end.

The properties of the international classification of the external cause of injury when used as an instrument for injury prevention research

Objective: To demonstrate properties of the International Classification of the External Cause of Injury (ICECI) as a tool for use in injury prevention research. Methods: The Childhood Injury Prevention Study (CHIPS) is a prospective longitudinal follow up study of a cohort of 871 children 5–12 years of age, with a nested case crossover component. The ICECI is the latest tool in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) family and has been designed to improve the precision of coding injury events. The details of all injury events recorded in the study, as well as all measured injury related exposures, were coded using the ICECI. This paper reports a substudy on the utility and practicability of using the ICECI in the CHIPS to record exposures. Interrater reliability was quantified for a sample of injured participants using the Kappa statistic to measure concordance between codes independently coded by two research staff. Results: There were 767 diaries collected at baseline and event details from 563 injuries and exposure details from injury crossover periods. There were no event, location, or activity details which could not be coded using the ICECI. Kappa statistics for concordance between raters within each of the dimensions ranged from 0.31 to 0.93 for the injury events and 0.94 and 0.97 for activity and location in the control periods. Discussion: This study represents the first detailed account of the properties of the ICECI revealed by its use in a primary analytic epidemiological study of injury prevention. The results of this study provide considerable support for the ICECI and its further use.

The 4th International Network of Indigenous Health Knowledge and Development Conference

The International Network of Indigenous Health Knowledge and Development (INIHKD) Conference was held from Monday 24 May to Friday 28 May 2010 at Kiana Lodge, Port Madison Indian Reservation, Suquamish Nation, Washington State, United States of America. The overall theme for the 4th Biennial Conference was ‘Knowing Our Roots: Indigenous Medicines, Health Knowledges and Best Practices’. This article details the experience of participants who were at the INIHKD Conference. It concludes with an encouragement to people to attend the 5th INIHKD Conference in Australia in 2012.

Editorial : International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development

The International Journal of Knowledge Based Development is planned to serve as a platform for the Global Knowledge Based Development Community to exchange academic and professional knowledge and experience, and adopt the learnings in different corners of the globe to achieve a sustainable knowledge-based development. The journal is put together by the executive team of an international think tank (The World Capital Institute – www.worldcapitalinstitute.org). As an international non-profit organization, The World Capital Institute aims to further advance the understanding and application of knowledge capital as the most powerful leverage for development in micro (i.e. individuals-neighborhoods-firms) , mezzo (i.e. communities-cities-clusters), macro (i.e. societies-nations), and supra-macro (supranational-global) levels.

Assessing occupational stress in psychiatric nurses using the full job strain model the value of social support to nurses

The present research examined the effects of occupational stress in psychiatric nursing on employee well!being using the full Job Strain Model.The Job Strain Model was assessed for its ability to predict employee well!being in terms of job satisfaction and mental health. The original Job Strain Model was expanded to include social support based on previous research concerning the impact of social support on well!being[ In the present study\ both work support and non-work were assessed for their contribution to wellbeing.The results of this study indicate that the full Job Strain Model can be used to significantly predict job satisfaction and mental health in this sample of Australian psychiatric nurses. Furthermore social support was shown to be an important component of the Job Strain Model.

Augmenting public participation : enhancing planning outcomes through the use of social media and web 2.0

Social media and web 2.0 tools offer opportunities to devise novel participation strategies that can engage previously difficult to reach as well as new segments of society in urban planning. This paper examines participatory planning in the four local government areas of Brisbane City Council, Gold Coast City Council, Redland City Council, and Toowoomba Regional Council, all situated in South East Queensland, Australia. The paper discusses how social media and web 2.0 tools can deliver a more engaging planning experience to citizens, and investigates local government’s current use and receptiveness to social media tools for plan making and community engagement. The study’s research informed the development of criteria to assess the level of participation reached through the current use of social media and web 2.0 in the four local government areas. This resulted in an adaptation of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Toolbox to integrate these new tools which is being presented to encourage further discussion and evaluation by planning professionals.

Do adolescents ‘like’ the use of social networking and associated technologies for physical activity promotion?

Physical activity has been identified as a key behaviour in determining an individual’s health and functioning. Adolescent physical inactivity has been shown to track strongly through to adulthood. Interventions in youth to promote and increase physical activity have had mixed results. The significant rise over the past decade in time spent by adolescents performing social networking may provide a unique opportunity for health promoters to interact with adolescents through a familiar medium. The purpose of was study is to investigate the potential utility of social networking and associated technologies for the promotion of physical activity amongst adolescents. Participants were recruited from two nondenominational same-sex private schools, from high socioeconomic backgrounds in Brisbane, Australia. A total of 112 (90.3%) participants had complete data sets and were included in the analysis. Account ownership and rates of access to some social networking sites were high. However, a combination of a lack of interest and additional risks associated with social networking utilities, means that caution should be undertaken prior to the commencement of any intervention seeking to increase engagement in physical activities through these mediums. Student smart phone access and interest in smart phone applications for physical activity promotion purposes were moderate, and may provide opportunities for samples of adolescents from high socioeconomic backgrounds who are more likely to have access to appropriate technologies. As technology advances, the rate of smart phone ownership as opposed to overall phone ownership is likely to steadily increase over time. Access and use of information technology by children likely to continue to become more convenient. This makes smart phone applications as a means for physical activity promotion progressively more practical, and a promising future option.

Levels of social trust among men from refugee backgrounds after the 2011 Queensland floods

Purpose This paper examines the relationship between flood exposure and levels of social trust among a cohort of adult men from refugee backgrounds who were affected by the 2011 Queensland floods in Australia. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative questionnaire was administered to 141 men from refugee backgrounds almost two years after the 2011 Queensland floods. The survey was administered in person by trained peer in-terviewers, and included a number of standardised instruments assessing respondents’ so-cio-demographic characteristics, levels of social trust towards and from neighbours, the police, the wider Australian community, and the media, and exposure to and impact of the floods. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between flood exposure and social trust adjusting for pre-disaster levels of trust and other potentially confounding variables. Findings Participants with higher levels of flood exposure were significantly more likely to report greater levels of trust both towards and from their neighbours, the wider Australian community, and the media, and they were also more likely to believe that most people can be trusted. Research limitations/implications Although the study reports on data collected two years after the floods, the analysis has adjusted for pre-disaster measures of social trust and other socio-demographic variables. Originality/value Our paper has highlighted the important place of social trust and social capital for refugee communities in a post-disaster setting. Disaster responses that support social capital among marginalised populations are critical to increasing community resilience and supporting recovery.

The influence of social media on international students' choice of university and course

This thesis is a qualitative study of the influence of social media on the university and course decision making process of international students. It examines the role of social media in influencing international students' decisions on course and university selection and the role of social media in meeting their information needs. It also gathered inputs on how universities could engage, collaborate and communicate using social media communities and channels for more effective recruitment strategies.