Do you know what MOOCS are? Discover a new way to improve your knowledge and skills

The potential of online learning has long afforded the hope of providing quality education to anyone, anywhere in the world. The recent development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) heralded an exciting new breakthrough by providing free academic instruction and professional skills development from the world’s leading universities to anyone with the sufficient resources to access the internet. The research in Advancing MOOCs for Development Initiative study was designed to analyze the MOOC landscape in developing countries and to better understand the motivations of MOOC users and afford insights on the advantages and limitations of MOOCs for workforce development outcomes. The key findings of this study challenge commonly held beliefs about MOOC usage in developing countries, defying typical characterizations of how people in resource constrained settings use technology for learning and employment. In fact, some of the findings are so contrary to what has been reported in the U.S. and other developed environments that they raise new questions for further investigation.

"Well did you feel jealous?" Control and ideology in police interviews with rape complainants

The methods used by the UK Police to investigate complaints of rape have unsurprisingly come under much scrutiny in recent times, with a 2007 joint report on behalf of HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary concluding that there were many areas where improvements should be made. The research reported here forms part of a larger project which draws on various discourse analytical tools to identify the processes at work during police interviews with women reporting rape. Drawing on a corpus of video recorded police interviews with women reporting rape, this study applies a two pronged analysis to reveal the presence of these ideologies. Firstly, an analysis of the discourse markers ‘well’ and ‘so’ demonstrates the control exerted on the interaction by interviewing officers, as they attach importance to certain facts while omitting much of the information provided by the victim. Secondly, the interpretative repertoires relied upon by officers to ‘make sense’ of victim’s accounts are subject to scrutiny. As well as providing micro-level analyses which demonstrate processes of interactional control at the local level, the findings of these analyses can be shown to relate to a wider context – specifically prevailing ideologies about sexual violence in society as a whole.

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The development of appropriate lab-based evaluation techniques for mobile technologies requires continued research attention. In particular, experimental design needs to account for the environmental context in which such technologies will ultimately be used. This requires, in part, that relevant environmental distractions be incorporated into evaluations. This chapter reflects on different techniques that were used in three separate lab-based mobile evaluation experiments to present visual distractions to participants and to measure the participants’ cognizance of the distractions during the course of mobile evaluations of technology. The different techniques met the different needs of the three studies with respect to the fidelity of the data captured, the impact of acknowledging distractions on the evaluation task, and the typical context of use for the technology being evaluated. The results of the studies showed that the introduction of visual distractions did have an impact on the experimental task and indicate that future work is required in this area.

'I'd like to know what causes it, you know, anything I've done?' Are we meeting the information and support needs of patients with macular degeneration? A qualitative study

Objective: To examine patients' experiences of information and support provision for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the UK. Study design: Exploratory qualitative study investigating patient experiences of healthcare consultations and living with AMD over 18 months. Setting: Specialist eye clinics at a Birmingham hospital. Participants: 13 patients diagnosed with AMD. Main outcome measures: Analysis of patients' narratives to identify key themes and issues relating to information and support needs. Results: Information was accessed from a variety of sources. There was evidence of clear information deficits prior to diagnosis, following diagnosis and ongoing across the course of the condition. Patients were often ill informed and therefore unable to self-advocate and recognise when support was needed, what support was available and how to access support. Conclusions: AMD patients have a variety of information needs that are variable across the course of the condition. Further research is needed to determine whether these experiences are typical and identify ways of translating the guidelines into practice. Methods of providing information need to be investigated and improved for this patient group.

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The development of appropriate lab-based evaluation techniques for mobile technologies requires continued research attention. In particular, experimental design needs to account for the environmental context in which such technologies will ultimately be used. This requires, in part, that relevant environmental distractions be incorporated into evaluations. This chapter reflects on different techniques that were used in three separate lab-based mobile evaluation experiments to present visual distractions to participants and to measure the participants’ cognizance of the distractions during the course of mobile evaluations of technology. The different techniques met the different needs of the three studies with respect to the fidelity of the data captured, the impact of acknowledging distractions on the evaluation task, and the typical context of use for the technology being evaluated. The results of the studies showed that the introduction of visual distractions did have an impact on the experimental task and indicate that future work is required in this area.

Who you are or whom you know? Consumption interdependences in social networks

This paper presents an analysis of whether a consumer's decision to switch from one mobile phone provider to another is driven by individual consumer characteristics or by actions of other consumers in her social network. Such consumption interdependences are estimated using a unique dataset, which contains transaction data based on anonymized call records from a large European mobile phone carrier to approximate a consumer's social network. Results show that network effects have an important impact on consumers' switching decisions: switching decisions are interdependent between consumers who interact with each other and this interdependence increases in the closeness between two consumers as measured by the calling data. In other words, if a subscriber switches carriers, she is also affecting the switching probabilities of other individuals in her social circle. The paper argues that such an approach is of high relevance to both switching of providers and to the adoption of new products. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

FORGET WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THE RCAA2: RDA NOW

It presents a brief overview of what is involved with materials documenting Anglo-American Cataloging Rules and the changes that will be generated using the new RDA. It also notes the importance of introducing new terms such as: work, expression, manifestation and item.

Protect your body, your temple : Do You Know Your Kidney Count?

These bookmarks state: Your kidney count is a number that your doctor can tell you that could save your life. Your kidney count should be 90 or above. In South Carolina, 1 in 8 people has kidney disease. More than 70 percent of South Carolinians on dialysis are African-American. If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, you are at risk for kidney disease. Kidney disease can be prevented or delayed.

Representación social del paciente que se beneficia de la interacción universidad pública y hospitales generales

Hospitals are very important for the health system. The objective of this quali-quantitative research was to visualize patients' social representation, which profited of the interaction between public universities and hospitals. 105 patients in the waiting rooms at the Integrated Clinic at FOA _ UNESP in the first semester 2005 answered to the question: How did you know about the service at FOA? - in opened interviews, recorded or written. A collective speech of the subject represented the field that allouds a society to speak as one. Twenty three of all patients have been sent to FOA by Health Assistance Centers in Araçatuba (7) and region (16) and twenty one patients assisted in Araçatuba by emergency. We can observe that the interaction between the public universities and general hospitals is a reality.

Nebraska Agribusiness Club 40th Annual Awards Banquet

Did you know if you look up the word "integrity" in the dictionary, the definition is Alan Moeller?

”Tiesittekö tytöt, että tissit...?” Tapaustutkimus tyttöyden neuvottelusta internetmeemissä

Pro gradu -tutkielma tarkastelee tyttöyttä ja ruumiillisuutta tyttöjen internet-vuorovaikutuksessa keskittyen erityisesti siihen, kuinka tytöt yhtäältä normittavat sukupuolitetun ruumiin esittämisen tapoja, ja kuinka he toisaalta aktiivisesti neuvottelevat näitä normeja nettimeemin välityksellä. Nettimeemit ovat verkon käyttäjien välityksellä leviävien, usein imitaatiolle, parodialle ja kommentoinnille perustuvien kulttuuristen yksiköiden kuten muuntuvilla teksteillä varustettujen kuvien tai videoiden ryhmiä. Aiempi tutkimus on nostanut esiin nettimeemien potentiaalin toimia yhteisöllisyyden ja identiteettien rakentamisen välineinä, mutta etenkin ruumiillisuuden näkökulma on jäänyt tarkasteluissa taka-alalle. Tässä tutkimuksessa pureudutaan nettimeemin mahdollistamaan vuorovaikutukseen sekä kytköksiin, joita meemi voi saada suhteessa ruumiisiin. Tutkimus keskittyy Hey girls, did you know –internetilmiön (HGDYK) tapaukseen. HGDYK on Tumblr-verkkosivustolta vuonna 2012 alkunsa saanut digitaalinen esitysmuoto, jossa usein tytöiksi tunnistettavat internetin käyttäjät alunperin kommentoivat joidenkin tyttöjen paljastavaa pukeutumista tai voimakasta meikkaustyyliä valokuvaa ja tekstiä yhdistelevän kuvasarjan välityksellä. HGDYK-meemiä tarkastellaan performatiivisena ilmiönä kahdella tasolla: netinkäyttäjien yksilöllisinä performansseina sekä kategorisia identiteettejä ja sosiaalista todellisuutta tuottavina tekoina eli performatiiveina. Aineisto koostuu 71:stä HGDYK-meemiin lukeutuvasta kuvasarjasta, joissa tytöiksi ymmärrettävät esiintyjät ottavat jollain tavoin kantaa siihen, miten ruumis tulisi hyväksyttävällä tavalla esittää internetissä tai sen ulkopuolella. Kuvasarjat on kerätty vuosina 2013 ja 2014 verkkosivustoilta, joilla niitä on julkaistu tai arkistoitu ja jotka ovat yhteydessä Tumblriin. Analyysissa on sovellettu diskurssianalyyttista otetta, jossa on aineiston kielellisten piirteiden ohella huomioitu multimodaalisuus ja vuorovaikutus. Analyysi perustuu ennen kaikkea teoreettisen kehyksen ja tutkimuskirjallisuudessa esitettyjen käsitteellistysten ohjaamaan aineiston lähilukuun. Tutkimus osoittaa nettimeemin voivan toimia tyttöjen välisen verkkovuorovaikutuksen mediumina ja sukupuolitetun ruumiin normeista käytävän neuvottelun muotona. Lisäksi se voidaan itsessään nähdä ruumiillisena käytäntönä, sillä meemikuvat rakentuvat tekijöidensä toisiaan imitoivista ja parodioivista ruumiinesityksistä. HGDYK-meemi toimii tyttöjen välisen vuorovaikutuksen muotona, jossa yhdistyvät nettimeemeille tyypilliset piirteet – toisto, imitaatio, variaatio, kommentointi, huumori ja parodia – ja sukupuolittunut verkkotiloihin sijoittuva draama, jonka keskeisiä piirteitä ovat vastavuoroisuus ja konfliktit.

Um enfermeiro presidente da República. Você sabia?

Descreve a vida de Samora Machel, um enfermeiro moçambicano, que liderou guerrilhas até obter a independência e criar a República de Moçambique. Narrar sua história de vida e seu papel na saúde de seu país, tem por objetivo mostrar que a política pode ser um meio para que outros enfermeiros, em outros países, possam também seguir por esse caminho para o beneficio de toda uma população e através do exercício da liderança, também contribuir para melhorar a saúde e as condições de vida das comunidades. Além de lutar contra o racismo, a discriminação, o analfabetismo, a pobreza e a seca durante mais de dez anos em seu governo, Samora Machel teve que lutar internamente contra forças políticas oponentes. De qualquer modo, ele se tornou um exemplo em seu país onde é reverenciado e venerado como herói nacional.

Tell me what you see : Pre-service teachers' recognition of exemplary digital pedagogy

How do you identify "good" teaching practice in the complexity of a real classroom? How do you know that beginning teachers can recognise effective digital pedagogy when they see it? How can teacher educators see through their students’ eyes? The study in this paper has arisen from our interest in what pre-service teachers “see” when observing effective classroom practice and how this might reveal their own technological, pedagogical and content knowledge. We asked 104 pre-service teachers from Early Years, Primary and Secondary cohorts to watch and comment upon selected exemplary videos of teachers using ICT (information and communication technologies) in Science. The pre-service teachers recorded their observations using a simple PMI (plus, minus, interesting) matrix which were then coded using the SOLO Taxonomy to look for evidence of their familiarity with and judgements of digital pedagogies. From this, we determined that the majority of preservice teachers we surveyed were using a descriptive rather than a reflective strategy, that is, not extending beyond what was demonstrated in the teaching exemplar or differentiating between action and purpose. We also determined that this method warrants wider trialling as a means of evaluating students’ understandings of the complexity of the digital classroom.