Abstract The teaching of accounting sciences requires innovative alternative methodologies that allow a greater dynamism in students’ learning processes, encouraging their autonomy in order to foster greater understanding and ownership of accounting topics covered in class. In that sense, the use of ICT for educational purposes has been positioned as a dynamic and interactive alternative that allows the application of knowledge and encourages the feedback in the learning process. This paper aims to reflect on the use of ICT in accounting education as a strategy to improve teaching and learning processes in students of the Department of Finance of Metropolitan Institute of Technology of Medellin. It is proposed a teaching method with a learning virtual object through a virtual mediator of accounting formulations. It has a pedagogical purpose of providing students with a conceptual and practical tool to interpret and analyze accounting and financial topics at the enterprise level. It is observed that the interaction between accounting graph logic and logic of dynamic perception facilitates the processes of teaching and learning in the disciplines of accounting and finance. It is reflected in greater motivation and understanding of mathematical equations in financial area that will carry out to experimentation of knowledge learned in the classroom.
Doc 202 : Determinants and performance effects of management consultancy adoption in listed Chinese companies
As China seriously lacks trained and experienced personnel at its current stage of development, management consultancy may be adopted as an economical solution to improve efficiency and performance. However, as institutional theory suggests, it is likely that the adoption of management consultancy in China is driven more by mimetic isomorphism factors than by actual performance considerations. Using data from a survey of 219 listed Chinese firms, our results suggest that there are significant positive effects from mimetic isomorphism factors and adoption of management accounting and controls and information and communication technology. Our study provides strong evidence that the adoption of management consultancy has a positive effect on firm performance, yet we cannot conclude that management consultancy is adopted to improve firm performance. Moreover, state ownership held by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has a significant and positive effect on management consultancy adoption, whereas state ownership held by government agencies does not. One interpretation is that firms controlled by SOEs have acquired increased autonomy and become more innovative.
Doc 203 : A taxonomy of decentralized online social networks
Despite their tremendous success, centrally controlled cloud-based Online Social Networks (OSNs) have inherent issues related to user privacy and control. These issues have motivated researchers to make a paradigm shift in the OSN architecture by proposing to replace centrally controlled OSNs with Decentralized OSNs (DOSNs) in a peer-to-peer setting. DOSNs give users more autonomy and the chance to participate in social networks without loosing control over their data. The various DOSN proposals have significant differences in their proposed services, architecture and extent of decentralization. In this survey, we study a number of proposals for peer-to-peer DOSNs, distil a set of criteria to compare them, and provide a taxonomy for their comparison.
Doc 204 : Tourists’ Attitudes toward Proactive Smartphone Systems
In order to ensure the effectiveness of context-based proactive recommendations in influencing tourist behavior, it is important to understand the factors that drive tourists’ inclination to adopt push recommendations from mobile devices. A projective method was applied to tap into tourists’ opinions and feelings about their smartphones as intelligent agents, and how these influence their attitudes toward push recommendations they receive while experiencing tourist destinations. While smartphones have a mediating role in the tourism experience, a paradox exists in which tourists recognize an enhancement in certain aspects of a travel experience and a reduction in others. Confidence toward proactive recommendations is largely rooted in perceived proactiveness, autonomy, social ability and intelligence of smartphones, while perceived reactivity and control lead tourists to fear that they will lose control over their tourism experiences. Several managerial implications are provided.
Doc 205 : Conservation of autonomy: Toward a second-order perspective on psychosomatic symptoms
Abstract Most studies of the families of people suffering from psychosomatic disorders can be seen to reflect the perspective of first-order cybernetics. In this the focus is on interaction within families. If a shift is made to the more modern perspective of second-order cybernetics, the emphasis changes to fall on the autonomy of various levels of system. In this paper, psychosomatic symptoms are described and illustrated as the expression of ideas aimed at the conservation of autonomy, both at an individual and a family level. The implications of such a changed perspective for the treatment of psychosomatic disorders are highlighted.
Doc 206 : Qualitative Perceptions of Work Performance Following a University Walking Intervention
PURPOSE: We explored these issues qualitatively among sedentary university employees recruited to a 10-week randomised controlled trail. The trial compared walking routes, walking within daily tasks and controls on daily step totals, showing that, compared to controls, interventions resulted in @1000 extra steps per day. METHOD: Fifteen participants representing both trial arms contributed semi-structured interviews at post-intervention assessments, supported by six recorded peer debriefings. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and subject to inductive coding. RESULTS: Increased walking at work resulted in an overall effect of ‘Improved sense of self within the organisation’. Attention provided by pedometers, physiological monitoring and weekly e-mail motivational messages were all considered important contributors in producing this effect and were seen as an institutional investment in staff. Increased walking helped to feel healthier (‘When steps were higher, it was obvious I felt better’), generated autonomy and provided variety within normal work days. Walking within daily tasks helped to establish much-valued face-to-face contact with colleagues (‘Talking to colleagues in person was more effective than emails it was more sociable’). This also simplified completion of daily tasks, while walking together on routes helped colleagues to resolve inter-personal tensions. However, reducing time spent at desks caused concern for some supervisors who questioned employee productivity; this challenge was rarely offered to more senior employees. CONCLUSION: Extra walking at work, however it was achieved, produced a powerful effect on employee morale which was linked to improved emotional control and mental focus, better mood and increased energy. These collective effects are central to improved morale and subjective estimates of more effective work performance based on increased walking during the working day.
This study examined the use that older, regular users of computers make of information and computer technology in their daily lives. Opinions from such users were obtained regarding what they want these technologies to offer them in the future. By means of a discussion group and an online questionnaire, our critical case examined a group of mature senior students from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (online learning) who have used computers and the Internet in their activities. In general, the participants needed to know the function of the tool beforehand and to have continued support and confidence. In particular, they need the certainty that the future technology will allow them to maintain their independence and autonomy. Older people’s adoption of IT needs to be treated as more than merely a question of usability. Attitudes, experience of use, and perceived benefits are also key aspects that must be taken into account.
Doc 208 : ‘Long autonomy or long delay?’ The importance of domain in opinion mining
Nowadays, people do not only navigate the web, but they also contribute contents to the Internet. Among other things, they write their thoughts and opinions in review sites, forums, social networks, blogs and other websites. These opinions constitute a valuable resource for businesses, governments and consumers. In the last years, some researchers have proposed opinion extraction systems, mostly domain-independent ones, to automatically extract structured representations of opinions contained in those texts. In this work, we tackle this task in a domain-oriented approach, defining a set of domain-specific resources which capture valuable knowledge about how people express opinions on a given domain. These resources are automatically induced from a set of annotated documents. Some experiments were carried out on three different domains (user-generated reviews of headphones, hotels and cars), comparing our approach to other state-of-the-art, domain-independent techniques. The results confirm the importance of the domain in order to build accurate opinion extraction systems. Some experiments on the influence of the dataset size and an example of aggregation and visualization of the extracted opinions are also shown.
Doc 209 : Formative assessment: A cybernetic viewpoint
This paper considers alternative assessment, feedback and cybernetics. For more than 30 years, debates about the bi-polarity of formative and summative assessment have served as surrogates for discussions about the workings of the mind, the social implications of assessment and, as important, the role of instruction in the advancement of learning. Currently, alternative assessment lives uneasily with its classical counterpart. Classical test theory–and its conception of the summative value of the true score–came from behaviourist learning theories developed in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Formative assessment, with its conceptions of feedback and development, had a different origin. It arose from cognitive and constructivist theories of learning that emerged in the 1930s and 1940s. This paper identifies the tensions that underpin this uneasy coexistence. It suggests that different conceptions of mind lie behind these tensions and, to mark the autonomy and integrity of formative asse…
Doc 210 : Internet research and informed consent: An ethical model for using archived emails
Ethical conduct involving research participants rests on the Belmont principles of autonomy, beneficence and justice. Novel methods present new challenges in safeguarding these principles. The increasing use of data obtained from the internet in health research raises important questions regarding obligations to people posting personal information online. Ethical issues warrant special consideration since guidelines are only beginning to emerge, placing greater onus on the researcher’s discretion. This paper presents a model (a synthesis of the work of Eysenbach and Till (2001) and Kraut et al (2004)) to assist in decision-making regarding obtaining or waiving informed consent when using archived emails from websites. For illustrative purposes, the application of the model to a PhD project is described.
Doc 211 : Visual-motor coordination computerized training improves the visuo-spatial performance in a child affected by Cri-du-Chat syndrome.
The present study reports on the effects of an experimental computerized training specifically conceived for improving visual-motor coordination in a child (L.D.J.) affected by Cri-du-Chat syndrome. The child was asked to touch a picture on the screen with a coordinated hand movement to obtain the appearance of a new picture. The training was organized into four levels of increasing difficulty, which were progressively administered in different sessions. Response times and number of errors were collected at each session. The child improved in performing computerized training, becoming faster and more accurate. Unlike control participants, she also improved in performing untrained tasks, which implied similar skills. Repercussions on L.D.J.’s autonomy and communication skills in daily life are described. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research
Doc 212 : An Empirical Study Applying the Self-Determination Factors to Flow and Satisfaction of SmartPhone
The smartphone is simply beyond the means of communication equipment, to line up the turning point of mobile convergence, is recognized as a service tool of new concept the camera, game, multimedia function, digital multimedia broadcasting, mobile internet etc, that use of smartphone is working toward developed a variety and new business models. The study is empirically studied casualties that self-determination influences flow and satisfaction which is intrinsic motivation of smartphone. There are many studies on flow, is intrinsic motivation, influencing satisfaction and Loyalty, but there are little studies which variables influences flow. this study is explore causality of autonomy, competence, relatedness which are major variables of self-determination theory that studied factors effecting intrinsic motivation influencing flow and satisfaction. This study developed a research model to explain the use of smartphone, and collected 670 survey responses from the office workers of seoul S company who had experiences with such smartphone. To prove the validity of the proposed research model, SEM analysis is applied with valid 670 questionnaires. The results, firstly, autonomy positively influences flow. secondly, competence significantly influences flow. thirdly, relatedness significantly influenced flow. also, upper above results shows that flow influences satisfaction.
Doc 213 : Research of the Intellectual Property Protection Based on the Internet Information Utilization
The Internet has greatly expanded the scope of the use of network information resources and scale, people search and ease of access to information resources and autonomy is also greatly enhanced, but also led to information sharing network of intellectual property protection and infringement issues. This article lists the use of network information resources and violations of copyright law and civil law from the perspective of legal thinking.
Doc 214 : Internet privacy rights. Rights to protect autonomy
As the author says on his blog, Internet Privacy Rights is an ‘academic book, and written from the perspective of a legal academic …’ The book analyses the current threats to our online autonomy an…
Doc 215 : The Prosecution of Taiwan Sexuality Researcher and Activist Josephine Ho
In April 2003, following a newspaper report of a hyperlink to a website on bestiality on the Sexuality Databank website of the Center for the Study of Sexualities, National Central University, Taipei, Taiwan, 14 conservative NGOs filed charges against the Center’s founder, Josephine Ho, for propagating obscenities that corrupt traditional values. Ho has been researching sexuality and supporting freedom for marginalised sexual minorities for ten years. In a public statement in response to the charges, she said that the work of scholarly research must not be dictated by prejudice and that differences in sexual values should not be arbitrated by law and should be open for public discussion. As the legal process began in January 2004, Ho’s supporters in Taiwan have called for the preservation of the Taiwan Constitutional decree on integrity and autonomy of academic research and freedom of expression on the internet, for the University to resist calls to dismiss Ho from her post, and for respect for freedom of speech and expression and the right to create spaces to educate people about non-normative sexualities.
Doc 216 : How anonymous are you online? Examining online social behaviors from a cross-cultural perspective
Communication on the Internet is often described as “anonymous”, yet the usage of the term is often confusing, even in academia. Three levels of anonymity, visual anonymity, dissociation of real and online identities, and lack of identifiability, are thought to have different effects on various components of interpersonal motivation. Specifically, we propose that cross-cultural differences in interpersonal motivation (autonomy vs. affiliation) are illustrated by choices individuals make when deciding whether or not to remain anonymous while communicating online. Autonomy is often valued in Western societies, whereas Eastern societies tend to emphasize affiliation, suggesting that individuals in Western societies will gravitate toward online communities that allow lower levels of anonymity, while individuals in Eastern societies will be more likely to seek out online communities that promote higher levels of anonymity. The research presented in this article supports this notion, suggesting that we need to consider cultural differences when designing online communication systems and other communications technologies.
Doc 217 : INTRODUCING SCIENCE BY DISTANCE EDUCATION TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Exponential growing of scientific and technological knowledge of nowadays society demands new abilities and competences of theirs citizens. In the other hand, the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the low cost of equipments provide a new teaching strategy, namely distance education, through intranet or internet. The familiarity with of scientific method stimulates autonomy in obtaining information, critical thinking and logical analysis of data. These are useful abilities for science students as well as for common citizens. Aiming the development of such abilities a distance course was developed in 45 hours, using mainly forum and chat in the Claroline platform with technical support of the Centro Nacional de Supercomputacao da UFRGS. All the students attending the course were from Fundacao Faculdade Federal de Ciencias Medicas de Porto Alegre. In this course the following topics were explored: (1) scientific knowledge x common sense, (2) different conceptions of science, (3) scientific method, (4) different categories of science publications, (5) principles of Logic, (6) deduction x induction (7) paper analysis simulation. Scientific project writing was taught/learned through the following items: (1) choice of a problem, (2) bibliography revision, (3) agencies for funding, (4) project presentation by videoconference and (5) analysis of results. The course was evaluated by Likert-type questionnaire and the results from students and teachers indicate a very successful outcome.
Doc 218 : A basic need theory approach to problematic Internet use and the mediating effect of psychological distress
The Internet provides an easily accessible way to meet certain needs. Over-reliance on it leads to problematic use, which studies show can be predicted by psychological distress. Self-determination theory proposes that we all have the basic need for autonomy, competency, and relatedness. This has been shown to explain the motivations behind problematic Internet use. This study hypothesizes that individuals who are psychologically disturbed because their basic needs are not being met are more vulnerable to becoming reliant on the Internet when they seek such needs satisfaction from online activities, and tests a model in which basic needs predict problematic Internet use, fully mediated by psychological distress. Problematic Internet use, psychological distress, and basic needs satisfaction were psychometrically measured in a sample of 229 Hong Kong University students and structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. All indices showed the model has a good fit. Further, statistical testing supported a mediation effect for psychological distress between needs satisfaction and problematic Internet use. The results extend our understanding of the development and prevention of problematic Internet use based on the framework of self-determination theory. Psychological distress could be used as an early predictor, while preventing and treating problematic Internet use should emphasize the fulfillment of unmet needs.
Doc 219 : Business-to-business interactions: issues and enabling technologies
Business-to-Business (B2B) technologies pre-date the Web. They have existed for at least as long as the Internet. B2B applications were among the first to take advantage of advances in computer networking. The Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) business standard is an illustration of such an early adoption of the advances in computer networking. The ubiquity and the affordability of the Web has made it possible for the masses of businesses to automate their B2B interactions. However, several issues related to scale, content exchange, autonomy, heterogeneity, and other issues still need to be addressed. In this paper, we survey the main techniques, systems, products, and standards for B2B interactions. We propose a set of criteria for assessing the different B2B interaction techniques, standards, and products.
Doc 220 : Scaffolding Collaborative Exchanges Between Expert and Novice Language Teachers in Threaded Discussions
: This article presents a two-semester study that examines the effectiveness of threaded discussions for foreign language teaching methods courses. In particular, this study focuses on how students view the role of asynchronous computer-mediated communication in the development of language pedagogy through an exchange with expert teachers from secondary schools. The author gathered data from 32 students who participated in weekly discussion boards, wrote monthly reflective logs, filled out surveys, and joined group interviews. The findings demonstrated that online discussions promoted scaffolding by which expert teachers assisted students in creating reflective messages. In addition, threaded discussions fostered learners’ autonomy and accountability while supporting collaborative learning through social interaction. The study suggests three essential ingredients to maximize the potential benefits of discussion board for language teacher training: (1) use of carefully designed tasks that engage critical thinking, (2) scaffolding strategies for monitoring group discussions, and (3) inclusion of online etiquette to avoid confusion and reduce personal conflicts.
Doc 221 : Computer-Mediated Communication: promoting learner autonomy and intercultural understanding at secondary level
The use of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) has been hailed as a solution to the problem of access to native speakers for language learners. This project was devised to investigate whether regular and structured use of email, here via a bulletin board, might enhance learners’ study of French, with regard to developing learner autonomy and intercultural understanding. School-age learners of French and English in four countries (Belgium, England, France and Senegal) were placed in groups of about six, and encouraged to communicate both freely with each other and in response to certain stimuli. An analysis of the discourse via the online messages written by participants finds a high level of response, with learners exercising autonomy in a variety of ways. Learners use both their native tongue (L1) and the foreign language (L2) to communicate, without teacher intervention, with peers in other cultural contexts, and there is evidence to suggest that participation in E-group learning of this kind could de…
Doc 222 : The Effects of Mothers’ Childrearing Attitudes on Consumer Socialization and the Evaluation of Children’s Character Fashion Products
Diverse characters have been recently used in fashion products for children. The degree to which parents accept childrens opinions or attitudes when they engage in dialogue may be connected with consumer socialization and affect the criteria for the evaluation of character fashion products. This study examined the effects of mothers childrearing attitudes on consumer socialization and the evaluation criteria for character fashion products for children. A questionnaire was conducted via the Internet on 310 mothers with children aged between four and twelve. The results of the study showed: First, childrearing attitudes were divided into four dimensions: hostility, autonomy, acceptance, and control. Consumer socialization was divided into communication in regards to consumption, consumption control, and the awareness of social relations. The evaluation criteria for character fashion products for children were divided into educational/utilitarian values, emotional values, and social values. Second, mothers were divided into an acceptance group, a moderation group, and a hostility group based on childrearing attitudes. The group with hostile childrearing attitudes had control over their children`s consumption and were conscious of others in the process of consumption. The group with accepting childrearing attitudes considered educational/utilitarian values and emotional values when they purchased character fashion products for children. The group with hostile childrearing attitudes considered social values. Third, autonomous childrearing attitudes had the largest influence on communication in regards to consumption. Controlling childrearing attitudes had the largest influence on consumption control and the awareness of social relations. Controlling childrearing attitudes had the largest influence on social/utilitarian and emotional values; however hostile childrearing attitudes had the largest influence on social values.
Doc 223 : Taking things into account: learning as kinaesthetically-mediated collaboration
This paper presents research on participant learning processes in challenge course workshops using the framework known as Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). CHAT views learning as a shared, social process rather than as an individual event. Participants’ experiencing and learning was mediated by the physical and social conditions of the experience and by the contributions of other participants. The concept of mediation suggests that the meaning participants make of experience is not an individual event, but instead is enacted as a creative, collaborative process using cultural and institutional tools. The recognition that people’s physical, social and reflective learning processes are mediated, challenges longstanding assumptions about the radical autonomy of learners, about ‘direct experience,’ and about the centrality of independent, cognitive reflection in experiential learning. Empirical data showing processes of mediation are presented, and the implications for research and theory are discussed.
Doc 224 : Integrating Learning Technologies and Autonomy: A CLIL Course in Linguistics
The project we intend to present arises from the need of enhancing the process of teaching and learning academic disciplines through and with an additional language. In this paper we shall describe some online modules of a CLIL course in Linguistics dedicated to foreign students of L2 Italian. The modules are part of a course delivered both in presence and at a distance with a dual focus: learning a content - Linguistics - through a foreign language - Italian - in an integrated dimension. The online course, inspired by constructivist and learner-centred approaches, presents a series of collaborative and communicative technology-based activities developed in a virtual classroom and structured around three main sections: thematic, social and linguistic. The first presents the contents of the course (Morphology) through a video lesson with a series of interactive multimedia activities, the second promotes interaction between teachers and students through forums and chats, the third offers a virtual self-access centre with pathways and resources that students can choose, according to their levels and needs, to learn the Italian language.
Doc 225 : The Emergence of National Electronic Health Record Architectures in the United States and Australia: Models, Costs, and Questions
Emerging electronic health record models present numerous challenges to health care systems, physicians, and regulators. This article provides explanation of some of the reasons driving the development of the electronic health record, describes two national electronic health record models (currently developing in the United States and Australia) and one distributed, personal model. The US and Australian models are contrasted in their different architectures (“pull” versus “push”) and their different approaches to patient autonomy, privacy, and confidentiality. The article also discusses some of the professional, practical, and legal challenges that health care providers potentially face both during and after electronic health record implementation.
[J Med Internet Res 2005;7(1):e3]
Doc 226 : Online supervision : a theory of supervisors’ strategic communicative influence on student dissertations
Online supervision mainly focuses on written communication and electronic drafts, while offline supervision comprises physical and social clues, verbal communication, and drafts of texts. This article focuses on supervisors’ written online communication about drafts of undergraduate student dissertations. Theoretically, these utterances form part of the communicative exchanges performed in the practice of supervision. This means that supervision is an emergent phenomenon that relates to its past, current, and future states. The setting was a dissertation course within a bachelor programme in behavioural science. The data consists of 423 utterances from four supervisors. The utterances were analysed and categorised, and the results show different qualities and degrees of identifications in the supervisors’ communicated utterances. The study shows that the quality of supervisors’ utterances embraces the difference between the application of comments, points of view, instructions, and questions. This implicates the importance of supervisors’ awareness of the nature and the combination of their utterances if they want to increase the student autonomy when supervising online.
Doc 227 : DEVELOPMENT OF AN ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL THAT BRIDGES THE ORGANIZATION-PRACTICE BARRIER IN OVERUSE INJURY PREVENTION: AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY IN SWEDISH ATHLETICS
Background Sports organisations and sportspersons often suffer from an “autonomy-gap” obstructing implementation of interventions against overuse injuries. This obstruction has been described as the organisation-practice (OP) barrier. Objective To develop an inter-organisational sports safety promotion model targeted at prevention of overuse injuries by identifying initiatives that lastingly will bridge the OP barrier. Design Participatory action research with focus group interviews using the quality function deployment (QFD) technique. Setting Swedish athletics involving the Swedish Athletics Association (SAA), clubs, athletes, coaches, and other stakeholders in the sport. Participants Representatives of Swedish athletics; officials from different divisions of the SAA, coaches, athletes, medical personal, club representatives and parents to youth athletes (year 1: n=12; year 2: n=35). Qualitative data collected and analyzed Sports needs (Voice of Sports), organizational requirements, organizational changes. Main qualitative outcomes Organizational facilitators of sports safety promotion targeted at prevention of overuse injuries. Results An organic sports safety model resulted from the transformation of identified sports needs and organizational requirements into organisational changes. In this model, a dynamic and constantly active organisation-practice membrane reaches across the OP barrier. This organizational membrane consists of an infrastructure supporting continuous exchange of data and information between different actors in athletics. The central component is an Internet-based safety surveillance system covering Swedish athletics as a whole. A ‘Safety Forum’ is used for safety discussions between athletes, researchers, and SAA representatives, and a ‘Coaches’ Corner9 allows communication between experienced coaches and younger colleagues. Conclusions An inter-organizational sports safety model facilitating collaboration between sports organisations and sportspersons was developed in the setting of Swedish athletics. The principal feature in the model is an infrastructure supporting continuous exchange of data and information between different actors. Further research is warranted to prospectively evaluate the effectiveness of the novel model in overuse injury prevention.
Doc 228 : Primary sources of health information: comparisons in the domain of health attitudes, health cognitions, and health behaviors.
The recent growth in consumer autonomy in health care accompanied by the surge in the use of new media for health information gathering has led to an increasing scholarly interest in understanding the consumer health information search construct. This article explores consumer health information seeking in the realm of the primary sources of health information used by consumers. Based on an analysis of the 1999 HealthStyles data, the paper demonstrates that active communication channels such as interpersonal communication, print readership, and Internet communication serve as primary health information sources for health-conscious, health-information oriented individuals with strong health beliefs, and commitment to healthy activities. On the other hand, passive consumption channels such as television and radio serve as primary health information resources for individuals who are not health-oriented. Media planning implications are drawn from the results, suggesting that broadcast outlets with an entertainment orientation are better suited for prevention campaigns. Such channels provide suitable sites for entertainment-education. On the other hand, print media, interpersonal networks, and the Internet are better suited for communicating about health issues to the health-active consumer segment.
Doc 229 : Tensions Across Federalism, Localism, and Professional Autonomy: Social Media and Stakeholder Response to Increased Accountability
Drawing upon research on federalism, localism, and professional autonomy, this article explores how educational stakeholders used social media to discuss and organize against the implementation of Differentiated Accountability in a large Florida school district. The results showed that the stakeholders used social media to engage in sense making and organizing against district policy changes. The authors also find that opposition stemmed from a sense among the commenters that aspects of the policy violated broadly accepted norms of professional autonomy. Strain across the groups ultimately detracted from the fundamental objective of raising student achievement.
Doc 230 : Tin Men: Ethics, Cybernetics and the Importance of Soul
The idea that overly emotional humans make poor ethical actors pervades the current literature on the ethical implications of the development of autonomous weapons systems. From this perspective, developing fully autonomous military robots should be doubly desirable: the technical process of ‘teaching’ robots ethics would finally systematize just war thinking, while robots could uphold the rules of engagement even under the most emotionally trying of situations. This article addresses my doubts about both claims. I argue that truly ethical behavior requires what classical just war theorists would have called soul, or what we might today term conscience – and that the flexibility of the traditional principles reflects this understanding. In pursuit of this argument, this article proceeds in two parts. First, it argues that the apparent ‘messiness’ of just war thought is actually morally useful. Second, it argues that emotions play an important and irreplaceable role in our ethical behavior, particularly as…
Doc 231 : Waterfront Redevelopment: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Policy-making Process within the Chatham Maritime Project:
The redevelopment of the former naval dockyards in Chatham is one of the largest regeneration sites in the UK and is widely seen as a high-profile flagship project aimed at encouraging business investment. This paper utilises the Chatham redevelopment project as a basis from which to discuss recent developments in UK policy. It draws upon the methods of critical discourse analysis in order to discuss particular tensions within the project in the context of central-local government relations, partnership arrangements, project implementation and marketing. The paper’s conclusion is that, in spite of the initiatives established to devolve decision-making and establish regional autonomy, property-led development projects in the UK are likely to remain tightly controlled with only limited scope for community groups to exert influence.
Doc 232 : The Use of Information and Communication Technology in the Training for Ethical Competence in Business
Information and communication technology has certain advantages that can contribute positively in business ethics education programmes. It is necessary, however, to identify first the factors critical for acquiring ethical competence and later to proceed to the construction and use of such tools, in order to ensure that these tools are indeed adapted to the process and the goals of business ethics education. Based on psychological theory and research, it is argued that one such crucial factor is the psychological construct of ethical autonomy. The strengths and weaknesses of information and communication technology tools are discussed in accordance with this, and some suggestions are given on fruitful ways to incorporate these tools in business ethics education.
Doc 233 : Young women with diabetes: using Internet communication to create stability during life transitions.
Aims and objectives. The aim of the current study was to explore and describe the strategies young women with Type 1 diabetes used to manage transitions in their lives. This paper will describe one aspect of the findings of how women with Type 1 diabetes used the Internet to interact with other people with diabetes and create stability in their lives. Background. Individuals living with diabetes develop a range of different strategies to create stability in their lives and enhance their well-being. Changing social and emotional conditions during life transitions have a major impact on diabetes management. Although the literature indicates that strategies enabling the individuals to cope with transitions are important, they remain under-researched. Design. Using grounded theory, interviews were conducted with 20 women with Type 1 diabetes. Constant comparative data analysis was used to analyse the data and develop an understanding of how young women with Type 1 diabetes used the Internet to create stability in their lives. Findings. The findings revealed that the women valued their autonomy and being in control of when and to whom they reveal their diabetic status, especially during life transitions and at times of uncertainty. However, during these times they also required health and social information and interacting with other people. One of the women’s main strategies in managing transitions was to use Internetchat lines as a way of obtaining information and communicating with others. This strategy gave women a sense of autonomy, enabled them to maintain their anonymity and interact with other people on their own terms. Conclusions. Having meaningful personal interactions, social support and being able to connect with others were fundamental to the women’s well being. Most importantly, preserving autonomy and anonymity during such interactions were integral to the way the women with Type 1 diabetes managed life transitions. Relevance to clinical practice. Health professionals need to explore and incorporate Internet communication process or anonymous help lines into their practice as a way to assist people manage their diabetes.
Doc 234 : Maybe you don’t want to face it - College students’ perspectives on cyberbullying
We reported focus group data on college-level cyberbullying in a social context.The stigma of cyberbullying in college influences avoidance of the problem.Cyberbullying terminology was often misunderstood affecting case identification.A multi-level intervention was described to shape cultural norms and reduce rates. Cyberbullying is a growing phenomenon in our society with the technological advances that are occurring. This type of bullying can transpire at all hours via text message, email, or social networking sites. According to several studies, college students are being affected by cyberbullying, with prevalence rates ranging from 8% to 21%. Many psychological ramifications exist as a result of cyberbullying among victims and bullies. It is crucial to learn more about how this phenomenon is affecting the social and learning environments in college, as well as how college students view cyberbullying. First and second-year students at a southern university were recruited to participate in this qualitative study. The researchers conducted six focus groups with 54 students. The participants reported reasons for cyberbullying in the college environment, such as retaliation in relationships. Independence and autonomy were discussed as reasons why college students do not report cyberbullying to others when it occurs. Participants discussed future interventions to reduce cyberbullying that included coping strategies, utilizing university services, and engaging in legal action. The authors recommend utilizing a multi-level Socio-Ecological approach to reduce cyberbullying rates. Additionally, evaluation research needs to be conducted on what works and what does not in the prevention of cyberbullying.
Doc 235 : Reflections on the centrality of power in medical sociology: An empirical test and theoretical elaboration
This paper explores the contemporary relevance of sociological theorisations centred on medical power, including the medical dominance and deprofessionalisation theses. To achieve this it examines two issues that have been tentatively linked to the relative decline of the power and autonomy of biomedicine - complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the Internet-informed patient. Drawing on these two different but interconnected social phenomena, this paper reflects on the potential limitations of power-based theorisations of the medical profession and its relationship to patients and other non-biomedically situated professional groups. It is argued that power-based conceptual schemas may not adequately reflect the non-linear and complex strategic adaptations that are occurring among professional groups.
Doc 236 : Introduction to the special issue on agent autonomy in groups
This special issue of the Connection Science journal features ten papers on agent autonomy. The introduction describes the motivation for the special issue and briefly overviews the contributions. The papers in this volume are revised and extended version of selected papers from a workshop that was held in July 2002, in Edmonton, Canada, in conjunction with AAAI 2002 conference. This workshop followed an IJCAI 2001 workshop with the same title. Autonomy is a characterizing notion of agents but a one-size fit all definition does not exist. The desire to build agents that exhibit a satisfactory quality of autonomy has included agents that have a long life, are highly independent, can harmonize their goals and actions with humans and other agents, and are generally socially adept. In 2002, our workshop focus was not only to continue to understand salient social notions in agent interaction that involve autonomy but scaling issues of social networks on inter-group interactions. We explored theories that synthesized the inter-agent interaction into unified models as well as derived and implied attitudes that are beyond the immediate and direct inter-agent attitudes, which play a big role in balance of attitudes among agents in a group. As in 2001, we had researchers in multiagency as well as human-agent and human-robot interactions. In agent-agent interaction, the agents are designed to change their interaction in order to optimize local qualities such as cost or system qualities such as coherence. In organized groups, agents are designed to model the organizational structure and the concerns are mostly with deontic concepts. It is clearly important for agents to understand human preferences and guidance in complex systems. This involves many issues from abilities to comprehend issues related to delegation in natural language to understanding human emotions. Presentations covered several space systems and a large naval application. Discussions of applied research motivated the need for agents to explicitly reason about autonomy and delegation. Although there is a need for increased autonomy on the part of agents, there are times when autonomy is harmful. For instance, when agents are fully autonomous and their actions are un-interruptible. Humans in the loop of such agents may come to harm if they cannot interrupt actions of agents. Also, if agents have negative influence on one another, their independence may detract from harmonious interaction. When tasks among agents are coupled, cooperating agents need to take one another’s actions into account and not be self-interested. This workshop has contributed to understanding of social agent interactions. Jean-Claude Martin (2002, this issue) introduces TYCOON as a framework for the analysis of human verbal and non verbal behaviour. This system is used in making sense of multimodal human-computer interaction and human-human communication. This work is similar to digital Ethnography that allows study of intensely interactive collaboration at the level of both language and physical coordination in time and space (Hutchins, 1995). This is an ongoing project and agents could be endowed with more autonomy by spontaneously volunteering information to participants. Jean-Michel Hoc (2000, this issue) presents issues of dynamic allocation of activities in cooperation between human operators and autonomous machines in complex environments. He suggests that a different consideration of decomposition of the overall task into subtasks is needed for humans and automated agents. He gives examples from a series of studies on human-machine cooperation in air traffic control in order to illustrate his argument. Among his main points are (a) tasks be defined with intentions, (b) mutual monitoring of humans and agents is needed, and (c) knowledge and plans should be shared among humans and agents. Connection Science 2003 2 McCauley and Franklin (2002, this issue) approach present a real world massive MAS with approximately 350,000 individual agents that addresses a problem in the US Navy for assigning jobs to sailors at the end of each sailor’s tour of duty. They have developed a cognitive agent capable of reasoning about autonomy of sailors and navy human detailers. They go on to discuss major issues regarding the design, interaction, and autonomy of the various agents involved. Castelfranchi and Falcone (2002 this issue) suggest relationships between trust and control in agents. They claim that the basic form of dyadic trust between two agents is the opposite of the notion of dyadic control between those agents. However, the more general notion of trust relies on control between agents. Several other nuances of interaction between control and trust are explained. Barber and MacMahon (2002, this issue) consider group formation that specifies and optimizes the allocation of decisionmaking and action-execution responsibilities for a set of goals among agents within the MAS. They present an analysis of space of decision-making and adaptations in decision-making. This work helps us reason about improvements in organizational capabilities for decision-making and suggests changes in the structure of the organization. Schillo (2002, this issue) explores the relationship between self-organization of multiagent systems and adjustable autonomy in intelligent agents. His analysis pivots on the notion of delegation in order to define organizational relationships. He distinguishes task delegation from social delegation. He draws several organizational models where with increased structure autonomy is diminished. Schreckenghost, Martin, Bonasso, Kortenkamp, Milam, and Thronesbery (2002, this issue) present another real world MAS from a NASA mission. This system supports collaboration among these heterogeneous agents while they operate remotely and communicate asynchronously with multiple humans in the control loop. They identify research issues in groups where members have non-overlapping roles and guided by high level plans. We have made a radical observation that in the space-based operations dynamically reconfiguration of team is not common. This author (Hexmoor 2002, this volume) presents a model that relates autonomy and power. He then goes on to discuss group effects that amplify the individual notions of power and autonomy. An algorithm for task allocation was discussed that showed a use of grouping agents into power groups. This work is step in the direction of defining autonomy and power that applies to a group, i.e., collective autonomy and collective power. Kar, Dutta and Sen (2002, this issue) illustrate effectiveness of probabilistic reciprocity for promoting cooperation among agents. This is an extension of their work on reciprocity between individual agents. In this extension, group members offer opinions about the balance of their past interactions with individuals in other groups. The group must decide based on collective opinions of its members. Group interactions are diminished when agents lie about their balance. However, in certain pattern of group selection lying is ineffective. O’Hare (2002, this issue) explores virtual agent communities and identifies issues that underpin social cohesion. Among other points, he points out the importance of awareness and presence in collaboration. Several domains are examined in robotics, mobile/wearable platforms, and tour guide avatars.
Doc 237 : A Rainbow at Midnight: Zapatistas and Autonomy
THE BRUTAL MASSACRE of 45 indigenous sympathisers, mostly women and children, of the EZLN (Zapatista National Liberation Army) in a refugee camp near Acteal in the south-eastern state of Chiapas, Mexico, last December 22, at the hands of paramilitary death squads linked to the PRI government served to remind world opinion that the ‘Rebellion of the Forgotten’ of January 1994 has moved from a low to a high intensity conflict. The success of the Zapatistas in mobilising Mexican and international ‘civil society’, particularly through the Internet, in a common struggle against the disastrous human and environmental consequences of neoliberalism, globalisation and “free trade” and for increased autonomy for indigenous peoples has forced the PRI regime, under the instigation of the US government and World Bank, to adopt a more violent and politically riskier strategy of repression through state terror. This has effectively ended the phase of negotiations which led to the signing of the San Andres Accords on Ind…
Doc 238 : The National Grid for Learning: panacea or Panopticon?
Although not fully established, the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) initiative is already being presented by both government and industry as offering students, teachers and school extensive freedom and autonomy in their day-to-day work. However, this paper argues that the official discursive construction of the NGfL in this way, as a ‘panacea’ to educational problems, obscures vital issues of power and control that may only become apparent once the initiative is fully integrated at the classroom level. Drawing initially on the work of Foucault, and then Poster’s more recent conception of the electronic ‘SuperPanopticon’, this paper re-examines the basis of the NGfL and its role in extending and reinforcing existing power configurations in education. The paper concludes by considering directions for future research into the NGfL, and educational use of the Internet in the light of this analysis.
Doc 239 : Power shifts in web-based translation memory
Web-based translation memory (TM) is a recent and little-studied development that is changing the way localisation projects are conducted. This article looks at the technology that allows for the sharing of TM databases over the internet to find out how it shapes the translator’s working environment. It shows that so-called pre-translation–until now the standard way for clients to manage translation tasks with freelancers–is giving way to web-interactive translation. Thus, rather than interacting with their own desktop databases as before, translators now interface with each other through server-based translation memories, so that a newly entered term or segment can be retrieved moments later by another translator working at a remote site. The study finds that, while the interests of most stakeholders in the localisation process are well served by this web-based arrangement, it can involve drawbacks for freelancers. Once an added value, technical expertise becomes less of a determining factor in employability, while translators lose autonomy through an inability to retain the linguistic assets they generate. Web-based TM is, therefore, seen to risk disempowering and de-skilling freelancers, relegating them from valued localisation partners to mere servants of the new technology.
The Internet is responsible for a “structural transformation of the public sphere”, which in a radical way changed the concepts of privacy too. The most important issue of the public debate is the invasion of privacy accompanying this transformation. But new ways of self-expression emerged as well. Personal autonomy and self-determination can survive or even be intensified under the condition that they are performed in solidarity within the Internet-community.
Doc 241 : An autonomous educational mobile robot mediator
So far, most of the applications of robotic technology to education have mainly focused on supporting the teaching of subjects that are closely related to the Robotics field, such as robot programming, robot construction, or mechatronics. Moreover, most of the applications have used the robot as an end or a passive tool of the learning activity, where the robot has been constructed or programmed. In this paper, we present a novel application of robotic technologies to education, where we use the real world situatedness of a robot to teach non-robotic related subjects, such as math and physics. Furthermore, we also provide the robot with a suitable degree of autonomy to actively guide and mediate in the development of the educational activity. We present our approach as an educational framework based on a collaborative and constructivist learning environment, where the robot is able to act as an interaction mediator capable of managing the interactions occurring among the working students. We illustrate the use of this framework by a 4-step methodology that is used to implement two educational activities. These activities were tested at local schools with encouraging results. Accordingly, the main contributions of this work are: i) A novel use of a mobile robot to illustrate and teach relevant concepts and properties of the real world; ii) A novel use of robots as mediators that autonomously guide an educational activity using a collaborative and constructivist learning approach; iii) The implementation and testing of these ideas in a real scenario, working with students at local schools.
Doc 242 : Extensive writing in foreign‐language classrooms: a blogging approach
A weblog (blog or Web log) has recently become one of the most widely used Internet applications. The current study concerns developing a blog specifically designed for learners learning English as a foreign language. The study investigated the effects of extensive writing by comparing the writing performance in the first three and the last three blog entries written by the participants. The study also conducted a survey to examine participants’ blogging process and their perception of blogging. The results of the study show that writing on blogs could enhance participants’ overall writing performance, promote participants’ autonomous monitoring of their own writing, and promote positive attitudes toward foreign‐language writing. From its findings, the study concluded that writing weblogs in an online environment could be beneficial in improving learners’ writing skills, enhance learners’ motivation to write, and foster both learners’ monitoring strategies and learner autonomy.
Doc 243 : Identifying meta‐clusters of students’ interest in science and their change with age
Psychiatric labeling has been the subject of considerable ethical debate. Much of it has centered on issues associated with the application of psychiatric labels. In comparison, far less attention has been paid to issues associated with the removal of psychiatric labels. Ethical problems of this last sort tend to revolve around identity. Many sufferers are reticent to relinquish their iatrogenic identity in the face of official label change; some actively resist it. New forms of this resistance are taking place in the private chat rooms and virtual communities of the Internet, a domain where consumer autonomy reigns supreme. Medical sociology, psychiatry, and bioethics have paid little attention to these developments. Yet these new consumer-driven initiatives actually pose considerable risks to consumers. They also present complex ethical challenges for researchers. Clinically, there is even sufficient evidence to wonder whether the Internet may be the nesting ground for a new kind of identity disturbance. The purpose of the present discussion is to survey these developments and identify potential issues and problems for future research. Taken as a whole, the entire episode suggests that we may have reached a turning point in the history of psychiatry where consumer autonomy and the Internet are now powerful new forces in the manufacture of madness
Doc 245 : The Impact of Internet Use on Relationships Between Teachers and Students
A 5-year primarily qualitative study of a major effort to bring the Internet to a large urban school district in the United States suggests that Internet use brought about unplanned as well as planned change in classroom roles and relationships. Specifically, it increased student autonomy, due to factors including increased student access to external resources, technical difficulties arising when students all tried to do the exact same thing on the Internet, and a reversal of the usual knowledge disparity between teachers and students. Internet use also frequently resulted unexpectedly in warmer and less ad-versarial teacher-student relations, due to factors including the tendency for Internet use to lead to small group work which in turn personalized student-teacher relations, increased student enjoyment and motivation, teachers’ discovery of unexpected Internet skills on the part of students who had not otherwise impressed them, and increased autonomy, which influenced the affective tone of student-teac…
Doc 246 : Analyzing the Impact of Culture on Average Time Spent on Social Networking Sites
The study examines the influence of national culture on national averages of time spent (ATS) visiting the largest social networking sites (SNSs): Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The analysis uses cultural dimensions adopted from both the works of Hofstede and Schwartz, while controlling for country e-readiness and median population age. The findings suggest that culture’s influence may be moderated by the media richness and type of network focus of each SNS. Overall, in rich-media SNSs, egalitarianism positively impacts ATS. Individualism and masculinity only impact ATS on friendship-oriented SNSs. Additionally, uncertainty avoidance and intellectual autonomy only impact ATS on professional-oriented SNSs.
Doc 247 : Learner Autonomy and Tandem Learning: Putting Principles Into Practice in Synchronous and Asynchronous Telecommunications Environments
The main title of the recent UNTELE conference refers to the question whether CALL development is technology- or pedagogy-based. In this paper, I will argue, not surprisingly, that it is both. Our own research at the Centre for Language and Communication Studies at Trinity College Dublin over the past 4 years has provided us with valuable insights on the relationship between pedagogy and technology. On the one hand, our centre has for years been actively involved in shaping the concept of learner autonomy, not least through the writings of the centre’s founder, David Little. On the other hand, our involvement in the tandem network and tandem learning as an implementation of learner autonomy principles has given us first-hand experience in various computer-mediated forms of language learning, especially e-mail and object-oriented multi-user domains (MOOs). This paper will first look at three different approaches to learner autonomy: an individual-cognitive, a social-interactive, and an experimental-partici…
Doc 248 : ICT and work–family balance: context of Indian software services
While advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have diminished the constraint of location, created new outsourced models and show a promise of employee flexibility, it is not very clear how implementation of ICT affects the work–family balance for employees working in these new industries. In this conceptual paper, we explore the effect of ICT on employees in the context of the software services industry in India. We unpack the role of characteristics of service interaction in determining whether the use of ICT leads to improved or deterioration in work–family balance by investigating factors such as frequency and duration of interaction, and the temporal and cultural distance between the service provider employees and client. We argue that while the ICT media, geographical and temporal distance may enhance the need for longer customer interaction and work time, employee autonomy can potentially help harness the flexibility of the ICT advances to mitigate the detrimental impact on employ…
Doc 249 : Virtue, Privacy and Self-Determination: A Plotinian Approach to the Problem of Information Privacy
The ethical problem of privacy lies at the core of computer ethics and cyber ethics discussions. The extensive use of personal data in digital networks poses a serious threat to the user’s right of privacy not only at the level of a user’s data integrity and security but also at the level of a user’s identity and freedom. In normative ethical theory the need for an informational self-deterministic approach of privacy is stressed with greater emphasis on the control over personal data. However, scant attention has been paid on a virtue ethics approach of information privacy. Plotinus’ discussion of self-determination is related to ethical virtue, human freedom and intellectual autonomy. The Plotinian virtue ethics approach of self-determination is not primarily related to the sphere of moral action, but to the quality of the self prior to moral practice. In this paper, it is argued that the problem of information privacy should be reconsidered in the light of Plotinus’ virtue ethics and his notion of self-determination.
Doc 250 : Executivos e smartphones: uma relação ambígua e paradoxal
Based on theoretical approaches concerning the existence of paradoxes associated with the use of technological appliances, this article seeks to identify the existence of ambiguities in the day-to-day use of smartphones by Brazilian executives. The single representative case study method was applied, by analysing a Brazilian company within the pharmaceutical sector, which has a policy of providing smartphones to its senior executives. Data were collected from: questionnaires filled out by fourteen executives of the company in question; in-depth interviews conducted with five of these executives and e-mails sent by them via smartphones over a given period of time. After consolidation and analysis of the data obtained, it was seen that two paradoxes were strongly related to the use of smartphones by the executives in question, namely: continuity vs. asynchronicity and autonomy vs. addiction. Furthermore, three other paradoxes were moderately associated with the use of smartphones by the executives in question, namely freedom vs. enslavement, dependence vs. independence, and planning vs. improvisation. Lastly, the implications and limitations of the research are set forth.
Doc 251 : A Scenario-based Framework for Perceiving Crossbreed Service Interactions
The service-oriented computing provides technologies allowing multiple enterprises to integrate their businesses over the Internet. Typical execution behavior in this type of converged schemes comprises a network of autonomous peers interacting with each other. Modeling and analyzing the interactions among different services is a crucial problem in this domain. It is a particularly challenging task since no single party has access to the internal states of all the participants. Desired behaviors have to be specified as constraints on the interactions among different peers since the interactions are the only observable global behavior. Besides, it might be meaningful to specify the interactions among different parties before the services are implemented. Undeniably, one of the main requirements is preserving the autonomy of each participating partner during the interaction, without restricting the overall goals of the common process. Thus, mechanisms orchestrating distributed service workflows are needed. The scenario-based framework for perceiving crossbreed service interactions examined in this paper efforts to meet these requirements.
Doc 252 : IT for a better future: how to integrate ethics, politics and innovation
Purpose The paper aims to explore future and emerging information and communication technologies. It gives a general overview of the social consequences and ethical issues arising from technologies that can currently be reasonably expected. This overview is used to present recommendations and integrate these in a framework of responsible innovation. Design/methodology/approach The identification of emerging ICTs and their ethical consequences is based on the review and analysis if several different bodies of literature. The individual features of the ICTs and the ethical issues identified this way are then aggregated and analysed. Findings The paper outlines the 11 ICTs identified. Some of the shared features that are likely to have social relevance include an increase in natural interaction, the invisibility of technology, direct links between humans and technology, detailed models and data of humans and an increasing autonomy of technology that may lead to power over the user. Ethical issues include several current topics such as privacy, data protection, intellectual property and digital divides. New problems may include changes to the way humans are perceived and the role of humans and technology in society. This includes changing power structures and different ways of treating humans. Research limitations/implications The paper presents a piece of foresight research which cannot claim exact knowledge of the future. However, by developing a detailed understanding of possible futures it provides an important basis for current decisions relating to future technology development and governance. Practical implications The paper spells out a range of recommendations for both policy makers and researchers/industry. These refer to the framework within which technology is developed and how such a framework could be designed to allow the development of ethical reflexivity. Social implications The work described here is likely to influence EU policy on ICT research and technology research and innovation more broadly. This may have implications for the type of technologies funded and broad implications for the social use of emerging technologies. Originality/value The paper presents a novel and important broad view of the future of ICTs that is required in order to inform current policy decisions.
Doc 253 : Family characteristics and intergenerational conflicts over the Internet
The rapid expansion of computer use and Internet connection has the potential to change patterns of family interaction, with conflicts arising over adolescents’ autonomy, parental authority and control of the computer. This study applied a conceptual framework derived from family development and human ecology theory to investigate family characteristics related to the likelihood of such conflicts. A secondary analysis was conducted of a special survey of 754 children aged 12 to 17 who used the Internet, and of their parents, performed by Pew Internet and the American Life project. Adolescent–parent conflicts over Internet use proved strongly related to the perception that the adolescent was a computer expert. Families in which adolescents were considered experts in new technologies were more likely to experience conflicts. Parents’ attempt to reduce adolescent autonomy by regulating the time of Internet use increased the likelihood of family arguments over the Internet. Intergenerational conflicts over th…
Doc 254 : Flexible learning activities fostering autonomy in teaching training
The flexible use of digital recordings from EFL classrooms as well as online communication with teaching experts are two promising ways of implementing e-learning in the context of initial teacher training. Our research focuses on how to blend these elements efficiently with the different theoretical and practical content layers of an introductory course “Teaching English as a Foreign Language” to foster the development of critical, reflective thinking of prospective teachers of English and to empower the learners. In this paper we discuss the concept of autonomy as a course strategy and argue that enabling a student to take responsibility and to make informed choices is the main route to an autonomous learner. We introduce and analyze learning activities such as working with multimedia-based case stories that include video episodes as situational anchors and conducting an einterview. These learning activities are two formats that integrate elearning and contact learning in a directed, interactive way to foster the learner’s autonomy. The study is a follow-up of a pilot study on blended learning in a teacher training course and was conducted as action research in the 2004/05 winter semester. It combines qualitative and quantitative research methods and integrates multiple perspectives on the teaching and learning scenarios.
Doc 255 : Independent English Learning through the Internet
The studies on independent learning based on the theories of constructivism and the advantages of technology propose valuable ideas for modern teaching theories and practices. With the variety of environment and method of English learning, independent English Learning through the Internet is playing a more and more important role in modern English learning. It challenges the traditional learning approach, and also is forwardness. This paper points out that independent English Learning through the Internet facilitates the improvement of the English level even more on the basis of the author’s acquisition and experience, as well as explains the favorable factors and unfavorable factors of autonomy English learning on the Internet, suggesting the effective strategies of independent English learning through the Internet.
Doc 256 : “MySpace” or Yours? The Ethical Dilemma of Graduate Students’ Personal Lives on the Internet
The booming popularity of the Internet, and particularly increasing use of personal Web sites, social networking sites, and blogging, raises questions regarding the ethical use of psychology graduate students’ personal online information for academic purposes. Given rising controversies such as use of such information to screen applicants, I refer to the principles and standards of the Ethics Code of the American Psychological Association (2002) to examine ethical concerns associated with graduate students’ personal information on the Internet, namely, the protection of privacy, use of informed consent, consideration of autonomy, and implications for students’ clinical work. Finally, I make several recommendations for graduate training faculty and graduate students as they consider placing and using information on and from the Internet.
Doc 257 : Intent to be a Socially Responsible Small or Medium-sized Enterprise: Theory of Planned Behavior and Leaders’ Actualizing
A review of the academic research in corporate social responsibility shows little work on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the U.S. whereas considerable work in this domain has been conducted in the European context. This study seeks to make a contribution to the research void by addressing one particular area of social responsibility in the U.S. context. Specifically, we employ Ajzen’s reasoned action approach to begin to build an understanding of what promotes leaders of SMEs to reduce waste. This study addresses several questions: What are the attitudes of owners and managers of SMEs toward waste reduction practices for their organizations? How are stakeholder interests toward waste reduction perceived? And, are leaders of SMEs influenced by their industrial environment? The authors utilized an email survey directed to owners and managers of SMEs with greater than 5, but less than 500 employees in the telephony, construction, pulp and paper products, textiles, and agriculture industries. 377 emails were opened and 104 completed surveys were obtained. The survey instrument was developed from the theoretical perspective of Isaac Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, p. 179-211. Results from a partial least squares analysis of the data suggest that there is a strong and significant relationship between the normative, attitudinal, and control constructs with an individual’s intention to be a socially responsible SME. This finding suggests that efforts to influence SME owners and managers to implement waste reduction activities need focus on changing individual attitudes.
Scholars of technology have long puzzled over the question of the relationship between human societies and their technologies. Technological determinism suggests that the technologies present in a society have a determining effect on the structure of that society. Critics of this idea point out that the technologies are themselves developed by people within societies and so are themselves determined by the characteristics of those societies. It may be that the influence flows in both directions. The concept of the autonomy of technology suggests that human societies do not have very effective mechanisms to control and direct their technologies. Instead, those societies are more apt to adapt their structures and values to accommodate any efficient technologies that develop. The themes of autonomy and control thus arise in various ways in the consideration of the place of technology in human societies. While the ideas of technological determinism and the autonomy of technology tend to focus on the effects of technology at the social level, it is possible to consider the questions of control and autonomy at the individual level as well. At the level of the individual, it seems clear that many technologies support human autonomy and promote freedom by expanding human capacities for action. At the same time, individual human beings paradoxically come to feel obliged to adopt particular technologies in a manner that undermines their autonomy and freedom. This series of short articles addresses the theme of human autonomy, law, and technology. In the winter of 2009, Arthur Cockfield invited a group of scholars of law and technology to continue their joint conversation on the Law and Technology Theory Blog (http://techtheory.blogspot.com/). Each of us wrote a short piece containing reflections on this theme. The short articles have been revised for inclusion here in the Bulletin and are presented in the order in which they appeared on the Blog. In the rest of this short introduction, I provide a sketch of the main themes emerging from each article. Arthur Cockfield describes the competing views, first, that technologies are merely neutral instruments that humans choose or not and, second, that technologies have pervasive and unintended effects that undermine human autonomy. He explores how these two competing views might tend to lead legal policy makers in different directions in the context of the government deployment of surveillance technologies. Frank Pasquale explores the extent to which “neurocosmetic” pharmaceuticals challenge our understanding of human liberty and autonomy. He considers the external pressures that may limit a person’s freedom to reject cognitive enhancement. More fundamentally though, he points out that to the extent that these drugs interfere with the recognition of difficult truths and feelings, they may undermine the foundation of personal autonomy. Jennifer Chandler looks at the effect of technology on human autonomy through two lenses. First, she looks at collective self-determination, as expressed in the laws that we choose for self-governance. Here, the question is whether technological ideology tends to determine legal doctrines and outcomes rather than that the law controls technology. Second, she suggests various mechanisms to explain the sense that individuals may feel constrained to adopt specific technologies whether they wish to or not. Kieran Tranter approaches the relationship between human autonomy, law, and technology using three stories. The technological story of “human as tool user” suggests that technology is the essence of humanity and emancipates humans from natural limits. The legal story tells a tale of anarchy overcome through a social contract that enabled, among other things, the flowering of technology. He proposes a critique of both these stories—the autonomy story—and argues that we have choice and responsibility for the cultural narratives that we adopt to understand our technologies. Lyria Bennett Moses turns her gaze upon legal scholars and how they have responded to technological innovation as a field of legal study. She speculates about the reasons that lawyers may rush to publish on the legal implications of the latest technology. Lawyers may be dazzled by an exciting technology, but they may also be rushing to assert the continuing relevance and importance of the law (and themselves) in a rapidly changing technological society. Lisa Austin traces the evolution of the philosophy of technology and identifies the mutual enrichment that the philosophy of technology and legal scholarship might draw from one another. She discusses a recent skirmish in the “control wars” over personal information on the Internet and proposes a reimagining of the value of privacy that is inspired by the approach of the early philosophers of technology. Sam Trosow argues that it is essential to consider economics in seeking to understand the relationship between law, technology, and other social phenomena. He addresses the important role of economic analysis in the field of intellectual property law—a field that is central to the interaction of law and technology.
Doc 259 : TECHNOLOGIES FOR SECOND LANGUAGE LITERACY
Information and communication technology (ICT) has been used in language classrooms for more than two decades. Over this time, classroom use has moved from drill, text manipulation, and word processing to more interactive and communicative applications such as e-mail, chat, and web-based programs, requiring learners to acquire computer literacies. This chapter will begin by discussing both the parameters of ICT and the scope of literacies. It is then organized around discussion of the two types of literacies at the intersection of ICT and L2 learning: how new technologies facilitate acquisition of L2 literacies and what L2 literacies are needed for learners to participate in an increasingly digital world. Although research has mostly been limited to small-scale context-dependent case studies of individual classrooms, it has identified a number of issues that need to be considered as teachers (and learners) use ICT for language learning. Although ICT provides a natural context for learner autonomy, that autonomy needs to be developed systematically. In addition, ICT provides a context for learner identity formation through hybrid uses of language(s), in ways unexpected by teachers and learners. These new ways of using language may empower and motivate learners. Similarly, whereas ICT provides opportunities for collaboration and interaction, they are not automatic, and instruction needs to be skillfully scaffolded for learners to benefit from such opportunities.
Doc 260 : Feast and famine? Local television news workers expand the offerings but say they are hungry for quality journalism
By the nature of the work, television news workers face a time famine: too much to do in too little time. The famine has been compounded in recent years as local newsrooms produce content for two-screen and three-screen audiences. Chaos theory says that even during chaotic times there are constants, such as deadlines and breaking news obligations. This study of 877 broadcast journalists examines their perceptions of work quality in light of organizational support, job satisfaction, work overload and autonomy. Results indicate that organizational support, job satisfaction and autonomy are significant, positive predictors of work quality. Additionally, 81% of news workers said they work differently from a few years ago, with social media/online obligations and doing-more-with-less consuming much of their time. In the meantime, diminished quality is a rising concern.
Doc 261 : Behavioral Programming of Autonomous Characters based on Probabilistic Automata and Personality
Abstract New communication technologies are offering organizations options that were not previously available. These new opportunities have the potential to impact many aspects of the organization, including coordination and control efforts. Despite a growing literature concerning computer-mediated communication, the basic question of whether the simple switch from written to computer-mediated communication changes behavior still remains unanswered. We argue that advanced information technology has created a frame with enabling and limiting impacts that exists even when the major characteristics are not present. This paper reports the results of a laboratory experiment concerning the effects of communication medium on the process and outcomes of negotiations in a transfer pricing situation. An organizational coordination mechanism and its interactions with communication medium were also examined. Structured negotiations were communicated through written exchanges and through computerized networks where the media richness and technical system capabilities were the same in both media. The negotiation process and outcomes were both measured. The results show that communication medium does effect both the process and outcomes of negotiations, even when media richness and system capabilities are the same in both media. Computer-mediated communication took fewer rounds of negotiation to reach an agreement, leading to an improved process, but had lower outcomes with lower firm profit and lower perceived autonomy. Thus, these results support our argument that medium provides a frame that affects behavior even when the major characteristics of the medium are absent. Further, medium interacts with arbitration, demonstrating the importance of considering other coordination and control mechanisms when examining the impact of medium.
Doc 263 : The Panopticon of the Public Protest: Technology and Surveillance
This paper deals with the issue of surveillance as it applies to recent technological advancements. Specifically, advancements in video capturing and social media have made public events into spectacles that are observed and shared online by the public. Public protest and discourse loosens itself from the bounds of state authority and enters the arena of the public. This phenomenon reconsiders Foucault’s conception of the panopticon. Foucault’s panopticon is useful as a tool for understanding the way power operates through surveillance in a state-to-public direction, but technological advancements have allowed for a reversal of this surveillance. With real examples like the pepper spraying of student protesters at UC Davis, the public now has surveillance over the state (in this example police officers) from its multitude of citizen perspectives that can be shared and disseminated online. This is an important development because it increases the autonomy and safe power of individuals who wish to speak out against excessive use of power by the state over the public. People can do so without fear of greater police suppression of real events. Issues with this development are discussed, like the chance for the state, or other sites of power (like corporations) to develop the copyrighting of public pace, making any event the property of power structures. This would be a problem, as it would lessen the autonomy of individuals in public
Doc 264 : What Gamification Tells us about Web Communication
The games that have become a staple on Facebook provide lessons on how to make websites and Internet marketing more successful. We highlight these points that gamers have accomplished: Provide ideological agreement, Create a community, Provide a sense of control or autonomy, Create a way for people to communicate with each other, Recognize gender differences, Provide rewards, and Convince people to commit.
Doc 265 : Online Survey Tools: Ethical and Methodological Concerns of Human Research Ethics Committees
A survey of 750 university human Research Ethics Boards (HRECs) in the United States revealed that Internet research protocols involving online or Web surveys are the type most often reviewed (94% of respondents), indicating the growing prevalence of this methodology for academic research. Respondents indicated that the electronic and online nature of these survey data challenges traditional research ethics principles such as consent, risk, privacy, anonymity, confidentiality, and autonomy, and adds new methodological complexities surrounding data storage, security, sampling, and survey design. Interesting discrepancies surfaced among respondents regarding strengths and weaknesses within extant guidelines, which are highlighted throughout the paper. The paper concludes with considerations and suggestions towards consistent protocol review of online surveys to ensure appropriate human subjects protections in the face of emergent electronic tools and methodologies.
Doc 266 : At the Intersections Between Internet Studies and Philosophy: “Who Am I Online?”
This special issue fosters joint exploration of personal identity by both philosophers, on the one hand, and scholars and researchers in Internet Studies (IS), on the other. The summary of articles gathered here leads to a larger collective account of personal identity that highlights embodiment and thereby the continuities between online and offline senses and experiences of selfhood. I connect this collective account with other contemporary works at the intersections between philosophy and IS, such as on trust and virtual worlds, thereby entailing further questions and debates. I close by exploring how these collective insights illuminate larger themes regarding technology—specifically, the debate between a distinctively modern Augustinian–Cartesian account emphasizing control, liberation, and immortality by way of escape from the body, vs. more contemporary alternatives in feminist, environmental, and information philosophies that highlight autonomy through, rather than against, embodiment.
Doc 267 : The World at Her Fingertips?: Examining the Empowerment Potential of Mobile Phones among Poor Housewives in Sri Lanka
Over the past couple of decades, mobile phones have penetrated Sri Lanka at an unprecedented rate. The rate of adoption of cell phones in the country has been remarkably fast, and not gradual as in other nations. Yet, examination of the developmental impact of mobile phones has drawn surprisingly little attention in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this article attempts to investigate the empowering effect of mobile phones on dependent housewives in poor households of the country by using a mixed research method. Our research found that access to mobile phones was certainly empowering for these women: mobile phones unequivocally strengthened and expanded their social circle and support networks; they led them to domesticate technology, thus challenging negative societal attitudes toward women as technologically incompetent and timid; they reduced women’s information poverty; and opened them up to a newer, non-traditional fun space, which was a clear manifestation of choice and power. However, the women’s use of mobile phones was largely controlled within the household, mainly because they did not have their own income to maintain the phones, thus underlining the need for their financial autonomy. Those women who owned their mobile phones had more control over them than those who lacked legal ownership. To conclude, mobile phones can play a significant role in empowering poor women in Sri Lanka, and can be considered as a tool in the policy agenda for women’s empowerment by the government. Language: en
Doc 268 : A Brief Study on Web Application Technology in Autonomous Learning of Learners
With the advent of the information age, multimedia and internet technology have been high on the agenda of college English teaching reform. Much research shows great progress has been made in the multimedia environment. However, it does not necessarily follow that there exist no problems in multimedia-based teaching. In order to further improve teaching, the application of Internet technology has begun to gain more and more attention in recent years.This paper probes into the application of web in teaching. A 16-week experiment between the experimental group and the control group is conducted. Based on the comparison of the two tests that the two groups had before and after the experiment and an face-to-face interview, the author finds out that the web-based model can not only help the learners perform better but also enhance their autonomy and independent thinking in learning, and so is their learning interest.
Doc 269 : Las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación como entorno de convergencia tecnológica. El Design Thinking aplicado a la discapacidad intelectual
This article presents research related to the use of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by people with intellectual disabilities as a means to increase their autonomy in basic daily activities offering people with barriers in learning and participation an environment of technological convergence that meets the characteristics of universal accessibility: invisibility, ubiquity and adaptability. For this, a software with accessible interface was designed in order to make the use of the training program the most easy and attractive possible. Training with this program provided an increase of up to 10% in autonomy in some of the categories of ABVD, thus demonstrating the efficacy of the software designed through the parameter of design thinking.
Doc 270 : Between Individuality and Collectiveness: Email Lists and Face-to-Face Contact in the Global Justice Movement
Decentralized and internally diverse, the Global Justice Movement (GJM) is thought to be influenced by its use of the internet. Operating in an environment characterized by the conditions of globalization and late modernity, the movement strives to be a collective that accommodates individual difference. Focusing on the organizing process of the European Social Forum, this article examines the role of email lists and physical meetings in realizing this ‘unity in diversity’. Based on interviews with movement activists and a content analysis of three email lists, this article examines how online and face-to-face communication practices engender different dynamics in terms of individuality and collectiveness. While communication on email lists tends to afford divergence, diversity, and individual autonomy, face-to-face contact enables convergence, unity and the affirmation of the collective. Thus, it is the combination of those two modes of communication that helps the movement to fuse seemingly opposing dynamics.
Doc 271 : The management and policy challenges of the globalisation effect of informatics and telemedicine
Managers and policy makers face new and as yet unrecognised challenges–particularly loss of control–through the application of new information technologies in healthcare. Whilst informatics and telemedicine are important developments, the potential for adverse organisational and societal effects should be recognised and anticipated. Health organisations are frequently seen as circumscribed networks, and these in turn form local alliances with related organisations. Information technologies are frequently construed as relating to operational systems within organisations, not least electronic patient record systems and diagnostic systems. These can then be linked to new generation health business systems, to provide accurate management information at low additional cost. However, this pair of assumptions is now seriously flawed, due to the effects of the latest developments in health informatics and telemedicine. In particular, telecommunications and Internet technologies render ineffectual previous external barriers of distance and national boundaries, whilst within the organisation the combination of knowledge bases with information technologies creates tendencies towards internal autonomy. Organisational and national policy control of health care face direct and radical challenges through perverse effects of otherwise beneficial developments, and early action is needed.
Doc 272 : Alternative Media and Social Networking Sites: The Politics of Individuation and Political Participation
The rapid growth in usage of social networking sites begs a reconsideration of the meaning of mediated political participation in society. Castells (2009) contended that social networking sites offer a form of mass communication of the self wherein individuals can acquire a new creative autonomy. Stiegler (2009) and the Ars Industrialis collective believe that the processes of individuation, and of speaking out, hold the key to empowerment, agency, and resistance. In this article the authors offer a critical reflection on the logic of mediated participation promoted by social media through a consideration of the differences between individual and collective forms of mediated political participation. Drawing on ethnographic research on alternative media within the Trade Union Movement in Britain and recent research on the political culture of social networking sites, the authors argue that far from being empowering, the logic of self-centered participation promoted by social media can represent a threat for political groups rather than an opportunity.
Doc 273 : The Effects of Computer Training and Internet Usage on the Use of Everyday Technology by Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Study
According to the skill transfer concept, people may use general technological skills to solve new problems. To test this concept, a technological transfer test was included in a randomized controlled-intervention study aimed at the causal relationship between computer use and autonomy of older adults. Older adults with and without exposure to computer training and Internet use and participants without interest in computers were administered this test. On two occasions, participants performed four daily tasks with everyday technological devices. Exposure to a novel technological challenge did not affect the efficiency of, and involvement in, other technological activities.
Doc 274 : Predicting Use of Ineffective Responsive, Structure and Control Vegetable Parenting Practices with the Model of Goal Directed Behavior.
https://doi.org/10.5539/jfr.v2n6p80 Tom Baranowski Alicia Beltran Tzu-An Chen Debbe Thompson Teresia M. O’Connor Sheryl O. Hughes Cassandra S. Diep Janice Baranowski
This study reports the modeling of three categories of ineffective vegetable parenting practices (IVPP) separately (responsive, structure, and control vegetable parenting practices). An internet survey was employed for a cross sectional assessment of parenting practices and cognitive-emotional variables. Parents (n=307) of preschool children (3-5 years old) were recruited through announcements and postings. Models were analyzed with block regression and backward deletion procedures using a composite IVPP scale as the dependent variable. The independent variables included validated scales from a Model of Goal Directed Vegetable Parenting Practices (MGDVPP), including: intention, habit, perceived barriers, desire, competence, autonomy, relatedness, attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control, and anticipated emotions. The available scales accounted for 26.5%, 16.7% and 44.6% of the variance in the IVPP responsive, structure and control subscales, respectively. Different sets of diverse variables predicted the three IVPP constructs. Intentions, Habits and Perceived Behavioral Control were strong predictors for each of the IVPP constructs, but the subscales were specific to each IVPP construct. Parent emotional responses, an infrequently investigated variable, was an important predictor of ineffective responsive vegetable parenting practices and ineffective structure vegetable parenting practices, but not ineffective control vegetable parenting practices. An Attitude subscale and a Norms subscale predicted ineffective responsive vegetable parenting practices alone. This was the first report of psychometrically tested scales to predict use of IVPP subscales. Further research is needed to verify these findings in larger longitudinal cohorts. Interventions to increase child vegetable intake may have to reduce IVPP.
Doc 275 : Technology and Counter-hegemonic Movements: The case of Nike Corporation
This paper examines ways in which the Internet and alternative forms of media have been employed to enhance political struggle in contemporary society, and are in fact redefining political struggle. It uses a case study of Nike Corporation to highlight that although the power and autonomy of transnational corporations operating within the global economy has been enhanced over the past few decades, there are accompanying modes of grassroots organizing which foster globalized resistance to such hegemonic tendencies. The analysis argues that the Internet provides the resources and environment necessary for cohesive organized resistance to corporate culture across the domains of production (labor issues) and consumption issues (marketing). The Internet and independent media have facilitated organizing strategies among emerging new social movements, such as the anti-sweatshop movement and the Culture Jammers movement. This paper draws on both modern and postmodern theory to explore ways in which marginal group…
Doc 276 : Absorptive capacity and autonomous R&D climate roles in firm innovation
Abstract Absorptive capacity is frequently an outcome of a firm’s cumulatively path-dependent R&D investments. However, the query how absorptive capacity transforms R&D investment into firm innovation, in the context of autonomous R&D climate remains unclear. Using 165 firms in the Taiwan’s information and communication technology industry, the results indicate that absorptive capacity partially mediates the relationship between R&D investment and firm innovation. Absorptive capacity accounts for 36% effects of R&D investment on firm innovation. The result also shows a negative moderating effect of R&D autonomy on the relationship between absorptive capacity and firm innovation.
Doc 277 : The Internet revolution and the geography of innovation
cation is expected to lead to increased traffic, greater information access, personal autonomy in location decisions and ultimately, greater dispersion of economic activity. The impacts of the Internet will be different across diverse industries and various types of economic
Cybernetics Academy Odobleja commemorates the name of the Romanian physician, psychologist and cybernetician Stefan Odobleja. Its Vice-President in France organized the First Seminar on Human Autonomy and Interdependence which was held in June 1988. This paper reviews some of the contributions to the Seminar. It also describes individual and social modes of human behaviour in terms of cybernetics and systems analysis, with a focus on group conflict. Some extracts from a provisional glossary of social cybernetics are appended.
Doc 279 : Control Devolution as Information Infrastructure Design Strategy: A Case Study of a Content Service Platform for Mobile Phones in Norway
This paper depicts the results of an empirical case study on how two Norwegian telecommunications operators developed a business sector information infrastructure for the provision of mobile content services. Focusing on the context of this technology’s development, and the strategic issues behind its design, implementation and operation, control devolution as a design strategy is explored. This analysis draws on insights presented by Claudio Ciborra’s in his study of the change from alignment to loose coupling in the Swiss multinational Hoffmann-La Roche. This paper illustrates how control is played out on different levels, and balanced against autonomy. The theoretical implications of this paper highlight how the differences and transformations between information systems and information infrastructures are conceptualised, with the development of the latter better understood in light of a balance between control and autonomy. Consequently, it is suggested that control devolution as a design approach should be based on a deep understanding of the existing control/autonomy balance as well as the distribution of resources, risks and the ability and willingness to innovate.
Doc 280 : Promoting Independent Learning Through Language Learning and the Use of IT.
Students from the People’s Republic of China enrolled in an ‘English for academic purposes’ (EAP) programme at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore is strongly encouraged to take an active role and be independent to some extent in its learning. For this purpose a self‐access centre (SAC) was set up where students themselves decide on the kinds of learning activities they wish to participate in at the centre. This weekly 1 hour session is built into the curriculum so that all students, regardless of their English proficiency, have the opportunity to develop autonomy in their learning. Unlike traditional self‐access centres, where worksheets usually form the core resource, the SAC at NIE taps resources from the Internet. Students can access these resources even when they are off campus. In addition, other resources, such as CDs, VCDs and reading materials, are available at the centre for students to use in order to improve their English. The first section of this paper provides some backgrou…
Doc 281 : Questioning autonomy: an alternative perspective on the principles which govern archival description
This article employs lenses of the history of systems thinking and elements of cybernetic thought to develop an alternative perspective on the principles (respect des fonds, provenance and original order) which govern the practice of archival description. It seeks to focus attention on the idea of autonomy and the questioning of this idea that rests within the practice and to demonstrate how this questioning ultimately resolves into a concern with epistemology and with the question of how we can describe the world around us without any point of reference external to ourselves. This article will also suggest an alternative perspective on the principles which govern archival description, namely that they should be seen as an injunction to account for the point of view in points of view. Moreover, that such principles should be seen as governing archival description, not in the sense of directing archivists how to describe archives, but rather in the sense of being an archival expression of the check that governs, the epistemological question inherent in, all our descriptions.
Doc 282 : Research the Systems Architecture and Technology of Wisdom Community Based on the Internet of Things
The wisdom community is the basic unit of the smart city, is a set of urban management, public services, social services, residents’ autonomy and mutual aid services in one of the new technology applications. This article analyzes the current situation and existing problems of the wisdom community, then described the Internet of Things architecture, equipment features, community cloud computing platform and structure, the last detailed analysis of the wisdom community features and community network video intercom, home security, appliance control, non-contact card access control, card consumption management, community security, community e-service technology and other technical content and features.
Doc 283 : Survey-Based Discussions on Morally Contentious Applications of Interactive Robotics
Introduction: As applications of robotics extend to areas that directly impact human life, such as the military and eldercare, the deployment of autonomous and semi-autonomous robots increasingly requires the input of stakeholder opinions. Up to now, technological deployment has been relying on the guidance of government/military policy and the healthcare system without specific incorporation of professional and lay opinion. Methods: This paper presents results from a roboethics study that uses the unique N-Reasons scenario-based survey instrument. The instrument collected Yes, No, Neutral responses from more than 250 expert and lay responders via the Internet along with their ethics-content reasons for the answers, allowing the respondents to agree to previously-provided reasons or to write their own. Data from three questions relating to military and eldercare robots are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Results: The survey reveals that respondents weigh the appropriateness of robotics technology deployment in concert with the level of autonomy conferred upon it. The accepted level of robot autonomy does not appear to be solely dependent on the perceived efficiency and effectiveness of the technology, but is subject to the robot’s relationship with the public’s principle-based reasons and the application field in focus. Conclusion: The N-Reasons instrument was effective in eliciting ethical commentary in a simple, on-line survey format and provides insights into the interactions between the issues that respondents consider across application and technology boundaries.
Doc 284 : Intra-group autonomy and authentic materials: a different approach to ELT in Japanese colleges and universities
Abstract Globalization and the information-technology revolution demand that Japanese citizens develop a working knowledge of English to participate in the global communication process. This requires a radical departure from traditional language teaching practices. Japanese students need to develop learner autonomy and the skills to use authentic language texts in a cooperative learning context so that they can develop the intellectual and social skills to use English as an authentic global language among Japanese language speakers. Students at a women’s college in western Japan used an Australian junior high school social science text and personal and internet resources to put these principles into practice. Small permanent groups of students chose their own areas of study in designated topic areas, engaged in collaborative research, and presented their group findings in posters supported by oral and written reports. Diaries provided students with an effective means of reporting their understanding of the learning strategies employed to the teacher. The group discussions of the collected strategies helped students expand their working knowledge of English.
Doc 285 : ‘Autonomy Online’: Indymedia and Practices of Alter-Globalisation:
The paper examines Australian Indymedia collectives as a means to improve understanding of the practices of alter-globalisation movements. Two key issues are explored. The first concerns the politics of the alter-globalisation movements—what they demand and how they practise their aims. The second concerns the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to provide a space within which to build a radical politics. Several dilemmas facing Indymedia and alter-globalisation movements emerge from this analysis. First, there remain many limitations of using ICTs as a space for the constitution of a radical politics. Second, Indymedia collectives have had success in aligning their aims to their practices; however, informal hierarchies did form around editorial decisions and technical skills. Third, there is continued potential for these movements to appear exclusive. In this respect, simply being ‘open’ is not enough to widen these spaces of resistance. Fourth, there is the continued importanc…
Doc 286 : Local Autonomy and Training of public Librarians
A public librarian is an occupation, which requires long-term. continuous training and difficult study to acquire and cultivate professional knowledge and skills. It is a necessity to achieve new knowledge, information and skills via appropriate retraining. A training system is the method which gives chances of retraining to public librarians. After examining some of the problems with the existing training system, it is apparent that the direction of training system needs to be decentralized. That is each local branch should be autonomous in terms of new training for librarians. For the method of training system, each autonomous unit would integrate the different theories to apply to the community-at-large and invite practical specialists from the local community to lecture. The training classes would be elective in that the each librarian could choose the classes he/she wants to take and give them credits for that, but the certificate for the class would also go towards completion for the required technical training. Finally, the utilization of cyber-education should be introduced, and the library association`s role strengthened, to help public librarians cultivate their specialties.
Doc 287 : Sobre redes de interação subjetiva: a comunicação como vetor da cibercultura
Would “technology” be an autonomous force capable of propelling the advances of modern societies as Kevin Kelly (2012) states? Opposing to this idea, we believe that such autonomy lies not in technology, but in communication as a human creation, mediated by technology. It about analyzed communication, not as a systemic view, but from the point of view of complexity as Morin (2007) and Bar-Yam (2004) defined. This is another understanding of cyberculture that makes us realize the existence of a subjective interaction network, whose main characteristic is the constant negotiation between personal expression and collective conceptions, transiting on the web and generating vectors of change and transformation in the information society. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how communication generates vectors of change from large unpredictable information flows, like the subjective interaction networks. Keywords : communication, interaction networks, cyberculture.
Doc 288 : Pathways to Satisfaction with Work-Life Balance: The Case of Russian-Language Internet Freelancers
In this paper we examine satisfaction with work-life balance among non-standard workers. Using unique data from 6,009 Russian-language internet freelancers, who are typically both autonomous contractors and teleworkers, we make two key contributions. We found evidence to support the demand-resource model among self-employed professionals who typically have autonomy and control over their time, although these processes differ somewhat by gender. We also argue that overall life satisfaction is a significant influence on satisfaction with work-life balance and also acts as a mediator for the influence of some demands and resources on both male and female freelancers’ satisfaction with work-life balance. Implications for future research and social policy are discussed.
Doc 289 : Cying for Me, Cying for Us: Relational Dialectics in a Korean Social Network Site
This study employs a relational dialectics approach to gain insights into the nature of relational communication via Cyworld, a Korean social network site. Qualitative analysis of in-depth interview data from 49 users suggests that Cyworld users routinely negotiate multiple dialectical tensions that are created within the online world, transferred from face-to-face contexts, or imposed by interpersonal principles that relate to Korea’s collectivistic culture. The interviewees experienced a new relational dialectic of interpersonal relations versus self-relation, analogous to Baxter and Montgomery’s 1996 connection-autonomy contradiction. Their responses suggest that Cyworld’s design features and functions encourage users to transcend the high-context communication of Korean culture by offering an alternative channel for elaborate and emotional communication, which fosters the reframing of relational issues offline. Cy-Ilchons online buddies virtually extend the Korean cultural concept of blood ties, called yons, in ways that intensify the openness-closedness contradiction at early stages of relationship formation.
Doc 290 : Executives and smartphones: an ambiguous relationship
Purpose – This paper aims to investigate whether the technological paradoxes identified and prevalent in a series of technologies are also identified in the relationship between executives and smartphones, as well as which of these paradoxes is most strongly detected in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach – It was adopted the simple case study method, in which the individual is the unit of analysis. Therefore, a medium-sized company that operates in the Brazilian pharmaceutical market was chosen since the majority of its senior executives use the smartphone as a tool in their day-to-day work. Findings – Two paradoxes generated strong ambiguity regarding the use of smartphones by the executives, namely continuity vs asynchronicity and autonomy vs addiction. Furthermore, three other paradoxes were moderately associated with the use of smartphones by the executives, namely freedom vs enslavement, dependence vs independence, and planning vs improvisation. Research limitations/implications – By usin…
Doc 291 : The future of the city of intellect : the changing American university
Based on new data and new analytical frameworks, this book assesses forces of change at play in development of American universities and their prospects for future. The book begins with a lengthy introduction by Clark Kerr that not only provides an overview of change since time he coined phrase the city of intellect but also discusses major changes that will affect American universities over next thirty years. Part One examines demographic and economic changes, such as rise of nearly universal higher education, private gift and corporate sponsorship of research, new labor market opportunities, and increasing inequality among institutions and disciplines. Part Two assesses profound influence of Internet and other technologies on teaching and learning. Part Three describes how various forces of change affect nature of academic research and organization of disciplines and curriculum. Part Four analyzes consequences of change for university governance and means by which universities in future can maintain high levels of achievement while maintaining high levels of autonomy. The contributors include many of today’s leading scholars of higher education. They are Andrew Abbott, Steven Brint, Richard Chait, Burton R. Clark, Randall Collins, David J. Collis, Roger L. Geiger, Patricia J. Gumport, Clark Kerr, Richard A. Lanham, Jason Owen-Smith, Walter W. Powell, Sheila Slaughter, and Carol Tomlinson-Keasey.
Doc 292 : The Association Between Psychological Well-Being and Problematic Use of Internet Communicative Services Among Young People
Previous studies on problematic Internet use have focused almost exclusively on the fact that presence of negative functioning, such as social anxiety, depressive symptoms, or loneliness, represents a risk factor for unhealthy use of the web. For this reason the aim of the present study was to investigate the association between psychological well-being dimensions and problematic use of Internet communicative services. In the current study 495 undergraduate students were recruited. The Italian adaptations of the Psychological Well-being Scales and the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 (GPIUS2) were used to assess psychological well-being dimensions and generalized problematic Internet use, respectively. Psychological well-being dimensions explained a significant portion of variance for the GPIUS2 total score levels, after controlling for sex, age, and occupational status. The levels of Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, and Positive Relations with Others acted as significant negative predictors of the tendency to use the web for regulating negative feelings, compulsive use of the web, and the negative outcomes that can arise as a result. The overall findings of the present study provide preliminary evidence that low psychological well-being is associated with problematic use of Internet communicative services.
Doc 293 : Understanding the Wired Workplace: The Effects of Job Characteristics on Employees’ Personal Online Communication at Work
As organizations increasingly embrace Internet technologies in daily work activities, an unintended consequence is the growing personal Internet use by employees. This study examines the association between job characteristics and a particular form of personal Internet use at work, personal online communication (POC). The study analyzes data of the 2008 Networked Workers Survey sponsored by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The results demonstrate that job characteristics explain a large, significant portion of the variance of POC at work. The findings suggest that for jobs with high knowledge intensity, managing POC could be approached from a work–life balance perspective. The study also suggests that changes in work structure, job variety, and autonomy could have significant implications for managing POC activities in the wired workplace.
Doc 294 : Physical and psychosocial aspects of the learning environment in information technology rich classrooms
This paper reports on a study of environments in emerging Internet classrooms. At issue for this study is to what extent these ‘technological classrooms’ are providing a positive learning environment for students. To investigate this issue, this study involved an evaluation of the physical and psychosocial environments in computerized school settings through a combination of questionnaires and inventories that were later cross-referenced to case studies on a subset of these classrooms. Data were obtained from a series of physical evaluations of 43 settings in 24 school locations in British Columbia, Canada and Western Australia. Evaluations consisted of detailed inventories of the physical environment using the Computerised Classroom Environment Inventory (CCEI): an instrument developed specifically for this study. Data on psychosocial aspects of the environment were obtained with the What is Happening in this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire administered to 1404 high school students making routine use of these computerized classrooms. Potential deficiencies in the physical environment of these locations included problems with individual workspaces, lighting and air quality, whereas deficiencies in the psychosocial environment were confined to the dimension of Autonomy. Further analysis of these classroom environment data indicated that student Autonomy and Task orientation were independently associated with students’ Satisfaction with learning and that many physical (e.g. lighting and workspace dimensions) and psychosocial factors (e.g. students’ perceptions of Co-operation and Collaboration) were also associated. The results provide a descriptive account of the learning environment in ‘technology-rich’ classrooms and, further, indicate that ergonomic guidelines used in the implementation of IT in classrooms may have a positive influence on the learning environment.
Doc 295 : Smartphones in the workplace: Changing organizational behavior, transforming the future
In the past decade, Smartphones have been developed and increasingly integrated with people’s lives not only for social use, but for professional use as well. Many researchers claim that Smartphones can have negative consequences in the workplace such as lowering productivity, separating people from their realities, bringing stress from personal issues to work, and creating bad manners. Companies, however, have a difficult time mandating a policy in regards to prohibiting the use of Smartphones. Therefore, CEOs and corporate leaders should encourage their employees to use their Smartphones as tools for increasing their company’s efficiency. This research aims to examine the results of the use of Smartphones in the workplace as integrated internal connection tools. Using Smartphones in the workplace can be valuable in three ways: promoting autonomy, strengthening relationships with peers as well as superiors, and improving knowledge-sharing. Moreover, these three main factors can increase employee job satisfaction, which leads to better efficiency in the workplace. Organizations will be better able to successfully adapt with changes that are occurring every day by integrating the use of Smartphones in the workplace.
Doc 296 : Designing Data Protection Safeguards Ethically
Abstract: Since the mid 1990s, lawmakers and scholars have worked on the idea of embedding data protection safeguards in information and communication technology (ICT) with the aim to access and control personal data in compliance with current regulatory frameworks. This effort has been strengthened by the capacities of computers to draw upon the tools of artificial intelligence (AI) and operations research. However, work on AI and the law entails crucial ethical issues concerning both values and modalities of design. On one hand, design choices might result in conflicts of values and, vice versa , values may affect design features. On the other hand, the modalities of design cannot only limit the impact of harm-generating behavior but also prevent such behavior from occurring via self-enforcement technologies. In order to address some of the most relevant issues of data protection today, the paper suggests we adopt a stricter, yet more effective version of “privacy by design.” The goal should be to reinforce people‟s pre-existing autonomy, rather than having to build it from scratch.
Doc 297 : Do Networked Workers Have More Control? The Implications of Teamwork, Telework, ICTs, and Social Capital for Job Decision Latitude
The shift toward “networked work” in the United States—spurred on by globalization, technological changes, and the reorganization of work activities—has important consequences for job quality that require further investigation. Using nationally representative data from the 2008 Networked Worker Survey, we examine how teamwork, telework, and information and communication technology use are associated with, and positively and significantly predict, job decision latitude (autonomy and skill development). The results imply that networked work helps enhance job decision latitude partly through greater network connectivity (social capital). Furthermore, the contribution of information and communication technology use to job decision latitude is contingent on its perceived benefits and on the organization of work into teams. These findings therefore help deepen our understanding of how the changing character of work affects worker control in contemporary workplaces.
Doc 298 : Ethics and computer-mediated communication: implications for practice and policy.
Computer-mediated communication, or email, has become a common workplace practice. Interviews with Army nurse managers (n = 9) and their staff nurses (n = 13) revealed that nurses incorporate the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice into their computer-mediated communication use, but to varying degrees. Without clearly defined policies to guide computer-mediated communication practices, informal norms evolve that have an impact on both individual and corporate communication. The authors provide insight into the ethical considerations that have an impact on computer-mediated communication use. The spectrum of participant interpretation of appropriate use of this type of communication suggests the need for policies to establish clear boundaries for workplace usage. Policy recommendations are included.
Doc 299 : Distributed Collaborative Learning in a Telematic Context: Telematic Learning Support and its Potential for Collaborative Learning with New Paradigms and Conceptual Mapping Tools
CSCL (Computer Supported Co‐operative Learning), better called TSCL, Telematic (and IT) Supported Co‐operative Learning, seems to be driven by both social dynamics (like the tendency to reduce the formal training component in industrial settings, and have it replaced by training on the job, handling EPSS, etc) and technological facilities like Internet‐based communication tools. This paper reports a recent research plan that anticipates the situation where individual learners, all having their individual learning agendas, look for partners in their learning process. TSCL, then, can assist those learners to announce them to the learning community, and also find appropriate partners to co‐operate with. As far as educational institutes are concerned, we expect them to increase the level of autonomy for the learner. Teaching in this case becomes ‘facilitating the information access to the learner’ and ‘facilitating the communication between actors in the learning process’.
Doc 300 : Autonomy of participation and ICT literacy in a self-directed learning environment (SDLE)
As web technologies gradually become versatile and more powerful, more flexible paths and opportunities are revealed for self-directed learning and online assessment. It is hoped officials and advocates recognize IT related certification programs (NSSB Recognizes First IT Certification Program 2002). The Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC3®) certification program is designed for individuals to develop digital literacy skills, including fundamental computer and Internet use. The particular interest of the study is to explore the relative contributions of the Certification Recognition Program (CRP) and associated autonomy of participation and achieved literacy for internet computing & technology (ICT), as well as the interactive influences of the degree programs and grade levels. Five hundred and ninety six male undergraduates majoring in IT were invited to participate in the Certification Recognition Program for a calendar year. The certification recognition program covers a set of three standardized tests based on the IC3® by CertiportTM. The study found ICT literacy is predicated by the students’ autonomy of participation (AP) in the Certification Recognition Program (CRP), and SP was related to the grade level (GL) and the enrolled degree program (DP), indirectly affecting ICT literacy as a result of the transiting effect of AP.