bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Estimation of the near surface soil water content during evaporation using air‐launched ground‐penetrating radar
Authors: Moghadas Davood , Jadoon Khan Zaib , Vanderborght Jan , Lambot Sébastien , Vereecken Harry
Published: August 2014

Evaporation is an important process in the global water cycle and its variation affects the near surface soil water content, which is crucial for surface hydrology and climate modelling. Soil evaporation rate is often characterized by two distinct phases, namely, the energy limited phase (stage‐I) and the soil hydraulic limited period (stage‐II). In this paper, a laboratory experiment was conducted using a sand box filled with fine sand, which was subject to evaporation for a period of twenty three days. The setup was equipped with a weighting system to record automatically the weight of the sand box with a constant time‐step. Furthermore, time‐lapse air‐launched ground penetrating radar (GPR) measurements were performed to monitor the evaporation process. The GPR model involves a full‐waveform frequency‐domain solution of Maxwell’s equations for wave propagation in three‐dimensional multilayered media. The accuracy of the full‐waveform GPR forward modelling with respect to three different petrophysical models was investigated. Moreover, full‐waveform inversion of the GPR data was used to estimate the quantitative information, such as near surface soil water content. The two stages of evaporation can be clearly observed in the radargram, which indicates qualitatively that enough information is contained in the GPR data. The full‐waveform GPR inversion allows for accurate estimation of the near surface soil water content during extended evaporation phases, when a wide frequency range of GPR (0.8–5.0 GHz) is taken into account. In addition, the results indicate that the CRIM model may constitute a relevant alternative in solving the frequency‐dependency issue for full waveform GPR modelling.
Parameter estimation from non‐hyperbolic reflection traveltimes for large aperture common midpoint gathers
Authors: Perroud Hervé , Krummenauer Rafael , Tygel Martin , Lopes Renato R.
Published: August 2014

As far as superficial seismic reflection events are concerned, the classical normal moveout (NMO) process, which leads to the construction of seismic zero‐offset (or stacked) sections, encounters several difficulties due to the large data aperture. One of these difficulties is that the hyperbolic approximation of the reflection traveltime in common midpoint (CMP) gathers is no longer valid when offset largely exceeds the target depth. Recently, Fomel and Kazinnik proposed a novel, multi‐parameter, non‐hyperbolic formula for the traveltime of such reflection events. This formula, which will be referred to here as the FK traveltime after the authors, is exact for reflectors whose shape can be described by a hyperbola, and shows promising accuracy for long offsets and/or curved reflectors. It also depends on the same set of parameters as the common reflection surface (CRS) traveltime. In this paper, we propose strategies for estimating these CRS parameters based on the FK traveltime using large aperture data. However, in contrast to traditional CRS processing, and due to their widespread use, only common midpoint (CMP) gathers will be considered for the parameter searches. We will begin with a sensitivity analysis, showing the impact of each parameter on the traveltime. Based on this analysis, we will propose a two‐step estimation strategy, that could lead to improved seismic images, especially for very shallow, high aperture events. We will then highlight, through synthetic examples and discussions, the strengths and limitations of this strategy.
Travel time inversion from ground level to gallery: protocol for the characterization of P‐wave seismic signature in a fractured‐porous Urgonian platform at hectometric scale
Authors: Maufroy Emeline , Gaffet Stéphane , Operto Stéphane , Guglielmi Yves , Boyer Daniel
Published: August 2014

A tomographic ‐wave velocity model is inferred from a ground level‐to‐gallery vertical 500 m × 800 m seismic experiment conducted at the inter‐Disciplinary Underground Science and Technology Laboratory (LSBB, France). No initial knowledge of the velocity structure of the surrounding fractured‐porous carbonates was previously available. Ninety‐four shots at the surface were recorded by a line of 189 seismometers on the steep slope of the topographic surface and by a line of 150 geophones in an 800 m‐long, 250‐500 m‐depth gallery. The ‐wave velocities inferred from first‐arrival travel time inversion display a relatively large set of values ranging from 4000 to 6000 m/s. Such variations correlate well with the 5 to 20% porosity variations between the main geological units that consist of two sedimentary facies affected by a complex cemented fault zone.

Taking advantage of the known geology of the site, this study explores the influence of the acquisition geometry impacted by the topography and of the near‐surface weathered zone onto the shallow tomography resolution ability. Considering the mesoscopic scale of the targeted medium, reliable imaging of hectometric geological bodies with 10% contrasts in porosities can be achieved only with the simultaneous association of (i) a high density of sources and receivers in the monitoring array geometry, and (ii) the equal consideration of surface‐to‐gallery and surface‐to‐surface first‐arrival travel times, as an essential constraint to correctly image the underlying structures.
The Medical Semantic Web
Authors: Eljinini Mohammad Ali H.
Published: August 2014

In this paper, the need for the right information for patients with chronic diseases is elaborated, followed by some scenarios of how the semantic web can be utilised to retrieve useful and precise information by stakeholders. In previous work, the author has demonstrated the automation of knowledge acquisition from the current web is becoming an important step towards this goal. The aim was twofold; first to learn what types of information exist in chronic disease-related websites, and secondly how to extract and structure such information into machine understandable form. It has been shown that these websites exhibit many common concepts which resulted in the construction of the ontology to guide in extracting information for new unseen websites. Also, the study has resulted in the development of a platform for information extraction that utilises the ontology. Continuous work has opened many issues which are disussed in this paper. While further work is still needed, the experiments to date have shown encouraging results.
WSMO and WSMX Support to the Semantic Web Services Technology
Authors: Abed Mariam Abed Mostafa
Published: August 2014

This paper tests the ability of the Web Service Modeling Ontology (WSMO) and the Web Service Modeling eXecution environment (WSMX) to support the Semantic Web Services technology, and automate the process of web service discovery, selection and invocation. First, it introduced web services and their limitations that were overcome in the vision of the Semantic Web Services technology. Then a Semantic Web Service (SWS) was built on top of WSMO to access the publications of the German University in Cairo (GUC), and was registered to WSMX. To test the validity to the claim, a service request to access the publications of the GUC was sent to WSMX and the process followed by WSMX was investigated. Furthermore, the discussion added a suggestion that would enhance the transparency between the Semantic Web and WSMO-WSMX initiatives.
A Novel Architecture for Deep Web Crawler
Authors: Sharma Dilip Kumar , Sharma A. K.
Published: August 2014

A traditional crawler picks up a URL, retrieves the corresponding page and extracts various links, adding them to the queue. A deep Web crawler, after adding links to the queue, checks for forms. If forms are present, it processes them and retrieves the required information. Various techniques have been proposed for crawling deep Web information, but much remains undiscovered. In this paper, the authors analyze and compare important deep Web information crawling techniques to find their relative limitations and advantages. To minimize limitations of existing deep Web crawlers, a novel architecture is proposed based on QIIIEP specifications (Sharma & Sharma, 2009). The proposed architecture is cost effective and has features of privatized search and general search for deep Web data hidden behind html forms.
Towards a Flexible and Adaptable Modeling of Business Processes
Authors: Bekki Khadhir , Belachir Hafida
Published: August 2014

This article proposes a flexible way in business process modeling and managing. Today, business process needs to be more flexible and adaptable. The regulations and policies in organizations, as origins of change, are often expressed in terms of business rules. The ECA (Event-condition-action) rule is a popular way to incorporate flexibility into a process design. To raise the flexibility in the business processes, the authors consider governing any business activity through ECA rules based on business rules. For adaptability, the separation of concerns supports adaptation in several ways. To cope with flexibility and adaptability, the authors propose a new multi concern rule based model. For each concern, each business rule is formalized using their CECAPENETE formalism (Concern -Event-Condition-Action-Post condition- check Execution- Number of check -Else-Trigger-else Event). Then, the rules based process is translated into a graph of rules that is analyzed in terms of relations between concerns, reliably and flexibility.
Productivity Evaluation of Self-Adaptive Software Model Driven Architecture
Authors: Magableh Basel , Barrett Stephen
Published: August 2014

Anticipating context changes using a model-based approach requires a formal procedure for analysing and modelling context-dependent functionality and stable description of the architecture which supports dynamic decision-making and architecture evolution. This article demonstrates the capabilities of the context-oriented component-based application model-driven architecture (COCA-MDA) to support the development of self-adaptive applications; the authors describe a state-of-the-art case study and evaluate the development effort involved in adopting the COCA-MDA in constructing the application. An intensive analysis of the application requirements simplified the process of modelling the application’s behavioural model; therefore, instead of modelling several variation models, the developers modelled an extra-functionality model. COCA-MDA reduces the development effort because it maintains a clear separation of concerns and employs a decomposition mechanism to produce a context-oriented component model which decouples the applications’ core functionality from the context-dependent functionality. Estimating the MDA approach’s productivity can help the software developers select the best MDA-based methodology from the available solutions. Thus, counting the source line of code is not adequate for evaluating the development effort of the MDA-based methodology. Quantifying the maintenance adjustment factor of the new, adapted, and reused code is a better estimate of the development effort of the MDA approaches.
Improved Algorithm for Error Correction
Authors: Toghuj Wael , Alkhatib Ghazi I.
Published: August 2014

Digital communication systems are an important part of modern society, and they rely on computers and networks to achieve critical tasks. Critical tasks require systems with a high level of reliability that can provide continuous correct operations. This paper presents a new algorithm for data encoding and decoding using a two-dimensional code that can be implemented in digital communication systems, electronic memories (DRAMs and SRAMs), and web engineering. The developed algorithms correct three errors in codeword and detect four, reaching an acceptable performance level. The program that is based on these algorithms enables the modeling of error detection and correction processes, optimizes the redundancy of the code, monitors the decoding procedures, and defines the speed of execution. The performance of the derived code improves error detection and correction over the classical code and with less complexity. Several extensible applications of the algorithms are also given.
Relay Selection in Distributed Transmission Based on the Golden Code Using ML and Sphere Decoding in Wireless Networks
Authors: Ge Lu , Chen Gaojie J. , Chambers Jonathon. A.
Published: August 2014

The implementation of cooperative diversity with relays has advantages over point-to-point multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, in particular, overcoming correlated paths due to small inter-element spacing. A simple transmitter with one antenna may exploit cooperative diversity or space time coding gain through distributed relays. In this paper, similar distributed transmission is considered with the golden code, and the authors propose a new strategy for relay selection, called the maximum-mean selection policy, for distributed transmission with the full maximum likelihood (ML) decoding and sphere decoding (SD) based on a wireless relay network. This strategy performs a channel strength tradeoff at every relay node to select the best two relays for transmission. It improves on the established one-sided selection strategy of maximum-minimum policy. Simulation results comparing the bit error rate (BER) based on different detectors and a scheme without relay selection, with the maximum-minimum and maximum-mean selection schemes confirm the performance advantage of relay selection. The proposed strategy yields the best performance of the three methods.
Massive Open Online Courses
Authors: Jurenas Albert C.
Published: August 2014

With the creation of online courses, colleges and universities created flexibility for students virtually impossible a few years earlier. No longer would a sizeable percentage of students be prevented from taking courses at their institution because of a conflict with a varying and sometimes arbitrary schedule of classes taught at a specific time in a specific place. Now students could avail themselves of learning opportunities at a time and place of their own choosing. Despite this increased freedom, students were still bound by entrance requirements, prerequisites, and institutional affiliations. With the creation of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in the first decade of the 21st century, many, if not most, of these restrictions disappeared. Now post-secondary coursework is available free to virtually anyone who wants to enroll, with age, finances status, institutional affiliation, experience, and geography ceasing to be barriers. This chapter reviews the history of distance education, discusses the emergence and characteristics of MOOCs, and identifies some of the more pressing challenges such courses pose to students, faculties, and institutions themselves.
Creating Collaboration in Global Online Learning
Authors: Cranton Patricia , Thompson Patricia
Published: August 2014

In this chapter, the authors address the question of how educators can creative collaborative learning in online courses, especially in those courses that occur in a global context. They use constructivism as a theoretical framework, and they review the literature related to collaborative learning, learner-centered teaching, groups in online learning, cultural competence in online teaching, and research on online learning. The authors present two case studies, one in which collaborative learning occurred, and one in which the collaborative component was less developed, even though the content of the courses were the same and the same educator facilitated the courses. The authors conclude the chapter by suggesting areas of further research on collaboration in online learning.
Incorporating a New Technology for Patient Education
Authors: Wanner Eric T. , Bird Jennifer Lynne
Published: August 2014

This chapter explains the design of a survey that provides a new technology for physical therapy clinicians to use while treating patients. The new survey uses both numerical subjective and written subjective questions; the questions dovetail knowledge from the fields of writing and medicine to provide a resource for patient education. Encouraging a patient to write how he or she feels throughout the physical therapy process can increase the clinician's awareness, allowing for the modification of treatment when needed to achieve elite results for the patient. Reading a patient's writing also helps the clinician become more aware of whether the patient has a positive or negative outlook throughout the recovery process. The patient's development and maintenance of a positive outlook becomes a goal of the clinician. From this survey, the authors learned patients with a higher positive outlook throughout treatment sessions demonstrated greater healing gains in existing objective physical therapy measures.
Innovative Technologies in Library Science
Authors: Farmer Lesley
Published: August 2014

Libraries provide physical and intellectual access to high quality information in its myriad formats. To fulfill their responsibilities, librarians have incorporated technology into most aspects of their practice. Librarians work with their communities to provide relevant resources and services. These resources are increasingly digital in format, and libraries incorporate technology to insure physical and intellectual access to them. Technology has transformed library spaces, both physical and virtual. Librarians also use technology to provide value-added content and services. The Library of Congress and OCLC exemplifies instititutions that leverage technology to provide optimum programs. This is explored in this chapter.
K. Patricia Cross's Chain-of-Response (COR) Model for Widening Participation at Higher Levels of Lifelong Learning in a World of Massification
Authors: Bamdas Jo Ann M.
Published: August 2014

Adult and community education theorists and practitioners in the 20th century focused on reasons people sought degrees beyond high school. As time went on, a greater need became apparent for a more educated populace. This need then drove the focus from only undergraduate education to higher education and expanded into graduate education. Participation quickly became a major topic for these leaders. Over 30 years ago, K. Patricia Cross (1981) created the Chain-of-Response (COR) model to better understand the decision-making processes of participation in higher learning institutions. These 20th century studies were largely from a deficit-model perspective rather than the positive perspective that has emerged in early 21st century research. A historical analysis of the COR research points to future and emerging trends showing COR value beyond U.S. borders for deeper understanding of widening participation, massification, and diversity in higher education. This is explored in this chapter.
Can Technologies Advance the Integration of Restorative Pedagogy into Teacher Education Curricula?
Authors: Brown Martha A.
Published: August 2014

Educators across the globe familiar with the principles and practices of restorative justice have been changing the relational ecology in their schools by embracing restorative pedagogy and praxis that address power and status imbalances caused by authoritarianism and punitive discipline policies. This chapter introduces teacher educators and teachers to the philosophy and practices of restorative justice as implemented in school settings and projects an image of how teaching and learning technologies might facilitate the incorporation of restorative justice modules into a variety of teacher education course curricula. The chapter conceptualizes how technologies can provide a continuous source for professional growth and community-building in teacher education for teachers willing to explore and adopt restorative approaches and relational pedagogy.
Design and Evaluation of Mobile Learning from the Perspective of Cognitive Load Management
Authors: Huang Wenhao David , Andrade Jeanette
Published: August 2014

Considering the ubiquitous presence of mobile devices around the globe, designing mobile interfaces into learning systems has quickly become a norm to better disseminate information to the intended audience. Existing design frameworks, however, have not fully addressed the unique features of mobile learning environments grounded in proven pedagogical frameworks. As these mobile environments enable learners to shift their cognitive engagement between virtual and physical settings, this transition from one setting to another presented new challenges to cognitive learning processes due to excessive distractions learners may encounter. With these new challenges in mind, this chapter first reviews design and learning theories grounded in cognitive load management and social learning. Then the chapter proposes a preliminary mobile learning design framework to augment existing design thinking and practice.
Literacy and Technology
Authors: Farmer Lesley
Published: August 2014

Contemporary literacy education needs to acknowledge technology's nearly ubiquitous presence and leverage that status by incorporating technology into practice. For such integration to be successful, teachers need to carefully select appropriate resources, work with them until they are comfortable with them, and take time to design instruction that includes technology skills instruction as well as content instruction. The school community as a whole should systematically incorporate technology into literacy instruction by allocating resources to acquire appropriate technology, provide the infrastructure to support technology, and train educators in its use. Many tools can be used to support literacy education, including ways to address the literacy needs of specific learner populations. Literacy constitutes a pillar of education. The ability to read and write, to use language effectively, is required in today's society. Literacy is not an intuitive skill; it requires conscious and deliberate learning and practice. The explosion of technology calls for increased literacy skills, and technology can also be used to teach those literacy skills. Factors to consider in incorporating technology into literacy education are explored in this chapter.
Empirical Study Using Alternative Early Warning Systems to Address Fire in the Homes of Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Individuals
Authors: Bryan Valerie C. , Penney Gerri , Andrews Lisa , Russo Marianne Robin
Published: August 2014

Home fires do not only destroy property, but they also place human life at significant risk. Fires at night, during sleeping hours, can pose even more of a risk for a residential dweller due to the sheer fact that the resident is not in a fully awake and conscious state. In terms of the profoundly deaf community, these individuals may be more at risk, since hearing is not optimal, and traditional emergency devices may not prove worthy (Ashley, 2007). This chapter measures and quantifies two commercially available emergency alerting devices, available to the profoundly deaf community in three modalities: (1) sounds – a 520 HZ square wave and voice annunciation; (2) light – a 177 high intensity candela strobe; and (3) movement – an intermittent bed shaker. Providing a salient alert system increases the likelihood of an individual who is profoundly deaf to awaken regardless of the level of sleep, including REM sleep. What was measured were: (1) whether the subject awakens during REM sleep with each modality of the alerting devices aforementioned and (2) the quickness of the reaction time of the awakening process to determine the most successful of the three modalities tested.
Digital Recording Platforms and Integrated Performance Assessments in Second/Foreign Language Learning
Authors: Swanson Pete
Published: August 2014

The teaching and learning of a new language can be daunting for both instructors and learners. Second/foreign language teachers must overcome a multitude of impediments in which to bring students to higher levels of language learning. Research using digital voice recording software indicates that by integrating such technology into the curriculum, there are multiple benefits for both instructors and students. In this chapter, the author discusses the challenges language teachers face and then outlines six free digital voice recorder options that are available to teachers. Afterward, the author advances a series of curricular and procedural considerations for the integration of digital voice recordings in the language-learning classroom before discussing findings from studies focused on the use of digital recordings for educational purposes. The chapter concludes with a discussion of best practices using digital voice recordings for integrated performance assessments and a discussion of new avenues for future research.
Leadership in the Third Wave
Authors: Wang Victor X. , Dennett Susan K.
Published: August 2014

This chapter reviews a variety of studies that explore leadership styles and how these styles may apply to different and new types of situations in a constantly changing environment. Historical research is explored to examine whether leadership styles as we know still apply today and in the future. What types of styles will leaders in this new information age be required to utilize in order to lead effectively? This is only a beginning for leaders. For the global economy age, will one leadership style fit all? In today's world, leaders will no doubt need to comprehend how to lead effectively within a culturally diverse population. Armed with this knowledge, leaders leading in multicultural organizations can have an open mind-set and understand and at times even embrace cultural differences rather than not understanding and to ignoring the differences.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Authors: Schenck Andrew
Published: August 2014

Past research often neglected to examine the unique factors influencing linguistic development in EFL environments. Modern research, however, is beginning to recognize and investigate these factors. The purpose of this chapter is to examine key differences in Asian EFL contexts that require pedagogical reforms. Review of these contexts has revealed three main issues: a dearth of input, an absence of authentic opportunities for practice, and the prevalence of cultural and historical traditions (e.g., Confucianism) that make adapting communicative techniques a challenge. Ways to reform input, cultivate metacognitive awareness, utilize technology, and provide social skills training have been proposed according to the unique needs within Asian EFL settings.
Developing a Cross-Disciplinary Framework for Collaborative Research in Multi- and Intercultural Education
Authors: Dillon Patrick , Hacklin Stina , Kantelinen Ritva , Kokko Sirpa , Kröger Tarja , Simola Raisa , Valtonen Teemu , Vesisenaho Mikko
Published: August 2014

This chapter sets out an approach to professional development and team building in a newly established faculty in a Finnish university. A method is given for mapping the academic and professional experiences of eight faculty members across disciplinary boundaries to arrive at a cross-disciplinary framework for collaborative research in multi- and intercultural education. Building cumulatively on faculty members' expertise, the mapping revealed three interconnected themes as a basis for collaborative research: boundary transactions between knowledge, skill, and language; boundary objects as representations and carriers of culture; and technological mediation of boundary encounters. A collectively agreed position statement is given for each of the themes along with a discussion of associated pedagogical ideas.
Authentic Education
Authors: Cua Francisco
Published: August 2014

Active learning challenges students to take ownership of their learning engagements by engaging actively in developing skills, which includes literary skills, linking the practice to theory, as well as thinking about practical and theoretical implications. Textual analysis of their learning journals revealed that students who chose “authentic education” over “instructionism” understood the technical issues of the knowledge better. They were also more creative and committed. Their learning process conveys that they are empowered in understanding the connections between the practical and theoretical dimensions and that they are open to deal with uncertainty. The findings indicate that the construction of learning by self-directed and empowered students can be formed by a community of these students. This is explored in this chapter.
Library Science and Technology in a Changing World
Authors: Farmer Lesley
Published: August 2014

As the world changes, so does information and its use. This chapter explains functions of library science as impacted by technology within the context of change. Library science provides the basis for mediation between the community and the information it needs to carry out its functions, tempered by the impact of technologies. Librarians apply library science principles as they develop and manage the community's information collection. In today's digital environment, the proliferation of information requires that librarians increasingly need to interpret, filter, and evaluate that information. Librarians apply library science-based technical processes to organize and optimize the efficient retrieval of the needed information. In addition, librarians foster information literacy in communities, largely serving as a responsive guide for all of its community members, not only for the purpose of pre-existing library comprising their catalogs and indexes, but the creation of new orders developed and made possible by the computer search capabilities. In these ways, library science is dynamic and facilitates change.
Women and STEM
Authors: Russo Marianne Robin , Brittain Kristin
Published: August 2014

While battling great odds in terms of discrimination and bias, women within the United States have made valuable contributions to the workforce. Now that the second decade of the 21st century is upon us, women have come into all facets of the workforce, finding a niche in Internet Communications Technology (ICT) as well as within Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), which should allow women more of an opportunity to pursue occupations. However, it seems that women are lagging in this part of the workforce within the constructs of science, technology, education, and mathematics also known as STEM. This glass ceiling, or gender barrier, may make matters worse in terms of reporting these kinds of women's issues because these reports are often written by men. In addition, the ideas and perceptions of masculinity and femininity have been scrutinized and analyzed in this chapter, and it is not difficult to realize the differences in gender based on biological functions.
Online Well-Being Focused Curriculums
Authors: D'Abundo Michelle Lee , Firsing III Stephen L. , Sidman Cara Lynn
Published: August 2014

Education and health are among the most salient issues facing Americans today. The field of public health has moved away from a physical health medical model to a more well-being focused quality-of-life perspective. K-20 curriculums in the United States need to reflect this ideological shift. In this chapter, content-focused curriculums with process-focused health behavior change-oriented learning are proposed as a strategy to promote well-being. Other issues that need to be addressed in the current education system are that the delivery of health-related curriculums is often inconsistent and taught by untrained personnel. Well-being-focused curriculums delivered online can provide consistency to improve the quality of health courses. This innovative approach has the potential to improve educational and health outcomes for K-20 curriculums while addressing public health issues by promoting well-being and quality-of-life for children and adults throughout the United States.
Layering Learning – Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Authors: Goldstein Donna , Bryan Valerie C.
Published: August 2014

There are several issues that we urgently need to address regarding K-20 education, including engaging students in the learning process, preparing our youth for entry into the 21st century workplace, enabling them to become fully productive citizens, and providing them with the tools they will need to succeed. Our ability to flourish as a nation depends on this. In his article, “Place-Based Knowledge in the Digital Age,” Thomas Fisher (2012) discusses the potential impact Geographic Information Systems (GIS) may have as our global society becomes more immersed in digital and spatial media. He suggests that “GIS will eventually become a major way—perhaps the dominant way—in which we will access information in the future because of the essentially spatial nature of that software” (Fisher, 2012, p. 5). While Fisher's notion of “spatializing education” may seem abstract, the reality is our ability to connect multiple layers of data based on place will afford a more informed insight into our past, present, and future by revealing relationships, trends, and patterns. Connecting data spatially shifts our way of thinking, and our way of doing business as well as education (Baker, 2012). This is explored in this chapter.
Social Media's Potential to Facilitate Dialogic Learning
Authors: Yang Jin
Published: August 2014

The chapter explores the use of social media in educational settings and assesses its potential as a learning tool in facilitating deep learning and knowledge development. Guided by Vygotsky and Bakhtin's theory of dialogic learning, the chapter argues, by discussion, that social media may facilitate deep learning and knowledge development due to social media's convenient discursive space and heightened interactivity. Specifically, social media's discursive space may provide a platform that is egalitarian and democratic to all who have access to it. The breakdown of traditional communication barriers in this discursive space can be significant in engaging students in dialogic learning. Social media's heightened interactivity embodied in social, procedural, expository, explanatory, and cognitive dimensions may shorten psychological distances, lighten class-managing load, expedite learning materials' delivery, expand the learning space without time constraint, and encourage cross-pollination of ideas and viewpoints. The chapter discusses the profound opportunity that social media may have to enhance knowledge development.
Informational Text and the Common Core
Authors: Rosenblum Debra
Published: August 2014

Currently, teachers of reading and language arts are being asked to look closely at what materials are being used in their classrooms. As of today, 45 states have become proponents of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). These standards have been created to “ensure that students are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to be globally competitive” (NGA, et al., 2008, p. 24). These standards mandate a higher percentage of what has come to be termed informational text. The first question that needs to be answered is what exactly is the definition of informational text and why is it important? The largest change noted in the shift to informational text is the percentage of text required. Informational text covers a very broad spectrum of reading material including biographies and autobiographies: “books about history, social studies, science, and the arts”; “technical texts, including directions, forms, and information displayed in graphs, charts, or maps”; and “digital sources on a range of topics” (Maloch & Bomer, 2013, p. 209). In the upper grades, the different subject areas are generally taught by a variety of teachers. These content area teachers are experts in their fields and much of their information is strictly informational in nature to begin with. The problem is that “Most teachers are not taught how to teach reading” (Gewertz, 2012, p. 1). This leads to the question of how teachers are utilizing informational texts in their classrooms. This chapter explores informational texts and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Cultures and Self-Directed Learning
Authors: Wang Victor X. , Cranton Patricia
Published: August 2014

Although self-directed learning as a theory has been popularized in Western cultures, especially North America, it is in Confucius-Heritage Societies (CHS) that it has been well implemented. Western scholars who are exploring learning modes in different cultures have become interested in how the Chinese self-practice or self-learning has contributed more to high cognitive skills or higher test scores than other factors such as teaching to tests or teacher-centered instruction as heavily emphasized by educators and parents in CHS countries. Rather than teaching our scholars/readers Chinese characters such as Zi Xi, ??, these two characters imply a Western learning mode that leads to good learning if used positively and effectively in any culture. As globalization brings different cultures together, there is a great deal that we can learn from other cultures. We should guard against “ethnocentrism” if we are to promote good learning in our schools. This is explored in this chapter.
Usage and Diffusion of Biotechnology Virtual Labs for Enhancing University Education in India's Urban and Rural Areas
Authors: Diwakar Shyam , Radhamani Rakhi , Sujatha Gopika , Sasidharakurup Hemalatha , Shekhar Akhila , Achuthan Krishnashree , Nedungadi Prema , Raman Raghu , Nair Bipin
Published: August 2014

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled virtual laboratories provide an online learning experience with the aid of computer-based instructional materials (animation, simulation, and remote-trigger experiments) for improving the active learning process. The project reported on in this chapter was set up in order to enhance university and college education, which is now becoming an advanced training environment for solving the geographical, social, and economic challenges faced in the interdisciplinary field of science education, especially in India. In order to study the role of biotechnology virtual laboratories in the current education system, a pedagogical survey, via workshops and online feedback, was carried out among several student and teacher groups of different Indian universities. This chapter reports how virtual labs in biotechnology can be used to improve teaching and learning experiences in an easy and understandable way with user interaction and how such tools serve to effectively reduce the problems of laboratory education especially in remote areas. The results obtained from user-feedback analysis suggest the use of virtual labs as a recommended component in blended education in large classroom scenarios for enhancing autonomous learning process and as an alternative to enhance lab education in geographically remote and economically challenged institutes.
Multimedia Technologies in Education
Authors: De Paolis Lucio Tommaso , Vaškevičius Egidijus , Vidugirienė Aušra
Published: August 2014

As different means of information visualization become more popular and available both as commercial or open source products, there is an opportunity to use them in the education process by providing students with a larger variety of tools for mastering the required information and skills related to a learning object. The chapter discusses the use of various multimedia tools and edutainment (any entertaining application that has an educational role) in education and e-learning. The need and opportunities of applying 3D models, virtual and augmented reality, and certain means for controlling interactive learning environments are described in detail. Examples of 3D modeling, virtual, and augmented reality applications in history, arts, and medicine (surgery) education are provided.
Critical Issues in E-Learning Project Management in the Context of Web Technologies Development
Authors: Amilevičius Darius
Published: August 2014

eLearning can cover a spectrum of activities from supporting learning to blended learning (the combination of traditional and e-learning practices), and to learning that is delivered entirely online. However, no matter what technology is used, learning is always the vital element. E-learning is no longer simply associated with distance or remote learning, but, instead, forms a part of a conscious choice of the best and most appropriate ways of promoting effective learning. The global demand for higher education continues to rise, and e-learning provides an alternative way for higher educational institutions to deliver knowledge to learners at a distance rather than in the traditional way. The success of e-learning starts and ends with project management. In this chapter, critical success factors of eLearning projects—organizational factor and technological factor—are considered as critical issues from the management perspective viewed in the context of the rapid development of Web technologies.
To MOOC or not to MOOC?
Authors: Tømte Cathrine , Fevolden Arne , Olsen Dorothy Sutherland
Published: August 2014

Inspired by examples in the US and Europe, many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Norway are exploring how they can use Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and other technologies to shape the classrooms of the future. This chapter briefly reviews expectations of MOOCs including both xMOOCs and cMOOCs and what they might do for higher education in a national context. Thereafter, it considers the development of MOOCs in relation to theories of disruptive technologies and national adoptions and/or adjustments to MOOCs. In this, the authors examine how Norwegian educational institutions are utilizing digital technology to support various solutions of online learning to address educational challenges. This approach is relevant as it serves as an example of how countries around the world explore the new possibilities that come with the MOOCs and other ubiquitous technologies and how they relate these to their existing organization of higher education.
Mobiles, Movement, and Meaning-Making
Authors: Taylor Calvin
Published: August 2014

Drawing on ethnographic research conducted with adolescents at a rural Australian high school, this chapter constructs a theoretical model for “mobile literacy.” Mobile technologies, and their increasing technological capabilities, present emerging challenges for definitions and understandings of what precisely constitutes “literate practice,” challenges which have not been wholly resolved though more disparate discussions of “electronically mediated communication.” Such an understanding is important in order to develop approaches that effectively integrate mobile technologies into formal educational contexts. The model constructed in this chapter draws on different theoretical traditions where literacy is concerned, combining these with a sociological model developed by Pierre Bourdieu, to draw out the importance of the social dimension in mobile technology use. The ethnographic methodology results in findings that reveal the structuring impact of economic, social, cultural, and symbolic resources associated with these devices. Far from revealing that mobiles free us from a consideration of “place,” this research demonstrates that to be “mobile literate” is to be even more finely attuned to the contextual factors for any mobile technology use.
Mobile Learning in the Arab World
Authors: Al-Shehri Saleh
Published: August 2014

Most Arab countries started their own e-learning and mobile learning initiatives in order to cope with global integration of latest educational technologies. The high mobile phone penetration among Arabs as well as availability of good mobile infrastructure are all important factors that can enhance the shift to mobile learning. Moreover, several studies indicate positive attitudes and perceptions toward mobile learning at different Arab learning institutions. However, specific challenges may act as barriers to mobile learning in the Arab world. This chapter reviews some of the current mobile learning practices in the Arab world and provides an overview of challenges faced by Arab students, educators, and probably researchers. A description of future mobile learning in the Arab countries is then provided.
Mobile and Intimate Conflicts
Authors: Afolayan Gbenga
Published: August 2014

The recent trends in the developing world show that mobile telephony has signalled a significant milestone for the way people communicate. Even though there are still issues of unequal access to mobile phones, the fact remains that young people's access to mobile phones has become prevalent in Africa with its resultant impacts on virtual mobility, individual's technical capability, and personalised interaction. This chapter provides another local perspective on the transformative debate of mobile phones, the place of young adults in it, and its social consequences on intimate relationship in Nigeria. After reviewing the recent literature on mobile usage in Africa, and its social consequences on intimate conflicts, the chapter explores the ways in which the mobile phone has altered the modes of circulating information that is meant to remain secret. The young adults' usage indicate that the mobile phone, which is seen as an example of a globally imagined technological tool, is appropriated in localised ways in which the local slogan, “Wahala don sele” (problem has started), is articulated in intimate conflicts. The chapter concedes that mobile communication plays major roles in daily affairs of young female adults, but it has its social consequences. Therefore, it suggests that future research should look beyond the normative view of mobile development, which only concentrates on governance, education, business, and health.
Mobile Communication and Bottom-Up Movements in Singapore
Authors: Soon Carol , Shin Cheong Kah
Published: August 2014

At Hong Lim Park in February 2013, the “No to 6.9 Million Population” protest saw 5,000 Singaporeans expressing their unhappiness with the government's Population White Paper. Touted to be the largest demonstration since Singapore's independence, it bore witness to digital technologies' mobilization effects. Personal and organization websites, discussion forums, blogs, and social media provide viable spaces for individuals and marginalized groups to circumvent offline media regulations and participate in counter-hegemonic discourse. Surveys indicate that Singaporeans are increasingly leveraging mobile communication for utility purposes—seeking and sharing information—and for networking. This chapter identifies digital bottom-up movements that took place in recent years, the anatomy of these movements, and how digital technologies were used. What is evident is that groups championing different causes are using a wide range of digital platforms to galvanize support and mobilize action for political and social issues. However, the link between that and mobile communication remains unclear. This chapter concludes by presenting recommendations for future studies on mobile communication and bottom-up movements.