bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of Protective Barriers on Groundwater Quality
Authors: Wysocka Małgorzata E. , Zabielska-Adamska Katarzyna
Published: August 2017

The storage yard’s leak-proof protection should be achieved by means of independent protective barriers in
the form of geological barriers, artificial sealing layers, mineral soil liners and covers, as well as sidewall sealing. Some
years ago, construction and exploitation of landfill sites in Poland took place without any guidelines and legal regulations.
Landfills, especially situated in rural areas, were quite often constructed directly on the grounds, e.g. in former
aggregate excavations, without any protection. Examples of the municipal landfills, located in the sites of adverse geological
conditions were presented in this paper. The effect of existence or absence of geological barriers on the groundwater
quality was carried out. In tested landfills, higher concentrations of groundwater pollution indicators were found
in landfill monitoring wells located on the outlet of these waters, in comparison to the landfill monitoring wells located
on their supply. In the case of the landfills situated directly on the soils of high hydraulic conductivity, the indicators of
negative influence of deposited landfills increased even after the closing of the landfill sites. Subsurface water-bearing
layer is a kind of “indicator” giving information about the harmful effect of landfills on the environment, and the need
to take remedial actions.
Removal of Antimony from Water Using GEH Sorption Material at Different Filter Bed Volumes
Authors: Barloková Danka , Ilavský Ján , Munka Karol
Published: August 2017

The article presents the results of antimony removal from the water at Dúbrava water resource using GEH sorption material at three different amounts (volumes) of the filter bed. Based on the results of the experiment we calculated the linear dependences of the amount (volume) of the bed and the absorption capacity, the time of contact of water with the material, bed volume (V/V0 ratio), the duration of filtration and the adsorbed antimony volume in the filter bed. These values were deter-mined for antimony concentrations of 5 μg/L at the outlet from the filter columns, i.e. for limit concentrations of antimony in drinking water, with an average concentration of antimony in raw water being 90.3 μg/L and the average filtration rate being in the range from 5.3 to 5.4 m/h.
Research of Wastewater Tertiary Treatment
Authors: Dauknys Regimantas , Mažeikienė Aušra
Published: August 2017

The tertiary wastewater treatment experiment was performed on the experimental stand which was installed in a wastewater treatment plant and which consisted of three filters of the diameter of 380 mm with a non-submerged media. Biologically treated wastewater was constantly supplied to these filters. Tertiary wastewater treatment process was aggravated due to low temperature of wastewater (6 °C) and high fluctuations of load according to individual pollutants – the difference between the minimum and maximum values ranged from 3 to 10 times. The productivity of removal of pollutants according to individual contamination rates reached 8 to 43%.
Influence of Surface and Bulk Water Ice on the Reactivity of a Water-forming Reaction
Authors: Lamberts Thanja , Kästner Johannes
Published: August 2017

On the surface of icy dust grains in the dense regions of the interstellar medium, a rich chemistry can take place. Due to the low temperature, reactions that proceed via a barrier can only take place through tunneling. The reaction

H
+

H

2

O

2

⟶

H

2

O
+
OH

is such a case with a gas-phase barrier of ∼26.5 kJ mol−1. Still, the reaction is known to be involved in water formation on interstellar grains. Here, we investigate the influence of a water ice surface and of bulk ice on the reaction rate constant. Rate constants are calculated using instanton theory down to 74 K. The ice is taken into account via multiscale modeling, describing the reactants and the direct surrounding at the quantum mechanical level with density functional theory (DFT), while the rest of the ice is modeled on the molecular mechanical level with a force field. We find that H2O2 binding energies cannot be captured by a single value, but rather they depend on the number of hydrogen bonds with surface molecules. In highly amorphous surroundings, the binding site can block the routes of attack and impede the reaction. Furthermore, the activation energies do not correlate with the binding energies of the same sites. The unimolecular rate constants related to the Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism increase as the activation energy decreases. Thus, we provide a lower limit for the rate constant and argue that rate constants can have values up to two order of magnitude larger than this limit.
A New, Large-scale Map of Interstellar Reddening Derived from H i Emission
Authors: Lenz Daniel , Hensley Brandon S. , Doré Olivier
Published: August 2017

We present a new map of interstellar reddening, covering the 39% of the sky with low H i column densities (

N

H

I

<
4
×

10

20

cm−2 or

E
(
B
−
V
)
≈
45

mmag) at

16
.′
1

resolution, based on all-sky observations of Galactic H i emission by the HI4PI Survey. In this low-column-density regime, we derive a characteristic value of

N

H

I

/

E
(
B
−
V
)
=
8.8

×

10

21

cm

2

mag

−
1

for gas with

∣

v

LSR

∣
<
90

km s−1 and find no significant reddening associated with gas at higher velocities. We compare our H i-based reddening map with the Schlegel et al. (SFD) reddening map and find them consistent to within a scatter of

≃
5

mmag. Further, the differences between our map and the SFD map are in excellent agreement with the low-resolution (

4
.°
5

) corrections to the SFD map derived by Peek and Graves based on observed reddening toward passive galaxies. We therefore argue that our H i-based map provides the most accurate interstellar reddening estimates in the low-column-density regime to date. Our reddening map is made publicly available at doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AFJNWJ.
On the Origin of Dynamically Isolated Hot Earths
Authors: Königl Arieh , Giacalone Steven , Matsakos Titos
Published: August 2017

A distinct population of planetary systems that contain dynamically isolated, Earth-size planets with orbital periods

day was recently identified in an analysis of data from the Kepler planet candidate catalog. We argue that these objects could represent the remnant rocky cores of giant planets that arrived at the stellar vicinity on high-eccentricity orbits and were rapidly stripped of their gaseous envelopes after crossing their respective Roche limits (RLs)

. In this picture, objects with

day are mostly “early” cores that originated in planets with an initial periastron distance

they had high initial eccentricities but their orbits underwent fast tidal circularization after the cores were exposed. Objects with

day are, by contrast, mostly “late” cores that originated in planets with

these planets underwent orbital circularization to a radius

but eventually reached

through tidal orbital decay. This picture naturally accounts for the spatial distribution of hot Earths and for the similarity of their inferred occurrence rate to that of hot Jupiters, and it fits well with the interpretation of the so-called sub-Jovian desert in the orbital-period–planetary-mass plane in terms of high-eccentricity planet migration to the vicinity of the RL.
Spin–Orbit Misalignment of Merging Black Hole Binaries with Tertiary Companions
Authors: Liu Bin , Lai Dong
Published: August 2017

We study the effect of an external companion on the orbital and spin evolution of merging black hole (BH) binaries. A sufficiently nearby and inclined companion can excite Lidov–Kozai (LK) eccentricity oscillations in the binary, thereby shortening its merger time. During such LK-enhanced orbital decay, the spin axis of the BH generally exhibits chaotic evolution, leading to a wide range (0°–180°) of the final spin–orbit misalignment angle from an initially aligned configuration. For systems that do not experience eccentricity excitation, only modest (

) spin–orbit misalignment can be produced, and we derive an analytic expression for the final misalignment using the principle of adiabatic invariance. The spin–orbit misalignment directly impacts the gravitational waveform and can be used to constrain the formation scenarios of BH binaries and dynamical influences of external companions.
Plant Checklist of the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Authors: Salleh Norzielawati , Azeman Syazwani , Kiew Ruth , Kamin Imin , Cheng Kong Richard
Published: August 2017

Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, the oldest forest reserve in Malaysia established in 1900, lies in the center of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city. Over time it has been reduced from 17.5 ha to 9.37 ha but still retains important biodiversity. Its lowland equatorial rain forest has never been logged and tall emergent species to 35 m tall and 124 cm diameter persist. Since 1900, 499 plant species (2 lycophytes, 25 ferns, 39 monocots and 433 dicots) have been recorded. This year-long survey refound 425 species, including the rare Tarenna rudis (Rubiaceae), a local endemic found only in Selangor state. The multi-layered structure of lowland dipterocarp forest (16 Diperocarpaceae species were recorded) is intact. However, with diminishing size, the edge effect is more pronounced with secondary forest species, from trees to herbs, becoming established. In 2009, declared as the KL Forest Eco Park, it is important for its biodiversity, history, accessibility to the public for recreation (forest walks), scientific study, education (natural history, bird-watching, etc), as well as serving as a green lung in the bustling city. Baseline data, such as this survey, enables scientific management that will maintain the forest structure and biodiversity.
Le coaching sportif, une notion centrale pour les sciences du sport ? Enquête culturelle comparée et différenciée sur son cheminement et son utilisation actuelle et future
Authors: Loudcher Jean-François
Published: August 2017

Le terme et la notion de coaching sont récents dans le champ du sport en France. Si le premier apparaît au cours du XIX e  siècle dans le sens de la conduite d’un attelage de chevaux, la seconde se déploie dans les années 1950-1960 sous une forme fortement influencée par la culture américaine. Pour autant, cette réception de la notion de coaching sportif a largement été déterminée par le contexte historique hexagonal. Notamment, son développement a été limité par la hiérarchisation et la spécialisation de la formation en éducation physique et sportive officielle qui se sont mises en place dans l’entre-deux-guerres. Ainsi, la comparaison, dans un premier temps, de la représentation du coaching et du coach en Angleterre et en France nous amène à nous interroger sur la nature de cette formation. Elle nous permet, dans un deuxième temps, d’en préciser une modélisation en termes de savoirs, savoir-faire et démarches. À la suite, trois formes de coaching (fonctionnement, formation, transformation) sont identifiées. Mais, traversant des champs différents (management, sciences de l’éducation, entraînement), leur analyse conduit à repérer, en dernière partie, certaines difficultés épistémologiques à résoudre pour, à terme, envisager un éventuel cadrage théorique. Ce projet tentant de lier, d’une part, action sur le terrain et, d’autre part, interactions entre athlète(s) et intervenant(s), à partir de concepts et démarches multiréférencés dans une perspective historique et culturelle, n’est-il pas, finalement, comparable à celui devant être mené dans les sciences du sport ?
Les « écuries d’entraînement humain » de l’Amérique victorienne : différences culturelles dans le coaching sportif
Authors: Day Dave
Published: August 2017

Dans la dernière période du XIX e  siècle menant au XX e  siècle, la trajectoire des sports organisés a suivi des chemins significativement différents en Amérique du Nord, en Europe et en Grande-Bretagne. Il est devenu évident que le champ du coaching professionnel, largement dominé par le modèle d’un coach à plein temps dans les universités et les clubs de sport, contraste largement avec la préférence envers les coachs amateurs dans beaucoup de sports anglais. Alors que le modèle américain était largement adopté avec enthousiasme à travers les pays européens, spécialement dans les années accompagnant le développement des JO, il y a eu de considérables résistances à cette approche outre-Manche, même après la débâcle de Stockholm, un événement qui a mis en évidence le rapide déclin des élites sportives anglaises, hommes et femmes, dans les compétitions internationales. Ce travail souligne les caractéristiques différentes de pratiques et de philosophies en coaching entre l’approche anglaise et américaine avant et après la Première Guerre mondiale. Il explore aussi quelques éléments avancés en Angleterre pour expliquer les difficultés à adopter les méthodes de coaching américaines spécialisées et, notamment, le fait qu’ils reflètent une plus large résistance culturelle à la notion d’« américanisation ». Le texte souligne aussi la réception enthousiaste qu’ont pu s’offrir quelques coachs américains en Europe et comment leur impact sur les performances sportives internationales, spécialement lors des méga-événements tels les JO, est devenu un surprenant étalon pour mesurer la suprématie nationale.
« Entraîner, éduquer, coacher » : l’avènement du coaching en France (1940-1960)
Authors: Vaucelle Serge
Published: August 2017

La période de l’entre-deux-guerres est marquée en France par le lent développement de pratiques empiriques dans l’entraînement sportif, même si les institutions éducatives valorisent la formalisation des procédés tout en continuant de réserver la compétition aux seuls élèves des classes supérieures. La polyvalence sportive est alors encouragée, les activités physiques intenses sont souvent critiquées, progressivement étudiées par les médecins, tandis qu’un contrôle médico-sportif se développe. Pourtant, une « pédagogie sportive » est en train d’émerger au sein des institutions nationales en charge de théoriser l’Éducation Physique (Institut national des sports, Écoles normales supérieures, Instituts médicaux…). Au cours de ces années, des théories sur « l’entraînement spécialisé » sont élaborées : une « Doctrine d’éducation sportive » se diffuse (Baquet, 1942 ; INS, 1946). Elle marquera les différentes fédérations et l’ensemble du champ sportif français jusque dans les années 1970. Ce courant tente de rassembler des attentions très disparates, en faisant cohabiter diverses thématiques : celles de l’enseignement ( Teaching ), de l’apprentissage ( Learning ) et de l’entraînement ( Training ). Cependant, des vigilances liées à l’accompagnement du pratiquant ( Coaching ) apparaissent parfois, même si la notion n’est jamais affichée. L’étude des publications théoriques (articles de revues techniques et pédagogiques) éditées dans les années 1940-1950 permet de retracer l’avènement de cette dimension particulière de l’entraînement sportif – le Coaching .
Rib head dislocation causing spinal canal stenosis in a child with neurofibromatosis, type 1
Authors: Chen Alan Ming-Fong , Neustadt Jeffrey , Kucera Jennifer
Published: August 2017

A 10-year-old female with neurofibromatosis type 1 and severe dystrophic scoliosis presented with a two-month history of difficulty ambulating due to low back pain.  The patient did not have any neurological symptoms. MRI of the thoracolumbar spine demonstrated subluxation of the right posterior tenth and eleventh ribs through their respective neural foramina, with mild mass effect on the thecal sac without abnormal cord signal or cord compression.   Groups of neurofibromas were present along the right ribs and paravertebral soft tissues around these levels.   CT evaluation was completed for greater osseous definition. Cases of rib head dislocation into the central canal in the setting of dystrophic scoliosis were documented in only a limited sample of case reports.  The angulated short-segment curvature in dystrophic scoliosis causes vertebral body rotation, foraminal enlargement, spindling of transverse processes, and penciling of the apical ribs.  These changes can alter the articulation of the rib along the transverse process.  The enlarged foramina can also create a larger space into which a rib may displace.  As a result, in most reported cases, the subluxed ribs were on the convex apex of the curve in the mid-to-lower thoracic region.  The risk of cord injury from rib head dislocation makes the complete depiction of the anatomy essential for proper surgical management.
Complicated Gastric Duplication Cyst in an Adult Patient: Uncommon presentation of an uncommon disease
Authors: Abdalkader Mohamad , Al Hassan Sacha , Taha Alaa , Nica Irina
Published: August 2017

Gastric duplication cyst is a very rare congenital anomaly accounting up to 4% of all gastrointestinal tract duplications. It is a quite rare anomaly in adults, the majority of the cases are diagnosed in the neonatal period. Gastric duplication cysts are usually asymptomatic or they do present with non-specific symptoms. They are usually discovered incidentally during endoscopy or laparotomy or very rarely after getting complicated. We describe herein, along with literature review, a case of an adult patient who presented with abdominal pain and bloody vomiting and turned out to have a gastric duplication cyst complicated by internal bleeding.
Tracing the Rights of Domestic and International Kenyan House Helps
Authors: Rombo Dorothy Owino , Lutomia Anne Namatsi
Published: August 2017

This chapter traces a history of domestic workers both within, and to a lesser degree without, Kenya. Reading from international policy platforms—including the United Nations and various international non-governmental organizations—as well as academic research, Kenyan government policy documents, and online sources like blogs and periodicals that reveal this history and frame content addressing domestic workers, the authors develop an image of the situation of domestic work in Kenya. We identified missing protections of rights and made other policy recommendations in light of that situation. Using intersectionality to disclose how the different identities of gender, class, socioeconomic status, and ethnic identification (socially imposed or individually emphasized) of domestic workers in Kenya simultaneously clash and collude, workers nonetheless remain embedded within layers of marginalization that make the very circumstance of their work more challenging for upholding the human rights of these employees. By calling attention to the destiny of migrant domestic workers in comparison to local Kenyan domestics and linking to the present international push to protect migrant domestic workers, then, not only discloses but also hints at how the needs and interests of domestic Kenyan workers may be better met, respected, and protected. It suggests future work as well aimed at prompting an acknowledgment of, and policy changes with respect to, the basic human rights of other subaltern populations.
Gendered Organizational Culture
Authors: Hossain Julaikha Bente
Published: August 2017

This study began with the question of what are the factors that lead to different outcomes of women in engineering employment in Bangladesh and Thailand. The primary data for answering this question were drawn from questionnaire surveys with 204 professional engineers, in-depth interviews with 80 professional women engineers, and discussions with employers in construction organizations in Bangladesh and Thailand. The findings identifies several barriers that not only deter women from entering into organizations, but also stopped the stream of women engineering graduates to flow into the engineering job market. The study has shed light on how organizational cultural practices as well as the influence of external factors within organizations affect women's entry and stay in construction organizations in Bangladesh and Thailand. The findings suggest that organizations should develop their own equal opportunity guidelines and policies to provide women with a suitable job and ensure that they remain employed.
Gender Violence in Academia
Authors: Kousar Hina
Published: August 2017

This is an exploratory research conducted in three universities of Delhi – University ‘X', University ‘Y' and University ‘Z'. The objective is to study the scope and incidence of various types of sexual violence behaviors experienced by women on campus: undergraduate women; postgraduate women; research scholars; and faculty. This chapter explores types, kind and nature of sexually harassing behaviors; sexual harassment, rape, sexual assault, stalking, and intimate partner violence, experienced by women in campus; the occurrence of different type of behavior among women in age group of 18 to 65 years. Finding indicates 80 percent acknowledged sexual and psychologically offensive behavior. About 70 percent of total sample acknowledged that they were sexually assaulted. A very small percent 2 percent acknowledged of being attempted raped and 89 percent underwent stalking.
Girls' and Women's Rights to Menstrual Health in Nepal
Authors: Standing Kay , Parker Sara L.
Published: August 2017

Being able to manage menstruation safely and without stigma is a basic human right which many women and girls in Nepal are denied. Unhygienic and ineffective menstrual hygiene practices have been linked to negative consequences for women and girls, in terms of both reproductive health and social factors such as school attendance. Negative cultural attitudes and taboos around menstruation are widespread in Nepal and basic knowledge of menstruation and menstrual hygiene, especially in rural areas, is limited. The chapter begins to explore the barriers to menstrual health and right and how menstrual Hygiene Management Projects providing education on menstruation and the provision of reusable sanitary pads, are widely used by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Nepal to address these problems, with a stated goal of improving girls' reproductive health, educational performance, employment, reducing gender based violence and other psycho-social outcomes.
More Than Body Parts
Authors: Chiweshe Manase Kudzai
Published: August 2017

This paper questions the reduction of human experience and identity to anatomical determinism in which the category of ‘woman' or ‘man' becomes a universal concept. Through a review of literature on African gender, feminist and masculinity studies, it highlights how people are more than their body parts. It notes how identities are shaped by an intersectionality of various factors such as education, employment status, class, age, physical condition, nationality, citizenship, race and ethnicity. These factors can be spatial and temporal producing differing experiences of gendered lives. African scholars have built up a rich collection of work that repudiates the univerlisation of gender identities based on Western philosophical schools of thought. This work explores in detail current and historical debates in African gender studies.
Disaster, Vulnerability, and Violence Against Women
Authors: Nishat Khandakar Josia , Rahman Md. Shafiqur
Published: August 2017

Studies of natural disasters have adequately focused on gendered aspect of disaster and women's vulnerability and offered suitable suggestions though only few of these have focused on the issue of the relation between disaster and violence against women. By undertaking meta-analysis of cross-cultural studies, this paper aims to provide an overview of connections between disaster, women's vulnerability and violence against women and to highlight the importance and the relevance of similar researches in Bangladesh. Natural threats are real and moderated by existing socio-economic arrangements and cultural norms in Bangladesh where gender relationships are unequal and violence prone. Therefore it is expected that the lessons of international experiences and insights will help to develop a gendered research framework to understand ‘how violence against women is increasing following disasters' in the context of Bangladesh. And finally, that would pave the way for policy options to form a better co-existence for both men and women which would be more equal, dignified and violence free.
Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in India With ICT Applications
Authors: Goswami Ananya , Dutta Sraboni
Published: August 2017

In a developing nation like India where the “Gender Digital Divide” is still prevalent, ICTis emerging as a powerful catalyst for women's economic, social and political empowerment. Empowering women entrepreneurs with ICT in this globally competitive environment can have a ripple effect in bettering the social fabric of the nation. Incorporation of ICT has created new opportunities for women entrepreneurs by contributing to knowledge sharing, networking and electronic commerce activities. This study investigates the factors which influence the women entrepreneurs to incorporate ICT in their business firms. It also provides an insight on the barriers towards adoption of ICT applications by these women entrepreneurs. It has been observed that both Government and Non-Government Organizations are working towards ICT awareness programmes, i.e., ICT-related education, training and technical support for the women entrepreneurs so that they can tap the benefit of the applications.
Role of Women Empowerment in Public and Corporate Leadership
Authors: Lakshmi P. , Visalakshmi S.
Published: August 2017

The present study attempts to highlight the social and economic benefits of leadership of Indian women based on past evidence; current trends; challenges faced and the path forward in the public and corporate arena. Women empowerment has been a vital issue that has come to limelight in the recent years. Despite numerous government schemes and policy decisions, women in India remain deprived of equal opportunities in terms of education, employment and skill development. Many social scientists have derived that economic independence plays a vital role in ensuring that women get equal opportunities in the society and thereby enjoy and benefit from their other rights. This makes women empowerment as much of an economic issue as a social one. In corporate and public life, success of policies is determined by decisions that incorporate the viewpoints of both men and women. Hence, it becomes essential to understand the nature and extent of gender equality especially in public and corporate leadership and decision making roles. The outcomes of this study from these perspectives will serve to help both sectors in narrowing the gender bias in leadership roles.
Tablet English
Authors: Hilton Jason T. , Canciello Joseph
Published: August 2017

This article provides a conceptual framework underpinning the implementation of an iPad-based curriculum designed to foster critical digital literacy skills. This is followed by a description of the implementation of this process within a full-year 11th grade English course, and reports data gathered from a survey designed to capture student perceptions of the use of iPad-based texts and applications for course content and creation.
Developing Digital Empathy
Authors: Friesem Yonty
Published: August 2017

In the Digital Age, when technology offers many solutions and distractions at the same time, we should use media literacy research to address these advantages and challenges through a holistic approach. This chapter introduces digital empathy as a holistic framework combining empathic design and empathic listening to bridge the traditional protectionist and empowerment approaches in media literacy research. Digital Empathy is a mixed methods approach that has been developed through a longitudinal study. It is an inclusive model that addresses the participants and the researcher's cognitive, emotional, and social skills through empathic design and empathic listening. Using a longitudinal case study of a month-long media literacy summer class with underprivileged high school students, the chapter describes digital empathy, not only as a pedagogical approach, but also as a holistic research method that will advance media literacy scholarship.
Creating a Balanced Literacy Curriculum in the 21st Century
Authors: McGinnis Theresa
Published: August 2017

This chapter explores new ways of envisioning a balanced literacy curriculum where through a balance of Literacy 1.0 with Literacy 2.0 educators can sufficiently prepare students to navigate the complexities of 21st century literacies. It presents examples of how digital storytelling and multimedia responses to literature call for a knowledge of school-based literacy practices, while at the same time allow students authentic learning engagements with multimodal composition and media production. Further, the chapter highlights how these literacy engagements can provide students use in the vocabulary of multimodalities and create students who are producers and critical consumers of 21st Century texts.
Strategies for Implementing Digital Assignments
Authors: Normand Paige , Senio Alexa , Luciano Marlena
Published: August 2017

In chapter, the authors draw from their in-class experiences, one-on-one tutoring sessions, focus-group interviews with students, and discussions with all of the course-embedded peer tutors about their experiences working in digital communication across campus, to discuss some of the “behind the scenes” issues that students face that might be invisible to faculty. The authors' observations and reflections over the past two years have led them to identify common hurdles on their campus and identify solutions for faculty interested in incorporating digital assignments into their curriculum. The chapter addresses the following obstacles faculty might face and offers solutions: (1) students do not understand the value of the digital assignment, (2) students are not confident the faculty will accurately evaluate their digital production, (3) students' skill development is hampered by their anxiety about their aptitude and confusion about their process for digital production, and (4) students do not feel comfortable sharing honest concerns and anxieties about digital composition with their instructor.
Toward Digital Inclusion
Authors: Anzera Giuseppe , Comunello Francesca
Published: August 2017

This chapter addresses the relationships between social inclusion and digital divide(s), mainly focusing on the conceptual frameworks that provide the basis for rethinking the relationship between technological, social, and human factors. Redefining the digital divide has deep consequences on the theoretical and empirical framework we apply to the digital divide and to the related social inclusion processes. It is widely acknowledged that the label digital divide can be partially misleading, because it is mostly emphasizing a binary dimension (haves vs. have not) and a mere technological dimension. In order to achieve a clear operational definition of the digital divide, we should avoid some misleading myths characterizing the debate and focus on the complex relationships between technological, social, and human factors (a dichotomous conceptualization, a narrow understanding of the technological factors involved, a technological deterministic approach), adopting, instead, an enabling technology approach. Therefore, the authors introduce a multilevel model for analyzing digital divides (Comunello, 2010), with a main focus on new media literacy (the model considers not only mere technology availability, but also real access, advanced reception practices, technical skills, content production, networking skills). Finally, they review some empirical methods for studying the digital divide, trying to underline how a more nuanced framework for analysing the digital divide can be adopted by empirical research.
Beyond Angry Birds™
Authors: DeCoito Isha , Richardson Tasha
Published: August 2017

This chapter explores digital web-based tools for engaging learners and promoting inquiry-based STEM learning. Specifically the authors analyze a selection of technological supports in STEM education, including remote laboratories and simulations, within the context of inquiry based teaching and learning in physics. Teaching physics through inquiry continue to create high levels of anxiety amongst elementary school teachers, which in turn influences their pedagogical choices and limits the possibility of spontaneous events arising from student exploration in the classroom. The authors maintain that teachers will require professional development opportunities to work within the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework to ensure that they are able to select from a broad spectrum of technological supports. The authors highlight the potential of web-based digital tools to promote inquiry-based STEM learning, and engage both teachers and students, thus potentially improving attitudes toward teaching and learning STEM content through digital technologies.
Preparing Pre-Service Secondary English Language Arts Teachers to Support Literacy Learning With Interactive Online Technologies
Authors: Rodesiler Luke , Pace Barbara G.
Published: August 2017

In this chapter, the authors present the framework and methods they employ to integrate online learning opportunities into an English teacher education program at a large, public university in the southeastern United States. The authors focus on their efforts to extend pre-service secondary English language arts teachers' understandings of what constitutes literacy and what counts as text in the secondary English language arts classroom in a blended technology- and media literacy-focused methods course, a required component of a three-semester English Education Master's degree program. Specifically, the authors document the ways they nudge pre-service teachers to consider the kinds of literacy events they might design and the types of literacy practices they might promote to support literacy learning with interactive online technologies and popular media in English language arts classrooms.
University Teachers' Use of Digital Technologies
Authors: Marav Daariimaa , Espinoza Michelle
Published: August 2017

This chapter is set in the context of two developing countries, Mongolia and Chile, where digital technology is seen as a powerful icon of the knowledge economy. The predominant and common discourses surrounding the uses of digital technologies in education in these developing countries usually assume rather celebratory stances of the roles digital technologies may perform in education in the digital age. Thus, the research reported here explores the realities, opportunities, and challenges that academic staff face when using digital technologies through the perspectives offered by the field of digital literacy studies. The findings illustrate the close and complex relationships between sociocultural contexts, beliefs, values, and digital literacy practices. The study suggests that more attention needs to be paid to the wider contexts affecting the digital practices around teaching and learning rather than to technologies per se.
Assessment ‘for' Learning
Authors: Rutherford Stephen M. , Prytherch Zoë C.
Published: August 2017

This chapter evaluates an assessment strategy designed to reinforce learning whilst supporting the learning of the whole student cohort, through development of multimedia learning resources. Once created and evaluated, the resources were shared online for students to use in their ongoing learning and revision. The majority of the resources designed by students used an unfamiliar form of technology, showing that digital natives were eager to learn new technological skills. The depth and challenge of the resources was considerable. The chapter investigates the activity of students during this assessment and evaluates their decision-making processes in the design of their learning resources. The analysis reveals that students were aware of how technology would impact on different learning styles, and of the needs of diverse learners. The key observation is that digital natives are a rich (and largely-untapped) resource for the development of materials that can support their learning and that of their peers.
Digital Inclusion and Computational Thinking
Authors: Lima Jr. Walter Teixeira , Vergili Rafael
Published: August 2017

The Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) brought new players to an environment that subverts industrial logic of communication, visibility and representation. The issue of digital inclusion is still latent, especially in developing countries, such as Brazil. However, with initiatives that facilitate access to technological innovations and ever cheaper devices, possession, remixing and distribution of information are no longer exclusive to large companies or mass media vehicles. Anyone with network access and knowledge about certain topics can generate content for various parts of the world. In this context of constant change, the media professional is faced with new challenges and, in order to gain competitive advantage in the labor market or in the academic environment needs to more adequately understand the technological environment in which he/she is inserted, topics that are discussed under the prism of computational thinking and digital literacy concepts, possible foundations for new paths of his/her activities.
Teacher Training and Digital Competence
Authors: Tammaro Rosanna , D'Alessio Anna
Published: August 2017

Teacher training in all fields should include advanced digital competence for teachers and their teaching, not concentrating only on ICT user skills of teachers. These issues should be part of both initial teacher training and in-service training. The training should consider aspects of using ICT both as a learning tool within subject teaching and as a tool used by learners for their homework and learning-related actions outside school sceneries. Recently, digital competence has become a key conception in debates on the kind of skills and understanding learners need in the Knowledge Society. The wide meaning of digital competence offers the necessary framework (i.e. the knowledge, skills and attitudes) for working, living and learning in the knowledge society. In this paper the focus is on how pedagogically the skill area can be addressed and what tools there are available to help the teachers and students.
Fostering Collaboration and Digital Literacy With Mobile Technology
Authors: Mills Michael S.
Published: August 2017

Multimodal literacies are an essential construct of the 21st century classroom, and mobile technology will serve to facilitate the collaborative creation of multimodal digital content. The mission of this chapter is to highlight the potential of mobile technology as a means for enabling collaborative activities and fostering effective communication. Over the past several decades, there has been a tremendous shift in how educators and students communicate, learn, and share ideas. The proliferation of mobile computing devices to a near-ubiquitous level has amplified this shift and compels educators to seek ways to harness the power of these devices to break down the barriers of the traditional classroom in an effort to make way for a more collaborative, reflective learning experience. Drawing on recent research on the cognitive benefits of multimodal literacy instruction and its potential for increasing opportunities for student engagement, this chapter provides a rationale for and subsequently sketches a practical approach for fostering collaborative, multimodal literacy practices through mobile technology.
Digital Storytelling and Digital Literacy
Authors: Kasemsap Kijpokin
Published: August 2017

This chapter reveals the overview of digital technologies; the overview of digital storytelling in education; and the overview of digital literacy in education. Digital storytelling and digital literacy are very important in modern education. Digital storytelling is used to improve student's learning through multimedia in the modern classrooms. Digital storytelling is the expressive medium that can explain even the most intricate topics in depth, integrating it with the rest of the curriculum. Digital literacy is the ability to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills. Digital literacy leads to the great increases in information that can be conveniently accessed. The chapter argues that developing digital storytelling and digital literacy skills has the potential to improve both teaching and learning performance in modern education.
Digital Competence
Authors: Avni Edith , Rotem Abraham
Published: August 2017

This chapter presents a proposal for a conceptual framework of digital competence, which is a civil right and need and is vital for appropriate, intelligent study and functioning in the real world, through means that technology and the internet offer the citizen. Digital competence in the 2010s is a multifaceted complex of a net of literacies that have been updated, reformulated and transformed under the influence of technology. The framework of the digital competency includes eight fields of digital literacies. At the top of the net is digital ethics literacy, outlines the moral core for proper use of technology; at the base are technological literacy and digital reading and writing literacy, comprising the foundation and interface for all the digital literacies, and in between are the digital literacies in these fields: information literacy, digital visual literacy, new media literacy, communication and collaboration literacy and social media literacy. These interconnected literacies compose a synergetic complex of the digital competence framework.
The Power of Digital Literacy to Transform and Shape Teacher Identities
Authors: Hughes Janette , Robertson Lorayne
Published: August 2017

In this chapter, the authors focus their attention on the case studies of three beginning teachers and their use of digital storytelling in their preservice education English Language Arts classes. They undertook this research to determine if preservice teachers who are exposed to new literacies and a multiliteracies pedagogy will use them in transformative ways. The authors examine their subsequent and transformed use of digital media with their own students in the classroom setting. One uses a digital story to reflect on past injustices. Another finds new spaces for expression in digital literacy. A third uses the affordances of digital media to raise critical awareness of a present global injustice with secondary school students. The authors explore their shifting perceptions of multiple literacies and critical media literacy and how these shifts in thinking help shape or transform their ideas about teaching and learning in English Language Arts.
21st Century New Literacies and Digital Tools as Empowering Pedagogies for Urban Youth of Color
Authors: Sealey-Ruiz Yolanda , Haddix Marcelle M.
Published: August 2017

Increasingly, more youth of color are gaining access to multiple forms of digital and popular media, yet 21st Century Literacies are virtually absent from the curriculum in most schools that serve them. By contrast, their increased knowledge of digital tools is usually met with restrictive access. For example, in many urban public high schools, cell phones are seen as contraband and students are required to “check” them at the door. Additionally, access to the Internet and social media platforms are blocked on most computers to which students have access while in school. More research is needed on how race, gender, ethnicity, and language intersect with access to digital tools in schools. This chapter presents a dialogue about the positive impact of using 21st Century New Literacies and digital tools with Black male middle and high school students. The authors highlight ways that teachers can effectively use digital tools in their classrooms.
Information-Seeking Behaviour of Users in the Digital Libraries' Environment in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Ondari-Okemwa E.M.
Published: August 2017

This chapter addresses the issue of information-seeking behaviour of users in the digital libraries' environment in sub-Saharan Africa. Information-seeking behaviour may be shaped by the environment in which users seek information. A digital library is still relatively new in sub-Saharan Africa and there is not much known about how the digital library environment may shape the information-seeking behaviour and/or information needs of users. The chapter explores the concept of digital libraries and the nature of the collections and services of digital libraries in comparison to traditional libraries. The chapter also discusses what a library is, the services provided by libraries, and the differences between a traditional library and a digital library. Covered in the chapter also is a brief history of digital libraries. Digital literacy as a factor which may shape the information-seeking behavior of users in a digital library environment is also discussed in the chapter. Information literacy has changed drastically. The digital information literacy that may play a role in socio-economic development in sub-Saharan Africa is no longer the literacy defined as the ability to read and write at a basic level and sign a document. As society is moving from information age to digital age, new definitions of digital information literacy are evolving which include how to access information in digital formats, and how to evaluate information and use it appropriately. Digital information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning and is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments and to all levels of education. In sub-Saharan Africa, levels of digital information literacy are low due to numerous factors which are also explored in this chapter. Development of digital information literacy in sub-Saharan Africa has been slow compared to the development of information and communication technologies in the region. The chapter discusses the extent to which low levels of digital literacy in sub-Saharan Africa may also be responsible for shaping information-seeking behaviour of users in a digital library environment. The chapter concludes that the major differences between the two types of libraries are mainly to do with technology, rather than a fundamental change in the way libraries operate. This is because digital libraries are still libraries which largely share the same objectives and purposes of the traditional libraries.
Using Technology to Enhance Science Literacy, Mathematics Literacy, or Technology Literacy
Authors: DeCoito Isha , Richardson Tasha
Published: August 2017

This chapter explores the potential of a digital game, The History of Biology (HoB) as a learning environment in which today's learners find technology engaging and practical to advance their learning and interact with STEM content. The authors report on a study which assumed an explicit-reflective teaching approach from the perspective that the HoB game was developed in the context of the history, philosophy, and sociology of science and technology. The study addressed the following question: What effect, if any, does HoB have on students' a) learning 21st century skills, and b) engagement with integrated STEM content? The authors hypothesize that by providing opportunities for exploring integrated STEM content via a digital online game, pre-service science students may enhance their own numeracy, and scientific and technological literacy, and also develop positive attitudes toward teaching STEM content through digital technologies in the classroom.