bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Usability and Learnability Evaluation of Web-Based ODL Programs
Authors: Athanasis Karoulis , Andreas Pombortsis
Published: May 2011

The rapid establishment of third generation distance learning environments, the so-called Web-based or tele-teaching environments, brought some problems with it. The main means for the delivery of the new educational approach is the World Wide Web, and there are some good reasons for it: It is easily accessible by many groups of learners. It supports multiple representations of educational material and various ways of storing and structuring this information. It is powerful and easy to use as a publishing medium. Additionally, it has been widely accepted that the hyper-medial structure of the Web can support learning. Some researchers characterize the Web as an active learning environment that supports creativity. In addition to this, the Web encourages exploration of knowledge and browsing, behaviors that are strongly related to learning. The associative organization of information in the Web is similar to that of human memory, and the process of information retrieval from the Web presents similarities to human cognitive activities (Tselios, Avouris, Dimitracopoulou, & Daskalaki, 2001). However, a hyper-medial space, like the Web, cannot be considered, only by these features, as an effective tutoring environment. It is rather more appropriate to think of the Web as a powerful tool that can support learning, if used in an appropriate way. This is because learning is a process (Duchastel, 2001) that depends on other features, such as learner’s motivation, previous experience and learning strategies that the individual has been supported to develop, and so forth. Effectiveness of any educational environment cannot be considered independently of these aspects.
Usable M-Commerce Systems
Authors: Krogstie John
Published: May 2011

Today, the PC is only one of many ways to access information resources. On one hand, traditional computing technology is becoming more mobile and ubiquitous and, on the other hand, traditional mass media are becoming richer. Whereas information services related to interactive TV and ubiquitous computing are projected to become prominent in a few years, mobile computing is the most important current trend within information and communication technology.
Virtual Work, Trust and Rationality
Authors: Murphy Peter
Published: May 2011

Since the development of the Internet—and the emergence of computer networking as a mass medium in the mid-1990s—many organizations and institutions have experimented with Internet protocol (IP)-based communications to coordinate work and activities across geographical distance. This has been in response to growing needs to coordinate business and projects between different offices, firms, regions, and states. Rather than organizations flying people to meet face-to-face, network technology presents opportunities for persons located apart to work together. It offers the potential for cheap and efficient collaborations across distance. Yet, while economic pragmatics drive organizations to adopt virtual work methods, virtual working is difficult to implement. This is because it strains many conventional assumptions about work behaviour and the cognitive and emotional foundations of collaboration.
Benefits of a Content Multi-Purposing Model
Authors: Robinson Evan T.
Published: May 2011

The intent of action is the achievement of something decisive. Within any business, decisiveness is hopefully linked to the successful generation of revenue due to the right product being introduced to the right market at the right time. The challenge is to ensure that once a product is released to the market, that the most revenue possible can be earned. In the case of higher education, one potential product is distance education offerings that provide learning opportunities to students who cannot participate in traditional education. The development of distance educational materials for online use, however, can be costly, and subsequent revenue streams may generates little or no revenue, which occurs with many distance education programs. This can be resolved, however, by the strategic re-purposing of online course materials that may have been developed for distance education.
A Checklist for a New Millennium School Science Department
Authors: Hessler Ed
Published: May 2011

My focus is both narrow and incomplete, for it is limited to a single area of learning: science, and it is in the form of a working list, a beginning of things one might write down, not in any particular order—so that they might be remembered and edited over time, with colleagues.
Collaborative Learning in a Contribution-Oriented Pedagogy
Authors: Collis Betty , Moonen Jef
Published: May 2011

Collaborative learning is a specific approach within the broader context of pedagogy. Collaborative learning encourages student participation via peer interaction in the learning process. It encompasses a set of approaches to education, sometimes also called cooperative learning or small-group learning (NISE, 1997; Collis, 1994). Collaborative learning creates an environment “that involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing” (Bonwell & Eison, 1991, p.2).
Developing an Online Learning Style Instrument
Authors: Witta E. Lea , Lee Chen-Yuan “Corey”
Published: May 2011

Distance learning was begun in the 19th Century with correspondence education (Klesius, Homan, & Thompson, 1997). It has evolved from the correspondence delivery method, through radio methods, to today’s computer and interactive video and Internet techniques. With the explosive growth in the World Wide Web (WWW) in the early 1990s, an increasing number of courses have migrated to the Web—namely Web-based education or online education. In 2001, International WHERE + HOW (http://www.dlcoursefinder.com/US/index.htm) listed more than 55,000 online courses that are provided by higher educational institutions and training corporations. According to Peterson’s Distance Learning Guide (http://iiswinprd03.petersons.com/distancelearning/default.asp), about 3,600 degrees and certificate programs are available from universities all over the world. Many higher education institutions offer a wide variety of online courses and provide the opportunity for students to enroll in certain online courses as part of a degree. Other institutions offer complete undergraduate and graduate degrees through an online education program.
Diffusion of Web-Based Education in Singapore and Australia
Authors: Wong Jessie Y.Y. , Gerber R. , Toh K. A.
Published: May 2011

The Internet has transformed the way education is delivered in the 21st Century. Web-based education has been developed on the basis of the capability and potential of the Internet. The idea of Web-based education was first developed about 15 years ago from a simple form of online learning, using mainly e-mail as a form of communication and consisting of mainly text, with no multimedia. Soon after, a variety of new software and services were developed to support Web-based Education. In late 1990s, the development of new technologies for this purpose accelerated. They gradually transformed the way by which distance education was delivered. Today, it is common for both private and public educational institutions to offer Web-based courses. However, only a few virtual universities exist today with all of their courses and activities Web-based.
Distance Education in South America
Authors: Barrera Luis
Published: May 2011

This article reviews the history, state of the art, and future trends in distance education in South American countries through an overview of the main experiences in the region.
E-Learning in India
Authors: Sharma Ramesh C.
Published: May 2011

Education is an essential tool for the economical and social development of a nation. Proper development of human resources is crucial to that. To make everyone able to receive education, there are different forms of educational programmes and provisions. In India, adult education, open and distance education, Operation Blackboard, sarva siksha abhiyan, and so forth have been put in place to achieve universalisation of education. The literacy rate has shown an increase from 36.17% in the 1970s, 52.19% in 1991, to 65.38% in 2001. An increase in the strength of educational institutions is also evident from the fact that while there were over 20 universities and 500 colleges in 1947, now India has 311 universities (including 19 central universities, 206 state universities, 86 deemed-to-be universities, 13 institutes of national significance, and five institutions established through the State Legislature Act; Dhir, 2004). The Indian higher education system is said to be the second largest after U.S. in the world, based on the expansion of institutions, student enrollment, and faculty. But to this rosy picture, the other dark side of the coin is that in spite of having this large educational infrastructure, higher education is accessible only to 6% to 7% of 18- to 23-year-olds, as found out by a World Bank report (2001) and Kumar (2004). Dongaonkar (2004) reported that there are other developing countries that have a higher percentage of educational coverage, for example, Indonesia (11%), Brazil (12%), Mexico (14%), and Thailand (19%). The government of India (2002) has laid the emergent need of providing educational opportunities, for more than 3.2 million children (six to 14 years) and 100 million adults (13 to 35 years) need school education.
Evaluating Quality in the Online Classroom
Authors: Blicker Leslie
Published: May 2011

The notion of measuring the effectiveness of online learning in higher education began at least a half-decade ago when Web-based distance education started expanding at an exponential rate. Traditional quality measures associated with accreditation did not match the new climate of Internet-based teaching and learning (Parker, 2004). Multiple national and global pressures demanded that colleges and universities address issues of quality specifically related to distance Web-based courses and programs. Not the least of expectant stakeholders were state regulators and accrediting bodies. How could a teaching process so dissimilar to centuries of place-based, traditional classroom methods possibly embody quality education?
Leadership Competency in Virtual Teams
Authors: Petska Deborah , Berge Zane
Published: May 2011

As organizations race to increase their global market share, traditional face-to-face teams are evolving into virtual teams. Aided by swift advances in communication technology, virtual teams allow organizations to pool the intellectual resources of geographically dispersed experts from multiple fields to achieve organizational goals and advance the corporate mission. Virtual teams benefit organizations by saving travel costs and time lost away from work. Although similar to traditional teams in many ways, the virtual team’s dispersed nature necessitates different leadership competencies, the use of multiple communication media, and more structure and guidelines (Stone & Thach, 1999). With a growing number of organizations now relying on virtual teams to perform work, there is also increased recognition that strong leadership is critical to the successful functioning of virtual teams. However, the additional component of technology used by virtual teams is sometimes overlooked when organizations develop their core competency models.
Online Learning Experiences of University Students
Authors: Lammintakanen Johanna , Rissanen Sari
Published: May 2011

Online education has become widespread in many countries during recent years, and the paradigmatic shift from traditional to online education (e.g., Harasim, 2000; Karuppan, 2001; Kilby, 2001) has occurred as part of planned educational policy, with both international and national experiences supporting its growth. Similarly, students now have increasingly higher expectations regarding the quality of learning, and they expect a more individual, flexible, and humanistic approach in education. In addition, technology is expected to improve access to education, reduce costs and improve the cost-effectiveness of education (Bates, 1997, cited in Alexander, 2001).
Online Mental Training Using WebExcellence
Authors: Stodel Emma J. , Farres Laura G. , MacDonald Colla J.
Published: May 2011

The idea of providing mental training1 (MT) and sport psychology services online is becoming more prevalent as technology continues to shape education and the Web becomes more popular. In September 2000, an Internet search for “mental training” using the Google search engine identified 11,700 sites (Stodel & Farres, 2000a). An identical search in March 2004 revealed approximately 74,700 sites, representing an increase of almost 650%. Although a dynamic and fully interactive online MT environment does not yet appear to have been realised, it surely will not be long before this happens. In this chapter we highlight the importance of thoughtful design when developing such training and present a framework to guide the development of online MT.
Partnerships
Authors: Baer Linda L. , Duin Ann Hill
Published: May 2011

The rapidly changing environment in society is cause for higher education to reassess approaches to meeting educational needs. Many key factors are in a dynamic flux: these include growing numbers of students, more diverse populations of students, the need for more responsive educational content and modes of delivery, and the dynamic and unpredictable nature of the economy.
Programmed Instruction Overview
Authors: Lazarus Belinda Davis
Published: May 2011

The history, efficacy, and impact of programmed instruction (PI) range from the rudimentary teaching machines of the 1920s to present-day computer programs and Internet activities that industry, military, and educational institutions use to teach everything from Hebrew to military law. Although PI was originally developed to teach basic academic skills, this overview describes its evolution, research on its effectiveness, and contemporary applications worldwide.
Quality Function Deployment in Training Design
Authors: Jeffery Arthur B. , Bratton-Jeffery Mary F.
Published: May 2011

Since the 1950s, the designers of training systems have embraced the logical and deliberate methodology of the Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate (ADDIE) Model in one form or another (Figure 1) (Dick, Carey, & Carey, 2001; Sugrue, 2003).
Republic of Ireland
Authors: Mulligan Brian
Published: May 2011

There is a major contrast in the Republic of Ireland between e-learning content production and the actual use of e-learning technologies. Per head of population, Ireland has one of the highest participation rates in e-learning content production in the world. CBT Systems was set up in Ireland in the mid-80s, and subsequently evolved into SmartForce and later SkillSoft. The original founders of CBT Systems later went on to set up other e-learning ventures such as Riverdeep. In addition to these well-known companies, there are many smaller content-development ventures that either trade under their own names or contract to larger e-learning content providers. There has been some investment in content-development operations by overseas companies. NETg recently closed a major operation in Ireland as part of a restructuring process after their acquisition by Thomson. However, several international corporations have located internal e-learning content development in Ireland. Indeed, Ireland’s industrial development agencies have identified e-learning content development as a growth opportunity, listing availability of software and pedagogy skills as well as excellent international broadband connections as competitive advantages for such investment (http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/ or http://www.idaireland.com/).
Researching Distance Education and E-Learning
Authors: Naidu Som
Published: May 2011

An overview of the distance learning (DE) literature from the past few decades shows a great deal of attention being focused on “descriptive” research, which was work that aimed to describe the DE phenomenon. This focus led to some interesting and groundbreaking work on defining the nature of distance education, and theorizing about learning and teaching at a distance (see Keegan, 1996). With more experience, both in the practice of DE and its study, there has been growing interest on evaluating the quality of learning and teaching at a distance, and on the influences of various forms of technology in this regard. This research has drawn from what we know about human cognition, learning, and teaching, and about the effects of educational technology, including how to go about ascertaining their effects validly and reliably. One of the most noteworthy contributions to educational practice of distance education has been the awareness and interest in learning and instructional design processes, and course design and development more generally. Mostly because of the need to pay greater attention to distance learners, educators have come to realize that “shoveling” lecture notes and class schedules (known as “shovel ware”) into printed study guides and online learning environments is not going to be enough. A lot more is necessary to engage learners and support them in their learning.
Supporting Online Collaborative Learning in Mathematics
Authors: Nason Rod , Woodruff Eearl
Published: May 2011

One of the most promising pedagogical advances for online collaborative learning that has emerged in recent years is Scardamalia and Bereiter’s (1996) notion of knowledge-building communities. Unfortunately, establishing and maintaining knowledge-building communities in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments such as Knowledge Forum® (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1998) in the domain of mathematics has been found to be a rather intractable problem (Bereiter, 2002a; Nason, Brett, & Woodruff, 1996).
Technology Diffusion
Authors: Nelson Pete
Published: May 2011

American education is facing a growing crisis. Confidence in public education is decreasing, as many schools appear unable to deliver quality education to all students. Wanting to return budget surpluses, many legislators insist that educators do more with less, despite the fact that classes are often too large, curriculum is often old, schools are often in need of repair, and fuel and other expenses are rising. And we face a nationwide teacher shortage that will get worse before it gets better. These forces, together with conflicting political agendas and changing educational philosophies, buffet educational processes which angers teachers, confuses students, and annoys parents.
Text-Only Web Techniques
Authors: Fagan Jody Condit
Published: May 2011

Text-only Web techniques are an important set of tools in every Web developer’s repertoire. When fully utilized, they allow developers to render multiple types of information, in various organizations, into linear text. Examples of these techniques include text descriptions or transcripts of non-text media; the ability to reorganize tabular text into linear information; and label placement for Web forms. Using text-only Web techniques does not imply the exclusion of other media types from a Web site. Rather, text-only Web techniques allow for media richness by providing clear, speedy and intuitive access for many types of users. Although the term “text only” commonly arises in discussions of assistive technology, text-only techniques provide benefits for all Web users. This article will discuss some of the motivations for developers to use text-only techniques, including adherence to World Wide Web consortium standards. It also will describe the three primary technical strategies for creating a text-equivalent version of a Web page.
Thinking Skills in the Digital Era
Authors: Eshet Yoram
Published: May 2011

The fast development in digital technologies during the digital era confronts individuals with situations that require the utilization of an ever-growing assortment of technical, cognitive, and sociological skills that are necessary in order to perform and solve problems in digital environments. These skills have been termed in recent literature digital literacy (Bruce and Peyton, 1999; Gilster, 1997; Lenham, 1995; Pool, 1997; Swan, Bangert-Drowns, Moore-Cox, & Dugan, 2002; Tapscott, 1998). But unlike the common attitude toward this term in most of these papers, digital literacy is more than just the technical ability to operate digital devices properly; it comprises a variety of cognitive skills that are utilized in executing tasks in digital environments, such as surfing the Web, deciphering user interfaces, working with databases, and chatting in chat rooms. In fact, digital literacy has become a survival skill in the modern era: a key that helps users to work intuitively in executing complex digital tasks. In recent years, extensive efforts were made to describe and conceptualize the cognitive skills that users employ in digital environments (e.g., Burnett & McKinley, 1998; Cothey, 2002; Hargittai, 2002; Zins, 2000). Unfortunately, these efforts are usually local, focusing on a selected and limited variety of skills—mainly information-seeking skills (e.g., Marchionini, 1989; Zins)—and, therefore, they do not cover the full scope of the term digital literacy. Eshet (2004) has established a holistic conceptual model for digital literacy, arguing that it covers most of the cognitive skills that users and scholars employ while working in digital environments and, therefore, providing researchers and designers of digital environments with a powerful framework and design guidelines. This framework was derived from the analysis of large volumes of empirical and qualitative information regarding the behavior of users in digital environments. Its exclusive nature was discussed by Aviram and Eshet (in press), and its feasibility was tested by Eshet and Amichai-Hamburger (2004), who tested the performance of different groups of computer users with tasks that require the utilization of different digital skills. In these experiments they showed that the range of digital skills is restricted to the five skills discussed in the present paper. The present paper describes the major cognitive skills that comprise digital literacy, discusses their value in refining our understanding of how people interact in their work and in digital environments, and examines their application in improving communication among users, scholars, and designers of digital environments. The digital thinking skills that are discussed in the paper are the photovisual, reproductive, branching, informational, and socioemotional thinking skills. We suggest that these five digital thinking skills exist in every learner, but their volumes or magnitudes differ from person to person.
Threaded Discussion
Authors: Swan Karen
Published: May 2011

Threaded discussion is a kind of computer-mediated communication (CMC). Specifically, it is an online dialog or conversation that takes the form of a series of linked messages organized topically. Threaded discussions are text based and asynchronous; they develop over time as participants separated in time and space read and reply to existing messages. Messages in a given thread share a common topic and are linked to each other in the order of their creation. Threaded discussions are particularly useful in online venues where multiple discussions develop at the same time. They grow like crystals, with multiple threads expanding simultaneously rather than evolving linearly. Without them, discussion participants would confront a chaotic, unsorted list of messages on many different topics. By linking responses to messages within a common subject line, threaded discussion makes it easier for participants to focus on one conversation and avoid the distractions of unrelated postings.
Total Online vs. Hybrid
Authors: Wang Shiang-Kwei
Published: May 2011

Cutting-edge computer technology has been advancing the implementation of distance learning in higher education, and facilitating the preparation of a virtual learning environment for students who have difficulty participating in a traditional face-to-face classroom due to busy time schedules or untravelable distances. The educational needs from more and more non-traditional students (part-time working adults or students who are unable to attend class physically) have been growing, and the use of online learning has expanded. In an online learning environment, the instructor and students are separated in time and space; as a result, the learning is facilitated through various synchronous and asynchronous technologies (e.g., discussion board, chat room, e-mail, and video conferencing tools).
21st Century E-Student Services
Authors: Langer Gary R.
Published: May 2011

Developments in information technology and distance learning are revolutionizing the way postsecondary education is organized and delivered in the United States and the world. Higher education is undergoing a fundamental transformation. How higher education transforms in the early years of the 21st century will set the context for the extent to which higher education as an institution will continue to serve as the primary deliverer of educational content, certificates, and degrees. A critical element in this knowledge transfer is the depth and breadth of online student services support. This article will explore the design and development of such services in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System1 (www.mnscu.edu).
Usability
Authors: Yong Su-Ting
Published: May 2011

This is a brief review of the history of usability and a discussion of usability in developing a computer-based learning program (CBLP). According to ISO 9241, usability is defined as the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use (Bevan, 2001). The main focus of usability in this article is concerned with the user interface and interaction design. To create a usable computer-based learning program, one needs to understand the definition of usability and the goals of usability. Besides achieving usability goals, a usable CBLP should also be able to attain user experience goals. Design principles can be used to develop a CBLP featured with usability. Two design models will be discussed in this review.
Using Heutagogy to Address the Needs of Online Learners
Authors: Eberle Jane , Childress Marcus
Published: May 2011

In 2002, approximately 1,680 institutions offered over 54,000 online courses (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2003). While there has been a dramatic increase in the number of such courses, the real question is, how effective are they? Are we, in fact, developing capable people who possess an ‘all round’ capacity centered on the characteristics of: high self-efficacy, knowing how to learn, creativity, the ability to use competencies in novel as well as familiar situations, possessing appropriate values, and working well with others (Hase, 2004)?
What the Millennium Teacher Must Know and Be Able to Do
Authors: Solvie Pamela
Published: May 2011

Pedagogical tools for the millennium teacher will look very different from those in place in most classrooms today. Video, sound, and text will all be interwoven, creating environments that will engage students as all senses are engaged. Students will be exposed to information and people in “real-time” settings, will be using a variety of learner-based tools (Bull, Bell, Garofalo & Sigmon, 2002), and will employ tools that speak to each other. As Kellner (2001) indicates, such new technologies may appear exotic in the present, but “will become increasingly commonplace in the future and will force a rethinking of education” (p. 47). Teachers will not be, nor should they expect to be, “experts” in the classroom, but will serve as guides, while they themselves receive guidance and assistance from others to support the use of technology tools that will be “in place” in millennium learning environments. Millennium teachers must ask for and expect this support, as it will be necessary to meet the “three musts” of teachers for millennium classrooms.
Where Does Work End and Home Life Begin?
Authors: Berge Zane L. , Bichy Cathy , Grayson Candice , Johnson Anthony , Macadoff Stephen , Nee Kathryn
Published: May 2011

Many years ago, it was a commonly held belief that technology would improve industries and service professions, which means that people could work shorter hours and their employers would make just as much money. Essentially, this is the central myth of modern capitalism. Modern technologies are the shackles that bind today’s employees to their jobs long after they get home from work. Beginning in the 1990s, technology made working from home possible for a growing number of people. At first this was perceived as the era of great things to come. At home many people had personal computers connected to their corporate network. It quickly became clear that telecommuting and the rapidly proliferating “electronic leash” of cell phones made work inescapable in the 24/7, on-demand work accessibility (Curry, 2003). Today, almost half of America’s workforce is using computers, fax machines, e-mail, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and cell phones during what is supposed to be non-work time, according to the Families and Work Institute (Galinsky, Kim, & Bond, 2001).
Workplace Computer-Supported Network-Based Learning
Authors: Rugelj Joze
Published: May 2011

In the new economy, companies require employees who are willing and able to continue learning. Workplace learning is the key factor and an essential element in the personal and professional development of employees. It is the main means by which they improve their work, and it is a key strategic element in achieving organizational objectives and goals, leading directly to enhanced competitive advantage.
Classification of Communities of Practice
Authors: Archer Norm
Published: May 2011

Communities of practice have been in existence since the days when individual craftsmen got together to share ideas and issues. Eventually, these developed into craft guilds and finally into professional associations. But more specifically, focused communities of practice have recently begun to attract a great deal of attention in the business community because they provide a way for strategically growing and managing knowledge as an asset (Grant, 1996; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Powell, 1998). The increasing complexity in products, services, and processes requires more specialization and collaboration between workers. However, orchestrating the involvement of disparate groups that work on complex projects requires finding a balance between differentiation, when teams work separately, and integration, when groups meet to exchange knowledge. For example, development projects usually benefit when expertise is drawn from diverse sources, including potential users, where the interests, skills, and formal and tacit knowledge of the different groups can be drawn together by skillful project managers (Garrety, Robertson & Badham, 2004). By responding to new economic pressures for rapid transformation, communities of practice can help improve knowledge exchange in critical areas, so organizations can maintain or improve their competitive positions. The growth of interest in communities of practice has resulted in their spread into several classifications of modern organizations, all of which must share knowledge and learning to thrive. How effectively communities of practice perform in these different environments is of great interest, and, in order to study them in detail, we suggest classifying them according to the structure of the organizations they serve. We have been able to identity four such classifications: internal communities of practice, communities of practice in network organizations, formal networks of practice, and self-organizing networks of practice. Among these four classifications are characteristics of particular interest, especially when successful practices exhibited in one classification can be replicated in others. This article outlines the characteristics of each classification, explores their differences and similarities, and summarizes the findings from a review of the literature. The objective of this article is to encourage the migration of successful ideas for knowledge transfer and learning among the different classifications.
Document Management, Organizational Memory, and Mobile Environment
Authors: Makinen Sari
Published: May 2011

Wireless networks and new tools utilizing mobile information and communication technologies (ICTs) challenge the theories and practices of document management, in general, and records management, in particular. The impact of these new tools on document management as a part of organizational memory is as yet unexplored because the wireless and mobile working environment is a new concept. Recent studies of mobile environment have focused on mobile work itself or technologies used, and the aspect of document management, especially records management, has been ignored.
The Impact of Communities of Practice
Authors: Zboralski Katja , Gemunden Hans Georg.
Published: May 2011

In today’s knowledge-based and networking economy, an organization’s ability to acquire, develop, and strategically leverage knowledge has become a crucial factor for global competitiveness (Drucker, 1993; Kogut & Zander, 1992; Leonard-Barton, 1995; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). Consequently, a growing number of companies have introduced knowledge management systems into their organizations. The purpose of these efforts is to use the resource knowledge more effectively and efficiently and thereby gain strategic advantages (Davenport & Prusak, 1998; Probst, Raub & Romhardt, 1999). In this context, the concept of communities of practice (CoPs) has gained considerable attention as one of the central means of implementing knowledge management. For more than a decade, the term community of practice (CoP) has been the subject of various discussions in theory and practice alike. The origin of CoPs lay in Lave and Wenger’s (1991) seminal research toward a social theory of learning. By investigating learning in groups, the researchers called a community of practice an active system about which members share their understanding of what they do and which are united in action and in the meaning this action has. The increasing popularity of the concept in the scientific discourse and managerial practice brought about various interpretations of the term. Therefore, no universal definition of the term exists. The same applies for the name of this organizational phenomena. Nevertheless, while different organizations use different names, they share the underlying idea. Existing CoP definitions commonly stress the activities of these learning communities: to work together; exchange information, knowledge, and experiences, and thereby, learn and generate new knowledge and common practices (Lesser & Storck, 2001; McDermott, 1999; Stewart, 1996; Wenger, 1998a). CoPs were initially understood as self-emerging and self-organizing organic networks in which everyone can participate (Wenger, 1998b). Current practice, however, shows that organizations strategically support existing networks and deliberately establish communities with managed memberships (Storck & Hill, 2000). In the following, CoPs are defined as a group of people in an organization who interact with each other across organizational units or even across organization boundaries due to a common interest or field of application. Their objective is to learn and support one another in order to create, spread, retain, and use knowledge relevant to the organization.
Knowledge Exchange in Networks of Practice
Authors: Teigland Robin , Wasko Molly McLure
Published: May 2011

The concept of a community of practice is emerging as an essential building block of the knowledge economy. A community of practice consists of a relatively tightly knit group of members who know each other, work together face to face, and continually negotiate, communicate, and coordinate with each other directly. The demands of direct communication and coordination limit the size of the community, enhance the formation of strong interpersonal ties, and create strong norms of direct reciprocity between members (Brown & Duguid, 2000). These communities develop through the mutual engagement of individuals as they participate in shared work practices, supporting the exchange of ideas between people, which results in learning and innovation within the community (Brown & Duguid, 2000). However, typically not all of an organization’s relevant knowledge resides within its formal boundaries or within its communities of practice. To remain competitive, organizations need to ensure that new knowledge found in the external environment is integrated with knowledge that is found within the firm (Cohen & Levinthal, 1990). Organizations must rely on linkages to outside organizations and individuals to acquire knowledge, especially in dynamic fields where innovation results from inter-organizational knowledge exchange and learning (Cohen & Levinthal, 1990).
Psychoanalysis, Organisations, and Communities
Authors: Nobre Angela Lacerda
Published: May 2011

A psychoanalytical approach to organisations highlights the fact that there are many hidden dimensions to humans’ actions. The possibility of taking those dimensions into account, and of using them and exploring them in a positive and constructive way, is a critical move within current organisational environments, characterised by high levels of complexity. The epistemology of knowledge and philosophy of science pose similar questions in the sense that they search for the sense-making process which legitimises specific theoretical approaches. This process may only be meaningful within a particular context, which in turn corresponds to a concrete community. Communities are not only the external arenas for social interaction, but they represent the identity and the social process through which knowledge is created, used, and shared. However, this bedrock function of communities is so subtle that it is almost invisible, with the consequence that its importance is often not acknowledged, and thus it risks remaining neglected. Psychodynamics focuses on the inner structures which determine not only our actions, but also what we see, take into account, interpret, or take for granted. By gradually making these structures visible and explicit, it is possible to transform them through a developmental process that is characterised by continual reflection in action. Within a psychodynamic approach, both the inner structures and the developmental process are the result of a collective endeavour, as they are based upon specific and concrete relationships; that is, it is a social and relational based approach, both by focusing on current and previous relationships, as well as by co-constructing a new type of relationship with the psychoanalyst. This perspective is critical to the understanding of the fundamental role of communities as the ethos of relationships. If we take a reductionist perspective and state that knowledge is in people’s heads, then we fail to take into account the critical issue of how it got there, and thus neglect the central importance of communities within an organisational setting. When knowledge management stresses the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995), or when organisational learning focuses on double-loop learning processes as the need to question our deep held assumptions (Argyris, 1992; Argyris & Schon, 1978), both areas are highlighting the crucial issue of dealing both with the superficial and with the deep aspects of organisational life, with the visible and the invisible, the obvious and that which is subtle and volatile, the individual and the social, and the inner and the outer worlds.
Approximate Range Queries by Histograms in OLAP
Authors: Buccafurri Francesco , Lax Gianluca
Published: May 2011

Online analytical processing applications typically analyze a large amount of data by means of repetitive queries involving aggregate measures on such data. In fast OLAP applications, it is often advantageous to provide approximate answers to queries in order to achieve very high performances. A way to obtain this goal is by submitting queries on compressed data in place of the original ones. Histograms, initially introduced in the field of query optimization, represent one of the most important techniques used in the context of OLAP for producing approximate query answers.
Data Mining for Damage Detection in Engineering Structures
Authors: Kanapady Ramdev , Lazarevic Aleksandar
Published: May 2011

The process of implementing and maintaining a structural health monitoring system consists of operational evaluation, data processing, damage detection, and life prediction of structures. This process involves the observation of a structure over a period of time using continuous or periodic monitoring of spaced measurements, the extraction of features from these measurements, and the analysis of these features to determine the current state of health of the system. Such health monitoring systems are common for bridge structures, and many examples are citied in (Maalej et al., 2002).
Discretization for Data Mining
Authors: Yang Ying , Webb Geoffrey I.
Published: May 2011

Discretization is a process that transforms quantitative data into qualitative data. Quantitative data are commonly involved in data mining applications. However, many learning algorithms are designed primarily to handle qualitative data. Even for algorithms that can directly deal with quantitative data, learning is often less efficient and less effective. Hence research on discretization has long been active in data mining.
Ethnography to Define Requirements and Data Model
Authors: DeLorenzo Gary J.
Published: May 2011

Ethnographic research offers an orientation to understand the process and structure of a social setting and employs research techniques consistent with this orientation. The ethnographic study is rooted in gaining an understanding of cultural knowledge used to interpret the experience and behavior patterns of the researched participants. The ethnographic method aids the researcher in identifying descriptions and in interpreting language, terms, and meanings as the basis of defining user requirements for information systems.
Evaluation of Data Mining Methods
Authors: Giudici Paolo
Published: May 2011

Several classes of computational and statistical methods for data mining are available. Each class can be parameterised so that models within the class differ in terms of such parameters (see, for instance, Giudici, 2003; Hastie et al., 2001; Han & Kamber, 2000; Hand et al., 2001; Witten & Frank, 1999): for example, the class of linear regression models, which differ in the number of explanatory variables; the class of Bayesian networks, which differ in the number of conditional dependencies (links in the graph); the class of tree models, which differ in the number of leaves; and the class multi-layer perceptrons, which differ in terms of the number of hidden strata and nodes. Once a class of models has been established the problem is to choose the “best” model from it.
Neural Networks for Prediction and Classification
Authors: Smith Kate A.
Published: May 2011

Neural networks are simple computational tools for examining data and developing models that help to identify interesting patterns or structures. The data used to develop these models is known as training data. Once a neural network has been exposed to the training data, and has learnt the patterns that exist in that data, it can be applied to new data thereby achieving a variety of outcomes. Neural networks can be used to: • learn to predict future events based on the patterns that have been observed in the historical training data; • learn to classify unseen data into pre-defined groups based on characteristics observed in the training data; • learn to cluster the training data into natural groups based on the similarity of characteristics in the training data.
Survival Analysis and Data Mining
Authors: Chen Qiyang , Oppenheim Alan , Wang Dajin
Published: May 2011

Survival analysis (SA) consists of a variety of methods for analyzing the timing of events and/or the times of transition among several states or conditions. The event of interest can happen at most only once to any individual or subject. Alternate terms to identify this process include Failure Analysis (FA), Reliability Analysis (RA), Lifetime Data Analysis (LDA), Time to Event Analysis (TEA), Event History Analysis (EHA), and Time Failure Analysis (TFA), depending on the type of application for which the method is used (Elashoff, 1997). Survival Data Mining (SDM) is a new term that was coined recently (SAS, 2004). There are many models and variations of SA. This article discusses some of the more common methods of SA with real-life applications. The calculations for the various models of SA are very complex. Currently, multiple software packages are available to assist in performing the necessary analyses much more quickly.
Topic Maps Generation by Text Mining
Authors: Yang Hsin-Chang , Lee Chung-Hong
Published: May 2011

Topic maps provide a general, powerful, and user-oriented way to navigate the information resources under consideration in any specific domain. A topic map provides a uniform framework that not only identifies important subjects from an entity of information resources and specifies the resources that are semantically related to a subject, but also explores the relations among these subjects. When a user needs to find some specific information on a pool of information resources, he or she only needs to examine the topic maps of this pool, select the topic that seems interesting, and the topic maps will display the information resources that are related to this topic, as well as its related topics. The user will also recognize the relationships among these topics and the roles they play in such relationships. With the help of the topic maps, you no longer have to browse through a set of hyperlinked documents and hope that you may eventually reach the information you need in a finite amount of time, while knowing nothing about where to start. You also don’t have to gather some words and hope that they may perfectly symbolize the idea you’re interested in, and be well-conceived by a search engine to obtain reasonable result. Topic maps provide a way to navigate and organize information, as well as create and maintain knowledge in an infoglut.