bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Tacit Knowledge in Communities of Practice
Authors: Zappavigna Michele Suzanne 
Published: May 2011

Harnessing the tacit knowledge latent in communities of practice in organizations is a major impetus in knowledge management research and practice. The concept of practice itself is closely associated with activity that is below-view such as intuition and tacit knowing. Indeed, the features binding the members of the communities are often tacit in nature, including things such as rules of thumb, ideologies, embedded habits, or predispositions. Much research in knowledge management posits a dichotomy of doing and saying: what we can do is, in these frameworks, necessarily distinct from what we can say. Polanyi’s (1966) idea that “we know more than we can tell” (p. 4) is often cited to affirm this differentiation. This article seeks to review this relation with tacit knowledge as a focus and suggests that the skillful practice of communities of practice is carried in the discourse which they produce. We adopt a functional approach to discourse, drawn from Systemic Functional Linguistics, that suggests a realization relationship between doing, meaning, and saying rather than a series of dichotomies involving these three semiotic modes. According to this view, what we can say embodies what we can mean which in turn embodies what we can do (Halliday, 1975). This approach is in accord with Wenger’s (1998) opposition to formalist dichotomies when theorizing social action. This entry is structured to present the potential of discourse analysis as an analytical tool to understand the tacit component of participation in communities of practice. The background section details the issues which theories of practice have raised for knowledge management and information systems research. We then review the analytical tools which the field of linguistics offers to uncover implicit knowledge and assumptions in communities (e.g., Iedema, 2003; Jorderns & Little, 2004; Zappavigna-Lee & Patrick, 2004; Zappavigna-Lee et al., 2003). We conclude by arguing that the nature of our skillful practice may be carried in language: we articulate what we know through patterns and features of language of which we are not consciously aware. Analysis of this kind of language aims to elicit implicit meaning and is allied with psychoanalytical methods that attempt to understand implicit aspects of social experience.
Storing XML Documents in Databases
Authors: Schmidt Albrecht , Manegold Stefan , Kersten Martin 
Published: May 2011

Ever since the Extensible Markup Language (XML) (W3C, 1998b) began to be used to exchange data between diverse sources, interest has grown in deploying data management technology to store and query XML documents. A number of approaches propose to adapt relational database technology to store and maintain XML documents (Deutsch, Fernandez & Suciu, 1999; Florescu & Kossmann, 1999; Klettke & Meyer, 2000; Shanmugasundaram et al., 1999; Tatarinov et al., 2002; O’Neil et al., 2004). The advantage is that the XML repository inherits all the power of mature relational technology like indexes and transaction management. For XML-enabled querying, a declarative query language (Chamberlin et al., 2001) is available.
Multimedia Data Mining Concept
Authors: Swierzowicz Janusz 
Published: May 2011

The development of information technology is particularly noticeable in the methods and techniques of data acquisition, high-performance computing, and bandwidth frequency. According to a newly observed phenomenon, called a storage low (Fayyad & Uthurusamy, 2002), the capacity of digital data storage is doubled every 9 months with respect to the price. Data can be stored in many forms of digital media, for example, still images taken by a digital camera, MP3 songs, or MPEG videos from desktops, cell phones, or video cameras. Such data exceeds the total cumulative handwriting and printing during all of recorded human history (Fayyad, 2001). According to current analysis carried out by IBM Almaden Research (Swierzowicz, 2002), data volumes are growing at different speeds. The fastest one is Internet-resource growth: It will achieve the digital online threshold of exabytes within a few years (Liautaud, 2001). In these fast-growing volumes of data environments, restrictions are connected with a human’s low data-complexity and dimensionality analysis. Investigations on combining different media data, multimedia, into one application have begun as early as the 1960s, when text and images were combined in a document. During the research and development process, audio, video, and animation were synchronized using a time line to specify when they should be played (Rowe & Jain, 2004). Since the middle 1990s, the problems of multimedia data capture, storage, transmission, and presentation have extensively been investigated. Over the past few years, research on multimedia standards (e.g., MPEG-4, X3D, MPEG-7) has continued to grow. These standards are adapted to represent very complex multimedia data sets; can transparently handle sound, images, videos, and 3-D (three-dimensional) objects combined with events, synchronization, and scripting languages; and can describe the content of any multimedia object. Different algorithms need to be used in multimedia distribution and multimedia database applications. An example is an image database that stores pictures of birds and a sound database that stores recordings of birds (Kossmann, 2000). The distributed query that asks for “top ten different kinds of birds that have black feathers and a high voice” is described there by Kossmann (2000, p.436).
Challenges and Policy Imperatives for E-Government in Africa
Authors: Olatokun Wole Michael 
Published: May 2011

Government is a system of social control under which the right to make laws, and the right to enforce them, is vested in a particular group in society. Organizationally, governments may be classified into parliamentary or presidential systems, depending on the relationship between executive and legislature. Government may also be classified according to the distribution of power at different levels. It may be unitary—that is, with the central government controlling local affairs—or it may be federated or confederated, according to the degree of autonomy of local government. When this system of social control is being implemented to a large extent on the platform of information and communication technology (ICT), then we have an electronic government (e-government). E-government refers to the provision of online public services to citizens and businesses. Services for citizens include registration to government services, such as health care, education or employment benefits. For businesses, e-government services can take the form of online alerts for public procurements or funding opportunities as well as information and support on applicable legislation in a given sector. E-government is widely viewed as an extraordinary opportunity for administrations to cut down their costs, speed up procedures and, therefore, increase their efficiency and reactivity. No doubt, e-government has grown in the past decade worldwide. Its efforts can vary from Web portals to online license renewals to experimentation with online voting. E-government is generally recognized as a means of making government more efficient while allowing it to be more responsive to customer needs (Jeffery, 2005). The growth in e-government has been rapid. For example, in the United States, the percentage of local governments with Web sites increased from 8.7% in 1995 to more than 80.0% in 2000 (Holden, Norris, & Fletcher, 2003). Advances in ICT are helping to make the growth in e-government a global phenomenon. A United Nations report shows that governments around the world are moving towards higher levels of e-government to better serve their citizens (UN-ASPA, 2002). In Africa, e-government is not yet widespread. However, some African countries have embarked on e-government initiatives and have recorded varying degrees of success. This article aims at reviewing some of these initiatives and ultimately recommends the way forward in terms of policy issues and strategies that African governments must put in place for their e-government projects and initiatives to be worthwhile.
Middleware Support for Context-Aware Ubiquitous Multimedia Services
Authors: Yu Zhiwen , Zhang Daqing 
Published: May 2011

In order to facilitate the development and proliferation of multimedia services in ubiquitous environment, a context-aware multimedia middleware is indispensable. This chapter discusses the middleware support issues for context-aware multimedia services. The enabling technologies for the middleware such as representation model, context management, and multimedia processing are described in detail. On top of our previous work, the design and implementation of a context-aware multimedia middleware, called CMM, is presented. The infrastructure integrates both functions of context middleware and multimedia middleware. This chapter also aims to give an overview of underlying technologies so that researchers in ubiquitous multimedia domain can understand the key design issues of such a middleware.
Components of Effective Evaluation in Online Learning Environments
Authors: Terrell Steven R. 
Published: May 2011

Dringus and Terrell (1999) defined evaluation in an OLE as: …an iterative process for assessing the efficacy and validity of online learning environments (OLEs). Evaluation should take place from the conceptual stage of OLE development through the measurement of learning outcomes of an online course. Accurate and ongoing assessments of learners, teachers, the instructional process, the course content, and the OLE as an entity will include a combination of formative and summative evaluations for each of these components and their effectiveness as a unit. (p. 61) Other authors (e.g., Bunderson, 2003; Govindasamy, 2001; Hirumi, 2000; Khan, 2000; Williams, 1999) have addressed similar issues on a conceptual and theoretical level, but there is a need for further examination at the application level.
Teaching Adult Learners in Online Career and Technical Education
Authors: Hernández-Gantes Victor M. 
Published: May 2011

Online education is becoming an important component ofcareer and technical education (CTE) in teacher preparationand at the graduate level. In the midst of such growth, andin response to questions about quality compared with traditional learning, there is a consensus that onlinecourses and programs should be designed based on the needs of adult learners. However, much of the literature inonline CTE lacks implicit connections to emerging notions ofadult development and learning. This article provides an overview of the status of online education in CTE at the postsecondary level, discusses related issues and current research focus, and highlights adult learning developmentsand the implications for curriculum design, instruction, anduse of technology. The article concludes with an outline of emerging trends bridging adult learning and onlineeducation relevant to career and technical education.
Technological Trends in Adult Education
Authors: Hope John K. 
Published: May 2011

The purpose of this article is to provide a critical review ofthe past two decades of technology use in adult education.The article begins with a brief summary of technologicaltrends, such as the introduction of the Internet and theWorld Wide Web, that have influenced adult education overthe past two decades. Political, economic, social, andpedagogical issues that have influenced the use of technology in adult education are also discussed andpossible solutions to these issues are outlined. The article concludes with an attempt to extrapolate futuretechnological trends that could influence the direction ofadult education in the decade to come.
Instructional Interactivity in a Web-Based Learning Community
Authors: Bodomo Adams B. 
Published: May 2011

It is demonstrated in this chapter that enhancedinteractivity is the single most important reason why teachers should practise web-based teaching and why students should be encouraged to construct web-basedlearning communities. The notion of conversational learningcommunity (CLC) as a kind of constructivist learningenvironment is introduced. It is shown that instructionalinteractivity, defined as active communication in a conversational learning community between instructor(s), learners, course materials, and links to remote experts and resources, is a central aspect of the learning situation. A practical implementation of the CLC model is presented through describing the interactive features of a web-basedcourse using WebCT. It is concluded that web-basedlearning and teaching actually enhances interactivity both within and beyond the classroom setting.
Collaborative Learning
Authors: Cooper Lesley , Burford Sally 
Published: May 2011

This chapter examines the concept of collaborative learning and its theoretical and practical foundations. Collaborativelearning takes place in a structured social situation where agroup of students work as a team to assist each other with learning tasks. The instructional strategies encourage student to student interactions. Drawing on group workskills, collaborative learning has been demonstrated to be effective in a variety of learning situations. Development of a variety of Internet technologies such as communication tools, emails, discussion forums, video and audio tools together with webcasting allow collaborative teachingstrategies to be used creatively in online learning. The authors have trialed the use of various technologies in the human services and several case examples of onlinecollaborative learning are provided. These case studies cover activities such as supervision and controversial issues in social work ethics. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the future directions and the challenges this poses for traditional classroom teaching.
Classroom-in-a-Box
Authors: Crawford Caroline M. , Dickenson Virginia , Smith Marion S. 
Published: May 2011

This discussion focuses upon a theoretical understanding of the instructional architecture that supports learningcommunities within three-dimensional virtual worldenvironments; specifically, within the Second Life worldenvironment. This theoretical understanding provides the essential link between instructional imperatives, performance improvement and a community of learningwithin an instructional technology framework. Motivated by the shift from the Information Age known for the availability of information towards the Cognitive Age which emphasizes the ability to access, evaluate, organize, comprehend, apply, analyze, synthesize and innovatively represent information into an enhanced understanding and novel use, this discussion offers the opportunity to directly address the learner’s needs within the threedimensionalvirtual learning environment, such as Second Life, through the design of a virtual learning environment classroom-in-a-box.
Profiling Group Activity of Online Academic Workspaces
Authors: Karaiskakis D. , Kalles D. , Hadzilacos Th. 
Published: May 2011

All undergraduate and postgraduate students of theHellenic Open University (HOU) attend courses at a distance. The lack of a live academic community is reported by many as a drawback in their studies. Systematic exploitation of new communication and collaboration technologies is desirable in HOU but cannot be imposed universally as the average student’s IT competence level is relatively low. In this work, we present a key aspect of thedevelopment of an integrated communication environment in which collaboration spaces serving as open communities play a key role in user engagement in the whole communication environment. To track and evaluate user participation, we propose to use indices drawn from inexpensively collected usage data. Such indices, when combined with our detailed knowledge of the internal workings of user groups, provide concrete evaluation of thecommunity online activity.
eLearning in the Cloud
Authors: Sclater Niall 
Published: May 2011

Elearning has grown rapidly in importance for institutions and has been largely facilitated through the “walled garden” of the virtual learning environment. Meanwhile many students are creating their own personal learning environments by combining the various Web 2.0 servicesthey find most useful. Cloud computing offers new opportunities for institutions to provide dynamic and up-to-date Internet-based, e-learning applications while ensuring high levels of service, and compliance with institutional policies and legislation. The cloud is rapidly evolving in its architecture, the services offered and the logistics of deployment. It brings with it risks but also possibilities for learners and for educational institutions to reduce costs and enhance services. It is likely to severely disrupt thebusiness model developed by existing vendors of VLEs who provide an integrated suite of e-learning tools, installed and maintained by the institution’s IT services department.
Quasi-Facial Communication for Online Learning Using 3D Modeling Techniques
Authors: Wang Yushun , Zhuang Yueting 
Published: May 2011

Online interaction with 3D facial animation is an alternative way of face-to-face communication for distance education. 3D facial modeling is essential for virtual educational environments establishment. This article presents a novel 3D facial modeling solution that facilitates quasi-facialcommunication for online learning. Our algorithm builds 3D facial models from a single image, with support of a 3D face database. First from the image, we extract a set of feature points, which are then used to automatically estimate the head pose parameters using the 3D mean face in our database as a reference model. After the pose recovery, a similarity measurement function is proposed to locate the neighborhood for the given image in the 3D face database. The scope of neighborhood can be determined adaptivelyusing our cross-validation algorithm. Furthermore, the individual 3D shape is synthesized by neighborhood interpolation. Texture mapping is achieved based on feature points. The experimental results show that our algorithm can robustly produce 3D facial models from images captured in various scenarios to enhance the lifelikeness in distant learning.
Stories of Engagement with E-Learning
Authors: Lautenbach Geoffrey 
Published: May 2011

I argue that although university lecturers delve into the“shallow waters” of e-learning, they do not do so in sufficient depth and resign themselves to the perpetuation of cognitivist, behaviorist, and objectivist forms of knowledge without discovering more about the medium that could possibly liberate their restricted epistemologies. In this article, I explore possible reasons for varyingengagement with e-learning, assuming that these reasons are located within the dimensions of the unit of analysis ofthe study; namely, lecturers’ changing theories of knowledge and teaching in first encounters with e-learning. Using Lee Shulman’s table of learning (Shulman, 2002) as a heuristic, I use excerpts from personal narratives to highlight the epistemological and pedagogical transformation of nine lecturers as they engage witheducational technologies in their work.
Blending Classroom Activities with Multi-User Virtual Environment for At-Risk Primary School Students in an After-School Program
Authors: Tay Lee Yong , Lim Cher Ping 
Published: May 2011

This chapter documents how a group of 14 academically at-risk Primary 5 students have been engaged in academic related tasks in an after-school program mediated by a game-like 3D multi-user virtual environment (MUVE), Quest Atlantis (QA). The case study explores the possibilities and potentials of using the game-like 3D MUVE for the re-engagement of this group of academically at-risk students. From the observation notes, interviews with the studentsand students’ activities in the MUVE, the two main elements in the MUVE that have been found to engage thestudents are: ‘play and fun’ and ‘recognition and affirmation of performance.’ However, these engaging elements alone could not purposefully engage thesestudents. Non-ICT activities such as orientation tasks, support by teachers, and the careful selection of authentic assignments are necessary to further enhance their engagement with their learning.
Autism and Family Interventions Through Technology
Authors: Ferdig Richard E. , Amberg Hilary G. , Elder Jennifer H. , Donaldson Susan A. , Valcante Gregory , Bendixen Roxanna 
Published: May 2011

Most research on family interventions of children withautism has focused on the role of the mother, and little is known about the effects of training fathers. Through a series of National Institutes of Health–funded studies we have demonstrated treatment success by focusing onfathers who are trained at home. Although our research has been successful, this work introduces questions related to how best to train fathers when on-site, in-home training is not a viable option due to geographical distance or a variety of other logistical constraints. This article describes the development and initial use of an Internet-based tool to offer this training more broadly. We briefly describe past research as well as the need for the implementation of an Internet-based tool. We then describe the system, document early indicators of success,and discuss metrics we are using with our fathers. The article concludes with a discussion of future goals andresearch needs.
Bothering with Technology
Authors: Doherty John J. 
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses the role that technology can play in a first-year Honors seminar. For the purposes of the chapter, blended learning is defined as re-tasking face-to-face time or out of class time to build community and meet course objectives more effectively. The challenge in anHonors seminar, however, is to apply this when technology is not considered a viable solution to potential course challenges. The chapter presents four strategies to buildcommunity through interaction and engagement: (1) icebreakers can be moved online to build more student interaction; (2) online journals can facilitate better engagement with the course and the texts; (3) documents can be delivered online to model good practice and promote sustainability; and (4) quizzes can be used to develop metacognitive skills outside of class. Technology, it is concluded, allows instructors to explore effective and engaging mediated instruction in multiple formats.
Framing Pedagogy, Diminishing Technology
Authors: Thornton Julia 
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores frames and sensemaking as a means of understanding the experiences of teachers in higher education who are slow adopters of technology in settings where technology is also inflexible. Literature on teachingonline emphasises the differences between online and face-to-face teaching over the similarities between them, and conceptualises this as a discrepancy in expectation between face-toface and online teaching that requiresteachers to remodel their approach to overcome it. Problems of low uptake of courseware systems by teachersare commonly identified as either problems of teachers’ insufficient technical knowledge, or as problems of the nature of technology, however it is more useful to understand them as sensemaking problems whereteachers deal with new technology using old frameworks. Two cases are explored in depth showing that some frames require less effort to produce good teaching. The paper suggests that teachers with inflexible frames must break them to adapt to online environments. However, a pre-existing pedagogically oriented frame already primed to seek out new settings for learning forms a minimally sufficient frame for sensemaking within an online setting even in the absence of strong technological skills.