The nature of virtual organizations and their anticipated social and psychological impacts

Virtual organizations are goal-driven associations of intellectual agents working within the information space. The development of virtual organizations and their agents is a natural continuation of the long movement in western society towards organizing for efficient commerce and communication. For at least 800 years cities and traditional organizations fulfilled these purposes, but now with the advent of high-speed communication and rich interconnectivity, a general diaspora of commerce and education may be expected. All of the technology needed to nurture the rise of virtual organizations is in place, albeit in a primitive form. The authors argue that in the next decade this technology will reach such a level of sophistication that traditional universities and schools with their massive physical assets will no longer be sustainable, and will be replaced by virtual organizations delivering education and training with a minimum of physical infrastructure     

A NEW APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF CHANGING INITIAL RESPONSES TO MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

The hypothesis that it is unwise to change answers to multiple choice questions was tested using the technique of multiple regression analysis. The net number of correct answers as a result of changing responses was regressed against final grade in the course, numeric score on the exam, percent of total answers changed for all questions and for analytical questions, sex of the student, and scope of the exam.
The results show that there are gains to be made by changing responses. The variables which proved to be significant indicated that students who did well on the test changed a large percentage of answers, and that those who were taking a final exam tended to gain more. Final grades, sex of the student, and analytical questions had no significant impact on gains from changing responses. On the basis of the results gathered, the authors reject the hypothesis that changing responses is unwise.     

A Knowledge Based Tool for Imparting Planning Expertise

The need for inclusion of process planning techniques in the engineering curriculum is discussed and some of the present barriers to its implementation reviewed. A process planning tool is described which utilises expert systems methods to impart planning expertise. The system displays many of the features associated with planning experts and is capable of handling a wide range of learning situations.

RESUME Cet article examine la nécessite de comprendre dans la programme d'études d'ingénieur les techniques de planning de procédé. II considère aussi des obstacles actuels à cette réalisation. Une technique de planning de procédé se décrit qui utilise des methodes de systèms spécialistes pour transmettre l'habileté du planning. Cette technique montre plusieurs des caracteristiques associées avec les experts de planning et offert la possibilityé de traiter un grand choix de situations instructives     

野外求生装备

不要对电影《触及颠峰》出现的情况心神不宁，别紧张。无论是在山区还是草原，现代化的装备可以让你在野外保持干燥、安全和充足的营养。带上我们介绍的装备和经验去野外吧，我们保证你不会沦为衣不蔽体的原始人……     

Mastering as an Inferentialist Alternative to the Acquisition and Participation Metaphors for Learning

A tension has been identified between the acquisition and participation metaphors for learning, and it is generally agreed that this tension has still not been adequately resolved. In this paper, we offer an alternative to the acquisition and participation metaphors for learning: the metaphor of mastering. Our claim is that the mastering metaphor, as grounded in inferentialism, allows one to treat both the acquisition and participation dimensions of learning as complementary and mutually constitutive. Inferentialism is a semantic theory which explains concept formation in terms of the inferences individuals make in the context of an intersubjective practice of acknowledging, attributing, and challenging one another's commitments. We first introduce the key concepts of inferentialism and consider the perspective on learning that inferentialism inspires. Then, we condense the lessons of the inferentialist concepts into a single mastering metaphor for learning and argue that learning consists in the process by which learners come to master concepts and practices. We conclude by discussing how the mastering metaphor could be put to work in a theoretical reconciliation of the cognitive and sociocultural dimensions of learning.