The boundaries of information sharing and integration: A case study of Taiwan e-Government

The paper explores boundaries of cross-boundary information sharing and integration in the context of Taiwan e-Government by using an integrated framework of boundaries adopted from the literature. The discussion of the various boundaries provides a thorough lens to understand the complexity of cross-boundary information sharing and integration. The adopted framework of boundaries is proved to be a useful analytical tool to perceive various vertical and horizontal boundaries in initiatives of cross-boundary information sharing and integration in different e-Government contexts. A new process boundary in the vertical dimension is also identified. In addition, the case shows that centralized information systems can help government agencies to cross the boundaries of information sharing and reduce the number of boundaries government agencies may encounter. Lastly, it is perceived that vertical boundaries are not always easier to cross than horizontal boundaries.     

Grading Multiple Choice Exams with Low-Cost and Portable Computer-Vision Techniques

Although technology for automatic grading of multiple choice exams has existed for several decades, it is not yet as widely available or affordable as it should be. The main reasons preventing this adoption are the cost and the complexity of the setup procedures. In this paper, Eyegrade, a system for automatic grading of multiple choice exams is presented. While most current solutions are based on expensive scanners, Eyegrade offers a truly low-cost solution requiring only a regular off-the-shelf webcam. Additionally, Eyegrade performs both mark recognition as well as optical character recognition of handwritten student identification numbers, which avoids the use of bubbles in the answer sheet. When compared with similar webcam-based systems, the user interface in Eyegrade has been designed to provide a more efficient and error-free data collection procedure. The tool has been validated with a set of experiments that show the ease of use (both setup and operation), the reduction in grading time, and an increase in the reliability of the results when compared with conventional, more expensive systems.     

Interorganizational collaboration and community building for the preservation of state government digital information: Lessons from NDIIPP state partnership initiative

As a part of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), the Library of Congress (LC), partnering with the Center for Technology in Government (CTG), launched an effort in 2005 to integrate state governmental entities into the national network to preserve born-digital information that is both significant and at risk of loss. The main theme that emerged from the efforts of LC, CTG, and the state and federal digital preservation community was the importance of partnership efforts and collaborative strategies for the preservation of state government digital information. Based on the findings of the initiative, this paper discusses challenges and opportunities regarding interorganizational collaboration and community building for digital preservation of state government information. Following the community of practice framework, it is recommended that a “state government digital information preservation community” be developed to facilitate collaboration across agencies and knowledge professionals in state governments.     

Preference for color and form in preschoolers as related to color and form differentiation.

The preference for color or form as bases for similarity judgements among preschoolers (ages 2-5) and its relationship to the differentiation of form and color concepts as indexed by discrimination, identification, and labeling were investigated. As hypothesized, an early stage of form preference was found, replicating Brian and Goodenough's results. This was followed by the often-reported color preference and subsequent shift to form preference. A second hypothesis-that the relative salience of a dimension develops in parallel to its relative degree of differentiation-was not supported. This was so despite the fact that, within age groups, individuals who displayed higher proficiency in one dimension that in the other also preferred that dimension over the other. Implications for for existing explanations of developmental trends in preference were discussed.     

Immunization to learned helplessness in appetitive noncontingent contexts

We examined immunization against learned helplessness in 36 dogs. The experiment consisted of five phases: (1) appetitive contingent training, (2) immunization training, (3) inescapable noise training, (4) recovery, and (5) an appetitive noncontingent test. There were six groups: (1) a group immunized by controllable and predictable noise, (2) a group immunized by controllable but unpredictable noise, (3) a group immunized by uncontrollable but predictable noise, (4) a group given uncontrollable and unpredictable noise during immunization training, (5) a group not submitted to any treatment during the immunization phase, followed by uncontrollable noise, and (6) a group not submitted to any treatment. The immunization effect was assessed by measuring the acquisition of an appetitive response when food was not contingent upon responding. Our results demonstrate that the immunization effect can be observed in a noncontingent appetitive context. The effects of escapable noises that ensure immunization against the motivational deficit and predictable noises that immunize against the associative deficit seem to be additive.     

The Effectiveness of Concept Maps in Teaching Physics Concepts Applied to Engineering Education: Experimental Comparison of the Amount of Learning Achieved With and Without Concept Maps

A study was conducted to quantify the effectiveness of concept maps in learning physics in engineering degrees. The following research question was posed: What was the difference in learning results from the use of concept maps to study a particular topic in an engineering course? The study design was quasi-experimental and used a post-test as a measuring instrument. The sample included 114 university students from the School of Industrial Engineering who were divided into two equivalent homogeneous groups of 57 students each. The amount of learning attained by the students in each group was compared, with the independent variable being the teaching method; the experimental group (E.G.) used concept maps, while the control group (C.G.) did not. We performed a crossover study with the two groups of students, with one group acting as the E.G. for the topic of optical fibers and as the C.G. for the topic of the fundamental particles of matter and vice versa for the other group. For each of the two topics studied, the evaluation instrument was a test of 100 dichotomous items. The resulting data were subjected to a comparative statistical analysis, which revealed a significant difference in the amount of learning attained by the E.G. students as compared with the C.G. students. The results allow us to state that for the use of concept maps, the average increment in the E.G. students’ learning was greater than 19 percentage points.     

Exploring the determinants of scientific data sharing: Understanding the motivation to publish research data

The research community is working to create new capabilities to share data and to deal with issues of data quality, standards, and protection, and ethical and responsible use of shared data. These issues have been found to influence the willingness of researchers to publish data created during the course of their research. We use the results of a survey conducted by the working groups of the DataONE project to present a new understanding of challenges to the development of global data collections and preservation by systematically examining the determinants of the researchers' likelihood to openly publish research data. This study found two key determinants affecting researchers' willingness to publish their data. First is data management in terms of data management skills and organization support. Second is the acknowledgement of the data set's originator in terms of appreciation and legal and policy requirements. This study also found that the impact of the significant determinants is contingent on the amount of data to be published. Finally, this study calls for further investigation to ascertain the relationship of data management and data quality, and systematic investigation on the roles and responsibility of government within these global data preservations.     

Benchmarking e-Government: A comparison of frameworks for computing e-Government index and ranking

Countries are often benchmarked and ranked according to economic, human, and technological development. Benchmarking and ranking tools, such as the United Nation's e-Government index (UNDPEPA, 2002), are used by decision makers when devising information and communication policies and allocating resources to implement those policies. Despite their widespread use, current benchmarking and ranking tools have limitations. For instance, they do not differentiate between static websites and highly integrated and interactive portals. In this paper, the strengths and limitations of six frameworks for computing e-Government indexes are assessed using both hypothetical data and data collected from 582 e-Government websites sponsored by 53 African countries. The frameworks compared include West's (2007a) foundational work and several variations designed to address its limitations. The alternative frameworks respond, in part, to the need for continuous assessment and reconsideration of generally recognized and regularly used frameworks.     

Ethical and privacy principles for learning analytics

The massive adoption of technology in learning processes comes with an equally large capacity to track learners. Learning analytics aims at using the collected information to understand and improve the quality of a learning experience. The privacy and ethical issues that emerge in this context are tightly interconnected with other aspects such as trust, accountability and transparency. In this paper, a set of principles is identified to narrow the scope of the discussion and point to pragmatic approaches to help design and research learning experiences where important ethical and privacy issues are considered.     

Analytics for learning design: A layered framework and tools

The field of learning design studies how to support teachers in devising suitable activities for their students to learn. The field of learning analytics explores how data about students' interactions can be used to increase the understanding of learning experiences. Despite its clear synergy, there is only limited and fragmented work exploring the active role that data analytics can play in supporting design for learning. This paper builds on previous research to propose a framework (analytics layers for learning design) that articulates three layers of data analytics—learning analytics, design analytics and community analytics—to support informed decision-making in learning design. Additionally, a set of tools and experiences are described to illustrate how the different data analytics perspectives proposed by the framework can support learning design processes.