Collaborative digital government in Mexico: Some lessons from federal Web-based interorganizational information integration initiatives

The use of information and communication technologies in government has been characterized as one powerful strategy for administrative reform. From recent experiences around the world, it seems clear that in order to enjoy some of the greatest benefits of digital government, the integration of information across organizational boundaries is necessary. However, these digital government initiatives face additional challenges, since the required level of interorganizational collaboration and trust is often not supported by existing institutional arrangements, organizational structures, and managerial processes. In fact, many institutions and administrative structures found in government contexts offer incentives for single-agency work only, which produces stove-pipe systems. Based on an extensive case study in the Mexican federal government, this paper explores how certain institutional arrangements and organizational structures can enable or hinder cross-agency collaboration and consequently, interorganizational information integration.     

Information needs and information-seeking behaviors of HIV positive men and women

Although a portion of the HIV/AIDS population has long been active in seeking out information in support of self-care, little work has been done to examine closely the information needs and information-seeking behaviors of this community relative to the provision of medical reference. This exploratory study provides insight into the types of information HIV positive individuals seek and the resources they consult in gathering information to bolster health and well-being. Having a better understanding of the information needs and information-seeking behaviors of individuals with HIV/AIDS will facilitate information intervention for this community.     

Affect graphing: leveraging graphical representations in the study of students’ affect in mathematics

Educational Studies in Mathematics - Affect (e.g., beliefs, attitudes, emotions) plays a crucial role in mathematics learning, but reliance on verbal and written responses (from surveys,...     

Be(com)ing an excellent student: a qualitative study with engineering undergraduates

This study explores the factors affecting the development of academic excellence on a group of 33 high-achieving engineering students. Participants were interviewed individually to explore several personal and contextual aspects of their past and current academic pathways. The results obtained reflect three main contributions to the conceptualization and understanding of excellence in academic contexts: the need to adopt a multidimensional and dynamic view about the concept of excellence; the existence of a variety of possible pathways and environmental conditions to achieve excellence; and the understanding of excellence as a process undergoing continuous development, which thrives within the family context and school environment, and that seems to be continuously nurtured by individuals in interaction with their contexts.     

The Tendential Theory of Sporting Prowess

The results of sport would not interest us if either they were necessitated or they were a matter of pure chance. And if either case were true, the playing of sport would seem to make no sense either. This poses a dilemma. But there is something between these two options, namely the dispositional modality. Sporting prowess can be understood as a disposition towards victory and sporting liabilities a disposition towards defeat. The sporting contest then pits these net prowesses against each other. The stronger will tend to beat the weaker but no more than tend. This makes sense of the sporting contest in which the weaker knows they still can win. The stronger team can lose though they do not tend to do so. The dilemma is thus escaped.     

Language in science performance: do good readers perform better?

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Science performance is highly affected by students’ reading comprehension. Recently, there has been a growing attention to the role of linguistic...     

Well-posedness of linear closed- loop Stackelberg Strategies for singularly perturbed systems

This paper is concerned with a linear closed-loop Stackelberg strategy for singularly perturbed systems. A procedure to obtain a well-posed formulation of the problem, where both fast and slow modes are available for measurements, is given.     

全球重要农业文化遗产—中国浙江青田稻鱼共生系统项目实施框架

水稻是世界上最主要的农作物之一。长期以来,亚洲许多地方一直有在稻田中养鱼（并作或连作）的传统。据历史记录和考古研究成果,中国稻田养鱼的历史可以追溯到2000多年以前。稻鱼共生系统不仅是一种独特的生产方式,而且还是一种具有丰富内涵的传统文化。稻鱼共生系统可以提供多种产品和服务功能：保障粮食安全,提高营养水平,增加农民收入,防止疟疾传染,生物多样性保护,病虫害控制,促进授粉过程,促进碳氮循环,水土保持,以及文化传承和休憩等。但是,正像其他许多传统农业技术一样,由于受到快速经济增长、城市化和现代农业技术的影响,稻鱼共生系统也面临着严峻威胁。中国是联合国首批农业文化遗产保护试点国家之一,浙江省青田县龙现村的传统稻鱼共生系统被列为首批试点之一,其目的就是开发出一种农业文化遗产“动态保护和适应性管理”的方法论并进行推广。 本文是按照粮农组织要求所编制的项目实施的国家框架,在全面分析中国,特别是青田稻鱼共生系统发展历史和基本特征的基础上,确定了项目实施的总体目标和具体目标。根据项目的总体要求和稻鱼共生系统在我国的发展前景,预期的主要成果包括：建立国家农业文化遗产认定标准体系,确定国家农业文化遗产名录,并作为推荐为全球重要农业文化遗产的基础;促进将全球重要农业文化遗产中具有重要意义的农业生物多样性的保护和适应性管理纳入国家有关部门的保护和发展规划与政策中;通过对社区广泛参与,促进试点地方的具有全球意义的农业生物多样性得到可持续的利用与保护,并通过采取适当的技术和政策手段促进传统农业系统生态过程与文化过程的发展;将试点所得到的经验向更大范围进行推广,建立国家农业文化遗产保护网络,促进全球农业文化遗产网络的建立。此外,还介绍了为达到这些目标所应采取的措施和开展的具体活动,提出了促进机制建设、资金支持、社会发展、生态保护的可持续性途径,给出了促进项目实施的具体执行框架和各利益相关方的责任与义务。     

“Spanish as a foreign language” teachers’ profiles: inclusive beliefs, teachers’ perceptions of student outcomes in the TCLA program, burnout, and experience

The present study focuses on the Temporary Classroom of Linguistic Adaptation program (TCLA program) in which specialist teachers (Spanish as a foreign language teachers—SFL teachers) teach Spanish to immigrants who are not proficient in the language. We suggest that support for immigrant students in Spanish schools should adopt a new inclusive educational approach. The present investigation is a preliminary attempt at characterizing the profiles of SFL teachers by assessing, simultaneously, five relevant variables (through cluster analysis): inclusive beliefs, teachers’ perceptions of student outcomes in TCLA program, general burnout, diversity-related teacher burnout, and years of teaching experience. Eighty-one SFL teachers from 132 schools in Spain (EU) were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire. Cluster analysis found two clearly differentiated groups: the larger one, Innovative SFL Teachers and the smaller, Traditional SFL Teachers. The Traditional SFL Teachers are characterized by more years of experience, lower inclusive beliefs scores, lower teachers’ perception of student outcomes in the TCLA program scores, and higher burnout scores as compared with the Innovative SFL Teachers. Moreover, Traditional SFL Teachers conceptualize their teaching role as a "teacher of Spanish" whereas Innovative SFL Teachers see themselves much more as playing a supportive role.