Web-based interaction: A review of three important human factors

With the rapid development of information technology, the World Wide Web has been widely used in various applications, such as search engines, online learning and electronic commerce. These applications are used by a diverse population of users with heterogeneous backgrounds, in terms of their knowledge, skills, and needs. Therefore, human factors are key issues for the development of Web-based applications, leading research into human factors to grow significantly in the past decade. This paper identifies and reviews three important human factors that have been examined in existing empirical studies, including gender differences, prior knowledge, and cognitive styles. The main results from the analysis include that: (a) females have more disorientation problems than males; (b) flexible paths are more beneficial to experts while structured content is more useful to novices; and (c) Field Dependent and Field Independent users prefer to employ different search strategies. In addition to reviewing the existing empirical studies, this paper also highlights areas of future research.     

Patterns of conceptual change in evolution

The purpose of this study was to investigate the patterns of students' conceptual restructuring within the theoretical framework of biologic evolution. The study draws on conceptual change theory in an effort to define the limits of the theory and suggest other models of restructuring. Through a series of 17 structured and open-ended interviews with each of 4 participants, the students' changing conceptions about facets of evolutionary theory were documented throughout the school year. Interview questions were developed from the wealth of alternative conceptions documented in the literature, and many interview techniques were employed to assure the mode validity of all research findings. The conceptual change documented demonstrates that many conceptions in this content area are closely interwoven, so that a change in one conception requires a change in many others. Four patterns of conceptual change were seen: (a) cascade, (b) wholesale, (c) incremental, and (d) dual constructions. Of these 4, only 2 conform to the changes described by conceptual change theory. The other two patterns suggest that different models of conceptual restructuring are required for further science education research. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Hinduism and the State in Trinidad

Abstract

Between 1845 and 1917, a total number of 143,939 Indian immigrants were brought to Trinidad under the system of Indian indenture to fill the labour gap created by the abolition of slavery. Approximately 88% of these immigrants practised various facets of Hinduism. Upon completion of their five‐year periods of contracted labour, over 90% of the indentureds opted to make Trinidad their permanent home. From their very entrance into Trinidad society, Hindus were engaged in the practice of many aspects of their religion. However, in Trinidad, elements of religion were variously truncated, modified, diluted, intensified or excised. During the initial decades of Indian indenture, Indian cultural forms were met with either contempt or indifference. Yet, despite the arduous nature of the task, various dimensions of Indian culture have now been integrated into the Trinidad and Tobago's multicultural prism.

Whether within the context of colonialism, the immediate post independence ferment, or the post 1980s dynamic political ethos, Trinidad's ‘cultural’ diversity has consistently underscored intriguing, sometimes tumultuous dialogue between the State and various elements of the society. Predictably, the common factor and point of contention was the conflict between Hindu and non‐Hindu ideologies. This essay seeks to explore one dimension of that dialogue; namely, the engagement of the Trinidad Hindu community with the State, with specific emphasis on the issues that can be situated within the realm of culture. These include Adult Franchise, the Hindu Marriage Bill, the Divorce Bill, the Cremation Ordinance, the issuing of capitation grants, education, symbolic claims and ‘nationalizing’. Underscoring the dialogue are two, often contradictory, determinants: the attitude of the State towards Hinduism (and Indian culture on the whole), and the tension between the retention of ‘Hindu’ culture and the need to transcend the boundaries of communalist discourse into the nationalist frame. Therein resides the crux of a most intriguing interaction between two very dynamic entities.     

Community benefits of major sport facilities: The Darebin International Sports Centre

Community benefit is a term used frequently in an Australian government context to justify the construction of sport facilities that require initial and ongoing financial support from the community. The purpose of this research is to investigate the community benefit derived from the development of a new sport facility, in this case the Darebin International Sports Centre (DISC), Melbourne, Australia and examine community (user) perceptions to verify claims that the venue delivers a range of community benefits. Interviews were undertaken with both facility users and key stakeholders at the venue, and the data was qualitatively analysed to identify specific incidents and coded into concepts to identify predominate themes or patterns: social/psychic impacts; community visibility and image impacts; developmental impacts and political impacts. The findings of this study indicate that, from a user perspective, DISC provides an extensive range of noneconomic benefits such as increased accessibility, exposure, participation and success. The majority of facility users stated that the development of DISC has had a positive effect on their sport, sporting community and sporting experience.     

Opportunities and threats: A security assessment of state e-government websites

This study assessed the security of the U.S. state e-government sites to identify opportunities for and threats to the sites and their users. The study used a combination of three methods – web content analysis, information security auditing, and computer network security mapping – for data collection and analysis. The findings indicate that most state e-government sites posted privacy and security policy statements; however, only less than half stated clearly what security measures were in action. Second, the information security audit revealed that 98% of the sites secured users' accounts with SSL encryption for data transmission, and the sites' search tools enable public users to search for public information only. Third, although the sites had most of their internet ports filtered or behind firewalls, all of them had their main IP addresses detected and their port 80/tcp open. The study discussed the threats and opportunities and suggested possible solutions for improving e-government security.     

Virtual Microscopy: A Useful Tool for Meeting Evolving Challenges in the Veterinary Medical Curriculum

Veterinary schools, similar to many professional health programs, face a myriad of evolving challenges in delivering their professional curricula including expansion of class size, costs to maintain expensive laboratories, and increased demands on veterinary educators to use curricular time efficiently and creatively. Additionally, exponential expansion of the knowledge base through ongoing biomedical research, educational goals to increase student engagement and clinical reasoning earlier in the curriculum, and students’ desire to access course materials and enhance their educational experience through the use of technology all support the need to reassess traditional microscope laboratories within Professional Veterinary Medical (PVM) educational programs. While there is clear justification for teaching veterinary students how to use a microscope for clinical evaluation of cytological preparations (i.e., complete blood count, urinalysis, fecal analysis, fine needle aspirates, etc.), virtual microscopy may be a viable alternative to using light microscopy for teaching and learning fundamental histological concepts. This article discusses results of a survey given to assess Professional Veterinary Medical students’ perceptions of using virtual microscope for learning basic histology/microscopic anatomy and implications of these results for using virtual microscopy as a pedagogical tool in teaching first-year Professional Veterinary Medical students’ basic histology.     

Open+ Technology with Remote Staff Support Improves Branch Access and Enhances Community Engagement

ABSTRACT

Hamilton Public Library’s northernmost rural branch in Ontario’s Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) leveraged technology to offer customers Extended Access to the library, a valued community resource. Using a unique model of virtual assistance to support customers remotely, customers connect with information staff at the system’s Central Library, when needed. Library hours increased from 17 to 60 hours per week: customer visits and programming participation subsequently increased. This successful pilot encouraged a second Extended Access Branch, with early data suggesting similar positive results. Now, with careful planning and attention to the pilot principles, additional locations are planned.     

Development and reliability of the comprehensive crisis plan checklist

It is of vital importance that children are educated in a safe environment. Every school needs to have a well‐developed crisis management document containing plans for prevention, intervention, and postvention. We developed the Comprehensive Crisis Plan Checklist (CCPC) to serve as a valuable tool that can be used to assist practitioners with evaluation of their school crisis management plans. To use the CCPC, school personnel should match the items on the checklist to elements in their developing or existing crisis plan to determine missing elements. By comparing a school or district crisis plan to the CCPC, practitioners or school personnel will be able to determine strengths and weaknesses of the plan as well as provide feedback for making their plans more complete and comprehensive. In this study, we describe the development of the CCPC and report on reliability data using this checklist. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Exploring the Construct of Pedagogical Discontentment: A Tool to Understand Science Teachers’ Openness to Reform

It is well established that many teachers are resistant to take up the messages of reform if these messages require them to substantially shift their teaching practices. What accounts for this resistance? One well established explanation is that teachers lacks the self-efficacy required to attempt something new in their teaching—they simply do not feel capable of effectively enacting the messages. However, there are a host of studies describing teachers with high self—efficacy who remain resistant to messages of change. The purpose of this article is to address the gap in the application of self-efficacy to understand the change or lack of change of science teachers’ practice through the introduction of a related construct, pedagogical discontentment. This construct reflects a state of cognitive conflict that exists when an individual recognizes a mismatch between her/his science teaching pedagogical goals and classroom practices. One potential result of this mismatch is that a teacher problematizes her teaching practices, prompting an increased receptivity to reform messages. Building on existing literature, we present vignettes of four hypothetical teachers who exemplify variations of pedagogical discontentment. When combined with self-efficacy, pedagogical discontentment provides a useful lens to understand teachers’ consideration and adoption of messages of reform.