The CIO role: new skills needed
In today’s knowledge-based economy, the functions of the chief information officer (CIO) are becoming increasingly complex and multi-dimensional. And while some CIOs are already starting to assume leadership roles, recent studies have revealed a real need for education and training in order for CIOs to obtain the skill sets required to move into leadership positions.
Transforming risky 'business-as-usual' scenarios into a more sustainable future
Climate change and sustainable development are interlinked problems that pose serious challenges. Although the issues are complex, both problems could be solved together, provided we begin immediately, says Professor Mohan Munasinghe, co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace for scientific contributions related to climate change and sustainable development.
Empowering the young in an ageing society: Selene Biffi of Youth Action for Change
Influential decision makers are seldom youthful, but in Italy young adults could qualify as a marginalised minority group. Precarious and poorly-paid employment is endemic even for university graduates. Unemployment for those aged 15 to 24 is among the highest in Europe at nearly 20 per cent, and hovers roughly fourteen points higher than Italy’s general population.
The business of positive change
Profit-seeking is consistent with social entrepreneurship, says Pamela Hartigan, the co-founder of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and author of The Power of Unreasonable People: How Entrepreneurs Create Markets that Change the World. Hartigan says social entrepreneurs see the profit motive as a means to the goal of improving society and not as an end in itself.
Innovative and responsible leadership: Taking a long-term perspective
How can sustainability issues become part of everyday business decisions and should business leaders, especially from family-controlled firms, be looking to take a longer term view rather than get caught up in the 'obsession' with quarterly results?
Public policy 'necessary' to make low carbon economy a reality
When it comes to the notion of a sustainable low carbon economy, governments around the world may like the concept but are either reluctant or incapable of developing the means to make it reality, says Jonathon Porritt, founder director of Forum for the Future. It has to be done through the markets, through various instruments and market mechanisms -- but the markets cannot do it unaided. It is public policy that will shape the markets, which in turn could deliver a low carbon future.
Water, water everywhere, each drop more precious
“God has given us water, but He doesn’t pay for the treatment plants!” That, in a nutshell, is the way the chairman of the World Water Council sums up the predicament the world faces regarding both the supply and distribution of water resources.
A helping hand for families trying to escape the poverty trap in India
Kancheepuram, some 80 kilometres south-west of Chennai, is well known for its 500-year-old heavyweight silk sari tradition. But chances were that its ornate, intricate pieces were woven by children between the age of five and 13, working 12 to 16 hours a day and bonded to a master weaver until their parents’ debt was paid in full.
La question paysanne des hautes terres d'Afrique de l'Est
Caractérisées par une altitude moyenne de 1000 m, de vastes plateaux et un climat équatorial modéré, les hautes terres d’Afrique de l’Est ont toujours été une région propice au développement de l’agriculture. Bien avant l’arrivée des premiers colons, ces terres étaient déjà occupées et organisées autour de la production agricole. A partir de 1850, les modèles de développement importés d’Europe se généralisent dans ces régions, puis se réorganisent à partir de
Literature Review in Informal Learning with Technology Outside School
When we think about learning, we often tend to think about schools, universities, colleges. If we go a little further and think about learning outside school, we might begin to consider museums, galleries and science centres. What we often tend to overlook, however, is the sort of learning that goes on as part of our normal day-to-day activities when we don't even think we are learning. Today, however, anyone who has an interest in how children learn with digital technologies needs to look beyon
A Participatory Design Approach for the Support of Collaborative Learning and Knowledge Building in
Engagement in collaborative learning and knowledge building activities is still a big challenge for many workplace-learning designers. Especially in highly competitive environments people might be reluctant to give away too much of their tacit knowledge. A feeling of ownership and an involvement of the individual in the planning of the learning activities can be important motivational factors. In an international research project called IntelLEO - Intelligent Learning Extended Organization we in
Theory-based support for mobile language learning: noticing and recording
This paper considers the issue of 'noticing' in second language acquisition, and argues for the potential of handheld devices to: (i) support language learners in noticing and recording noticed features 'on the spot', to help them develop their second language system; (ii) help language teachers better understand the specific difficulties of individuals or those from a particular language background; and (iii) facilitate data collection by applied linguistics researchers, which can be fed back i
ePortfolios in Education - Learning Tools or Means of Assessment?
ePortfolios are collections of electronic evidence which capture the idea of lifelong learning ePortfolios at school can support the documentation of competences better than normal tests and assessments. The acquired competences may further be transfered from school to the world of work. On the other hand ePortfolios are powerful tools for learning and reflecting.
Structuring collective activities with tasks and plans
Symba is a Web-based framework designed to support collective activities in a learning context. In order to make students explicitly work out their organization it dissociates an "organizational level" and an "activity level" and allows students to describe their organization as plans composed of tasks.
Mapcar: a framework to support the elaboration of the conceptual model of a Knowledge Based System
Constructing a knowledge based system requires the identification of the conceptual primitives and problem-solving strategy that will permit capturing the expertise in an adapted way. This paper presents an approach to support the elaboration of such a conceptual model by data-abstraction. Our work is motivated by the objective of constructing models that correspond to how experts solve problems, which is required for some applications, as, for example, presenting problem-solving in an education
Dynamic manipulation schemes of geometrical constructions: Instrumental genesis as an abstraction pr
Dynamic manipulation of geometrical constructions enabled by a specially designed computational tool, called variation tool, is studied during the implementation of proportional geometric tasks in the classroom. The analysis combined the use of two theoretical frameworks: instrumental genesis and situated abstraction. The Dynamic Manipulation Schemes (DMS) developed by 13-year-old students based on the use of the variation tool are reported in the paper. It is
indicated that situated abstraction
Pour une meilleure intégration de lutilisateur dans le processus de conception et dévaluation
Le système TELOS intègre un ensemble darchitectures, de méthodes et doutils appelés à transformer en profondeur le fonctionnement institutionnel et les pratiques professionnelles en matière de conception, de production et de diffusion de cours et dapprentissage en ligne. TELOS suppose non seulement lappropriation de nouveaux outils technologiques, mais aussi un nouveau modèle de travail qui prend appui sur une ingénierie pédagogique rigoureuse et sur laccès à des banques d
The Grid Shared Desktop for CSCL
The Grid Shared Desktop (GSD) is a collaborative environment that provides a multidimensional humans-to-machine-to-humans interface by the means of multiples cleverly intricated desktops. The GSD is a platform independent solution that benefits of the intrinsic advantages of the Grid technology such as scalability and security. In order to verify that our GSD solution meets CSCL requirements, we have conducted experiments in the context of the ELeGI project. As part of the project use cases, the
Selected Papers from the Kaleidoscope Convergence Workshop
To foster synergy between research on collaborative, mobile and inquiry learning and between different scientific and methodological perspectives (namely, educational design, psychology and computer science) and to strengthen the cohesion of the community, the Kaleidoscope network has decided to organise a âConvergence Workshopâ in conjunction with the 2006 Contractors' General Assembly in Amsterdam, Dec. 4-6.
The two fields of collaborative and inquiry learning have bee
Explication et préceptorat, à propos d'une étude de cas dans TéléCabri
Après avoir présenté un cadre d’étude des processus explicatifs, nous présentons l’analyse didactique d’une interaction téléprésente entre un précepteur humain et son élève. Nous montrons comment l’explication n’est pas une propriété intrinsèque du discours mais un attribut, résultat d’une construction de signification pendant l’interaction du précepteur avec son élève.
