Lara Whitelaw, Trevor Collins, Zdenek Zdrahal, Paul Mulholland, Linda Potter, Non Scantlebury and Josie Taylor
The purpose of this paper is to develop support for the annotation of educational resources within a digital library and their subsequent integration with distance learning course…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop support for the annotation of educational resources within a digital library and their subsequent integration with distance learning course materials in a virtual learning environment.
Design/methodology/approach
A toolset for supporting the annotation of structured course materials was developed in participation with subject librarians, lecturers and library cataloguers.
Findings
The transparency of support provided by the system was found to be an important factor influencing the acceptance of the toolset. The approach was to facilitate rather than automate the annotation tasks of the subject librarians, lecturers and cataloguers.
Research limitations/implications
The tools developed were used in two pilot applications: one for an undergraduate health and social care course, and the second for a postgraduate science communication course. The implications of the research are not limited to these domains, and further applications of this approach and the toolset would help to further generalize and refine the work done.
Originality/value
The value of the work described here is in identifying the benefits of transparent support tools for multi‐disciplinary teams involved in the production and deployment of online course materials. Here the benefits of metadata annotation are highlighted by enabling the subject librarians, lecturers and cataloguers to see how the annotations are made and the consequences of those choices.
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George Herbert Mead developed a sophisticated social and pragmatist model of science, which has escaped the attention of most modern-day scholars and symbolic interactionists…
Abstract
George Herbert Mead developed a sophisticated social and pragmatist model of science, which has escaped the attention of most modern-day scholars and symbolic interactionists. While Mead’s insights have much to offer to contemporary interactionist studies of science and technology, they are not without their shortcomings. In his analyses, Mead tends to put most of his emphasis on the concrete micro-foundations of knowledge production and the functional necessity of science as a problem-solving institution par excellence, yet he fails to seriously question the role of power and domination within the competitive terrain of scientific fields. Lonnie Athens has attempted to reconstitute the basic assumptions of symbolic interactionism by insisting that domination, rather than mere sociality, is the foundation of human existence, since the root of all social acts are comprised of super- and subordinate relations. Changing our fundamental assumptions about social action thus forces us to ask new questions about the micro- and macro-processes we explore in our research. By applying this radicalized lens to Mead’s view of science, I attempt to forge a new interactionist approach, which would better connect with and contribute to the critical wing of the science studies tradition.
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The sociology of science and technology, although a lively field (Lynch, 1993; Shapin, 1995; Pinch, 2006), continues to be little taught within American sociology departments. The…
Abstract
The sociology of science and technology, although a lively field (Lynch, 1993; Shapin, 1995; Pinch, 2006), continues to be little taught within American sociology departments. The practitioners are often to be found within interdisciplinary Science and Technology Studies (S&TS) programs and departments. S&TS is a newly emerging discipline. In 2007 for the first time the NRC in the US included it as an “emerging discipline” within its annual ranking exercises. This peculiarly “interdisciplinary discipline” (in other words it has interdisciplinary roots largely in sociology, philosophy, history, political science, law, anthropology, cultural studies, and feminism, but has now formed a sufficiently stable body of canonical works, handbooks, PhD programs, and the like that it is becoming institutionalized as a new discipline in its own right), takes science, technology, and medicine as its object of study and examines its knowledge, practices, and embedding in culture and society using largely humanistic and social science methods. Often the practitioners of S&TS have their first degrees in the sciences or engineering and a higher degree in the humanities and social sciences. Many S&TS departments, as well as teaching their own majors, and offering capstone courses, carry out a service role teaching engineering and science students. These latter students often take S&TS courses to meet humanities distribution requirements. In the past they may have taken courses on Shakespeare and the like but now they look for something a bit more relevant to their careers. Such courses present an unusual opportunity to teach fundamental sociological ideas to scientists and engineers. For these students it is often their first and perhaps only encounter with the world of academic sociology. In this chapter I report on the experiences of developing and teaching one such course, “What is Science?”. I offer this account in the hope that other teachers may benefit from what I have learnt in my 14-year experience of offering this course.
This article reviews the extensive history of dynamic performance research, with the goal of providing a clear picture of where the field has been, where it is now, and where it…
Abstract
This article reviews the extensive history of dynamic performance research, with the goal of providing a clear picture of where the field has been, where it is now, and where it needs to go. Past research has established that job performance does indeed change, but the implications of this dynamism and the predictability of performance trends remain unresolved. Theories are available to help explain dynamic performance, and although far from providing an unambiguous understanding of the phenomenon, they offer direction for future theoretical development. Dynamic performance research does suffer from a number of methodological difficulties, but new techniques have emerged that present even more opportunities to advance knowledge in this area. From this review, I propose research questions to bridge the theoretical and methodological gaps of this area. Answering these questions can advance both research involving job performance prediction and our understanding of the effects of human resource interventions.
This chapter looks at the presence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, plus (LGBTQIA+) literacy practices in New Mexico schools, primarily…
Abstract
This chapter looks at the presence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, plus (LGBTQIA+) literacy practices in New Mexico schools, primarily Albuquerque Public Schools. When finding rates of homelessness, suicide, and mental illness to be high in New Mexico, the author tackles the question of what teachers can do in their spaces to be inclusive and supportive. The author analyzes what is present and what is missing. Through citing organizations GLSEN, The Trevor Project, and Equality New Mexico, the author suggests minor and major ways to make change in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. The suggestions include adding LGBTQIA+ history to the curriculum, creating safe spaces for preferred pronouns, and reading LGBTQIA+ literature and legislature.
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Mpho Ndou, Clinton Aigbavboa and Wellington Didibhuku Thwala
This study aims to explore the influential role stakeholder play in the management of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in facilities of higher education institutions (HEIs) in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the influential role stakeholder play in the management of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in facilities of higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa. By defining the indoor environmental challenges facing HEI's, an alternative redress to these challenges can be achieved through stakeholder management.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a quantitative survey approach which was informed by a post-positivism philosophical stance. The closed-ended questionnaire survey was used to gather views from academic and administrative staff who were employed in various HEIs across South Africa. The literature review revealed 13 influential stakeholder management roles which were explored. The gathered data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics that evaluated the influential role stakeholder play in the management of IEQ in HEIs.
Findings
Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed three core categories of stakeholder management roles to being community engagement and awareness, organisational commitment and objective function. These roles play an integral part of overhauling the current IEQ conditions in HEIs, which subsequently improves the quality of education through efficient academic and administrative performance.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the body of knowledge as it reveals that HEI, particularly in developing countries like South Africa, can improve their current IEQ conditions through adopting critical stakeholder management roles. Also, this study provides further theoretical background for future research in the area of stakeholder management which has been lacking in previous IEQ studies.