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Mindfulness and the therapeutic function of education
No full textAlthough it has been given qualified approval by a number of philosophers of education, the so-called 'therapeutic turn' in education has been the subject of criticism by several commentators on post-compulsory and adult learning over the last few years. A key feature of this alleged development in recent educational policy is said to be the replacement of the traditional goals of knowledge and understanding with personal and social objectives concerned with enhancing and developing confidence and self-esteem in learners. After offering some critical observations on these developments, I suggest that there are some educationally justifiable goals underpinning what has been described as a therapeutic turn. Whilst accepting that 'self-esteem' and cognate concepts cannot provide a general end or universal aim of education, the therapeutic function is more valuable and significant than is generally acknowledged. This claim is justified by an examination of the concept of 'mindfulness' that, it is argued, can be an immensely powerful and valuable notion, which is integrally connected with the centrally transformative and developmental nature of learning and educational activity at all levels
E-business adoption as a form of management strategy : An e-retailing perspective
No full textThis research focuses on the increasing importance of e-retailing as a major mode of retailing, which retailers must integrate into their management strategy, if they are to maintain or gain competitive advantage in the industry. The study examines the benefits and challenges that accompany e-retail adoption or non-adoption by retail organisations. To this end, a survey was conducted to determine the views and preferences of customers and retailers in the researchers’ community regarding the adoption or non-adoption of e-retailing. The results of the research are positioned as a frame of reference for designing organisational management strategies
Search for pedestrian protection regulations for commercial vehicles
No full textIn effort to make transportation safer, crashworthiness engineers strive to obtain optimum design solutions to protect pedestrians and occupant passengers. The achieved solution leads to formulation of a set of rules and criteria for a vehicle to behave during an accident, thereby protecting either pedestrians, occupants or both. These test criteria are developed by validated experimental procedures, which have to be followed prior to the launch of vehicle into the market. Hence, vehicles are equipped with active and passive safety systems to satisfy the regulations. As there are different classes of vehicles along with varying geometry/design, there exists a necessity for regulations for each class of vehicles. The present study recognises the existing issues with flat-front vehicles and necessary solutions with respect to pedestrian protection. A new test methodology for accessing the flat-front vehicles for pedestrian protection is also proposed. Additionally, the test requirements for formulations of regulations are emphasised
Could European eGovernment policy initiatives, in effect, be stifling the development of learning technologies?
No full textEuropean eGovernment initiatives give standards boards a prominent role in the governance of standards and specifications for Learning, Education and Training. One of the instruments of governance is a standards catalogue, which is intended to guide users towards appropriate standards to implement. However these initiatives coincide with a debate of the value of formal standards versus community specifications. The authors analyse the standards catalogue approach against a horizon scan report of current standardisation projects in the sector. They suggest that eGovernment standards boards should focus on semantic, organisational, cultural, political and legal interoperability, in preference to attempting to stabilise practice around a limited number of technical interoperability standards
An investigation into the physical determinants of change of direction speed
No full textChange of direction speed (CODS) is an important attribute for many sports and is believed to be influenced by a variety of physical factors. However, there is a lack of consensus as to which physical attributes relate to CODS. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of several physical attributes to CODS. Thirty-eight subjects (mean ± SD: age, 21.5 ± 3.8 years; height, 1.77 ± 0.07 m; mass, 77.5 ± 13.9 kg) undertook tests of speed, CODS, strength and power. Running speed was assessed via a 25m sprint with split times taken at 5, 20 and 25m. CODS was assessed by a 505-test, which involves measuring the time to complete a 5m out and back course. The strength and power tests included unilateral isokinetic concentric and eccentric knee extensor and flexor strength at 60o/s and bilateral leg press, countermovement and drop jumps. Pearson's product moment correlation and co-efficients of determination were used to explore relationships amongst all variables. Multiple regression was used to determine the combined effects of significantly correlated variables on CODS. Stepwise multiple regression revealed that running speed explained 58% of the variance in CODS (F1,33 = 45.796, p>0.001) with the addition of eccentric knee flexor strength raising the value to 67% (F1,32 = 8.781, p = 0.006). The results suggest that for basic improvements in CODS, athletes should seek to maximise their sprinting ability and enhance their eccentric knee flexor strength to allow effective neuromuscular control of the contact phase of the CODS task
Learning Design Authoring Tools in the TENCompetence Project
No full textSince the IMS Learning Design (IMS LD) specification was published in 2003 (IMS Global Learning Consortium Inc. 2003) it has been recognised that the provision of effective and easy to use tooling is essential if the specification is to be widely adopted. Progress on tooling was discussed in Griffiths et al. (2005) and a more recent review of tooling and the wider achievements of the specification is available in Griffiths and Liber (2008), and it is in this wider context of IMS LD tooling that we situate the development of the ReCourse Learning Design Editor
The determinants and expression of computer-related anger
No full textStudies of everyday computer-related anger are rare. To shed more light upon this anecdotally common phenomenon, retrospective self-report questionnaires were used to elicit closed-ended and open-ended responses from 126 members of the general public and students in northern England who supplied psychological and behavioral data connected with a single recently experienced occurrence of computer-related anger. Inter alia, findings show verbal and physical aggression towards equipment to be common in bouts of computer anger, and physical aggression to be associated with greater negative affect prior to incidents but not with stress-related factors. However, stress-related factors and negative affect predicted variance in anger intensity over and above cognitive appraisal variables. It is concluded that computer anger is likely to be a source of stress for a small but significant number of people, that computers? non-sentience leads to physical disinhibition, but that evidence that the expression of computer anger in social environments is inhibited by fear of people?s negative evaluations is weak. Further conclusions include the observations that anger is likely to be more intense when theoretically relevant cognitive appraisals are made, a person is in an irritable mood and when physiological arousal is elevated because of ongoing events
Dual selfhood and self-perfection in Plotinus? 'Enneads'
No full textPlotinus’ theory of dual selfhood has ethical norms built into it, all of which derive from the ontological superiority of the higher (or undescended) soul in us over the body-soul compound. The moral life, as it is presented in the Enneads, is a life of self-perfection, devoted to the care of the higher self. Such a conception of morality is prone to strike modern readers as either ‘egoistic’ or unduly austere. If there is no doubt that Plotinus’ ethics is exceptionally austere, it will be argued below that it is not ‘egoistic’. To that effect, the following questions will be addressed: Are the virtues, civic as well as purificatory, mere means to Plotinus’ metaphysically-conceived ethical goal? To what extent must the lower self abnegate itself so as to enable the higher self to ascend to Intellect and beyond? And if self-perfection lies at the centre of the Plotinian moral life, is there any conceptual room left in it for other-regarding norms of conduct? A close reading of selected passages from Plotinus’ tractate (I.2[19] On Virtues and tractate VI.8[39] On Free Will and the Will of the One will, it is claimed, bring elements of answer to these questions
Knowledge-based Management Information Systems for the effective business performance of SMEs
No full textThis study attempts to advance current thinking around Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) and Management Information Systems (MIS) by proposing integration into a holistic information system - Knowledge-based Management Information System (KBMIS). The aim of launching this KBMIS is to build an effective, time-saving and change adapting management information system for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This KBMIS is relevant in the current business environment as knowledge and information management has become a key issue in the business practice of SMEs. It is argued that information and knowledge flows must be effectively managed in all their business activities. In particular, this research focuses on organisational management and customer knowledge management for SMEs. This is because many SMEs lack resources and knowledge of strategic thinking, prerequisites for information and knowledge management. Therefore, this study proposes a dynamic model to evaluate the degree to which SMEs current MIS and KMS correspond with their organisational management and customer management needs. To develop this model, the critical characteristics of MIS, KMS, and SMEs are integrated. This model shows how information and knowledge may flow; and how these may be stored and managed in the SMEs' business process. A pilot study of two case studies is done to test this new model and the test result shows that this model gives systemical solutions for SMEs to redesign their information and knowledge management system