1,721,023 research outputs found
Promoting cooperation and collaboration in a Web-based learning environment
Get PDFWeb-based learning environments provide an attractive method for information dissemination, but in many instances they can be just electronic equivalents of printed course materials. Appropriate learning objectives and pedgagogical strategies are minimal or non-existent. Too often web-based learning environments lack cooperative and collaborative activities with the unintended consequence of feelings of social isolation. This paper describes a case study in which critical elements of online learning settings (Oliver, 2001) were implemented along with essential attributes for effective teamwork. Analyses of student que stionnaires indicate that students gained significant benefits from the instructional design of both the learning environment and the collaborative activity – without meeting face-to-face
Textuality on the Web: A Focus on Argumentative Text Types
No full textCentral features in the construction of texts are the notions of cohesion and coherence, originally tailored for linear time-based modes of communication, where both the elements and their sequentiality contribute to meaning making. In light of the disruption of linear sequentiality brought by the space-based logic of the hypertext, this chapter aims to understand how cohesion and coherence work in the website environment, with specific regard to genres characterised by an argumentative drive, which potentially suffer more than other text types from the loss of the author’s control on the linear dispositio of arguments.
The analysis identifies different patterns for the construction of cohesion and coherence in argumentative websites, which accommodate traditional standards of textuality into the new environment. The chapter concludes that the mechanisms at work for the construction of coherence on a website are not qualitatively different from those for the construction of coherence in traditional texts. However, the difference lies in the intensity of relevance ties between physically adjacent contents, which tends to be significantly looser on the web
Social networks in transnational and virtual communities
Get PDFThere has been extensive research on social networks but little is known about why some communities survive and some disintegrate. This paper provides a framework to explain similarities in many types of communities. In particular, a comparison of transnational communities and virtual communities highlights the efficacy of the framework in explaining how strong relationships within communities are dependent on social formation factors such as a sense of identity, social structures and social capital
Development and leadership in computer-mediated collaborative groups
Get PDFComputer-mediated collaboration is an important feature of modern organisational and educational settings. Despite its ever increasing popularity, it is still commonly compared unfavourably with face-to-face collaboration because non-verbal and paralinguistic cues are minimal. Although research on face-to-face group collaboration is well documented, less is known about computer-mediated collaboration.
The initial focus of this thesis was an in-depth analysis of a case study of a computer-mediated collaborative group. The case study was a large international group of volunteer researchers who collaborated on a two-year research project using asynchronous communication (email). This case study was a window on collaborative dialogue in the early 1990s (1992-94) at a time when information and communication technologies were at an early stage of development.
After identifying the issues emerging from this early case study, another case study using technologies and virtual environments developed over the past decade, was designed to further understand how groups work together on a collaborative activity. The second case study was a small group of students enrolled in a unit of study at Murdoch University who collaborated on a series of nine online workshops using synchronous communication (chat room). This case study was a window on collaborative dialogue in the year 2000 when information and communication technologies had developed at a rate which few people envisioned in the early 90s.
The primary aim of the research described in this thesis was to gain a better understanding of how computer-mediated collaborative communities develop and grow. In particular, the thesis addresses questions related to the developmental and leadership characteristics of collaborative groups.
Internet research requires a set of assumptions relating to ontology, epistemology, human nature and methodological approach that differs from traditional research assumptions. A research framework for Internet research - Complementary Explorative Data Analysis (CEDA) - was therefore developed and applied to the two case studies.
The results of the two case studies using the CEDA methodology indicate that computer-mediated collaborative groups are highly adaptive to the aim of the collaborative task to be completed, and the medium in which they collaborate. In the organisational setting, it has been found that virtual teams can devise and complete a collaborative task entirely online. It may be an advantage, but it is certainly not mandatory to have preliminary face-to-face discussions. What is more important is to ensure that time is allowed for an initial period of structuration which involves social interaction to develop a social presence and eventually cohesiveness. In the educational setting, a collaborative community increases pedagogical effectiveness. Providing collaborative projects and interdependent tasks promotes constructivist learning and a strong foundation for understanding how to collaborate in the global workplace. Again, this research has demonstrated that students can collaborate entirely online, although more pedagogical scaffolding may be required than in the organisational setting. The importance of initial social interaction to foster a sense of presence and community in a mediated environment has also been highlighted.
This research also provided greater understanding of emergent leadership in computer-mediated collaborative groups. It was found that sheer volume of words does not make a leader but frequent messages with topic-related content does contribute to leadership qualities.
The results described in this thesis have practical implications for managers of virtual teams and educators in e-learning
Informing students using virtual microscopes and their impact on students' approach to learning
Get PDFThis research is an exploratory study of students ’ approaches to studying histology and pathology. With the introduction of virtual microscopes in Health Science at Murdoch University, Australia, in 2006, it was crucial to investigate how this new technology impacted on students ’ approaches to learning. The ASSIST survey was implemented at the beginning and end of the semester to identify any changes. Results indicate that, when the technology was integrated into the curriculum with appropriate learning activities, students using virtual microscopes moved more towards a strategic approach to learning but expressed a preference for a deep approach to teaching
Spuren der Macht. Begriffsgeschichte und Systematik. 2. Aufl.
Get PDFDas Buch will eine Semiologie (=Spurenkunde) der Macht sein. Die Aufgabe einer solchen Semiologie der Macht wird in zwei Großschritten angegangen, erstens einer Begriffsgeschichte des Machtbegriffs von Aristoteles bis Hegel, zweitens einer systematischen Erarbeitung eines Instrumentariums der Machtspurenkunde, die zugleich wesentliche Positionen der Zeit seit Hegel aufnimmt und ihren Ertrag zu nutzen versucht; dieser zweite Teil mündet in einem Kapitel, das zusammenfassend versucht, das Wirken des Instrumentariums an einem Beispiel zu veranschaulichen: Macht der Transzendentalphilosophie
Gesellschaft und Behinderung. Peter Singers Argumentationslogik
Get PDFIn studentischen Arbeiten ist die praktische Ethik Peter Singers weiterhin virulent. Auch ist das oeffentliche Interesse an der Person Peter Singer ungeschmaelert. Dort wiederholt sich das, was in universitaeren Arbeiten im Bereich der Sonderpaedagogik zu finden ist: Moralische Empoerung, weil Singer trotz aller bisherigen Einwaende seine Auffassung, die seinerzeit zum Streit fuehrte, verteidigt. Auf moralische Empoerung reagiert Singer mit Gelassenheit, weil er seine utilitaristische Auffassung als eine moegliche unter anderen betrachtet, mit der man sich auseinandersetzen koenne
Cross-cultural Issues Affecting Information Technology Use in Logistics
Get PDFThis paper reports on an on-going research effort which studies the culturally based work values of logisticians around the world, and the factors that explain the motivational ideals that they prefer in an organization. A survey was sent to a sample of members of the Society of Logistics Engineers (SOLE), a professional group with chapters in nineteen countries. All nineteen countries\ud
are represented in the 131 responses received. The information collected includes both demographic and value based data. The study utilized the ChiSquare test in analyzing the data
Preserving Communication Context. Virtual workspace and interpersonal space in Japanese CSCW.
Get PDFThe past decade has seen the development of a perspective\ud
holding that technology is socially constructed (Mackenzie and Wacjman, 1985; Bijker, Hughes and Pinch, 1987; Bijker and Law, 1992). This paper examines the social construction of one group of technologies, systems for computer supported cooperative work (CSCW). It describes the design of CSCW in Japan, with particular attention to the influence of culture on the design process. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the argument that culture is an important factor in technology design, despite commonly held assumptions about the neutrality and objectivity of science and technology. The paper further argues that, by looking at\ud
CSCW systems as texts which reflect the context of their production and the society from which they come, we may be better able to understand the transformations that operate when these texts are “read” in the contexts of their implementation
Introduction
No full textThis book follows previous texts: Celia Romm and Fay Sudweeks (eds) (1998), Doing Business Electronically: A Global Perspective of Electronic Commerce, and Fay Sudweeks and Celia Romm (eds) (1999) Doing Business on the Internet: Opportunities and Pitfalls. Not only is this current book about doing something, but it also aims to present insights into how electronic commerce impacts upon the lives of everyday people; in other words, how electronic commerce is received, as well as how it is ‘done’. Accessing the Internet on a regular basis has become an established activity for many people. This activity gives academics and researchers the opportunity to observe and study the nature and effects of this engagement in society. The influence of the Internet in our social fabric also provides the incentive for organizations to implement a web presence
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