-ilities Tradespace and Affordability Project – Phase 3

One of the key elements of the SERC’s research strategy is transforming the practice of systems engineering and associated management practices – “SE and Management Transformation (SEMT).” The Grand Challenge goal for SEMT is to transform the DoD community’s current systems engineering and management methods, processes, and tools (MPTs) and practices away from sequential, single stovepipe system, hardware-first, document-driven, point- solution, acquisition-oriented approaches; and toward concurrent, portfolio and enterprise- oriented, hardware-software-human engineered, model-driven, set-based, full life cycle approaches.This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) under Contract H98230-08- D-0171 (Task Order 0031, RT 046).This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) under Contract H98230-08- D-0171 (Task Order 0031, RT 046)

User model interoperability in education: sharing learner data using the experience API and distributed ledger technology

Learning analytics and data mining require gathering and exchanging learner data for further processing and designing of activities tailored to learner’s characteristics, context, and needs. Currently, systems that store learners’ attributes should, ideally, be operated and controlled by responsible and trustworthy authorities that guarantee the protection and sovereignty of data and use objective criteria to protect and represent all parties’ interests. This chapter introduces a peer-to-peer method for storing and exchanging learner data with minimal trust. The proposed approach, underpinned by the Experience API standard, eliminates the need of a mediator authority by using distributed ledger technology

The Theory of Dispositions in Filmmaking and Leadership

Inclusive media arts education should be accessible for all young people so that they can be successful citizens of this media-rich, media-saturated world. Issues surrounding access and exclusion are complex. What barriers contribute to exclusion within media arts education programs? The purpose of this study is to determine how best to create more inclusion in media arts education through leadership practices. More specifically, how do we become more inclusive in filmmaking practice, and what is the role of leadership in that endeavor? This study strives to determine how leadership best serves a highly successful inclusive media arts organization, and to make recommendations based on the findings with the aim of transferability to other media arts education programs. Through the paradigm of pragmatism, grounded theory qualitative research occurred at Bus Stop Films, an accessible film studies program that makes inclusive films located in Sydney, Australia. Interviews, a focus group, and observations were used during data collection. Research participants included administrators, teachers, staff, and students. Themes were drawn from the data using open, selective, and axial coding. Participants defined what success means to them, which traits and qualities are necessary to leadership in that environment, and what inclusive media arts means to them. The primary research question is as follows: How does leadership impact the success of inclusive media arts programs? Four major themes emerged from the data: inclusive leadership, dimensions of filmmaking culture, inclusive filmmaking practice, and purpose. The findings of this study led to the development of The Theory of Dispositions in Filmmaking, which posits that disposition serves as an active catalyst within leadership practices and filmmaking practices in media arts education programs

Cooperation between the Northern Norwegians counties : the "Swan", the "Pike" and the "Crab"?

Masteroppgave i Sustainable management - Universitetet i Nordland, 2013This is a study of the cooperation between the three counties in Northern Norway, and we aim to identify factors which promote or hinder cooperation between the counties. The closeness to the large opportunities in the Arctic, possible oil and gas developments outside the coast of Lofoten and Vesterålen, and the opening of Barents Sea South-West attract national and international attention towards Northern-Norway. Visible examples of this are the High North Policy, the entry of Statoil, Aker Solutions, the Arctic Council and other significant companies which have established themselves in the region. In the wake of the great opportunities in Northern Norway, it is and has for years been a debate in the media about the relationship between Nordland, Troms and Finnmark County. It is described as constrained, and after Landsdelsutvalget (LU) was discontinued, this picture amplified. Should counties cooperate on the opportunities that are in the North, or should they compete for the resources? We will shed light on these issues through a theoretical foundation which consist of four theories, institutional theory, o-management, CSR theory and coopetition. The theories and methodology will be applied to abstract main tendencies from the collected data. The data consist of in-depth interviews with relevant people from the three counties. In addition, strategic reports, government documents and articles from media are applied to ensure relevance. We suggest that knowledge partnerships, broader industry by industry cooperation between the counties and continua of subsidies from the Central Government will increase Northern Norway’s position and development in the years ahead

Versioning Vocabularies in a Linked Data World

Submitted for and presented to the IFLA 2014 satellite meeting on Linked Open Data in Paris, France, August, 2014.Policies regarding change management in open or public vocabularies used in the context of Linked Open Data have lagged behind those driving other web-based communities of practice. A fresh emphasis on vocabulary management and maintenance has begun to emerge, as the reliance on potentially volatile vocabularies, and the implications of their ongoing growth and change, has begun to permeate the conversation. Particularly in libraries, where management of commonly used vocabularies has long been a community-wide activity, management of vocabularies has been seen as the realm of larger institutions and organizations. This centralized control has been workable (if slow to evolve to incorporate new needs) so long as data distribution has also been centralized, but this pattern of distribution has become more questionable as a transition to the more open world of linked data begins to demonstrate the inflexibility of traditional practices. As more attention shifts to new vocabulary standards and usages outside libraries, researchers and innovative organizations have sought to take advantage of this boom in interest, but unlike librarians, they have little experience in implementation over time. Merging the technology of the Semantic Web with the information management experience of libraries seems a reasonable strategy, but better understanding by all of where practices must change is critical

Data-Driven Decision-Making in Urban Schools That Transitioned From Focus or Priority to Good Standing

Despite the importance an urban school district places on data-driven decision-making (DDDM) to drive instruction, implementation continues to remain a challenge. The purpose of this study was to investigate how support systems affected the implementation of DDDM to drive instructional practices in three urban schools that recently transitioned from priority or focus to good standing on the State Accountability Report. The study aligned with the organizational supports conceptual framework with an emphasis on data accessibility, collection methods, reliability and validity, the use of coaches and data teams, professional development, and data-driven leaders. Through the collection of qualitative data from one-on-one interviews, the research questions asked about the perspectives on data culture and data driven instructional practices of three school leaders and nine teachers. The data were triangulated to generate a thematic illustration of content that was coded and analyzed to identify solid patterns and themes. Findings suggest that leaders create a data-driven school culture by establishing a school-wide vision, developing a DDDM cycle, creating a collaborative DDDM support system, communicating data as a school community, and changing the way technology is used in DDDM initiatives. Based on the findings, a project in the form of a white paper was developed, using research to support that when data is regularly used to hone student skills, a positive shift in overall teacher practices occurs. This shift provides the potential for positive social change when students have opportunities to attain academic goals, resulting in increased student achievement and higher graduation rates

How do we understand children's restlessness? A cooperative and reflexive exploration of children's restlessness as a bioecological phenomenon

This thesis is a reflexive and cooperative exploration of children’s restlessness as bioecological phenomenon. According to the ecological systems model, development can be understood as the result of interactions between the child’s biological qualities and qualities in the surrounding ecological systems. According to the ADHD diagnosis, children’s restlessness can be understood as a neurodevelopmental disorder that can be observed as biological, psychological and social symptoms and dysfunction. As a form of vitality, restlessness can be experienced and expressed as a certain combination of movement, time, force, space and intention/directionality. In this thesis, restlessness is defined as the label given to an experienced form of vitality that appears in the space between the described and the describer. This definition points to the importance of the observing adult, and binds the acting child and the observing adult together in mutual revelation. Possible biological mechanism that can give rise to children’s restlessness include maturation, different genetic susceptibility, and play behaviour. Possible psychological mechanisms include motivation, identity formation, and musical improvisation. Possible social mechanisms include cultural mothering ideals, socioeconomic status, and child maltreatment. An ecological systems model allows for the exploration of complex and multi-level relations between the person, the context and time. A community music therapy approach points to the importance of exploring the qualities involved in these ecological processes. Children’s restless behaviours have been understood and met in different ways within music therapy, partly depending on the context and on the music therapist/researcher. I critically reflect on what happens when children’s boundaries are violated, whether restlessness can be related to gender, on the relative lack of system focus, and on the implicit goals of music therapy. I also reflect on whether theoretical orientation is related to therapeutic action, where the restlessness comes from and whether it can be understood as inter-contextual tension. Paper 1 is a critical exploration of the position of the biopsychosocial model and ADHD in Norway. I argue that the different understandings discussed can be seen as pertaining to different levels of inquiry. These come with certain possibilities and limitations. Paper 2 presents ecologically valid understandings of children’s restlessness, that were created through cooperative inquiry with professionals and parents. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Children’s restlessness was understood as individual trait, expectations to be seen and heard, result of traumatisation, relational phenomenon, parent’s problems, lack of cooperation in the community, and as lack of structures and resources. Paper 3 is a case study of a collaborative community music therapy process with one boy and his friends. Their process is understood in terms of exploring musical vitality, consolidating positions, performing together and discovering ecological ripple effects. Children’s restlessness be understood as a bioecological phenomenon, where biological, psychological and social aspects are interrelated and co-constituting. Adding two ‘new’ levels to the ecological systems model can allow for a more precise integration of findings, and facilitate exploration of relations between findings that belong to different ecological levels. Children’s restlessness be also understood as results of interactions between process, person, context and time. Actions, vitality forms and development can be seen as taking place within a certain space of appearance. Action can be seen as inherently unpredictable, as conditioned by plurality, and as defined in relation to an already existing web of relations. Children’s restlessness can be understood on the premise that children and adults are participating subjects acting on each other. Different contexts offer different possibilities and limitations, and music therapy can be used to increase children’s possibilities for action. By regarding health as relational, function and development can be understood as relational and context-dependent. A relational approach to health can increase adults’ possibilities for action and understanding. It also points to adults’ responsibilities related to understanding children better and creating better contexts for children