Language (Technology) is Power: A Critical Survey of "Bias" in NLP

We survey 146 papers analyzing "bias" in NLP systems, finding that their motivations are often vague, inconsistent, and lacking in normative reasoning, despite the fact that analyzing "bias" is an inherently normative process. We further find that these papers' proposed quantitative techniques for measuring or mitigating "bias" are poorly matched to their motivations and do not engage with the relevant literature outside of NLP. Based on these findings, we describe the beginnings of a path forward by proposing three recommendations that should guide work analyzing "bias" in NLP systems. These recommendations rest on a greater recognition of the relationships between language and social hierarchies, encouraging researchers and practitioners to articulate their conceptualizations of "bias"---i.e., what kinds of system behaviors are harmful, in what ways, to whom, and why, as well as the normative reasoning underlying these statements---and to center work around the lived experiences of members of communities affected by NLP systems, while interrogating and reimagining the power relations between technologists and such communities

Role of Computer in Instruction, Assessment and Administrative Delivery of Education Goals in the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria

Information and Communication Technologies have come to transform and reshape the school structures, curriculum, pedagogies, assessment and evaluation. Despite these advantages, very few institution of learning in Nigeria have been able to explore the inherent benefits of ICT to the fullest. The quest to attain Educational ends in response to the fast changing Society has indeed become a great challenge to the Nigerian Curriculum. Instructional delivery is the bridge between understanding and assimilation of knowledge. It is no longer news that developed Nations have moved from Desktop Computing Technology to what is now known as Cloud and Automated Computing and recently Computer Based Test (CBT). Improving the instructional delivery method requires whole lot of work. To this effect, this paper focuses on the ways to transform the Traditional driven methods of instructional and administrative delivery which in all ramification inactive. There are barriers hindering wholesome ICT integration in the University of Maiduguri such as inadequate power supply, lack of fund to equip schools, leadership focus and direction. Perhaps when the Universities, Government and stakeholders surmount these barriers, then we can propel to that paperless classroom. The paper further demonstrates how instructional delivery via computer transforms the thinking and impact on learners and general administration of Schools. It reflects on some of the impact and challenges of using CBI, CAI, CBT and recommends an optimum solution to the adaptation and use of the new Technologies to improve learning, evaluation and administrative delivery in the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria. Keywords: Instructional Delivery, Administrative delivery, Computer Based Instruction,Computer Based Tes

Tying Wellness into Action: A Phenomenological Study of Graduate Counseling Fieldwork Students at a Christian University

Mental health professionals take more days off for illness than other health-care professionals do, and many practicing counselors perceive their colleagues as stressed, distressed, and even impaired. Hence, counselor-education programs should focus on equipping future practitioners to practice better self-care when dealing with work-related stress. There appear to be numerous gaps in the literature on encouraging wellness in counselors-in-training (CITs), and no rigorous empirical study has been conducted on CITs’ wellness at a faith-based institution. This phenomenological study focused on investigating the lived wellness experiences of seven graduate counseling students at a Christian university, in a program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The study used the Conceptual Mapping Task (CMT) as the instrument for data collection and data verification. Five major themes that emerged were (a) experiencing a crisis/precipitating event, (b) implementing holistic approaches, (c) drawing strength from community support, (d) overcoming perfectionism, and (e) learning which things in life are nonnegotiable. The most significant finding, or the essence of this study, is the suggestion that these CITs’ lived wellness experiences in graduate school included an increase of wellness awareness—transitioning from crisis, through determination, to becoming holistically well

Deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for Effective Security Management in Nigerian Educational System

The educational institutions require various resources for the implementation of their programme. Information communication technology have been adopted as one of such greatest resources for effective school administration, supervision, planning and security. Many developed countries across the world have deployed ICT for school security. However, in Nigeria, with the rate of educational institutions attack by Bandits, insurgents and Boko haram, many scholars have called on the government to deploy ICT for security management in the country especially in the educational institutions. This paper examined the deployment of ICT for effective schools management. ICT facilities that can be deployed and the challenges hindering effective deployment of ICT for effective schools management in Nigeria. The paper concluded that making some recommendations for sustainable ICT deployment for school security management in Nigeria. Secondary data were used to support the various points raised in the paper. The secondary data were sourced from print and online published and unpublished papers

Mining Students’ Messages to Discover Problems Associated with Academic Learning

WhatsApp has become the preferred choice of students for sending messages in developing countries. Due to its privacy and the ability to create groups, students are able to express their “feelings” to peers without fear. To obtain immediate feedback on problems hindering effective learning, supervised learning algorithms were applied to mine the sentiments in WhatsApp group messages of University students. An ensemble classifier made up of Naïve Bayes, Support Vector Machines, and Decision Trees outperformed the individual classifiers in predicting the mood of students with an accuracy of 0.76, 0.92 recall, 0.72 precision and 0.80 F-score. These results show that we can predict the mood and emotions of students towards academic learning from their private messages. The method is therefore proposed as one of the effective ways by which educational authorities can cost effectively monitor issues hindering students’ academic learning and by extension their academic progress. Keywords: WhatsApp; Sentiments; Ensemble; Classification; Naïve Bayes; Support Vector Machines.

Reality of Educational Technology Use in Primary Level Social Studies Teaching in North West Badiya Education District Schools in Mafraq Governorate

The study aimed to identify the use of educational technology in social studies teaching and the obstacles to availability and use of educational technology in teaching social studies at schools in the North West Badiya Education Directorate in Mafraq governorate, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The study population comprised of 137 male and female teachers in schools of the North West Badiya Education Directorate in Mafraq governorate. Full sampling was used for the study population with 119 questionnaires recovered at 0.86 % of distributed copies. Three questionnaire responses were excluded as non-analyzable statistically with 119 analyzed. The study concluded that the level of practice of educational technology in teaching social studies was medium with a medium level of administrative obstacles to the use of educational technology in teaching social studies. The study recommended that school administration show interest in educational technology through a comprehensive system stemming from a strategy at the level of Ministry of Education in the Hashemite    Kingdom of Jordan. Key words: Educational technology, Social studies teacher, and Primary Level

Big data academic and learning analytics: connecting the dots for academic excellence in higher education

Purpose Although big data analytics have great benefits for higher education institutions, due to lack of sufficient evidence on how big data analytics investment can pay off, it is tough for HEIs practitioners to realize value from such adoption. The current study proposes a big data academic and learning analytics enabled business value model to explain big data analytics potential benefits and business value which can be obtained by developing such analytics capabilities in HEIs. Design/methodology/approach The study examined 47 case descriptions from 26 HEIs to investigate the causal association between the big data analytics current and potential benefits and business value creation path for big data academic and learning analytics success in higher education institutions. Findings The pressure of compliance with all legal & regulatory requirements and competition had pushed higher education institutions hard to adopt BDA tools. However, the study found out that application of risk & security and predictive analytics to higher education fields is still in its infancy. Using this theoretical model, our results provide new insights to higher education administrators on ways to create big data analytics capabilities for higher education institutions transformation and suggest an empirical foundation that can lead to more thorough analysis of big data analytics implementation. Originality/value A distinctive theoretical contribution of this study is its conceptualization of understanding business value from big data analytics in the typical setting of higher education. The study provides HEIs with an all-inclusive understanding of big data analytics and gives insights on how it helps to transform HEIs. The new perspectives associated with the big data academic and learning analytics enabled business value model will contribute to future research in this area

MagicFace: Stepping into Character through an Augmented Reality Mirror

Augmented Reality (AR) is coming of age and appearing in various smartphone apps. One emerging AR type uses the front-facing camera and overlays a user's face with digital features that transform the physical appearance, making the user look like someone else, such as a popstar or a historical character. However, little is known about how people react to such stepping into character and how convincing they perceive it to be. We developed an app with two Egyptian looks, MagicFace, which was situated both in an opera house and a museum. In the first setting, people were invited to use the app, while in the second setting they came across it on their own when visiting the exhibition. Our findings show marked differences in how people approach and experience the MagicFace in these different contexts. We discuss how realistic and compelling this kind of AR technology is, as well as its implications for educational and cultural settings