The first steps of digital cities : development and social shaping of Web-based urban cyberspace in Europe

The rapidly increasing worldwide usage of the Internet and the World Wide Web since the second half of the 1990s has affected the way geographers, built environment scholars and commentators look at concepts like space, distance, and the city itself. The possibility for real-world functions such as gathering, informing, communicating, taking decisions and performing economic transactions to be hosted by a new type of electronic, virtual space, has opened up new opportunities together with many new questions for those who are involved in planning urban spaces. One of the most interesting phenomena related to the emergence of 'urban' Internet functions is the creation - started around 1993-94 - of local public information systems called 'digital cities'. These systems were hailed as highly valuable 'cyber' additions to urban space and to the public sphere of Western cities. This thesis has constituted one of the first, systematic attempts to observe and analyse the 'digital city' phenomenon within the boundaries of the European Union. It has contributed to the creation of a much-needed typology of digital cities by surveying and analysing the contents of over two hundred early developments across Europe. Another important contribution has been going beyond the observation of the contents of the initiatives and, through in-depth case studies, analysing how a couple of advanced and exemplar experiments were being socially shaped, concentrating on the important - and often overlooked - processes behind the design and deployment of technology. Information and Communication Technologies are in constant - and rapid - evolution, and so are IT-based systems used to run several aspects of urban life. However, as the early phaseso f the developmenta nd acceptanceo f new technologiesa re crucial and able to influence later ideas and initiatives, the results and recommendations from this thesis can be seen as a valuable contribution to the study of urban technology in general.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A Study of Knowledge Construction in Virtual Product User Communities

In this research the virtual product user community is defined as a producer sponsored customer aggregation existing on the Internet to share usage experience and to collaboratively find technical solutions to problems with specific brand products. Such groups have a variety of benefits to members and organisations, one being that they are a knowledge resource for product users to look for solutions to specific problems with products and identify how to use them effectively. They are also a platform for the producer to communicate with its customers, to collect market intelligence, and to incorporate users’ innovative insights and problem solving skills. However, how knowledge is constructed and shared in such groups has been rarely studied. Previous literature that focuses on cognitive development and critical thinking stages in a formal online learning context may offer some relevant insights and methodologies but requires translation to the new context, and is not likely to provide a comprehensive understanding of this area. Accordingly, this thesis aims to explore knowledge construction in virtual product user communities. The philosophical basis of the research design was constructivism and interpretivism. A qualitative research methodology was adopted. Dozens of discussion threads of theoretical interest were chosen from a typical virtual product user community on the Dell User Support Forum (and from the Dell Idea Storm Community) and were analyzed through a qualitative content analysis method. In addition, semi-structured interviews with 20 community members of the Dell User Support Forum were conducted via e-mail. A deductive thematic analysis method was used for analysing the interview transcripts. More threads were chosen from a range of other virtual product user communities for content analysis in order to explore the influences of attributes such as language, national culture and technology platform on knowledge construction. A new content analysis tool, which is based on a combination of prior codes and new categories identified from the data, was created, in order to analyze the knowledge construction embedded in the discussion of technical problems. The research identified five types of key knowledge construction episodes that make up the knowledge building process and which are characterised by low-level cognitive engagement. A knowledge construction model which represents knowledge building in reality was developed. Furthermore, problem description episodes, non-constructive episodes, and moderation episodes were identified and their relations clarified. The problem description episodes were found to facilitate knowledge construction by providing knowledge about the problem and knowledge about its context. Following from this the peer advisor could diagnose the cause of technical problems and propose tailored solutions ideas based on the users’ experiential knowledge. The moderation episode can offset the negative influence of non-constructive episodes, maintaining social order and promoting knowledge contribution. The findings illustrate that knowledge construction needs collective contribution through various types of participation by community members at different knowledge levels. The influences of contextual attributes of a virtual product user community, including communication technology, sponsorship, national language and culture, moderation, and discussion topics, on knowledge construction, were all explored in this research. Models of different types of knowledge transfer across the boundaries between the virtual product user community and the organization, highlighting the role of moderators, were constructed. Besides the above findings, this research identified and defined this specific type of online community on the Internet, i.e. the virtual product user community. In addition, it provided a content analysis tool which is tailored to the purpose of examining low-level critical knowledge construction, which complements existing analytical frameworks, derived from formal learning contexts. The study mainly contributes to the general area of information and knowledge management, specifically knowledge construction in the virtual product user community and other low-level cognitive engagement contexts. It provides a theoretical basis for practices in managing online communities, and offers useful suggestions for educators in designing and managing formal online learning communities

Enriching College Instruction Through Intellectual Conflict To Increase Students' Learning Activities

Intelectual conflict happens when students realize there is contrary between experiences and intellectual expectation. Conciousness to contrary which is followed by conciousness of need to make changes is the first step in conceptual change. Differences in opinion will create eagerness to find the truth“ continiously. Conflict between peers is important cause in egocentric change to conform other’s opinion. Both theoretical and practical reasons support the belief that arousing intellectual conflict is one of the most important and powerful instructional procedures available to college faculty. Yet most faculty avoid and suppress intellectual conflict, perhaps out of fear it will be divisive, or because they have never been trained in how to use instructional procedures that maximize the likelihood that intellectual conflict will be constructive, not destructive, or because the current societal and pedagogical norms discourage them from doing so. This situation needs to change, and intellectual conflict needs to become part of day-to-day student life in colleges and universities

Principles Of Quality Management In Education

Integrated quality management in education is a philosophy, strategy, and management paradigm shift that originally focused on production shifted to focus on customer satisfaction. Therefore, the management of integrated quality improvement of education is very strategic to be applied in the process of improving service quality, and product quality to ensure that customer expectations are met as set out in education quality standards designed by top leaders together with education stakeholders through cultural changes based on quality. Education customer satisfaction becomes the main focus through educational leadership which seeks to change the school culture to be true based on the quality expected by education stakeholders

Effective Communication: Effort To Improve The Students Character

Higher education institutions must be able to give birth to smart people, but they must not eliminate self-awareness of the importance of moral values, courtesy in social life, and the courage to convey opinions well. This can be started with effective learning communication. In fact, the learning process and communication are still dominant in the cognitive dimension, so that the humanities dimension is neglected, or in other words, academic achievement is prioritized, human development as a person is neglected. Many things are lacking and inappropriate for students to do. Learning communication is very important because communication can respect and increase the dignity of students as individuals who have various potentials that must be developed, which ultimately lead to individual awareness and change so that they are able to make the right decisions in life and have superior character

Classroom Management and Learning Performance

Classroom management is the knowledge, process and continuity of teachers in realizing classroom management, which consists of class planning, classroom resource management, classroom leadership, evaluation and classroom supervision in achieving learning objectives in the classroom. Therefore, teachers need to master classroom organizing skills, discipline, reward, and punishment in establishing a classroom climate conducive to learning. Strengthening discipline in the classroom, motivating students, focusing attention and making it easier for students in learning to be the main emphasis that teachers manage to achieve learning objectives as teacher performance

The Role Of Assigning Arabic Language For Islamic Education Teachers

Islamic religious teacher plays the important role in forming the noble character generation. Because of the Islamic religious teacher teaches some of the material that related with forming the noble character, such as faith and morals, Koran/Hadith, Jurisprudence, Islamic Cultural History. All of the content of these subjects refers to many Arabic books. Thus, every Islamic religious education teacher should master Arabic well. However, there are still Islamic religious education teachers who have low proficiency in Arabic, thus affecting the low success of Islamic education teachers. The purpose of this study is to describe: 1). Competence of Islamic Education Teachers, 2). The existence of Arabic, 3). The role of mastery of Arabic for Islamic religious education teachers. This paper uses the literature method by presenting data in an analysis-descriptive manner. It can be concluded that the mastery of Islamic religious education teachers towards Arabic is very urgent, because: (1). Arabic is an entry point to explore Islamic religious education material properly, (2). Arabic is the key to analyzing the mindset of the sciences relevant to learning Islamic religious education. (3). Arabic becomes a filter to avoid misunderstanding of Islamic religious education material. The higher the mastery of Islamic religious education teachers towards Arabic, the more professionalism will be proven as teachers of Islamic religious education

Creative Teacher And Teaching Creativity

The future of the nation is determined by the optimal role of teachers in educating children to become creative people in solving the nation's increasingly complex problems. The existence of teachers as professional educators has a moral responsibility in developing children's personalities, including improving the quality of creativity of students. For this reason, professional educators first need to understand and be skilled at developing the creativity of students in the learning process. Therefore, this paper seeks to explain how to become a creative wasteland to create creative children needed to achieve 21st century skills

Juridical Basis: Education Evaluation

Educational evaluation is an important part of the implementation of national education. This concept greatly influences the future of the national education system, because with the evaluation it will bring improvements to the past system to a better future system. As a country that has big aspirations in developing a national education system, certainly making educational evaluation a system that will participate in carrying out this mission. This study aims to reveal various juridical foundations that serve as the legal basis for conducting educational evaluations. The method used in this research is literature study, namely by gathering various information that can be obtained from books, journals, electronic, print and social media. The results of this study reveal that educational evaluation is an important part of the development and improvement of the national education system. In addition, education evaluation must be carried out in accordance with the standards set by the government through the ministry of education so that there is an even distribution of evaluation in all parts of the country

Optimization Of Learning Activities In Low Grades (Transdisciplinary Study Of Learning Implementation In Elementary Schools)

Optimization of learning activities in low grades can be reviewed from various transdisciplinary studies of the implementation of learning in elementary schools. When viewed from the psychological side, significant differences are seen from the characteristics, needs and tasks of student development. In terms of neuroscience, there is a difference in hemispheric dominance where the right hemisphere in students is more dominant in action compared to the left hemisphere which is different from adults. In terms of humanism, all students have potentials that must be appreciated and grown, and in terms of educational science there are clear differences in the management of significant learning elements