Upsie: a mobile app on financial education for teenagers

Teenagers live in a world surrounded by technological devices that are constantly connected to the Internet. They are born instinctively knowing how to use these devices and quickly cannot live without them. This constant online presence and open access to social media full of advertisement campaigns, encourage consumerist behaviors at an increasingly early age. However, teenagers often do not know how to manage money or have a critical opinion on their consuming habits. This problem motivated a research project with the goal of creating an educational and serious mobile app, using gamification elements, to help teenagers manage their financial expenses, as well as educating their consuming habits towards more conscious and informed decisions. Upsie is a mobile app that can be used on a daily basis, and where gamification elements are used to generate more engagement in users. From user interviews to interface design and usability testing, the entire process of creating the app is covered, until reaching a final interactive prototype.Os adolescentes vivem rodeados de dispositivos tecnológicos que estão constantemente ligados à Internet. Os jovens nascem a saber como usar estes dispositivos quase instintivamente e rapidamente não conseguem viver sem eles. A constante presença online e o acesso a redes sociais repletas de campanhas publicitárias, estimulam comportamentos consumistas numa idade cada vez mais precoce. No entanto, os adolescentes muitas vezes não sabem como gerir o seu dinheiro ou não têm uma opinião crítica sobre os seus hábitos de consumo. Esta questão motivou um projeto de investigação com o objetivo de criar uma aplicação de telemóvel séria e educativa que ajuda os adolescentes a gerir as suas despesas financeiras, para além de educar os seus hábitos de consumo, promovendo decisões mais conscientes e informadas. Upsie é uma aplicação que pode ser usada no dia-a-dia, e onde os elementos de gamificação vêm gerar mais motivação nos utilizadores. Desde entrevistas a utilizadores, até ao desenho da interface, passando pela realização de testes de usabilidade, todo o processo de desenvolvimento desta app é apresentado, até chegar ao protótipo interativo final

Improving the provision of financial services to micro-entrepreneurs, emerging farmers and agribusiness: Lessons from Kwazulu-Natal

Three development finance institutions (DFIs) which operate in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province were assessed in 1996/97 to see how they could improve financial viability and outreach to emerging farmers, agribusiness and micro-entrepreneurs. Improved service quality and emphasis on mobilising savings would help clients and enable the DFIs to diversify their portfolios. Better access to branches and lower loan approval times (improved screening and administrative procedures) could also lower client transaction costs. Charging a suitable interest rate spread is necessary but not sufficient for lenders to achieve subsidy independence. Reducing arrears through stricter loan contract enforcement (borrower accountability for loan repayment, lower collateral specific risks, secure and transferable collateral) will also promote financial viability. Providing both savings and loan services together would reduce borrower access costs, and allow savings to serve as a form of collateral and borrower information for lenders.Agricultural Finance,

ALT-C 2012 Abstracts

This is a PDF of the abstracts for all the sessions at the 2012 ALT conference. It is designed to be used alongside the online version of the conference programme. It was made public on 7 September 2012

Augmented Reality Technology Used To Enhance Informal Science Learning

With science advancements ever-changing and an increased use of multimedia to display information to the public, science literacy and critical thinking skills are important for the public to keep up to date. Students will need to know how to interpret science information they are faced with throughout their lives to make decisions and critique scientific arguments (Squire & Mingfong, 2007). Science education reform is becoming more focused on incorporating science practices with the use of tools and processes to enhance learning. An authentic learning experience can be described as experiencing real problems and consequences in context (Rosenbaum et al., 2007). Augmented reality technology can be used to create authentic learning experiences as it allows for many unique affordances in the field such as place based learning context, personal embodiment of a role, and solving a problem modeling real life science research.This paper will examine augmented reality technology in science education and the pedagogical support behind this technique. The project is comprised of a literature review discussing the benefits and support for augmented reality games used in science education followed by the descriptions of six different augmented reality science games that were created using the online platform “Taleblazer”

New masters programme on library and information science: experience of a TEMPUS project to modernize library training in the former Soviet Union

From 2004-2006, Middlesex University led a TEMPUS project 1 ‘Building Digital Educational Services and Content Creation Centre in Yerevan State University library’, whose aim was to improve access to and use of electronic resources and set up a Virtual Learning Environment in Yerevan State University

Designing the Library of the Future

The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) has embarked on a major redevelopment of its City Campus. A key element of this redevelopment is the planned construction of a new University Library at the centre of the redeveloped campus on the current site of Building 2, adjoining the UTS Tower, Building 1. This Library of the Future, which is planned to open for academic year 2015, will be a new kind of academic library which will aim to set a standard for the future. The focus of this report is on envisaging a Library of the Future, what it might be when it opens and how it might develop to retain its novelty so that it will continue to surprise and excite. To endeavour to imagine and create a Library of the Future is a daring and humbling enterprise: it must be designed to foster an effective academic community in the long term at UTS through its role as the knowledge hub of the University