Development of A Performance Management System for Teachers in Schools Under the St. Gabriel’s Foundation of Thailand

This study aimed to develop a performance management system for teachers in schools under the St.Gabriel‘s foundation of Thailand through the application of descriptive research. Data were collected by using questionnaire to discover the state, problems and ideas in many issues concerning performance management for teachers. The questionnaire was structured based on main components, subcomponents, including essential characteristics, in accordance with concepts, theories and operational definitions of performance management and a performance management system. The interviews with representatives from each group of schools were conducted to obtain additional results used for designing the system, which was verified in terms of quality by experts. The interviews with school directors and a focus group discussion between heads of the academic division and heads of the personnel section of each school were arranged in order to study feasibility and appropriateness of the implementation of the system.The research findings could be summarized that the state of performance management was practiced at a medium level. The problem was lack of knowledge, understanding and skills on part of the persons in charge. The performance management system for teachers in schools under the St. Gabriel‘s foundation of Thailand should be a performance management system that integrated organizational performance and personal performance, comprising five main components. Such components were: 1) Planning, 2) Acting, 3) Monitoring, 4) Reviewing, and 5) Feedback.Each component was composed of subcomponents and characteristics showing the details and methods of operation, examined and certified in terms of quality by experts, with the average value at the highest level (between 4.51-5.00). From the evaluation of feasibility and appropriateness of the implementation of the system, it turned out that the average value fell at a high level (between 3.51-4.50)

Integration of multisensor hybrid reasoners to support personal autonomy in the smart home.

The deployment of the Ambient Intelligence (AmI) paradigm requires designing and integrating user-centered smart environments to assist people in their daily life activities. This research paper details an integration and validation of multiple heterogeneous sensors with hybrid reasoners that support decision making in order to monitor personal and environmental data at a smart home in a private way. The results innovate on knowledge-based platforms, distributed sensors, connected objects, accessibility and authentication methods to promote independent living for elderly people. TALISMAN+, the AmI framework deployed, integrates four subsystems in the smart home: (i) a mobile biomedical telemonitoring platform to provide elderly patients with continuous disease management; (ii) an integration middleware that allows context capture from heterogeneous sensors to program environment¿s reaction; (iii) a vision system for intelligent monitoring of daily activities in the home; and (iv) an ontologies-based integrated reasoning platform to trigger local actions and manage private information in the smart home. The framework was integrated in two real running environments, the UPM Accessible Digital Home and MetalTIC house, and successfully validated by five experts in home care, elderly people and personal autonomy

Етапи концептуалізації та формалізації в розробці моделі нейро-нечіткої експертної системи професійного відбору учнів

У статті описано проблему проєктування нейро-нечіткої експертної системи професійного відбору на етапах концептуалізації та формалізації, яка передбачає визначення понять, взаємозв'язків та механізмів управління, необхідних для опису вирішення проблем у обраній предметній галузі. Обґрунтовано структурну модель системи прийняття рішень для визначення професійного відбору студентів для навчання за ІТ спеціальностями. У якості структурних компонентів для вивчення пропонуються три підсистеми: психологічні особливості, особистісні якості, фактичні знання, вміння та навички студентів. Якість роботи системи визначається використанням різних методик отримання знань, на основі яких буде формуватися база знань нейро-нечіткої системи та поєднання використання нечітких та стохастичних даних.The article describes the problem of designing a neuro-fuzzy expert system of professional selection at the stages of conceptualization and formalization, which involves the definition of concepts, relationships and management mechanisms necessary to describe the solution of problems in the chosen subject field. The structural model of the decision making system for determining the professional selection of students for training in IT specialties is substantiated. Three subsystems are proposed as structural components for studying: psychological peculiarities, personal qualities, factual knowledge, abilities and skills of students. The quality of the system’s operation is determined by the use of various techniques for acquiring knowledge on the basis of which the knowledge base of the neuro-fuzzy system and the combination of the use of fuzzy and stochastic data will be formed

A Design Experiment on Students' Perceptions of a Knowledge Management System

Although there is a large body of literature exploring the topic of knowledge management, most of the focus is on its application to industry. Seldom has a research priority been placed on the use of knowledge management in a university setting. This research investigated the impact of applying a knowledge management system -- Knowledge Net -- to the students in a course about designing learning activities with interactive multimedia at the University of Waterloo. A design experiment method was employed. Eight students were engaged in the study. The purpose of the design experiment was to investigate the students' response towards Knowledge Net, their ability to absorb and apply the knowledge gained from Knowledge Net, and the incentives that encouraged them to share and retrieve knowledge from the system. The findings will be helpful for the people who want to practice knowledge management in a university setting. The study results revealed that initially students had a positive attitude towards the potential value of the information in Knowledge Net. However, at the end of their design experiment, they reported a low expectation that students could learn from and apply the information in Knowledge Net. The reasons varied. It may be that they failed to truly understand the knowledge or to trust the source of information. Many students habitually prefer face-to-face contact with their counterparts to computers. As a result, the study suggested a few ways to improve the absorption of knowledge and to enhance the behavior of knowledge sharing. These new directions include: arranging personal meetings between the providers and recipients of knowledge, playing videos of other students sharing knowledge on Knowledge Net, increasing the level of encouragement and guidance from the instructor on use of the system, and applying situated learning and case studies. In addition, grading students on their use of Knowledge Net may be a useful incentive to help students make more effective use of Knowledge Net

Mediating boundaries between knowledge and knowing: ICT and R4D praxis

Research for development (R4D) praxis (theory-informed practical action) can be underpinned by the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) which, it is claimed, provide opportunities for knowledge working and sharing. Such a framing implicitly or explicitly constructs a boundary around knowledge as reified, or commodified – or at least able to be stabilized for a period of time (first order knowledge). In contrast ‘third-generation knowledge’ emphasizes the social nature of learning and knowledge-making; this reframes knowledge as a negotiated social practice, thus constructing a different system boundary. This paper offers critical reflections on the use of a wiki as a data repository and mediating technical platform as part of innovating in R4D praxis. A sustainable social learning process was sought that fostered an emergent community of practice among biophysical and social researchers acting for the first time as R4D co-researchers. Over time the technologically mediated element of the learning system was judged to have failed. This inquiry asks: How can learning system design cultivate learning opportunities and respond to learning challenges in an online environment to support R4D practice? Confining critical reflection to the online learning experience alone ignores the wider context in which knowledge work took place; therefore the institutional setting is also considered