An introduction to STRIKE : STRuctured Interpretation of the Knowledge Environment

Knowledge forms a critical part of the income generation of the system and the complex environment in which actors participate in the creation of knowledge assets merits robust, eclectic consideration. STRIKE - STRuctured Interpretation of the Knowledge Environment affords an unobtrusive and systematic framework to observe, record, evaluate and articulate concrete and abstract elements of a setting, across internal and external dimensions. Inter-relationships between actor and environment are preserved. STRIKE is supported by underlying techniques to enrich data and enhance the authenticity of its representation. Adoption of photography and videography tools provides illustrative and interpretive benefits and facilitates researcher reflexivity. This structured approach to data analysis and evaluation mitigates criticisms of methodological rigour in observational research and affords standardisation potential, germane for application in a verification or longitudinal capacity. Advancing exploratory validation studies, the method is employed to evaluate the knowledge environments of two enterprises in the UK creative sector. These occupy a critical role in fostering entrepreneurial innovation alongside participant self-efficacy. Access Space in Sheffield and the Bristol Hackspace are committed to open software, open knowledge and open participation; sharing peer learning, creativity and socio-technical aims to address broadly similar community needs. Drawing on Wittgenstein’s Picture Theory of Meaning, the knowledge management perspective is abstracted from the STRIKE assessment. It is argued that the tiered analytical approach which considers a breadth of dimensions enhances representation and interpretation of the knowledge environment and presents a diagnostic and prescriptive capability to actualise change. The paper concludes by evaluating framework effectiveness, findings application and future direction

Techno-Scientific Temper of Three Nigerian Newspapers

The culture of science and science communication in Nigeria are deemed as fragile compelling researchers to interrogate how, say newspapers contribute to creating awareness and knowledge of techno-science matters. Research data on this is scanty in Nigeria thus necessitating this study which examines the character and extent of techno-science coverage in three select Nigerian newspapers to determine the frequency of coverage, orientation of the reports, genre or formats of reporting, sourcing of information and depth of reportage. The discourse is hinged on the agenda setting theory while the research method is a content analysis of 156 issues of The Guardian, Leadership, and Daily Trust newspapers for the year 2012. The findings show that of the 329 techno-science stories captured in the study, biomedicine was the most frequently reported topic at 26.44%; routine reporting (65.96%) exceeded event-specific reporting (34.04%); the news format (54.71%) was the more common genre of reportage; foreign sourced stories (54.10%) outnumbered locally sourced reports (45.90%) and in terms of depth, 42.25% of the stories were briefs. The study recommends that for the analysed newspapers to set meaningful agenda on techno-science in Nigeria, they need to broaden their scope of coverage beyond biomedicine and the news format of presentation; deepen the discourse/content of techno-science information by becoming more deliberative; consolidate on routine science coverage as well as pay more attention to local sourcing of techno-science information. Keywords: Science Journalism, Content Analysis, Agenda Setting, Africa

Robot Companions: The Animation of Technology and the Technology of Animation in Japan

Contemporary Japan is often described in utopian terms as a place where humans and nonhumans live and work together in harmony. This acceptance of nonhuman others is explained by some anthropologists as stemming from an “animist unconscious” (Allison 2006) that allows people to attribute “life” to robots and other artefacts, a notion that is explicitly linked to the “Shinto universe” of “native animist beliefs” (Robertson 2010). Contrary to the darker tone of robot fantasies in the EuroAmerican tradition, this “techno-animism” turns technological objects into non-alienating allies, or so the narrative goes. This chapter critically examines the ideological underpinnings of these claims. Instead of attributing “modern techno-animism” to a native and naïve ontology, the author argues that all forms of animism are “techno-animism” because they are based on a technology of animation. In turn, this technology of animation is based on what Bird-David (1999) understands as “relatedness”, but which the author hesitates to call a “relational ontology” because what enables animation is often a relation that emerges from an unexpected and surprising encounter. Drawing on the work of Japanese roboticists and anthropologists of technology, this chapter proffers the heuristic device of an “animation continuum” to better apprehend the broad range of relations that result in animation

Diseño de aprendizaje de un MOOC de programación y robótica para profesores y educadores/as de infantil

In early childhood, the curricular integration of computational thinking, programming, and robotics topics is ever more pressing. Therefore, preparing teachers and educators to implement this integration in the curriculum is fundamental. In the project «Laboratory of Technologies and Learning of Programming and Robotics in basic and pre-school education in Portugal», the proposal of a MOOC was designed to meet this demand. This paper discusses aspects of the architecture of MOOCs, and their typologies, in the context of the challenges that the researchers encountered in the design process of the present MOOC. To do so, the Interaction Equivalency Theorem was considered, which equates the fundamental types of interaction to be considered in course design (learner-instructor; learner-content; learner-learner). Considering that learning design is both a process and a product the design of the MOOC is analysed in terms of its socio-technical context and systemic tensions present in work-based learning. Through a qualitative analysis of an individual interview and of a focus group, the paper describes formal and informal interactions and attempts to define a common vision, consensus, and divergences and contradictions that are part of the learning design process. Finally, the MOOC is presented, and its pedagogical design is substantiated.En la primera infancia, la integración curricular del pensamiento computacional, la programación y la robótica es cada vez más urgente, y es esencial preparar a los profesores y educadores para aplicarla. En el proyecto "Laboratório de Tecnologias e Aprendizagem de Programação e Robótica no Ensino Primário e Pré-Escolar em Portugal", se diseñó un MOOC para responder a esta demanda. Este artículo analiza aspectos de la arquitectura de los MOOC y sus tipologías, en el contexto de los retos encontrados durante el diseño de este MOOC. Se tuvo en cuenta el Teorema de la Equivalencia de la Interacción, que considera los tipos de interacción que deben tenerse en cuenta al diseñar un curso (alumnoinstructor; alumno-contenido; alumno-aprendizaje). Considerando que el diseño del aprendizaje es tanto un proceso como un producto, el diseño de los MOOC se analiza en función de su contexto sociotécnico y de las tensiones sistémicas del aprendizaje en contexto de trabajo. Mediante el análisis cualitativo de una entrevista individual y de un grupo de discusión, se describen las interacciones y se intenta definir una visión común, las divergencias y las contradicciones que forman parte del proceso de aprendizaje. Por último, se presenta el MOOC y se fundamenta su diseño pedagógico.Research performed in the scope of the Project “KML II - Laboratory of technologies and learning of programming and robotics for preschool and primary school”. Co-financed by FEDER through the COMPETE 2020 - Operational Thematic Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI) and national funds through FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under project reference number PTDC/CEDEDG/28710/2017.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How do Consumers' Gender and Rational Thinking Affect the Acceptance of Entertainment Social Robots?

In recent years, the rapid ageing of the population, a longer life expectancy and elderly people's desire to live independently are social changes that put pressure on healthcare systems. This context is boosting the demand for companion and entertainment social robots on the market and, consequently, producers and distributors are interested in knowing how these social robots are accepted by consumers. Based on technology acceptance models, a parsimonious model is proposed to estimate the intention to use this new advanced social robot technology and, in addition, an analysis is performed to determine how consumers' gender and rational thinking condition the precedents of the intention to use. The results show that gender differences are more important than suggested by the literature. While women gave greater social influence and perceived enjoyment as the main motives for using a social robot, in contrast, men considered their perceived usefulness to be the principal reason and, as a differential argument, the ease of use. Regarding the reasoning system, the most significant differences occurred between heuristic individuals, who stated social influence as the main reason for using a robot, and the more rational consumers, who gave ease of use as a differential argument

Grey Areas: Songs of Memory, Imagination, Intellect, and Death for Baritone Voice and Mixed Instrumental Octet

The central element of this thesis is Grey Areas, a newly-composed dramatic piece in four movements for baritone and chamber ensemble. The work is highly personal in both its subject matter and its musical execution; it also contains a unique movement order that changes depending on the age of the baritone. Along with the written portion of this document and full score, I completed a studio recording of the entire composition as part of the project. Composers (by necessity) are more frequently functioning as their own recording and mixing engineers for their own works. I have been able to gather a variety of skills related to the recording arts and sought out opportunities to employ them in this project. In order to meaningfully add to the greater body of research, I describe both the creative aspects of my compositional process and the technical aspects of the recording process

An Overview of the Origins and Effectiveness of Commercial Fitness Equipment and Sectoral Corporate Settings: A Critical Review of Literature

Research Question: Fitness equipment is a worldwide ever-growing phenomenon and its usage is nowadays popular both in human routines and academic investigations. Research Methods: This paper is a literature review aiming fitness equipment in relation to all the available findings connected to the complete product life-cycle phases. Results and Findings: Manufacturing industries, which are active realities of the sector, have not been a major concern for sport researchers within the production applicability sub-field. Past root hypotheses, the current state of the art and future guideline applications are addressed. Selected articles were categorised chronologically, by journal, by geographic area and, extensively, by content. Five thematic areas were included: (1)historicalbackground,(2)creationstages,(3)productfeatures,(4)innovationpathsand(5)sectoral environments and marketing processes. Implications: By means of the provided findings, there is an opportunity to widen approaches to study fitness equipment that could be extended to the sector’s enterprise applications and methods of work

Exploring methodological innovation in the social sciences: the body in digital environments and the arts

In this paper we examine methodological innovation in the social sciences through a focus on researching the body in digital environments. There are two strands to our argument as to why this is a useful site to explore methodological innovation in the social sciences. First, researching the body in digital environments places new methodological demands on social science. Second, as an area of interest at the intersection of the social sciences and the arts, it provides a focus for exploring how social science innovation can be informed by engagement with the arts, in this instance how the arts work with the body in digital environments and take up social science ideas in novel ways. We argue that social science engagement with the arts and the relatively unmapped terrain of the body in digital environments has the potential to open up spaces for innovative social science questions and methods: spaces, questions and methods that have potential for more general social science methodological innovation. We draw on the findings of the Methodological Innovation in Digital Arts and Social Sciences (MIDAS) project a multi-site ethnography of the research ecologies of the social sciences and the arts related to the body in digital environments. We propose a continuum of methodological innovation that attends to how methods are moved across research contexts and disciplines, in this instance the social sciences and the digital arts. We illustrate and discuss the innovative potential of expanding and re-situating methods across the social sciences and the arts, the transfer of methods and concepts across disciplinary borders and the interdisciplinary generation of new methods. We discuss the catalysts and challenges for social science methodological innovation in relation to the digital and the arts, with attention to how the social sciences might engage with the arts towards innovative research

Computer Mediated Religious Life of Technoshamans and Cybershamans.

Libuse Martinkova discusses in her article “Computer Mediated Religious Life of Technoshamans and Cybershamans” the artificial dichotomy of 'Virtuality' and 'Reality' and online and offline borders. In the case study she presents two different groups and thus two different reasons for applying new technology to ritualistic settings: Computer technology is in one setting mainly used as a tool for specific shamanistic rituals whereas in the other setting computer technology serves as a space for conducting shamanic rituals

2021-2022 course catalog

The Governor's School for Science and Mathematics annually publishes a catalog with information about the courses offered, academic requirements, and various concentrations for its students