Context-Neutral E-Learning Objects: a tale of Two Projects

We discuss two European projects: eDILEMA, which ended in September 2003 and REPLIKA, which started in October 2003. The primary focus of both projects is e-learning objects. eDILEMA, led by colleagues at Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic, focused on developing a multi-lingual repository for reusable learning objects, and included initial work on a pattern language to capture good practice in the design and use of learning objects. REPLIKA, led by Trans HEurope, starts with a repository, and focuses on the development of content, particularly in the areas of multimedia and entrepreneurship. We will explore possible HCI learning objects that might be included, such as model or interface simulations, case studies or process models. The project will also explore the use of patterns as a way of capturing our knowledge of successful examples of learning objects in HCI and other areas

Foreign Direct Investments in Business Services: Transforming the Visegrád Four Region into a Knowledge-based Economy?

Foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the service sector are widely attributed an important role in bringing more skill-intensive activities into the Visegrad Four (V4). This region—comprising Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia—relied heavily on FDIs in manufacturing, which was often found to generate activities with limited skill content. This contribution deconstructs the chaotic concept of “business services” by analysing the actual nature of service sector activities outsourced and offshored to the V4. Using the knowledge-based economy (KBE) as a benchmark, the paper assesses the potential of service sector outsourcing in contributing to regional competitiveness by increasing the innovative capacity. It also discusses the role of state policies towards service sector FDI (SFDI). The analysis combines data obtained from case studies undertaken in service sector outsourcing projects in V4 countries. Moreover, it draws on interviews with senior employees of investment promotion agencies and publicly available data and statistics on activities within the service sector in the region. It argues that the recent inward investments in business services in the V4 mainly utilize existing local human capital resources, and their contribution to the development of the KBE is limited to employment creation and demand for skilled labour

Health Care in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland - the medium term fiscal aspects

The paper provides perspective of recent developments in health care reforms in three fast-reforming transition economies: the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. The two former countries have been implementing reforms since early 1990s, while Poland started its reform on January 1, 1999 only. But the reforms are not over: in all three countries further changes are envisaged. The objective of this paper is to assess the current situation from a fiscal perspective. This, of course, is not the only criterion, but still vital enough to deserve careful analysis.Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, health care

A structured management approach to implementation of health promotion interventions in Head Start.

Improving the health and health literacy of low-income families is a national public health priority in the United States. The federal Head Start program provides a national infrastructure for implementation of health promotion interventions for young children and their families. The Health Care Institute (HCI) at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, developed a structured approach to health promotion training for Head Start grantees using business management principles. This article describes the HCI approach and provides examples of implemented programs and selected outcomes, including knowledge and behavior changes among Head Start staff and families. This prevention-focused training platform has reached 60,000 Head Start families in the United States since its inception in 2001. HCI has demonstrated consistent outcomes in diverse settings and cultures, suggesting both scalability and sustainability

‘Probing with the prototype’:using a prototype e-participation platform as a digital cultural probe to investigate youth engagement with the environment

This study describes how we used a prototype e-participation plat-form as a digital cultural probe to investigate youth motivation and engagement strategies. This is a novel way of considering digital cultural probes which can contribute to the better creation of e-participation platforms. This probe has been conducted as part of the research project STEP which aims at creating an e-participation platform to engage young European Citizens in environmental decision making. Our probe technique has given an insight into the environ-mental issues concerning young people across Europe as well as possible strat-egies for encouraging participation. How the e-participation platform can be utilised to support youth engagement through opportunities for social interac-tion and leadership is discussed. This study leads to a better understanding of how young people can co-operate with each other to provide collective intelli-gence and how this knowledge could contribute to effective e-participation of young people

The determinants of student mobility in Europe: the quality dimension..

The Bologna Process in Europe aims to increase student mobility, with the purpose of increasing average university quality through fiercer competition for students in a larger, more unified market. However, this beneficial effect of increased student mobility will only occur if student mobility is guided by quality considerations. We examine whether the quality of a country’s higher education system drives macro-flows of foreign tertiary students in Europe. Using various measures for the quality of a country’s higher education system in an extended gravity model, we find that quality has a positive and significant effect on the size and direction of flows of students exchanged between 31 European countries. At the graduate level, however, the driving force for student mobility appears to be the lack of educational opportunities in the home country.school choice; economies of scale; human capital;

China’s “New Normal” and Its Quality of Development

China’s new normal means a new higher stage of development, when an alternative is to improve the quality of economic development instead of accelerating growth rate by expansion policies. And the quality of development is the quality of living of most people. This study is to examine the current situations of China’s quality of development by comparing China’s human development index, inequality indices (Gini, quintile, and Palma), and development potential (human capital index) with the developed countries in Europe, North America, and Oceania, as well as countries with typical traits, such as the Latin American countries, Japan, and Czech Republic; further to put forward China’s policy focuses in the new normal stage according to the concluded research results

Situating the transient user: overcoming challenges in the design of e-government systems

e-Government systems present new challenges for user involvement in the design process. Existing user-centred and participatory design methodologies were mainly developed for situations where a user is in the workplace. In e-government applications the user population is heterogeneous and numerous; the increasing ubiquity of e-government systems also questions the concept of “the interface”. This paper presents the results of a study of discourses of e-government users in two cases studies of interaction with new information systems in transport, which illuminate usability problems arising from a failure to prioritise users’ needs at all stages. An approach is proposed which accounts for the values as well as the goals of users, appropriating stakeholder analysis and ideas from Soft Systems Methodology while recognising that the routine actions of users in the real world are situated and contingent