The use of animated agents in e‐learning environments: an exploratory, interpretive case study

There is increasing interest in the use of animated agents in e‐learning environments. However, empirical investigations of their use in online education are limited. Our aim is to provide an empirically based framework for the development and evaluation of animated agents in e‐learning environments. Findings suggest a number of challenges, including the multiple dialogue models that animated agents will need to accommodate, the diverse range of roles that pedagogical animated agents can usefully support, the dichotomous relationship that emerges between these roles and that of the lecturer, and student perception of the degree of autonomy that can be afforded to animated agents

Coping with Requirements Uncertainty: An Interpretive Case Study

Information systems development projects (ISDPs) often face requirements uncertainty. Thus, coping with this issue is an important project management task in ISDPs. In order to gain insights into which different requirements uncertainty situations exist and how to cope with them, we conducted a longitudinal interpretive case study. We investigated the requirements analysis of an ISDP in an international insurance company for 17 months. Thereby, we identified eight distinct requirements uncertainty situation types, observed ten requirements engineering (RE) techniques applied in practice and their impact on requirements uncertainty situation types, and finally derived recommendations for applying RE techniques in requirements uncertainty situations based on our observations. We combine these findings and contribute to RE literature by making a first step towards a framework for coping with requirements uncertainty in ISDPs. We believe that RE researchers as well as practitioners in ISDPs can make use of this article’s insights

Stressful Change in Higher Education: An Interpretive Case Study

Higher education institutions have distinct features within them, and are increasingly faced with external forces that require adaptation and change. The circumstances surrounding the change may impact how change may be experienced as loss, stress or trauma. While the experience of change for an individual may be subjective, common themes may develop within an organization. This study explored the experience with difficult change at a private university in Ukraine, and the change process as described by faculty and staff. The primary source of data was obtained from interviews with fifteen faculty and staff members, including individuals serving in leadership positions. To gain an understanding of the case, it was essential to explore the Ukrainian context, including historical and political factors, as well as aspects of the organization itself. Four main themes emerged from the study that represent the experience with difficult or stressful change: experiences with change were multilayered and multifaceted, external demands led to a crisis of conscience, the change process led to revisiting core values and belief, and faith and spirituality influenced the experience with change. What was discovered in this study was how the change process that involved stress and loss led to introspection and a renewed sense of commitment to the work. The participants displayed a sense of hope and resilience amidst some very challenging circumstances. As the study progressed it appeared I may have been observing individuals and possibly an organization in the process of transformation

Exploring the Development of Core Teaching Practices in the Context of Inquiry-based Science Instruction: An Interpretive Case Study

This paper describes our reflection on a clinical-based teacher preparation program. We examined a context in which novice pre-service teachers and a mentor teacher implemented inquiry-based science instruction to help students make sense of genetic engineering. We utilized developmental models of professional practice that outline the complexity inherent in professional knowledge as a conceptual framework to analyze teacher practice. Drawing on our analysis, we developed a typography of understandings of inquiry-based science instruction that teachers in our cohort held and generated a two dimensional model characterizing pathways through which teachers develop core teaching practices supporting inquiry-based science instruction

What do beginning English teachers want from professional development?

This qualitative, interpretive case study allows insights into the reflective emerging teacher practitioner as it explores pre-service and beginning teachers’ preparedness to deal with curriculum change and the demands of the classroom and school community. Five beginning teachers were asked what they want from professional development in a period of rapid curriculum change. The study aligns with emerging local and national agendas for teacher professional development and accreditation in Australia. The data analysis, based on “community of practice” perspectives, shows that new teachers have clear ideas about the professional development they need and want. Professional development is seen as integral to their developing professional identities. The paper has implications for the way leadership teams offer and how new teachers take up professional development opportunities, upon which registration is contingent

An online collaborative learning system : designing for evaluation of students' learning

This paper will discuss work-in-progress in the development and evaluation of an online collaborative learning system. The context is a study of a course in an on-campus weekend part-time program attended by students who share similar professional engineering backgrounds but living far apart from each other with no opportunities to meet for discussions between weekends. The course requires students to tackle problems based on real life scenarios within small online groups after having attended lectures over the weekend. The research will look at ways in which group work can be conducted, and the contribution of the instructor. The approach to be taken will be an interpretive case study using questionnaire survey, text analysis and interviews. The main findings from the study will be reported, with focus on the strengths of, and difficulties in, using the research methods

A Case Study Of Governmental Accounting And Budgeting Reform At Local Authority In Indonesia [HD 28-70].

Kajian kes interpretif ini adalah mengenai pembaharuan perakaunan kerajaan tempatan di Jawa Timur, Indonesia, bernama samaran Ratan Ombo Regency (ROR). This interpretive case study is about accounting reform in a local government in East Java, Indonesia, whose pseudo name is Ratan Ombo Regency (ROR)