A survey of UK university web management: staffing, systems and issues

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to summarize the findings of a survey of UK universities about how their web site is managed and resourced, which technologies are in use and what are seen as the main issues and priorities. Methodology/approach: The paper is based on a web based questionnaire distributed in summer 2006, and which received 104 usable responses from 87 insitutions. Findings: The survey showed that some web teams were based in IT and some in external relations, yet in both cases the site typically served internal and external audiences. The role of web manager is partly management of resources, time and people, partly about marketing and liaison and partly also concerned with more technical aspects including interface design and HTML. But it is a diverse role with a wide spread of responsibilities. On the whole web teams were relatively small. Three quarters of responding institutions had a CMS, but specific systems in use were diverse. 60% had a portal. There was evidence of increasing use of blogs and wikis. The key driver for the web site is student recruitment, with instituitional reputation and information to stakeholders also being important. The biggest perceived weaknesses were maintaining consistency with devolved content creation and currency of content; lack of resourcing a key threat while comprehensiveness was a key strength. Current and wished for projects pointed again to the diversity of the sector. Research implications/limitations: The lack of comparative data and difficulties of interpreting responses to closed questions where respondents could have quite different status (partly reflecting divergent patterns of governance of the web across the sector) create issues with the reliability of the research. Practical implications: Data about resourcing of web management, technology in use etc at comparable institutions is invaluable for practitioners in their efforts to gain resource in their own context. Originality/value of paper: The paper adds more systematic, current data to our limited knowledge about how university web sites are managed

A short history off-line

Emerging technologies for learning report - Article exploring the history of ICT in education and the lessons we can learn from the pas

Bridging the Innovation Divide: An Agenda for Disseminating Technology Innovations within the Nonprofit Sector

Examines technology practices -- such as neighborhood information systems, electronic advocacy, Internet-based micro enterprise support, and digital inclusion initiatives -- that strengthen the capacity of nonprofits and community organizations

Computer Science's Digest Volume 3

This series of textbooks was created for the students of the Systems Engineering Program at the University of Nariño. They have been intentionally written in English to promote reading in a foreign language. The textbooks are a collection of reflections and workshops on specific situations in the field of computer science, based on the authors’ experiences. The main purpose of these textbooks is essentially academic. The way in which the reflections and workshops were constructed follows a didactic structure, to facilitate teaching and learning, making use of English as a second language. This book covers Professional Issues in Computing and Programming the Interne

Assessing Research Data Output Management at the Managerial Levels at Partner PS HEIs

This report presents the findings of a needs assessment survey that was carried out with research managers in four Palestinian Higher Education Institutions (PS HEIs) between December 2016 and February 2017. The four participating institutions include: The Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) Al-Quds Open University (QOU) Birzeit University (BZU) Palestine Technical University-Kadoori (KAD) The survey data will be used to: Identify the size, formats and scopes of research volumes and digital holdings for which each partner PS HEI assumes preservation responsibility. Review the current RDM practices and activities adopted at the institutional level. Review the current situation in PS HEIs as regards IRs, open access publishing and institutional support for RDM. Determine the current shortcomings and future priorities in RDM from the institution's perspective. In general, this survey targeted the administration and management staff who were responsible for, or directly involved, in RDM in the four partner PS HEIs. Since partner PS Universities might have different organizational structures and administrative departments, the selection process of participants from each university could not be the same. Project coordinators at partner PS Universities were asked to choose eligible persons based on the university's structure and pertinent administrative positions. They were urged to select participants from department/units/centres that were in charge of RDM activities such as scientific research, University library, IT unit, etc

From Social Data Mining to Forecasting Socio-Economic Crisis

Socio-economic data mining has a great potential in terms of gaining a better understanding of problems that our economy and society are facing, such as financial instability, shortages of resources, or conflicts. Without large-scale data mining, progress in these areas seems hard or impossible. Therefore, a suitable, distributed data mining infrastructure and research centers should be built in Europe. It also appears appropriate to build a network of Crisis Observatories. They can be imagined as laboratories devoted to the gathering and processing of enormous volumes of data on both natural systems such as the Earth and its ecosystem, as well as on human techno-socio-economic systems, so as to gain early warnings of impending events. Reality mining provides the chance to adapt more quickly and more accurately to changing situations. Further opportunities arise by individually customized services, which however should be provided in a privacy-respecting way. This requires the development of novel ICT (such as a self- organizing Web), but most likely new legal regulations and suitable institutions as well. As long as such regulations are lacking on a world-wide scale, it is in the public interest that scientists explore what can be done with the huge data available. Big data do have the potential to change or even threaten democratic societies. The same applies to sudden and large-scale failures of ICT systems. Therefore, dealing with data must be done with a large degree of responsibility and care. Self-interests of individuals, companies or institutions have limits, where the public interest is affected, and public interest is not a sufficient justification to violate human rights of individuals. Privacy is a high good, as confidentiality is, and damaging it would have serious side effects for society.Comment: 65 pages, 1 figure, Visioneer White Paper, see http://www.visioneer.ethz.c

Broadening Civic Space Through Voluntary Action Lessons from 2011

This publication explores how non-formal voluntary action outside of formal organizations can lead to greater citizen participation in governance; serves as a resource to help civil society organizations (CSOs) explore the opportunities for engagement this presents; highlights recent examples of how socially-oriented volunteerism has connected to more change-oriented activism; and suggests how both non-formal voluntary citizen action and social activism within CSOs can be strengthened

Disaster Response in Asia and the Pacific: A Guide to International Tools and Services

Disaster Response in Asia and the Pacific: A Guide to International Tools and Services is designed to help disaster managers in national Governments gain basic knowledge of how to use international tools and services.The guide is not prescriptive. It aims to support the growing disaster response and disaster response preparedness capabilities that exist at national level across Asia and the Pacific.The guide concentrates on key tools and services that can be helpful to disaster managers during the response and response preparedness phases of the disaster programme cycle. It does not include tools and services encompassed by disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts, nor does it cover longer-term disaster recovery instruments. The guide includes some entries relevant to conflict situations. It does not include tools or services that are being developed.The guide has three main sections: [I] International Humanitarian Architecture; [II] Tools and Services for Disaster Response; and [III] Tools and Services for Disaster Response Preparedness. The reverse chronological order of the guide - response before response preparedness - is intentional. It deliberately profiles tools and services for response before those for response preparedness to offer a better understanding of the utility of certain response preparedness activities and how they support response efforts.It has been produced in response to a call by UN Members States and other humanitarian stakeholders at the 2011 Regional Humanitarian Partnership Workshop for the AsiaPacific Region held in Shanghai, China for a handbook to guide disaster managers in understanding the interaction between national, regional and international humanitarian response mechanisms