Scientific Literacy in the digital age: tools, environments and resources for co-inquiry

This paper describes some European and International projects to promote Scientific Literacy in the digital age as well as technologies, environments and resources for co-inquiry. The aim of this research is also to describe computer applications, software tools and environments that were designed to support processes of collaborative inquiry learning to promote Scientific Literacy. These tools are analyzed by describing their interfaces and functionalities. The outcomes of this descriptive research points out some effects on student learning and competences developed known from the literature. This paper argues the importance of promoting scientific citizenship not only through schools and Universities (formal learning), but also non-credit online courses and community-based learning programmes (non-formal context), as well as daily life activities, educational open digital materials through social networks (informal scenario)

Practices for Business Intelligence Development - Identifying the Knowledge Management Leveraging During the Strategic Tool Creation Process : Action Research in Hitachi Energy

Aim: This study aims to elaborate on knowledge management practice utilization during the designing and implementation of strategic tools for business intelligence, primarily focusing on different organizational levels. Theory: The study covers two research streams: knowledge management and strategy-as-practice. The synthesis of these forms the framework of the study, which is used to observe the participation of different organizational levels in the strategic tool creation process and the information and knowledge received from individual practitioners. Methodology: The empirical part of this study consists of a case study for Hitachi Energy through action research. The data was gathered through process observations and structured and unstructured interviews with practitioners from different organizational levels. Finally, the data analysis is carried out as thematic analysis, which focuses on describing implicit and explicit interpretations. Findings and contribution: The strategy tool design and implementation process usually involve practitioners from different organizational levels with different backgrounds that will bring a unique set of information and knowledge. As a result, it is essential to identify the practitioners who positively contribute to the desired outcome. The findings of the study emphasize the importance of senior and middle management in terms of knowledge input and identify the lower management and operational level as assistive strategy practitioners. The knowledge input of these practitioners can be enhanced by creating agile draft versions during various project stages. The draft versions allow the parties involved to get a better overall view of the project and improve the quality and accuracy of the feedback provided, development suggestions, and other relevant observations. In addition to these findings, significant findings for the strategic tool developer were keeping the big picture in mind and understanding the essential knowledge-related characteristics of different organizational levels

Technology Manufacturing Leaders’ Innovation Strategies to Improve Users’ Choice Capabilities in a Fast-Changing Markets

Some leaders of technology manufacturing organizations lack strategies to educate their users on how to make the optimal cloud technology selection decisions for their organizations during rapidly evolving innovation, resulting in significant risk of wrong choices and loss of customer loyalty. Grounded in resource-based view theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies technology manufacturing leaders use to educate users on how to make optimal cloud technology selection decisions for their organizations. The participants were six executive-level leaders of the strategic sales division of a multinational technology organization based in the western United States who focus on educating their customers, partners, and users of cloud technology products. Study data were collected through semistructured interviews, a review of company websites, and organizational documents. Using an adapted version of Yin’s approach for thematic analysis, three themes emerged: (a) strategic customer intelligence, (b) credible agnostic cloud education, and (c) socially responsible involvement in the cloud industry ecosystem. The key recommendation to the leadership is to expand agnostic cloud education to include adaptive training tailored to evolving user needs and reposition the cloud education unit as a strategic business unit with significant autonomy to compete effectively in the new cloud curricula product line. The implication for positive social change is the potential to enrich employee careers, boost organizations’ sustainable innovation performance and capabilities to contribute more value to the business ecosystem and improve the quality of life in the community

Analytical assessment process of e-learning domain research between 1980 and 2014

Applying some methods to reduce the time and expenditures of training is inevitable in existing circumstances. Many educational organizations have realized the importance of Electronic Learning (E-learning) and tried to use this approach in leveraging their academic classes. As research in E-learning domain has become one of the most important and interesting subjects, observation in emerging and fading trends of E-learning is a need for the scholars and industry professionals who are interested to study and work in the field. This paper has triggered the investigation and depicting of scientific trends in E-learning by using two scientometric methods named burst detection and clustering analysis. By applying two mentioned methods, the hot topics were identified in the field of E-learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Accelerating the Adoption of Cloud Technology by SMEs in Nigeria

The contentions for this study were to investigate the reason for the slow adoption of Cloud Computing by SME operators in Nigeria and to develop a suitable information model to guide the would-be users in making an informed decision regarding cloud adoption. A structured interview was conducted with a select number of SME operators and industry associates within the researcher’s domain, and a reasonable number of valid responses were obtained.  Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was adapted as the research framework to qualitatively examine the conditions that affect the adoption of Cloud computing into microfinance business operations, within which a suitable model for improving the adoption of Cloud computing was recommended. The analysis of the study revealed that SMEs in Nigeria, with particular reference to microfinance subsector in Akwa Ibom State are yet to fully embrace Cloud technology.  It was discovered that most of the SMEs studied, has some level of reservation about cloud computing, arising from not having appropriate education and enlightenment about the cloud economic offerings and potentials. From the outcome of the research, the researcher identified that most people’s concerns are as a result of lack of knowledge about cloud computing and so the researcher concluded that appropriate enlightenment by industry stakeholders, cloud service providers, cloud enthusiasts and even the government on the risks and overwhelming economic incentives of cloud computing as well as the provision of a monitored free trial services will encourage the adoption of cloud technology by SMEs. Index Terms - Cloud Adoption, Cloud Computing, Cloud End-user, Cloud Service Providers, Data Security, Microfinance, Nigeria, SMEs, Vendors,

Implementing an SQL Based ETL Platform for Business Intelligence Solution

Internship Report presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceThe exponential growth and development of information technology in the last twenty years has compelled most industry segments to shift from focusing on core business to adopting digitally sophisticated and data-driven processes. Those who have followed its growth have benefited, but unfortunately, just a small percentage of them do. Having information systems that just hold a vast volume of data is no longer sufficient for businesses. To gain a competitive advantage, these businesses must make well-informed decisions. Every firm, regardless of industry, has access to a wealth of data that it can utilize to its advantage. This is where Business Intelligence comes in. Business intelligence enables these companies to make better use of their data by providing previously unusable data in an intelligible and interpretable format. This internship report aims to cover the development of the data warehousing and data analytics for HROps, a product owned by BI4ALL. HROps is being developed with the goal of facilitating, centralizing, and making people management processes in organizations more efficient. I will be working on a low-cost SQL based ETL Framework using T-SQL for developing standard ETL processes. I will also be working and creating Power BI dashboards and reports to gather useful information from the data collected

Teaching networks in the cloud

The Web is populated by a growing number of services that provide access to remote IT resources: they are col- lectively addressed as the Cloud. Such incoherent and expanding number of services is investigated to find those that can help the task of teaching, focusing on a challenging case study for which I have a direct experience: a course in computer networks with the purpose of giving the students a hands-on experience using production-grade techniques. The outcome of the case study is that on-line services can complement traditional frontal lectures, to enrich the communi- cation between the teacher and the student, and to improve the learning experience. This is a hint for teachers, and characterizes a potential market for developers and providers

"Without Destroying Ourselves": American Indian Intellectual Activism for Higher Education, 1915-1978

abstract: This dissertation examines a long-term activist effort by American Indian educators and intellectual leaders to work for greater Native access to and control of American higher education. Specifically, the leaders of this effort built a powerful critique of how American systems of higher education served Native individuals and reservation communities throughout much of the twentieth century. They argued for new forms of higher education and leadership training that appropriated some mainstream educational models but that also adapted those models to endorse Native expressions of culture and identity. They sought to move beyond the failures of existing educational programs and to exercise Native control, encouraging intellectual leadership and empowerment on local and national levels. The dissertation begins with Henry Roe Cloud (Winnebago) and his American Indian Institute, a preparatory school founded in 1915 and dedicated to these principles. From there, the words and actions of key leaders such as Elizabeth Roe Cloud (Ojibwe), D’Arcy McNickle (Salish Kootenai), Jack Forbes (Powhatan-Renapé, Delaware-Lenape), and Robert and Ruth Roessel (Navajo), are also examined to reveal a decades-long thread of Native intellectual activism that contributed to the development of American Indian self-determination and directly impacted the philosophical and practical founding of tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) in the 1960s and 1970s. These schools continue to operate in dozens of Native communities. These individuals also contributed to and influenced national organizations such as the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC), while maintaining connections to grassroots efforts at Native educational empowerment. The period covered in this history witnessed many forms of Native activism, including groups from the Society of American Indians (SAI) to the American Indian Movement (AIM) and beyond. The focus on “intellectual activism,” however, emphasizes that this particular vein of activism was and is still oriented toward the growth of Native intellectualism and its practical influence in modern American Indian lives. It involves action that is political but also specifically educational, and thus rests on the input of prominent Native intellectuals but also on local educators, administrators, government officials, and students themselves.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation History 201

Guidelines for Testing Microservice-based Applications

Há uma tendência no desenvolvimento de software de adotar uma arquitetura baseada em microserviços. Apesar de vários benefícios como maior modularização, escalabilidade e manutenibilidade, esta abordagem levanta outros desafios para a organização. Ao aplicar este padrão de arquitetura, a estratégia de teste precisa de ser ajustada. Um sistema baseado em microserviços é inerentemente distribuído e pressupõe que os vários serviços estejam em constante comunicação entre si, através de conexões de rede, para responder aos requisitos de negócio. Testar um microserviço por si só é mais fácil, pois este está naturalmente isolado do resto do sistema, mas a execução de testes de integração torna-se mais complexa. A utilização de microserviços também oferece várias opções sobre onde e o que testar. Este trabalho tem o objetivo de estudar, comparar e sistematizar soluções e abordagens atuais para o desenvolvimento de testes em sistemas baseados em microserviços e propor um conjunto de diretrizes, métodos e boas práticas universais para facilitar o seu processo de testagem, ajudando as organizações a produzir testes com qualidade, mais valiosos e com menos custos. De modo a perceber os problemas e desafios enfrentados a testar microserviços, um projeto em forma de prova de conceito (PoC) e utilizando uma arquitetura baseadas em microserviços foi planeado, desenhado e testes, relativos a alguns casos de uso foram investigados. Também foram sugeridos um conjunto de indicadores que pretendem medir a qualidade e valor da estratégia de testes. Para cada indicador foi proposto onde pode ser recolhido, um racional com a explicação do seu propósito e uma escala de medida. Este trabalho concluiu que, apesar da existência de estratégias e frameworks de testes capazes de ajudar as organizações a testar as suas aplicações corretamente, é necessária a mentalidade certa para atingir uma estratégia de testes de qualidade. Deste modo, este trabalho propõe um conjunto de recomendações e boas práticas que promovem a mentalidade correta para desenhar e implementar testes sobre todas as camadas do sistema. São também sugeridos passos a seguir para definir e decompor cenários de teste, e soluções para os vários tipos de testes estudados. Assim, este trabalho pode também ser considerado uma base de conhecimento na área de testes em microserviços e ajudar a acelerar a sua adoção.There’s a trend in software development to adopt a microservice-based architecture. Despite several benefits such as increased modularization, scalability and maintainability, this approach brings other challenges to the table. When applying this architectural pattern, the testing strategy needs to be adapted. A microservice-based application presupposes that the various services that compose the system are communication with each other, across network boundaries, to fulfil business requirements and is inherently distributed. Testing a microservice by itself is easier, as it is naturally isolated from the rest of the system, but integration testing becomes more challenging. Microservices also offer several options about where and what to test. This work focus on studying, comparing, and systemizing current solutions and approaches for testing in microservice-based systems and proposing a set of universal guidelines, methods, and best practices to facilitate microservice-based application testing, helping organizations produce more valuable and quality tests with less costs. To understand the problems and challenges presented by microservices testing, a proof-ofconcept (PoC) project, using a microservice-based architecture, was designed and tests for some use cases were explored. Furthermore, indicators to measure test quality and value were proposed, describing it source, rational and measurement scale. This works concludes that, although many testing approaches and frameworks exist that can help organizations test their applications correctly, they need to be used with the right mindset. To achieved this, this work proposes a set of guidelines and best practices that promote the right mindset for designing and implementation tests at all system layers. It also proposes a workflow for test definition and decomposition, and solutions for the various studied testing types