Mobile learning: a meta-ethical taxonomy

In this paper I discuss some of the ethical issues relating to the use of mobile technologies in education. I argue that the frames of reference used by educators and technologists fail to capture the nature, scope and impact of ethical issues in mobile learning. A taxonomy of ethical issues based on dominant positions in meta-ethical moral theory is proposed. Using categories from the Mobile Technologies in Lifelong Learning (MOTILL) project, I show how this taxonomy can be applied in such a way as to facilitate understanding of ethical issues in mobile learning

The repeatability of self-reported exposure after miscarriage

BACKGROUND: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood is a prospective study of women who were resident in Avon and who were expected to deliver a baby between April 1991 and December 1992. METHODS: The study provided an opportunity to test the repeatability of responses from 220 women who experienced a miscarriage and who reported exposure to occupational substances and common household products and appliances in two questionnaires. The first questionnaire was completed in the early part of the pregnancy and the second after the miscarriage. Women were asked to score their frequency of exposure on a five-point scale from 'daily' to 'never'. Their responses were analysed to assess the degree of agreement between replies to identical questions in the two questionnaires using the kappa statistic. A new frequency variable was created which compared the replies for the two questionnaires; this was analysed for all exposures by cross-tabulation with possible explanatory variables (age of mother, social class, history of miscarriage and the time lag between questionnaires). RESULTS: In general there was good agreement in the reported exposures to 48 substances and products. The results showed a small and consistent pattern of reporting exposures less frequently in the second questionnaire, i.e. after miscarriage. This was not explained by the analysis of possible confounding variables. Given the literature, the authors had expected to find a shift in the opposite direction. CONCLUSION: The study reinforces the need to be cautious when using the results from single surveys of retrospective self-reported exposure

Periodically driven circulation near the shore of a lake

Solutions are found for a linear model of the circulation near the shore of a lake that is subject to two diurnal forcing mechanisms. The first is the day/night heating/cooling induced horizontal pressure gradient. The second is an unsteady surface stress modelling a sea breeze/gully wind pattern. The two forcing mechanisms can oppose or reinforce each other depending on their relative phase. The interplay of different dynamic balances at different times and locations in the domain lead to complex circulation patterns especially during the period of flow reversal

Improving the Regulatory Analysis of the Cooling Water Intake Structure Rule: What Does an Economist Want?

As part of an edited volume devoted to the usefulness of benefit-cost analysis to inform regulatory review, this chapter presents a case study of the regulation of cooling water intake structures (CWIS) at existing power plants. The chapter first focuses on the consistency of the CWIS benefit-cost analysis with quality criteria to which the agency might have been expected to adhere. Second, criteria and outcomes with respect to decision rules for the selected alternatives are investigated. Finally, the challenge faced by agency analysis is described due to the difficulty in linking ecological and economic impacts. Suggestions for improvement are noted. As of the date of writing, the regulation is under review by the Supreme Court.Water, regulation, benefit-cost

Incorporating Equity in Regulatory and Benefit-Cost Analysis Using Risk Based Preferences

Governmental guidance for regulatory and benefit-cost analysis is targeted for applied analysts. Existing Federal guidance recommends sensitivity analysis in general without being specific regarding the implicit distributional assumptions of standard benefit-cost analysis. Recommendations for Federal guidance are developed to: 1) better communicate expectations for distributional analysis, 2) develop guidance for descriptive statistics related to distributional issues, and 3) integrate Government published measures of inequality aversion and to evaluate compensation for identified sensitive populations. While such actions have a data collection and analysis cost, they may make the results of regulatory analysis more relevant by investigating both efficiency and equity measures.benefit, risk, equity, distribution, income

Improving Regulatory Performance: Does Executive Office Oversight Matter?

Executive Office review and oversight of proposed federal regulations have been a bipartisan action of presidents and some governors. Proposals for regulatory improvement regularly highlight the role of benefit-cost analysis in this process. Supporters argue that the purpose of a benefit-cost review is to improve the social (net) benefits of implemented regulations. The evaluation question is whether Executive Office review has actually improved performance. This paper uses information on the status of regulations and their estimated economic impact to determine if Executive Office review has changed the outcome in different Administrations. The study is based on cost-effectiveness data that have had a large role in the debate about regulation and while an extensive critique of the data exists, its issues are addressed. The results indicate that while Executive Office review is associated with rejecting some regulations that would have been economically inefficient, such review appears to have no efficiency improving impact on the difference between proposed and final regulations or on the cost effectiveness of regulations that are implemented.

Investigation of practices and procedures in the use of therapeutic diathermy: A study from the physiotherapists' health and safety perspective

Background and Purpose. The safe use of therapeutic diathermy requires practices and procedures that ensure compliance to professional guidelines and clinical evidence. Inappropriate use may expose physiotherapists and other people in the vicinity of operating diathermy devices to stray radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, which can be a source of risk and may lead to adverse health effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate practices and procedures for therapeutic diathermy from a health and safety perspective. Method. A cross-sectional research design was used, this included a postal survey using a self-administered questionnaire and semi-structured observational visits to 46 physiotherapy departments in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals located in the south-east and south-west of England, including Greater London. Results. Microwave diathermy was not available in the departments surveyed. Pulsed shortwave diathermy was available and was used more commonly than continuous shortwave diathermy. There were metallic objects in treatment cubicles used for pulsed shortwave diathermy and continuous shortwave diathermy. Shortwave diathermy devices created electromagnetic interference with a variety of electrical and medical devices. Physiotherapists reported that they did not stay in the treatment cubicle during the entire period of electrotherapy with pulsed shortwave diathermy or continous shortwave diathermy; pregnant physiotherapists reported that they did not use these devices. Electrotherapy with pulsed shortwave diathermy and continuous shortwave diathermy was not always administered on a wooden couch or chair. Electrotherapy was highest in those departments with the fewest physiotherapists. Conclusions. Departments report good practices and procedures regarding the use of therapeutic diathermy devices. However, field observations of practices and procedures, and the working environment, have identified issues with a potential to create health and safety problems, and these should be addressed. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

A Matter of Good Form: The (Downsized) Hague Judgments Convention and Conditions of Formal Validity for the Enforcement of Forum Selection Agreements

Can the Hague Judgments Convention be saved through radical downsizing? It has been more than ten years since the Hague Conference on Private International Law (Hague Conference) first officially began exploring the possibility of drafting a global convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters. (1) It has been more than four years since the Conference presented its preliminary draft convention, (2) itself modeled largely on the European Community\u27s 1968 Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Brussels I). (3) However, this preliminary draft convention was rejected as unacceptable by the American delegation, (4) and a subsequent interim text (5) indicated that Hague Conference delegates remained far from consensus on a wide range of issues. (6