Implementing e-Learning in a Vietnamese University: A Configurational Approach

This paper reconstructs the process of implementing e-Learning at a Vietnamese University. A case study approach incorporating interviews with relevant stakeholders including managers, faculty, and students is described. A thematic network analysis (TNA) identifying and categorising the issues relevant to the e-Learning implementation process and its attendant organizational, pedagogical and technological factors is presented. The main findings of the thematic analysis are that it is organizational factors, e.g. lack of management commitment, a bureaucratic structure, technology availability, rather than other factors that most significant in influencing the sustainability of the implementation process. A configurational analysis is then presented that explains the reasons why the interaction between contextual factors and the implementation process led on this occasion to an unsustainable outcome; an explanation supported by the interaction between e-learning needs, demands, capacity and competencies. In a conclusion suggestions are given as to why implementers of e-Learning can benefit from adopting a configurational approach within their own institution

Towards an understanding of data work in context: Emerging issues of economy, governance, and ethics

Purpose - It is a commonplace that innovation in the digital economy is now driven by data. Business organizations, media companies, and government for example all create economic and societal value from the digital traces left by the user population. At the same time the data captured also contains information that personally identifies consumers, citizens and patients as individuals. The purpose of this paper is to place this new form of data work in the context of previous approaches to information work; to identify the differences between information and data work and the resulting challenges for data professionals. Design/methodology/approach - Informed by a review of previous approaches to information work, the article argues that the shift in value from information to data as an economic asset and a societal good entails a new form of human-oriented data work. One that is more sensitive to the contextual conditions and consequences of the capture, processing and use of data than has been the case hitherto. The implications of this for a shift in emphasis from the data scientist to the data professional is addressed, as are emerging challenges of governance and education. Findings - The main consequence for data professionals is to ensure that processes are in place not only to enable the creation of valued products and services from data, but also to mitigate the risks related to their development. The paper argues that ensuring this involves taking a contextual view that locates data processing within the user, governance, legal, and ethical conditions related to data work. The consequences for the governance of data, and the education of data professionals are addressed. Originality/value - The value of the paper rests in its development of an analytical and methodologically driven framework, that places new forms of data work in the context of their conditions and consequences. The framework builds on prior approaches to information work, current approaches to data work, and addresses the governance, and educational challenges arising from organisations' emphasis on data-driven innovation in a digital economy

Comparative forage yield and species composition of “poor” versus “good” condition grass stands under different soil fertility regimes in northeastern Saskatchewan

Non-Peer Reviewe

Experimental evaluation of the power balance model of speed skating

Prediction of speed skating performance with a power balance model requires assumptions about the kinetics of energy production, skating efficiency, and skating technique. The purpose of this study was to evaluate these parameters during competitive imitations for the purpose of improving model predictions. Elite speed skaters (n = 8) performed races and submaximal efficiency tests. External power output (Po) was calculated from movement analysis and aerodynamic models and ice friction measurements. Aerobic kinetics was calculated from breath-by-breath oxygen uptake (V̇O2). Aerobic power (Paer) was calculated from measured skating efficiency. Anaerobic power (Pan) kinetics was determined by subtracting P aer from Po. We found gross skating efficiency to be 15.8% (1.8%.). In the 1,500-m event, the kinetics of Pan was characterized by a first-order system as Pan = 88 + 556e-0.0494t (in W, where t is time). The rate constant for the increase in Paer was -0.153 s-1, the time delay was 8.7 s, and the peak Paer was 234 W; Paer was equal to 234[1 - e-0.153(t-8.7)] (in W). Skating position changed with preextension knee angle increasing and trunk angle decreasing throughout the event. We concluded the pattern of P aer to be quite similar to that reported during other competitive imitations, with the exception that the increase in Paer was more rapid. The pattern of Pan does not appear to fit an "all-out" pattern, with near zero values during the last portion of the event, as assumed in our previous model (De Koning JJ, de Groot G, and van Ingen Schenau GJ. J Biomech 25: 573-580, 1992). Skating position changed in ways different from those assumed in our previous model. In addition to allowing improved predictions, the results demonstrate the importance of observations in unique subjects to the process of model construction

Short rotation forage legumes provide N fertility for wheat and canola crops

Non-Peer Reviewe

Reflexiones canónicas acerca de Universae Ecclesiae, Instrucción sobre la Aplicación de Summorum Pontificum

En 2011, la Comisión Pontificia Ecclesia Dei publicó la instrucción Universae Ecclesiae para la aplicación del motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. Este artículo analiza brevemente la estructura de esta instrucción y su relevancia jurídica, antes de entrar en el estudio detallado del documento. De acuerdo con la disposición de la materia, el análisis del texto comienza prestando atención a la introducción, que se basa no solo sobre el motu propio del Papa sino también en la carta que lo acompaña, escrita por el Papa a los obispos, y la competencia de la comisión Ecclesia Dei. A continuación, se co- mentan las normas específicas de la instrucción relativas a las siguientes materias: la competencia de los obispos diocesanos, la noción de coetus fidelium, el sacerdos idoneus, la disciplina litúrgica y eclesiástica, la confirmación y el orden sagrado, el Brevia- rium Romanum, el Triduo Pascual, los ritos de las órdenes religiosas y uso del Pontificale Romanum y del Rituale Romanum.In 2011, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei issued the instruction Universae Ecclesiae on the application of Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. This article briefly examines the organization of the instruction and its juridic weight before studying the document in more detail. Following the arrangement of the instruction, analysis of the text itself begins by looking at the introduction, which is rooted in the pope’s motu proprio and accompanying letter to bishops, and the competence of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. Commentary is provided on the specific norms of the instruction according to the following areas: the competence of diocesan bishops, the notion of the coetus fidelium, the sacerdos idoneus, liturgical and ecclesiastical discipline, confirmation and holy orders, the Breviarium Romanum, the Sacred Triduum, rites of religious orders, and the use of the Pontificale Romanum and Rituale Romanum

Data work in context: Value, risks and governance

While always integral to scientific activity, data work has recently emerged as a key set of processes within societal activities of all kinds. While data work presents new opportunities for discovery, value creation, and decision making, its emergence also raises significant ethical issues, including those of ownership, privacy, and trust. This article presents a review of data work, and how negotiating a trade‐off between its value and risks requires locating its processes within the contexts of its conditions and consequences. These include international, national, and sectoral conditions of law, policy, and regulation at a macro level; organizational conditions of information and data governance that aim to address the value and risks of data work at a meso level; along with attention to the everyday contexts of data and information handling by data information and other professionals at a micro level. In conclusion, a conceptual framework is presented that locates the processes of data work within the matrix of its macro meso and micro conditions, its consequences for individuals, organizations, and society, and the relations between them. Suggestions are given for how research into the study of data work—its value risks and governance— can be advanced by using this framework

SRAO CO Observation of 11 Supernova Remnants in l = 70 to 190 deg

We present the results of 12CO J = 1-0 line observations of eleven Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) obtained using the Seoul Radio Astronomy Observatory (SRAO) 6-m radio telescope. The observation was made as a part of the SRAO CO survey of SNRs between l = 70 and 190 deg, which is intended to identify SNRs interacting with molecular clouds. The mapping areas for the individual SNRs are determined to cover their full extent in the radio continuum. We used halfbeam grid spacing (60") for 9 SNRs and full-beam grid spacing (120") for the rest. We detected CO emission towards most of the remnants. In six SNRs, molecular clouds showed a good spatial relation with their radio morphology, although no direct evidence for the interaction was detected. Two SNRs are particularly interesting: G85.4+0.7, where there is a filamentary molecular cloud along the radio shell, and 3C434.1, where a large molecular cloud appears to block the western half of the remnant. We briefly summarize the results obtained for individual SNRs.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science. 12 pages, 12 figures, and 3 table

Citizen Science 2.0 : Data Management Principles to Harness the Power of the Crowd

Citizen science refers to voluntary participation by the general public in scientific endeavors. Although citizen science has a long tradition, the rise of online communities and user-generated web content has the potential to greatly expand its scope and contributions. Citizens spread across a large area will collect more information than an individual researcher can. Because citizen scientists tend to make observations about areas they know well, data are likely to be very detailed. Although the potential for engaging citizen scientists is extensive, there are challenges as well. In this paper we consider one such challenge – creating an environment in which non-experts in a scientific domain can provide appropriate and accurate data regarding their observations. We describe the problem in the context of a research project that includes the development of a website to collect citizen-generated data on the distribution of plants and animals in a geographic region. We propose an approach that can improve the quantity and quality of data collected in such projects by organizing data using instance-based data structures. Potential implications of this approach are discussed and plans for future research to validate the design are described