Empathic technologies and virtual, contextual and mobile learning in VR/AR/MR environments

Students’ motivation and interest as well interaction between students and teachers in e-Learning and Mobile Learning environments can be improved through the use of affective technologies and empathic systems.This paper introduces Emphatic concepts, an emphatic platform and an Emphatic Forum approach. It contextualizes this initiative within the Emphatic Products, a EU/ITEA2 research project, and proposes future developments in terms of unique features such as moving to, adapting to, even defining a whole new interaction paradigm in Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) immersive environments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Social networks: advantages and disadvantages of its use in job hunting

Portugal is going through an unprecedented unemployment crisis. Highly trained people are emigrating in search of better work conditions within their area of study. The job seekers that stay in Portugal try to find work through a variety of ways: some settle for a job beneath their potential while others search the web using social (and professional) networks. Websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are often being used as virtual markets, full of opportunities for the unemployed and also with large information databases that help recruiters in their search for candidates. This paper intends to make a comparison between recruiters and candidates’ perspectives on job-hunting through social networks. More specifically, it will use online questionnaires and interviews to assess how Facebook and LinkedIn might offer opportunities to job seekers and how recruiters expose those opportunities. The results showed that Facebook is the candidates’ preferred tool, while recruiters tend to use LinkedIn more often. Both recruiters and job seekers agreed that curricular information is the key for a successful profile and that, in terms of online social networking, the lack of privacy is a substantial disadvantage and networking is the best advantage.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTEGRATION ARCHITECTURE AND ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE: THE CANONICAL MODEL AS A GOVERNANCE RESOURCE - A CASE STUDY IN A TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY

The Total Architecture concept is increasingly present at a time when organizations are consolidating plans for the implementation of SOA. The assumption that the integration of heterogeneous systems must be planned is undeniable. Enterprise Architecture has been advocated as a first new step towards systems integration. The nature of its attributes - namely the holistic vision of the organization as the Information System itself and its orientation towards the business process - seems to fit well with the characteristics of EAI. This article summarizes the research performed in an organization implementing SOA. It sought not only to validate the existence of a relationship between Enterprise Architecture and Integration Architecture as expressed in literature, but also to understand its nature more deeply. The result demonstrated the importance of the Canonical Model as a Governance artifact in the regulation of the relationship between the two architectures. The Canonical Model seems to serve in addition as a tool for knowledge sharing between the actors involved in the problem of alignment between business and information systems. A conceptual model is proposed in order to express the logical flow and patterns identified in the relationship. Key Words: Enterprise Architecture, Integration Architecture, Canonical Model, Governanc

Strategic corporate communication in the digital age

Businesses are increasingly using corporate communication technologies to interact with prospective customers. Therefore, this study explores the corporate executives’ readiness to use interactive media for engagement with online users. The methodology relied on valid and reliable measures to explore the participants’ pace of technological innovation, perceived usefulness, ease of use and social influences, as these factors can have an effect on their engagement with interactive technologies. The findings supported the scales’ content validity as the structural equations modeling approach has reported a satisfactory fit for this study’s research model. The results indicated that the pace of technological innovation, perceived usefulness, ease of use of online technologies as well as social influences were significant antecedents for the marketing executives’ engagement with online users through digital media. This contribution implies that corporate communications executives ought to continuously monitor conversations in social media and review sites, and to respond to their online followers in a timely manner. In conclusion, it identifies its limitations and suggests possible research avenues to academia.peer-reviewe

Guest editorial: technology mobility

This special issue of Journal of Information, Communication & Ethics in Society entitled Technology Mobility, comprises seven papers that provide cutting edge information and knowledge of ethics, ICT knowledge, e-government services, social media and security. The guest editors invited the first paper, selected papers 2–5 from the IADIS 9th International Conference on Internet Technologies & Society 2019 and 6th International Conference on Educational Technologies 2019 which was held in Hong Kong, and included the two last papers, originally submitted to the regular issue, owing to their adequacy to the topics of this special issue. The papers from the conferences have been extended significantly and peer-reviewed further to achieve a final high publication standard.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Digitally literate: framework for the development of digital literacy

The development of information and communication technology is placing the need for the acquisition of digital skills at the same level of the acquisition of conventional reading and calculus competences. The importance of being digitally literate increases as society becomes progressively more digital. This paper explores the concept of digital literacy and it intends to develop a framework for the development and dissemination of digital literacy as well as to propose a survey that will throughout time provide an assessment of individuals' digital skills. It begins by examining the various definitions of digital literacies and proceeds then to a discussion of what is being done to promote them and what can be done to improve their dissemination. The framework this paper proposes is composed of three core elements: access to technology, education and culture. The survey it recommends is an European Union-wide instrument of digital literacy measurement

Guest editorial: challenges and opportunities of elearning and blended learning during COVID-19 - Part 1

In December 2019, our lives transformed incessantly, as a new virus – a secret and unknown enemy – named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), interrupted and disturbed the lives of people world-wide. The spread of the secret virus affected and impacted all the sectors including the education. Currently world-wide, the education sector is facing a huge impact as a result of the COVID-19, with universities forced to shift their teaching to e-learning and blended learning modes. Academics have had to adapt to this change, both by way of teaching and the assessment process. This has generated several challenges and opportunities for both academics and students. This special issue aims to investigate, assess and examine academics’ perspectives and perceptions with regard how they have handled this challenge as well as highlighting any opportunities and challenges they have experienced during this period. This new issue will add a new theoretical and practical significance to the e-learning literature review, as currently academics are facing new challenges and opportunities by changing their teaching mode from blend teaching to pure e-learning from the COVID-19. This special issue explored the following themes, namely, teaching mode, e-Learning, blended Learning and collaborative technology. The special issue is comprised of seven papers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Framing social media and web-based communities within the COVID-19 pandemic: enduring social isolation and subsequent deconfinement

As images circulate of people, all around the world, watching their cities from their windows and balconies, a sense of solemnity emerges. The COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people to seclusion in an attempt to control contagion. The social isolation deriving from the adoption of containment strategies have displaced social interaction to online settings. Social media and web-based communities assume an increasingly central role in this scenario of pandemic, with an ever-growing number of people turning to these platforms to maintain social connection, to obtain information and to keep a sense of community. This paper aims to examine and frame the role of social media and web-based communities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It reviews current literature to propose a framework based on five main purposes of social media use and web-based communities: preserving physical health, promoting mental health, tending to education/business, searching and sharing information and socializing.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

E-assessment systems: an evaluation framework from the perspective of higher education experts

Assessment represents a central aspect of the learning process. As learning environments become more flexible and unbound by the restrictions of traditional education and as students increase in number and diversity, technology assumes a critical role in the support of a more adequate, scalable and personalised assessment. The employment of eassessment systems can assist teachers in the development of several e-assessment initiatives, especially at a time when there is an unprecedented migration towards online learning. This paper aims to identify the essential characteristics of effective eassessment systems by appraising an evaluation framework to assist teachers to select efficient systems. The learning technology and e-assessment experts, who completed an online questionnaire, validated the identification of the key characteristics of effective e-assessment systems: variety of assessment design options, scalability, security, accessibility and usability, feedback features, personalisation, financial cost and interoperability.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Does 'MP3' audio feedback enhance students' learning skills?: An international case study

Feedback in higher education, via either traditional or technology approaches, is essential to promote students' skills and knowledge. This study aims to assess students’ responses to the lecturer’s ‘MP3’ audio feedback in four postgraduate units in Australia and Portugal. Two methods are used to provide feedback to the students: traditional and audio ‘MP3’ feedback. The former tracks via a Microsoft word application system, giving academics the chance to include comments regarding what went wrong, and how things might be improved in terms of the topic, structure, layout, style, referencing, grammar and syntax, and proofreading requirements embedded within the assessment. The ‘MP3’ approach, on the other hand, recodes the feedback message using the free software ‘Audacity’. This ‘MP3’ contains a personalized message highlighting the good and bad points, and provides suggestions for improving the final submission. This study provides empirical evidence based on three sources: informal and formal student feedback, and an online survey. The 184 students who participated in the study appeared to be pleased and quite satisfied with the ‘MP3’ audio assessment feedback approach as their learning outcomes and their writing, research, listening, and technology skills were enhanced