interdependent work practices

– A modelling approach for analysis o

Mergers in two-sided media markets : pricing- and welfare implications

This paper discusses the pricing- and welfare implications of mergers in two-sided media markets. Media firms typically rely on revenues from two very different, but inextricably linked, customer groups: consumers and advertisers. As a result, the pricing decisions of media firms are more complex than those of firms operating in regular single-sided industries. We develop two theoretical models in order to investigate the effects of a merger between competing duopolists. In the first model, the only way for media firms to stimulate demand is by lowering content prices, whereas firms in the second model also can attract consumers by increasing the inherent quality of their product. As we abstract from the existence of efficiency gains, the merger should, in accordance with classic merger theory, inevitably be detrimental to prices and welfare. We find that content prices could decrease while welfare could increase as a result of a merger. Moreover, the merger could be welfare enhancing, even with higher content prices, if consumers are sufficiently compensated by virtue of higher quality products

Supporting classroom dialogue through developing the Talkwall microblogging tool: considering emerging concepts that bridge theory, practice and design

Through reflecting on a ten-year design-based research process involving teachers as co-designers, this paper develops a concept-driven approach for designing technology support for classroom dialogue. Specifically, we focus on four ‘bridging’ concepts that emerged from the research-practitioner partnerships in addition to how these guided the design of Talkwall, an educational microblogging tool similar to Twitter. The four bridging concepts: contribution, feed, wall, and space for the teacher; are defined and discussed in relation to design articulations for Talkwall, design of similar educational microblogging tools, and the role of material-dialogic spaces for classroom dialogue. A concept-driven approach fosters intermediary forms of knowledge that may be significant for design-based research. This is because designers, teachers, and researchers can extend their repertoires through synergy and exchange between the researchers’ scholarly knowledge and the teachers’ craft knowledge. We exemplify this by examining how a concept-driven approach enabled the exploration of new designs for material-dialogic spaces relating to Talkwall

Exploring iPads in Practitioners' Repertoires for Language Learning and Literacy Practices in Kindergarten

We have explored the role of a tablet computer (the Apple iPad) and a shared display as extensions of a practitioner’s repertoire for language learning and literacy practices in a multicultural kindergarten. In collaboration with a practitioner, an intervention was designed that included the use of two iPad apps in a language learning and literacy practice session with a group of 5 children aged 5. We have analysed the conversations around the tablet computers and in front of a shared display, trying to identify types of talk. The roles of the iPads, the apps and the shared display are discussed in relation to the types of talk, engagement and playfulness observed in the activities. We argue that the intervention led to valuable activities for language learning and literacy practices. The two selected apps differ in their levels of structure (directed vs. open) and genre (show and tell vs. fairy tale), and this difference will be discussed in relation to the types of conversation they initiate, and the extent to which they enable the children to transfer experiences from books and hence develop their literacy to include digital and multimodal resources

#Fact or #opinion: the educational design of a microblogging activity intended to engage students in productive interactions

Educational activities using microblogging co-located with face-to-face communication might promote productive classroom interactions. However, much depends on how teachers design those activities. This article explores how the educational design of an activity that uses microblogging engages lower secondary school students in classroom interactions that are productive for learning. It presents a study of one teacher’s educational design in which students (aged 12–13) in a Norwegian classroom use microblogging to explore distinctions between facts and opinions. Moreover, the authors consider how the students pick up on the educational design. The findings show that an educational design involving microblogging can provide new possibilities to facilitate peer interactions by systematically enabling students to access more of their peers’ ideas, produce and discuss collective ideas and participate in exploratory talk. In particular, the use of hashtags proves suitable for facilitating peer interactions with the aim to develop students’ critical thinking

Visualisation of Trajectories of Participation in a Wiki: A Basis for Feedback and Assessment?

Learning from digital resources requires different competences compared to learning from textbooks. Such competences cannot be fostered without support; social and material. However, assessment of such practices is not well accounted for. We analyse data from a four year intervention study where teachers and researchers collaborated in developing a wiki to afford relevant tasks and assessment of students’ activities. Our findings show that material tools may afford and make visible ideas for future assessment practices, but that such practices have not materialized beyond ‘what might be’