A Conceptual Framework for Mobile Learning

Several technology projects have been launched to explore the opportunities that mobile technologies bring about when tackling issues of democratic participation and social inclusion through mobile learning. Mobile devices are cheaper than for instance a PC, and their affordance, usability and accessibility are such that they can potentially complement or even replace traditional computer technology. The importance of communication and collaboration features of mobile technologies has been stressed in the framework of ICT-mediated learning. In this paper, a theoretical framework for mobile learning and e-inclusion is developed for people outside the conventional education system. The framework draws upon the fields of pedagogy (constructivist learning in particular), mobile learning objects and sociology.Mobile Learning, Digital Divide, Constructivist Pedagogy, Forms Of Capital

Usage of a Mobile Medical Information System: An Investigation of Physicians in the Military Service

This paper sets out to investigate military physicians’ perceptions and usage regarding a mobile medical information system during their military service in the Finnish Defence Forces. Data were gathered in September and December of 2005 by two semi-structured surveys. The military physicians (n=31) had positive perceptions of the mobile system, and have used it in their daily military training. They showed a few negative opinions on the usefulness of the system in the real military field conditions and crisis situations. They favoured using the mobile system to support their learning and training, and keep their medical knowledge up-to-date anywhere and anytime. Insights of the findings and implications for system improvement are discussed

FRAGMENTATION OF WORKING TIME AND SMARTER IS-SOLUTIONS

It has been commonly stated how complex it is to measure the impact of Information Technology on managers' productivity. We propose to go beyond the concept of productivity in order to understand causes of low productivity: one factor which we have identified is called Fragmentation of Working Time (FWT), characterized as the effects of interruptions on productivity at work. In particular, we are interested in researching the contribution of IS solutions to solve this problem. For this purpose, we adopted Action Research (AR) as a research paradigm: AR enables us to study FWT and to learn from it by taking actions on social reality, that is by bringing effective remedies to our problem area in cooperation with 6 companies involved in a research project. This paper will present the various aspects of FWT and findings from the SMARTER research project

E-inclusion in Finland and Italy in the light of statistical data

When young people drop out of school they are in great danger of being marginalized in society. Immigrants are another group of people who for several reasons often find it difficult to become integrated into their new home country. In both cases some less formal way of learning might help these groups avoid social exclusion. Well thoughtout development and application of new advanced technologies would be likely to level the way for continued education, communication and democratic participation in society. The term e-inclusion refers to these electronic means and how they could be applied to hindering social exclusion. This study compares the situation of school drop-outs and immigrants in Finland and Italy in the light of statistical data. It paves the way for a European research and development project whose aim is to study problems of e-inclusion in Finland and Italy empirically as well as develop technological and pedagogical solutions to them

Smart phone as a medium to access medical information: a field study of military physicians

This paper aims to investigate the suitability of smart phones in the context of military medicine. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) have been adopted more often than smart phones in mobile medical care. In this paper, we aim to present results on the use of smart phones by military physicians. In the autumn 2005, thirty one physicians used a smart phone during their military service. We interviewed seven of these physicians during a training camp three months after they had received and used the smart phones in various field conditions. The study brings some light on the suitability of a given smart phone, the Nokia Communicator for field military operations. The importance of such a study resides in the fact that it uncovers critical shortcomings of the device and the software, which could result in the physicians ’ poor performance during the course of their core activities and duties. The study also gives valuable insights in the adoption potential of smart phones in military medicine

Usability Evaluation of an XP Product

User-centered design (UCD) is a design approach that stresses attention to usability throughout the development process of software. However, with the growing interest in agile development methods, research attention has been focused on some aspects of incompatibility between agile development and the principles of UCD. There is a growing interest in finding a place for usability evaluations and UCD in the agile development framework. This paper presents the findings of an evaluation of an XP prototype using a discount, cooperative usability evaluation approach. The findings indicate that the evaluation setup, with modifications, could be used for iterative usability evaluation during the continuation of the XP project in question

Herbicide Metabolism: Crop Selectivity, Bioactivation, Weed Resistance, and Regulation

Several grass and broadleaf weed species around the world have evolved multiple-herbicide resistance at alarmingly increasing rates. Research on the biochemical and molecular resistance mechanisms of multiple-resistant weed populations indicate a prevalence of herbicide metabolism catalyzed by enzyme systems such as cytochrome P450 monooxygenases and glutathione S-transferases and, to a lesser extent, by glucosyl transferases. A symposium was conducted to gain an understanding of the current state of research on metabolic resistance mechanisms in weed species that pose major management problems around the world. These topics, as well as future directions of investigations that were identified in the symposium, are summarized herein. In addition, the latest information on selected topics such as the role of safeners in inducing crop tolerance to herbicides, selectivity to clomazone, glyphosate metabolism in crops and weeds, and bioactivation of natural molecules is reviewed

Validation of ACE-FTS v2.2 measurements of HCl, HF, CCl3F and CCl2F2 using space-, balloon- and ground-based instrument observations

Hydrogen chloride (HCl) and hydrogen fluoride (HF) are respectively the main chlorine and fluorine reservoirs in the Earth's stratosphere. Their buildup resulted from the intensive use of man-made halogenated source gases, in particular CFC-11 (CCl3F) and CFC-12 (CCl2F2), during the second half of the 20th century. It is important to continue monitoring the evolution of these source gases and reservoirs, in support of the Montreal Protocol and also indirectly of the Kyoto Protocol. The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) is a space-based instrument that has been performing regular solar occultation measurements of over 30 atmospheric gases since early 2004. In this validation paper, the HCl, HF, CFC-11 and CFC-12 version 2.2 profile data products retrieved from ACE-FTS measurements are evaluated. Volume mixing ratio profiles have been compared to observations made from space by MLS and HALOE, and from stratospheric balloons by SPIRALE, FIRS-2 and Mark-IV. Partial columns derived from the ACE-FTS data were also compared to column measurements from ground-based Fourier transform instruments operated at 12 sites. ACE-FTS data recorded from March 2004 to August 2007 have been used for the comparisons. These data are representative of a variety of atmospheric and chemical situations, with sounded air masses extending from the winter vortex to summer sub-tropical conditions. Typically, the ACE-FTS products are available in the 10-50 km altitude range for HCl and HF, and in the 7-20 and 7-25 km ranges for CFC-11 and -12, respectively. For both reservoirs, comparison results indicate an agreement generally better than 5-10% above 20 km altitude, when accounting for the known offset affecting HALOE measurements of HCl and HF. Larger positive differences are however found for comparisons with single profiles from FIRS-2 and SPIRALE. For CFCs, the few coincident measurements available suggest that the differences probably remain within +/-20%