Children's and Families' Use of Computers in Australian Homes

2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni Downes
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Patterns Of Use ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Instructional Environments ◽  
Computing Environments ◽  
Computer Resources ◽  
Home Computing ◽  
Modern Technologies

Children's approaches to learning may be changing as a result of their interactions with modern technologies. In Australian society there have been quantum leaps in the use of and reliance upon computers and information and communications technologies. An understanding of the lived experiences and interactions of children of various ages with computer technologies in their homes is the focus of this article. Such an understanding informs the work of educators who wish to provide effective instructional environments that draw on children's starting points and the positive aspects of their home computing environments. The research found that children's family computer resources, patterns of use and sociocultural contexts combined to affect children's computing experiences. Several discourses exist surrounding the use of computers by families. These discourses are the importance of computers for education, for the future and as productivity tools. From children's discussions emerged a comfortable co-existence of ‘toy use’ (for playing games) and ‘tool use’ (for purposeful work and leisure tasks) when using the computer and a preference for an exploratory mode of learning. A number of key elements present in domestic computing environments were identified as contributing significantly to children's learning. Implications for teachers are discussed.

Institutionalising Technologies: Masculinities, Femininities, and the Heterosexual Economy of the IT Classroom

10.1068/a3238 ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L Holloway ◽  
Gill Valentine ◽  
Nick Bingham
Keyword(s):  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Patterns Of Use ◽  
New Information ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Institutional Cultures

Geographers' renewed interest in institutions reflects traditional concerns with the way institutions can shape geographies and a more recent interest in the ways geographies are important in shaping institutions. In this paper the authors build on this second strand of work and are specifically concerned with children's use of new information and communications technologies in schools. The authors suggest that multilayered institutional cultures, which are shaped by official school policy, teacher practice, and pupil culture, are exceedingly important in shaping distinct cultures of computing in (and within) the case-study schools. The highly gendered character of these institutional cultures is reflected in the very different attitudes of male and female pupils to computers and in the patterns of use which generally favour boys rather than girls. These are negotiated through competing masculinities and femininities in the classroom context, gender identities which are played out through normative understandings of heterosexuality. The authors conclude that we may indeed characterise institutions as ‘precarious geographical achievements’, as suggested by Parr and Philo. Schools are embedded within wider places, are important sites for the negotiation of gender and sexual identities, and, as spaces, are in part shaped through our notions of gender and sexuality. This achievement is only precarious as institutions are not forever solidified in their current form but are open to change, both inadvertently and through the concerted actions of individuals.

Challenges and Cloud Computing Environments Towards Big Data

2014 ◽  
pp. 203-208
Author(s):  
Kiran Kumar S V N Madupu
Keyword(s):  
Data Mining ◽  
Cloud Computing ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Computing Environments ◽  
Modern Technologies

Big Data has terrific influence on scientific discoveries and also value development. This paper presents approaches in data mining and modern technologies in Big Data. Difficulties of data mining as well as data mining with big data are discussed. Some technology development of data mining as well as data mining with big data are additionally presented.

ROLE OF LIBRARIANS IN TEACHING INFORMATION LITERACY IN ZIMBABWEAN AND SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Mousaion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinashe Mugwisi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Information Skills ◽  
The University

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the Internet have to a large extent influenced the way information is made available, published and accessed. More information is being produced too frequently and information users now require certain skills to sift through this multitude in order to identify what is appropriate for their purposes. Computer and information skills have become a necessity for all academic programmes. As libraries subscribe to databases and other peer-reviewed content (print and electronic), it is important that users are also made aware of such sources and their importance. The purpose of this study was to examine the teaching of information literacy (IL) in universities in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and the role played by librarians in creating information literate graduates. This was done by examining whether such IL programmes were prioritised, their content and how frequently they were reviewed. An electronic questionnaire was distributed to 12 university libraries in Zimbabwe and 21 in South Africa. A total of 25 questionnaires were returned. The findings revealed that IL was being taught in universities library and non-library staff, was compulsory and contributed to the term mark in some institutions. The study also revealed that 44 per cent of the total respondents indicated that the libraries were collaborating with departments and faculty in implementing IL programmes in universities. The study recommends that IL should be an integral part of the university programmes in order to promote the use of databases and to guide students on ethical issues of information use.

Cyber Peacekeeping: Critical Evaluation of Digital Blue Helmets Program

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-27
Author(s):  
Fahad Nabeel
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Threat Detection ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Article ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Future Potential

In 2016, the United Nations (UN) launched the Digital Blue Helmets (DBH) program under its Office of Information and Communications Technologies (OICT). The launching of DBH was a continuation of a series of steps that the UN and its related agencies and departments have undertaken over the past decade to incorporate cyberspace within their working methodologies. At the time of inception, DBH was envisioned as a team capacitated to act as a replica of a physical peacekeeping force but for the sole purpose of overseeing cyberspace(s). Several research studies have been published in the past few years, which have conceptualized cyber peacekeeping in various ways. Some scholars have mentioned DBH as a starting point of cyber peacekeeping while some have proposed models for integration of cyber peacekeeping within the current UN peacekeeping architecture. However, no significant study has attempted to look at how DBH has evolved since its inception. This research article aims to examine the progress of DBH since its formation. It argues that despite four years since its formation, DBH is still far away from materializing its declared objectives. The article also discusses the future potential roles of DBH, including its collaboration with UN Global Pulse for cyber threat detection and prevention, and embedding the team along with physical peacekeepers.

scholarly journals International Schools for Young Astronomers (ISYA): a programme of the International Astronomical Union

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (SPS5) ◽  
pp. 221-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michèle Gerbaldi
Keyword(s):  
International Schools ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Data Access ◽  
International Astronomical Union ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Data Archives ◽  
International Astronomical ◽  
Communications Technologies

AbstractThis paper outlines the main features of the International Schools for Young Astronomers (ISYA), a programme developed by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1967. The main goal of this programme is to support astronomy in developing countries by organizing a school lasting 3 weeks for students with typically a M.Sc. degree. The context in which the ISYA were developed has changed drastically over the past 10 years. We have moved from a time when access to any large telescope was difficult and mainly organized on a national basis, to the situation nowadays where data archives are established at the same time that any major telescope, ground-based or in space, is built, and these archives are accessible from everywhere. The concept of the virtual observatory reinforces this access. However, the rapid development of information and communications technologies and the increasing penetration of internet have not yet removed all barriers to data access. The role of the ISYA is addressed in this context.

scholarly journals Transdiagnostic or Disorder Specific? Indicators of Substance and Behavioral Addictions Nominated by People with Lived Experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyoun S. Kim ◽  
David C. Hodgins ◽  
Benjamin Kim ◽  
T. Cameron Wild
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Behavioral Addictions ◽  
Addictive Behaviors ◽  
Canadian Province ◽  
The Past ◽  
Patterns Of Use ◽  
Content Analyses ◽  
Prevention And Treatment ◽  
Qualitative Responses

Using a transdiagnostic perspective, the present research examined the prominent indicators of substance (alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, tobacco) and behavioral (gambling, video games, sex, shopping, work, eating) addictions nominated by people with lived experiences. Specifically, we aimed to explore whether the perceived most important indicators nominated were consistent across the 10 addictions or differed based on the specific addiction. Additionally, we explored gender differences in the perceived most important indicators across addictive behaviors. A large online sample of adults recruited from a Canadian province (n = 3503) were asked to describe the most important signs or symptoms of problems with these substances and behaviors. Open-ended responses were analyzed among a subsample of 2603 respondents (n = 1562 in the past year) who disclosed that they had personally experienced a problem with at least one addiction listed above. Content analyses revealed that dependence (e.g., craving, impairments in control) and patterns of use (e.g., frequency) were the most commonly perceived indicators for both substance and behavioral addictions, accounting for over half of all the qualitative responses. Differences were also found between substance and behavioral addictions regarding the proportion of the most important signs nominated. Consistent with the syndrome model of addiction, unique indicators were also found for specific addictive behaviors, with the greatest proportion of unique indicators found for eating. Supplemental analyses found that perceived indicators across addictions were generally gender invariant. Results provide some support for a transdiagnostic conceptualization of substance and behavioral addictions. Implications for the study, prevention, and treatment of addictions are discussed.

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