scholarly journals The Eccoe Approach to Quality Reviewing Online Descriptions of Learning Opportunities

2020 ◽  
pp. 66-75
Author(s):  
Deborah Arnold ◽  
Alessandra Antonaci ◽  
Lisa Marie Blaschke ◽  
Gérard Casanova ◽  
Ada Giannatelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Actual Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Major Step ◽  
Flexible Learning ◽  
Learning Opportunity ◽  
Stakeholder Consultation ◽  
Future Work

As learners seek more flexible learning opportunities, and employers become gradually more open to accepting alternative forms of credentials, there is a need to improve the visibility and quality of the online information available about such opportunities. This information includes not only the descriptions of formal and non-formal learning opportunities, from full degree programmes to optional courses and MOOCs, but also the credentials learning opportunities can lead to and by whom these credentials are recognised. The new Europass initiative of the European Union is a major step forward in this respect, offering the possibility to search for both learning and employment opportunities via a platform that will support a variety of different credentials. Building on the Europass Learning Model, the Erasmus+ ECCOE project makes a significant contribution to this future platform, by defining specific quality criteria for evaluating both learning opportunities and their credentials. This paper describes the methodology applied for the quality review of online descriptions with the ultimate aim of developing a catalogue showcasing learning opportunities that meet the criteria defined by the project. This methodology concerns two levels: (a) the actual process designed and implemented transnationally for the first iteration of over 100 learning opportunity descriptions, and (b) the two PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) quality improvement cycles applied to refining the process itself. The paper also presents the results of this first iteration and formulates recommendations relevant for learning opportunity providers. Future work involving stakeholder consultation is also presented, as are the synergistic interactions between this research and the overall ECCOE project outcomes within the wider context of European work on Digital Credentials and open, online and flexible learning.

Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Onderco
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Actual Process ◽  
Iron Curtain ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Military Forces ◽  
Joint Procurement ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Cold War

This chapter focuses on defence transformations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary since the end of the cold war. The three lesser powers of Central Europe all eventually joined NATO and the European Union, following the fall of the Iron Curtain. The process they underwent completely transformed their security strategies and military doctrines, but the plans to transform their military forces have developed slowly, and the actual process has been interrupted and incomplete. This chapter addresses the development of civil–military relations, the main milestones in the development of the respective states’ national security policies, and the main changes in the structure of military forces in each of these countries. Finally, the chapter looks at the nascent trends towards military cooperation between the three countries, including military sharing and joint procurement.

Service-Learning Opportunities for Preservice Music Teachers within Community Music Settings

2019 ◽  
pp. 641-667
Author(s):  
Jared R. Rawlings
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Teacher Preparation Program ◽  
Community Music ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Learning Opportunity ◽  
Learning Programs

Authentic teaching opportunities are important for all preservice teachers, and service-learning opportunities within community music settings support preservice music teacher development. The purpose of this chapter is to document a service-learning opportunity within a community music school and showcase the benefits and challenges of a partnership between a music teacher preparation program and this school. After defining service learning and describing how it is utilized in music teacher education, the chapter uncovers the following topics: establishing a community music partnership, designing a service-learning opportunity, and evaluating the outcomes of service-learning programs. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of and recommendations for utilizing a multi-tier service-learning program alongside a preservice music teacher curriculum.

scholarly journals Key milestones of the negotiating process on the accession of Croatia to the EU in 2007 – 2008

2018 ◽  
pp. 8-27
Author(s):  
Serhii Horopakha
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Major Step ◽  
Consolidation Process ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Key Events ◽  
The Eu

On 1st July 2013, the Republic of Croatia officially became the 28th member of the European Union. This event marked the fulfillment of a foreign policy goal, along with joining NATO in 2009, as a major step forward in the country’s long-term consolidation process. The article therefore analyzes the key events of the Croatia – EU relations in 2007-2008, which moved this Balkan country closer to implementing its Euro-integration course. Particular attention is paid to the peculiarities of the pre-accession negotiations with the European Union, as well as to internal and foreign policy factors that had a direct impact on the Euro-integration dialogue between Croatia and the European Union. In this context, emphasis is placed on problem issues that slowed down the dynamics of the negotiation process to a certain extent, in particular the unilateral application by Croatia of the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone, and measures taken by the Croatian authorities to settle them. Significant achievements of Croatia in the negotiation process with the European Union are highlighted, in particular, progress of the country in meeting the European Union criteria as well as a date determination the of pre-accession negotiations completion as an important political sign of the European Union readiness to accept a new member in future.

scholarly journals Online information on face masks in Italian and English websites: deficiencies and responsibilities of search engines

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaily Meta ◽  
Daria Ghezzi ◽  
Alessia Catalani ◽  
Tania Vanzolini ◽  
Pietro Ghezzi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
The Usa

AbstractCountries have major differences in the acceptance of face mask use for the prevention of COVID-19. We analyzed 450 webpages returned by searching the string “are face masks dangerous” in Italy, the UK and the USA using three search engines (Bing, Duckduckgo and Google). The majority (64-79%) were pages from news outlets, with few (2-6%) pages from government and public health agencies. Webpages with a positive stance on masks were more frequent in English (50%) than in Italian (36%), and those with a negative stance were more frequent in Italian (28% vs. 19% in English). Google returned the highest number of mask-positive pages and Duckduckgo the lowest. Google also returned the lowest number of pages mentioning conspiracy theories and Duckduckgo the highest. Webpages in Italian scored lower than those in English in transparency (reporting authors, their credentials and backing the information with references). When issues about the use of face masks were analyzed, mask effectiveness was the most discussed followed by hypercapnia (accumulation of carbon dioxide), contraindication in respiratory disease, and hypoxia, with issues related to their contraindications in mental health conditions and disability mentioned by very few pages. This study suggests that: 1) public health agencies should increase their web presence in providing correct information on face masks; 2) search engines should improve the information quality criteria in their ranking; 3) the public should be more informed on issues related to the use of masks and disabilities, mental health and stigma arising for those people who cannot wear masks.

scholarly journals Combining statistics: The effects of phonotactics on cross-situational word learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Dal Ben ◽  
Débora de Hollanda Souza ◽  
Jessica Hay
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Facilitative Effect ◽  
Learning Paradigm ◽  
Learning Opportunity ◽  
Exploratory Investigation

Regularities in speech can both help listeners make sense of their noisy world and support word learning. Two types of regularities that influence word learning are word-object co-occurrences and phonotactic probabilities. Here we conduct an exploratory investigation of the effects of phonotactics on word learning in ambiguous contexts. Brazilian-Portuguese speaking adults (N = 62) participated. Using a cross-situational word learning paradigm, we conducted two experiments in which sets of words with different phonotactic probabilities were presented in parallel, during the same learning opportunity, or sequentially, split across two learning opportunities. We found no effect of phonotactics on word learning in the first experiment, but we found a facilitative effect for the words with the highest phonotactics in the second experiment. Our results suggest that phonotactics and co-occurrence statistics can be combined to aid word learning, but only when learning opportunities highlight PP differences.

9. Maastricht and Amsterdam (the Late 1980s to the Late 1990s)

2020 ◽  
pp. 154-171
Author(s):  
Simon Bulmer ◽  
Owen Parker ◽  
Ian Bache ◽  
Stephen George ◽  
Charlotte Burns
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Monetary Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Major Step ◽  
The Road ◽  
European Citizenship ◽  
History Of ◽  
On The Road ◽  
Commission President ◽  
Treaty Of Amsterdam

This chapter examines two important developments in the history of the European Union (EU): the signing of the Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties. In June 1989, the European Council agreed to European Commission President Jacques Delors’s three-stage plan for monetary union by 1999, despite British opposition. In 1991, intergovernmental conferences (IGCs) were held on both monetary union and political union. The proposals of these IGCs were incorporated into the Treaty on European Union (TEU), agreed at Maastricht in December 1991. The TEU marked a major step on the road to European integration. It committed most of the member states to adopting a single currency and introduced the concept of European citizenship, among others. This chapter considers the events leading up to the signing of the TEU, from the Maastricht negotiations to the issue of enlargement, the 1996 IGC, and the Treaty of Amsterdam.

scholarly journals Mindset and its relationship to anxiety in clinical veterinary students

2018 ◽  
Vol 183 (20) ◽  
pp. 623-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Bostock ◽  
Tierney Kinnison ◽  
Stephen A May
Keyword(s):  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Veterinary Students ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Strong Growth ◽  
Fixed Mindset ◽  
Quantitative Results ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigated anxiety, one aspect of mental wellbeing, in fourth year veterinary students before the final clinical section of their course (intramural rotations (IMR)). It explored the relationship between reported anxiety and ‘mindset’: an individual’s view on the ability to develop (eg, improve intelligence). Questionnaires were completed by 130 students. Students were mindset typed for ability and personality and rated their anxiety towards IMR. Students with different overall mindsets (‘strong growth’, ‘growth’ and ‘fixed’) were invited to participate in focus groups, to discuss causes of their anxieties. Quantitative results indicated 63.1 per cent of students had strong growth or growth mindsets overall, and that females were more fixed mindset-oriented than males. Females reported significantly greater anxiety than males. A fixed mindset view overall, and of ability, were significantly correlated with increased anxiety, while mindset view of personality was not. Students provided various reasons for their anxieties, which differed with mindset. Fixed mindset students (n=2) focused on concerns about knowledge, whereas growth students (n=6) were also anxious about work-life balance and future work. Growth students saw clinicians as future colleagues, rather than intimidating teachers. Students reported an awareness of being graded, although growth students were aware that IMR are learning opportunities.

scholarly journals Using podcasts to deliver pediatric educational content: Development and reach of PediaCast CME

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 205520761983484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Patrick ◽  
David R. Stukus ◽  
Kathryn E. Nuss
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Educational Content ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Post Graduate ◽  
Content Development ◽  
Media Channels ◽  
Future Work

Objective Pediatricians have used podcasts to communicate with the public since 2006 and medical students since 2008. Previous work has established quality criteria for medical education podcasts and examined the benefit of offering continuing medical education (CME) credit for online activities. This is the first descriptive study to outline the development and reach of a pediatric podcast that targets post-graduate healthcare providers, enhances communication by incorporating quality criteria, and offers free accredited CME to listeners. Methods We produced 26 podcast episodes from March 2015 to May 2017. Episodes incorporated quality criteria for medical education podcasts and offered free CME credit. They were published on a website, available for listening on multiple digital platforms and promoted through several social media channels. Data were analyzed for frequency of downloads and geographic location of listeners. Results The cumulative total of episode downloads was 91,159 with listeners representing 50 U.S. states and 108 countries. Podcast listenership grew over time. Individual episodes had their largest number of downloads immediately following release, but continued recruiting new listeners longitudinally, suggesting use of the archive as an “on-demand” source of educational content. Conclusions Pediatric podcasts that incorporate quality criteria and offer free CME credit can be used to deliver educational content to a large global audience of post-graduate healthcare providers. Since podcast communication is rapidly growing, future work should focus on identifying the professional roles of listeners; exploring listener perceptions of quality, value and satisfaction; and examining podcast impact on knowledge transfer, clinical practice, public policy and health outcomes.

BETWEEN EXCLUSION AND FAMILIARITY: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN MISSING PROJECT1

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-31
Author(s):  
Giorgia Mirto
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
The State ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Ethnographic Analysis ◽  
Future Work

Abstract For decades, migrants have continued to die or go missing in the Mediterranean, while the European Union and Italy continue to exhibit a policy vacuum around the issue of the missing, despite the duties on states imposed by human rights law. The investigation of deaths is inadequate, the Italian judicial authorities demonstrate disinterest to proceed with investigations in the identification of deceased migrants, and the inefficient post-mortem data collection seriously compromise every effort to restore names and dignity to the dead. This attitude seems to confirm the theory of “necropolitics,” which views the state as a racist and excluding sovereign entity. But ethnographic analysis of the work of some of the involved actors reveals recognition of the deceased and missing migrants based on a sense of familiarity and closeness. Here, the experience of the Mediterranean Missing Project is discussed, with an emphasis on future work prospects for both academia and practitioners.

Conventional cautions regarding online information: Do they predict accuracy of breast cancer websites?

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 6086-6086
Author(s):  
F. Meric-Bernstam ◽  
M. Walji ◽  
D. Sagaram ◽  
S. Sagaram ◽  
C. W. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Cancer Information ◽  
Web Pages ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Independent Evaluator ◽  
Online Methods

6086 Introduction: Cancer patients and oncologists are increasingly using the Internet. Online information is affecting patient decisions regarding treatment. Therefore, multiple organizations published advice on how to screen out problematic information online. In the present study, we sought to determine whether existing quality assessment tools can screen out false or inaccurate breast cancer information online. Methods: Using 15 representative search queries on five popular search engines and only the first page of results, we generated a list of 1,585 Web pages. After eliminating irrelevant, broken and duplicate links 343 unique web pages were downloaded and evaluated for website characteristics, information accuracy and 15 quality criteria: authorship identified, author credentials identified, physician credentials stated, author affiliation stated, sources clear, general disclosures, attribution/references provided, disclosure of ownership, date created displayed, date of last update displayed, date of creation or last updated displayed, editorial process stated, internal search engine present, feedback mechanism provided and copyright notice. Quality criteria were evaluated by an independent evaluator blinded to the accuracy information. Accuracy was determined independently by a pair of clinically trained evaluators. Results: Of 343 pages evaluated, 41 false/misleading statements were displayed on 18 distinct pages. The presence of an internal search engine was correlated most strongly (r = .196, r2 = .038) with health information accuracy. However, all quality criteria (alone or in combinations tested exhaustively) were linearly associated with less than 7% of the variance in number of inaccuracies per website. Conclusion: Currently available technical quality criteria do not identify false or misleading online information about breast cancer. At this time, directing patients to websites with known content appears to be the only way to ensure patients will not encounter false or misleading online information. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

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