An Innovative E-Learning Platform for Vocational Training of European Local Police Forces

Introduction to the Special Issue on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in AEC Organizations: Assessment of Impact on Work Practices, Project Delivery, and Organizational Behavior

The features of formation of educational concepts in the conditions of global globalization challenges are considered in the article. The problems of using educational innovations as a determining factor of modernization and improving the quality of your education in the context of the concept of "information" are analyzed. The role of information and communication technologies in the formation of the "knowledge society" in Ukraine is disclosed. The purpose of the article is to study (features, ways, approaches) of the formation of effective education concepts in measuring of modern globalization challenges and the introduction of computer information and communication technologies (ICT) in the education system. The place, role and importance of information in modern society and its main semantic characteristics are revealed; the problems of science and education, which require changes on the basis of information and communication technologies and techno-methotocratic culture are identified . Methods - system, structural, structural and functional analysis, which allowed to analyze the problems of modern education, to identify the conditions for their development on the path to the formation of a "knowledge society" and the transformation of knowledge into intellectual property. The scientific novelty of the research is that the conditions for the formation of the "knowledge economy" and the opportunity to take a worthy place in the global economic system are revealed through the formation of a "creative" component in the information economy. The modern ideas about engineering and technical education and its role in modern society are revealed. The result is the development of the directions of reforming (modernizing) the education system in Ukraine and the use for these purposes of the concepts of the introduction of computer information and communication technologies. The conclusion is the development of concepts for the effective use of information technologies in the context of Ukraine's integration into the European space, which is regarded as one of the areas of modernization of education. Education contributes to the emergence of new educational opportunities, promising forms, methods and methods of teaching, their introduction into the process of training highly qualified specialists

Protocol for a Systematic Review: Provision of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for Improving Academic Achievement and School Engagement in Students Aged 4‐18

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are major drivers of social and economic change. They are also one of the key Thematic Objectives (TOs) in the European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF). The aim of these funds is to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion within the European Union. ICTs not only constitute an important sector themselves, but are also an important enabler of other sectors. This is why, analysis of ESIF data on planned ICT investments show EUR 12.2 billion encoded in the dedicated TO, but when ICT categories in other TOs are included, this amount almost doubles, to EUR 21.4 billion.\nFinding out more about the ICT investment plans of EU Member States and regions is not always a straightforward process. The available data for ESIF are structured in TOs and Categories of Intervention (CoIs); however, ICT investment often funds activities beyond the dedicated TOs and CoIs. To obtain a better picture of planned ICT investments, the European Commission Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content & Technology (DG CONNECT) and the JRC Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) have developed an online tool to display planned ICT investment data on a regional basis. This tool will help EC officials, national and regional policymakers working on ICT issues, and beneficiaries of ESIF, to understand what kind of ICT activities are being planned in Europe.\nThe ICT monitoring tool can be searched using a number of predefined filters, or searches of TOs and CoIs can be customised. The tool also contains a database of keywords built up by a semantic search for keywords in Operational Programmes (OPs). This database allows the user to identify OPs that mention a number of ICT activities more frequently than others, and to identify if a specific topic is mentioned in a region at all. The data set included in the tool is based on an in-depth study of individual OPs, as well as on aggregated data sets.\nWhen studying the available data, we found that Thematic Objective 2 (TO2) does not account for all planned ESIF investments in ICT. Using a broader set of CoIs, planned spending on ICT almost doubled, from 3.8 % to around 6.6 % of the combined total of European Regional Development Funds (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), Cohesion Funds (CF) and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). However, it is likely that even this method fails to capture all planned investments, as respondents to our study indicated that substantial investments in ICT will be allocated to other categories, which would increase ESIF investments in ICT to EUR 35.5 billion. However, this estimate is not currently included in the tool, as the methods of estimating investments are not judged to be adequate. This range of different amounts of investment reflects the dual nature of ICT as an important sector and activity in itself, as well as an enabling technology in other public and private activities.\nTaking the moderate estimates, the EU Member States that plan by far the largest investments in ICT in absolute terms are Poland, Italy and Spain; the regions with the largest planned investments are Campania (IT), Sicilia (IT), Andalucía (ES), Slaskie (PL) and Puglia (IT). For example, the region of Campania plans to invest more ESIF in ICT than the whole of Germany. The greatest investments will be in broadband and ICT infrastructures (EUR 6.9 billion), e-Inclusion and digital skills (EUR 3.9 billion), e-Government (EUR 3.4 billion), and smart cities and smart grids (EUR 3.1 billion).\nTo get a more in-depth view of future plans, we carried out a keyword search of ESIF data. Among the most frequently mentioned keywords are ICT innovation, e-Inclusion, broadband and digital content. This is partly because these keywords are broad and all-encompassing, but the findings also reflect the ambition of many regions to invest in ICT-based innovation activities. Quite substantial ICT investments will go to ICT-based innovation and digital content, but this will be listed under CoIs related to support of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and research and innovation, rather than the core CoIs for planned ICT investments.

Social evolution pyramid, built on the foundation of the '90s capitalist society, lead to the emergence of the informational society - years 1990 to 2005 - and knowledge society - years 2005 to 2020. The literature starts using a new concept, a new form of association - artificial intelligence society - foreseen to be established in the next time frame. All these developments of human society and translations or leaps (most of the times apparently timeless) were, are and will be possible only due to the advancing information and communications technologies. The leap to Democracy 3.0, based on information and communication technologies prompts to a radical change in the majority of the classical concepts targeting society structure and the way it is guided and controlled. Thus, concepts become electronic concepts (or e-concepts) through the use of new technologies. E-concepts keep the essence of the classical principles of liberty and democracy, adding a major aspect of the new way of communication and spreading ideas between people. The main problem is to quantify, analyze and foresee the way technological changes will influence not only the economic system, but also the daily life of the individual and the society. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, depending on the point of view), all these evolutions and technological and social developments are as many challenges for the governments of the world. In this paper we will highlight only four of the challenges facing the governments, grouped in a structured model with the following specific concepts: Big Data, Social Data, Linked Data and Mobile Data. This is an emerging paradigm of the information and communication technology supporting national and global eGovernment projects.Keywords: Democracy 3.0, Big Data, Social Data, Linked Data, Mobile Data, eGovernment, Information and Communication Technology (ICT)1IntroductionAn essential component of informational society is e-democracy, which concerns the activity and interactions of citizens, public institutions and political organizations through information and communications technology (ICT). The purpose of these activities is the development and promotion of democracy values through citizens' participation to the decisional process together with the public authorities, so that citizens can really see the results of their efforts. ICT facilities, especially communication environments used for interaction by citizens, organizations and public institutions become fundamental instruments in the process of modernization of society and government structures.While electronic government mainly refers to accessibility of government services, electronic democracy refers to the citizen's active role in enlarging his possibilities through ICT. Thus, electronic democracy allows citizens to get involved in public institutions' activity, taking part in the decisional process, and it allows the government to react adequately to citizens' needs [1].Thus, in the last decade, the governments of the most developed economies have started a move towards e-government in order to improve services not only for citizens, but also for the business environment, promoting the social and economic development. Egovernment also means online interactions between government agencies, and government and employees, not only interactions between government and citizens. These interactions take place through online platforms, including mobile applications (mgovernment).Information society impact on personal life and individual development of citizens may be analyzed from several points of view. Such an analysis must consider firstly the model of this new type of society with all its political, economic and social characteristics both on the level of individual countries and on international level.This new concept implemented on country level helps users and has multiple benefic effects. Informational society relies heavily on large scale use of ICT at work, in relation with authorities and public institutions and everyday life (for shopping, instruction, and various other activities - Figure 1). …

The urgency of the study is that the purpose of the study (features, paths, approaches) is to formulate concepts of effective education in measuring contemporary globalization challenges and the introduction of computer information and communication technologies (ICTs) into the education system. Setting objectives. The article reflects the formation of a holistic conception of the education system related to the implementation of ICT, and overcoming the troubles that are on its way. Analysis of the latest research and publications - the article takes into account the most modern approaches to the implementation of ICT in the system of higher education, as the place, role and importance of information in modern society and its main semantic characteristicsare are analyzed. Exemption of unexplored parts of the general problem is the conceptualization of the education system associated with the implementation of ICT and forum information communication and communicative culture. Methods - systematic, structural, structural and functional analysis, which allowed to analyze the problems of modern education, to identify the conditions for its development on the path of formation of a "knowledge society" and the transformation of knowledge into intellectual property. Presentation of the main material.The methodology involves the use of systematic, structural-functional and complex methods and approaches, which allowed to analyze the concept of education system associated with the implementation of ICT. The problems of science and education that require changes on the basis of information and communication technologies and information (technomeritocratic) culture have been discovered. The scientific novelty of the research is that the conditions for the formation of the "knowledge economy" and the opportunity to take a worthy place in the global economic system through the formation of "creatively -information "components in the educational sphere and to reveal contemporary ideas about education and its role in modern society.Conclusions - the concept of implementation of ICT in the system of education of higher educational institutions was formed and the shortcomings that interfere with this process were revealed

The aim of this paper is to highlight some of the challenges of information and communication technology (ICT) integration in a South African classroom setting. The main focus is on the concept of a digital divide, and how cultural complexity with special emphasis on language can affect the divide in schools that already have material access to ICT. The study is based on fieldwork in seventh-grade classes in four primary schools in Cape Town, South Africa. The learners answered a questionnaire regarding their ICT use and skills, and interviews were conducted with learners, teachers, and principals. In conclusion, it is argued that the challenges of language in South African schools can exacerbate or maintain the digital divide among learners who are already disadvantaged due to a range of social inequalities. For learners to fully master the use of ICT in today's global knowledge society, it needs to be put in a local context, which includes use in a familiar language. Moreover, it is suggested that greater opportunities for teacher training are needed in order to enhance culturally sensitive and appropriate ICT integration based on local needs and capacity.

The 21st century is stated to be a knowledge century in which knowledge plays a primary role in the societal and economic development of a country. The development of storage, communication, media, and web technologies and the effects of their convergence are ushering in a new era wherein the creation, organization, and management of information and knowledge will be much faster and pervasive. Nations and people will be more dependent on the accessibility of information and knowledge. In light of this significance of information and knowledge, nations of the world and international agencies like UN are much concerned about the availability of technologies in various countries. The uneven infrastructures of some countries have resulted in knowledge gaps between and within nations. To reduce the gaps, an essential component of a knowledge society is worth considering, that is, the human capital, which constantly contributes to the creation and utilization of knowledge. To develop the human capital, it is necessary to develop a proper educational system with the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The method of distance learning evolved through this technological application may help bridge the knowledge gaps to a considerable extent. This paper highlights the scenario of digital learning in Asian developing countries, with particular reference to India. The initiatives taken by India for moving towards a knowledge society and its efforts made for developing digital learning for distance education will be included in this discussion. The methodology of developing a digital learning system will also be analyzed.

In today's digital era, the community become an important basis for development. Development funding is no longer rely on natural resources but also on the creative economy based on knowledge. Therefore, people are expected to take advantage of the use of ICT (Information And Communication Technology) as a tool to be able to create a knowledge society. There are many research discussed about knowledge society, but none of them can provide a clear mapping about relationship and the pattern of interaction among ICT usage, knowledge society, and good governance. This paper tried to summarize previous research about knowledge society and its supporting components, and then make a map of relationship among ICT usage, knowledge society, and good governance. This paper also identify obstacles based on the map in implementing the knowledge society as well as offering strategies to overcome these obstacles.

In the 'knowledge society' increasing emphasis is being placed on independent, resource-based and technology-based inquiry learning. This learning process requires teacher librarians/library media specialists and their teaching teams to have access to an expanding range of curriculum information and teaching/learning methodologies. An outcomes approach to learning in regard to a sequential, developmental and progressive learning of information literacy skills within an information processing framework has been on the agenda and actively pursued by teacher librarians/library media specialists for more than a decade. In addition, teacher librarians/library media specialists have embraced information and communication technologies (ICT) as a means to extend the information literacy skills of their learners. An information skills framework becomes the backbone and 'vehicle' through which learners are able to demonstrate what they know and can do within an outcomes-based curriculum. This inquiry approach is the 'linch-pin' across the curriculum. Combine this with a recognized information skills, and information and communication technology (ICT) continuum, one has the beginnings of a progressive and development outcomes curriculum, which works on increasing levels of sophistication and complexity of tasks. In planning a unit of work the information skills framework provides the backbone to sequence the learning activities according to an inquiry-based approach. The tools and methodologies one uses to activate learning within this framework encourages and fosters the development of information literacy attributes and provides opportunity to engage in ICT skills development. School based planning of information literacy in conjunction with an outcomes approach to the curriculum facilitates an informative reporting process for students, as well as parents, as learners continue the journey through lifelong learning in the 'knowledge society'.

A ‘knowledge society’ relies on a workforce with high-level skills in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Continuing development of ICT will arise partly from research undertaken by doctoral graduates. However, compared to other cognate disciplines, ICT has relatively few students taking up doctoral studies. This article explores some of the perceived barriers to undertaking doctoral studies in ICT in three Australian universities. Current students were surveyed regarding their post-course intentions relating to employment and further study, and the resulting data was analysed in terms of type of university attended, gender, nationality and first-in-family status. Overall, the perceived barriers to doing a research degree were related to the financial implications of such study and a limited understanding of what research in ICT involves. The following recommendations are made to universities and higher education policy-makers: that universities ensure that students have accurate information about the financial costs of doctoral studies; that students be provided with authentic undergraduate research experiences; and that pathways be developed to facilitate a smooth return to research degrees after periods of working in industry.

Economic impact of Information and Communications Technology – identifying its restraints and exploring its potential What is the overall impact of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on company and industry performance as well as the economy in general that has been witnessed over the last two decades? This chapter deals with theoretical approaches and empirical research related to the topic which has intrigued economists ever since R. Solow's statement 'We see computers everywhere except in productivity statistics' aroused the interest and debate concerning the impact of ICT on growth and productivity. The hypotheses regarding the economic impact of ICT will be discussed followed by a conclusion arising from a large number of empirical studies. There have been three hypotheses regarding the overall impact of ICT on growth and productivity. According to the first hypothesis, growth and productivity are stimulated by investment in ICT ; according to the second hypothesis, growth and productivity are stimulated by using ICT ; whereas according to the third hypothesis, ICT has no significant impact on economy. While the initial wave of research was based on quantitative indicators of effects of ICT investment, in the second stage a shift towards a qualitative approach was made, taking into consideration the complementary nature of investments and factors such as organizational change, human capital accumulation, quality of work effects as well as investment into research and development. Research has shown that ICT increases work productivity via three mechanisms. The first mechanism is the impact via production in the ICT sector. The ICT sector, which consists of two segments – manufacturing and services – contributes to growth in countries in which it is growing faster than the rest of the economy. This is true even despite the power of the ICT sector in those countries which, quantitatively speaking, is relatively small owing to limited markets, examples of which include Australia, Finland and Ireland. The other mechanism is using ICT in business activities. The third way is technological spillover. This chapter discusses a research conducted in Croatia concerning the size of the ICT sector and company performance. The research shows that the ICT sector productivity is above the average when compared to the Croatian economy in general. High entry rates and high survival rates are indicators of entrepreneurial potential and market growth that tend to accompany the initial stage of the ICT sector development. Considering the ever greater significance of entrepreneurship and the inevitable role of ICT, this chapter will also examine the potential impact of ICT on entrepreneurship. The latter has been acknowledged as one of the generators of growth and recognized as such by policy makers. In recent literature, apart from capital, work and knowledge capital, entrepreneurship capital appears as a factor of growth. Since entrepreneurship on the demand side is a major factor in technological change, we shall attempt to propose possible avenues of research into ICT potential for entrepreneurship. There are two ways in which ICT can benefit entrepreneurship development. One of them is through entrepreneurship in the ICT sector which, owing to the nature of technology, shows a high level of innovativeness, while the increase in demand opens up the possibility for the entry of new businesses. The other is through the mechanism of using ICT and spillover effects, i.e., network effects. From the perspective of spatial analysis of development it is possible to examine the impact of ICT on regional development. It is interesting to analyze regional development, as a particularly widely supported development model in the European Union, in the light of the impact of ICT on it as well as of the impact of neighbouring regions on regional development through the spillover process. Finally, guidelines for the exploitation and exploration of the ICT potential for countries of varying experience and achieved level of development are discussed in the conclusion.

Models of Teacher Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Professional Development that Empower Multiliterate Classroom Practices

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use in education is an innovation in the system to foster efficiency in teaching and learning. ICTs and their utilization is one of the most pertinent issues in the education industry today. This paper thus focused on ICT use in education with emphasis on the impact of asynchronous media in education system. Asynchronous ICT media is perceived here to include those teaching and learning electronic gadgets that allow participants in the learning process to be at different times and different places. Asynchronous learning resources are therefore used to facilitate information sharing among a network of people. The paper pointed out specific impact of asynchronous ICT media in distance education. This piece equally reviewed the various types ofICT driven learning, the roles and weaknesses of ICT in education as well as the barriers to the application of ICT in education. The paper concluded that the challenge of the knowledge society through ICT is a significant area that is propelling the use of ICT in education. The paper finally noted that the struggle to be part of the digital world is obvious in the knowledge society, therefore, government and in fact, education authorities should endeavour to provide ICT in Nigeria school system.

This paper introduces some technologies that are fit for an architecture of digital democracy or E-democracy. It aims at proposing an architectural style emerged from tested and validated approaches, without relying on some radical innovation. Firstly, we propose an input-system-output model of E-democracy and knowledge society. This model is subject to permanent optimization following a trial and error paradigm similar to the artificial intelligence method of backpropagation. Secondly, we describe and advocate for some technologies and methodologies such as Cloud, Service-Oriented Architecture, Agile Development, Web-Oriented Architecture, Semantic Web and Linked Data. Finally, we assemble all these technologies and methodologies in an architectural style that follows several key concepts such as flexibility and adapability, citizen-oriented software development or abstract notions like participation, deliberation and inclusion.Keywords: E-democracy, Cloud Computing, Services-Oriented Architecture, Knowledge Society, Agile Development, Semantic Web, Linked DataIntroductionOne of the salient matters of computing world is to expand its visions and horizons from a technical to a social dimension. Arguably, information and communication technology (ICT) may arrive with its new approaches and perspectives to build a better society. While ICT has evolved as a human-like universe transposed in mathematical and computational formalizations, it is now time for the public sphere to benefit from the scientific achievements of the virtual world. From a social perspective, these benefits may endeavor the development of E-society, which is either the information society (IS) or knowledge society (KS). Moreover, IS or KS are foundations for a better public sphere by supporting a democratic society.Digital democracy in knowledge society or Edemocracy (ED) is to many an extension of Egovernment, but we have already defined it as being more than this - a way of living [1]. Based on Maier's research [2] and extending ED with new instruments like E-petition under the guard of Justice, Figure 1 illustrates our proposed model.While Figure 1 has a generic perspective, ED should focus, on a bottom-up approach, on solving contextual problems (CPs) based on participation, deliberation and inclusion (PDI). Advocated by participative democracy proponents from antiquity [3] to modern [4] and contemporary times [5, 6], PDI is the key to ED and a metaphor for KS. Justice, seen as the backbone of democracy inspired by divinity [3, 4], is herein subject to permanent transformation through PDI on medium-long term, while some stability is required on short-medium term [6]. In addition, Figure 2 depicts the actors involved in the CP processes and their defining inter-relationships: committee of MPs (CMP), committee of citizens (CC), helping committee of citizens (HCC), nongovernmental organizations (NGO), social and professional associations (SPA) or political parties (PP) [1]. All of them co-work on a platform of CP (PCP) or instantiate a CP (ICP) only under the surveillance of committee of justice representatives (CJR).We have already brought several important amendments to other (representative) democratic models [1] advocating for: the increased role of citizenry, the way of selecting representatives, the crucial part of justice and the significant aspect of PDI. In addition, we only want to address the issue of establishing a better framework for collaboration and cooperation based on ICT. While this is subject of future extended research, we mention that E-bureaucracy is an improved and more objective (non-Kafkian) form of bureaucracy that helps monitoring ED by CJR and supports the actors involved in PDI. E-bureaucracy incorporates techniques and methods of web semantics, neural language processing, text mining, artificial intelligence (AI) etc. that conceive a substratum for (E-) justice in particular and PDI in general. …