Effective Use Of New Technologies Research Articles

Technical worker’s participation in the CVET and company competitiveness

The present study intends to understand how factors influence employed adults’ decision to participate in learning activities in two sectors of the five regions (NUT II) of the Portuguese continental territory. The factors associated to individuals’ participation in Continuing Vocational Education and Training (CVET) constitute an important issue to be studied given the need to understand why adults participate in CVET activities. This is important because continuing professional qualification of workers is assumed to be essential to improve workers’ employability and productivity in companies. In fact, the level of productivity of business depends on effective use of new technologies which is only possible with human resources continuously qualified. For this reason, results will allow us to elaborate recommendations for designing and implementing policies for CVET activities. The present research will be using a methodological approach framed by the ISSTAL (Interdisciplinary, Sequential-Specificity, Time-Allocation, Life-Span) model of social participation (Smith, 1980), already adapted and tested in USA by Cookson (1986) and in Alentejo and other EU regions by Figueira & others (2008) for studying adult participation in learning activities. The study will use a cross-sectional survey complemented by a focus group strategy to discuss survey results by continuing training specialists and practitioners and by a set of case studies to further understanding nature of the participation factors. The cross-sectional survey will use an instrument specifically developed to collect data from a two-stage stratified random sample drawn from a population constituted by technical working people of the two main sectors in the above Portuguese continental regions. According to results from previous studies, it will be expected that the ISSTAL model will be useful for explaining and understanding participation of adults in continuing training activities concerning the sectors of activity under analysis. The study will give an important contribution for promoting equal access to CVET for all workers, as a relevant pathway for a sustainable development of the Portuguese society.

Three Views of a Secret: Land Rights and the Constitution of Local Citizenship in West Africa

This paper takes a critical look at the view that the Internet can serve as a laboratory of political experimentation for reconfiguring the repertories of political actions. The overall discourses on information and communications technology (ICT) are too often focused on technology and infrastructure, when the question of its use should be central. In order to comprehend how ICT can serve as a democratic enhancer, this paper critically examines the African anthropology of the state and of the public sphere. It captures the African endogenous productions of political modernity and the subsequent way ICT is appropriated and indigenized by African local instances. African states and civil societies do not fit into prescriptive Western paradigms. In order to encourage the effective use of new technologies, this paper has developed the so-called “African model of ICT practice”, which proposes a set of hypotheses that aim to enable the effective usage and integration of ICT within the democratic process in the context of an African self-defined political reality.

The Democratic Impact of ICT in Africa

This paper takes a critical look at the view that the Internet can serve as a laboratory of political experimentation for reconfiguring the repertories of political actions. The overall discourses on information and communications technology (ICT) are too often focused on technology and infrastructure, when the question of its use should be central. In order to comprehend how ICT can serve as a democratic enhancer, this paper critically examines the African anthropology of the state and of the public sphere. It captures the African endogenous productions of political modernity and the subsequent way ICT is appropriated and indigenized by African local instances. African states and civil societies do not fit into prescriptive Western paradigms. In order to encourage the effective use of new technologies, this paper has developed the so-called “African model of ICT practice”, which proposes a set of hypotheses that aim to enable the effective usage and integration of ICT within the democratic process in the context of an African self-defined political reality.

Educational Perspectives on Digital Communications Technologies

This article examines key issues in how new technologies are impacting upon how we teach, learn and collaborate, and uses an educational research project called GRAIL (Graduate Researcher's Academic Identity Online) under development to illustrate some fundamental issues in adopting new technologies. A significant challenge to the effective use of new technologies in education is the evolution of social practices around those technologies and the discrepancies between broader social uses of new technologies and how those same technologies can be used in educational contexts. The article describes challenges to design along the dimensions of public/private and individual/collaborative and uses data from a series of project research studies to illustrate the nature of these challenges and possible solutions. The taking up of new technologies in new ways requires the evolution of social practices of use – these practices simultaneously reflect and change our culture, and the evolution of such processes takes time.

Laptops and literacy: learning in the wireless classroom

The number of laptop computers in U.S. schools is growing at a rapid rate. This timely book analyzes the types of learning that take place in one-to-one wireless classrooms where all students use laptop computers. With a particular focus on students' literacy practices, the text covers reading and writing, information use, and multimedia development. Featuring critical analysis and practical examples, this book is essential reading for everyone concerned with making effective use of new technology to meet the educational needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. This book: looks at the literacy challenges of the 21st century and examines whether and how laptop use contributes to meeting them; draws on extensive research in schools that have implemented one-to-one computing and provides details from those that are successfully using technology to enhance learning; uses rich examples from urban, suburban, and rural areas, with children in regular classrooms as well as in ESL, gifted, and special education programs; and, provides details from schools that are successfully using technology to enhance learning.

An Empirical Examination of a Technology Adoption Model for the Context of China

As multinational corporations engage in technology adoption internationally, it is becoming increasingly important for managers to pursue a process that will ultimately lead to the adoption and effective use of new technology in divergent markets. In this study, the authors explore a technology adoption model (TAM) that is appropriate for the context of China. Employing a sample of 506 Chinese business professionals, they develop and test a modified TAM within the Chinese business culture. The results indicate that the modified TAM works well. The authors discuss implications for international marketing academics and practitioners.

HIV Prevention Protocols: Adaptation to Evolving Trends in Drug Use

Applied research in HIV prevention with out-of-treatment substance abusers takes place in a constantly changing environment. Researchers must be able to identify changes in drug use and sexual risk patterns, develop and evaluate appropriate interventions to respond to those changes, and find ways to make effective use of new technologies as they are developed. An example of this process is the collaborative revision made to NIDA's Standard Intervention for HIV prevention by the final six study sites funded under the NIDA Cooperative Agreements for AIDS Community-Based Outreach and Intervention Research. To illustrate the process of responding to changes in the substance abuse environment, to advances in knowledge about risk, and to newer technologies, this article provides an overview of the history of two federally funded HIV-prevention programs for out-oftreatment substance abusers and reviews recent changes made to the Standard Intervention protocol. The rationale for the changes is discussed, and the substance abuse population in the study is described.

Distribution System Technology for the 21st Century

Accurately predicting the outcome of industry restructuring is impossible, but technology will surely play a strategic role in determining winners and losers. Early and effective use of new technologies can provide competitive advantage in a market that places increasing emphasis on communication, automation, and customization.

The role of new technologies in reducing energy demand

Energy efficiency is often stated to be the most cost‐effective measure for satisfying our energy demand with minimal environmental damage. However, the potential energy savings attainable in ‘the real world’ are frequently overestimated, as is shown in an industrial case study of the glass industry. Nevertheless, there are significant energy savings to be realized, and the role of new technologies in this is important. However, the key to the effective use of new technology for improved energy efficiency is good management and. for best effect, it must be integrated into the normal resource management activities of a company.