Information And Computer Technologies Research Articles

Prospects of information-computer technologies in teaching biology

The article deals with the problems of information support of biology lessons as plans for the implementation of a didactic approach to the development of the content of their technological composition of education, as it makes it possible to use computer videos, multimedia presentations in the lesson, which allows students to activate motivation and increase the effectiveness of learning. Today, the use of modern information technologies in the educational process makes it possible to improve the quality of the presentation of educational material and increase the effectiveness of training. Studies have shown that the practice of a biology teacher today includes active teaching methods using information and computer technologies, which opens up new opportunities for developing students' cognitive interest in the subject being taught. The authors of the article consider the possibility and even the strategic necessity of using information and computer technologies (ICT) in teaching biology, which allows solving the problems of computerization of education from an organizational point of view and increasing the effectiveness of teaching.

Gamification of Citizen Participation: A Systematic Mapping

The growth and diversification of public debate made it possible for civil society to become more participatory in decision-making processes. In other words, it enabled citizen participation, which is the interaction between civil society and public authorities to solve problems. Furthermore, with the development of Information and Computer Technologies (ICTs), citizen participation has expanded into the digital realm, giving way to electronic participation or e-participation. However, in this context, citizen engagement still is a challenge. As a result, different researches have been carried out to identify strategies that can increase engagement so that electronic participation is effective. One of these fields aims to improve users' experience and the usability of electronic participation tools by using gamification to enliven participatory activities. The purpose of this paper is to carry out a systematic mapping study of the literature as a way of better understanding the impact caused by gamification on citizen participation. Thus, 75 papers were selected and classified, allowing the identification of research methods, application contexts, forms of participation, and game elements used. This mapping enabled the following discoveries: design and prototyping is the most carried out research method for studying gamification in citizen participation, and civic engagement was the most analyzed context. Furthermore, the development of tools mainly focused on asking the population their opinions on policy issues to create a partnership between government and civil society.

ЦИФРОВЫЕ ТЕХНОЛОГИИ В РЕЖИМЕ ДНЯ УЧАЩИХСЯ ПЯТЫХ КЛАССОВ ШКОЛ С РАЗНОЙ СТЕПЕНЬЮ ИНФОРМАТИЗАЦИИ

The relevance of research is dictated by the widespread computerization of the educational process and leisure of adolescents. Emotional, specific stress arising under the influence of EC generates sleep disturbances, rhythmic processes in the body, daily routine and other adverse changes, which, accumulating, become a threat to the health of EC users. It is these factors and their relationship with the level of electronic information load of a teenager that have been the focus of research. A population study of the daily routine, duration and duration categories of individual components of the daily routine and different types of computer activity of 5th grade students in ten regions of the country was conducted. The students were divided into two groups depending on how widely the schools in which they study use computer technology (CT): actively using CT (ACT), and less actively (inactive) using CT (NCT). The following factors were taken into account: equipment of classes and provision of school students with computers and individual EUs, availability of Internet access; characteristics of the effectiveness of the use of information and computer technologies (ICT). Significant differences between the groups under consideration were manifested in all types of computer activity. With a higher confidence, this manifested itself over the weekend. The duration of certain types of computer activities (homework, participation in webinars, games, networking, watching movies, videos, etc.) and the total time of all computer classes per day per 5th grade student were significantly longer in the ACT group. Students from NCT schools spend more time walking on weekends and watching TV, and on school days they have less static (sedentary) load. Studies have shown that the active use of CT in school turns into their active use in an extracurricular setting, and in terms of the duration and frequency of use of EC, a group of ACT school students surpasses a group of children from NCT schools. The differences between the groups (ACT and CNT) manifested themselves in different forms of computer communication, both educational and entertaining.

Hygienic problems of using information and computer technology devices by children

There was carried out the analysis of information and computer technologies (ICT), which are the main hygienically significant sources of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation for children and adolescents. Early forecasts (before 2008) about the adverse impact of the ICT electromagnetic field on the health of children and adolescents, the fundamental scientific basis for forecasts and data on their feasibility to date are considered. According to state statistics, forecasts of an increase in morbidity due to EMF exposure to children and adolescents are likely to come true. For the period 1995-2019, 15-17 years children, a steady trend was identified for the gain in cerebral malignant neoplasms, diseases of the nervous system, blood, hematopoietic organs, and individual disorders involving the immune mechanism. The number of recorded malignant neoplasms of the brain in the adolescent contingent allows performing for the first time “case-control” analysis. Uncertainties in assessing the conditionality of the increase in the incidence in children under the influence of non-ionizing ICT electromagnetic radiation are associated with difficulties in determining personal doses. The limits of EMF exposure of the user’s head by a mobile device, which were developed in 1994, are now outdated and it is necessary to change the limits, as the devices and parameters of exposure to non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation of ICT have changed. It is necessary to confirm the reliability of the hygienic safety factor of EMF remote control in relation to children’s contingents in the conditions of modern and promising information and computer technologies, including taking into account possible synergy under the action of radio frequency EMF, optical screen radiation, sound effects and functional load. Obviously, today what is required is an integrated approach to ensuring the health of children “hygiene in the digital environment”. The article substantiates the foreign standards to affect the design and equipment for information and communication technologies of the educational environment in the Russian Federation, which is one of the important reasons for the deterioration of children’s health.

Social Justice in The Digital Era with Special Reference to Covid19 Pandemic

Abstract: This article attempts to examine Social Justice as a concept, and how various developments in the ‘Digital Era’, a period of time driven by the rubrics of digitalization, triggered by COVID -19, influenced the way of life and affected the social justice. The era, which is under a massive influence of the Internet, gadgets serving as the means of communication and the digital technologies such as cloud computing, the world of Internet, mobile devices, and the virtual reality etc.is now come to be known as the digital era. The entire period of COVID -19, while exhibiting several measures taken for social justice, by way of informing, educating, controlling and supporting masses for their varied needs in terms of RT-PCR testing, frequent health advisory, arrangements for the Isolation camps, treatment of those hospitalized, free provisions, allowing work from home (WFH), Children’s on line schooling, pumping funds in the economic system for SME/MSME entrepreneurs etc. to keep in the economy afloat and organizing vaccine and pushing vaccination program aggressively, had nonetheless left adequate scope to be slipped on the part of government into its failure to meet the social justice. The consequences of the COVID-19, reinforced its continuation for the growth of the digital economy. This would for sure exacerbate the growing digital divide within, between and across developed and developing countries, for the availability, affordability and the use of Information and Computer Technologies (ICTs). The process of digitalization may have advanced the development process, but it has seemingly not facilitated bringing the international community at a common platform to develop solutions for achieving sustainable development for all, eradication of poverty, social protection of all, promotion of employment with decent work for all, and the gender equality and access to social well-being and justice for all.

Exploring STEM integration: assessing the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary informal program in fostering students’ performance and inspiration

ABSTRACT Background: Although sound is an everyday phenomenon that we hear about constantly, numerous studies have reported that students often exhibit learning difficulties in understanding this subject. Only a few studies have proposed programs involving practical learning experiments to provide students with solid conceptual knowledge. Moreover, little research to date has dealt with the topic of sound from the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) perspective. Purpose: The need for this research is rooted in the general lack of learning materials developed according to integrative STEM and in the shortage of interdisciplinary contents that specifically address the subject of sound. The Sound, Waves and Communication Systems (SWCS) program was developed in Sakhnin in Israel to integrate the learning of science and technology through the extensive use of Information and Computer Technologies (ICT). The study aimed at exploring middle school students’ achievements and motivation in learning the program and discovering the factors that might affect these elements. Sample: The participants in the study are 120 middle school students (7th-graders), divided into six separate groups: two groups (40 students) participated in the pilot study, whereas four groups (80 students) took part in the main study. Methods: The study adopted a mixed method research design, and combined quantitative and qualitative methods that included observations in class, administering a students’ motivation questionnaire before and after studying the course, giving achievement exams, and analyzing the students’ projects. Results: The findings showed that despite difficulties in learning the subject, the students eventually managed to gain a conceptual understanding and their self-efficacy significantly increased. Conclusions: The flexible integration of the teachers’ instruction, the hands-on lab work, the use of ICT, and project-based learning all contributed to the participants’ success and motivation in learning the current course.

ОЦЕНКА ИНВЕСТИЦИОННЫХ ВОЗМОЖНОСТЕЙ РОБОТИЗАЦИИ МОЛОЧНЫХ ФЕРМ НА ПРИМЕРЕ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННЫХ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЙ САРАТОВСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

The article reflects that in the Russian Federation, including in the Saratov region, milk production did not reach the level of 2010. It is noted that overcoming the decline, increasing the output of dairy products, improving its quality characteristics is largely determined by the technical and technological base of the industry. The example of some dairy farms in Russia shows the experience of using digital technologies in dairy cattle breeding. Today, the whole world is moving to a new economic way. The widespread introduction of information and computer technologies (ICT) in all spheres of activity is accelerating. The nature of work and production is changing significantly. Most of the work is done by modern software. A person is replaced by automated systems. Digitalization in agriculture radically changes the methods of farming, the entire production process: not only the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the products are improved, but also the efficiency of organizing production increases. From this point of view, digitalization of the agricultural economy can be considered a determining factor in its development. The use of ICT allows much faster implementation of all operations, control of all stages of the production process. The transition to digital software, the integration of «cyber physical systems» and «Internet of things» in the production process opens up almost unlimited opportunities for enterprise development. A wide range of modern ICTs are used abroad. The robot program, thanks to its functionality, timely warns the agricultural producer about the current unfavorable situation. In fact, the farmer receives a system that minimizes risks, which gives a lot of advantages to the producer. Today, the most economically and technologically developed foreign countries are leading in digitalizing the economy. First of all, these are the USA, Germany, France, the Netherlands, etc. In the United States, up to half of the country’s farms have moved to a new technological level in agriculture. In Europe, Germany has been at the forefront for about two decades. It uses systems of «accurate agriculture» and «smart farm.» In Russia, this direction is just beginning to develop. In terms of the level of introduction of digital technologies into agriculture, Russia ranks 15th in the world. The article noted that in connection with the low (unstable) profitability of dairy cattle breeding for the implementation of a promising direction in Russia - a robotic dairy farm («smart farm»), it is necessary to solve a set of problems, including the problem of significant state support for commodity producers.

“Waiting for your info”. An explanatory look at the communicative strategies deployed to mitigate potentially face-threatening acts in emails

Emails are perhaps the most common form of communication in business contexts. In spite of their prominence they are, however, still a common source of misunderstanding and stress. Drawing upon the integration of linguistic and genre aspects, a previous study (Poppi 2015) showed that in order to be able to decide how to draft an email, it is not possible to refer to structural characteristics and style of language alone, as in business communication the boundaries and expectations of the genre are often overruled by inventiveness and creativity. In particular, inventiveness and creativity may especially prove useful when composing emails containing potentially face-threatening acts like directives or requests. The present contribution focuses on 41 email chains written and received by the employees of companies dealing with car-trading, manufacturing of tights and socks, ICT (Information and Computer Technologies) assistance, transport and logistics, who were in charge of customer services. At first, reference was made to Goldstein and Sabin’s (2006) categorization of email exchanges on the basis of the speech act they entail. Out of the twelve main categories identified by them, it was decided to concentrate on those messages which proved to be the textualization of requests and directives (requesting someone to do something), with a view to disclosing the strategies employed to downgrade or mitigate the directness of these potentially face-threatening speech acts. In order to perform this latter stage of the analysis, it was decided to refer to the adaptation of the studies by Blum-Kulka et al. (1989) and Sifianou (1992) provided by Darics and Koller (2018), as well as to Blum-Kulka and Olshtain’s classification of levels of directness. The preliminary results of the analysis confirm that email writers are generally aware of the importance of mitigating the directness of face-threatening speech acts like information requests, and especially directives, as shown by the variety of strategies employed in the samples under scrutiny here.

ОБ ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИИ НЕКОТОРЫХ ОБЛАЧНЫХ СЕРВИСОВ В ОБРАЗОВАНИИ

Computer and related technologies, in particular the Internet, are an integral part of our life. In connection with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standards to educational organizations, high school teachers need to own competencies related to the use of information and computer technologies (ICT) in their professional activity, and in case of music universities — music and computer technologies. ICT not only simplifies and accelerates many forms of the teachers’ work, but also allows to find new ways of working in the educational process. In particular, interaction with students thanks to ICT becomes real-time even in case of distance learning. In this regard, Internet technologies, particularly cloud services — web sites providing various technical capabilities to users without installing any software — are becoming increasingly important for teachers. A significant feature of such tools is their accessibility from any device and from anywhere with Internet access, so the necessary materials are always available to the teacher and, if needed, to other educational process participants. This article considers some cloud services, which can become effective tools in the professional activities of a high school teacher on group disciplines.

ЦИФРОВІЗАЦІЯ – ТРЕНД СВІТОВОГО РОЗВИТКУ, ЯКИЙ ВИЗНАЧАЄ РОЗВИТОК ЕКОНОМІКИ І СУСПІЛЬСТВА

The article discusses digitalization of the economy as a modern global trend of economic and social development, which is based on the use of information and computer technologies (ICT) and digital technologies and leads to economic efficiency and quality of life. In our analysis, the term “digitalization” is used more broadly than in the digital economy. Digitalization, in our understanding, is the process of introducing digital technologies for the generation, processing, transmission, storage and visualization of data in various fields of human activity, and not just in the economy. From this perspective, digitalization is a broader phenomenon than in the digital economy. It is emphasized that the use of ICT can lead to significant changes in the way businesses are managed; ICT-based decision making in business processes with e-business. Businesses are growing in importance with their online presence through the use of online orders, order tracking, product customization, and social media links. Trends in digitization of the economy are analyzed on the example of Europe. Digital transformation and innovation are deeply intertwined in the digital organization. In some cases, innovation leads to transformation, in others, successful transformation leads to increased innovation. Businesses take a holistic, systematic approach to digital transformation that reflects the deep and inseparable links between critical business aspects and the ever-changing market dynamics. In practice, customer experience, optimization, operational flexibility and innovation are key drivers and goals of digital transformation, along with developing new revenue streams and information ecosystems that have value and lead to business model transformations and new forms of digital processes. The paper proposes a structural scheme for eliminating the risks of digital transformation. Analyzing the state’s digitalization policy, it considers the implementation of the global experience of transformation of financial relations of economic entities in the digital economy in Ukraine in the form of positive trends.

De los editores

De los Editores
 DIVERSITY IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: RAISING AWARENESS
 Access to education should be universal in all cases; however, bureaucracy and policy conventions sometimes divert unconsciously from this objective. Although educational institutions have been rowing in the right direction in the last decade, still a lot remains to be done to make education accessible to everyone.
 Accessibility to education in most cases goes hand in hand with new technologies and the concept of e-learning accessibility (Phipps & Kelly, 2006), since information and computer technologies (ICT) are present in all levels of the educational sphere. To achieve this, the European Union and governments worldwide have advanced in the publication of directives and requirements that advocate for equal access to education technology, for example access to websites and applications for the public sector. This means that education can be adapted to students’ needs according to their functionality (Batanero, et al., 2014).
 The current issue includes contributions that delve into the educational sector with practices and pedagogical accommodations to students’ needs. The issue, structured in two differentiating sections includes four full articles in the main section and two book reviews.

Knowledge Management for Rural Industries using Cloud Computing

About more than two decades ago, the practice of Knowledge Management (KM) was started. Also their importance was understood by the many growing and developed organizations. Now it becomes as an importantly integral and inherent component of any business units. Knowledge management (KM) is actually the process of creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of any organisation. Actually to achieving organisational objectives, it refers to a multidisciplinary approach. This is by making the best use of knowledge. KM efforts focus on organisational many of the objectives. Some of these are like improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, the sharing of lessons learned, integration and continuous improvement of the organisation. “Rural industries” refers to the small-scale activities that took place in communities where the dominant economic pursuits revolved around agriculture or natural product extraction. Such industry supported these activities and processed their output. Cloud computing is defined as “the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server/personal computer.” Because of Information and Computer Technologies (ICT), it is possible to put many innovative fruitful ideas into KM practices. In reality this expresses the new trends in KM. This also justifies that, various newly developed technologies have impacted on, how the knowledge is managed? One of advanced, most predominant technology is Cloud Computing, ofcourse within the ICT. The way IT services are provisioned, it has significantly impacted. The rural industries can now get the advantage of such hosted services for major IT activities. This is nothing but KM through the means of Cloud Computing. Before the advent of Cloud Computing, earlier it was beyond their budget.

CREATING SMART UNIVERSITIES AS A CHALLENGE TO MODERNITY

The main trends in modern society is the rapid development of information and computertechnologies (ICT), communication channels and means of transmission and exchange of information, the integrationof knowledge and technology, an increase in the number of open innovations, the transition to new forms andmethods of organizational activity. This brings the world to a new “evolutionary revolution”, transforming theinformation society into what is commonly called the term smart society. In the era of the information society, themost competitive will be universities that can implement the ideas of creating a smart university.The article discusses the international experience of foreign scientific communities in the study of the structure,properties and functions of smart universities. The problems of ensuring the competitiveness of universities byembedding the system of higher education in modern market conditions through the use of modern information andcommunication technologies and the transition from the traditional management structure to process management, aswell as the conditions and nature of the introduction of changes in the educational system of the Republic ofKazakhstan are considered.

A perspective on Interactive Lecture Demonstrations as a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) activity

Active learning designs that leverage the power of information and computer technologies (ICT) can vary tremendously in how they engage students – individuals, small groups or whole class. Interactive lecture demonstrations (ILDs) are instructor-led activities which engage the whole class and are designed address students’ mental models of core concepts in the discipline. The use of ICT allows for real time experiments conducted using sensors, simulations and even data analysis as the core of the activity. In this perspectives paper, we analyze the features of traditional ILDs through the lens of the field of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL).

Assessing technologies for information sharing in international research teams: Developing an intercultural heuristic evaluation tool

ABSTRACTCollaborative research teams working in developing countries rely on information and computer technologies (ICTs), both hardware and software, to overcome barriers to information sharing including, language, distance, time, economic development and politics. However, studies have shown impediments to information sharing between team members from different cultures, nations and institutions. This paper reports on a study in which a model was developed to highlight the most important barriers for communication and information sharing in international research teams, which was the basis for the development of a heuristic evaluation tool. The communication model was created using the results of 30 semi‐structured interviews with agricultural scientists working in international research teams based in Australia and Lao People's Democratic Republic. Interview data outline a number of barriers and facilitators for team communication, which informed the development of eight intercultural heuristics. These were combined with Jakob Nielsen's general usability heuristics to form the intercultural heuristic evaluation tool, or I‐CHET. The tool was then tested in a pilot study to assess the utility and usability of two ICTs used by international research teams: email and Skype. The initial assessment using I‐CHET showed that while email theoretically lacked the richness of cues seen in Skype, email better complied with the needs of international research groups for sharing information and communicating in multicultural teams dispersed over language, cultural and geographic divides.

Sound, Waves and Communication: Students’ Achievements and Motivation in Learning a STEM-Oriented Program

In this article, we present the case of developing an interdisciplinary curriculum for learning science and technology, its implementation in junior high schools and evaluation of students’ achievements and attitude. The 30-hour course (15 two-hour sessions) includes subjects such as sound and waves, conversion of sound to electrical signal, amplification, sampling, and analog to digital conversion. Beyond teachers’ short presentations, the students are engaged in problem solving and project-based learning, with strong emphasis on using information and computer technologies (ICT) tools such as simulation and sound editing software. One could see that the course design was guided by the following principles: contextual learning, integrated learning of science, technology and computer sciences; extensive use of information and computer technologies (ICT); and combining teacher’s instruction with project based learning. The research aimed at exploring students’ achievements and motivation to learn science, technology and computers. The participants in the pilot study were 40 junior high-school students in 7th grade (age 13). In the near future, the course will be updated and run once again among junior high school students and student teachers in a regional college. Data collection tools include: achievement tests, attitude questionnaires, interviews with teachers and students, and analysis of the students’ assignments and projects. The findings indicate that the students manage to handle the subject fairly well and have good achievements in the final exam. The learners also succeeded in developing final projects in sound and communication systems, “The human ear” and “Bluetooth”, and presented their projects to the parents.

Visions of Technology, Gender, and Knowledge Production

Visions of Technology, Gender, and Knowledge Production Joy V. Fuqua (bio) Katie King’s Networked Reenactments: Stories Transdisciplinary Knowledges Tell, foreword by Donna Haraway, Durham: Duke University Press, 2011 Knut Holtan Sørensen, Wendy Faulkner, and Els Rommes’s Technologies of Inclusion: Gender in the Information Society, Trondheim, Norway: Akademika Publishing, 2011 It is often the case that I read a book that inspires me to rethink a particular phenomenon. However, it is rare that a book challenges me to think differently about what it means to think. Katie King’s Networked Reenactments accomplishes both things. It is, in significant ways, a very tough act to follow. Technologies of Inclusion, collaboratively researched and written by Knut Holtan Sørensen, Wendy Faulkner, and Els Rommes, presents an overview of recent work on women and information and computer technologies (ICT) conducted in Europe. This volume contributes to an already existing field of knowledge and challenges the dominance of the “exclusion” paradigm in relation to women and ICT. It is a synthesizing text that represents a summary of research regarding some of the key, structuring assumptions about women and ICT. That, in addition to its focus on European contexts, is its strength. These two books, Networked Reenactments and Technologies of Inclusion, represent markedly different ways of (1) conceptualizing knowledge production and (2) engaging with gender and “the digital.” The two books share a concern for gender and digital technologies. Yet this is where they part company in terms of conceptualization, methodology, and findings. As a queer feminist media studies scholar, I found that Networked Reenactments consistently challenged my own assumptions about disciplinarity, the idea of discrete objects of study, and temporal categorization. As a queer feminist media studies scholar, I found that Technologies of Inclusion tended to reconfirm what I already thought I knew about women and ICT. King’s book gathers an impressive array of disparate objects, yet in doing so, the text tends to avoid what might be understood as a straight-forward [End Page 280] textual analysis of these various objects. Yes, King’s book is about reenactment as a transdisciplinary phenomenon, but for readers who have a strict, taxonomic sense of what reenactment means, they may be disappointed. From her approach to the multiple texts of Highlander, Xena: Warrior Princess, and the digital fandom that has grown around these programs, King rarely settles on one thing. This can be felt as frustration or as a dizzying, even exhilarating, movement through varying intensities of engagement across, rather than within, transmedia. King’s prose, at times poetic and at other times anecdotally provocative, is the reader’s guide. It’s an invitation to go on a journey in which the destination is not known in advance. That, for this reader, was a welcome change in relation to knowledge production in which so much contemporary scholarship tends to lead the reader on a cozy trek down anticipated paths. Using the key concepts of transmedia, posthumanities, and pastpresents, King is interested in the ways that reenactment, as a nongeneric mode, may be a hybrid frame for displacing interpretive, textual exercises. In the book’s conclusion, King offers the following explanation for her approach to this form of knowledge production: “It makes for an odd sort of book, this reenactment R and D. At one level it is a demonstration of how one sort of case study within a feminist transdisciplinary posthumanities might work. Reenactments are sometimes then an object for illustration, but never only that” (273). This book is a queer one, it is an odd one, in that it refuses to engage in scholarship that is predictable or reassuringly recognizable. To be sure, one of the things we learn most about in this book is King as a curious reader, as an odd reader who expresses queer affection for multiple “care abouts.” The main “care about” of Technologies of Inclusion: Gender in the Information Society is women’s relationship to computer technologies. The book’s collective contribution is the result of a series of research projects that examined the ways that women use and engage with computer and information technologies in the early years of the twenty-first century. If one of...

Internet politics: A comparative analysis of U.S. and South Korea presidential campaigns

To investigate the role of information and computer technologies (ICTs) in political campaigns, this paper discusses three areas of influence in particular (fundraising, civic participation, and e-mobilization), identifying similarities and differences between the U.S. and South Korea. The result of our analysis shows that the impact of the Internet on the two presidential elections differed in all three areas. The Internet provides ordinary citizens with political resources and opportunities to expand their political participation in a democratic environment. Moreover, Internet-based collective action can lead to political changes, both positive and negative, depending on the interaction pattern between the state and society. While the political implications of ICTs come to the fore, the predominant factor in the recent presidential elections remained traditional representative mechanisms. These results will shed light on social and organizational practices with respect to the potential political utilization of ICTs in two different countries.

Catalysis, Not Leapfrog: An Institutionalist Argument for a Limited Role of ICTs in India's Development

In response to the impressive performance of information and computer technologies (ICTs) in India in the corporate and the development sector, and relying upon a variety of optimistic estimates, the Indian government has set its sights on the ICT sector not only as a vehicle to ‘leapfrog’ the nation into the forefront of the global knowledge economy, but also as a facilitator of internal development initiatives. This paper takes a more sober view of the possibilities of ICTs as agents of national economic transformation. It argues for a more limited and grounded view of the potential of ICTs. The paper contends that ICTs work best when integrated within an existing matrix of institutionally led programmes of growth and welfare. The metaphor of ‘catalysis’ perhaps is more apt to describe the role of ICTs in India's economic transformation. A catalyst plays more of an accelerating role in a reaction than a transformative one, and its success is predicated upon the reaction being already underway. Likewise, ICTs can enhance already existing trajectories of economic development, rather than generate them, or ‘leapfrog’ developmental stages.

Technology in the classroom: steps toward a new vision

The history of technology in the classroom is one of cycles of exaggerated promises, highly publicised installations with committed teachers, and masterful and inventive excuses for why the promises went unfulfilled. But in spite of this history there is a new vision of technology in schooling emerging, thanks to the World Wide Web. This vision can be seen especially in schools that have used technology as a lever to achieve school‐wide reform in teaching and learning. The present study is based on 94 case studies of successful school reforms where information and computer technologies (ICT) were also heavily used. The studies, done in the 1999–2000 school year across 23 countries, were all case studies, organised around five central hypotheses. These hypotheses tested whether ICT acted as a catalyst for school reform, how ICT diffused throughout the school, what the key elements were for successful implementation of ICT, whether ICT use resulted in further inequities in schooling, and what happened to ac...