Knowledge Society Research Articles

Exploring intervention of e-textbook in schools: Teachers’ perspectives

As an innovative educational tool, e-textbooks has gained wide interest – especially with the growth of e-learning. As with any new technology, understanding how users adopt these technologies is still unclear. In the study reported on here we proposed a theoretical model shaping the determinants of teachers’ attitude toward e-textbooks. Specifically, we identified three contextualised factors (ease of use, usefulness, and concerns) as the factors of adopting e-textbooks. In addition, we examined teachers’ use of e-textbooks. A mixed-methods research design was used in which quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed. The results show that teachers held positive attitudes toward using e-textbooks in their teaching and used them as instructional aids. The results might inform education decision-makers who are planning to integrate e textbooks into their schools in line with digital transformation and the knowledge society.

Public Policies to solve the differential access to digital technologies and connectivity in Argentina


 
 
 In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic manifested our heightened dependency on digital technologies for the operational functioning of all aspects of our lives under lockdowns: access to information, jobs, education, good governance, entertaining, and social and family relations. However, in Argentina, as in all Latin American and Caribbean countries, the pandemic has revealed the many inequalities that affect its population. It is important to recognize the present digital divide, considering the existence of multiple gaps: socio-digital, cognitive, socioeconomic, socio-spatial, gender, linguistic, among others. This paper is focused on the new needs faced to the construction of Knowledge Society in Argentina through the study of its public policies for digital inclusion. It proposes measures to be included in the country`s public policies for Knowledge Society.
 
 

Faculty Views on Internationalization in Kazakhstan

Internationalization is viewed as the main mechanism for the modernization of higher education in Kazakhstan. Despite the strong policy push for internationalization, research on the process of implementation of internationalization initiatives by institutions, as well as on the experiences with the internationalization of individual faculty members, students, and administrators remains rather scarce. This paper fills the gap in existing research by using the data from the international Academic Profession in the Knowledge Society (APIKS) survey to explore faculty views on internationalization. The study addresses the following research questions: (1) What are faculty views on internationalization? (2) How do the views vary among the faculty of different demographic and professional characteristics (e.g. gender, rank, discipline, age, experience)? (3) What is the relationship between the views on internationalization and faculty language ability? (4) What is the relationship between the views and the extent of faculty engagement in international experiences? To answer the research questions, we use both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study reveals that faculty generally hold a positive view of internationalization, although remain concerned about the effect of internationalization initiatives on brain drain and loss of cultural identity. In addition, they seem to be less satisfied with the number of opportunities for international mobility and research collaboration, which are available for them as compared to students. The study points to the importance of gathering faculty input on the development and approaches to implementation of internationalization initiatives, as well as of expanding faculty access to internalization programs.

Training Delivery Methods Implemented by American Companies: Opportunities and Challenges in Context of Knowledge Society

The radical transformations caused by the rapid development of information and communication technologies in the mid-1990s prompted the transition to the knowledge society which identified the key role of knowledge as the most important and valuable capital of organizations and had a decisive impact on the development of corporate training. In our study, we aimed to analyze the training methods used in American companies in the knowledge society, particularly, their feasibility, features, benefits and possible limitations. The results of our study show that, at present, e-learning is considerably more widely used in American companies than instructor-led classroom training. Most organizations use blended learning which implies the combination of e-learning methods and instructor-led learning methods. A powerful stimulus for the wide implementation of e-learning methods was produced by the COVID-19 pandemic when the use of educational technologies made it possible for the companies not only to continue training and development of their employees but also to implement tactical and strategic practices which will have long-term implications for the future of the training industry. The most widely used e-learning methods in American companies are virtual classroom/webcast, online or computer-based methods, social learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. In spite of certain limitations of e-learning methods, they have a number of important benefits which allow companies to expand access to training, save costs, increase adaptability and flexibility of learning programs, etc., and thus satisfy their needs in qualified employees.

Editorial

This special issue of the Canadian Journal of Learning Technology contains articles presented at the Rethinking Online Education in the Knowledge Society with Emerging Technology Symposium jointly hosted by Beijing Normal University, Athabasca University, and Chongqing Open University in November 2021. The symposium was organized by the Chongqing Open University, China.

Exploring Students' Perception Concerning Educational Coaching: Premises for the Design and Implementation of an Online Coaching Platform in Academia

Education is a field that evolves constantly in relation to the changes in the society and the needs of its beneficiaries, taking over and adapting functional models from other fields. The quality of education of today’s generations has a direct impact on the future, as tomorrow's adults need to have strong key competences, but also transversal competences needed in a dynamic and competitive labour market. Thus, the knowledge society implies opening up the education system to other social sectors, exploiting the paradigm of student-centred education, harnessing technology and virtual environments to create authentic learning and training contexts. Within this framework, educational coaching can be a means through which the individual potential of the learner can be discovered and optimised, with multiple benefits in personal, academic and professional terms. In order to achieve academic success, students need to know themselves, set short-, medium- and long-term goals and objectives, develop skills and competences in autonomous learning, communication, self-motivation, creative and critical thinking, emotion management etc. Through coaching activities, students can benefit from academic support and help in the process of self-discovery and personal development, optimising personal potential, collaborating and creating educational communities that share common goals and values. Placing the teacher in the position of a coach, this can contribute to the development of a multifaceted perspective related to the role of the teacher in the contemporary school, as a student’s partner in the process of his or her education. The present paper aims to explore students’ perceptions concerning the need for coaching activities in their academic life and to identify the students’ main needs and directions for optimizing actions and interventions.

LITERASI INFORMASI PERTANIAN OLEH KOMUNITAS PERTANIAN PERKOTAAN DI LABORATORIUM PERPUSTAKAAN PERTANIAN BERBASIS INKLUSI SOSIAL

Libraries have a major contribution in building a knowledge society through collective efforts, to foster reading traditions and culture in society. The purpose of this research is to determine the role of agricultural information literacy by the community and the agricultural community in the Agricultural Library Laboratory Based on Social Inclusion. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method with an experimental method. The activity was carried out in March-June 2020 at the Urban Agricultural Community (KPP) or KWT which utilizes the agricultural library laboratory as a source of information in optimizing the yard. The number of KWT community members who were sampled were 45 people. The study was conducted in RW.005 Babakan Lebak, Balumbang Jaya Village, Dramaga District - West Bogor. The Agricultural Library Laboratory has provided benefits to the surrounding community. In addition to providing a collection of reading materials and agricultural teaching aids, LPP also facilitates the community in various activities and needs including a cow working space (CWS), angklung playing facilities, martial arts facilities, dance training, teaching and learning exercises and others. Urban agricultural communities/Women Farmers Groups make LPP a vehicle for community activities in searching for literature to support knowledge and understanding in farming. The number of residents registered in urban agricultural activities is 45 people. The average age of KWT members is 44 years.

Aleksandr I. Moskovskiy: on institutionalism

The article provides an overview and assessment of the legacy of most significant Russian researcher of the past decades in the field of theory and methodology of classical institutionalism — candidate of science in economics, associate professor Alexander Ivanovich Moskovskiy, who worked for many years at the Department of Political Economy at Lomonosov MSU Faculty of Economics. The article shows the original ideas of A. I. Moskovskiy on the correlation of classical political economy, other schools of the heterodox branch of economic theory and neoclassical, methodology and theory of classical institutionalism. Special attention is paid to the research of A. I. Moskovskiy on the relationship between the technological progress, socio-economic processes, as well as the content and role of labor. The article reveals that A. I. Moskovskiy is among the first and most profound researchers who not only criticized the processes of deindustrialization but showed the importance of focusing on rendustrialization of the economy, showing (based on classical institutionalism and modern Marxism methodology) that strategic planning and active industrial policy can become the most important means to solve this problem. The industrial era, during which huge enterprises were the main institutions for maintaining social order, is not coming to an end; that affects employment and the nature of work. At the same time, the scolar did not deny that postindustrial society is now increasingly characterized as a “knowledge society”, in which knowledge and information become a key resource for technological, economic, and social development. An important point relates to the analysis of A. I. Moskovskiy changes in the methods and forms of managing skilled workers in conditions of increasing complexity and knowledge-intensive labor.

Labor market insertion, management and training by competencies: a current view in the Argentine context

University management by nursing schools should be oriented to facilitate the labor insertion of their graduates by evaluating the efficiency of the training system, determining whether the final competencies of the nursing student are at the level required in the labor practice, allowing the identification of real learning needs. Within the framework of the information and knowledge society and the social demands regarding professional practices, the meaning of education based on the Napoleonic model that sustains a conception based on the thought of training for the world of work, thus the academy is linked to produce adjustments of the curricular designs to respond in a macro-educational way to the socio-cultural determinations and at the same time to create added value in the profile of the graduates. The objective of this panoramic review is to analyze the professional competencies of nursing graduates and their relationship with labor market insertion, with special emphasis on the Argentine context. Encouraging the inclusion of more nurses, through labor and educational policies and incentives for university professional training, may be a first step to reduce labor intensity and improve the quality of care. In addition, promoting the demands of this group of workers in the unions that represent them, providing greater visibility for their demands in order to improve their labor rights, is also an important step on this path.

A proposed protocol for the registration of evidence-based Educational Psychology programs.

The turn to evidence-based interventions is significant for Psychology in general and for Educational Psychology in particular. Although there is a great deal of published evidence for program validation, there is currently no protocol for the evaluation of educational psychology evidence-based intervention programs and there is no General Register of such programs to act as a central information depository. This article has four objectives: (1) To assess the significance of the turn to Evidence-Based Programs in the context of today's Knowledge Society and Research and Development, Transfer and Innovation (R&Di) activities; (2) To provide a Classification of Programs based on the degree of specialization required for appropriate professional use in line with the requirements of the Code of Ethics in Psychology; (3) To tentatively propose a Protocol for the Registration of Evidence-Based Educational Psychology Programs; and (4) Finally, to identify some implications of the protocol. We conclude that there is a need for a General Register of validated programs.

The role of media culture in today's information wars

The article is devoted to the socio-philosophical analysis of the phenomenon of media culture in the context of the globalization information challenges of today. The formation of the main threats of the modern information society is revealed through the prism of the close relationship of violence, wealth and knowledge as means of implementing power relations in the geopolitical context. It was noted that at each historical stage of the global struggle for power, the most effective means of achieving power goals were strategies of information struggle aimed at manipulating public consciousness. The essential signs of information war from the standpoint of psychological, information and communication approaches are revealed. It is noted that in the society of knowledge, the information and propaganda war acquires the features of a conscious (semantic) one, therefore, in the conditions of the formation of the mass media as key producers of information products marked by certain political or economic interests, it is possible to talk about the media war as a separate technology of modern information wars. In the modern philosophical discourse, to define a special type of culture of the information age, the concept of "media culture" has become widespread, as a set of information and communication tools produced by mankind in the process of cultural and historical development, which contribute to the formation of public consciousness and the socialization of the individual. The work reveals the main functions of media culture - informational, communicative, ideological, normative and legal, motivational, integrative, culture-creating, myth-creating. The fundamental difference between media culture and traditional cultures is emphasized - the level of its technical equipment, which allows the reproduction of media culture products for almost all of humanity, acting as a regulator of its mass consciousness. The specificity of media culture is determined by its semiotic nature and the technical capabilities of the means of its implementation: high information capacity, ease and persuasiveness of perception, speed of replication of information messages, mass and accessibility. The conclusions highlight the need to introduce state programs for the development of digital and media education as an effective mechanism for countering today's informational challenges.

Understanding Hari-Hari Terakhir Seorang Seniman and Arus through Goodenough Ethnosemantics Approach

This article discusses the position of the novels Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang Seniman (1979) and Arus (1985) by Anwar Ridhwan as these are considered to be cultural products and behaviors of the Malay community. Based on the interpretation of the novels, from an ethnosemantics study by Goodenough proves that cultural products (literature) are the collective knowledge system of the Malay society in the 1940s and 1970s. In these two novels, Anwar Ridhwan has created a discourse of knowledge and cultural phenomena to discuss various issues in his society. It includes three main elements which are conflict of values, psychosocial and social leadership which can be connected with knowledge system, philosophy, public thinking and cultural behavior collectively. These works can be understood through content analysis to understand the forms of thought, cultural patterns, and behavior that form the basis of a society's knowledge system which is the focus of Anwar Ridhwan's novels. Therefore, these two novels in Goodenough's ethnosemantics perspective are social facts which are the basis to understand the way of life, thinking, philosophy, common sense and cultural practices that are the core of his authorship.

Facilitating Research Cooperation and Research Talent in the Danube Region

Even though all countries of the Danube Region either are EU Members or associated with the EU Framework Programme, stark differences between the countries of the Danube Region still exist when it comes to the integration of their research communities into European and global cooperation networks. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought international academic mobility almost to a halt for the last 1½ years, putting further strain on the life of researchers and the development of their research careers. For this reason, Priority Area 7 “Knowledge Society” of the EUSDR (https://knowledgesociety.danube-region.eu) is implementing activities to boost research capacities, facilitate research cooperation, increase the visibility of research talents, and improve participation in European Union funding programmes within the Danube Region. These activities facilitate cooperation within the Danube Region.

Media and information literacy to counter disinformation

Over the past decade there is increasing recognition and acceptance that technological advancement and explosion of media and other information providers, including those on the Internet, have made it urgent for all citizens to acquire media and information competencies. Survival in knowledge societies requires that women, men, children and youth, in general all citizens, have the competencies to purposefully navigate the flood of information, decipher media messages they meet with, and to create and participate in media and interact online despite their race, gender, age, beliefs, ability or location. This rapid growth in technologies and media has opened up new forms of citizen engagement. Women/girls and men/boys’ use of social networking platforms has created a virtual second world. Meanwhile a large number of studies show that citizens do not have the competencies to effectively exploit the opportunities provided by this virtual world and at the same time minimize the potential risks. The risks are connected to the reliability of information, privacy, safety and security issues, and potential abuse of media, the Internet and other information providers. The spread of disinformation and ‘fake news’ poses a serious challenge for people in different countries, especially in the Arab World. This situation is even more serious in our part of the world where our young people in general use the new media with a kind of addiction. Students in particular and indeed all citizens need to develop pertinent competences to navigate these fast-changing environments and in order to be able to be empowered against “fake news”, "rumors" and "hate speech" spread all over the digital media. Education in media literacy can have positive outcomes on students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes in analyzing and critically understanding the media and disinformation/misinformation. Media and information literacy competences are also required in order to enable citizens to actively participate in democratic society; these competences enable citizens in general to access, understand and deal with the media, and encourage them to become participatory agents. Media and Information Literacy empowers citizens, including children and youth, with competencies related to media, information, information and communication technology (ICT) and other aspects of literacy which are needed for 21st century. These competencies include the ability to: access, find, evaluate, use the information they need in ethical and effective ways; understand the role and functions of media and other information providers such as libraries, museums and archives, including those on the Internet, in democratic societies and in the lives of individuals; understand the conditions under which media and information providers can fulfil their functions; critically evaluate information and media content; engage with media and information providers for self-expression, life-long learning, democratic participation, and good governance; and update skills (including ICTs skills) needed to produce content, including user-generated.

Exploring aspects of New Work: Spirituality at Work in agile organizations

Abstract The topic spirituality at work is becoming increasingly important in the scientific management research, while various concepts of and approaches to new work are attracting more and more attention regarding for instance the trend toward a knowledge society, digitalization, increasingly intense competition, and uncertain market and working environments, or aspects of demographic changes especially in corporate practice. These two discussion strands currently run separately; I seek to connect them. I outline the contributions and impacts of the scientific discussion about spirituality at work for the challenges discussed in corporate practice conversation on new work regarding rapid innovation, agility, and continual change, employee retention, and meaning and purpose on the example of the healthcare industry, particularly nursing. Based on initial results on German employer and employee perspectives on spirituality at work, I show that spirituality at work can positively contribute to employees dealing with uncertainty and persistent change in agile work settings, promote employee creativity, and employee retention and employer attractiveness, especially among younger members of Generation Y. Thus, spirituality at work is a resource for both employees and employers. Finally, I discuss spirituality at works’ double-edged sword character and its suitability for HRM in broadly secularized Germany.

ТЕОРЕТИЧНІ ЗАСАДИ ІНТЕРНАЦІОНАЛІЗАЦІЇ ВИЩОЇ ОСВІТИ

The article deals with the conceptual and categorical apparatus of the definition «higher education internationalization». The international university centres-initiators of the internationalization of higher education are analysed. The essence of the categories of «internationalization of higher education» in the process of integration of international values of education, scientific research, and social services by institutions of higher education in the process of forming a strategy for the development of higher education, focused on the prospects of the development of a modern knowledge society, is clarified. The article substantiates that the internationalization of higher education contributes to the deepening of the processes of political and economic integration, the reduction of military confrontation, the development of global telecommunications systems, the mobility of students and teachers, which is characteristic of European educational programs, bilateral agreements between states on cooperation in the field of education, science and culture, agreements between universities on academic exchanges. The internationalization of higher education is proposed to be considered as a process of integration of the international, intercultural and global dimensions of goals, training, research and service functions of the higher education system; as a process that reveals relations between nations, people, cultures, institutions, systems; as a process of change aimed at meeting the individual needs and interests of each institution of higher education. The authors prove that the main goal of the higher education system at the turn of the century is to prepare graduates for life and work in a global society. The article emphasizes that international and intercultural skills and knowledge, awareness of the need for active interaction with representatives of other cultures and dedication to these actions, the ability to think at the local, national, and global levels are of particular importance in this world. Key words: globalization, internationalization, higher education, university, mobility

Образование как несущая структура общества знания

The article analyzes the role of educational system in reproduction of the intellectual life of a modern society, which, according to certain scientists, is striving for a state referred to by them as the Knowledge Society. It is pointed out that among various interpretations of this concept the authors are closest to understanding it as the social ideal, since it is too early to talk about any noticeable and even more so final transition to a fundamentally new type of the social reality. Another interpretation is also proposed, which means that any knowledge society as a social attractor appears to be a possible and desirable new quasi-stable state of the society based on systematic production of the rational knowledge in the course of widely held theoretical (aimed at finding propositional truth), moral and practical (aimed at finding normative correctness) discussions. The simulated attractor will make it possible to avoid catastrophic scenarios for the development of Civilization associated with unpreparedness of the human mind to cope with the growing instrumental power and other challenges of the history. Relevance of the problem under discussion is due to unprecedented acceleration of the evolutionary processes in the 21st century noted by many researchers of the Universal History (Big History). An original procedural concept of rational knowledge is presented, which basic component is the widely understood principle of sufficient reason serving as the universal mechanism for accumulating the cultural capital. It is noted that the introduced principle is not any law of logic, but is represented by a five-step scheme for formation and selection of knowledge and could be substantiated by the transcendental-pragmatic method proposed by Karl-Otto Apel and Jürgen Habermas. To analyze the functions of education, fundamental theory of the intellectual networks by R. Collins is introduced, which includes theory of interactive rituals, social concept of creativity and model of the intellectual attention space dynamics.

Editorial

Abstract This distinctive issue of Management & Marketing. Challenges for the Knowledge Society focusses on “Higher Education, Social Change and Impact”, emerging from the COST programme SHIINE “Multi-disciplinary innovation for social change”. The ideas presented in the papers are from various lenses reflecting an international perspective. There are significant and important insights which may be gained from this issue. International dialogue and the adoption of a multi-disciplinary approach to social problems can assist in the advancement of universal public policy. This will be to everyone’s gain.

СПІВВІДНОШЕННЯ ПРАВОВИХ КАТЕГОРІЙ «ІНФОРМАЦІЙНЕ СУСПІЛЬСТВО» ТА «SMART-СУСПІЛЬСТВО»

The article reveals the content of the category of Smart-society and correlates the legal categories of "Smart-society" and "information society". It was found that the information society is inextricably linked with the development and dissemination of the role of information and communication technologies, the availability of an appropriate information sector of technology, a high level of information culture in all spheres of public life, accessibility and transparency. It is noted that the category "Smart" means smart, one that promotes the development of smart technologies and the formation of a smart society, the transition of "traditional" information society to a knowledge society or Smart-society, whose guiding paradigm is the desire to improve all spheres of human life. to create a new quality of life. Smart-society is a new model of information society, which permeates all spheres of public life, namely – economic, political, social, spiritual, cultural, educational spheres of life. The correlation between the legal categories "information society" and "smart society" allowed us to say that they have both common and different characteristics. The common features include the following: 1) these categories are quite similar, but not identical; 2) they appeared in one period (in the early 1960s); 3) both are inextricably linked to the information sector; 4) apply to all spheres of public life; 5) determined by the development of information and communication technologies. It is noted that there are some differences between them, the main of which is the inseparability of the Smart-society with digital technologies, while the information society is not so dependent on Smart-technologies. It is concluded that the Smart-society is a new, more modern form of information society, which is characterized by its own features and specific characteristics.

Brechas digitales y territorio: los entornos tecnológicos-digitales en las viviendas mexicanas

The presence of ICTs in Mexican homes is analyzed, with the aim of showing the relationship between the gaps and the territorial dynamics. For this, data from the Mexican population census are used and the integration of the semi-rural and semi-urban terms is proposed to recognize the nuances in those localities that are between the rural and urban categories. The relevance of this work lies in the construction of a more detailed overview of the access gap based on housing as a reference unit and its spatial distribution in the localities. Among the results, it stands out that the cell phone has become the second device with the greatest presence in Mexican towns. In addition, the states where the dwellings that do not have ICTs are concentrated are identified, showing that even today there are people who suffer material and digital exclusion. Finally, this work contributes to the analysis of digital gaps in Mexico and evidences the results of the progressive incorporation of rural areas into the information and knowledge society in the 21st century.