Jeffrey Hsu

Innovative Technologies for Education and Learning: Education and Knowledge-Oriented Applications of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and More

A number of new communications technologies have emerged in recent years that have been largely regarded and intended for personal and recreational use. However, these “conversational technologies†and “constructivist learning tools,†coupled with the power and reach of the Internet, have made them viable choices for both educational learning and knowledge-oriented applications. The technologies given attention in this article include instant messaging (IM), Weblogs (blogs), wikis, and podcasts. A discussion of the technologies and uses, underlying educational and cognitive psychology theories, and also applications for education and the management of knowledge, are examined in detail. The implications for education, as well as areas for future research are also explored.

GIS and GPS Applications in Emerging Economies: Observation and Analysis of a Chinese Logistics Firm

The rapid development of Geographic Information System GIS and Global Position System GPS has attracted the attention of both business practitioners and academic researchers. GIS and GPS technologies, through providing optimized schedules, routings, and guidance, are especially important and helpful in transportation and logistics businesses. Though GIS and GPS technologies have been witnessed in many business sectors in developed countries, wide application of these technologies is still in its preliminary phase in companies in developing nations. In this paper, the authors present a study on the application of an integrated intelligent system that consists of GIS, GPS and related technologies to optimize logistic distribution of perishable products in urban environments. Through investigating GIS and GPS usage in a medium-sized logistics company in the unique settings of emerging economies, this paper addresses how these technologies enhance the management of businesses and analyze the interaction of GIS/GPS implementation and several key characteristics of the logistic distribution context by identifying major benefits, challenges, and limitations associated with the use of GIS and GPS.

Meeting the needs of adult learners and non-traditional students: the effective application of adult learner principles and techniques to an undergraduate business programme

The educational needs of adult learners are different from those of traditional undergraduate students, and programmes need to be designed to accommodate these differences. Using a combination of intensive weekend classroom sessions, online distance learning and specialised teaching methods, the Fairleigh Dickinson University Global Business Management programme is designed to address the unique needs and career goals of adult learners who bring substantial business experience and knowledge to the classroom. A case study of how the programme meets the specific educational preferences of adult learners in terms of objectives, expectations and orientation is provided, based on previous research and educational theories. More in-depth, discussion and analysis are given to the following areas: pedagogical features, innovative course scheduling and the role of distance learning in supplementing classroom sessions. Relevant theories and frameworks from education and psychology are used to support the techniques and methods discussed.

Educating IT Professionals Using Effective Online, Pedagogical, and Scheduling Techniques

Information technology professionals comprise an important segment of adult learners seeking a four-year undergraduate degree, and it is important to provide programs that address not only the conceptual and theoretical, but also adult learning needs in terms of career orientation and practicality together with providing real-life applications relevant to the needs of the IT job marketplace. The techniques of employing distance learning, providing modular and practical learning segments, emphasizing adult-oriented learning preferences, engaging users toward learning, and providing appropriate course schedules and sequencing are discussed in the context of an actual adult learner program. This program integrates job and career-oriented needs with that of a well-rounded business education. Examples and illustrations are provided to illustrate how an adult-oriented program was customized to provide needs important to adult learners and IT professionals, with the objective of producing superior and useful learning results.

Evaluating the usage of cloud-based collaboration services through teamwork

ABSTRACT With the proliferation of cloud computing for both organizational and educational use, cloud-based collaboration services are transforming how people work in teams. The authors investigated the determinants of the usage of cloud-based collaboration services including teamwork quality, computer self-efficacy, and prior experience, as well as its impact on team performance. The research model was empirically evaluated by applying structural equation modeling to survey data collected from 217 participants. The results reveal that teamwork quality and computer self-efficacy significantly and positively affect the usage of cloud-based collaboration services, which significantly and positively affects team performance.

Evaluating the Usability of E-Voting Technologies

Voting has been an accepted means for electing candidates, receiving public approval for referendums and budgets, and for many other tasks where the will of the people, whether a broad population or a select group, can be recorded and measured in a tangible way. Because of advances in technology, together with problems inherent in manual forms of voting, the concepts and issues relating to electronic voting (e-voting) and various other technology-based forms, are been proposed, discussed, and examined. The goal of all such systems is the casting and recording of the votes from eligible voters as they intended to be cast, with adequate security. This security requires that there be no identifiable connection between the voter and the vote that is cast, while providing an audit trail that can be used to validate that every vote was counted and tallied, as cast. The focus of this paper is to examine electronic voting technologies from the perspective of usability in controlled environments. Current research has shown that such systems form the majority of the nascent e-voting technologies, primarily because they have come closest to solving the usability and security issues inherent in technology—based voting systems.

Facilitating adult learner persistence through innovative scheduling and teaching methods

Adult non-traditional students have different educational goals and outcomes than their undergraduate counterparts, as well as more responsibilities and distractions making persistence to complete a degree more challenging. It is therefore important to examine drivers that improve adult student perseverance such as degree of involvement in learning, integration into the learning community, relevance of course content and validation. Instructional approaches and scheduling methods that improve the learning experience for adult students are also examined, including use of accelerated, intensive, and block scheduling, use of technology to facilitate student interaction outside of class, and replacement of pedagogical techniques with andragogical methods. An integrated model of adult learner persistence was developed demonstrating the factors and relationships affecting adult learner persistence. Insights gained from the FDU GBM programme and recommendations on how to better engage adult students, improve learning and support persistence conclude the paper, together with areas for future research.

Assessment and Contrast of the Effects of Information and Communication Technology

This article compares the effects of information and communication technology (ICT) on labor productivity growth and human quality of life in industrialized countries. A mathematical evaluation method based on the concept of Pareto-optimal organization is proposed for this study. This method is easy to apply and uses a linear programming model. The weights for various measurements are determined by objective method and are standard. The method is illustrated with real data from 23 developed countries worldwide.

E-Voting Technologies Usability: A Critical Element for Enabling Successful Elections

The focus of this paper is to examine electronic voting technologies from the perspective of usability in controlled environments. Voting has been an accepted means for electing candidates, receiving public approval for referendums and budgets, and for many other tasks where the will of the people, whether a broad population or a select group, can be recorded and measured in a tangible way. Because of advances in technology, together with problems inherent in manual forms of voting, the concepts and issues relating to electronic voting (e-voting) and various other technology-based forms, are been proposed, discussed, and examined. The goal of all such systems is the casting and recording of the votes from eligible voters as they intended to be cast, with adequate security. This security requires that there be no identifiable connection between the voter and the vote that is cast, while providing an audit trail that can be used to validate that every vote was counted and tallied, as cast. Current research has shown that such systems form the majority of the nascent e-voting technologies, primarily because they have come closest to solving the usability and security issues inherent in technology-based voting systems.

Effective Knowledge Management Using Wikis

This paper presents a discussion and in-depth exploration of using Wikis for providing support to, and for the effective maintenance of, knowledge management systems. Specific issues, considerations, and relevant areas for which Wikis can be most effective are addressed. This includes identifying both strengths and weaknesses of Wikis as they apply to the various types of knowledge management requirements, including information capture, retention, dissemination, updating, and security concerns. A conceptual and research framework of the major impacts, challenges, and issues is also presented, as well as areas for future research.