John Vargo

LEARNING OBJECT EVALUATION: COMPUTER-MEDIATED COLLABORATION AND INTER-RATER RELIABILITY

Abstract Learning objects offer increased ability to share learning resources so that system-wide production costs can be reduced. But how can users select from a set of similar learning objects in a repository and be assured of quality? This article reviews recent developments in the establishment of learning object repositories and metadata standards, and presents a formative reliability analysis of an online, collaborative method for evaluating quality of learning objects. The method uses a 10-item Learning Object Review Instrument (LORI) within a Convergent Participation evaluation model that brings together instructional designers, media developers, and instructors. The inter-rater reliability analysis of 12 raters evaluating eight learning objects identified specific items in LORI that require further development. Overall, the collaborative process substantially increased the reliability and validity of aggregate learning object ratings. The study concludes with specific recommendations including changes to LORI items, a rater training process, and requirements for selecting an evaluation team.

A Convergent Participation Model for Evaluation of Learning Objects

The properties that distinguish learning objects from other forms of educational software - global accessibility, metadata standards, finer granularity and reusability - have implications for evaluation. This article proposes a convergent participation model for learning object evaluation in which representatives from stakeholder groups (e.g., students, instructors, subject matter experts, instructional designers, and media developers) converge toward more similar descriptions and ratings through a two-stage process supported by online collaboration tools. The article reviews evaluation models that have been applied to educational software and media, considers models for gathering and meta-evaluating individual user reviews that have recently emerged on the Web, and describes the peer review model adopted for the MERLOT repository. The convergent participation model is assessed in relation to other models and with respect to its support for eight goals of learning object evaluation: (1) aid for searching and selecting, (2) guidance for use, (3) formative evaluation, (4) influence on design practices, (5) professional development and student learning, (6) community building, (7) social recognition, and (8) economic exchange.

Crisis strategic planning for SMEs: finding the silver lining

The ability of business owners/managers to think strategically in the midst of a crisis is a key factor in an organisations long-term survival, but at present there is very little advice available on how to do this most effectively. To be resilient in times of crises, organisations need to navigate a set of apparent contradictions that juxtapose effective planning with adaptability to changing circumstances including: (1) have leaders able to inspire people with a sense of hope and direction whilst being grounded about the situation they are in, (2) have an organisational culture that values disciplined planning whilst fostering innovation, (3) plan and make decisions carefully and structured effectively yet be responsive and bold, and (4) have teams able to recognise patterns and integrate information to make sense of a chaotic situation, yet be alert to subtle changes as the situation evolves. In this article, we propose a model for crisis strategic planning to help organisations understand their natural tendencies and how these affect the type of resilience the organisation is able to achieve. This article also presents three case studies of small New Zealand organisations coping with the aftermath of crisis to demonstrate how the model can be applied.

Organizational Networks and Recovery Following the Canterbury Earthquakes

Following a disaster, the recovery of organizations is influenced by the flow of resources and information through organizational networks. The 2010–2011 earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand, had major direct and indirect impacts on local organizations and the regional economy. This paper utilizes 47 organizational case studies to assess the role of organizations’ networks in their response and short-term recovery activities, and to explore the effects of networks on regional reconstruction and related sectors. The results are organized around four thematic analyses, focusing on organizations’ support network characteristics, the types of support mobilized to aid recovery, network adaptations for new post-quake demands, and the economic impacts of organizational networks in reconstruction. The paper discusses how organizations managed and utilized networks to reduce the impacts of the earthquakes and to adapt to altered post-quake environments. These empirical observations of post-quake organizational behavior can also inform regional economic impact and resilience modeling.

Rural organizational impacts, mitigation strategies, and resilience to the 2010 Darfield earthquake, New Zealand

The September 4, 2010, Mw 7.1 “Darfield” earthquake and the associated aftershock sequence affected the central Canterbury Plains of New Zealand’s South Island, an area of high-intensity agricultural production, supported by rural service towns. With rural organizations exposed to intense ground shaking that caused widespread critical service outages, structural and non-structural damage to built infrastructure, as well as ground-surface damage from flooding, liquefaction or surface rupture, the event represented a unique opportunity to study the impacts of a major earthquake and aftershock sequence on farming and rural non-farming organizations. This paper analyses the short-term impacts on 56 farming organizations and compares them to the impacts on 22 rural non-farming organizations 4 months following the event. The most commonly cited direct impacts on farming organizations were disruption to electrical services, water supply disruption, and structural damage. For rural non-farming organizations, the most common direct impacts were non-structural damage, electricity disruption, and damage to equipment. The effect of stress on farmers was the greatest organizational challenge while rural non-farming organizations cited maintaining cash flow to be of greater significance. In terms of mitigating the effects of the event, farming organizations cited well-built buildings and insurers to be helpful generally, and their neighbors to be most helpful specifically in areas of higher intensity shaking. Rural non-farming organizations utilized lenders or insurers, and showed very little use of neighbor relationships. In summary, this study emphasizes the fact that farming and rural non-farming organizations are impacted and respond to an earthquake in ways that are fundamentally distinct.

Organisational resilience following the Darfield earthquake of 2010

This paper presents the preliminary findings of a study on the resilience and recovery of organisations following the Darfield earthquake in New Zealand on 4 September 2010. Sampling included organisations proximal and distal to the fault trace, organisations located within central business districts, and organisations from seven diverse industry sectors. The research captured information on the challenges to, the impacts on, and the reflections of the organisations in the first months of recovery. Organisations in central business districts and in the hospitality sector were most likely to close, while organisations that had perishable stock and livestock were more heavily reliant on critical services. Staff well-being, cash flow, and customer loss were major concerns for organisations across all sectors. For all organisations, the most helpful factors in mitigating the effects of the earthquake were their relationship with staff members, the design and type of buildings, and critical service continuity or swift reinstatement of services.

Impact of Security Architectures on Wireless Network Performance

Wireless LANs have gained increasing market popularity in locations such as airports, cafes, universities, and businesses, but WLAN security remains an ongoing concern. The rapid deployment of WLANs has further emphasised the security vulnerabilities in the 802.11 standard which, in its initial deployment suffered from a number of security limitations. However mitigating these vulnerabilities implies an impact on network performance. In this paper, we investigate the network performance of WLANs when security technologies designed to improve the 802.11 standard are implemented. In particular we evaluated the performance of the 802.1 X and VPN models including the various security configuration levels offered by each of these models. Experimental results indicated that the performance of various applications operating over the 802.1X security model performed better than over the VPN model. However each of these models offer a wide range of configuration options and operating conditions. These are analysed and the results discussed in this paper.

Business recovery: an assessment framework

This paper presents a Business Recovery Assessment Framework (BRAF) to help researchers and practitioners design robust, repeatable, and comparable studies of business recovery in various post-disruption contexts. Studies assessing business recovery without adequately considering the research aims, recovery definitions, and indicators can produce misleading findings. The BRAF is composed of a series of steps that guide the decisions that researchers need to make to ensure: (i) that recovery is indeed being measured; (ii) that the indicators of recovery that are selected align with the objectives of the study and the definition of recovery; and, where necessary, (iii) that appropriate comparative control variables are in place. The paper draws on a large dataset of business surveys collected following the earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand, on 4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011 to demonstrate the varied conclusions that different recovery indicators can produce and to justify the need for a systematic approach to business recovery assessments.

Measuring the organizational resilience of critical infrastructure providers: A New Zealand case study

Abstract Modern societies are becoming increasingly dependent on critical infrastructure services. This dependence is not only on the technology used in infrastructures, but also on the organizations that manage the infrastructures. Initiatives that assess infrastructure resilience often concentrate on strengthening the physical infrastructure through robustness and redundancy. Few studies recognize the important role of critical infrastructure providers. This study presents a method for assessing the organizational resilience of critical infrastructure providers. The method is demonstrated using data from a group of critical infrastructure providers in New Zealand. The application of the Benchmark Resilience Tool developed by Resilient Organisations reveals that the surveyed organizations are strong in effective partnerships, but are weak in breaking silos and in conducting stress testing plans. The results also indicate that senior managers have much more positive views of the resilience of their organizations compared with other staff members.