Pedagogical and Policy Challenges in Implementing E-Learning in Social Work Education

SUMMARY

This paper provides a summary of the findings from in-depth interviews with thirty social work educators and administrators involved in developing and offering e-learning in their programs in Canada. Using qualitative data analysis, four interrelated categories were developed: Professional Challenges, Pedagogical Challenges, Faculty Challenges and Administrative Challenges. A large number of issues were identified in each of these categories. Six themes emerged from the study. These themes form a two-part framework for examining policy issues and implementation tasks. The findings have pedagogical and policy implications for social work educators who are implementing e-learning in their programs.     

Lessons Learned in Chat Room Teaching Internationally

SUMMARY

Web-based teaching opens new opportunities for international collaboration in offering courses to students. It also allows students to attend courses offered by instructors situated outside their own country. This paper presents the lessons learned from one such course offered by instructors located in Texas and Hong Kong to students residing in Shanghai studying in a collaborative Master of Social Service Management Programme (MSSM) between HKU and Fudan University. The course, titled “Information and Communication Technology for Social Service Organizations,” was offered twice in the past two years using an Internet-based class chat room supported by a course website and other web based tools. While the offering was successful based on student evaluations, many problems and issues had to be addressed. The course background, learning outcomes, lessons learned, and future recommendations are presented. In addition, an analysis of the Shanghai student IT applications is provided to help understand the current state of human services IT in China.     

Trends in higher education in Canada and implications for social work education

Canada, like other countries around the globe, is facing new challenges and opportunities with respect to post-secondary education. Trends in higher education in Canada include rising enrolments and falling revenues; a focus on enhancing employability of graduates through experiential and interactive learning; increased calls for accountability through the assessment of teaching and learning; and the rise of technology-enabled teaching and learning. Social work education is, in many ways, well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities presented by these trends due to the focus on case-based learning and practicum education, the focus on assessment of practice competencies as learning outcomes, and the long-standing commitment to teaching innovation and excellence. Nevertheless, meeting fiscal challenges and finding ways to exploit new technologies will require creativity and the development of an expanded body of research on social work education.     

Online feminist protest against sexism: the German-language hashtag #aufschrei

Abstract

Twitter is becoming a discursive but also contested space for articulations of feminist protest. A hashtag that collected experiences with everyday sexism in the German-speaking world was #aufschrei, which became the 2013 hashtag of the year. In exploring the role of online feminist protest in the construction of alternative meanings, this paper draws on theories of the public sphere. Specifically, we build upon a communication studies model that refers to mutually permeating spheres of discourse in three layers, the simple, intermediate, and complex, each of which exhibits its own communication forms and forums. The methodology includes both a quantitative and a qualitative content analysis of #aufschrei tweets and of feminist blogs in order to comprehend argumentation patterns and networking practices. We argue that Twitter adopts the function of a simple public, where values and norms are negotiated at an everyday level. Feminist blogs create an intermediate public, in that they generalize experiences and are oriented towards networking. However, the persistent number of anti-feminist and sexist messages on Twitter likewise shows that online debates on gender topics have been increasingly infiltrated by these positions. Against this backdrop, in the conclusion, we discuss the feminist activist potential of #aufschrei.     

Multivariate Real-Time Signal Extraction by a Robust Adaptive Regression Filter

We propose a new regression-based filter for extracting signals online from multivariate high frequency time series. It separates relevant signals of several variables from noise and (multivariate) outliers.

Unlike parallel univariate filters, the new procedure takes into account the local covariance structure between the single time series components. It is based on high-breakdown estimates, which makes it robust against (patches of) outliers in one or several of the components as well as against outliers with respect to the multivariate covariance structure. Moreover, the trade-off problem between bias and variance for the optimal choice of the window width is approached by choosing the size of the window adaptively, depending on the current data situation.

Furthermore, we present an advanced algorithm of our filtering procedure that includes the replacement of missing observations in real time. Thus, the new procedure can be applied in online-monitoring practice. Applications to physiological time series from intensive care show the practical effect of the proposed filtering technique.     

虚拟社区中个人族群身份的视觉化展演 ———以三苗网论坛为例

重点关注于网络空间里族群成员如何将其族群身份进行视觉化的符号展演。在对三茁网论坛注册用户名进行数据统计和结构性访谈后发现,虚拟社区中的成员通过注册用户名、上传图片头像与添加签名档内容三个符号化方式来展演族群身份,其身份展演具有七个特征：泛族群认同、随时性、可视化／视觉化、一定的真实性、无龄感和跨性别。论坛活动的参与有助于族群成员加强其族群认同。     

新媒体时代思想政治教育博客的发展与创新——以中国大学生在线博客为例

信息技术迅速发展的今天,微博、微信等超新媒体在网络传播媒介中发挥的作用越来越大。在这一趋势下,作为新媒体成员之一的博客,要继续发挥其在青年思想政治教育中的作用,需要正视其自身存在的缺陷,吸收超新媒体的优势,通过推动网络媒体融合平台建设、强化博客团队合力、延伸博客内容、鼓励青年参与等策略,保持思政博客在青年思想政治教育中的优势。     

时代呼唤在线《汉语大词典》

在全面修订《汉语大词典》的同时,中国还需要一部与国家形象和时代要求相适应的在线《汉语大词典》。文章在分析国内外电子辞书发展现状的基础上,就在线《汉语大词典》的基本原则、需要解决的问题等提出了建议和设想。     

中国少数民族题材纪录片发展现状及其对策分析

作为中国纪录片一大类型,少数民族题材纪录片从20世纪80年代以来获得了迅速发展,它既再现了少数民族地区风土人情、多彩文化和重大历史事件,又记录了少数民族普通人日常生活、生存状态和社会变迁,对中国纪录片艺术进步以及各民族之间相互交流作出了贡献。少数民族题材纪录片承载着少数民族和中国国家形象,它的广泛传播有利于文化认同、民族国家认同和现代化建设。针对当前历史语境和传播技术条件,少数民族题材纪录片可以从传播渠道、国际交流、政府扶持、摄制队伍建设等方面寻求突破与发展。