This study aims to investigate teaching programming concepts to K-12 teachers with Scratch. A total of 10 K-12 teachers enrolled in one graduate course participated in this study. They received lectures, took practice...This study aims to investigate teaching programming concepts to K-12 teachers with Scratch. A total of 10 K-12 teachers enrolled in one graduate course participated in this study. They received lectures, took practices and exercises of Scratch programming and were then asked to design and implement their projects before the semester. It was found that teaching programming concepts to K-12 teachers with Scratch is feasible. K-12 teachers with less computer background can learned basic programming concepts and applied them in their project code implementation. Although no significant difference was found between participants' pre-test and post-test on programming self-efficacy, positive attitudes toward learning Scratch programming was revealed in the questionnaire survey and results of interviews. This study paves a way for referring to the teaching of programming concepts for K- 12 teachers.展开更多
The paper presents to managers' and scholars' reasons for using models to determine the strategic importance of innovation and its potential value creation. The model of value based innovation (VBI) provides a cle...The paper presents to managers' and scholars' reasons for using models to determine the strategic importance of innovation and its potential value creation. The model of value based innovation (VBI) provides a clear definition of the adequate value curve to be pursued in any innovation action, from strategic definition to operational product conceptualization and production. The VBI model has been applied in strategic planning in over 100 SMEs throughout Portugal and USA by the authors and other consultant companies. The VBI model provides the practitioners and scholars with a pragmatic tool to determine innovation's value creation. Connecting this information with strategic thinking and planning will reduce risk and avoid failure. The theoretical model when converted into a technological application provides an immediate insight into the most adequate strategic innovation to be chosen by top management and operational product developers. The paper demonstrates the relation between innovation and value creation.展开更多
Children with disabilities are often excluded from disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiatives and, as a result, can experience amplified physical, psychological, and educational vulnerabilities. Research on children wi...Children with disabilities are often excluded from disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiatives and, as a result, can experience amplified physical, psychological, and educational vulnerabilities. Research on children with disabilities during disasters is lacking, and their potential value in helping shape inclusive policies in DRR planning has been largely overlooked by both researchers and policymakers. This article highlights the existing research and knowledge gap. The review includes literature from two areas of scholarship in relation to disasters—children, and people with disabilities—and provides a critique of the prevailing medical, economic, and social discourses that conceptualize disability and associated implications for DRR. The article analyzes the different models in which disability has been conceptualized, and the role this has played in the inclusion or exclusion of children with disabilities in DRR activities and in determining access to necessary resources in the face of disaster. Finally, the study explores possible pathways to studying the contribution and involvement of children with disabilities in DRR.展开更多
文摘This study aims to investigate teaching programming concepts to K-12 teachers with Scratch. A total of 10 K-12 teachers enrolled in one graduate course participated in this study. They received lectures, took practices and exercises of Scratch programming and were then asked to design and implement their projects before the semester. It was found that teaching programming concepts to K-12 teachers with Scratch is feasible. K-12 teachers with less computer background can learned basic programming concepts and applied them in their project code implementation. Although no significant difference was found between participants' pre-test and post-test on programming self-efficacy, positive attitudes toward learning Scratch programming was revealed in the questionnaire survey and results of interviews. This study paves a way for referring to the teaching of programming concepts for K- 12 teachers.
文摘The paper presents to managers' and scholars' reasons for using models to determine the strategic importance of innovation and its potential value creation. The model of value based innovation (VBI) provides a clear definition of the adequate value curve to be pursued in any innovation action, from strategic definition to operational product conceptualization and production. The VBI model has been applied in strategic planning in over 100 SMEs throughout Portugal and USA by the authors and other consultant companies. The VBI model provides the practitioners and scholars with a pragmatic tool to determine innovation's value creation. Connecting this information with strategic thinking and planning will reduce risk and avoid failure. The theoretical model when converted into a technological application provides an immediate insight into the most adequate strategic innovation to be chosen by top management and operational product developers. The paper demonstrates the relation between innovation and value creation.
文摘Children with disabilities are often excluded from disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiatives and, as a result, can experience amplified physical, psychological, and educational vulnerabilities. Research on children with disabilities during disasters is lacking, and their potential value in helping shape inclusive policies in DRR planning has been largely overlooked by both researchers and policymakers. This article highlights the existing research and knowledge gap. The review includes literature from two areas of scholarship in relation to disasters—children, and people with disabilities—and provides a critique of the prevailing medical, economic, and social discourses that conceptualize disability and associated implications for DRR. The article analyzes the different models in which disability has been conceptualized, and the role this has played in the inclusion or exclusion of children with disabilities in DRR activities and in determining access to necessary resources in the face of disaster. Finally, the study explores possible pathways to studying the contribution and involvement of children with disabilities in DRR.