Using the Internet to Support International Collaborations for Global Geography Education

This paper reports the results of a pilot study that evaluated a prototype instructional module designed to support international collaborative learning in the World Wide Web. The module, Migration, was tested at four higher education institu tions in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Students valued the opportunity to learn global geography by collaborating electronically in multinational teams, yet many students complained about confusing instructional procedures and uncooperative team members. The results of the module evaluation provide useful suggestions for managing pedagogical issues related to the process of online international collaborative learning.     

OpenStreetMap in Israel and Palestine – ‘Game changer’ or reproducer of contested cartographies?

In Israel and Palestine, map-making practices were always entangled with contradictive spatial identities and imbalanced power resources. Although an Israeli narrative has largely dominated the ‘cartographic battlefield’, the latest chapter of this story has not been written yet: collaborative forms of web 2.0 cartographies have restructured power relations in mapping practices and challenged traditional monopolies on map and spatial data production. Thus, we can expect web 2.0 cartographies to be a ‘game changer’ for cartography in Palestine and Israel. In this paper, I review this assumption with the popular example of OpenStreetMap (OSM). Following a mixed methods approach, I comparatively analyze the genesis of OSM in Israel and Palestine. Although nationalist motives do not play a significant role on either side, it turns out that the project is dominated by Israeli and international mappers, whereas Palestinians have hardly contributed to OSM. As a result, social fragmentations and imbalances between Israel and Palestine are largely reproduced through OSM data. Discussing the low involvement of Palestinians, I argue that OSM's ground truth paradigm might be a watershed for participation. Presumably, the project's data are less meaningful in some local contexts than in others. Moreover, the seemingly apolitical approach to map only ‘facts on the ground’ reaffirms present spatio-social order and thus the power relations behind it. Within a Palestinian narrative, however, many aspects of the factual material space might appear not as neutral physical objects but as results of suppression, in which case, any ‘accurate’ spatial representation, such as OSM, becomes objectionable.     

AN OPEN INVITATION?: ADDING LINKS TO THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF HISTORICAL REPRESENTATIONS

Gradual changes in the way historians select, interpret, and represent aspects of the past are related to equally or perhaps more gradual changes in museum practice. Edited collections on this subject reflect the state of both disciplines and offer an opportunity to evaluate trends, assess progress, and forecast the future. The collection examined in this review essay focuses on the idea of sharing historical authority: How far have we come? What methods have been used? What is the value of collaborative effort? Have technological developments, including digital media and the “participatory Web,” really enabled more inclusive participation? The analysis of the collection includes specific attention to the text itself as an exhibitionary object and emphasizes the effects of its unusual design elements, deictic signals, and heterogeneous genres—particularly the case studies and “thought pieces” that form a significant part of the collection. Other focal points include: the interrogative mood of the text and its call for active reading; explicit historical, social, and disciplinary contexts; and precursor texts that have addressed similar subject matter.     

Increasing Seismic Energy Dissipation of Steel Moment Frames Using Reduced Web Section (RWS) Connection

Connections of steel moment frames are vulnerable to brittle failure. Providing a perforation near the beam-ends is suggested as a potential method to improve seismic behavior of these structures. This article presents a numerical study on the energy dissipation of steel moment connections with perforated beam. Models with elongated circular openings of different dimensions and location are analyzed and compared based on the global and local damage indices, predicted failure time and dissipated energy. Results show that an RWS connection with a proper opening size can develop reasonable inelastic deformations and provide an acceptable seismic improvement to moment-resisting frames.     

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of IPE Reduced Beam Sections with Diagonal Web Stiffeners

A reduced beam section (RBS) is a new type of connection in steel moment resistant frames. In addition to the major benefits, RBS has its own weaknesses, such as web local buckling and lateral torsional buckling. The purpose of this paper is to improve the performance of European I-beam profile (IPE) with an arched cut in the flange, using a diagonal stiffener of the beam web. With the help of laboratory tests and numerical models, it was found that the use of a diagonal stiffener in the area of an arched cut increased the energy dissipation and plastic rotation capacity of RBS connection.     

Digitalising sex commerce and sex work: a comparative analysis of French,Greek and Slovenian websites

The aim of this article is to explore the complexity of the online sex trade and work by analysing sexuality-related commercial websites, with reference to three European states, France, Greece and Slovenia. The article compares websites in each specific sociocultural context, in order to provide insights into the various types of networks and services that emerge, and to explore how they operate, how they communicate and how sex is being merchandised. We have conducted a two-tier analysis: The first part discusses results of a quantitative macro-analysis exploring 149 websites, while the second part is a micro-analysis analysing the visualisation of egocentric network of three selected websites. The focus is on understanding how gender relations develop in digital environment and how within cyberspace sectorial and national divides are dealt with. While there is evidence to suggest that in some sectors the Internet has opened avenues for sex workers to work independently of the control networks, there are also many forms of exploitation that arise from new media. We observe that sex commerce online is not particularly attentive to the agency of sex workers but is, to the contrary, oriented to provide opportunities and a forum for businessmen and clients.     

Addressing the 'Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education' with Internet-enhanced Education

This paper evaluates the use of the Internet to enhance learning and to promote good practice in undergraduate education according to Chickering and Gamson's (1991) principles. Results from a survey of 236 geography students over the past 2 years indicate that the Internet can facilitate good educational practices. Students believe use of email encouraged student-faculty contact. Active learning is encouraged, but is not overwhelmingly favoured by students. Prompt feedback is facilitated. Students also believe the Internet materials allow more efficient use of time in and out of the classroom, and enhance their learning .     

Integrated IT-based Geography Teaching and Learning: A Macquarie University case study

Use of information technology (IT) is increasingly common in geography teaching and learning. This paper outlines a still relatively unusual initiative involving the integrated use of a variety of IT-based components across all aspects of a large course unit. Multiple evaluations reveal strongly positive reactions to the IT-based approach and the time and place flexibility offered; there are few technical impediments to, and no detectable gender differences in, students' use of the system. Most aspects of the integrated approach work well, although it has not yet succeeded in facilitating a genuinely participative online dialogue. Many aspects of the initiative can be transferred cost-effectively to other contexts.     

Access culture: Web 2.0 and cultural participation

This article applies aspects of Jürgen Habermas, Manuel Castells and Lawrence Lessig’s theories to demonstrate how digital communication and new media platforms enhance cultural participation as well as how cultural policy affects the cultural behaviour of users who produce and are consumers in a digital convergence culture. The digital platforms and new media used in the analysis include an open source animated short film, Elephants Dream, the social networking sites YouTube and MySpace, and the BBC’s Creative Archive. The aim of this article is to study how cultural policy makers can learn from these examples and how they can make use of the participatory, self‐publishing characteristics of Web 2.0 in order to create accessible digital cultural public spheres.     

Do Richer Media Mean Better Learning? A Framework for Evaluating Learning Experiences in Museum Web Site Design

Museums and other cultural and heritage institutions have important roles to play in both formal and informal education. This paper argues that, while museum Web sites tend to showcase increasingly sophisticated multimedia content, rich multimedia do not necessarily mean better learning design and that, in the absence of actual learner performance data, it is necessary to look beyond the types of media used and consider the kinds of learning outcomes implied or explicit in order to assess the learning effectiveness of the design. Using models and theories from education, the paper analyses two sites and discusses how these models can be applied to create learning experiences that go beyond simple comprehension and recall of information.