Many European Universities emerged since the first call in 2019, up to now 44 of them. These alliances have some specific goals but also share basic ideas like boosting student, teacher and researcher mobility and cooperation or creating and implementing joint study programmes. To fulfil these shared goals and keep the related processes running smoothly in the alliance, a virtual campus is often envisioned as an information system that will bind the partner universities’ information and fill in the gaps where needed. However, building such a system presents a number of challenges on organisational, informational, and technical levels.In this paper, the basic functionalities of virtual campuses are identified, and a set of specific principles for building such a distributed information system is stated. The architecture of such a system is presented using the example of a particular virtual campus, along with the lessons learned in creating it. The topic is complemented with information on the current state of the system and the future work on this virtual campus.
{"title":"Virtual Campus as a Core Information Infrastructure of the European University","authors":"O. Orel, Alen Novosel","doi":"10.29007/rdfr","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29007/rdfr","url":null,"abstract":"Many European Universities emerged since the first call in 2019, up to now 44 of them. These alliances have some specific goals but also share basic ideas like boosting student, teacher and researcher mobility and cooperation or creating and implementing joint study programmes. To fulfil these shared goals and keep the related processes running smoothly in the alliance, a virtual campus is often envisioned as an information system that will bind the partner universities’ information and fill in the gaps where needed. However, building such a system presents a number of challenges on organisational, informational, and technical levels.In this paper, the basic functionalities of virtual campuses are identified, and a set of specific principles for building such a distributed information system is stated. The architecture of such a system is presented using the example of a particular virtual campus, along with the lessons learned in creating it. The topic is complemented with information on the current state of the system and the future work on this virtual campus.","PeriodicalId":93549,"journal":{"name":"EPiC series in computing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69450400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This research paper proposes a digitalization framework based on Society 5.0 principles for promoting resilient and sustainable agricultural value chains in the context of climate change. Climate change is affecting the productivity and sustainability of agricultural systems and threatening food security in many parts of the world. Digitalization has the potential to enhance the resilience of agricultural value chains to climate change by improving efficiency, promoting sustainability, and reducing vulnerability to climate risks. This study reviews the literature to investigate the potential benefits and challenges of Society 5.0-inspired digitalization for agricultural value chains in the context of resilience and sustainability. Further, this study establishes critical design requirements for digitalization, which inform the development of a theoretical framework for Society 5.0-inspired digitalization framework in realizing resilient and sustainable agricultural value chains.
{"title":"Society 5.0-Inspired Digitalization Framework for Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture","authors":"Ronald Tombe, Hanlie Smuts","doi":"10.29007/xc5q","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29007/xc5q","url":null,"abstract":"This research paper proposes a digitalization framework based on Society 5.0 principles for promoting resilient and sustainable agricultural value chains in the context of climate change. Climate change is affecting the productivity and sustainability of agricultural systems and threatening food security in many parts of the world. Digitalization has the potential to enhance the resilience of agricultural value chains to climate change by improving efficiency, promoting sustainability, and reducing vulnerability to climate risks. This study reviews the literature to investigate the potential benefits and challenges of Society 5.0-inspired digitalization for agricultural value chains in the context of resilience and sustainability. Further, this study establishes critical design requirements for digitalization, which inform the development of a theoretical framework for Society 5.0-inspired digitalization framework in realizing resilient and sustainable agricultural value chains.","PeriodicalId":93549,"journal":{"name":"EPiC series in computing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69483801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Since the joint EUNIS/euroCRIS CRIS/IR survey report was published in 2016, Current Research Information Systems (CRISs) have become even more widely implemented at institutions and in countries all over the world. These platforms traditionally serve a double purpose: as tools to showcase the research activity conducted within its walls and as internal databases to enable evidence-based decision-making processes. Increasingly, they also act as a reliable and comprehensive information source for external systems and services. This text provides a snapshot of the current CRIS landscape – with an emphasis on Europe – and summarises the various ways CRISs are currently used as well as introduces new emerging uses and scenarios. Special attention is paid to the ever-growing number of national and regional CRIS platforms, which are increasingly seen as valuable research information collection systems for the analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of research in specific geographies.
{"title":"Research Information Management Systems: covering the whole research lifecycle","authors":"P. de Castro, Hanna-Mari Puuska","doi":"10.29007/z7vk","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29007/z7vk","url":null,"abstract":"Since the joint EUNIS/euroCRIS CRIS/IR survey report was published in 2016, Current Research Information Systems (CRISs) have become even more widely implemented at institutions and in countries all over the world. These platforms traditionally serve a double purpose: as tools to showcase the research activity conducted within its walls and as internal databases to enable evidence-based decision-making processes. Increasingly, they also act as a reliable and comprehensive information source for external systems and services. This text provides a snapshot of the current CRIS landscape – with an emphasis on Europe – and summarises the various ways CRISs are currently used as well as introduces new emerging uses and scenarios. Special attention is paid to the ever-growing number of national and regional CRIS platforms, which are increasingly seen as valuable research information collection systems for the analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of research in specific geographies.","PeriodicalId":93549,"journal":{"name":"EPiC series in computing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69483542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. L. Caldu-Primo, J. Dávila-Velderrain, Juan Carlos Martínez-García, E. Álvarez-Buylla
The epigenetic landscape concept initially proposed by Conrad H. Waddington has become a powerful tool to quantitatively address constraints underlying cell differentiation and morphogenesis. In theoretical and experimental terms, this has been enabled by grounding gene regulatory network models on experimental data. Such models have, in turn, led to proposing epigenetic landscape models that entail functional and structural constraints of cell differentiation and morphogenetic dynamics, and thus the understanding of development from a systems–based perspective. Therefore, it is mainly in the context of the study of development where the epigenetic landscape has been anchored as a conceptual support. On the other hand, nonetheless, given the recent understanding of gene control by epigenomic modifications and the capacity to profile these modifications using high– throughput molecular techniques, the notion of epigenetics has been mainly related to non-genetic heritable modifications of the genome. Therefore, this approach, which until now has not been based on a systems–based dynamical treatment, has given proximal epigenomic modifications a central role in understanding development. The latter, has left the dynamic view of epigenetic landscape aside. In this paper we aim at establishing a conceptual link between both conceptualizations of epigenetic regulation.
最初由Conrad H. Waddington提出的表观遗传景观概念已经成为定量解决细胞分化和形态发生限制的有力工具。在理论和实验方面，这是通过在实验数据上建立基因调控网络模型来实现的。这样的模型反过来又导致了表观遗传景观模型的提出，这些模型需要细胞分化和形态发生动力学的功能和结构约束，从而从基于系统的角度理解发育。因此，它主要是在发展研究的背景下，表观遗传景观已被锚定为概念支持。另一方面，尽管如此，鉴于最近对表观基因组修饰的基因控制的理解以及使用高通量分子技术描述这些修饰的能力，表观遗传学的概念主要与基因组的非遗传遗传修饰有关。因此，这种迄今为止尚未基于系统动力学治疗的方法，已经赋予近端表观基因组修饰在理解发育方面的核心作用。后者把表观遗传景观的动态观点放在一边。在本文中，我们的目的是建立两个概念之间的概念联系表观遗传调控。
{"title":"Clarifying the biological nature of the interaction between the systems-based epigenetic landscape and the epigenome","authors":"J. L. Caldu-Primo, J. Dávila-Velderrain, Juan Carlos Martínez-García, E. Álvarez-Buylla","doi":"10.29007/1lps","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29007/1lps","url":null,"abstract":"The epigenetic landscape concept initially proposed by Conrad H. Waddington has become a powerful tool to quantitatively address constraints underlying cell differentiation and morphogenesis. In theoretical and experimental terms, this has been enabled by grounding gene regulatory network models on experimental data. Such models have, in turn, led to proposing epigenetic landscape models that entail functional and structural constraints of cell differentiation and morphogenetic dynamics, and thus the understanding of development from a systems–based perspective. Therefore, it is mainly in the context of the study of development where the epigenetic landscape has been anchored as a conceptual support. On the other hand, nonetheless, given the recent understanding of gene control by epigenomic modifications and the capacity to profile these modifications using high– throughput molecular techniques, the notion of epigenetics has been mainly related to non-genetic heritable modifications of the genome. Therefore, this approach, which until now has not been based on a systems–based dynamical treatment, has given proximal epigenomic modifications a central role in understanding development. The latter, has left the dynamic view of epigenetic landscape aside. In this paper we aim at establishing a conceptual link between both conceptualizations of epigenetic regulation.","PeriodicalId":93549,"journal":{"name":"EPiC series in computing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69419374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
At German universities and universities of applied sciences, a new way of working is currently opening up in the area of the structure and composition of laboratory work: Documentation by means of electronic laboratory notebooks (ELN). Researchers produce and use a colourful mixture of data such as graphic files, formulas, tables or microscopy files. At Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), advice and support for researchers in the field of research data management (RDM) is provided on a regular basis. In addition to assistance with applications, we also offer support using various RDM tools, including electronic lab books. Why it makes sense to use electronic lab books, how our path with them has progressed so far, and what are the current hurdles to be overcome are presented in this report.
{"title":"Brave New Lab World - Electronic Lab Books Digitise Laboratory Documentation","authors":"Bert Zulauf, Nina Knipprath","doi":"10.29007/4bf8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29007/4bf8","url":null,"abstract":"At German universities and universities of applied sciences, a new way of working is currently opening up in the area of the structure and composition of laboratory work: Documentation by means of electronic laboratory notebooks (ELN). Researchers produce and use a colourful mixture of data such as graphic files, formulas, tables or microscopy files. At Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), advice and support for researchers in the field of research data management (RDM) is provided on a regular basis. In addition to assistance with applications, we also offer support using various RDM tools, including electronic lab books. Why it makes sense to use electronic lab books, how our path with them has progressed so far, and what are the current hurdles to be overcome are presented in this report.","PeriodicalId":93549,"journal":{"name":"EPiC series in computing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69421170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. de Castro, Ulrich Herb, Laura Rothfritz, Joachim Schöpfel
The report “Building the plane as we fly it: the promise of persistent identifiers” was published last February by the Knowledge Exchange. The report explores the challenges, opportunities, risks and trust-related issues associated with the quickly-developing PID landscape with an emphasis on the six KE member countries (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom). A series of seven complementary case studies were published alongside this report examining more in depth the current PID landscape for specific entities such as authors, organisations, instruments and facilities, grants and projects or physical samples. The report summarises the findings of a series of interviews with PID experts that provided the basis for the study. Sets of recommendations are also provided for a range of relevant stakeholders in the PID implementation domain. The current fragmentation of the PID landscape is one of the main challenges highlighted in the report and the case studies. This contribution provides a summary of the findings of this study and analyses this fragmented PID landscape in some detail, specifically exploring the meaning of “community” in expressions like “a community-driven PID landscape”. The role universities are expected to play in the gradual, unstoppable adoption of a wide range of PIDs is laid out, together with some early best practices in the domain.
{"title":"The Role of Universities in the Implementation of Persistent Identifiers (PIDs)","authors":"P. de Castro, Ulrich Herb, Laura Rothfritz, Joachim Schöpfel","doi":"10.29007/97w6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29007/97w6","url":null,"abstract":"The report “Building the plane as we fly it: the promise of persistent identifiers” was published last February by the Knowledge Exchange. The report explores the challenges, opportunities, risks and trust-related issues associated with the quickly-developing PID landscape with an emphasis on the six KE member countries (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom). A series of seven complementary case studies were published alongside this report examining more in depth the current PID landscape for specific entities such as authors, organisations, instruments and facilities, grants and projects or physical samples. The report summarises the findings of a series of interviews with PID experts that provided the basis for the study. Sets of recommendations are also provided for a range of relevant stakeholders in the PID implementation domain. The current fragmentation of the PID landscape is one of the main challenges highlighted in the report and the case studies. This contribution provides a summary of the findings of this study and analyses this fragmented PID landscape in some detail, specifically exploring the meaning of “community” in expressions like “a community-driven PID landscape”. The role universities are expected to play in the gradual, unstoppable adoption of a wide range of PIDs is laid out, together with some early best practices in the domain.","PeriodicalId":93549,"journal":{"name":"EPiC series in computing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69427293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
On social media, false information can proliferate quickly and cause big issues. To minimize the harm caused by false information, it is essential to comprehend its sensitive nature and content. To achieve this, it is necessary to first identify the characteristics of information. To identify false information on the internet, we suggest an ensemble model based on transformers in this paper. First, various text classification tasks were carried out to understand the content of false and true news on Covid-19. The proposed hybrid ensemble learning model used the results. The results of our analysis were encouraging, demonstrating that the suggested system can identify false information on social media. All the classification tasks were validated and shows outstanding results. The final model showed excellent accuracy (0.99) and F1 score (0.99). The Receiver Operating Character- istics (ROC) curve showed that the true-positive rate of the data in this model was close to one, and the AUC (Area Under The Curve) score was also very high at 0.99. Thus, it was shown that the suggested model was effective at identifying false information online.
{"title":"Fake News Detection System: An implementation of BERT and Boosting Algorithm","authors":"Raquiba Sultana, T. Nishino","doi":"10.29007/d931","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29007/d931","url":null,"abstract":"On social media, false information can proliferate quickly and cause big issues. To minimize the harm caused by false information, it is essential to comprehend its sensitive nature and content. To achieve this, it is necessary to first identify the characteristics of information. To identify false information on the internet, we suggest an ensemble model based on transformers in this paper. First, various text classification tasks were carried out to understand the content of false and true news on Covid-19. The proposed hybrid ensemble learning model used the results. The results of our analysis were encouraging, demonstrating that the suggested system can identify false information on social media. All the classification tasks were validated and shows outstanding results. The final model showed excellent accuracy (0.99) and F1 score (0.99). The Receiver Operating Character- istics (ROC) curve showed that the true-positive rate of the data in this model was close to one, and the AUC (Area Under The Curve) score was also very high at 0.99. Thus, it was shown that the suggested model was effective at identifying false information online.","PeriodicalId":93549,"journal":{"name":"EPiC series in computing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69432041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jorge Enrique Narváez-Chávez, E. Álvarez-Buylla, Juan Carlos Martínez-García
We illustrate here a systems-based computational analysis technique intended for uncov- ering dynamic properties of gene regulatory networks described in discrete Boolean terms. This through the use of the algebraic Semi-Tensor Product (STP), and with the purpose of exploring the regulatory consequences of genetic mutations in the modification of cell phenotypes. The proposed technique derives from the state-based reachability analysis of dynamic systems via the design of open-loop perturbative control schemes. We choose as a case-of-study the discrete Boolean network that describes in qualitative formal terms the transcriptional gene regulatory network that underlies the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal transition in the context of epithelial cancer. We are particularly interested in qualitatively understanding the systems level consequences of mutations in specific genes that regulate the phenotypic transition. More specifically, we are interested in bringing to light potential preventive therapeutic interventions that promote the Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial transition.
{"title":"Uncovering the role of mutations in Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal transition through computational analysis of the underlying gene regulatory network","authors":"Jorge Enrique Narváez-Chávez, E. Álvarez-Buylla, Juan Carlos Martínez-García","doi":"10.29007/pxl5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29007/pxl5","url":null,"abstract":"We illustrate here a systems-based computational analysis technique intended for uncov- ering dynamic properties of gene regulatory networks described in discrete Boolean terms. This through the use of the algebraic Semi-Tensor Product (STP), and with the purpose of exploring the regulatory consequences of genetic mutations in the modification of cell phenotypes. The proposed technique derives from the state-based reachability analysis of dynamic systems via the design of open-loop perturbative control schemes. We choose as a case-of-study the discrete Boolean network that describes in qualitative formal terms the transcriptional gene regulatory network that underlies the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal transition in the context of epithelial cancer. We are particularly interested in qualitatively understanding the systems level consequences of mutations in specific genes that regulate the phenotypic transition. More specifically, we are interested in bringing to light potential preventive therapeutic interventions that promote the Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial transition.","PeriodicalId":93549,"journal":{"name":"EPiC series in computing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69449835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
There are several programs available in bioinformatics for DNA sequence assembly. This is typically an extremely time-consuming endeavor, as DNA sequences can be extensive and intricate. Velvet was created to combine short and long read sequencing data into larger genomic sequences. Using OpenMP parallel programming, the last version of Velvet was created to support multiple threads. Through OpenACC directives, we present a new version of Velvet that takes advantage of multiprocessing using graphical processing units (GPU). Our tests demonstrate that this extension of Velvet allows for faster performance and efficient memory use.
{"title":"The Velvet Assembler Using OpenACC Directives","authors":"E. B. Costa, Gabriel P. Silva","doi":"10.29007/pzbt","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29007/pzbt","url":null,"abstract":"There are several programs available in bioinformatics for DNA sequence assembly. This is typically an extremely time-consuming endeavor, as DNA sequences can be extensive and intricate. Velvet was created to combine short and long read sequencing data into larger genomic sequences. Using OpenMP parallel programming, the last version of Velvet was created to support multiple threads. Through OpenACC directives, we present a new version of Velvet that takes advantage of multiprocessing using graphical processing units (GPU). Our tests demonstrate that this extension of Velvet allows for faster performance and efficient memory use.","PeriodicalId":93549,"journal":{"name":"EPiC series in computing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69449928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Those advocating for technology integration within education claim that teachers need to reform their pedagogic practices to make learning more engaging and relevant. While educational technology researchers claim teachers are primarily responsible for these failures, it seems teachers do not embrace technology unquestionably. This paper aims to develop an understanding of how teachers’ beliefs and professional dispositions (PDs) influence technology use within different social and educational contexts. A set of three interviews were conducted at four South African secondary schools with vastly different social contexts, over different periods of time (before and during COVID) with cross-case analyses. Findings show that the provision of technology does not guarantee integration as use varies amongst teachers within technology-rich schools, with teachers who hold more positive Internal Beliefs (IBs) of technology not only focusing less on External Structure (ES) barriers, but also utilising technology in more varied ways, even to enhance and transform their pedagogic practices. Furthermore, teachers’ PDs seem to exist on a continuum and do not appear to be the sole influencer of technology use, with the context alongside the school’s technology policy and related technology structures influencing teachers’ IBs and resulting technology use. In addition, while mandatory use of technology during COVID led to more positive IBs as teachers understood the value of the technology, this only appears to be true if external structures (ESs) supported the learners as well. Moreover, all teachers expressed their belief that technology is no replacement for face-to-face teaching. Finally, the rich data from the interviews underlined the intricacies of factors influencing the use of technology in classrooms, indicating a need for a meta-theory to gain a holistic understanding of technology use by teachers.
{"title":"Understanding the influence of Teachers’ Beliefs and Professional Dispositions on Technology use in South African Secondary Schools before and during COVID","authors":"Suzanne Sackstein, M. Matthee, Lizette Weilbach","doi":"10.29007/84dl","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29007/84dl","url":null,"abstract":"Those advocating for technology integration within education claim that teachers need to reform their pedagogic practices to make learning more engaging and relevant. While educational technology researchers claim teachers are primarily responsible for these failures, it seems teachers do not embrace technology unquestionably. This paper aims to develop an understanding of how teachers’ beliefs and professional dispositions (PDs) influence technology use within different social and educational contexts. A set of three interviews were conducted at four South African secondary schools with vastly different social contexts, over different periods of time (before and during COVID) with cross-case analyses. Findings show that the provision of technology does not guarantee integration as use varies amongst teachers within technology-rich schools, with teachers who hold more positive Internal Beliefs (IBs) of technology not only focusing less on External Structure (ES) barriers, but also utilising technology in more varied ways, even to enhance and transform their pedagogic practices. Furthermore, teachers’ PDs seem to exist on a continuum and do not appear to be the sole influencer of technology use, with the context alongside the school’s technology policy and related technology structures influencing teachers’ IBs and resulting technology use. In addition, while mandatory use of technology during COVID led to more positive IBs as teachers understood the value of the technology, this only appears to be true if external structures (ESs) supported the learners as well. Moreover, all teachers expressed their belief that technology is no replacement for face-to-face teaching. Finally, the rich data from the interviews underlined the intricacies of factors influencing the use of technology in classrooms, indicating a need for a meta-theory to gain a holistic understanding of technology use by teachers.","PeriodicalId":93549,"journal":{"name":"EPiC series in computing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69423596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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