In the epoch of the modern global changes, a new form of society is being formed. The individual knowledge of a person is becoming a still more important basis of the quality of economic and social life. The reform of education in Lithuania is taking place for more than a decade, and within this period many essential changes occurred. Lithuania is oriented towards the aims of the European Union, it seeks to become the competitive member of the European Union, is open to various novelties and aims to strengthen its education system, so that it would educate the full-fledged members of modern society. The present-day changes also conditioned the emergence of social problems, which had a strong effect on the whole social life, including school life. The necessity came forth to take all necessary measures for the improvement of social situation. Social pedagogues, whose position has been introduced in the educational establishments from 2001, may help to solve these problems. One of the priority trends in the development of modern society is the rapid implementation of communication technologies in all the fields of activities. In implementing information and communication technologies at school it is also necessary to integrate in this process the functions performed by a social pedagogue. The objective of this work is to study the opportunities of a social pedagogue, to use information and communication technologies in his activities. A social pedagogue, when performing the... [to full text]

Subject of the scientific research. ICT caused business changes management. Aim of the research – to construct change, caused by ICT development, management model of organization. Tasks of the research: 1) to analyze relations in the development processes between ICT and business, to go deep trying to find keystones of relation between them, identify the impact of information technologies on business management and identify the trends; 2) to analyze adequacy of business management theories in the ICT development caused conditions; 3) to investigate the change management theories and identify keystones of the new methodologies, which are needed, in the ICT caused business environment; 4) to investigate the possibility to use the good ICT practice examples databases in the change management model, classify the typical ICT projects; 5) to create a ICT caused business change management model, which solves change management problems in organizations, allowed increasing the competitive ability of organizations and expanding their application opportunities in business by using ICT; 6) to explore the proposed change management model in practice (to do experimental modeling).

Dissertation examined the impact of the application of ICT on IV-th grade students mathematical competence development(sef-development). / Disertacijoje nagrinėjamas IKT taikymo poveikis IV klasės mokinių matematinės kompetencijos ugdymui(si).

In the contemporary business environment multiple projects are a common way of organising work and they are usually implemented and managed as a portfolio of projects. It is widely recognised that effective project portfolio management delivers a range of strategic benefits and significantly contributes to overall organisational success. However, project portfolio management is acknowledged by both theory and practice to be a highly challenging task which is even amplified by the presence of project interdependencies. Managing project interdependencies is found to be an area of weakness for contemporary portfolio management, which so far remains under investigated but emergent field within general portfolio management theory. Therefore this study presents an empirical investigation that aims to uncover why and how organisations from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry manage project interdependencies. In order to answer why organisations manage project interdependencies the study examines the benefits of project interdependency management, the negative effects of failed project interdependency management and the related challenges. In order to investigate how project interdependencies are managed this study focuses on the hard and soft practices that portfolio practitioners use. The study is based on cross-case analysis of two case organisations operating within the ICT industry in Italy. The ICT is chosen as an excellent ground for studying project interdependency management since it is of significant importance for the contemporary world’s economy where project and portfolio management is practiced intensively. Qualitative data is collected via semi-structure interviews. The key findings apply to both case organisations demonstrating their similar reasons and manner of managing project interdependencies. The research findings show that there are various types of project interdependencies in the project portfolios that practitioners need to account for and that effective management of these interdependencies delivers significant benefits contributing to the portfolio success, while failed interdependency management distorts the portfolio success. The study indicates potential challenges that project interdependency management may encounter and confirms that comprehensive consideration of project interdependencies is a rather complex task within a project portfolio management. In order to manage issues arising from interdependent projects and leverage related benefits, organisations implement the following hard practices: web application platforms and tracking tools; and soft practices: formal and informal PM meetings, creation of a cooperative culture, leadership, negotiation and convincing and sacred cow. These practices are examined along with their benefits, limitations and context of their application. Although both hard and soft practices are found to be important in the case organisations, the preference is given to soft ones, mainly because of the benefits that soft practices offer over hard ones and the fact that the indicated hard practices allow only identification of project interdependencies, but do not provide managerial solutions per se. Therefore similar organisations operating within ICT industry may find it useful to devote attention to soft practices as they are found to be a prevailing mechanism for managing project interdependencies. The combination of hard and soft practices can also be seen beneficial for realisation of effective project interdependency management.

Användning av datorer och Informations- och kommunikationsteknologier (IKT) har förändrat människors sätt att kommunicera och utbyta information i många områden. Utbildningssektor är en av sektorer där IKT spelar en stor roll. Under de senaste åren införde utbildningssektorn många nya teknologier för att stödja undervisnings- och inlärningsmetoder. Synen på undervisning och lärande förändrades radikalt med hjälp av IKT. Tidigare forskning påpekar att IKT utvecklar studerandes olika förmågor, bland annat inlärning ökas. Det har noterats ökning av behandling och hantering av stor mängd information, intellektuell tillväxt. Den också hjälper studerande att uppnå bättre studieresultat och prestera bättre i en del av ämnen. Detta arbete undersöker bland annat vilka möjligheter finns med IKT i undervisningen, varför man ska satsa på IKT i skolor, samt som IKT- påverkan på utbildningen och lärande. IKT suddar ut tidigare gränser och idag finns möjligheter att göra saker som förut var inte möjlighet att göra. Exempel på detta är flexibla arbets- och studietider, distansstudier och et cetera. Både lärare och studerande blir involverade i sitt arbete/ studier även på fritiden. Min studie fann också att IKT förbättrar och underlättar sätt att undervisa. Inlärningen förbättras hos många studerande. IKT med dessa portabla tekniker gör vardagen mycket flexibelt. Mina intervjuer påvisar att flexibilitet är bra, fast det finns en del risker med IKT i undervisningen, bland annat plagiering ökas, samt som ytinlärning kan ökas. Informationssökning har blivit enklare med hjälp av IKT, fast mindre än hälften av alla tillfrågade i min studie tvivlar på detta. Tidslöseri är också vanligt förekommande problem i skolan och ibland beror detta på att studerande inte kan använda teknik. Min studie visar att det är viktigt att myndigheter satsar på utbildning och vägledning vid användning av teknik, samt som vägledning vid informationssökning. För att bibehålla konkurrenskraft på internationell nivå satsning på IKT i skolorna fortsätter. I min studie lärare och studerande anser att satsning på IKT är mycket viktig, eftersom den hjälper att skaffa IT- kunnig arbetskraft, samt som den gör skolan mera flexibel och höjer kvaliteten på lärande. / The usage of computers and Information and Communication technologies (ICT) has changed the way people communicate and share information in many areas, and education is the one of the sectors where ICT plays a major role. Over the past few years educational sector introduced many new technologies to support teaching and learning methods. To maintain competitiveness at international level, the investment in ICT in schools has grown constantly. Due to the growing influence of ICT on educational sector the view of people has changed drastically on teaching and learning. Previous research points out that ICT develop students’ different abilities, such as increased learning, abilities to process and handle huge amount of data, as well as intellectual growth. It is also helps students to achieve better academic results by performing better in some of the academic courses. ICT also erases previous limits and allows doing things that were not possible to do before. Some of the examples are flexibility in work and studies, distance learning. According to my study many teachers and students, believe that the investment in ICT is very important because it helps to increase the number of IT- skilled citizens as well as makes school more flexible thus, improves the quality of learning. This work investigates also the possibilities that can be explored with ICT in education, such as importance of investment in ICT in schools, importance of ICT in education and learning in general. My study has shown that, both teachers and students sometimes will be involved in their work and studies even at leisure time. My study has found that ICT improves and facilitates the ways of teaching and learning, as well as learning improves. ICT with these portable technologies make students life more flexible. My interviews indicate that flexibility is good, though there are some risks or disadvantages with ICT in education, including increased plagiarism, as well as superficial learning may be increased. Information search with help of ICT has become easier, according to earlier research, though less than half of all respondents in my study doubt this. The study demonstrates that it is important to invest in education and guidance of information search. Wastage of time is also common problem in school and sometimes this happens because students are not able to use the technology efficiently.

The value and scope of telecom services have increased substantially in the decade from the mid 1990s. The telecom companies have offered not only telephone services but also data exchanges for example streaming services. Therefore, they now offer telecom services as packaging into which layered services are integrated. The number of actors involved in the market has increased due to the expansion of business areas, while rapidly changing technological trends have altered R&D methods. The thesis shows that the adoption of the marketing concept and the development of complex inter-firm technology based relationships underpin the creation and management of new telecom services. The relationships have originated from an exchange of technological knowledge and specialized skills. This research uses the NTT-centred collaboration system in Japan, which features relational exchanges and high mutual dependence. This case shows that inter-firm relationships greatly contributed in the development of technological resources in two ways; collecting advantageous technologies from others and mediating in the introduction of new technologies. In addition, developments in technology resulted in an expanded domain of applicability. Consequently, not only the market structure was changed but also the relationship between marketing and R&D changed. With increasing integration of the market, the number of related firms increased as firms concentrated on specific technologies, with additional firms having superior competitive advantages in each layered business area. The case in the thesis also shows mechanisms of changing inter-firm relationships under dynamic business circumstances; indirect exchanges occurred when inter-firm relationships changed. Inter-firm relationships are changed, keeping existing but adding new relationships. The study also indicates a new direction to study service marketing. As the new trend of service development in ICT industry develops so the integration abilities and the management of inter-firm relationships in supply-sides become more focused. The thesis points to the importance of these upstream activities (coordinating inter-firm relationships in a service-oriented approach) and advocates the presence of a facilitator who can bridge both upstream and downstream activities. The results should contribute to both marketing and technology management in academia as well as business practices in R&D management.

Assessment is a key aspect within teaching and learning processes in higher education (Torrance, 2007). Formative assessment may be viewed simply as constructive feedback to support learning or more holistically as ongoing assessment based on sustained engagement in learning activities within a supportive social context that expand teachable moments to scaffold learning. Online education now pervades higher education worldwide but effective ways to incorporate formative assessment within online settings is not well understood. Previous research in online postgraduate courses designed for teachers as professional learners illustrate that engagement with authentic learning activities promotes meaningful learning and transferability to their communities of practice (COP) (e.g. Mackey, 2011). However, there appears to be paucity of literature with a focus on assessment in professional learning. This thesis explores formative assessment within online postgraduate courses designed for teachers as professional learners who aim to develop capacity to incorporate information communication technologies (ICT) in their own practice. Case studies are presented to richly illustrate the design, implementation and evaluation of the effectiveness of two courses; and then further re-examined to elucidate strategies and key characteristics that can foster (or hinder) online formative assessment. Authentic and developmental learning perspectives underpinned by situated cognition theory framed the design and interpretation within a multiple-case methodology. Evidence of experiences and perceptions of the teachers and their professional students included online observation, analysis of the discourse, and semi-structured interviews. An authentic learning environment that sustained productive engagement is illustrated in both case studies along with many techniques that the teachers designed to underpin formative assessment. A key characteristic in both courses was the design of authentic assessment activities that are relevant and meaningful in real-life contexts. Techniques identified included appropriate learner autonomy, and opportunities to negotiate shared understanding of learning goals and expected outcomes including the sharing of student-created artefacts. The online reification of the artefacts and other learning community support was enabled by the ongoing documentation through creative use of online discussion forums as a feature within the learning management system (LMS). These techniques enriched the processes of ongoing monitoring, assessment of evidence of learning and interactive formative feedback. Both teachers’ beliefs about self and peer feedback also enabled both teachers to design for productive synergies between formative and summative assessment that promoted engagement and deep learning. Additional synergies of discourse among peers related to immediacy, interactivity, and mutuality in which the students recognized themselves and valued their peers as source of constructive feedback. The students also demonstrated meaningful reflectivity that manifested reflexivity within the context of their professional practices. Online formative assessment is illustrated in both courses as a form of collaborative engagement in authentic learning, including assessment activities with opportunities for ongoing interactions and formative feedback. The open-ended authentic assessment activities supported professional learners to connect the online discourse to their own classroom practices, as well as keenly engage with authentic projects that are situated in their schools. Learner autonomy stimulated self-regulated learning in which students went beyond achievement of the expected learning outcomes for summative assessment to engaging with tasks and processes that matched their own learning goals, interests and contextual needs. Learners’ involvement within formative assessment processes enhanced opportunities to negotiate meanings which fostered shared authenticity.The inherent authenticity in the course design also stimulated application of prior knowledge and experiences in ways that promoted meaningful learning. Engagement in asynchronous dialogue as a community of learners with shared goals and practice elicited alterative perspectives and disorienting dilemmas. This stimulated learners to think in new ways and more critically and to develop relevant professional competencies in ICT. These in turn supported teachers as professional learners to confidently apply their developing pedagogical practices with ICT in their own classrooms; and to share those with school colleagues. This study illustrates ways that online formative assessment can be designed to support learners to develop relevant knowledge and professional skills that increase professional competencies. Incorporating authentic formative assessment in the course design also impacted teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD), and thus their schools. A key finding from this research is conceptualization of formative assessment as a collaborative pedagogical strategy in which both the teacher and students are active players. This research provides evidence that innovative integration of formative assessment in online settings can support committed professional learners to develop competencies that are transferable into their own practice. This suggests that ongoing formative assessment is an important strategy to increase the quality of online professional development in many fields, in addition to that of education.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are common in schools worldwide in the 21st century, in both developed and developing countries. A number of initiatives have been made in the development of ICT related training in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes. These initiatives aim to develop future teachers’ ability to teach and deliver the school curriculum, including using ICT in the classroom. Sufficient field experience is essential since the process of undergoing such placements would prepare them in creating new ideas and implementing strategic ways as to how they can effectively incorporate the use of ICT in their lesson plan, class management, and in teaching. The key research question in this study is “Do pre-service teachers in a New Zealand and a Malaysian ITE programme use their field experience to develop their potential to integrate ICT in schools and, what are the similarities and differences between these case studies?” Effective use of ICT in teaching and learning requires the teacher to understand how ICT weaves with pedagogy and content. The Technological, Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) theoretical framework introduced by Mishra and Koehler (2006) clarifies the need to understand and develop TPACK to inform integration of ICT in teaching. This research provides two case studies of ICT in ITE in the Asia Pacific region, one in a developed country, New Zealand, and the other in a developing country, namely Malaysia. Both case studies are of ICT in an ITE programme with a particular focus on field experience in secondary schools, within which there are embedded cases of ITE students. This study illustrates how pre-service teachers’ experience and development of ICT knowledge and skill and their understanding of TPACK can support an increase in their teaching competencies. This research provides evidence that field experience is important to support pre-service teachers to develop their teaching competencies with ICT and understanding of TPACK in ways that are transferable into their own practice. This study has also contributed to increased reliability and validity of TPACK instrumentation. The comparative findings of the New Zealand and Malaysian case studies indicate the importance of a range of contextual factors, which suggest that the Initial Teacher Education programme, school curriculum and ICT availability as well as student maturity contribute to the development of TPACK.

This thesis studies government driven e-participation in the context of Colombia using the case of “Urna de Cristal” (Crystal Ballot box). Making use of three theoretical models it intends to answer the main research question that is: How does the government driven tool of “Urna de Cristal” relate to the concepts of participatory democracy, e-empowerment and sustainable e-participation? This research collects mainly qualitative data, collected from government representatives, civil society organizations and citizens. The findings show that “Urna de Cristal” only reaches to the level of e-engaging in Macintosh model of levels of e-participation. It is not fully sustainable according to the seven-phase model proposed by Islam (2008) since there is a special need to work on the last three phases of sustainable e-participation, which refer to promotion, participation and post-implementation analysis. The fact the “Urna de Cristal” is not e-empowering leads the analyses towards the limitations that block the e-empowerment process. From this analysis it is seen that the Government of Colombia is doing a lot to overcome the existing limitations but it is a challenging task that requires a lot of time and resources since there are entrenched limitations, coming from different stakeholders and that comprise a specific context, structures and mentalities.  Findings also show that “Urna de Cristal” is not likely to survive long after the next election (2018) because it is it is an initiative that was proposed in the electorate campaign of Juan Manuel Santos, hence an alternative design is suggested.

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