Enhancing Effective Teaching and Learning of ICT in the Schools for the Blind in Ghana.

The paper examines role of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Special Education in Ghana. Taking the relevant literature as the guiding principle, the paper addresses the opportunities, barriers and challenges posed by the integration of Assistive Technologies devices in schools for the blind and visually impaired in the teaching and learning process. The paper shows that inadequacies of teachers’ knowledge and skills in Assistive Technologies coupled with lack of these technologies are some of the greatest hindrances to effective teaching in the schools for the Blind in Ghana. Educators and policy makers acknowledge Evidence-Based Teaching as one of the most effective strategies for teaching the blind and the visually impaired.The paper highlights that effective integration of Assistive Technologies into schools will help bridge the digital gap between the blind and the sighted in Ghana

Enhancing Effective Teaching and Learning of ICT in the Schools for the Blind in Ghana

The paper examines role of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Special Education in Ghana. Taking the relevant literature as the guiding principle, the paper addresses the opportunities, barriers and challenges posed by the integration of Assistive Technologies devices in schools for the blind and visually impaired in the teaching and learning process. The paper shows that inadequacies of teachers’ knowledge and skills in Assistive Technologies coupled with lack of these technologies are some of the greatest hindrances to effective teaching in the schools for the Blind in Ghana. Educators and policy makers acknowledge Evidence-Based Teaching as one of the most effective strategies for teaching the blind and the visually impaired.The paper highlights that effective integration of Assistive Technologies into schools will help bridge the digital gap between the blind and the sighted in Ghana

Digital Equity

This chapter discusses digital equity through the lens of the digital divide. While the digital divide is as old as information communication technology itself (ICT), the COVID-19 health crisis renewed a strident interest in exposing the significant gap that still exists after close to 30 years. The digital divide then is first contextualized within the coronavirus pandemic to illustrate how inequities came further to the forefront of people's agenda. It then moves to discuss the digital divide defining the complex term and offering critical data to illustrate the areas of the world most impacted by this unfortunate reality. Different organizations and groups have made significant moves to narrow the digital gap. These strategies are discussed next. None of these groups will be fully successful if, as will be argued, they are not concerned with digital equity. Finally, the chapter makes some critical observations on future challenges facing ICT vis-à-vis the digital divide.

Digital Libraries in Jordanian Universities and Overcoming the Digital Gap in the Time of COVID-19: A Case Study of Yarmouk University

This study aims to evaluating the pattern of digital library utilization in the time of COVID-19 by the postgraduate students in Yarmouk University - Jordan, in addition to helping the university library’s staff and decision makers to identify the role that the digital library play as a response to the closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effectiveness, Moreover, to examine availability of the ICT infrastructure and support modality the distance teaching and learning which took place due to the university closure since the start of the pandemic. A was used to collect data on how the needs of the postgraduate students and their use of the digital library resources during the period of COVID-19 pandemic. The sample consisted of (180) postgraduate students selected by using simple random sampling technique through (GoogleDocs) in order to represent the study population which is (759) postgraduate students. The findings indicated the poor utilization of digital information resources since students depended on the internet to obtain free digital resources. As a conclusion, the students’ skills have overcome the digital gap as their generation depends on the use of all forms of smart devices.

Challenges of COVID-19 pandemic: The postgraduate case in Sustainable Management of Natural Resources - UIEP

<p>A generalized preventive measure in Mexico against the COVID-19 pandemic was the suspension of in-person non-essential activities, including academic activities. The Universidad Intercultural del Estado de Puebla (Intercultural University of the State of Puebla - UIEP) suspended all classroom course from March 20th, 2019, until the present day. The program of Master of Science in Sustainable Natural Resource Management has remained active in a digital format, facing the following challenges: the speedy implementation of a virtual and distance teaching-learning process; the optimization of computer resources in the face of the digital gap and limited access to these technologies in the region; and an efficient traceability of research processes. COVID-19 displayed the social and digital gap present in the rural areas of Mexico, such as in the case of Sierra Norte de Puebla, in which UIEP is enclaved. However, it also displayed the ability of response and adaptation in the face of the contingency scenario caused by SARS-CoV-2.</p>

“ORANG KAMPUNG”, PEMASARAN DIGITAL, DAN KEBIJAKAN PUBLIK: SEBUAH TINJAUAN DAN AGENDA PENELITIAN. STUDI KASUS : PEMASARAN TRADISIONAL SONGKO RECCA

ABSTRAKMengatasi tantangan yang ditimbulkan oleh penduduk pedesaan adalah topik yang sangat menarik bagi pemasar, pembuat kebijakan, dan peneliti. Namun, hanya ada sedikit penelitian tentang bagaimana penduduk pedesaan menerima atau menolak teknologi digital baru. Dengan perubahan kekuatan ekonomi dan tingkat adopsi ketika komunitas digital tumbuh antara daerah perkotaan dan pedesaan, menjadi semakin penting bagi pemasar untuk memahami bagaimana mereka menggunakan teknologi dan bagaimana mereka menggunakan saluran digital. Agar pemasar dan pembuat kebijakan memahami sepenuhnya bentuk masa depan masyarakat digital berbasis data, penelitian perlu lebih mempertimbangkan dampaknya terhadap kelompok generasi yang berbeda dalam hal adopsi dan penggunaan teknologi digital oleh konsumen di daerah pedesaan.Melalui tinjauan multidisiplin literatur tentang orang-orang tradisional menggunakan lensa teoritis kelompok geografis, penulis mengidentifikasi tantangan penelitian utama, peluang, dan dampak bagi pemasar dan pembuat kebijakan. Kata Kunci : pemasaran digital; kebijakan publik; kesenjangan demografis; generasi; kesenjangan digital ABSTRACTAddressing the challenges posed by rural populations is a topic of great interest to marketers, policymakers, and researchers. However, there is little research on how rural residents accept or reject new digital technologies. With changing economic power and adoption rates as digital communities grow between urban and rural areas, it is becoming increasingly important for marketers to understand how they use technology and digital channels. For marketers and policymakers to fully understand the future shape of a data-driven digital society, research needs to consider its impact on different generational groups in terms of consumer adoption and use of digital technology in rural areas. Through a multidisciplinary review of the literature on traditional people using a theoretical lens geographical group, the authors identify key research challenges, opportunities, and impacts for marketers and policymakers. Keywords : digital marketing; public policy; demographic gap; generation; digital gap

Enterprise-Driven, Asset-Focused Digital Oilfield DOF Assessment - Strategic Framework and Roadmap

A new integrated growth strategy of an oil & gas company is focusing on maximizing the value of reserves and production in order to meet the value proposition of the highest possible return to the company. The strategy is built on the strategic foundation of the company of People, Performance, Profitability and Efficiency. From a business performance perspective, the strategy will bear fruit through increased production capacity, improved operational and cost efficiencies, re-energizing mature fields and uncovering new resources whilst maintaining safety and asset integrity. The objective of this global level exercise aims to assess and evaluate various Digital Oilfield (DOF) practices and initiatives against industry best practices, to perform a landscape assessment of the upstream assets, to review the asset digital gap, to develop a strategic framework and roadmap ensuring that the company strategic pillars are supported across all relevant aspects, by closing the digital gap between current and future states. The assessment scope covers the following domains: Reservoir management Production optimisation Operation management & integrity Engineering & projects Drilling Efficiency Logistics & Planning The landscape assessment and gap analysis consist of several stages that starts from documenting the information received from the assets capturing their current business practices and processes, analyzing the "as-is" condition, designing the future state, assessing the impact to the specific assets, define the benefits and value and creating a 5-year business roadmap. Aligned with the company DOF strategy, understanding the asset digital gap and enhancing the asset digital maturity will improve: HSE and asset integrity by reducing hazard exposure, optimizing energy usage and improving wells and facilities integrity Collaboration and faster analysis leading to timely decision making Integrated operations by optimized drilling planning, operations, optimized production forecasting and integrated planning Optimum Reservoir Management through enhanced reservoir surveillance and recovery

Herramientas digitales aplicadas en el escenario de la inclusión educativa en la época de la COVID-19

El presente estudio tiene por objeto conocer cuáles son las aplicaciones más utilizadas en el ámbito educativo desde que se declaró el estado de alarma, en marzo de 2020. Se aplicó un cuestionario en el cual participaron 65 docentes y 127 estudiantes de la provincia de Málaga. Los datos de éste reflejan que la muestra considerada se adecúa a los parámetros de muestra para proseguir con la investigación. Además, se utilizó el alfa de Cronbach (α=.740 y α=.658, respectivamente) para determinar su validez y fiabilidad. Los resultados obtenidos muestran cómo el alumnado está más familiarizado con las aplicaciones de Google, frente al profesorado que opta por emplear otros softwares, como son las plataformas online. Concretamente, un mayor número de alumnado utilizaba la herramienta Google Meet para recibir sus clases no presenciales. Sin embargo, un elevado porcentaje ha preferido dar sus clases a través de Moodle Centros. Asimismo, la pandemia ha originado conocer otros recursos tecnológicos y aprender a cómo utilizar estos, como es el caso de Google Meet, para los estudiantes y Microsoft Teams, para los docentes. Todo ello, ha supuesto un avance para el sector educativo, proliferando todo el entramado tecnológico y de recursos online, intentando hacer llegar la educación a gran parte de la población para combatir la actual brecha digital existente en muchos hogares. The present study aims to know which are the most used applications in the educational field since the state of alarm was declared in March 2020. A questionnaire was applied in which 65 were teachers and 127 were students from the province of Málaga. The data from this reflect that the sample considered is adapted to the sampling parameters to continue with the investigation. In addition, Cronbach's alpha (α = .740 and α = .658, respectively) was used to determine its validity and reliability. The results obtained show how students are more familiar with Google applications, compared to teachers who choose to use other software, such as online platforms. More specifically, a greater number of students used the Google Meet tool to receive their non-face-to-face classes. However, a high percentage have preferred to teach their classes through Moodle Centers. Likewise, the pandemic has led to knowing other technological resources and learning how to use them, such as Google Meet, for students and Microsoft Teams, for teachers. All this has meant progress for the education sector, proliferating the entire technological network and online resources, trying to bring education to a large part of the population to combat the current digital gap that exists in many homes.

Rehabilitation of an Internet network in 40 schools in Nabón, Ecuador

Internet access is necessary to ensure respect for the right to education, however, worldwide about 75% of school-age children in rural areas do not have access to the Internet at home, which makes it imperative the need for actions to reduce the digital gap to improve the quality of education in rural communities in Ecuador. This article describes the rehabilitation of an Internet network of 40 schools in the Nabón community, Ecuador. An earlier initiative implemented the Internet network, but lack of maintenance left it non-functional. With the support of the Municipality of Nabón, Motorola Foundation and IEEE SIGHT, a group of volunteers from IEEE Ecuador evaluated the state of the network to identify opportunities using the existing infrastructure. The commitment to the community, as well as the development of capacities, are at the center of the intervention to guarantee the sustainable development of the project. This document reports on the design, implementation, achievements and lessons learned from the rehabilitation of the Internet network.

Russia's falling population cannot meet labour needs

Significance Demographic decline now appears inevitable, leading to a smaller, less productive working-age population. In addition to short-term disruptions caused by pandemic-related restrictions, lasting structural changes in the labour market are becoming evident, prompted by shifts in consumption patterns, rising demand for higher-skilled labour and greater remote working. Impacts Higher long-term unemployment will increase the need for social transfers, putting a further strain on federal funds. The ageing labour force will need retraining to shore up productivity levels. Greater remote working will increase the digital gap between higher- and lower-paid workers.