The Human Function Model, as described in the University of Kentucky Assistive Technology Project, places assistive technology in its proper perspective, as an external support that can enhance an individual's ability to function within the environment. The National Assistive Technology Research Institute groups assistive technology and related…

Accelerating innovation to drive economic growth is the foremost goal for technology-based economic development organizations today. Realizing this goal through programmes is challenged by limited and outdated operating models. The authors outline their 21st Century Innovation Intermediary model, which pairs commercialization with regional…

As certain areas of practice in higher education shift online, the work of learners and teachers increasingly takes place within the domain of the image. The "digital turn" we are experiencing, both in higher education and in the wider culture, accompanies an "iconic turn" in which the logic of the image as it emerges on our screens has a growing…

The increasing amount of new scientific information made available by computers and the Internet is demonstrated by the growing number of available health sciences journals. Medical students, nursing students, those in other health science disciplines, and clinicians need to make information more manageable and accessible, especially at the point…

Information technology (IT) professionals face markedly different kinds of challenges in developing countries from the ones in developed countries. Based on the research literature and our fourteen years of fieldwork in Iringa, Tanzania, we have identified eight groups of technical characteristics of IT work that significantly affect the work of…

The development of e-learning by government through policy, funding allocations, research-based collaborative projects and alliances has increased recently in both developed and under-developed nations. The paper notes that government, industry and corporate users are increasingly focusing on standardisation issues and the scalability of…

Developmentally Appropriate Technology in Early Childhood (DATEC) aims to identify the most appropriate applications of Information and Communication Technology to support the development of children under eight years of age. Botswana has a unique spread of population density and deep-rooted socio-cultural values. There is a need to address the…

Many preservice teachers report having had little exposure on the use of technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Without guidance on the appropriate use of technology, prospective teachers are left to form their own beliefs about what is appropriate technology use. This study assessed preservice teacher beliefs and conceptions of…

Appropriate technologies able to be easily and economically constructed from readily available materials by local craftspeople have a central role in the alleviation of poverty in the developing world. However, research and development of these technologies are generally apportioned relatively modest support by the developed world's institutions,…

Discussion of the growth of distance education programs focuses on program evaluation. Describes the American Evaluation Association http://www.eval.org, the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation (ERIC/AE) http://ericae.net; lists steps for planning formative evaluation; and considers the appropriate uses of new technology. (LRW)

This article argues that advances in nanotechnology in general, and lab-on-chip technology in particular, have the potential to benefit the developing world in its quest to control risks to human health and the environment. Based on the "risk society" thesis of Ulrich Beck, it is argued that the developed world must realign its science and…

Discusses how to choose from the available interactive graphic-design possibilities for the World Wide Web. Compatibility and appropriateness are discussed; and DHTML (Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language), Java, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), plug-ins, ActiveX, and Push and channel technologies are described. (LRW)

This essay explores a series of discourses surrounding the images of the early twentieth-century stereoscope, focusing on Underwood & Underwood of Ottawa, Kansas, and the Keystone View Company, of Meadville, Pennsylvania. By publishing images of particular geographic areas and historical events, as well as compendium volumes that included…

This paper considers educational technology in the light of both rationalist and existentialist theory, arguing that the predominance of rationalism in educational technology may be a dangerous tendency. Existentialist theory is first considered as a way--albeit with limitations--to begin examining educational technology from an ethical…

Recently, the popular press has pointed to increasing evidence of misuse and abuse of emerging technologies in U.S. schools. Some examples include using Web sites to intimidate or threaten students, downloading music illegally from the Internet, plagiarizing information using the Internet, using cellular phones during class time, and playing games…