Information technology skills development and the new problematik

Where once curricula confidently mapped what had to be learned, current schooling practice is having to address new foci, including lifelong learning and the ever increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Curricula now need to focus on the development of specific capacities for engagement in lifelong learning and to address questions related to the rapid expansion of access to the ICTs, particularly the Internet. This article investigates aspects of the new problematik, drawing on recent research into the development of ICT skills in Australian schools (Meredyth et al, 1998). That research found that students tend to be more knowledgeable than their teachers in general, when it comes to the development of ICT skills. In addition, both students and teachers tend to have developed those skills outside of formal educational settings. These findings raise several challenges for those who wish to address the new foci for the curriculum.     

The promise of a community-based approach to managing severe malnutrition: A case study from Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Community-based therapeutic care (CTC) is a new strategy in the arsenal of techniques to manage complex nutritional emergencies in rural communities. The CTC approach uses a newly developed ready-to-use therapeutic food, Plumpynut, to rehabilitate severely malnourished children in their home communities. Emerging literature has suggested the CTC strategy yielded results that were superior to those of programs limited to therapeutic feeding centers, as measured by rates of coverage and numbers of children rehabilitated. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of the CTC strategy in combination with conventional treatments for acute malnutrition. The expectation was that this program would support the growing consensus on the effectiveness of CTC strategies. METHODS: Data from monitoring the initial phase of program implementation were reviewed to ascertain program impact. The number of children participating and the outcome of their participation were assessed. RESULTS: Families became key participants in the rehabilitation of their children, and communities became strengthened through the mobilization of local networks and the improved knowledge base of local health workers. Recovery rates were comparable with international standards, and coverage far exceeded that of traditional center-based care. CONCLUSIONS: CTC is an important tool to effectively address nutritional emergencies and may be a valuable entry point for long-term development, since it fosters capacity building and improvement in local communities. CTC programs may eventually be viewed as the entry point for more sustained development-oriented interventions, thus helping make the transition from relief to development.     

Information and computing technology and the gap between school pedagogy and children's culture

This article focuses on the gap between the use of Information and Computing Technology (ICT) in schools and the use made of ICT in children's everyday life outside school. Particular emphasis is placed on the communities of practice that young people create through their use of digital technology. The article is based on data collected over five years in Denmark. Overall, the article raises questions about the future of teaching and learning both in school and out of school.     

Economic inequality and undernutrition in women: multilevel analysis of individual, household, and community levels in Cambodia

BACKGROUND: Many people in developing countries are still struggling to emerge from the realm of extreme poverty, where economic improvements tend to benefit a small, affluent group of the population and cause growing inequality in health and nutrition that affects the most vulnerable groups of the population, including women and children. OBJECTIVE: To examine how household and community economic inequality affects nutritional status in women using information on 6,922 nonpregnant women aged 15 to 49 years included in the 2000 Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey. METHODS: Nutritional status is defined with the use of the body-mass index (BMI). BMI less than 18.5 kg/m2 is defined as undernourishment. The household wealth index was calculated from household ownership of durable assets and household characteristics. Community wealth is an average household wealth index at the community level. Household and community economic inequalities were measured by dividing the wealth index into quintiles. The effects of household and community economic inequality were estimated by multilevel analysis. RESULTS: Independently of community economic status and other risk factors, women in the poorest 20% of households are more likely to be undernourished than women in the richest 20% of households (RR = 1.63; p = .008). The results also show variation among communities in the nutritional status of women. Age, occupation, and access to safe sources of drinking water are significantly associated with women's nutritional status. CONCLUSIONS: Improving household income and creating employment opportunities for women, in particular poor women, may be a key to improving the nutritional status of women in Cambodia.     

宽带接入技术研究与应用

通过对ADSL,Cable Modem HFC,有源光纤接入,无源光纤接入等多种宽带接入网实现技术优缺点进行比较分析,认为当前对于有大量数据业务需求的高端用户,可直接采用EPON技术实现光纤到户FTTH的接入方式;对于具备5类线入户条件的密集用户区,可以采用EPON LAN的过渡方式;而对于有大量数据、语音业务的长远需求的高端用户,采用GPON则是最佳的宽带接入方式.指出GPON是未来主流的宽带接入技术.     

面向包装机械产品数字化设计的数据管理集成系统

目前机械产品设计中普遍存在着信息孤岛和多重异构平台,难以实现产品设计信息、数据和管理资源的高效共享。本文根据我国包装机械和其它机械行业产品设计中实际情况,针对企业管理特点,给出了面向包装机械产品2D/3D数字化设计的PDM数据管理集成系统的架构和实现方法,建立了基于工作流管理和组件技术开发,具有模块化设计、数据流动态集成、多模式权限管理等特点,支持协同设计的产品设计全生命周期管理平台。应用结果表明,该系统软件具有良好的使用效果,为我国包装机械和其它机械行业产品设计提供了一种有效的数据管理与控制方法。     

Cost of wind energy: comparing distant wind resources to local resources in the midwestern United States

The best wind sites in the United States are often located far from electricity demand centers and lack transmission access. Local sites that have lower quality wind resources but do not require as much power transmission capacity are an alternative to distant wind resources. In this paper, we explore the trade-offs between developing new wind generation at local sites and installing wind farms at remote sites. We first examine the general relationship between the high capital costs required for local wind development and the relatively lower capital costs required to install a wind farm capable of generating the same electrical output at a remote site,with the results representing the maximum amount an investor should be willing to pay for transmission access. We suggest that this analysis can be used as a first step in comparing potential wind resources to meet a state renewable portfolio standard (RPS). To illustrate, we compare the cost of local wind (～50 km from the load) to the cost of distant wind requiring new transmission (～550-750 km from the load) to meet the Illinois RPS. We find that local, lower capacity factor wind sites are the lowest cost option for meeting the Illinois RPS if new long distance transmission is required to access distant, higher capacity factor wind resources. If higher capacity wind sites can be connected to the existing grid at minimal cost, in many cases they will have lower costs.     

Fashion retailing – past,present and future

This issue of Textile Progress reviews the way that fashion retailing has developed as a result of the application of the World Wide Web and information and communications technology (ICT) by fashion-retail companies. The review therefore first considers how fashion retailing has evolved, analysing retail formats, global strategies, emerging and developing economies, and the factors that are threatening and driving growth in the fashion-retail market. The second part of the review considers the emergence of omni-channel retailing, analysing how retail has progressed and developed since the adoption of the Internet and how ICT initiatives such as mobile commerce (m-commerce), digital visualisation online, and in-store and self-service technologies have been proven to support the progression and expansion of fashion retailing. The paper concludes with recommendations on future research opportunities for gaining a better understanding of the impacts of ICT and omni-channel retailing, through which it may be possible to increase and develop knowledge and understanding of the way the sector is developing and provide fresh impetus to an already-innovative and competitive industry.     

燃煤电厂脱硫废水处理工艺研究

脱硫工艺在我国的工业生产中得到广泛,对相关的产业的发展起到一定的促进作用。脱硫工艺的过程较为复杂,不仅需要行业发挥自身的能动性,还需要监管部门对工艺过程进行管理和监督。如今,我国对环境保护工作的重视程度与日俱增,脱硫工艺已然成为工业环保工作中的重要一环。为了提高水资源的使用效率,本文基于我国燃煤电厂的工业现状,针对现有的脱硫工艺提出了相关的改进措施。     

花椒指纹图谱的研究进展

我国的花椒资源丰富，在各行各业中应用广泛。随着花椒需求的增大，花椒的质量问题越来越明显，因此制定全面系统的花椒质量控制方法尤其重要。目前，花椒的质量控制研究主要集中在指纹图谱方面，其研究成果大多以花椒指纹图谱研究性论文的形式出现，缺乏综述性的论文。所以，本文对不同类型的花椒指纹图谱的相关研究进行总结，包括高效液相色谱指纹图谱、气相色谱指纹图谱、光谱指纹图谱、高效薄层色谱指纹图谱、核磁指纹图谱和分子生物学指纹图谱等。同时，文中对这几种指纹图谱类型进行简单的对比，并对该技术在花椒应用中的研究方向和发展前景进行展望，期望为从事花椒研究和应用的工作者提供参考价值。