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The world’s educational space is facing critical issues from globalization, accessibility and effort to integrate both technology and learner-centered knowledge. Educational practitioners, scholars and influencers are enthusiastic about infusing technology in their pedagogy and teaching–learning practices. There is a growing concern among policy-makers about the learning benefits of inducing technology into education, the psychological impact using technology and the safety of the information in learning environments. However, radical changes have taken place in the socio-political world, and education has become more democratized and humanized. Students are made aware the value of knowledge in a hyperconnected world and the need to continually learn throughout all stages of life. Successful inculcation of knowledge cannot happen only by improving the curriculum but also by achieving through an all-round development that allows the students the freedom to choose and participate in independent activities that result in social welfare and community well-being. The debate as to how to maximize the use of technology in education continues. This book aims to address the humaneness that surrounds the world of technology in education. It highlights the use of emerging technologies in pedagogy and case studies are cited to address the ongoing debate that technology brings a positive effect on education and mankind. The demand for technology continues as mankind faces unprecedented challenges where classroom education may not be possible. Technology continues to fulfill the challenges of creating a more democratic educational environment.

The purpose of this contribution is to encourage library and information (LIS) professionals to draw on the initiatives by Carol Kuhlthau to align information seeking with learning theories and new roles for intermediaries. Considering the vast array of developments in information communication technology (ICT), and the challenges and pressures for continuing professional development (CPD) and reflection, it seems timely to encourage experimentation with the ideas of Kuhlthau on Zones of Intervention and Lev Vygotsky on Zones of Proximal Development (ZPD), as means to become au fait with these theories, ideas and related research, and to apply these theories and ideas on a practical level to offer opportunities for the continuing professional development of LIS professionals with specific reference to ICT, and to eventually also impact on the training of users.

This contribution will be written against the background of research from information literacy, information behaviour (including information seeking), the learning theory of Vygotsky on Zones of Proximal Development, and continuing professional development.

Although the information seeking process (ISP) model of Kuhlthau is widely cited, the idea of Zones of Intervention which she developed from the work of Vygotsky does unfortunately not feature strongly in the LIS literature. Considering the literature on Zones of Proximal Development, it can, however, hold much potential for LIS professionals to align support with information seeking with professional (optimal) development – especially if using the focus (Zones of Intervention and Zones of Proximal Development) as a means to become au fait, and if initially taking a more practical and relaxed approach as point of departure.

Relatively few publications on Zones of Intervention and Zones of Proximal Development appear in the LIS literature. None of these are to the author's knowledge, aligned to the continuing professional development of LIS professionals on a practical level or with regard to fully exploiting ICT developments.

Considers the implications for the training of people with disabilities of the shift towards a new system for the delivery of publicly funded training schemes, based upon Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). People with disabilities face a number of barriers to labour market participation, which may be partly overcome through the provision of appropriate training. The TEC initiative, in principle, creates a framework within which such schemes can be tailored to meet local needs. However, the way that the TECs have been set up and funded in practice has a number of features which might militate against such developments: TEC strategies are dominated by employer interests, with relatively little involvement by voluntary organizations or representatives of people with disabilities; the output‐related funding system implies an incentive to downgrade provision for those who have a lower probability of obtaining jobs or qualifications as a result of training – the evidence suggests that people with disabilities generally fall into this group; the mechanisms by which the obligations of TECs towards people with disabilities are monitored are relatively weak. Concludes by suggesting that the chances of a person with a disability receiving appropriate training may in future depend upon the TEC area in which s/he lives. This scenario should be avoided at all costs.

Discusses flexibility at both organizational and individual levels with respect to human resource management and training for an ageing workforce. Derives a theory of experience concentration (from literature survey and empirical research) which is seen as the key factor in adult learning. Lists six basic principles as guidelines for developing adult training courses. Presents a model as a framework for further research which illustrates that the relation between the ageing of personnel and flexibility is not as simple as is often thought.

Building upon a competence-based employability model and a social exchange and proactive perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between learning value of the job and employability among academic staff employees. Moreover, this study also examined whether this relationship was moderated by leader–member exchange (LMX) and a proactive coping style.

An online self-report questionnaire with thoroughly validated measures was distributed among academic staff employees (n=139).

The results partially supported the specific study assumptions. Concrete, learning value of the job was positively related to anticipation and optimization, corporate sense and balance. LMX moderated the relationship between learning value of the job, on the one hand, and all employability dimensions, on the other hand. However, proactive coping only moderated the relationship with anticipation and optimization, flexibility and balance. In all cases, under the condition of high moderator variable levels, the relationship became stronger.

This study extends past employability research by applying an interactionist perspective (person: proactive coping style, context: LMX and learning value of the job) approach for explaining employability enhancement. The results of this scholarly work provide useful insights for stimulating future career development and growth, which is of upmost importance in nowadays’ labor markets.

Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.

The purpose of this study is to assess the benefits derived from the application of mobile devices as part of the students’ online learning experience and the extent to which the perceived benefits are linked to student learning styles.

A small group of students enrolled in an exclusively online graduate accounting program were issued with iPods as part of their learning materials. Two data collection instruments were issued: a questionnaire to elicit students’ opinions on the usefulness of the iPod as a tool for learning; and a questionnaire to establish their learning styles (using a VARK^© questionnaire).

The findings indicate that the primary advantage of iPods lies in its portability, which, in turn, facilitated efficient and effective use of time and study planning. The portability attached to iPods allowed students to take advantage of what otherwise have been down‐time, such as commuting. Students with a preference for visual learning rated the iPod as being important to their learning.

The generalizability of the findings is limited due to the low sample size (23) that constrains the robustness of the results.

The exploratory nature of this study provides preliminary evidence on the perceived usefulness of handheld devices as a learning tool.

The project was designed to provide a framework for a comprehensive user evaluation of both software packages and hypertext environments. User evaluation constituted an integral part of the design and development process. The learning packages and hypertext systems were evaluated in terms of the extent to which they provide flexibility for learners to follow their preferred learning styles. Evaluation was carried out in relation to: (1) hypertext packages; (2) learning styles and learning outcomes; and (3) system design. Two sets of learning experiments were conducted. In the first, the package related to ‘1992’ — the Single European Market—was tested with postgraduate MBA and Information Studies students, whose individual learning approaches were assessed. In the second, the package was in the field of food and wine and was tested with further education students on a catering course. Those with a holist predisposition strongly favoured the use of global features such as the map. On the other hand, serialists preferred the rapid access allowed by the index. The ‘Wine and Food’ experiment, with a smaller sample, produced no significant findings to reinforce the ‘1992’ results. However, there was an interesting positive correlation (though not statistically different) between field dependence and performance on the learning test. Cognitive styles were demonstrated to be a significant component of individual behaviour within the hypertext environment. Providing a variety of tools optimised for preferred modes of usage creates a rough equality of overall task‐related performance between those with differing cognitive styles, and allows the user to evolve an appropriate strategy for effective performance. The ‘lost in hyperspace’ phenomenon was rarely evident and may be eliminated by improved semantic content in navigational aids. Hypertext has been confirmed as a useful medium for searching, learning and recall, but must include as many alternative modes of usage as possible within the design of a particular system.

This exploratory research project investigated how mainland Chinese business students studying overseas conceptualize and describe the learning effectiveness of ten different instructional techniques commonly encountered in their business courses. A large numbers of mainland Chinese students enroll in business courses in private international institutions in Singapore – dislocated from their home cultures – but needing to adapt to Western learning curricula and ultimately to acquire proficiency in Western business practices. Certain instructional techniques are likely to bridge the cultural gap better than others. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Twenty consenting students selected from 400+ geographically diverse Chinese students participating in a larger study provided face-to-face interview information on how different instructional techniques stimulated different aspects of content acquisition, learner group dynamics, decision-making, learning efficiency, comfort, flexibility, familiarity, and applicability.

Interviewees' free-form descriptions of “learning effectiveness” included phrases such as “quality of learning”, “control over my learning”, “scope of knowledge”, “efficiency of learning”, “gaining/acquiring knowledge”, “understanding theories”, “flexibility in time and place”, “applicability of new information”, “attractive learning environment”, “[absence of] ambiguity and uncertainty”, “security and ease of mind”, etc. Their 340 descriptors were classified into 30 qualitative indicator categories, four of them common to many instructional techniques and ten more specific to individual techniques.

Although Chinese mainland students generally prefer rote-learning styles of instructional techniques due to their prolonged exposure to it, rote-style techniques may not always be the preferred choices for learning effectiveness and adaptation to new culture norms and practices. This paper reports qualitative “consultations” with learners in new cultures and argues for holistic and engaged approaches to learning effectiveness for students dislocated from their home cultures while providing a starting-point for further research in mainland Chinese students' Western-based business education in Singapore and elsewhere.