Academic literature on the topic 'Courses via internet'

summary The current trend among many universities is to increase the number of courses available online. However, there are fundamental problems in transferring traditional education courses to virtual formats. Delivering current curricula in an online format does not assist in overcoming the negative effects on student motivation which are inherent in providing information passively. Using problem-based learning (PBL) online is a method by which computers can become a tool to encourage active learning among students. The delivery of curricula via goal-based scenarios allows students to learn at different rates and can successfully shift online learning from memorization to discovery. This paper reports on a Web-based e-health course that has been delivered via PBL for the past 12 months. Thirty distance-learning students undertook postgraduate courses in e-health delivered via the Internet (asynchronous communication). Data collected via online student surveys indicated that the PBL format was both flexible and interesting. PBL has the potential to increase the quality of the educational experience of students in online environments.

Students of Physic Education of Universitas Negeri Semarang often find some difficulties to understand the material. During difficult times, students usually find references on the internet,ask a friend who already understand, or ask a senior friend. Mostly students have a device that can be used to access the internet. Online-course via discussion-forum can be used as a discussion facility when they find difficulties to understand. Online-course via discussion-forum developed with ADDIE development models that includes the stages of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Online-course discussion forum contains the list of courses that can be accessed by students via internet through the website discussion.belajarfisika.web.id. Feasibility of online course discussion forum was measured through assessment sheets of feasibility test from validators and questionnaire responses from students. The results of the feasibility test from the validator and student responses indicate that criteria are eligible. Results of the questionnaire about students' perceptions of learning through online course discussion forum show that Physic Education Students of Universitas Negeri Semarang have good perceptions of learning through online-course via discussion-forums.

The problems of the development of web-based distance learning (DL) courses on Statistics are analysed in the paper. DL methods and technologies for the development and provision of DL courses on Statistics are reviewed. The Internet resources (electronic books, video, simulation, animation, text, interactive experiments, software package which provides routines for statistical analysis via the WWW) and application of DL course development software are analysed. The. experience of the developer of the first Lithuanian web-based course on Statistics ``Statistics and Data Analysis Software'' is presented in the paper.

While the number of college courses being delivered via the Internet is increasing rapidly, our knowledge of what makes these courses effective learning experiences for students is still limited. Therefore, I conducted a study that examined the effects of technological, pedagogical, and student characteristics on student learn ing in Internet-based MBA courses. Of these characteristics, I found that only those reflecting instructor efforts to create an interactive classroom environment were significantly associated with student learning. Other characteristics such as the perceived ease of use of the course software package, the perceived flexibility of the online classroom environment, and the amount of time students spent logged onto the course Website were not significantly associated with student learning. These findings suggest that while some level of technological sophistication may be important, teaching expertise may be the primary criterion for teaching success in the online classroom environment. Therefore, instructors may need to spend more time developing and cultivating instructional skills such as simultaneously working with several smaller groups of students, developing interesting discussion questions, and fostering intimacy. To support this faculty development, business schools will likely need to make substantial infrastructural investments to ensure that their online course offerings are pedagogically and technologically conducive to student learning.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are considered as important trends in electroniclearning (e-learning) in higher education. Many universities offered MOOCs to any learners who preferlearning via the internet and benefiting from the offered courses online. Massive Open Online Courses areopen learning to anyone to enrol and study and many offered courses are free which do not require payingfees. MOOCs are delivered as video-based content via the internet offered by educational institutions anduniversities to many international learners. There is a lack of previous studies and scientific papers thatinvestigates the global role of MOOCs in e-learning. MOOCs has emerged due to learning theories relatedto learners whether individuals or networks of learners. Therefore, this paper reviews Massive Open OnlineCourses characteristics, it spread around the world, its practical implementation in e-learning LearningManagement Systems (LMS) and its theoretical contributing roles to enhance e-learning through its rolesin promoting e-learning theories.

In Spring 1994, a 2-h course in Agricultural Meteorology was handled primarily by e-mail. Six off-campus students asked to take the course by e-mail, and two on-campus students voted to join them. Seven students communicated with each other and the instructor via VAX-mail on the UF IFAS Computer Network [ICON]. The remaining student used a NASA supplied link to Internet. A few students used V-mail on ICON's VAX, in preference to the basic MAIL facility. A good textbook was found indispensable because the rest of the course content flowed through the network. The conversational characteristic of e-mail messages accommodated questions about the text and a term paper topic well. There is a tradeoff of commuting costs vs. computer and modem costs. Each participant worked at an individual—an advantage for students who have production responsibilities. Those students ranked the course as highly desirable [compared with the average for other courses in the department 1.33 vs. 1.39 (where 1 is top score and 5 lowest)]. Procrastination is a hazard, and the keyboard is a limiting factor. Both the preparation for and conduction of the course is more time consuming than conventional methods. This time requirement is expected to decrease with familiarity, the use of graphics, and commercial links to Internet.

University piano education online learning courses supplement learning and have quickly advanced distance education and the essence of improving Internet innovation. Experts of piano education visualization system and distance piano education visualization system are a world specification, which offers various university and online open-source courses, for those who seek an online expert for piano education events. The individual online piano learning course is another choice for learning the education visualization system via progressive Internet correspondence. Past techniques depend on the profound learning piano education system courses of learning and information mining distance education. Existing strategies present specialized difficulties, which include the difficulty of the piano learning via an online network. As such, this study aims to establish a university piano education visualization system framework via a distance education background utilizing the fifth-generation (5G) network; the distance education learning for piano education visualization system course using the 5G network is proposed. The remote sensor shows an assortment of methods for grownups to partake in the online learning preparation. The idea of online communication within a network of instructors and understudies is extraordinary. When considering training-based or execution-based courses, there is a likelihood that the learning system may exhibit an inferior quality of sound, and the sound of the piano notes may lag with time over the network connection. Online learning provides adaptability and internationalization and has the capacity to interface with countless individuals and bring them together in the online learning environment. In this situation, the straightforward transportation and installment of remote sensors, the user of the distance educator 5G network is advised to view it from a commonsense perspective. Furthermore, there is a need to advance online piano education training in instructive exercises.

This study was conducted to determine the views of academicians regarding “The Views of Physical Education and Sports Teaching Instructors on Education in the Covid-19 Period”. The study used the phenomenological design, which is among qualitative research designs. 
 
 The study group comprised 63 academicians carrying out duty in 21 different universities in Turkey during the 2019-2020 academic year. In line with the goal, the study was carried out with academicians who could contribute on voluntary basis. In order to determine the views of the academicians, a structured interview form was used. The interview form comprises four questions aiming to determine the necessity of distance education in the physical education area, which courses in the area can be given within the scope of distance education, possibility of teaching applied courses via distance education and problems they face in courses in the distance education process which has been put into effect compulsorily due to pandemic. 
 
 The interview form was presented to the opinion of two instructors in the educational sciences area who have carried out qualitative research and then expert opinion was received. The application was conducted by primarily reaching the aforementioned academicians via telephone interview between 1 June-27 July 2020 and conveying the questions via e-mail. The descriptive analysis technique was used in analysis of the data.
 
 In the study 79% of the academicians stressed that applied courses should not be taught via distance education, while 52% stated that all theoretical courses could be taught via distance education. Examining the views of the academicians on the problems they faced in courses in the distance education process; 55% stated that the problems were associated with the system, 36% efficiency of the course, 30% inadequate student participation in the course, 21% inadequate student feedback, 21% evaluation, 19% inexperience about distance education and 17% lack of internet and computer opportunities in hometowns of students. 
 
 Considering the findings of the study integratedly; it is believed that teaching applied courses via distance education is inadequate and inefficient. Also it is possible to state that it may not be appropriate to teach theoretical courses via distance education, except when necessary.

<abstract> <p>The past decade has witnessed great progress in the Internet of Things (IoT), which can provide integrated platforms for data with various formats and to serve different parts of human society. Although IoT-supported education management systems have achieved some successful applications, most existing systems cannot perform intelligent information processing, such as autonomous planning and optimal scheduling. To remedy this gap, this work proposes a novel IoT-supported intelligent education management system that is implemented via collaboration of knowledge and data. First, the macroscopic architecture is designed according to field knowledge of education management, and a clustering-based data analysis algorithm is utilized to visualize real-time classroom characteristics. Then, statistics of learning status are generated, and personalized following plans are accordingly suggested to different specific users. Finally, the functions of the designed smart education management system are tested via computer simulation operations. The obtained results show that the proposal can work well under a real-time data stream and is expected to serve as a typical education management application in smart cities. Through verification, it is found that the integration of general education and professional courses is the ideal starting point for the design of the elements of an optimal course structure for engineering practice majors. In particular, we should strengthen the reform of the following course types: introduction to design, general education, concentrated practice, comprehensive design and peak courses.</p> </abstract>

Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-19T11:50:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 mestradoduque.pdf: 914410 bytes, checksum: 13fd8f9d21333a62ce7388ae00092527 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2001-12-20<br>This study develops a structured model of distance education taking into consideration the Information Science. It has a conceptual basis on the five principles of Library Science applied to virtual reality. The design of distance education using Internet was based on well known authors of Information Science, Library Science, and Education. It also applies techniques used in cyberspace. The suggested plan - theoretical and applied - contributes to expand the educational potential of distance education using Internet. Using this model, a checklist was designed to help controlling quality of distance education using the Internet.<br>Estudo para elaboração de modelo roteirizado para cursos à distância via Internet à luz da Ciência da Informação, tendo como arcabouço conceitual as cinco leis da Biblioteconomia aplicadas para a realidade virtual. A modelagem de cursos à distância via Internet foi fundamentada em autores clássicos da Ciência da Informação, Biblioteconomia, Educação, recebendo ainda o aporte de informações geradas por especialistas do ciberespaço. O roteiro sugerido - conceitual e aplicativo - contribui para aumentar a potencialidade educacional e informacional de cursos à distância via Internet. A partir deste modelo foi derivado um checklist, ferramental que auxiliará o controle de qualidade de cursos à distância via Internet.

O objetivo deste trabalho é utilizar parcela do potencial da Internet como ferramenta de apoio ao desenvolvimento do processo de ensino-aprendizagem, através do emprego efetivo de alguns de seus recursos e posterior avaliação dos resultados obtidos em disciplina específica da Engenharia de Transportes. Para introduzir e avaliar a abordagem aqui proposta foi selecionada a disciplina STT403 - Aeroportos, Portos e Vias Navegáveis, oferecida pelo Departamento de Transportes da Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos, da Universidade de São Paulo, que é ministrada dentro do curso de graduação em Engenharia Civil. A parte da disciplina relativa a Portos e Vias Navegáveis, que tem cunho predominantemente informativo, foi adaptada para um método de ensino a distância, neste caso semipresencial, ou seja, as aulas expositivas tradicionais não foram suprimidas. Na abordagem aqui proposta as aulas foram ministradas em sala de aula e um material confeccionado pelos alunos com auxílio do professor foi disponibilizado na Internet, para que posteriormente os demais alunos pudessem consultá-lo. As dúvidas daí resultantes foram sanadas tanto em sala de aula como em consulta direta ao docente. Além das pesquisas realizadas pelos alunos, testes, bibliotecas, agenda e o desempenho individual de cada aluno também foram colocados à disposição no ambiente computacional para auxiliá-los na construção do conhecimento. A adaptação da disciplina a este novo método de ensino foi feita com o ambiente WebCT, sistema de gerenciamento de educação a distância, que pode ser utilizado pelos professores da USP para disponibilizarem seus cursos e/ou disciplinas na Internet há alguns anos. Esta ferramenta, que foi concebida por uma universidade canadense para melhorar o processo de ensino-aprendizagem, possui rotinas desenvolvidas especificamente para estimular a interação entre professor-aluno e entre os próprios alunos. Os resultados observados se constituem em fortes evidências de que a educação a distância, baseada na Internet, pode vir a ser uma estratégia efetiva na oferta de cursos para estudantes de engenharia, engenheiros e profissionais da área tecnológica, em larga escala e sem comprometimento da qualidade. A avaliação dos resultados obtidos permite afirmar, no mínimo: que o índice de satisfação com o curso por parte dos alunos com relação aos aspectos analisados pode ser considerado razoável e que a abordagem proposta parece promissora.<br>The aim of this work is to explore a fraction of the Internet potential as a supporting tool for the improvement of the learning process of a specific course in the Transportation Engineering field. This is accomplished through the application, in a regular course, of selected Internet resources and subsequent evaluation of the obtained results. The course, named Airports, Ports, and Inland Waterways, is part of the Civil Engineering core curriculum at the São Carlos School of Engineering - University of São Paulo. The teaching approach used for exploring Internet resources in the part of the course that deals with Ports and Inland Waterways did not eliminate the traditional classroom weekly meeting with the students, but took advantage of it to improve the process of distance education. In the approach proposed here, the students were organized in groups and asked to build a reference material with the aid of the lecturer in charge of the course. That material was later made available to the entire class through Internet, so that everyone could study it and evaluate it as well. The doubts arising from it could be discussed either in the classroom or directly with the lecturer. In addition to the results of the research carried out by the students, the environment built in Internet offered several other tools to support the learning process, such as: tests, libraries, agenda, and a management tool designed to track the individual performance of every student. The adaptation of the course to Internet has been done in a WebCT environment. That tool, which is a management system for distance education available for use at the University of São Paulo, has been designed by a Canadian university with the objective of stimulating the interactions among students themselves and with the course lecturer. The observed results seem to provide a strong evidence that Internet-based distance education might become an effective strategy for offering courses to Engineering students and professionals, and also to professionals of other technological areas. It can be a large-scale process without compromising the quality of the courses. Two points can be stressed, based on the evaluation of the results obtained with the application conducted here: the satisfaction level of the students with the course was not bad, and the proposed approach seems to be promising.

Un PCR en cours sur la céramique antique a permis la reprise de la documentation portant sur l’Antiquité tardive dans les Pays de Loire. Cette période chronologique reste mal connue dans la région et cet article constitue un premier aperçu d’un sujet qui n’avait pas encore fait l’objet d’une synthèse au niveau régional. Il s’appuie sur la présentation de quelques ensembles de céramique significatifs issus de villae, de nécropoles et de contextes urbains. Malgré les lacunes de la documentation, l’étude fait émerger quelques constats. Le ive s. semble se caractériser par une certaine continuité avec le siècle précédent concernant les productions locales et une intégration aux circuits commerciaux de Gaule interne marquée par le rôle important de la vallée de la Loire. Concernant les ve et vie s., il n’est pas, pour l’heure, possible de dessiner des faciès précis, mais quelques particularismes locaux émergent et semblent annoncer le haut Moyen Âge.

This study addresses the question of whether or not active learning can be taught online. There are many definitions of learning: It is the process and the sum total of acquiring knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, beliefs, and emotions. There is, however, a nuanced definition of active online learning, defined as methods by which learners actively participate in the learning process (e.g., online discussion groups, problem-solving, experimentation, and the like). Theoretical presuppositions such as informal learning, contiguity, reinforcement, repetition, social-cultural principles and andragogy not only guide the assumption that active learning can take place online but also reinforce that active learning may lead to the creation of new knowledge and the skills needed by learners in this current century. This research reveals that technology, used effectively, enhances active learning benefitting the instructor as well as the learner.

Web-based courses (Mesher, 1999) are defined as those where the entire course is taken on the Internet. In some courses, there may be an initial meeting for orientation. Proctored exams may also be given, either from the source of the Web-based course or off site at a testing facility. The Internet-based course becomes a virtual classroom with a syllabus, course materials, chat space, discussion list, and e-mail services (Resmer, 1999). Navarro (2000) provides a further definition: a fully interactive, multimedia approach. 2002 figures suggest that over two million students are taking at least one Web course (Thornton, 1999). According to E-Learning (2001), more than 3,000 universities will offer substantial Web courses by 2004.

Education over the Internet is going to be so big it is going to make e-mail usage look like a rounding error. John Chambers, Cisco Systems, New York Times, November 17, 1990 Web-based courses (Mesher, 1999) are defined as those where the entire course is taken on the Internet. In some courses, there may be an initial meeting for orientation. Proctored exams may also be given, either from the source of the Web-based course or off-site at a testing facility. The Internet-based course becomes a virtual classroom with a syllabus, course materials, chat space, discussion list, and e-mail services (Resmer, 1999). Navarro (2000) provides a further definition: a fully interactive, multimedia approach. Current figures indicate that 12% of Internet users in the United States use the Internet to take an online course for credit toward a degree of some kind (Horrigan, 2006). That number is indicative of the rapid proliferation of online courses over the past several years. The Web-enhanced course is a blend with the components of the traditional class while making some course materials available on a Web site, such as course syllabi, assignments, data files, and test reviews. Additional elements of a Web-enhanced course can include online testing, a course listserver, instructor-student e-mail, collaborative activities using RSS feeds and related technologies, and other activities on the Internet. One of the biggest concerns about Web-based courses is that users will become socially isolated. The Pew Internet and America Life Project found that online communities provide a vibrant social community (Horrigan, Rainie, &amp; Fox, 2001). Clearly, students are not concerned or feel that other benefits outweigh the potential drawbacks. According to government research (Waits and Lewis, 2003), during the 2000-2001 academic year alone, an estimated 118,100 different credit courses were offered via distance education (with the bulk of that using Internet-based methods) by 2- and 4-year institutions in the United States. Over 3 million students were registered in these courses. Navarro (2000) suggests that faculty members are far more likely to start by incorporating Internet components into a traditional course rather than directly offering Web-based courses. These Web-enhanced courses might be considered the transition phase to the new paradigm of Internet-based courses. Rich learning environments are being created, with a shift from single tools to the use of multiple online tools, both to enhance traditional courses and to better facilitate online courses (Teles, 2002).

Current technology enables the remote access of equipment and instruments via the Internet. While more and more remote control solutions have been applied to industry via Local Area Networks (LANs), Wide Area Networks (WANs), and the Internet, there exist requirements for the applications of such technologies in the academic environment (Salzmann, Latchman, Gillet, and Crisalle, 2003). One typical application of remote control solutions is the development of a remote virtual laboratory. The development of a remote-laboratory facility will enable participation in laboratory experiences by distance students. The ability to offer remote students lab experiences is vital to effective learning in the areas of engineering and technology. This chapter introduces a LabVIEW-based remote wet process control laboratory developed for manufacturing automation courses. The system architecture, hardware integration, hardware and software interfacing, programming tools, lab development based on the system, and future enhancement are demonstrated and discussed in the chapter.

Ensuring academic honesty is challenging in regular classrooms, but it is even more complex in online courses since the use of technology is fundamental to teaching and learning. The way content is presented to students in education has altered due to the internet. Due to the flexibility and convenience of receiving course materials via the internet, an increasing number of students are choosing to enroll in online courses nowadays. The behaviour of students, faculty, and staff is governed by the moral code or ethical policy of academia, which is known as academic honesty. This chapter identifies the thefts in e-learning and the ways to ensure ethics and governance in the development of online courses.

In a continuous improvement research project aimed at identifying the students who are best suited for Web-delivered programming courses, the authors gathered data from five online and five classroom sections of Visual Basic programming at Metropolitan State College of Denver and compared them. All sections of the course used the same syllabus and assignments, and were taught from a centralized, standardized process by the same instructor. Internet students in the midrange of achievement level were affected more by delivery method than those at either the high end or the low end of their achievement level, as measured by GPA. The research culminates a three-year study on delivering higher level CIS curriculum via Web courses. The authors conclude that more study is needed, but are convinced that the mid-level B or C student is most affected by Web delivery, and design and delivery of programming courses via the Web need careful attention.

Since Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) is an important component of modern semiconductor manufacturing, a new framework is needed for microelectronics education. An integrated measurement-based microelectronics and VLSI engineering laboratory with simulation-based technology CAD laboratory is described. An Internet-based laboratory management system for monitoring and control of a real-time measurement system interfaced via a dedicated local computer is discussed. The management system allows the remote students to conduct remote experiments, perform monitoring and control of the experimental setup, and collect data from the experiment through the network link as if the student is physically in a conventional laboratory. The management system is also capable of evaluating of a student’s performance and grading laboratory courses that involve preliminary quiz and viva-voce examinations, checking of experimental data and submitted online laboratory reports. The proposed online TCAD teaching methodology will provide an opportunity for expanding microelectronics education.

Advancements in digital communication technology (DCT) have significant potential to impact on language teaching and learning by providing new pedagogical opportunities accessible via the internet. Resources that support the design of English language learning and formative assessment have been seen as a fundamental component of the English language learning environments in English language intensive courses for overseas students (ELICOS) and the like. While its importance is universally recognized, the facilitation of a move from the traditional approach to languages learning to a more contemporary approach in keeping with social constructivist theory remains a challenge for both teachers and learners. Part of this challenge involves the need for teachers to reconceptualize the way that they teach to move away from the teacher as instructor to that of facilitator whose pedagogical approach ensures students have opportunities to use English for meaningful purposes. Since this demands an understanding of students' different proficiency levels and the ability to monitor improvement to ensure learning experiences are at the optimum level to facilitate growth, effective formative assessment practices are a vital monitoring tool. Thus, this chapter examines how internet resources can move pedagogy towards a social constructivist approach to improving English language learning bearing in mind the need for a framework to support formative assessment in the monitoring of improvements in proficiency.

Post-secondary distance education via the Internet is now commonplace. Tremendous advances in information technology have allowed colleges and universities to offer Web-based courses as a way to meet the growing demand for educational experiences from those who, because of distance from campus or scheduling conflicts, would otherwise not be able to take courses. This chapter develops a model explaining the relationship between two dependent variables (the perceived student satisfaction and learning outcomes) and six independent variables based on two statistical tools: correlations and structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that student self-motivation toward Web-based courses has a strong impact on the level of interaction; the perceived student satisfaction has a direct link to the learning outcome in Web-based courses; and higher levels of student self-motivation toward Web-based courses can lead to greater learning outcomes.

The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), to better understand/enhance performance of engineered systems design, has deeply penetrated our profession. University academic content now selectively includes comprehensive graduate level courses in CFD. Typically, a large proportion of industry practitioners cannot access this formal content due to remoteness from campus. The newly established UT CFD Laboratory website renders this a non-issue via a fully functional Internet modality for CFD graduate course participation. It presents a totally time-and distance-insensitive fully participatory environment including comprehensive computer laboratory CFD experiments. Successfully completed content is applicable to a MSc degree, to a CFD Certificate or to CEUs when pursued as professional self-study. The scope, organization and illustrations of content of this Internet innovation is presented.

Abstract Fluid Power systems design is a skilful and complex task requiring significant practical experience and heuristic knowledge gained over many years. With few formal Fluid Power design courses being taught in further and higher education, both academia and industry are seeking new methods of delivering this specialist knowledge. The Internet opens up low-cost, low-risk training opportunities for companies, particularly Small-to-Medium Enterprises, which may not be able to afford to send their staff on residential courses, and also for employees seeking career development within the context of lifelong learning. This paper describes the early stages of a project to develop an open, domain-independent, Java-based framework for the delivery of multimedia training. This framework forms part of an overall Performance Support System for trainees and professionals involved in Fluid Power systems design. Also described is a formative evaluation of the framework.

Access to scientific knowledge is widely described by the process of skills acquisition by students regardless of their status. One of the main drivers for the development of learning is linked to access to scientific and educational literature in the digital age. It consists of improving the quality of education and increasing the efficiency of the educational process by using new educational technologies and advanced teaching methods. The first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) projects democratized access via learning platforms characterized by open access to often unlicensed contentThe development of digital technology has stimulated the development of online courses open to science, and to respond to the handicaps affecting some students. The training (MOOC) is open to everyone, via the Internet, offered by university establishments in order to offer everyone the opportunity to learn or update their knowledge.American universities (MIT, OpenCourseWare, etc.) have developed academic initiatives to make their courses visible on the web, as have organizations like COURSERA. MOOCs contribute to knowledge sharing by making their educational resources available in French with FUN-MOOC. However, there are still many unresolved issues related to the course design. In this article, we give an overview of existing platforms in France and the United States, presenting their characteristics and their relationships with digital documentation. Many universities have asked their students to take MOOC courses, but these devices have become veritable information portals. We will be interested in new digital production methods by evaluating via predominant macro-criteria such as: -access and ergonomics, the credibility and the certification of institutions and information research services,

Laboratory experiments are an important and integral part of the learning experience for undergraduate engineering students. They help the students in getting hands-on experience and in better understanding theoretical concepts. In recent years, a significant number of remotely accessible experiments have been developed and integrated into engineering laboratory courses at many educational institutions worldwide. There exist several approaches and technologies for making experimental hardware accessible via the Internet. This paper will discuss some of the available technologies and a specific method for acquiring data from experimental setups via LabVIEW Virtual Instruments over a network. As an example, a remote experimental apparatus that was developed by upgrading a commercially available air flow rig with remote control and monitoring capabilities is presented. This system is used in a junior-level mechanical engineering course on fluid mechanics. It enables the students to access the experimental setup via the Internet either in real-time or batch mode. For real-time use of the experimental setup, remote panels are used. These remote panels are exactly the same as those that would be used on a local on-site server. They can be run under LabVIEW’s Web server to be observed and controlled by the client via any Internet browser. For the batch-mode use of the experimental setup, on the other hand, simple HTML pages in conjunction with forms are used to generate experimental requests that are sent to the LabVIEW server. This server then places these experimental requests in a queue and executes the appropriate LabVIEW scripts on a first-come first-served basis. This paper will discuss and compare both methods for performing remote laboratory experiments.

Teaching in the digital era brings along a lot of interesting opportunities for both teachers and learners in various engineering subjects. Using information technology may facilitate learner centred instruction, as teachers are expected to meet the learning needs of all students through a personalized learning approach. Depending on the amount of content delivered online, courses could be Web Facilitated (or Web-Enhanced), Blended (or Hybrid), and Online. The main purpose of this case study was to experiment and evaluate the implementation of Web Enhanced courses for specific food engineering and textile engineering disciplines. Such Web Enhanced courses combine online and face-to-face activities, although online elements play a supplemental role to the face-to-face class. To decide on which e-teaching and learning resources (e-TLR), specific to food safety and textile design disciplines, would be more helpful for students to achieve their learning goals, an evaluation of the online environment was conducted. The remarkable increase in free resources and relevant tools (dedicated software) available online, via Webinars, blogs, open repositories, journals and social media allows appropriate choices. Also, in order to increase engagement, collaboration and understanding among students, the social media suitability as an interaction conveyer was assessed. Courses, delivered using Power Point Presentations, are accessible to students both during scheduled classes and virtually through the university platform (on https://core.uav.ro/) anytime via personal smart phone, computer, tablet, etc. Exploring ways technology and the internet could be used in food safety and textile design learning, the results pointed out to the importance of appropriate courses design and use of e-TLR. Accordingly, discussion concerning the findings and implications for future research are elaborated.

The Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) is the most recent development in open online distance learning. The fundamental characteristics of MOOCs are: Massive, the courses are designed to support a huge number of participants; Open, the courses are not required to pay a fee to participate; Online, the learners can access to courses via the Internet, and Courses, to say that these are courses with pedagogical objectives. Thus, the most challenging is designing an accurate method to evaluate and provide feedbacks, especially for open questions (especially Problem Situation), since the high number of learners. To tackle this problem, MOOCs use peer assessment techniques (known as peer grading) that suffer from a lack of credibility. In this paper, we present a new method for peer assessment in the Massive Open Online Courses, in order to improve the accuracy of grading results. Our proposition is divided into three (3) steps: clustering unit, assessment and treatment of the results. The clustering unit is the task of grouping learners with similar profiles. Clustering unit aims to group learners based on the parameters stored on learners’ modeling within the MOOCs. After the clustering unit, the learners are required to grade a small number of their peers’ tasks as part of their own task.. Afterwards, the scores are dispatched for treatments where a synthesis is given for assessment. To assess the feasibility of the proposed peer assessment, we report here the results of the tests conducted on the developed prototype.

The Education and Training Command and School of Applied Military Studies of Turin (COMFOR-SA) - Virtual Learning Centre (VLC) owing to a solid and round experience in e-learning, and because of being a support and distance learning developer and provider for university and military courses, has received the task of organizing an ambitious program and serving as special hub for all new contents and e-learning courses for IT-Army education and training programmes. The VLC continues the strong cooperation established with University of Turin (UniTO) in the specific field of e-learning in direct support to courses. In addition, a new broad concept has recently been developed that aims at having a dedicated Portal for Self-Paced Courses combined with a Portal of Knowledge in a unique environment. In a Lifelong Learning perspective the potential target audience is composed of all categories, such as Officers, NCOs and Volunteers. Users can find, via internet or Intranet and by using all kind of devices, the right course and contents whenever and wherever required or needed. The model is specifically designed to offer a full spectrum and integrated e-learning service where all providers (teachers, instructors and Subject Matter Experts) are involved (crowdsourcing) with a Knowledge Management and Teaching procedure. It is also enriched by a User's E-portfolio where all progress can be stored and articles and paperwork can be uploaded. In this new concept a strategic role is played by teachers and support personnel and for this reason the first MOODLE Military Online Course (Mil-OC) for teachers was organized nationwide. They were trained in how to use different tools and plug-ins. More courses will be organized in the next future in order to increase the number of teachers involved in the program and to improve their e-learning knowledge and skills. This new comprehensive idea of providing E-learning is the pillar of all future projects and helps to reach another goal: developing digital skills among military personnel. The COMFOR-SA has invested a lot of effort and, thanks to the cooperation with the UniTO, is now ready to take the lead in Military E-Education.

The emergence of Web 2.0. has marked a change in how the Internet users benefited from a number of tools that allowed them to browse for information, exchange data, collaborate and interact with others. Web 2.0. has been a turning point in human interaction via computers, fostering social networks and even more personal environments for educational purposes such as PLEs or VLEs. Now, a leap forward is represented by Web 3.0., which should provide computers with the possibility to extract meaningful information from the Internet so that the inordinate number of data obtained after one search will be filtered, contrasted, and collated to better suit users’ needs. The advancement will consist in the fact that the search for information will not be just a sheer display of websites, chosen based on the key words entered, but meaningful information tagged with descriptors like mailing addresses. The implication for users are numerous as the new websearch could function as a personal learning assistant and may help one reduce the amount of time spent looking for relevant data, be it educational or otherwise. Thus, the users interested in learning will be assisted by an agent, which will select the required information, and tailor it according to the individual learning needs. In this paper, the concept of Web 3.0 will be examined to find its possible educational uses and benefits. Moreover, the author will look into the impact of Web 3.0. on course design, on the one hand, and on the learners’ ability to identify and attend several courses provided by institutions, on the other hand.

The movement of a fluid represents a fundamental phenomenon with many practical applications in a variety of engineering disciplines. The losses incurred in pipes, ducts and fittings and the characteristics of the corresponding fluid flow patterns are core subjects of undergraduate engineering courses in fluid mechanics. These courses are typically accompanied by laboratory components that aim to help the students in visualizing and understanding the complex theoretical concepts. Conducting hands-on experiments in undergraduate laboratory courses with large student enrollment imposes significant strains on the fiscal, spatial and personnel resources of the educational institutions. Therefore, virtual and remote laboratories are rapidly being adopted in engineering education across the globe as a compelling tool for enhancing the laboratory experience of students residing on campus as well as beyond the local campus. This paper will discuss some recent developments that were accomplished as part of a multi-disciplinary research project on online laboratories at Stevens Institute of Technology with funding from the National Science Foundation. Here, a remote laboratory setup is presented, which was developed by retrofitting a commercially available air flow rig with remote control and remote monitoring capabilities. The resulting system enables the students to access the experimental apparatus via the Internet in real time from anywhere at anytime and to conduct several laboratory exercises, including the calibration of a flow meter based on an orifice plate that is inserted into the air stream, the exploration of the flow development in a straight pipe and the determination of the free-flow velocity profile after the outlet. This remote experiment setup and/or a previously developed interactive virtual flow rig simulation module can be used in the laboratory part of the fluid mechanics course to complement hands-on experiments where the students are present in the actual laboratory facility.

Forest vegetation provides an integrated measure of terrestrial ecosystem health by expressing information about the collective suite of drivers and stressors which act upon it. These include climate, disturbance, browse, and invasive species. We developed a comprehensive forest monitoring protocol to detect change in the nine Great Lakes Network parks. Monitoring is conducted on a nine-year rotation, with each of the parks sampled over the course of one summer, once every nine years. Site locations were selected to ensure that they are random, but also spatially balanced throughout the parks. At each sampling site, we collect extensive data on trees (including saplings and seedlings), shrubs, herbs, coarse woody material, and browse. We also carry out assessments of tree health. Data are housed in a Microsoft Access database, and appropriate metadata are generated annually. Quality control measures include both on site assessments of accuracy, as well as extensive data checking via automated parsing routines. Finally, reports from monitoring are produced on a regular basis and include internal National Park Service technical reports and externally reviewed manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals. All data are publicly available.

Gene targeting (GT) is a much needed technology as a tool for plant research and for the precise engineering of crop species. Recent advances in this field have shown that the presence of a DNA double-strand break (DSB) in a genomic locus is critical for the integration of an exogenous DNA molecule introduced into this locus. This integration can occur via either non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) into the break or homologous recombination (HR) between the broken genomic DNA and the introduced vector. A bottleneck for DNA integration via HR is the machinery responsible for homology search and strand invasion. Important proteins in this pathway are Rad51, Rad52 and Rad54. We proposed to combine our respective expertise: on the US side, in the design of zincfinger nucleases (ZFNs) for the induction of DNA DSBs at any desired genomic locus and in the integration of DNA molecules via NHEJ; and on the Israeli side in the HR events, downstream of the DSB, that lead to homology search and strand invasion. We sought to test three major pathways of targeted DNA integration: (i) integration by NHEJ into DSBs induced at desired sites by specially designed ZFNs; (ii) integration into DSBs induced at desired sites combined with the use of Rad51, Rad52 and Rad54 proteins to maximize the chances for efficient and precise HR-mediated vector insertion; (iii) stimulation of HR by Rad51, Rad52 and Rad54 in the absence of DSB induction. We also proposed to study the formation of dsT-DNA molecules during the transformation of plant cells. dsT-DNA molecules are an important substrate for HR and NHEJ-mediatedGT, yet the mode of their formation from single stranded T-DNA molecules is still obscure. In addition we sought to develop a system for assembly of multi-transgene binary vectors by using ZFNs. The latter may facilitate the production of binary vectors that may be ready for genome editing in transgenic plants. ZFNs were proposed for the induction of DSBs in genomic targets, namely, the FtsH2 gene whose loss of function can easily be identified in somatic tissues as white sectors, and the Cruciferin locus whose targeting by a GFP or RFP reporter vectors can give rise to fluorescent seeds. ZFNs were also proposed for the induction of DSBs in artificial targets and for assembly of multi-gene vectors. We finally sought to address two important cell types in terms of relevance to plant transformation, namely GT of germinal (egg) cells by floral dipping, and GT in somatic cells by root and leave transformation. To be successful, we made use of novel optimized expression cassettes that enable coexpression of all of the genes of interest (ZFNs and Rad genes) in the right tissues (egg or root cells) at the right time, namely when the GT vector is delivered into the cells. Methods were proposed for investigating the complementation of T-strands to dsDNA molecules in living plant cells. During the course of this research, we (i) designed, assembled and tested, in vitro, a pair of new ZFNs capable of targeting the Cruciferin gene, (ii) produced transgenic plants which expresses for ZFN monomers for targeting of the FtsH2 gene. Expression of these enzymes is controlled by constitutive or heat shock induced promoters, (iii) produced a large population of transgenic Arabidopsis lines in which mutated mGUS gene was incorporated into different genomic locations, (iv) designed a system for egg-cell-specific expression of ZFNs and RAD genes and initiate GT experiments, (v) demonstrated that we can achieve NHEJ-mediated gene replacement in plant cells (vi) developed a system for ZFN and homing endonuclease-mediated assembly of multigene plant transformation vectors and (vii) explored the mechanism of dsTDNA formation in plant cells. This work has substantially advanced our understanding of the mechanisms of DNA integration into plants and furthered the development of important new tools for GT in plants.

The US Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion in the United States. This report provides a topline summary of the emerging body of research measuring the likely impact of the Dobbs decision on outcomes in four areas: abortion services and access, abortion incidence, incidence of births and contraceptive use. To locate peer-reviewed studies, we searched three academic databases (Google Scholar, PubMed and JSTOR) using the terms “abortion” AND (“Dobbs” OR “Roe”) and limited our summary to study findings published by April 30, 2024. Fewer than 10 peer-reviewed journal articles examining the impact of this legal decision had been published by that date (in part because the peer-review process can take months or years). Some studies were published in other formats, and we relied on internet searches, media coverage and institutional knowledge to locate the studies that had not been published in peer-reviewed journals. We also examined the references cited in research studies located by these searches. This report does not include every research publication we found (see Appendix below for a list of additional studies) and is limited to those most relevant to the four topic areas mentioned above. Our summary includes: 9 articles published in peer-reviewed journals 1 manuscript undergoing peer review and available via preprint 13 online reports, discussion papers and policy analyses Since April 30, 2024, additional studies have been published and many more are on the horizon. The studies summarized here reflect only the beginning of what will be a substantial body of research that provides valuable insights into how specific states’ policies affect their residents’ reproductive health and autonomy under changed conditions after the Dobbs decision.

Catalyzed by the passing of the York University Open Access Policy last year, a recognition has been growing at York University, like most other institutions, about the value of Open Educational Resources (OER) and more broadly, open education. This heightened awareness led to the formation of a campus-wide Open Education Working Group in January 2020. The group advocated that faculty members who receive internal funding for teaching innovation projects through York’s Academic Innovation Fund (AIF) should include a Creative Commons license on their grant outputs to facilitate the re-use, and potentially re-mixing, of the content by educators inside and outside of York University. A copy and/or link to their grant output would also be deposited into York’s institutional repository, YorkSpace. To support the 71 funded projects in achieving these lofty goals, an open education and open licensing curriculum was developed by two of the librarian members of the Open Education Working Group. This session describes how the librarians created the training program and participants will leave the session better understanding: How to develop learning modules for adult learners and apply these best practices when teaching faculty online (synchronously &amp; asynchronously); How to access York’s open education training program and learn how they can remix the content for their own institution’s training purposes; The common types of questions and misconceptions that arise when teaching an open education and Creative Commons licensing program for faculty. Originally the program was conceived as an in-person workshop series; however, with the COVID-19 campus closure, it was redesigned into a four module synchronous and asynchronous educational program delivered via Moodle, H5P and Zoom. Modeled after the SUNY OER Community Course and materials from Abbey Elder’s OER Starter Kit, the program gave grant recipients a grounding in open educational resources, searching open course material repositories, copyright/Creative Commons licensing, and content deposit in York’s institutional repository, including OER metadata creation and accessibility considerations. The librarians modeled best practices in the use and creation of Creative Commons licensed resources throughout the program. Qualitative feedback was gathered at the end of each module in both the synchronous and asynchronous offerings of the program and will be shared with participants. The presenters will also discuss lessons learned, next steps, and some of the challenges they encountered. https://youtu.be/n6dT8UNLtJo

At TABLE, we select annual themes to guide our work. These are usually concepts that act as fault lines in discussions of food system transformation, and concern what a ‘good’ food future might look like. Through a series of reports, essays, podcasts, events and explainers we consider the concept from many different angles. We hope that the totality of this work helps reveal the range of values, assumptions and evidence that shape stakeholders’ views and illuminates how and why they may disagree. TABLE’s report at the close of our SCALE theme noted that power was at the root of many concerns about localised or globalised food system approaches. Power is of course a too-big topic, encompassing not only its operation, mechanisms, handlers and impacts, but also what it is and how it is to be identified and redistributed. We approach the concept from multiple angles and via diverse modes of analysis to give a sense of its multifaceted nature. In a collection of 17 podcasts, TABLE asked contributors from a range of disciplines, professional backgrounds and ideological positions to tell us how they understand power and see its operations in their work. Our essays and blogs expanded on these and offer case studies and personal reflections. Our events gave contributors a chance to interact: An open discussion on power asked how participants see power fitting into conversation, while in Whose knowledge counts speakers asked how power might determine what we take as evidence. Lastly, we considered TABLE’s own experience of power in Process and Power at TABLE. Power can be a slippery concept to evaluate and discuss. To give it some materiality, we took protein as a case study, exploring how power has maintained this ‘charismatic nutrient’ at the centre of ideas about nutrition, development and farming. TABLE’s reports add a historical lens to consider how power has structured cultural understandings of protein when it comes to funding, research and international development strategies and activities in Primed for Power: a short cultural history of protein. The Investment, Power and Protein in Sub Saharan Africa report examined financial investment in protein production in sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting on how those cultural narratives are still informing resource distribution.

The general objective of this study was to develop rationally designed mimetic antagonists (and agonists) of the PK/PBAN Np class with enhanced bio-stability and bioavailability as prototypes for effective and environmentally friendly pest insect management agents. The PK/PBAN family is a multifunctional group of Nps that mediates key functions in insects (sex pheromone biosynthesis, cuticular melanization, myotropic activity, diapause and pupal development) and is, therefore, of high scientific and applied interest. The objectives of the current study were: (i) to identify an antagonist biophores (ii) to develop an arsenal of amphiphilic topically active PK/PBAN antagonists with an array of different time-release profiles based on the previously developed prototype analog; (iii) to develop rationally designed non-peptide SMLs based on the antagonist biophore determined in (i) and evaluate them in cloned receptor microplate binding assays and by pheromonotropic, melanotropic and pupariation in vivo assays. (iv) to clone PK/PBAN receptors (PK/PBAN-Rs) for further understanding of receptor-ligand interactions; (v) to develop microplate binding assays for screening the above SMLs. In the course of the granting period A series of amphiphilic PK/PBAN analogs based on a linear lead antagonist from the previous BARD grant was synthesized that incorporated a diverse array of hydrophobic groups (HR-Suc-A[dF]PRLa). Others were synthesized via the attachment of polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymers. A hydrophobic, biostablePK/PBAN/DH analog DH-2Abf-K prevented the onset of the protective state of diapause in H. zea pupae [EC50=7 pmol/larva] following injection into the preceding larval stage. It effectively induces the crop pest to commit a form of ‘ecological suicide’. Evaluation of a set of amphiphilic PK analogs with a diverse array of hydrophobic groups of the formula HR-Suc-FTPRLa led to the identification of analog T-63 (HR=Decyl) that increased the extent of diapause termination by a factor of 70% when applied topically to newly emerged pupae. Another biostablePK analog PK-Oic-1 featured anti-feedant and aphicidal properties that matched the potency of some commercial aphicides. Native PK showed no significant activity. The aphicidal effects were blocked by a new PEGylated PK antagonist analog PK-dF-PEG4, suggesting that the activity is mediated by a PK/PBAN receptor and therefore indicative of a novel and selective mode-of-action. Using a novel transPro mimetic motif (dihydroimidazole; ‘Jones’) developed in previous BARD-sponsored work, the first antagonist for the diapause hormone (DH), DH-Jo, was developed and shown to block over 50% of H. zea pupal diapause termination activity of native DH. This novel antagonist development strategy may be applicable to other invertebrate and vertebrate hormones that feature a transPro in the active core. The research identifies a critical component of the antagonist biophore for this PK/PBAN receptor subtype, i.e. a trans-oriented Pro. Additional work led to the molecular cloning and functional characterization of the DH receptor from H. zea, allowing for the discovery of three other DH antagonist analogs: Drosophila ETH, a β-AA analog, and a dF analog. The receptor experiments identified an agonist (DH-2Abf-dA) with a maximal response greater than native DH. ‘Deconvolution’ of a rationally-designed nonpeptide heterocyclic combinatorial library with a cyclic bis-guanidino (BG) scaffold led to discovery of several members that elicited activity in a pupariation acceleration assay, and one that also showed activity in an H. zea diapause termination assay, eliciting a maximal response of 90%. Molecular cloning and functional characterization of a CAP2b antidiuretic receptor from the kissing bug (R. prolixus) as well as the first CAP2b and PK receptors from a tick was also achieved. Notably, the PK/PBAN-like receptor from the cattle fever tick is unique among known PK/PBAN and CAP2b receptors in that it can interact with both ligand types, providing further evidence for an evolutionary relationship between these two NP families. In the course of the granting period we also managed to clone the PK/PBAN-R of H. peltigera, to express it and the S. littoralis-R Sf-9 cells and to evaluate their interaction with a variety of PK/PBAN ligands. In addition, three functional microplate assays in a HTS format have been developed: a cell-membrane competitive ligand binding assay; a Ca flux assay and a whole cell cAMP ELISA. The Ca flux assay has been used for receptor characterization due to its extremely high sensitivity. Computer homology studies were carried out to predict both receptor’s SAR and based on this analysis 8 mutants have been generated. The bioavailability of small linear antagonistic peptides has been evaluated and was found to be highly effective as sex pheromone biosynthesis inhibitors. The activity of 11 new amphiphilic analogs has also been evaluated. Unfortunately, due to a problem with the Heliothis moth colony we were unable to select those with pheromonotropic antagonistic activity and further check their bioavailability. Six peptides exhibited some melanotropic antagonistic activity but due to the low inhibitory effect the peptides were not further tested for bioavailability in S. littoralis larvae. Despite the fact that no new antagonistic peptides were discovered in the course of this granting period the results contribute to a better understanding of the interaction of the PK/PBAN family of Nps with their receptors, provided several HT assays for screening of libraries of various origin for presence of PK/PBAN-Ragonists and antagonists and provided important practical information for the further design of new, peptide-based insecticide prototypes aimed at the disruption of key neuroendocrine physiological functions in pest insects.

Banco de la República is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023. This is a very significant anniversary and one that provides an opportunity to highlight the contribution the Bank has made to the country’s development. Its track record as guarantor of monetary stability has established it as the one independent state institution that generates the greatest confidence among Colombians due to its transparency, management capabilities, and effective compliance with the central banking and cultural responsibilities entrusted to it by the Constitution and the Law. On a date as important as this, the Board of Directors of Banco de la República (BDBR) pays tribute to the generations of governors and officers whose commitment and dedication have contributed to the growth of this institution.1 Banco de la República’s mandate was confirmed in the National Constitutional Assembly of 1991 where the citizens had the opportunity to elect the seventy people who would have the task of drafting a new constitution. The leaders of the three political movements with the most votes were elected as chairs to the Assembly, and this tripartite presidency reflected the plurality and the need for consensus among the different political groups to move the reform forward. Among the issues considered, the National Constitutional Assembly gave special importance to monetary stability. That is why they decided to include central banking and to provide Banco de la República with the necessary autonomy to use the instruments for which they are responsible without interference from other authorities. The constituent members understood that ensuring price stability is a state duty and that the entity responsible for this task must be enshrined in the Constitution and have the technical capability and institutional autonomy necessary to adopt the decisions they deem appropriate to achieve this fundamental objective in coordination with the general economic policy. In particular, Article 373 established that “the State, through Banco de la República, shall ensure the maintenance of the purchasing power of the currency,” a provision that coincided with the central banking system adopted by countries that have been successful in controlling inflation. In 1999, in Ruling 481, the Constitutional Court stated that “the duty to maintain the purchasing power of the currency applies to not only the monetary, credit, and exchange authority, i.e., the Board of Banco de la República, but also those who have responsibilities in the formulation and implementation of the general economic policy of the country” and that “the basic constitutional purpose of Banco de la República is the protection of a sound currency. However, this authority must take the other economic objectives of state intervention such as full employment into consideration in their decisions since these functions must be coordinated with the general economic policy.” The reforms to Banco de la República agreed upon in the Constitutional Assembly of 1991 and in Act 31/1992 can be summarized in the following aspects: i) the Bank was assigned a specific mandate: to maintain the purchasing power of the currency in coordination with the general economic policy; ii) the BDBR was designatedas the monetary, foreign exchange, and credit authority; iii) the Bank and its Board of Directors were granted a significant degree of independence from the government; iv) the Bank was prohibited from granting credit to the private sector except in the case of the financial sector; v) established that in order to grant credit to the government, the unanimous vote of its Board of Directors was required except in the case of open market transactions; vi) determined that the legislature may, in no case, order credit quotas in favor of the State or individuals; vii) Congress was appointed, on behalf of society, as the main addressee of the Bank’s reporting exercise; and viii) the responsibility for inspection, surveillance, and control over Banco de la República was delegated to the President of the Republic. The members of the National Constitutional Assembly clearly understood that the benefits of low and stable inflation extend to the whole of society and contribute mto the smooth functioning of the economic system. Among the most important of these is that low inflation promotes the efficient use of productive resources by allowing relative prices to better guide the allocation of resources since this promotes economic growth and increases the welfare of the population. Likewise, low inflation reduces uncertainty about the expected return on investment and future asset prices. This increases the confidence of economic agents, facilitates long-term financing, and stimulates investment. Since the low-income population is unable to protect itself from inflation by diversifying its assets, and a high proportion of its income is concentrated in the purchase of food and other basic goods that are generally the most affected by inflationary shocks, low inflation avoids arbitrary redistribution of income and wealth.2 Moreover, low inflation facilitates wage negotiations, creates a good labor climate, and reduces the volatility of employment levels. Finally, low inflation helps to make the tax system more transparent and equitable by avoiding the distortions that inflation introduces into the value of assets and income that make up the tax base. From the monetary authority’s point of view, one of the most relevant benefits of low inflation is the credibility that economic agents acquire in inflation targeting, which turns it into an effective nominal anchor on price levels. Upon receiving its mandate, and using its autonomy, Banco de la República began to announce specific annual inflation targets as of 1992. Although the proposed inflation targets were not met precisely during this first stage, a downward trend in inflation was achieved that took it from 32.4% in 1990 to 16.7% in 1998. At that time, the exchange rate was kept within a band. This limited the effectiveness of monetary policy, which simultaneously sought to meet an inflation target and an exchange rate target. The Asian crisis spread to emerging economies and significantly affected the Colombian economy. The exchange rate came under strong pressure to depreciate as access to foreign financing was cut off under conditions of a high foreign imbalance. This, together with the lack of exchange rate flexibility, prevented a countercyclical monetary policy and led to a 4.2% contraction in GDP that year. In this context of economic slowdown, annual inflation fell to 9.2% at the end of 1999, thus falling below the 15% target set for that year. This episode fully revealed how costly it could be, in terms of economic activity, to have inflation and exchange rate targets simultaneously. Towards the end of 1999, Banco de la República announced the adoption of a new monetary policy regime called the Inflation Targeting Plan. This regime, known internationally as ‘Inflation Targeting,’ has been gaining increasing acceptance in developed countries, having been adopted in 1991 by New Zealand, Canada, and England, among others, and has achieved significant advances in the management of inflation without incurring costs in terms of economic activity. In Latin America, Brazil and Chile also adopted it in 1999. In the case of Colombia, the last remaining requirement to be fulfilled in order to adopt said policy was exchange rate flexibility. This was realized around September 1999, when the BDBR decided to abandon the exchange-rate bands to allow the exchange rate to be freely determined in the market.Consistent with the constitutional mandate, the fundamental objective of this new policy approach was “the achievement of an inflation target that contributes to maintaining output growth around its potential.”3 This potential capacity was understood as the GDP growth that the economy can obtain if it fully utilizes its productive resources. To meet this objective, monetary policy must of necessity play a countercyclical role in the economy. This is because when economic activity is below its potential and there are idle resources, the monetary authority can reduce the interest rate in the absence of inflationary pressure to stimulate the economy and, when output exceeds its potential capacity, raise it. This policy principle, which is immersed in the models for guiding the monetary policy stance, makes the following two objectives fully compatible in the medium term: meeting the inflation target and achieving a level of economic activity that is consistent with its productive capacity. To achieve this purpose, the inflation targeting system uses the money market interest rate (at which the central bank supplies primary liquidity to commercial banks) as the primary policy instrument. This replaced the quantity of money as an intermediate monetary policy target that Banco de la República, like several other central banks, had used for a long time. In the case of Colombia, the objective of the new monetary policy approach implied, in practical terms, that the recovery of the economy after the 1999 contraction should be achieved while complying with the decreasing inflation targets established by the BDBR. The accomplishment of this purpose was remarkable. In the first half of the first decade of the 2000s, economic activity recovered significantly and reached a growth rate of 6.8% in 2006. Meanwhile, inflation gradually declined in line with inflation targets. That was how the inflation rate went from 9.2% in 1999 to 4.5% in 2006, thus meeting the inflation target established for that year while GDP reached its potential level. After this balance was achieved in 2006, inflation rebounded to 5.7% in 2007, above the 4.0% target for that year due to the fact that the 7.5% GDP growth exceeded the potential capacity of the economy.4 After proving the effectiveness of the inflation targeting system in its first years of operation, this policy regime continued to consolidate as the BDBR and the technical staff gained experience in its management and state-of-the-art economic models were incorporated to diagnose the present and future state of the economy and to assess the persistence of inflation deviations and expectations with respect to the inflation target. Beginning in 2010, the BDBR established the long-term 3.0% annual inflation target, which remains in effect today. Lower inflation has contributed to making the macroeconomic environment more stable, and this has favored sustained economic growth, financial stability, capital market development, and the functioning of payment systems. As a result, reductions in the inflationary risk premia and lower TES and credit interest rates were achieved. At the same time, the duration of public domestic debt increased significantly going from 2.27 years in December 2002 to 5.86 years in December 2022, and financial deepening, measured as the level of the portfolio as a percentage of GDP, went from around 20% in the mid-1990s to values above 45% in recent years in a healthy context for credit institutions.Having been granted autonomy by the Constitution to fulfill the mandate of preserving the purchasing power of the currency, the tangible achievements made by Banco de la República in managing inflation together with the significant benefits derived from the process of bringing inflation to its long-term target, make the BDBR’s current challenge to return inflation to the 3.0% target even more demanding and pressing. As is well known, starting in 2021, and especially in 2022, inflation in Colombia once again became a serious economic problem with high welfare costs. The inflationary phenomenon has not been exclusive to Colombia and many other developed and emerging countries have seen their inflation rates move away from the targets proposed by their central banks.5 The reasons for this phenomenon have been analyzed in recent Reports to Congress, and this new edition delves deeper into the subject with updated information. The solid institutional and technical base that supports the inflation targeting approach under which the monetary policy strategy operates gives the BDBR the necessary elements to face this difficult challenge with confidence. In this regard, the BDBR reiterated its commitment to the 3.0% inflation target in its November 25 communiqué and expects it to be reached by the end of 2024.6 Monetary policy will continue to focus on meeting this objective while ensuring the sustainability of economic activity, as mandated by the Constitution. Analyst surveys done in March showed a significant increase (from 32.3% in January to 48.5% in March) in the percentage of responses placing inflation expectations two years or more ahead in a range between 3.0% and 4.0%. This is a clear indication of the recovery of credibility in the medium-term inflation target and is consistent with the BDBR’s announcement made in November 2022. The moderation of the upward trend in inflation seen in January, and especially in February, will help to reinforce this revision of inflation expectations and will help to meet the proposed targets. After reaching 5.6% at the end of 2021, inflation maintained an upward trend throughout 2022 due to inflationary pressures from both external sources, associated with the aftermath of the pandemic and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, and domestic sources, resulting from: strengthening of local demand; price indexation processes stimulated by the increase in inflation expectations; the impact on food production caused by the mid-2021 strike; and the pass-through of depreciation to prices. The 10% increase in the minimum wage in 2021 and the 16% increase in 2022, both of which exceeded the actual inflation and the increase in productivity, accentuated the indexation processes by establishing a high nominal adjustment benchmark. Thus, total inflation went to 13.1% by the end of 2022. The annual change in food prices, which went from 17.2% to 27.8% between those two years, was the most influential factor in the surge in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Another segment that contributed significantly to price increases was regulated products, which saw the annual change go from 7.1% in December 2021 to 11.8% by the end of 2022. The measure of core inflation excluding food and regulated items, in turn, went from 2.5% to 9.5% between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022. The substantial increase in core inflation shows that inflationary pressure has spread to most of the items in the household basket, which is characteristic of inflationary processes with generalized price indexation as is the case in Colombia. Monetary policy began to react early to this inflationary pressure. Thus, starting with its September 2021 session, the BDBR began a progressive change in the monetary policy stance moving away from the historical low of a 1.75% policy rate that had intended to stimulate the recovery of the economy. This adjustment process continued without interruption throughout 2022 and into the beginning of 2023 when the monetary policy rate reached 12.75% last January, thus accumulating an increase of 11 percentage points (pp). The public and the markets have been surprised that inflation continued to rise despite significant interest rate increases. However, as the BDBR has explained in its various communiqués, monetary policy works with a lag. Just as in 2022 economic activity recovered to a level above the pre-pandemic level, driven, along with other factors, by the monetary stimulus granted during the pandemic period and subsequent months, so too the effects of the current restrictive monetary policy will gradually take effect. This will allow us to expect the inflation rate to converge to 3.0% by the end of 2024 as is the BDBR’s purpose.Inflation results for January and February of this year showed declining marginal increases (13 bp and 3 bp respectively) compared to the change seen in December (59 bp). This suggests that a turning point in the inflation trend is approaching. In other Latin American countries such as Chile, Brazil, Perú, and Mexico, inflation has peaked and has begun to decline slowly, albeit with some ups and downs. It is to be expected that a similar process will take place in Colombia in the coming months. The expected decline in inflation in 2023 will be due, along with other factors, to lower cost pressure from abroad as a result of the gradual normalization of supply chains, the overcoming of supply shocks caused by the weather, and road blockades in previous years. This will be reflected in lower adjustments in food prices, as has already been seen in the first two months of the year and, of course, the lagged effect of monetary policy. The process of inflation convergence to the target will be gradual and will extend beyond 2023. This process will be facilitated if devaluation pressure is reversed. To this end, it is essential to continue consolidating fiscal sustainability and avoid messages on different public policy fronts that generate uncertainty and distrust. 1 This Report to Congress includes Box 1, which summarizes the trajectory of Banco de la República over the past 100 years. In addition, under the Bank’s auspices, several books that delve into various aspects of the history of this institution have been published in recent years. See, for example: Historia del Banco de la República 1923-2015; Tres banqueros centrales; Junta Directiva del Banco de la República: grandes episodios en 30 años de historia; Banco de la República: 90 años de la banca central en Colombia. 2 This is why lower inflation has been reflected in a reduction of income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient that went from 58.7 in 1998 to 51.3 in the year prior to the pandemic. 3 See Gómez Javier, Uribe José Darío, Vargas Hernando (2002). “The Implementation of Inflation Targeting in Colombia”. Borradores de Economía, No. 202, March, available at: https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/5220 4 See López-Enciso Enrique A.; Vargas-Herrera Hernando and Rodríguez-Niño Norberto (2016). “The inflation targeting strategy in Colombia. An historical view.” Borradores de Economía, No. 952. https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/6263 5 According to the IMF, the percentage change in consumer prices between 2021 and 2022 went from 3.1% to 7.3% for advanced economies, and from 5.9% to 9.9% for emerging market and developing economies. 6 https://www.banrep.gov.co/es/noticias/junta-directiva-banco-republica-reitera-meta-inflacion-3

The National Forum’s 2020 Network and Discipline Fund was launched in November 2020 and focuses on Shared Solutions to Common Challenges. Its overarching aim is to support networks and discipline groups to work together to respond proactively to identified challenges in teaching and learning in higher education, including those that have come to light through the sudden move to online/remote teaching and learning. The National Forum’s 2020 Network and Discipline Fund, drawing on the Higher Education Colleges’ Association (HECA) members’ experience, provided the HECA Academic Quality Enhancement Forum(HAQEF) with opportunities to strengthen its networks and discipline group, support their efforts to enhance teaching and learning, and produce useful insights and resources into the application of quality assurance of blended and online learning. In the pandemic period, many colleges were forced to change from a face-to-face delivery model of education and training to an online format of delivery. This disruption meant that assumptions about and plans for how the courses were to be delivered and managed had to be rapidly reviewed. With government pronouncements advising all staff to work from home where possible, the majority of internal roles and processes of colleges were also affected. The quality assurance (QA) policies, processes and procedures that were developed by colleges had to be modified to reflect this change in circumstances. This document reports on the results of a mixed methods study of QA developments that came about as a result of the initial changes enforced by the pandemic and the move to working from home. It also looked at what was learned about the management of quality in this sector during this time. Data was collected by HAQEF via a survey of QA personnel from the member colleges of HECA and follow up interviews. The survey consisted of 11 questions, one for each Core Area of Quality, as set out in the QQI Core QA Guidelines (2016). The questions asked for reflections on each provider’s experience of managing this aspect of QA, what resources or instances of good practice they could share with practitioners and which stakeholders were involved in this adaptation. The interviews asked about the measures that were undertaken to adapt QA processes in the pandemic period and what challenges could be reported from this adaptation. The report is divided into 11 chapters, with each chapter centred on a discussion of one Core Area of Quality as set out in the QQI Core QA Guidelines. An overview of the core area is developed, followed by a commentary on common experiences of the group in this area. Most sections conclude with resources, volunteered by member colleges of HECA, that was rated as useful in how the cohort navigated the management of QA in this core area.

In the first quarter of 2024, the figures of the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE in Spanish) showed that the economy achieved annual growth of 0.9%. Although this result was moderate, it confirmed the economy's recovery path. Monetary policy has played a critical role in containing inflationary pressures. This has allowed inflation to trend downwards, continuing into the first half of 2024. Net foreign reserves totaled USD 60,901 million as of 30 June 2024, a slight increase over the course of the year. For 2024, the profit of Banco de la República (the Central Bank of Colombia) is projected at COP 8,795 billion. International macroeconomic environment The global economy would continue to grow in 2024 at a rate slightly higher than 3.0%, according to forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (3.2%) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (3.1%). This dynamic is lower than the pre-pandemic historical average due to the long-term consequences of COVID-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and growing geoeconomic fragmentation, among other reasons. Various advanced and emerging economies, particularly the United States and some Asian countries, have seen favorable growth due to strong aggregate demands, dynamic private consumption, and high public spending. Meanwhile, inflation has been on a downward trend, but with values exceeding the goals of its central banks. In several developing countries, inflationary pressures have been significant due to the transfer of high international food, energy, and fertilizer costs and higher-than-expected currency declines. These factors have affected growth in these economies amid tight monetary policies. Economic activity in Colombia In the first quarter of 2024, DANE figures showed that the economy achieved annual growth of 0.9%. Although the result was moderate, it confirmed the economy's recovery path after the annual contraction in the third quarter of 2023 (-0.7%), followed by 0.4% annual growth in the last quarter of the previous year. On the expenditure side, the annual growth seen in the first quarter of 2024 was driven by net external demand, given an annual drop in imports (-13.3%) and an annual increase in exports (2.4%). On the supply side, the agriculture sector, public administration, health and education services, and arts and entertainment activities grew the most annually. The tight monetary policy and higher tax rates that characterized the 2023 adjustment continued to impact the economy's aggregate spending, which was also affected by low levels of business and consumer confidence. During the second quarter, the economy would have continued to increase its growth rate, driven by the good performance of the agriculture sector and the dynamics of some services related to public administration, health, education, and entertainment. Banco de la República’s (Banrep) technical staff expects that in the second half of the year, the economy will continue to gradually improve its dynamics to achieve growth of around 1.8% throughout 2024 and approach its potential growth in 2025. Employment Early 2024 saw unemployment rate increases driven by deteriorating employment, after which this indicator has remained relatively stable. Thus, between December 2023 and May 2024, the unemployment rate for the domestic aggregate rose 0.2 percentage points (pp) to reach 10.5% in May. The number of employed people remained relatively stable for the domestic aggregate, with levels close to 22.9 million (m) jobs. The reduction in salaried employment, coupled with recent growth in the non-salaried segment, explains the increased informality rate. This rate stood at 56.2% in May 2024, one percentage point higher than in December 2023. Inflation and Monetary Policy Headline inflation in June was 7.2%, lower than that seen in December (9.3%) and well below the high level reached in March 2023 (13.3%). The downward trend in inflation has primarily resulted from tight monetary policy carried out by the Board of Directors of Banco de la República (BDBR) through progressive increases in the benchmark interest rate initiated as of September 2021. The BDBR’s decision to undertake a monetary policy easing cycle as of last December was based on the downward trend that annual inflation had been exhibiting since April 2023 and evidence that tight monetary policy was meeting its goal of reducing excess spending in the economy. A cumulative 2.5 percentage point policy interest rate cut was completed by July 2024, bringing it to 10.75%. Balance of payments As a share of quarterly gross domestic product (GDP), the current account deficit of the balance of payments decreased from 3.7% of GDP in the first quarter of 2023 to 1.9% in the first quarter of this year. The decrease in the current account deficit balance was explained by the favorable variation in factor income, the services trade balance, and net income from current transfers. By 2024, the technical staff projects a current account deficit close to 2.8% of GDP, moderately higher than the 2.5% deficit observed in 2023 and significantly lower than the 6.1% deficit of GDP recorded in 2022. The smaller current account deficit makes the Colombian economy less vulnerable to negative external shocks. Public finance The 2024 Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF-24), presented by the Ministry of Finance in mid-June, shows that the General Government produced a 2.7% deficit of GDP in 2023, which means a reduction of 3.6 pp vis-a-vis 2022. This adjustment is explained by the improvement in the balances of the social security sub-sector, of the rest of the central level to which the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund (FEPC in Spanish) belongs, and of the Central National Government (CNG). The surplus of the FEPC, which closed at 0.4% of GDP in 2023, stands out in contrast to the 1.3% deficit registered a year earlier. The adjustment of the CNG’s public finances in 2023 was supported by the boost in tax collection derived from the reforms approved in 2021 and 2022, as well as by the good dynamics of economic and oil activity in those years. According to the MTFF-24, in 2023, the CNG's fiscal deficit and net debt reached 4.3% and 53.8% of GDP, respectively. MTFF-24’s fiscal deficit forecasts are consistent with compliance with the fiscal rule. However, as stated by the Independent Fiscal Rule Committee (CARF in Spanish), there are risks around collection and spending expectations. Foreign reserves Net foreign reserves totaled USD 60,901 m as of 30 June 2024, an increase of USD 1,293 m over the course of the year. This increase is primarily due to the program to accumulate international reserves announced by the BDBR in December 2023. The return on the foreign reserves for the year, excluding the foreign exchange component, amounts to 1.43% (USD 864 m). This result is mainly explained by higher interest rates, which have positively impacted the return on foreign reserves. An economy is considered to maintain adequate reserve levels if, among other indicators, the ratio of the reserves to the appropriate level is between 1.0 and 1.5. With information available as of June 2024, the ARA calculated for Colombia by the IMF was 1.24. Profits of Banco de la República Banco de la República's profit at the end of the first half of 2024 amounted to COP 4,088 billion (b), as a result of revenues of COP 5,903 b and expenses of COP 1,815 b. This profit was COP 39 b higher than that recorded in the same period of 2023. Revenues during this period were mainly due to the yield on foreign reserves, which amounted to COP 3,770 b, with an increase of COP 237 b compared to that received in the first half of the previous year. Expenses originated mainly from the remuneration on national government deposits in Banrep, which amounted to COP 683 b with a reduction of COP 812 b compared to the first half of 2023, mainly due to the lower average balances held in Banrep. For 2024, a profit of COP 8,795 b is projected, COP 431 b lower than that observed in 2023. This estimate has a high degree of uncertainty, taking into account the risks associated with the evolution of foreign reserves yield and the growth and sources of expansion of the monetary base. Boxes Box 1: Comments of Banco de la República (the Central Bank of Colombia) regarding its appointment as Administrator of Reserve Fund of the Contributory Pillar - Report of the Board of Directors to the Congress of Colombia, July 2024 Law 2381 of 2024, “Whereby the Comprehensive Social Protection System for Old Age Disability, and Death (Sistema de Protección Social Integral para la Vejez, Invalidez y Muerte, in Spanish) of common origin is established, and other provisions are issued,” creates the Reserve Fund of the Contributory Pillar (Fondo de Ahorro del Pilar Contributivo, in Spanish), hereinafter the Fund, and assigns its administration to Banco de la República (Banrep). This box highlights the main issues involved in the designation of Banrep as the Fund’s administrator within the framework of its constitutional functions: Box 2: Determinants of the Speed of Adjustment of the MPR Box 3: Primary Liquidity Supply by Banco de la República, 2023-2024