How can I import references from Google Scholar to EndNote?

For doing so, you will need to configure Google Scholar to send references to EndNote. Then you will be able to send references to EndNote by clicking on the "Import into EndNote" link. Follow these steps to configure Google Scholar to send references to EndNote:

1. Go to the Google Scholar home page athttp://scholar.google.com
2. Click on the "Scholar Preferences" link.
3. Under "Bibliography Manager" select the option "Show links to import citations into" and choose "EndNote" in the drop down box.
4. Click on the "Save Preferences" button.

Follow these steps to import search results into EndNote:

1. After performing a search on Google Scholar click on the "Import into EndNote" link for the reference you want to import.
2. If you are presented with a window asking if you want to "Open" or "Save" the file, choose to open the file.
3. A "Select a Reference Library" window will appear, use this window to select the EndNote library you want the reference imported into.

Note: If you are using the Windows version of EndNote X you will first need to update to X.0.2.

reference

Different types of derivatives market

Derivatives are financial instruments used to manage one's exposure to today's volatile markets. A derivative product's value depends upon and is derived from an underlying instrument, such as commodities, interest rates, indices or stocks. 

In other words, a derivative is a financial contract with a value linked to the expected future price movements of an underlying asset it is linked. It is used as a tool for hedging, speculating and arbitraging. 

Forward

Forward contract forms the oldest type of derivatives market. Forward by definition is an agreement to buy and sell a specified security at a specified price to be delivered at the maturity date in the future. The agreement is privately arranged to fulfill the need of both contracting parties, a buyer and seller. If one party intends to close out the contract it must be at the consent of the other party. Therefore a forward contract is technically referred to as a privately negotiated agreement.

Futures

Futures are traded on a futures exchange and represent an obligation to buy or sell a specified underlying instrument on a specified date (the delivery date or final settlement date) in the future at a specified price (the futures price). The settlement price is the price of the underlying asset on the delivery date. Both parties to a futures contract are legally bound to fulfill the contract on the delivery date. If the holder of a futures position wishes to exit their obligation before the delivery date, they must offset it either by selling a long position or buying back a short position. Such an action effectively closes the futures position and its contractual obligations.

Future market develops as a result of insufficient trading requirement of forward transactions. Either party justifies this because forward as a private agreement does not guarantee the fulfillment of the contract. A third party is required to act as a guarantor, namely the clearing house. It serves as a buyer for every seller and vice versa.

Options

An option is a financial instrument that gives the holder the right to engage in a future transaction on an underlying security or futures contract. The holder is under no obligation to exercise this right. There are two main types of option. A call option gives the holder the right to purchase a specified quantity of a security at a fixed price (the strike price) on or before the specified expiration date. A put option gives the holder the right to sell. If the holder chooses to exercise the option, the party who sold, or wrote, the option is obliged to fulfill the terms of the contract.

Since forward and futures trading obligates both buyer and seller to fulfill their contracts, a third form of derivatives is introduced that provides a right to one party and obligation to the other party. Options trading are a contract that gives a right without obligation to the buyer, while the seller has an obligation if requested by the buyer to buy or sell at a specified security at specified price and time.

  

Swap

A swap is a derivative in which two parties agree to exchange a set of cash flows (or leg) for another set. A notional principal amount is used to calculate each cash flow; these are rarely exchanged by the parties. A swap is usually used to hedge a risk, such as an interest-rate risk, or to speculate on a price change. It may also be used to access an underlying asset in order to earn a profit or loss from any change in price while avoiding posting the notional amount in cash or collateral.

Below are some of the uses of derivatives like futures and options, as listed by John C. Hull in his 1999 book titled 'Options, Futures and Other Derivatives'.

• Derivatives are very good risk management tools and are mainly used to hedge risks that a trader is routinely exposed to. Derivative instruments offer the trader, the option of passing on some of the risk that he's bearing over to another party. He either takes on another risk in return or makes a cash payment in exchange for the risk transfer.
• Derivative instruments like forwards and futures play a key role in giving directions to the market prices of the future. Forwards and futures prices are good reflectors of the price directions as well as the expected change in the future prices of the underlying asset.
• Derivatives offer the traders an option to change the nature of their liabilities and exchange the risks associated with some of their unwanted liabilities with some more bearable ones.
• Derivatives can be used to make arbitrage profits. Arbitrage profit opportunities are those opportunities that allow for risk-free, zero net investment profits, by capitalizing on price differentials on the same commodity in different markets. The intention is to buy low and sell high in two different markets and pocket the differential profits.
• Derivatives allow for large portfolio position changes without incurring the buying and selling transaction costs.

Advantages

The use of derivatives means that some financial risks can be transferred to other parties who are more willing or better suited to take or manage those risks and can thus be a useful tool for risk management.

Purchasing derivatives can be a safer choice if there is a possibility of a looming bear market as they are hedged, unlike equities.

Buying now at a future price can be cheaper than buying at market price in the future, bearing in mind that the spot price could be less expensive. A long call option requires no obligation when it is due.

Disadvantages

If the market changes dramatically, it is possible to lose financially if the derivatives are being used as a speculative instrument.

If you hold the put option on a derivative, you are obliged to adhere to it if the holder of the call chooses to exercise their right to sell or buy.

Assignment 5 (final), Implementing a functional web-based learning environment prototype

Implementing a functional web-based learning environment prototype

Assignment description

Today there are many options for web users to create a website for teaching and learning, a web based learning environment. Users with sufficient technical skills who also have access to web storage/server can set up a self-hosted learning environment and those less technically experienced can use hosted services to set up the learning environment.

Your task is to identify a context and a learning need and to design and implement a functional web-based learning environment prototype that serves your purpose. For instance, you could set up a site for music or language training, a digital portfolio for primary school, a social network for a (fictive) economic or non-profit association. You can also work with a mobile interface, if required by the context you have chosen.

Try to identify a need in which you have previous experience or is of interest to you. You are free to decide whether to build the learning environment either by using self-hosted open sourced software or by using one or more hosted services (e.g. Spruz, Grouply, Youtube, Vcasmo, Wordpress, Google Maps, Google Sites/Groups, Miro Community, SchoolAppKit etc).

If you need advice on what application/s to use, post a question in the Application advice forum.

The prototype you create should be useful and fully functional and utilize common concepts of web 2.0 (e.g. social tagging, collaboration, sharing functionality, web feeds, web widgets etc). All content/information added should either be produced by yourself or be licensed in such a way that you are allowed to redisplay the content. A certain amount of content/information needs to be added, but it is also allowed to use placeholders to some extent.

The prototype design should be described in a design report, see grading criteria below.

***

Actually I've done it, But since it is a fully designed web based learning environment which I've spent so much time to do it, I do not upload it here! I've just passed it to my professor and got a A score for it. Now it's your turn to do a new thing!

Assignment 4, Social software and Web 2.00 – Digital Storytelling

The basic principles of digital storytelling

Digital storytelling is the practice of combining narrative with digi­tal content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component. (7 things you should know about storytelling)

Nowadays stories can be interactive movies that might include highly produced audio and visual effects. At the same time, a set of slides with related nar­ration or music can compose a simple digital story.

The resources available to making a digital story are unlimited, giving the storyteller huge creative latitude. Some learning theorists believe that storytelling can be effectively applied to nearly any subject. Creating a narra­tive and communicating it effectively require the storyteller to think carefully about the topic and consider the audience’s perspective(Franz and Nischelwitzer, 2004).

Story idea

Idea for this story comes from one of Jalal al-Din Rumi’s stories. Rumi was a 13^th century Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rūmī is a descriptive name meaning "the Roman" since he lived most of his life in an area called Rūm (then under the control of Seljuq dynasty) because it was once ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire.

The story is about three fishes that lived in a lake and the approaches each of them used to survive from fishermen and their nets.

Media used

·         Photoshop or any other photo editing software for editing scanned photos

·         Windows movie maker V2.6 for making the video

·         Youtube.com for uploading video created

You can find lots of useful Medias to create your own story here.

Production phase/ overview of pros and cons / chosen age group

At first phase I tried to find a proper story to tell and I thought the famous stories from old literature’s books would be good choice so I referred to Rumi’s stories which are my favorite.

At second step I modified the story to make it brief and good enough for a 2-5 minutes storytelling project. After designing the storyboard, I started to draw pictures. For this step, at first I drawn pictures on the paper then using scanner converted all of them to .jpg format. I have used Photo editing software( Adobe premier CS5) for editing and coloring the pictures.

I used an mp3 recorder to make the vocal narration. For mixing the voice whit picture Scenes I tried Adobe premier CS5.

I personally think the story I told, could be good for the age group 5-10 years old children which will learn what is the power of thinking and why we need to use our brain to survive.

Final work

This is my story!

 

You can see my final digital story directly on Youtube.com at this address.

 

 

Reference

FRANZ, K. & NISCHELWITZER, A. K. Year. Adaptive Digital Storytelling: A Concept for Narrative Structures and Digital Storytelling build on Basic Storytelling Principles, Adaptive Story Schemas and Structure Mapping Techniques. In, 2004. 25.

 

 

Assignment 2c, Social software and Web 2.00 – Study a Social Network

2c. Post study reflection

Watch a couple of presentations published in the forum and make a concluding post in your blog and address:

• Similarities and differences between networks
• In what way has your view upon social changed?

***

Similarities and differences between networks 

Base on what I saw at forum linked to assignment 2, As yet just 4 of my classmates have done this assignment so I’m going to read their assignments and make a concluding about similarities, differences and changes social networks have experienced since first day.

My classmates have worked on three different social networks as facebook.com, goodreads.com and academia.edu. The nature and nomenclature of these websites may vary from site to site but they have the same concept which is Social networking. All of these networks try to provide a good environment to:

1. Construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system.
2. Articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection.
3. View and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.

A discussion with your view upon how social networks has grown and changed

Given the rapid growth and popularity of social networks in the coming years, it doesn't appear that the concept is going to go away. The evolution of the Internet is now forming itself around the characteristics of social networks. Bloggers and website developers are using tools like RSS feeds, Digg or Technorati to communicate and interact with other bloggers. Through blog comments and tagging, websites and blogs are also integrating into what experts now call Web 2.0. The entire Internet itself is fast becoming a giant, interactive and powerful social network (Mason and Rennie, 2008).

Over the course of the last 3 years, Stelzner has seen social media move from an uncertain strategy (2009 report) to a permanent fixture (2010 report) to a primary tool (2011 report) in the savvy marketer’s toolkit.

References

MASON, R. & RENNIE, F. 2008. E-learning and social networking handbook: resources for higher education, Psychology Press.

Assignment 1a-1b, SOCIAL SOFTWARE AND WEB 2.00

1b-How micro-blogs can be used in education and teaching?

During last ten years, Web 2.0 has turned into an amazing success story. These days World Wide Web is driven by user generated content, the use of weblogs, wikis, micro blogs and podcasts has increased dramatically. Social media, social networks and social communities all represent a new form of collaboration and communication. In a short space of time, the World Wide Web has been transformed from a static information medium into a worldwide communication platform.(Brown, 2008)

Web 2.0 technologies are also of great interest, given that the use of the internet for educational purposes, known as e-learning or Technology Enhanced Learning, is a very important future stakeholder for education. Stephen Downes (2005) introduced a new term, ‘‘e-Learning 2.0”, and thus coined a name for the use of wikis, weblogs and podcasts in educational settings. Since then, much research work has been done and many publications (Augar, Raitman, & Zhou, 2005; Caddick, 2006; Evans, 2007; Towned, 2005; Raitman, Augar, & Zhou, 2005; Ebner, 2007) and scientific reports have pointed out how these new technological possibilities can be used in the context of our social environments. Collaboration and communication by means of weblogs and wikis enhance traditional education in a new and exciting way.

In recent years there have been mainly two reasons for the increasing attention given to process-oriented approaches in didactics. The first can be traced back to the development of a constructivist approach to learning. In this context the process of knowledge construction, the person’s own learning process, leads to the application of process-oriented learning. As a result, more attention is given to the matter of the learner’s own attitude as well as the opinions of others.

From this perspective, learning processes cannot be tightly structured and the results of learning are almost unpredictable. In addition, the relevance of process knowledge is increasing as the time factor plays a less important role. Process orientation does not refer to a tight structuring of the learning process, but rather to the possibility of trying out a range of learning strategies and reflecting on these.(Ebner et al., 2010)

Against this background the role of the teacher changes from that of a knowledge distributor to a facilitator of self-directed learning.

Therefore the instructional design (and the use of media) should concentrate on facilitating the learning process. This can be ensured primarily by creating favourable learning conditions (Kyndt, Dochy, & Nijs, 2009). With regard to communication, a basic openness is needed and the possibility to contribute one’s opinions and discuss different views. Micro blogging can foster process-oriented learning. The advantage of micro blogging consists mainly in the possibility of giving immediate feedback, as well as in the documentation of processes. The latter feature is relevant in two different ways: firstly, learning contributions can be consulted to obtain a summative account of learning activities and learning progress, and secondly, micro blogging offers the possibility to monitor learning processes and to respond to peer activity during the process (information awareness). However, certain disadvantages are evident. The same aspects that can be evaluated positively can be evaluated negatively(Ebner et al., 2010). For example, the limitation of 140 characters forces the learner to focus on the topic, but does not allow him or her to express complex thoughts. In addition, the possibility for private conversation may serve to bridge the gap between formal and informal learning or it may invite the learner to focus only on private exchange and/or to miss the separation between educational/ vocational and private use. In its favor, micro blogging can foster media literacy.(Cook, 2008)

References

BROWN, G. 2008. Social Media 100 Success Secrets: Social Media, Web 2.0 User-Generated Content and Virtual Communities-100 Most Asked Mass Collaboration Questions, Lulu. com.

COOK, N. 2008. Enterprise 2.0: how social software will change the future of work, Ashgate Pub Co.

EBNER, M., LIENHARDT, C., ROHS, M. & MEYER, I. 2010. Microblogs in Higher Education-A chance to facilitate informal and process-oriented learning? Computers & Education, 55, 92-100.

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1b- Describe at least 15 terms from the list provided.

1-badge

An image that displayed on a blog or personal profile on social media Web sites that identifies you. Most encourage readers and followers to download display their badge on your own site or blog and link back. Badges are considered a Web 2.0 trend and are also frequently used to display a "beta" message on your site or blog. 

Reference

2-TrackBack

TrackBack is a type of peer-to-peer communication system that was designed to send notification of updates between two Web sites via a Trackback Ping. Ping in reference to TrackBack refers to a small message sent from one Web server to another. TrackBacks are useful for informing a Web site that you have referenced its Web site within your own Web site, and is popular with bloggers.

TrackBack was first released as an open specification in August 2002. 

Reference

3-Microblog

A type of blog that lets users to publish short text updates. Bloggers can usually use a number of service for the updates including instant messaging, e-mail, or Twitter. The posts are called microposts, while the act of using these services to update your blog is called microblogging.  Social networking sites, like Facebook, also use a microblogging feature in profiles. On Facebook this is called "Status Updates".

Reference

4-Ajax

Short for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, it is a term that describes a new approach to using a number of existing technologies together, including the following: HTML or XHTML, Cascading Style Sheets, JavaScript, the Document Object Model, XML, XSLT, and the XMLHttpRequest object. When these technologies are combined in the Ajax model, Web applications are able to make quick, incremental updates to the user interface without reloading the entire browser page.

[Source: mozilla developer center]

5-Direct Web Remoting (DWR)

Direct Web Remoting (DWR) is a Java open source library for those wanting to develop Web sites which contain Ajax. DWR enables the Javascript in a browser to interact with Java on a server, just as if it were in the browser. DWR encompasses two main components; a Java Servlet running on the server that processes requests and sends responses back to the browser, and JavaScript running in the browser that sends requests and can dynamically update the Web page. DWR development is sponsored by TIBCO.

Reference

6-Blogroll

Found on blogs it is a list of links to other blogs and Web sites that the blog author commonly references or is affiliated with. Blogrolls help blog authors to establish and build upon a their blogger community. In Web 1.0 terminology, a blogroll would be the equivalent of a list of hyperlinks on a personal Web page.

Reference

7-Blogosphere

Meaning all blogs, it is an expression used to describe the 'world of blogs'.

Reference

8-RSS

RSS is the acronym used to describe the de facto standard for the syndication of Web content. RSS is an XML-based format and while it can be used in different ways for content distribution, its most widespread usage is in distributing news headlines on the Web. A Web site that wants to allow other sites to publish some of its content creates an RSS document and registers the document with an RSS publisher. A user that can read RSS-distributed content can use the content on a different site. Syndicated content can include data such as news feeds, events listings, news stories, headlines, project updates, excerpts from discussion forums or even corporate information.

Because there are different versions of RSS, the term RSS is most frequently used as a name to mean the syndication of Web content, rather than as an acronym for its founding technology. When using the name RSS the speaker may be referring to any of the following versions of Web content syndication:

• RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9, RSS 1.0)
• Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91, RSS 1.0)
• Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)

When using the term RSS, most will use it in reference to Rich Site Summary or the previous version called RDF Site Summary. When referring to Really Simple Syndication, it will usually be called RSS 2.0, not RSS.  There are several versions of RSS available, with the most commonly implemented version being RSS 0.91.  The most current version, however, is RSS 2.0 and it is backward-compatible with RSS 0.91. RSS was originally developed by Netscape. The RSS 2.0 specification was authored by Dave Winer.

Compare with Atom, an alternative open source XML-based Web content and metadata syndication format.

Reference

9-Bookmarklet

It is a direct link to a specific function or feature within a Web page. While a browser bookmark takes you to a specific page, the bookmarklet will take you to a function, such as a specific search (including the search phrase) on a Web page, a tagged location on Google maps and others. Bookmarklets are possible due to browser support of the protocol "javascript:" that lets you execute bits of JavaScript code directly.

Reference

10-Creative Commons license

A licensing concept created by Creative Commons that builds upon traditional copyright practices to define possibilities that exist between the standard "all rights reserved" full copyright and public domain "no rights reserved".  A Creative Commons license lets you dictate how others may use your work. The Creative Commons license allows you to keep your copyright but allows others to copy and distribute your work provided they give you credit and only on the conditions you specify.  For online work you can select a license that generates "Some Rights Reserved" or a "No Rights Reserved" button and statement for your published work.

Reference

11-Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of the World Wide Web that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online. Web 2.0 basically refers to the transition from static HTML Web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more organized and is based on serving Web applications to users. Other improved functionality of Web 2.0 includes open communication with an emphasis on Web-based communities of users, and more open sharing of information. Over time Web 2.0 has been used more as a marketing term than a computer-science-based term. Blogs, wikis, and Web services are all seen as components of Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 was previously used as a synonym for Semantic Web, but while the two are similar, they do not share precisely the same meaning.

Reference

12-Voice 2.0

A buzzword used to describe the trends, technologies and applications used to bring IP telephony to the Web to create a new class of voice-enabled applications. Applications such as Skype is an example of Voice 2.0.

Reference

13-Web 3.0

The term used to describe the evolution of the Web as an extension of Web 2.0. This definition of Web 3.0 is the popular view held by Tim O'Reilly. In contrast, Nova Spivack defines Web 3.0 as connective intelligence; connecting data, concepts, applications and ultimately people. While some call the The Semantic Web 'Web 3.0', Spivack's opinion is that The Semantic Web is just one of several converging technologies and trends that will define Web 3.0.

Reference

14-Mash-up

The term mash-up refers to a new breed of Web-based applications created by hackers and programmers (typically on a volunteer basis) to mix at least two different services from disparate, and even competing, Web sites. A mash-up, for example, could overlay traffic data from one source on the Internet over maps from Yahoo, Microsoft, Google or any content provider. The term mash-up comes from the hip-hop music practice of mixing two or more songs.

This capability to mix and match data and applications from multiple sources into one dynamic entity is considered by many to represent the promise of the Web service standard (also referred to as on-demand computing).

Reference

15-OpenID

It is a shared identity service that enables users of multiple OpenID-enabled Web sites to sign in under one single profile, or single user identity. It's a free and open standard under which users are able to control the amount of personal information they provide on Web sites, and in particular social networking sites (SNS). To use OpenID across multiple sites, users must first choose an Open ID provider. Once you create an OpenID it stays with you, even if you choose at a later time to switch to a different OpenID provider.

OpenID works by using existing Internet technologies such as URI, HTTP, SSL and Diffie-Hellman to transform the information you provide on one site (or service) into an account that can be used at other sites that support OpenID logins. Some of the online and Internet services supporting OpenID include AOL, Blogger, Flickr, LiveDoor, LiveJopiurnal, Vox, Yahoo, WordPress, and others.

Reference

ASSIGNMENT 3e-SOCIAL SOFTWARE AND WEB 2.00

3e - Online presentations

Your task is to make a presentation of the applications you have chosen to work with in parts 3a-d. You could do this by using the Presentation tool in your chosen online office suite. Another way is to create your slides locally and use a slide sharing service for presentation.

You can use Slideshare (http://www.slideshare.net), Scribd (http://www.scribd.com) or any other service you have discovered.
Your presentation should contain a short tutorial to each application (parts 3a-d). That is, after watching your presentation, the viewer should be able to know how to get started with all four applications.

Pick a target audience and adapt your presentation for your particular audience. Introduce each application in picture and text and describe the key concepts and the basic terminology that the user may encounter. You should also address pros and cons of each site. By watching your presentation, the user should understand why and how the sites can be used.

***

You can see the presentation related to assignment 3e at this URL:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/57504457/Assignment-3e-Social-software-and-Web-2-00