2.4 Tax and Depreciation
In this section, we will explore the topics of income tax and depreciation. They both play important roles in financial decision making and reporting, and it is important to understand how the two are calculated and how they are related to a company’s performance.
2.4.1 Income Tax
Income tax is the amount of money remitted to the government, which is usually a percentage of a company’s income. This percentage is called the tax rate and is set by the government.
In Canada, companies are taxed on the federal and provincial levels. Tax rates depend on company’s income.
- On the federal level, there are two tax rates: the general tax rate, 15%, and small business tax rate, which is 10.5%. The small business tax rate is applicable when a company’s income is less than $500,000, which is also referred to as the business limit. That is, if a company generated income lower than the $500,000 income threshold, then the company has to remit 10.5% of it’s income in taxes. If more than $500,000 was generated in income for the tax year, then the company will have t remit 15% of its income to the government.
- On the provincial or territorial level, the two tax rates are – a lower rate and a higher rate. The lower rate applies to small business with income less than $500,000. The higher rate applies to all other businesses. For example, in Saskatoon, small business has to remit 2% of its income in taxes, while businesses that earned more than $500,000 have to pay 12%.
Note that these tax rates are for 2017 and may be changed by the government for subsequent years.
The tax is calculated on the income tax return, which is based on the information from financial statements and is submitted to the government on the yearly basis. In Canada, income taxes are paid by corporations. A corporation is a business owned by one or more owners. The owners are known as shareholders. A shareholder owns shares of the corporation. Shares are units of ownership in a corporation. For example, if a corporation has 1,000 shares, there may be three shareholders who own 700 shares, 200 shares, and 100 shares respectively. The number of shares held by a shareholder represents how much of the corporation they own. The first shareholder who owns 700 shares owns 70% of the corporation (700/1,000 = 70%).
Note that proprietorships and partnerships are not taxed the same way as corporations are. A proprietorship is a business owned by one person. It is not a separate legal entity, which means that the business and the owner are considered to be the same. For example, the profits of a proprietorship are reported on the owner’s personal income tax return, so they are taxed as income of the person using tax rates determined for personal income taxes. A partnership is a business owned by two or more individuals. Like the proprietorship, it is not a separate legal entity and the partners need to report their respective profits on their personal income tax return. Unlike the proprietorship and partnership, a corporation is a separate legal entity. This means, for example, that from an income tax perspective, a corporation files its own tax return (Annand, 2016).
In Canada, all resident corporations (except tax-exempt Crown corporations, Hutterite colonies and registered charities) have to file a corporation income tax return every year even if there is no tax payable. This includes: non-profit organizations; tax-exempt corporations; and inactive corporations. A non-resident corporation has to file a return if, at any time in the year, one of the following situations applies: it carried on business in Canada; it had a taxable capital gain; or it disposed of taxable Canadian property.
Tax is calculated on the income reported on the company’s income statement, which is recorded as income before tax, which we have already mentioned in section 2.1. Recall that to calculate the income before tax, we must subtract production cost, operating and non-operating expenses. These are also called tax deductions, as they reduce taxable income. A company may also be eligible for tax credits, which reduce a company’s tax amount. Notice the difference: tax deductions reduce the income before tax, while tax credits reduce taxes payable. For example, a tax credit of $1,000 reduced taxes owed by $1,000, regardless of the tax rate. A tax credit may be granted in recognition of taxes already paid, as a subsidy, or to encourage investment or other behaviors. For example, a city may offer a local business up to $1 000 tax credit for the installation of energy saving windows on their properties.
Once income tax is calculated based on the income before taxes reported by the company, it is then subtracted from the income before taxes to obtain company’s net income for the period.
For more information on corporation’s income tax you can refer to the income tax guide published by the Canada Revenue Agency (a Canadian federal agency that administers tax laws in Canada), https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/cra-arc/migration/cra-arc/E/pub/tg/t4012/t4012-16e.pdf.
Let’s go back to Canadian Tire income statement. Income tax expense is determined by multiplying a businesses income before taxes by its tax rate. We can determine Canadian Tire’s tax rate by dividing its income tax expense by its income before taxes to determine a tax rate. So, Canadian Tire has paid $265.4/$1001.3 = 0.265 or 26.5% in 2015 fiscal year. That is, the company paid 15% in federal taxes and 11.5% in provincial taxes.
2.4.2 Depreciation
As we already know, a company can deduct operating costs from operating revenues before calculating its taxes payable. There is a particular kind of operating cost that needs to be handled carefully, and that is the operating cost associated with equipment lasting longer than a year. For example, in calculating the operating costs for a photocopy shop, the paper that needs to be purchased every week is clearly an operating cost. But the shop may also need to buy a new photocopier every five years. How is this cost handled?
Here, five years is the economic life of a photocopier. Economic life, which is usually expressed as a number of years, is the total time that the asset is used by the business to generate income. It is also the period over which depreciation is charged. Depreciation is the reduction in the value of an asset. The potential causes for depreciation of an asset include
- physical depreciation, or wearing out;
- functional depreciation, as when the function an asset provides becomes inadequate or unneeded;
- technological depreciation, where other means of performing the same function better or more cheaply become available;
- depletion, as in the consumption of a non-renewable natural resource; and
- monetary depreciation, that is, the need to set aside additional money to replace an asset because inflation has pushed up the price of a replacement.
A photocopier might need to be replaced every 5 years because of physical and technological depreciation. Here, these are the primary reasons photocopier as an asset loses its value. In other words, you can think of this as company using up a part of an asset to produce revenues. From previous example, this would be equivalent to saying that a company “uses up” a photocopier throughout 5 years. After the economic life of an asset is over, the photocopier will be “used up” in production, and its book value will be equal to 0.
Now that we know what depreciation is, how do we approach the its calculations? There are three methods of calculating depreciation that will result in extinguishing the book value of the asset when its estimated useful life ends: the straight-line method, the declining balance method, and the activity-based depreciation method.
Straight-Line Method
The straight-line method reduces the book value of an asset by the same amount each period. This amount is determined by dividing the total value of the asset, less its salvage value, by the number of periods in its useful life. This amount is then deducted from income in each applicable period. Straight-line depreciation is the simplest and most-often-used technique. The depreciation amount for the period is calculated as follows:
ADD EQN (2.24)
For example, say a photocopier costs $6000. The economic life of a photocopier is 5 years. The residual value of a photocopier after 5 years will be $1000. Then, using formula 2.10, the yearly depreciation expense is: ($6000-$1000)/5=$1000. This means that every year for 5 years (from the moment of purchase until the photocopier is disposed) the company can record depreciation expense of $1000 as part of its production costs. So, the depreciation schedule is as follows:
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Depreciation | $1000 | $1000 | $1000 | $1000 | $1000 |
| Remaining Balance | $5000 | $4000 | $3000 | $2000 | $1000 |
Table 2.1 Straight-Line Depreciation Schedule
The last row of the table above shows the remaining balance of an asset, which is the remaining value of an asset after deducting depreciation for the period. It is calculated by subtracting depreciation from the value of an asset at the beginning of the period. To get the remaining balance in the first year we subtracted $6000-$1000=$5000. In the second year, the remaining balance is the value of the asset at the beginning of the period minus depreciation $5000-$1000 = $4000. The remaining value of an asset in the straight-line depreciation method is the residual (or salvage) value.
Declining Balance Method
The declining balance method of depreciation provides for a higher depreciation expense in the first year of an asset’s life and gradually decreases expenses in subsequent years. This may be a more realistic reflection of the actual expected benefit from the use of the asset because many assets are most useful when they are new. Under this method, the annual depreciation expense is found by multiplying the residual value of the asset each year by a fixed rate. Since this remaining value will differ from year to year, the annual depreciation expense will differ as well, unlike in the straight -line method. Since the declining balance method will never fully amortize the original cost of the asset, the salvage value is not considered in determining the annual depreciation.
Annual depreciation expense using declining balance method is calculated as:
(2.25)
Let’s calculate depreciation schedule for the same photocopier now using the declining balance method with the depreciation rate being 35%.
For the first year, the depreciation is:
$6000*0.35=$2100
The remaining balance after first year is thus:
$6000-$2100=$3900
Continuing to the second year, the depreciation is:
$3900*0.35=$1365
And the remaining balance is:
$3900-$1365=$2535
We continue these calculations for 5 years to get the depreciation schedule below:
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Depreciation | $2100 | $1365 | $887.25 | $552 | $383.51 |
| Remaining Balance | $3900 | $2535 | $1647.75 | $1095.75 | $712.24 |
Table 2.2 Declining Balance Depreciation Schedule
Here, we see that at the end of 5 years the remaining value of the photocopier is $712.24. This means, that the company wrote off $5287.76 in depreciation expense over 5 years with depreciation rate equal to 35%. (To compare, the company wrote off $5000 using single-line depreciation method).
Activity Based Depreciation Method
This method is less common compared to the single-line and declining balance depreciation methods in Canada. Activity based depreciation method is not based on time, but on a level of activity. That is, when the asset is acquired, its life is estimated in terms of its activity level. This could be miles driven for a vehicle or a cycle count for a machine. Using this method, the depreciation is calculated by multiplying the activity depreciation rate by the activity level of the asset:
(2.26)
For example, a company that uses a depreciation rate of $0.2/km for its vehicles would have a depreciation expense of $100 after 500 km. If the vehicle drove 100,000 km in one year, the depreciation for the year would be 100,000km * $2/km= $20,000. The remaining balance of the asset in the period is calculated as usual by subtracting depreciation from the value of an asset at the beginning of the period.
Effect of Depreciation on Taxes
Depreciation is part of production expense and can, therefore, be deducted together with other production costs when calculating income before taxes. In general, the allowable annual depreciation deduction is fixed by the income tax laws. In Canada asset depreciation follows Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) regulations.
CCA is the only allowable depreciation expense in Canada. The CRA provides a classification of different types of assets, and a CCA rate and depreciation method for each class of assets. In filling in the tax return, each class must be accounted for separately, as follows:
- Start with the undepreciated cost of all assets in that class at the beginning of the year.
- Subtract the proceeds from the sale of any assets in that class that you’ve disposed of during the year.
- Add the total allowable cost of asset additions during the year. (This is only 50% of the cost of the assets you’ve actually purchased during the year; the other 50% is shifted forwards to next year.)
- Subtract any government assistance payments or investment tax credits. The resulting figure is the undepreciated capital cost (UCC) to be used in tax calculations.
- Apply the appropriate CCA rate. (To find the appropriate rate, check with the most recent publications of Revenue Canada, or consult a tax lawyer.)
To determine which class an asset falls in, please refer to the classifications found on Canada Revenue Agency’s “Classes of depreciable property” on their website at: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/slprtnr/rprtng/cptl/dprcbl-eng.html. Note that CCA rates vary from 4% all the way up to 100%.
Let’s look into how the CCA is calculated in more detail. Suppose, a company purchased a $30,00 work vehicle and wants to calculate the CCA deductions for the vehicle. When an capital asset is purchased during a company’s fiscal year it can begin being depreciated. As we already mentioned above, to determine the amount of the CCA deduction you begin with the assets Undepreciated Capital Cost.
Partially for simplicity in accounting, and partially to account for the different times during a fiscal year an asset can be purchased, the Canada Revenue Agency uses the half-year rule. This rule states that during the fiscal year the asset is purchased only half of the initial cost can be used in the CCA calculation. For example, a $30 000 work vehicle would have an initial UCC of:
(2.27)
This value is then multiplied by its appropriate CCA rate to determine the deductible depreciation expense for the year. Motor vehicles fall under “Class 10.1” which has a CCA rate of 30%. The CCA deduction for this year is, thus, calculated as:
(2.28)
This $4,500 would lower the company’s taxable income and, ultimately, its total income tax expense.
Year by year, assets will continue to be depreciated and depreciation expenses will continue to be deducted from income tax determined by each years UCC. With the CCA expense calculated, we can determine the UCC for the following year. After the first year, the half year rules ceases and the full UCC (or the total initial cost), minus the CCA deduction from the previous year, is used to determine the CCA deduction.
The company’s UCC for year 2, in relation to the work vehicle, for the following year would be calculated as following:
(2.29)
The company’s CCA deduction for year 2 would be calculated as follows:
Note that the CCA Deduction for year 2 is larger than year 1. This is because of the affects of the half year rule reducing the amount deductible in the year the asset was purchased. From this point on, the CCA deduction would be reduced due to the UCC continually becoming smaller with each year. The CCA Deduction for a specific year can be generally calculated as:
(2.30)
Businesses usually have more than one asset, and quite often purchase new assets and sell, or dispose, of old assets. As a result, the CCA deduction is determined by the sum of each assets CCA deductions. Furthermore, acquisitions of new assets are added at the half year rule and the disposition of assets reduces the CCA deduction by its selling price. The Canada Revenue Agency provides form T777: Statement of Employment Expenses for individuals and T2125 Statement of Business or Professional Activities to calculate and report CCA deductions for the year. The following is an excerpt from T2125 Statement of Business or Professional Activities:
*Note: this excerpt does not include all the information necessary to record CCA tax expenses; it is the cumulative section which is used to calculate the CCA Deduction and the UCC*
(T2125 Statement of Business or Professional Activities, 2016)
Let’s continue the truck example to illustrate how the company would depreciate the truck it purchased over the first five years:
Table 2.3 Vehicle Depreciation
Once an asset has meet the end of its useful, or is otherwise sold, the proceeds from the disposition of that asset are then deducted from the total value reported for asset acquisitions for that year. If the company was to sell the truck and buy a new work vehicle, the proceeds from the first truck’s sale would be subtracted from the purchase cost of the second truck when determining the total UCC for the year.
Supplementary Material
- For more information on Canadian taxation go to CRA webpage https://www.canada.ca/en/services/taxes/income-tax/corporation-income-tax.html
Discussion and Review Questions
- What is the purpose of an income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement and what information do these financial statements contain?
- What are financial ratios?
- What are the categories of financial ratios and what does each category analyse?
- What are pro forma financial statements and how are they used in forecasting?
- What is income tax and how is it calculated in Canada?
- What is depreciation and what methods are used to calculate it? How is it recorded in Canada?


Borrowing Items from Other Libraries
Leanne Wells
UNB Libraries’ Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Service
UNB Libraries has a strong collection which supports many areas of study within our UNB community.
If you discover an article that does not appear to be available from UNB Libraries, please do not pay for it. Remember that you can always chat online via Ask Us on the library’s homepage and get advice on where to look within UNB Libraries’ holdings. Our library staff are experts at helping you find information.
To request an article that the library doesn’t have, try using the libraries’ Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan service. Students can submit an online request and our Document Delivery staff will try to obtain materials that UNB Libraries does not hold from other libraries.
Want to Learn More about Document Delivery?
Please watch this YouTube video “How to Request Research Materials“, which was created by UNB Libraries to explain the library’s Document Delivery process more fully:


11.6 Republicanism in Canada
The depth of authentic loyalist feeling in the Canadas is difficult to measure. Even the most radical reformers were known to preface their demands for change with a reassuring statement of their affection for the king. Republicanism as a movement that aimed to topple the monarch seemed to have had limited appeal in political circles; republicanism as a system of democratic rule, however, seemed to be more effective at delivering growth and political unity. Canadian merchants and professionals regularly travelled to the United States, and there they could see a growing and prospering economy in which freedom of speech seemed (for their social equivalents anyway) much more generous. The War of 1812 and predictable demands at the time for intensified loyalism in the colonies would stifle demands for reform until the post-war years. The bottled-up envy of merchants, republicans, reformers, and other critics of the oligarchies would bubble forth in peacetime after 1818.
In the 1820s and 1830s, the call for more civil liberties was heard in many countries, including France and Britain. Colonies in the Americas broke with their imperial motherlands. The American revolution was followed by Haiti’s break with France in 1804. Hardly a decade later, the Spanish Empire in South America was collapsing. Mexico declared its independence in 1821. Continent-wide revolutions led or inspired by Símon Bolivar culminated in the 1830s in the emergence of post-colonial regimes. In July 1830 the streets of Paris were the scene of a three-day uprising. The July Revolution deposed Charles X and established the principle of a constitutional monarchy.
The reform movement in Britain was very different. It drew its strength from both the middle class and the emerging working class. The Reform Act of 1832 was meant to extend the vote very broadly, but a cautious British government allowed only half-measures: middle-class males got the vote but not the lower classes. Poor and working-class Britons reacted with further protest and quickly suppressed risings. This movement rallied around a charter of rights; the goals of the Chartists included universal male suffrage, annual elections, secret ballots, and no property restrictions on candidates. For the most part, the early Chartists took the position that parliamentary democracy was essentially sound but that it needed upgrading, not toppling.[1]
The position and experiences of the British Chartists were not entirely different from those of the reformers in the Canadas. And it is clear that the former influenced the latter. Claims made on the Family Compact and the Château Clique for greater democratic rights echoed global movements. Of course, it was precisely against these worldwide trends that the Tory elites proposed to stand immovable.
Key Points
- The early 19th century saw anti-monarchical and anti-imperial movements spread through the Americas and Western Europe, some of which enjoyed a degree of success.
- Even in Britain there were growing calls for greater democratic government.
- These trends and intellectual developments influenced and contextualized protests against oligarchy in British North America.
- See Dorothy Thompson, The Chartists: Popular Politics in the Industrial Revolution (London: Ashgate, 1986). ↵


Learning Objectives
- Differentiate between infinite and zero elasticity
- Analyze graphs in order to classify elasticity as constant unitary, infinite, or zero
There are two extreme cases of elasticity: when elasticity equals zero and when it is infinite. A third case is that of constant unitary elasticity. We will describe each case.
Infinite elasticity or perfect elasticity refers to the extreme case where either the quantity demanded (Qd) or supplied (Qs) changes by an infinite amount in response to any change in price at all. In both cases, the supply and the demand curve are horizontal as shown in Figure 1. While perfectly elastic supply curves are unrealistic, goods with readily available inputs and whose production can be easily expanded will feature highly elastic supply curves. Examples include pizza, bread, books and pencils. Similarly, perfectly elastic demand is an extreme example. But luxury goods, goods that take a large share of individuals’ income, and goods with many substitutes are likely to have highly elastic demand curves. Examples of such goods are Caribbean cruises and sports vehicles.
Zero elasticity or perfect inelasticity, as depicted in Figure 2 refers to the extreme case in which a percentage change in price, no matter how large, results in zero change in quantity. While a perfectly inelastic supply is an extreme example, goods with limited supply of inputs are likely to feature highly inelastic supply curves. Examples include diamond rings or housing in prime locations such as apartments facing Central Park in New York City. Similarly, while perfectly inelastic demand is an extreme case, necessities with no close substitutes are likely to have highly inelastic demand curves. This is the case of life-saving drugs and gasoline.
Constant unitary elasticity, in either a supply or demand curve, occurs when a price change of one percent results in a quantity change of one percent. Figure 3 shows a demand curve with constant unit elasticity. As we move down the demand curve from A to B, the price falls by 33% and quantity demanded rises by 33%; as you move from B to C, the price falls by 25% and the quantity demanded rises by 25%; as you move from C to D, the price falls by 16% and the quantity rises by 16%. Notice that in absolute value, the declines in price, as you step down the demand curve, are not identical. Instead, the price falls by $3 from A to B, by a smaller amount of $1.50 from B to C, and by a still smaller amount of $0.75 from C to D. As a result, a demand curve with constant unitary elasticity moves from a steeper slope on the left and a flatter slope on the right—and a curved shape overall.
Unlike the demand curve with unitary elasticity, the supply curve with unitary elasticity is represented by a straight line. In moving up the supply curve from left to right, each increase in quantity of 30, from 90 to 120 to 150 to 180, is equal in absolute value. However, in percentage value, the steps are decreasing, from 33.3% to 25% to 16.7%, because the original quantity points in each percentage calculation are getting larger and larger, which expands the denominator in the elasticity calculation.
Consider the price changes moving up the supply curve in Figure 4. From points D to E to F and to G on the supply curve, each step of $1.50 is the same in absolute value. However, if the price changes are measured in percentage change terms, they are also decreasing, from 33.3% to 25% to 16.7%, because the original price points in each percentage calculation are getting larger and larger in value. Along the constant unitary elasticity supply curve, the percentage quantity increases on the horizontal axis exactly match the percentage price increases on the vertical axis—so this supply curve has a constant unitary elasticity at all points.
Key Concepts and Summary
Infinite or perfect elasticity refers to the extreme case where either the quantity demanded or supplied changes by an infinite amount in response to any change in price at all. Zero elasticity refers to the extreme case in which a percentage change in price, no matter how large, results in zero change in quantity. Constant unitary elasticity in either a supply or demand curve refers to a situation where a price change of one percent results in a quantity change of one percent.
Self-Check Questions
- Why is the demand curve with constant unitary elasticity concave?
- Why is the supply curve with constant unitary elasticity a straight line?
Review Questions
- Describe the general appearance of a demand or a supply curve with zero elasticity.
- Describe the general appearance of a demand or a supply curve with infinite elasticity.
Critical Thinking Questions
Can you think of an industry (or product) with near infinite elasticity of supply in the short term? That is, what is an industry that could increase Qs almost without limit in response to an increase in the price?
Problems
- The supply of paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci, who painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper and died in 1519, is highly inelastic. Sketch a supply and demand diagram, paying attention to the appropriate elasticities, to illustrate that demand for these paintings will determine the price.
- Say that a certain stadium for professional football has 70,000 seats. What is the shape of the supply curve for tickets to football games at that stadium? Explain.
- When someone’s kidneys fail, the person needs to have medical treatment with a dialysis machine (unless or until they receive a kidney transplant) or they will die. Sketch a supply and demand diagram, paying attention to the appropriate elasticities, to illustrate that the supply of such dialysis machines will primarily determine the price.
Glossary
- constant unitary elasticity
- when a given percent price change in price leads to an equal percentage change in quantity demanded or supplied
- infinite elasticity
- the extremely elastic situation of demand or supply where quantity changes by an infinite amount in response to any change in price; horizontal in appearance
- perfect elasticity
- see infinite elasticity
- zero inelasticity
- the highly inelastic case of demand or supply in which a percentage change in price, no matter how large, results in zero change in the quantity; vertical in appearance
- perfect inelasticity
- see zero elasticity
Solutions
Answers to Self-Check Questions
- The demand curve with constant unitary elasticity is concave because at high prices, a one percent decrease in price results in more than a one percent increase in quantity. As we move down the demand curve, price drops and the one percent decrease in price causes less than a one percent increase in quantity.
- The constant unitary elasticity is a straight line because the curve slopes upward and both price and quantity are increasing proportionally.


M J Harris
WHEN I saw the cleansing fountain
Open wide for all my sin,
I obeyed the Spirit’s wooing,
When He said, Wilt thou be clean?
I will praise Him, I will praise Him,
Praise the Lamb for sinners slain;
Give Him glory, all ye people,
For His blood can wash away each stain.
2
Though the way seems straight and narrow,
All I claimed was swept away;
My ambitions, plans, and wishes,
At my feet in ashes lay.
3
Then God’s fire upon the altar
Of my heart was set aflame;
I shall never cease to praise Him,
Glory, glory to His name.
4
Blessed be the name of Jesus,
I’m so glad He took me in;
He’s forgiven my transgressions,
He has cleansed my heart from sin.
5
Glory, glory to the Father,
Glory, glory to the Son,
Glory, glory to the Spirit,
Glory to the Three in One.


Chapter 3: Exercise Metabolism and Bioenergetics
Lipid Metabolism
Lipid Metabolism
Lipid metabolism begins in the intestine where ingested triglycerides are broken down into smaller chain fatty acids and subsequently into monoglyceride molecules (see Figure) by pancreatic lipases, enzymes that break down fats after they are emulsified by bile salts. When food reaches the small intestine in the form of chyme, a digestive hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK) is released by intestinal cells in the intestinal mucosa. CCK stimulates the release of pancreatic lipase from the pancreas and stimulates the contraction of the gallbladder to release stored bile salts into the intestine. CCK also travels to the brain, where it can act as a hunger suppressant.
Triglyceride Broken Down into a Monoglyceride
Together, the pancreatic lipases and bile salts break down triglycerides into free fatty acids. These fatty acids can be transported across the intestinal membrane. However, once they cross the membrane, they are recombined to again form triglyceride molecules. Within the intestinal cells, these triglycerides are packaged along with cholesterol molecules in phospholipid vesicles called chylomicrons (Figure). The chylomicrons enable fats and cholesterol to move within the aqueous environment of your lymphatic and circulatory systems. Chylomicrons leave the enterocytes by exocytosis and enter the lymphatic system via lacteals in the villi of the intestine. From the lymphatic system, the chylomicrons are transported to the circulatory system. Once in the circulation, they can either go to the liver or be stored in fat cells (adipocytes) that comprise adipose (fat) tissue found throughout the body.
Lipolysis
To obtain energy from fat, triglycerides must first be broken down by hydrolysis into their two principal components, fatty acids and glycerol. This process, called lipolysis, takes place in the cytoplasm. The resulting fatty acids are oxidized by β-oxidation or fatty acid oxidation into acetyl CoA, which is used by the Krebs cycle (Figure 3.26). The glycerol that is released from triglycerides after lipolysis directly enters the glycolysis pathway as dihydrooxyacetone phosphate (DHAP). Because one triglyceride molecule yields three fatty acid molecules with as much as 16 or more carbons in each one, fat molecules yield more energy than carbohydrates and are an important source of energy for the human body. Triglycerides yield more than twice the energy per unit mass when compared to carbohydrates and proteins. Therefore, when glucose levels are low, triglycerides can be converted into acetyl CoA molecules and used to generate ATP through aerobic respiration.
Ketogenesis
If excessive acetyl CoA is created from the oxidation of fatty acids and the Krebs cycle is overloaded and cannot handle it, the acetyl CoA is diverted to create ketone bodies. These ketone bodies can serve as a fuel source if glucose levels are too low in the body. Ketones serve as fuel in times of prolonged starvation or when patients suffer from uncontrolled diabetes and cannot utilize most of the circulating glucose. In both cases, fat stores are liberated to generate energy through the Krebs cycle and will generate ketone bodies when too much acetyl CoA accumulates. However, ketones are acids which at high levels can cause the pH of the plasma to become acidic; a condition called ketoacidosis.
Ketone Body Oxidation
Organs that have classically been thought to be dependent solely on glucose, such as the brain, can actually use ketones as an alternative energy source. This keeps the brain functioning when glucose is limited. When ketones are produced faster than they can be used, they can be broken down into CO2 and acetone. The acetone is removed by exhalation.  This effect provides one way of telling if a diabetic is properly controlling the disease. The carbon dioxide produced can acidify the blood, leading to diabetic ketoacidosis, a dangerous condition in diabetics.
Lipogenesis
When glucose levels are plentiful, the excess acetyl CoA generated by glycolysis can be converted into fatty acids, triglycerides, cholesterol, steroids, and bile salts. This process, called lipogenesis, creates lipids (fat) from the acetyl CoA and takes place in the cytoplasm of adipocytes (fat cells) and hepatocytes (liver cells). When you eat more glucose or carbohydrates than your body needs, your system uses acetyl CoA to turn the excess into fat. Although there are several metabolic sources of acetyl CoA, it is most commonly derived from glycolysis. Acetyl CoA availability is significant, because it initiates lipogenesis. Lipogenesis begins with acetyl CoA and advances by the subsequent addition of two carbon atoms from another acetyl CoA; this process is repeated until fatty acids are the appropriate length. Because this is a bond-creating anabolic process, ATP is consumed. However, the creation of triglycerides and lipids is an efficient way of storing the energy available in carbohydrates. Triglycerides and lipids, high-energy molecules, are stored in adipose tissue until they are needed.
Although lipogenesis occurs in the cytoplasm, the necessary acetyl CoA is created in the mitochondria and cannot be transported across the mitochondrial membrane. To solve this problem, pyruvate is converted into both oxaloacetate and acetyl CoA. Two different enzymes are required for these conversions. Oxaloacetate forms via the action of pyruvate carboxylase, whereas the action of pyruvate dehydrogenase creates acetyl CoA. Oxaloacetate and acetyl CoA combine to form citrate, which can cross the mitochondrial membrane and enter the cytoplasm. In the cytoplasm, citrate is converted back into oxaloacetate and acetyl CoA. Oxaloacetate is converted into malate and then into pyruvate. Pyruvate crosses back across the mitochondrial membrane to wait for the next cycle of lipogenesis. The acetyl CoA is converted into malonyl CoA that is used to synthesize fatty acids. Figure summarizes the pathways of lipid metabolism.
Lipids are available to the body from three sources. They can be ingested in the diet, stored in the adipose tissue of the body, or synthesized in the liver. Fats ingested in the diet are digested in the small intestine. The triglycerides are broken down into monoglycerides and free fatty acids, then imported across the intestinal mucosa. Once across, the triglycerides are resynthesized and transported to the liver or adipose tissue. Fatty acids are oxidized through fatty acid or β-oxidation into two-carbon acetyl CoA molecules, which can then enter the Krebs cycle to generate ATP. If excess acetyl CoA is created and overloads the capacity of the Krebs cycle, the acetyl CoA can be used to synthesize ketone bodies. When glucose is limited, ketone bodies can be oxidized and used for fuel. Excess acetyl CoA generated from excess glucose or carbohydrate ingestion can be used for fatty acid synthesis or lipogenesis. Acetyl CoA is used to create lipids, triglycerides, steroid hormones, cholesterol, and bile salts. Lipolysis is the breakdown of triglycerides into glycerol and fatty acids, making them easier for the body to process.
Glossary
- beta (β)-oxidation
- fatty acid oxidation
- bile salts
- salts that are released from the liver in response to lipid ingestion and surround the insoluble triglycerides to aid in their conversion to monoglycerides and free fatty acids
- cholecystokinin (CCK)
- hormone that stimulates the release of pancreatic lipase and the contraction of the gallbladder to release bile salts
- chylomicrons
- vesicles containing cholesterol and triglycerides that transport lipids out of the intestinal cells and into the lymphatic and circulatory systems
- fatty acid oxidation
- breakdown of fatty acids into smaller chain fatty acids and acetyl CoA
- ketone bodies
- alternative source of energy when glucose is limited, created when too much acetyl CoA is created during fatty acid oxidation
- lipogenesis
- synthesis of lipids that occurs in the liver or adipose tissues
- lipolysis
- breakdown of triglycerides into glycerol and fatty acids
- monoglyceride molecules
- lipid consisting of a single fatty acid chain attached to a glycerol backbone
- pancreatic lipases
- enzymes released from the pancreas that digest lipids in the diet
- triglycerides
- lipids, or fats, consisting of three fatty acid chains attached to a glycerol backbone


4 What else can we do?
 These projects all start with a panorama using the earlier methods, but uses it for something that’s bound to delight.
Little Planet: Gasworks Hill
Here we’ve got a perfectly nice panorama from a sunrise on the hill of Gasworks Park, edges cleaned up and everything. Let’s make it into a little planet!
- In Photoshop, use Image > Image Size, and change the height and width to be identical (in this case, 2048×2048.) You might need to uncheck the linked size icon.
- Resizing will create some pixel artifacting on the edge. Clean this up by first centering the edge with Filter > Other > Offset, with 1024 on the X axis. Use the Spot Healing brush to clean the seam up, then use Offset again to recenter the sun.
- Flip the image upside down with Image >Image Rotation > 180.
- Create your little planet using Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates.
- If you’re really fancy, you can expand the clouds to better fill the sky in the corners.
Injecting Metadata into panoramas
For all this panoramic labor, you might find yourself struggling to match the output of a panorama made on a phone, which often allows for 3D navigation on Facebook and other media platforms. When a panorama is made automatically on a phone, it includes native metadata that specifies it as a panorama. To get this with our panoramas, we’ll export this with panorama settings directly in Photoshop. Consider, for instance, this cleaned up panorama of the Golden Gardens Estuary.
- In Photoshop, use 3D > Spherical Panorama > New Panorama Layer from Selected Layers. This enters into Photoshop’s 3D interface.
- Export this with 3D > Spherical Panorama > Export Panorama.
- Upload this photo to Facebook.
The spherical panorama metadata will be detected, and allow the pano to be spun around at will.
Flexifying for fun and papercraft
Through the Flexify plugin, a panorama can be transformed in Photoshop into a variety of spatial mappings. This is a helpful way to reposition panoramas, make a psychedelic remapping, or even create a printable origami papercraft printout. Here’s another panorama from Gasworks Park at sunrise.
To use Flexify, download and install it in your Photoshop directory. Restart Photoshop, and use it on a panorama via Filter > Flaming Pear > Flexify 2. The interface offers a vast quantity of remapping options.
The Latitude, Longitude, and Spin options can be used to level a horizon if your panorama is tilted. But some of the other options, like quasar, tube, or in this instance, hypertriple, can make a mesmerizing psychedelic effect.
Or Stereo Twice.
Several of the options, like Dodecahedron, also allow for a fun papercraft project.
HDR panoramas are complex subjects that can take years to truly master. On their own, they’re a riveting form of photography, but have a vast quantity of applications in film, video games, and even social media. But aside from all that technical mumbo jumbo, they’re terrific fodder for bizarre, psychadelic photographic experiments.
Feedback/Errata


Frelét de Villiers; Helga Hambrock; and Ellen Rusman
Conducting an international research study may have been an idea of many researchers in the field of educational technology as the environment lends itself to international collaboration. Ideas and visions of researchers in this field may have been discussed from many angels, but the execution of an actual study is rarely attained. Walt Disney, the well-known innovator, said: “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” (Newmark, 2007. p. 18). This quote became relevant to a group of researchers who are members of the International Association of Mobile learning. The researchers from five different countries in five different continents decided to “stop talking” in 2018 and became involved in a global research project that was conducted in 2019 and is now being published in this book.
Many topics were mentioned for the research study and after several brainstorming sessions during the mLearn, 17th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning in Chicago, November 2018, the ‘seamless learning’ topic crystalized as the most relevant. A bot called CONNIE (Connecting of New Neurons in Exploration) was designed for this exercise and was used as an objective content selector. It was also decided to build the research project on the study of Rusman, Tan and Firssova (2018). The study had been selected as best conference paper at the same conference, based on the innovative Disney Method that was followed for the data collection.
The researchers were selected as representatives of their countries based on their interest and positive contribution to the International Association for Mobile Learning over the years and their interest to participate. They committed to contribute to the research project by conducting the research, analyzing the data and by writing a chapter about the findings in their specific country for the proposed book.
The first steps were to set up a project plan with goals, timelines and to decide which specific theme the study would pursue. The postulated overarching statement for the study was formulated as: Seamless’ (learning) experiences should become a standard component within the curriculum of our institution.
Ensuring that meeting times would be suitable for all was a huge challenge because of the many different time zones, but all participants tried their best to be in the meetings.
In order to place the term seamless learning in a global context, a literature review on the evolution of the term is presented next. More information about what seamless learning means and how it has evolved over the years is found in each chapter with specific reference to research in the context of each country.
Historical Panorama
Looking at the concept of seamless learning, it already has quite a history in the broader international educational domain. In his overview ‘a brief history of seamless learning’ Wong (2015) sketches two main streams in literature that at first largely existed ‘apart’ and from 2011 on gradually merged conceptually. One origin, in the early 1990’s, derived from the desire in higher education to diminish the gap between in-and-out of class learning and to integrate distinct roles faculty and student affairs staff had in supporting students. From this increased staff awareness and holistic perspective on supporting students’ lives, students themselves were also encouraged to take advantage of learning resources inside and outside the classroom and to use their own life experiences to make meaning of material introduced in classes (Kuh, 1996, p. 136). Merging formal and informal learning approaches and looking at ‘the whole’ student (mind, body, spirit, talents, experience, and knowledge) and (curriculum and organizational) support as enablers characterized this perspective on ‘seamless learning’. As Wong (2015, p. 2) indicated “technological support of learning played no significant role in this discussion”.
On the contrary, the second origin sketched by Wong (2015), at the start of the 21st century, was characterized by a “greater focus on technological innovation to enable specific personalized learning activities across spaces” (Wong, 2015, p. 3). Especially scientists active in the field of mobile and ubiquitous learning reframed the ‘seamless learning’ concept within the Technology-enhanced learning domain. In an international synthesis of Chan et al. (2006, p. 23) seamless learning was described as “marked by continuity of the learning experience across different scenarios or contexts, and emerging from the availability of one [technological] device or more per student.” They stressed that the availability of personal devices could enable students to learn when they are curious in any context and to connect these different (formal and informal; individual and social) contexts in which they are learning, also through the extension of social spaces in which learners interact. Also Wong (2012, p. 22) states that a “Seamless learner should be able to explore, identify and seize boundless latent opportunities that his daily living spaces may offer to him mediated by technology…”
Reflecting on the overall history of seamless learning, one could also argue that a third early 1990’s origin can be distinguished, one that originated from the field of science learning. Here the wish to engage students in learning activities and environments that promote both ‘hands-on’ experimentation and ‘minds-on’ reflection was behind the idea to bridge the gap between formal and informal science learning (Hofstein & Rosenfeld, 1996). Although the terms ‘continuity’ and ‘seamless’ were not yet coined, Hofstein and Rosenfeld (1996, p. 106) described the blending of formal and informal learning experiences in school science in order to provide science education tailored to the needs and abilities of a heterogeneous population of citizens (‘science for all’). This stream could be considered the start of more recent research in the field of mobile and seamless (collaborative) inquiry-based learning (Burden & Kearney, 2016; Suarez, 2017; Suarez et al., 2018; Kali et al., 2018) and citizen science (Herodotou et al., 2018).
Since then, the concept of ‘seamless learning’ has been used in various manners and with various connotations. For example, to describe an envisioned ‘continuous and (cross-) contextual’ learning and support process, to mark out a design paradigm within the larger domain of learning and instructional design, to typify the organizational change of interweaving formal and non-formal learning, to describe a specific type of learning environment, to label specific and concrete learning scenarios and to describe how mobile and ubiquitous technology can influence and change the way we learn. Looking at these different connotations, Wong (2015) suggested that the definition by Sharples et al. (2012, p. 24) could be considered as the most common denominator between them, namely “seamless learning is when a person experiences a continuity of learning, and consciously bridges the multifaceted learning efforts, across a combination of locations, times, technologies or social settings.” The promise of this ‘continuity’ lies in potential learning gains, such as an increase in retention, transfer, support for the acquisition of (complex) skills, increased academic performance and motivation, awareness and change in perception(s), an increase sense of self-efficacy, next to potential organizational gains (e.g. increased efficiency and time-spend-on-learning).
Although the definition above expresses an intent and characteristics of a specific type of envisioned learning process of an individual, it does not yet express how this ‘continuity’ comes into being and whether individuals should take care of this themselves or whether they are supported in their efforts through a learner designers’ work or through supportive actors (e.g. teacher, coach). As in this chapter we specifically are looking at how the concept of seamless learning can be relevant for lifelong learning and higher (distance) education institutes, who are (formally) responsible for providing learners with the most optimal learning experiences, we here adopt a definition from a designers’ perspective. Seamless learning is therefore defined as a learning design paradigm with the intention to “Connect (learning) experiences and learning activities, through technology-supported learning scenarios using ubiquitous technology and handheld devices, that learners experience through participation in various contexts (e.g. formal/non-formal) and hereby supporting, improving and enhancing learning (and support) processes, so that learners experience a continuity of learning across environments and settings at different times and are, for their learning processes, optimally benefiting from their personal experiences both in and across contexts (Rusman, 2019, adapted from Sharples et al., 2012, p. 24)”.
Although Chan et al. (2006, p. 23) indicated that the concept of seamless learning would influence nature, process and outcomes of learning, this influence still remains modest and highly variable when looking internationally and at different educational sectors. In their systematic international scoping review study Durak & Cancaya (2018) show an increase in the number of studies on seamless learning and indicate that the importance of the concept seems to be gradually increasing. However, their detailed analysis of 58 selected articles, also shows additional issues in the field. For example, looking at where studies took place, the majority of studies (42%) were carried out in Asia (Singapore and China), mostly (almost 95% in total) amongst students and teachers at a K12 or undergraduate level. In these contexts, the concept of seamless learning is more generally applied in the domains of ‘language learning’ and ‘(inquiry-based) science education’ and to support self-regulation and reflection processes. If we look in the current daily international practices of higher (distance) education and lifelong learning, the major impact predicted by Chan et al. still remains forthcoming. Not many studies took place in higher (distance) education (yet), although this could be expected, as specifically there is a history of online academic education. Also higher vocational education could be considered underrepresented, despite the ample opportunities for ‘boundary crossing’ that are present through the combination of formal learning and ‘learning on the job’. Currently, learning environments and settings a learner moves through still remain separated in many ways (Wong & Looi, 2011). The creation of connections and the construction of an overarching context between different learning experiences and environments, e.g. in-and-outside formal learning environments, is predominantly not facilitated yet.
In the next section the research methodology that was applied during the global research project is explained and presented in more detail.
Research Methodology
The research methodology used for this global research project follows a mixed method approach – specifically a convergent parallel design. According to Merriam and Tisdell (2016, p. 24) a convergent design is where “both the qualitative and quantitative data are collected more or less simultaneously; both data sets are analyzed and the results are compared”. The quantitative part is presented by calculating percentages based on the number of comments within certain groups that will become clear in the description of the methodology in the rest of the chapter. The percentages of each country are also compared with each other for a global overview.
The qualitative part is presented by an analysis of the comments of the participants. Sense making of the data involves consolidating, reducing and interpreting comments to constitute the findings of the study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016, p. 202). Creswell (2013, p. 101) explains it as “understanding the complexity” of the data. It was decided to do a comparative analysis of the data as described by Strauss and Corbin (1995, p. 273). This type of analysis is characterised through “continuous interplay between analysis and data collection” and it allows for “ingenuity and [is] an aid to creativity”. A deductive form of reasoning was used. It involves “moving from a general principle to understanding a specific case” (DePoy & Gitlin, 2016, p. 4). In other words, the researcher begins with a certain framework and then applies this to explain a specific case or set of data.
In this study the analysis is based on a framework provided by Rusman, Tan and Firssova’s (2018) in their article “Dreams, realism and critics of stakeholders on implementing and adopting mobile Seamless Learning Scenario’s in Dutch Secondary education”. Data was collected by researchers, each one in their own country, by hosting workshops and applying Disney’s Creative Strategy method to gather data from various prospectives. The methodology is described in more detail in the following sections.
Disney’s Creative Strategy method (Disney method)
Walt Disney was described by one of his associates as having three characteristics “the dreamer, the realist, and the spoiler. You never knew which one was coming to the meeting” (Elmansy, 2015). In 1994 NLP specialist Robert Dilts cloned Disney’s method where people use a specific way of thinking to generate, evaluate and critique ideas to solve problems. This creative way of thinking unlocks the mind’s potential to dream and form solutions for specific issues. Balancing out the idyllic way of looking at a problem are the opinions of the realist and critical thinker to arrive at a viable outcome. Disney’s method, therefore, can be described as creative brainstorming to help turn the unthinkable into applicable projects. In Dilts’ (1994) own words:
Creativity as a total process involves the coordination of these three sub-processes: dreamer, realist and critic. A dreamer without a realist cannot turn ideas into tangible expressions. A critic and a dreamer without a realist just become stuck in a perpetual conflict. The dreamer and a realist might create things, but they might not achieve a high degree of quality without a critic. The critic helps to evaluate and refine the products of creativity.
Initially the same people were assigned three different roles, namely the dreamer, the realist and the critic. After imagining being in a specific role, the person moves onto the next character. According to Elmansy (2015) and McGuinnes (2009), the different roles can be described as follows:
The Dreamer
This role allows the person to share opinions without restrictions or criticism, resulting in a pool of creative ideas full of passion and enthusiasm. According to Rusman (2018), the dreamer looks at a problem from a positive, enthusiastic perspective where no issues or risks stand in the way. Certain questions asked by the dreamer are (Elmansy 2015; McGuinness 2009):
- What is the solution?
- What excites and inspires you about it?
- How do we imagine the solution?
- What are the benefits of applying the solution?
The Realist
When stepping into the role of the realist, plans must be put in place to realize the dream. This suggests a more logical way of thinking and creating ways to turn the idea into a manageable strategy. The person must not think about shortcomings and risks, but rather about concrete possibilities (Rusman, 2018). Questions that come to mind are (Elmansy, 2015; McGuinness, 2009):
- How can we apply this idea in reality?
- What resources do you need to make this happen?
- What is the action plan to apply the idea?
- What is the timeline to apply this idea?
The Critic
The primary role of the critic is to skeptically think about any barriers that may hinder the dream or concept to become a reality. Constructive critique is given regarding any flaws, possible problems, risks, obstacles or weak spots in the plan. Questions may include (Elmansy 2015; McGuinness 2009; Rusman 2018):
- What could be wrong with the idea?
- What are the disadvantages?
- What is missing?
- What are the weaknesses in the plan?
In our methodology, we assigned participants specific roles and did not let all of them take on all three positions. This was to streamline the process and save time. Rusman (2018) added a fourth role, namely the Observer. The Observer in her words “…is someone who is neutral towards the different perspectives and who summarizes each feedback during the plenary/feedback session”. This role was not included in this study per se. The researchers were taking on this role as they organized and observed the workshop from an objective perspective.
Ethical Clearance
Each of the researchers had to obtain ethical clearance or IRB (International Review Board) approval from their institution. This was a lengthy process for the researchers, because each higher education institution in each country had distinctive requirements which had to be collectively met.
Data Collection
Participants
Purposive, as well as snowball sampling, was utilized to recruit participants for the respective projects. Lecturers, instructors, professors, managers and coordinators in the respective higher education institutions were invited to participate in the study. Teaching staff from different departments were contacted via email and some by personal invitation. There were no inclusion/exclusion criteria except for the fact that they must be teaching staff of the specific institution. At some institutions, the workshop was repeated to increase the number of participants.
Workshop
The project was conducted in a workshop format. The same workshop format was followed by all researchers. After inviting participants and setting suitable dates and times the workshops were held at designated venues. The rooms were prepared by organizing tables and chairs in groups, seating between four and six participants per group. Every table presented one of the Disney roles and a specific color of post-it notes was placed on the table respectively. The realist for example were handed green post-it notes, the dreamer yellow and the critic pink notes. The three different colored post-it notes were to be used for writing down thoughts during the workshop by members of each group. Each participant received the program for the workshop, a short description of the seamless learning concept, an overview of the Disney method, a consent form for the ethical clearance and a short biographical questionnaire.
The original program of the workshop entailed the following sections:
- Welcome and introduction: The first twenty minutes of the workshop included a word of welcome, an introduction on the topic of seamless learning and a clarification of the method. A PowerPoint presentation compiled by Rusman (2018) was used for the presentations in all countries.
- Completion of consent form and biographical questionnaire. About ten minutes were assigned for the voluntary completion of the consent form and biographic questionnaire.
- Brainstorming sessions. The third part of the workshop entailed a twenty-minute brainstorming session within the respective roles assigned to each group. The mentioned, overarching statement/proposition postulated to the participants was: Seamless’ (learning) experiences should become a standard component within the curriculum of our institution. Each idea and thought were written on a separate post-it note.
- Feedback session. The post-it notes were attached to the notice board, and a group feedback-session, steered by one person followed for thirty minutes. During the feedback session the groups shared their thoughts with one another.
- Summary. At the end of the workshop the observer/researcher summed up the most relevant thoughts. He/she thanked the participants and explained what the next steps of the data collection would be. These steps are explained in the data analysis section below.
Data Analysis and Findings
Each of the researchers followed the same procedure for the data analysis by capturing the comments from the post-it notes on a spreadsheet in the three mentioned categories. Most of the researchers used the selected post-it notes colors from the workshop to distinguish the respective categories from each other. This procedure was followed to identify the statements again after categorizing them according to the coding scheme and framework of (Rusman, Tan & Firssova, 2018).
According to Onwuegbuzie, Leech, and Collins (2012) as well as Azungah (2018) a deductive analysis approach is one way to analyze data. This approach is used when you have a predetermined framework to analyze the data (Burnard et al., 2008, p. 429). Since this research project is based on a pre-existing study (Rusman, Tan & Firssova, 2018), as mentioned before, the themes and sub-themes that were used to do the deductive analysis are the following. The three main themes encompassed, 1.) the decision process, 2.) the change process and 3.) the design and implementation process. It must be clearly stated that what follows, are the statement of the components of the framework that were used to analyze the data. A complete description of the findings and analytical discussion of each set of data for each country will be presented in each chapter. This will be followed by the last chapter where all the strings will be pulled together.
The sub-themes for the decision process included 1.) costs, efforts, investment, dangers;
2.) benefits, surplus, value, results; 3.) technology; teachers’ competencies, attitudes; 4.) target group, suitability, competencies, attitudes; 5.) social expectancies, role requirements and national education curriculum.
The change process theme consists of the sub-themes: 1.) teacher professionalism; 2.) organizational management; 3.) evaluation and quality control; 4.) changing roles and responsibilities; 5.) change of daily school organization as well as a change of models, methods and approaches.
The themes 1.) technology; 2.) guidance, support, degree of autonomy of learners; 3.) social learning participation and involvement of the network, various social practices; 4.) learning objectives and learning results; 5.) assessment formative and summative, evaluation and testing; 6.) process-oriented design of interdisciplinary/ transboundary activities; 7.) experiential design of activities within school; 8.) safety-measures and insurance form the sub-themes of the third main theme, namely design and implementation process.
After conducting a deductive analysis process, the different data sets from the researchers were analyzed by means of a comparative content analysis. Through this type of analysis, a combination of factors is identified across multiple sets of data to produce a specific outcome (Cress & Snow, 2000, p. 1067). Reports on the different sets of data with unique remarks and observations are included in the various chapters to follow.
Limitations of the Study
The researchers’ interpretation of the data in each country cannot be without bias since variables such as their background, gender, culture, history, socioeconomic background, experience and attitude is not the same and cannot but have an influence on the interpretation of the data (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). Therefore the categorization and interpretations of the statements need to be considered from this stance. These differences are even more pertinent if more than one researcher is working on the data analysis. For this reason, only two researchers worked on the data of the final chapter.
Conclusion
To conduct the same research project in five different countries, on five different continents in different time zones, is a challenge in itself. However, to keep the data collection and data analysis aligned was another challenge and needed detailed guidelines and timelines. Besides that each country has its own rules, regulations and policies in terms of technology integration in higher education, each institution follows a specific set of guidelines for obtaining ethical clearance. To compare data from such a variety of backgrounds may be challenging and questionable. These challenges were all part of the challenge the research team encountered. Before addressing the global challenges, the researchers decided to focus on their countries first.
Thus, each researcher compiled a chapter in the form of an independent research study on seamless learning, grounded in their national and institutional context. Therefore the following chapters shed light on the background and the perspective on seamless learning in higher education in the context of Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA, correspondingly.
Looking ahead, this research may be used as a foundation for future studies in the area of seamless learning for education. These could include an analysis of the education policies of more countries; compiling a draft “blueprint” for implementing seamless learning as part of policies and curriculum and designing a strategy as well as step by step guidelines for lecturers regarding practical advice on implementing seamless learning. With this study we are embarking on an exciting journey into relatively unexplored territory.
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1. Urban Settlement in British Columbia
References and Resources
References
Belshaw, J.D. 2008, Becoming British Columbia: A Population History, UBC Press.
Berelowitz, Lance. 2005. Dream City: Vancouver and the Global Imagination. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre.
Blomley, Nicholas, Ley, David and Wyly, Elvyn. 2011. “Gentrification pushes out the poor.” Vancouver Sun, Feb 2, http://www.sfu.ca/~blomley/op-ed.pdf
City of Vancouver. 2011. Report to Council (June 26, 2011): Viaducts and False Creek Flats Planning Eastern Core Strategy. Director of Planning and Engineering Services, http://vancouver.ca/docs/eastern-core/core-strategy-council-report.pdf
Cole, Yolande. “Vancouver votes to proceed with two-year study of viaducts removal.” The Georgia Straight, 26 June, 2013.
Dale, A., & Newman, L. L. (2009). Sustainable development for some: green urban development and affordability. Local Environment, 14 (7), 669-681.
Dockside Green Website. http://www.docksidegreen.com Date Accessed: June 10, 2014.
Driftmier, Peter. 2012, Fall. Tearing Down the Viaducts: Green for all or Green for Some? [Podcast]. City: Redeye Vancouver. Coop Radio 100.5 FM.
Harcourt, Mike and Cameron, Ken. 2007. City making in paradise. Nine decisions that saved Vancouver. Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre.
Hasson, Schlomo and Ley, David. 1994. Neighbourhood Organizations and the Welfare State. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Hulchanski, David and Shapcott, M. 2004. Finding room: Options for a Canadian Rental Housing Strategy. Toronto: CUCS Press.
Liscombe, Rhodri W. 2011. “A study in Modern(ist) urbanism: planning Vancouver, 1945–1965.” Urban History 38 (1): 124-149.
Massey, D. (1991). A global sense of place. Marxism today, 35(6), 24-29.
Rosol, Marit & Temenos, Cristina. (In Press). The Greenest City Experience: Exploring Social Action and Social Sustainability in Vancouver, Canada. Mössner, S., Freytag, T., Krueger, R. (eds) Adventures in Urban Sustainable Development: Theoretical interventions and notes from the field. MIT Press.


6 Irregular Plural Nouns
Irregular plurals, unlike regular plurals, don’t necessarily follow any particular pattern—instead, they follow a lot of different patterns. Because of this, irregular plurals require a lot of memorization; you need to remember which nouns belong to which type of pluralization. Mastering irregulars uses a different region of your brain than regular pluralization: it’s an entirely different skill set than regular pluralization. So don’t get too frustrated if you can’t remember the correct plural. If you’re ever in doubt, the dictionary is there for you.
No Change (Base Plurals)
The first kind of irregular plural we’ll talk about is the no-change or base plural. In these words, the singular noun has the exact same form as the plural. Most no-change plurals are types of animals:
- sheep
- fish
- deer
- moose
Mid-Word Vowel Change
In a few words, the mid-word vowels are changed to form the plural. This video lists all seven of these words and their plurals.
Plural –en
And last we have plural –en. In these words –en is used as the plural ending instead of –s or -es.
- child → children
- ox → oxen
- brother → brethren
- sister → sistren
Practice
What are the correct plurals for the following words?
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| goose | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] | moose | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] |
| fish | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] | child | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] |
| man | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] | tooth | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] |
Show Answer
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| goose | geese | moose | moose |
| fish | fish | child | children |
| man | men | tooth | teeth |
Borrowed Words –i, –en, –a, –es, –ae
The last category of irregular plurals is borrowed words. These words are native to other languages (e.g., Latin, Greek) and have retained the pluralization rules from their original tongue.
Singular –us; Plural –i
- cactus → cacti
- fungus → fungi
- syllabus → syllabi
In informal speech, cactuses and funguses are acceptable. Octopuses is preferred to octopi, but octopi is an accepted word.
Singular -a; Plural –ae
- formula → formulae (sometimes formulas)
- vertebra → vertebrae
- larva → larvae
Singular –ix, –ex; Plural –ices, –es
- appendix → appendices (sometimes appendixes)
- index → indices
Singular –on, –um; Plural –a
- criterion → criteria
- bacterium → bacteria
- medium → media
Singular –is; Plural –es
- analysis → analyses
- crisis → crises
- thesis → theses
Practice
What are the correct plurals for the following words?
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| memorandum | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] | emphasis | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] |
| focus | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] | basis | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] |
| nucleus | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] | phenomenon | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] |
| appendix | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] | curriculum | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] |
| parenthesis | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] | hypothesis | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] |
| stimulus | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] | vertebra | [practice-area rows=”1″][/practice-area] |
Show Answer
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| memorandum | memoranda | emphasis | emphases |
| focus | foci (focuses is also acceptable) | basis | bases |
| nucleus | nuclei | phenomenon | phenomena |
| appendix | appendices (appendixes is also acceptable) | curriculum | curricula |
| parenthesis | parentheses | hypothesis | hypotheses |
| stimulus | stimuli | vertebra | vertebrae |


4. Creating Digital Accessibility Culture
Creating Digital Accessibility Culture: Takeaways
In this unit, you learned that:
- Accessibility auditing is an important step. Choosing a reputable service involves careful consideration focusing on key reputability factors.
- Two approaches to accessible websites are retrofitting and starting over. The correct approach for your situation will need to consider several factors including outsourcing the work to external vendors.
- Building a company-wide strategy about accessibility includes building awareness, hiring people with disabilities, focused presentations, and training.
- Web development accessibility guidelines focus on user interaction with a website, whereas web content accessibility guidelines focus more on standards compliance. Both are important.
- Several approaches should be used to monitor adherence to accessibility guidelines including unbiased quality assurance reviews and the use of automated tools.
- Implementing accessibility will include managing change. Kotter’s Eight-Step Model for Leading Change and Lewin’s Three-Step Model are two common models that can help plan and facilitate the implementation.
- Resistance by staff may be the most challenging element in implementing change. Overcoming the five main reasons people resist change needs to be part of your change management strategy.