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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were developed by the United Nations in 2015 to encompass universal respect for equality and non-discrimination regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and cultural diversity. Since 2000, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) have aligned with SDG 4.3 by developing higher education institutions (HEIs) which aims to "By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university". This was intended to create equal opportunities and permit full realisation and prosperity of human rights and human dignity. This paper explores the effectiveness of managing racial integration in BRICS HEIs and illustrates remarkable progress in research and policy enactment. Particular attention is devoted to the period from the mid-2000s when evidence around the globe exposed the presence of many forms of violence, which inhibit management of effective racial integration. Based on case studies from selected BRICS countries (South Africa, Russia, and Brazil), this paper explores how the management of racial integration is being addressed within these contexts. [For the complete Volume 20 proceedings, see ED622631.]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the percentage of expenditure on public education of a country and the effect that each percentage mark has on the economic growth, and therefore Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country. The goal of this paper is to explore how investment in education impacts the economic growth of a country through the production of more skilled workers in the workforce. This paper aims to draw a comparison between the BRICS countries, and a representative number of the countries in the European Union to compare the investment, process and product delivered through these groupings. By looking at the production function from a Marxist perspective it is inevitable to notice that the error coefficient is significantly higher within the BRICS countries than in the European Union, which is reflected in the rate of economic growth. This paper would be of interest to economists, education policy makers, researchers, and scholars.

Homeschooling is an alternative method of teaching where parents take the responsibility of education and teach their children at home. This method of education is increasing worldwide. Various authorities around the world have taken note of this trend and recognized homeschooling as an alternative method of education in their legislation. The paper examines the educational policy and practice of homeschooling in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) through a literature study, with the aim of comparing the five countries to hit. It also looks at what the BRICS countries can learn from each other regarding homeschooling. Most of the BRICS countries have education law that does not provide for homeschooling. In the countries where homeownership is legal, there are strict requirements that must be met. These requirements place a heavy burden on home school parents. However, it is clear from the investigation that homeschooling is increasing in the BRICS countries legally and illegally. There are also other similarities arising from the study.

Various internal and external determinants influence an education system. External determinants include language, demographics, geography, technology, politics, and financial and economic trends. Religion is also one of these external determinants that can influence an education system, as well as the education systems of the. The BRICS member countries consist of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS member countries are one of the most organized and supportive international cooperation organizations that currently exist. Religion is considered a controversial and sensitive topic. This research aimed to determine how religion as an external determinant influences the education systems of the BRICS member countries. The study focused on the differences and similarities that can be identified based on religion as an external determinant of the various education systems in the BRICS member countries. The BRICS member countries were deliberately chosen for this study because each member state is considered a secular country in terms of religion, yet each member state treats religion differently in their country. The comparative method was used during this study to identify the best practices from the BRICS member countries. The interpretive research paradigm was used during this study using the qualitative research approach. The document analysis was used during the study to analyse the content of policies, legislation, articles, and government publications using content analysis to be able to identify themes to be able to perform the comparison between the different education systems of the BRICS member countries. The findings from this study are as follows: Religion as an external determinant of an education system does have a significant influence on the education systems of the various BRICS member countries. It is very important to observe and describe these findings from the context of the various member states. [For the complete Volume 20 proceedings, see ED622631.]

Many discussions have taken place around the issue of the special needs of learners, special schools and inclusivity. UNESCO argues that inclusive education will accommodate all children, regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other conditions. This would include disabled and gifted children, street and working children, children from remote or nomadic populations, children from linguistic, ethnic or cultural minorities and children from other disadvantaged areas or groups. In inclusive education, the diverse needs of students would be recognised and responded to, accommodating different styles and rates of learning and ensuring quality education to all. However, globally, the views of countries on inclusivity differ, and setting up schools for learners with special needs is often preferred. The overall aim of this study is to give an overview of the perspectives of the BRICS countries regarding learners with special needs, special schools and inclusivity. A document analysis was done of both printed and electronic (computer-based and Internet-transmitted) material. The views of the BRICS countries on learners with special needs, special schools and inclusivity differ. [For the complete Volume 19 proceedings, see ED613922.]

The advent of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) has led to the availability of large educational datasets collected from diverse international audiences. Little work has been done on the impact of cultural and geographic factors on student performance in MOOCs. In this paper, we analyze national and cultural differences in students' performance in a large-scale MOOC. We situate our analysis in the context of existing theoretical frameworks for cultural analysis. We focus on three dimensions of learner behavior: course activity profiles; quiz activity profiles; and most connected forum peer or "best friends." We conclude that countries or associated cultural clusters are associated with differences in all three dimensions. These findings stress the need for more research on the internationalization in online education and greater intercultural awareness among MOOC designers.

These proceedings contain the papers and posters of the International Conferences on Internet Technologies & Society (ITS 2016), Educational Technologies (ICEduTech 2016) and Sustainability, Technology and Education (STE 2016), which have been organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society and co-organised by the RMIT University, in Melbourne, Australia, December 6-8, 2016. The Internet Technologies & Society conference aims to address the main issues of concern within WWW/Internet as well as to assess the influence of Internet in the Information Society. The International Conference on Educational Technologies (ICEduTech) is the scientific conference addressing the real topics as seen by teachers, students, parents and school leaders. The International Conference on Sustainability, Technology and Education (STE) aims to address the main issues which occur by assessing the relationship between Sustainability, Education and Technology. Full papers in these proceedings include: (1) ECG Identification System Using Neural Network with Global and Local Features (Kuo Kun Tseng, Dachao Lee and Charles Chen); (2) Smartening Up: Ongoing Challenges for Australia's Outback (Lucy Cradduck); (3) Extraction of Graph Information Based on Image Contents and the Use of Ontology (Sarunya Kanjanawattana and Masaomi Kimura); (4) Applicability of Domain-Specific Application Framework for End-User Development (Takeshi Chusho); (5) Application of Business Intelligence System in Company Restructuring Process: The Case of Croatia (Iva Bakula, Katarina Curko, Mirjana Pejic Bach and Vesna Bosilj Vukšic); (6) Method to Identify Deep Cases Based on Relationships between Nouns, Verbs, and Particles (Daisuke Ide and Madaomi Kimura); (7) Leveraging Data Analysis for Domain Experts: An Embeddable Framework for Basic Data Science Tasks (Johannes-Y. Lohrer, Daniel Kaltenthaler and Peer Kröger); (8) Investigating the Identity Theft Prevention Strategies in M-Commerce (Mahmood Hussain Shah, Javed Ahmed and Zahoor Ahmed Soomro); (9) Electronic Invoice in Costa Rica: Challenges for Its Implementation (Juan José Ramírez-Jiménez, Mario De La O-Selva and Roberto Cortés-Morales); (10) Car App's Persuasive Design Principles and Behavior Change (Chao Zhang, Lili Wan and Daihwan Min); (11) Evaluating the Quality of Experience of a System for Accessing Educational Objects in Health (Miguel Wanderley, Júlio Menezes Jr., Cristine Gusmão and Rodrigo Lins); (12) An Evaluation of iPad As a Learning Tool in Higher Education within a Rural Catchment: A Case Study at a South African University (Ruth Diko Wario, Bonface Ngari Ireri and Lizette De Wet); (13) Towards a Framework to Improve the Quality of Teaching and Learning: Consciousness and Validation in Computer Engineering Science, UCT (Marcos Lévano and Andrea Albornoz); (14) MOOCs--Theoretical and Practical Aspects: Comparison of Selected Research Results: Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and Australia (Eugenia Smyrnova-Trybulska, Ewa Ogrodzka-Mazur, Anna Szafranska-Gajdzica, Nataliia Morze, Rusudan Makhachashvili, Tatiana Noskova, Tatiana Pavlova, Olga Yakovleva, Tomayess Issa and Theodora Issa); (15) Evaluating the Design and Development of an Adaptive E-Tutorial Module: A Rasch-Measurement Approach (Allaa Barefah and Elspeth McKay); (16) Analysing Students' Interactions through Social Presence and Social Network Metrics (Vanessa Cristina Martins da Silva and Sean Wolfgand Matsui Siqueira); (17) Differences between Perceived Usefulness of Social Media and Institutional Channels by Undergraduate Students (Leandro Sumida Garcia and Camila Mariane Costa Silva); (18) Integrate WeChat with Moodle to Provide a Mobile Learning Environment for Students (Zhigao Li, Yibo Fan and Jianli Jiao); (19) Scaling a Model of Teacher Professional Learning--to MOOC or Not to MOOC (Deirdre Butler, Margaret Leahy, Michael Hallissy and Mark Brown); (20) A Preliminary Study on Building an E-Education Platform for Indian School-Level Curricula (Rajeev Kumar Kanth and Mikko-Jussi Laakso); (21) Automated Assessment in Massive Open Online Courses (Dmitrii A. Ivaniushin, Dmitrii G. Shtennikov, Eugene A. Efimchick and Andrey V. Lyamin); (22) Application of Digital Cybersecurity Approaches to University Management--VFU Smart Student (Anna Nedyalkova, Teodora Bakardjieva and Krasimir Nedyalkov); (23) Developing a Technology Enhanced CSO Course for Engineering Students (Erno Lokkila, Erkki Kaila, Rolf Lindén, Mikko-Jussi Laakso and Erkki Sutinen); (24) Teaching Data Science to Post Graduate Students: A Preliminary Study Using a "F-L-I-P" Class Room Approach (Sunet Eybers and Mariè Hattingh); (25) Educational Robots in Primary School Teachers' and Students' Opinion about STEM Education for Young Learners (Eugenia Smyrnova-Trybulska, Nataliia Morze, Piet Kommers, Wojciech Zuziak and Mariia Gladun); (26) Towards the Successful Integration of Design Thinking in Industrial Design Education (Omar Mubin, Mauricio Novoa and Abdullah Al Mahmud); (27) International Study Tours: A Key to 21st Century Academic and Industry Exchanges (Ana Hol, Danielle Simiana, Gilbert Lieu, Ivan Ong, Josh Feder, Nimat Dawre and Wakil Almazi); (28) A Rethink for Computing Education for Sustainability (Samuel Mann); (29) Technical Education as a Tool for Ensuring Sustainable Development: A Case of India (Gagan Deep Sharma, Raminder Singh Uppal and Mandeep Mahendru); (30) Evaluating Eco-Innovation of OECD Countries with Data Development Analysis (Reza Kiani Mavi and Craig Standing); (31) Revealing Greenwashing: A Consumers' Perspective (Anne Brouwer); and (32) Benchmarking Anthropogenic Heavy Metals Emissions: Australian and Global Urban Environmental Health Risk Based Indicators of Sustainability (Nick Dejkovski). Short papers in these proceedings include: (1) Racing to the Future: Security in the Gigabit Race? (Mark A Gregory and Lucy Cradduck); (2) An E-Learning System with MR for Experiments Involving Circuit Construction to Control a Robot (Atsushi Takemura); (3) Simulations for Crisis Communication: The Use of Social Media (Siyoung Chung); (4) Social Networking Framework for Universities in Saudi Arabia (Sulaiman Alqahtani); (5) Rethinking E-Learning Media: What Happens When Student "Like" Meets Professor "Me"? (Stephen Arnold); (6) Telling the Story of Mindrising: Minecraft, Mindfulness and Meaningful Learning (Deirdre Butler, Mark Brown and Gar Mac Críosta); (7) Green IT Model for IT Departments in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Organisations (Abdulaziz Albahlal); (8) How Does the Use of Mobile Devices Affect Teachers' Perceptions on Mobile Learning (Dong-Joong Kim, Daesang Kim and Sang-Ho Choiv); (9) Categorizing "Others": The Segmentation of Other Actors for "Faith in Others" Efficacy (FIO) (Chi Kwan Ng and Clare D'Souza); (10) Design Thinking: A Methodology towards Sustainable Problem Solving in Higher Education in South Africa (Keneilwe Munyai); and (11) New Ecological Paradigm and Sustainability Attitudes with Respect to a Multi-Cultural Educational Milieu in China (Mona Wells and Lynda Petherick). Reflection papers in these proceedings include: (1) Synthetic Biology: Knowledge Accessed by Everyone (Open Sources) (Patricia Margarita Sánchez Reyes); (2) Envisioning the City of the Future: Knowlege Societies vs. Entertainment Societies (Yolanda Alicia Villegas González); (3) Blue Ocean Strategy for Higher Education (Ricardo Bragança); (4) Exploring How Digital Media Technology Can Foster Saudi EFL Students' English Language Learning (Abdulmohsin Altawil); (5) Cloud Computing in Higher Education Sector for Sustainable Development (Yuchao Duan); and (6) Exploring Connectivism in the Context of Online Social Trading (Endrit Kromidha). Posters in these proceedings include: (1) A Preliminary Investigation into the Information Sharing Behavior of Social Media Users after a Natural Disaster (Yukiko Maruyama); (2) Effects of a Technology-Friendly Education Program on Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions and Learning Styles (Dong-Joong Kim and Sang-Ho Choi); (3) Use of Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies in Online Search: An Eye-Tracking Study (Mingming Zhou and Jing Ren); (4) Development of a Diagnostic System for Information Ethics Education (Shingo Shiota, Kyohei Sakai and Keita Kobayashi); (5) A Practical Study of Mathematics Education Using Gamification (Kyohei Sakai and Shingo Shiota); (6) Demonstrating the CollaTrEx Framework for Collaborative Context-Aware Mobile Training and Exploration (Jean Botev); (7) Development of Training/Self-Recognizing Tools for Disability Students Using a Face Expression Recognition Sensor and a Smart-Watch (Taku Kawada, Akinobu Ando, Hirotaka Saito, Jun Uekida, Nobuyuki Nagai, Hisashi Takeshima and Darold Davis); and (8) Analysis of Usage Trends of Social Media and Self-Esteem by the Rosenberg Scale (Hiroko Kanoh). Finally, one doctoral consortium is included: A Model for an Information Security Risk Management (ISRM) Framework for Saudi Arabian Organisations (Naser Alshareef). An author index is provided. Individual papers contain references.

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. (Individual papers contain references.) [For the 2009 proceedings, see ED504973.]