Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seeing What We Build Together: Distributed Multimedia Learning Environments for Transformative Communications

We cannot really understand how to create computer support for collaborative learning without first becoming clearer about what we mean by communication, collaboration, and learning. After distinguishing several conceptions of communication, and highlighting transformative communications for learning, I consider how, via broadband telepresence, distributed multimedia learning environments may establish such communications by adequately acknowledging the social and material embeddedness of everyday communication. I then describe high-priority areas for advancing this agenda: in sociocultural theory, in examining conceptual change by means of conversational analysis, and in technically establishing affordances of tools to sustain and potentially enhance joint activity beyond the here-and-now and the face-to-face.
A Queueing Model of Visual Sampling Experimental Validation

Carbonell [1] recently proposed an economic model of a pilot's visual sampling behavior based on queueing theory. The results of a validation study of this model have been completed. This validation was based on instrument data and eye-movement data taken during mission flights using a Link trainer. The results of the simulation using the queueing model are shown to correlate well with eye-movement data. Characteristics of the model and results of the validation study are presented here, and suggestions for further work are discussed.
The effects of game strategy and preference‐matching on flow experience and programming performance in game‐based learning

Learning to program is difficult for novices, even for those undergraduates who have majored in computer science. The study described in this paper has investigated the effects of game strategy and preference‐matching on novice learners’ flow experience and performance in learning to program using an experiential gaming activity. One hundred and fifteen novices participated in the experimental activity. Two types of game strategy were employed: the matching‐challenging strategy and the challenging strategy. Participants were categorised into one or other of the two groups based on individual preferences. The results of the study showed that: (1) the challenging group had higher flow experiences than the matching‐challenging group; (2) participants’ performance was enhanced with the use of the matching strategy; and (3) a compensation effect existed among the preference‐mismatched learners who performed better in the challenging game‐play.
The effect of human resource practices on building learning organisations: evidence from Malaysian manufacturing firms

The current study attempts to examine the link between human resource practices and the efforts of building a learning organisation. This link has received very little research attention to date. In general, the statistical results obtained from 37 manufacturing firms in Malaysia indicate significant positive relationships between human resource practices and being a learning organisation. This study suggests that a learning organisation can be developed by rewarding desirable learning behaviours when individual performance improves. Subsequently, it also aids organisations in the design of a performance management scheme that supports the development of individuals in organisations.
Open Educational Resources: Staff Attitudes and Awareness

Attitudes are changing in education globally to promote the open sharing of educational courses and resources. The aim of this study was to explore staff awareness and attitudes towards ‘‘open educational resources’’ (OER) as a benchmark for monitoring future progress. Faculty staff (n6) were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews that facilitated the development of a questionnaire. Staff respondents (n50) were not familiar with the term OER but had a clear notion of what it meant. They were familiar with open content repositories within the university but not externally. A culture of borrowing and sharing of resources exists between close colleagues, but not further a field, and whilst staff would obtain resources from the Internet, they were reticent to place materials there. Drivers for mobilising resources included a strong belief in open education, the ability of OER to enhance individual and institutional reputations and economic factors. Barriers to OER included confusion over copyright and lack of IT support. To conclude, there is a positive collegiate culture within the faculty, and overcoming the lack of awareness and dismantling the barriers to sharing will help advance the open educational practices, benefitting both faculty staff and the global community. Keywords: open educational resources; staff attitudes; sustainability (Published: 3 February) Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2012, 20 : 14395 - DOI: 10.3402/rlt.v20i0/14395
Improvements of embedded zerotree wavelet (EZW) coding

In this research, we investigate several improvements of embedded zerotree wavelet (EZW) coding. Several topics addressed include: the choice of wavelet transforms and boundary conditions, the use of arithmetic coder and arithmetic context and the design of encoding order for effective embedding. The superior performance of our improvements is demonstrated with extensive experimental results.
Electronic signal processing in optical communications

Optical communications is undergoing a digital revolution, as digital signal processing (DSP) emerges as a practical solution for robust long-haul transmission. In contrast to previous systems, in which optical dispersion compensation was considered a necessity, recently uncompensated long-haul transmission has been demonstrated using DSP at the transmitter, receiver, or a combination of the two. We review the historic developments of electronic signal processing as applied to optical communications before focusing the latest developments, namely digital coherent systems. We then discuss the salient features of the electronic signal processing schemes currently under investigation before discussing the challenges and opportunities offered by electronic signal processing.
Sequential DOE via dynamic programming

The paper considers a sequential Design Of Experiments (DOE) scheme. Our objective is to maximize both information and economic measures over a feasible set of experiments. Optimal DOE strategies are developed by introducing information criteria based on measures adopted from information theory. The evolution of acquired information along various stages of experimentation is analyzed for linear models with a Gaussian noise term. We show that for particular cases, although the amount of information is unbounded, the desired rate of acquiring information decreases with the number of experiments. This observation implies that at a certain point in time it is no longer efficient to continue experimenting. Accordingly, we investigate methods of stochastic dynamic programming under imperfect state information as appropriate means to obtain optimal experimentation policies. We propose cost-to-go functions that model the trade-off between the cost of additional experiments and the benefit of incremental information. We formulate a general stochastic dynamic programming framework for design of experiments and illustrate it by analytic and numerical implementation examples.
Optimising the computation time of radio coverage predictions for microcellular mobile systems

This paper presents a method which optimises the computation time of the predictions of radio coverage for microcellular systems, no matter what propagation model is used. The principle consists in reducing the number of application points of the propagation model in relation to the classic technique. The proposed method is based on a multiresolution analysis of measured signals carried out around 2 GHz, and on an electromagnetic analysis of the propagation environment. The performance of the method is evaluated in terms of the reduction in computation time and the effect on accuracy, as compared to the classic technique.
Physiological Evaluation of Mental Workload in Time Pressure

There can be seen in many situations where office workers have to make decisions under the time restriction. For example, flight control buisiness, dealing work and so on. Such the time restriction can have the time pressure, which is considerd one of mental workload, on them. In addition, it can cause human error on imformation processing. If mental work load appropriately maintained the work level, office workers would be able to go on the work with moderate tention. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively evaluate physiological indexes, which are ECG, EEG, Facial skin thermo image by using adding tasks.
Automatic building height extraction by volumetric shadow analysis of monoscopic imagery

This article presents a new approach to automatic extraction of building heights from monoscopic urban scenes. A volumetric shadow analysis (VSA) method was proposed previously for extraction of 3D building information (height, shape, and footprint location) and for handling occluded building footprints or shadows. It determined building heights by adjusting building height manually until the projected shadows generated for an assumed height and actual shadows in the image matched. In this article, we propose an intelligent scheme based on the VSA for automatic building height extraction. We achieve this by checking the location change of projected shadow lines with respect to the actual shadow regions while building heights are increased incrementally. In this article, the performance of the proposed automatic height extraction was compared to that of manual extraction. The method was first applied to IKONOS, KOMPSAT-2, QuickBird, and Worldview-1 images with manually extracted building roofs. The root mean square error (RMSE) of building heights was under 3 m by automatic height extraction and 2 m by manual extraction. The RMSE of building footprint location was close to twice that of image ground sample distance (GSD) by automatic height extraction and under twice that of image GSD by manual extraction. These results support the capability of the proposed method in automatic height extraction from a single image efficiently and accurately, and in handling occluded building footprints and shadows. Second, the method was combined with an existing roof extraction method and tested for automated building roof extraction. The results showed that the proposed method can also provide a powerful cue for automatic building roof extraction from a single image.
Joint estimation of multiple networks from time course data

Graphical models are widely used to make inferences concerning interplay in multivariate systems, as modelled by a conditional independence graph or network. In many applications, data are collected from multiple individuals whose networks may differ but are likely to share many features. Here we present a hierarchical Bayesian formulation for joint estimation of such networks. The formulation is general and can be applied to a number of specific graphical models. Motivated by applications in biology, we focus on time-course data with interventions and introduce a computationally efficient, deterministic algorithm for exact inference in this setting. Application of the proposed method to simulated data demonstrates that joint estimation can improve ability to infer individual networks as well as differences between them. Finally, we describe approximations which are still more computationally efficient than the exact algorithm and demonstrate good empirical performance.
Isotherm, Kinetic and Thermodynamic of Adsorption of Heavy Metal Ions onto Local Activated Carbon

In this work, the adsorption isotherm, Kinetic and thermodynamic of removal of Fe3+, Cu2+, Pb2+ and Zn2+) ions by activated carbon produced from rice husk were studied. The results shown that the Freundlich isotherm model achieved best fit with the equilibrium adsorption data for adsorption of (Fe3+, Cu2+ and Pb2+) ions, it is indicates to multilayer adsorption nature of these metal ions on RHAC. The adsorption capacity (Kf) of the adsorbent have a value of (312.1, 628.93 and 162.66 mg/g) for (Fe3+, Cu2+ and Pb2+), respectively. The Langmuir isotherm model gives best fit with the equilibrium adsorption data, it is instated to monolayer adsorption nature of (Zn2+) ions on RHAC. The monolayer adsorption capacity (Q) have a value of (714.285 mg/g). The adsorption kinetics were followed the pseudo-second-order model, this model gives the best- fit to experimental data for all heavy metal ions which studied in this work. which have highest correlation coefficient values of (0.988 ,0.996 ,0.999 and 0.9232) for (Cu2+, Fe3+, Pb2+ and Zn2+), respectively. Also, the adsorption thermodynamic showed that the adsorption of heavy metal ions becomes more feasibility with increasing in temperature due to negative values of ΔG. The adsorption process is endothermicdue to positive values of ΔH.
Supporting Speeded Navigational Communication via Gesture-Controlled Vibrotactile Displays

Recent research has shown that haptic displays are particularly well-suited to communicating navigation information, but these displays are rarely evaluated in situations that require time-critical communications. The present study serves as the first proof of concept for “CHIAD”: a new haptic interaction system that allows fast and efficient communication of navigation information by supporting gesture-based encoding of navigational instructions and intuitive decoding of the instructions by mapping them to vibration presentations at different body locations. Participant pairs completed a speeded target-selection navigation task by utilizing three different interfaces: verbal instructions via two-way radio, vibrotactile signals activated by a laptop-based interface, and the CHIAD system. The results show the fastest and most accurate performance with the CHIAD system, suggesting two conclusions: vibrotactile signals are more effective than verbal interactions in supporting speeded communication of simple navigation instructions; and natural gesture methods support faster encoding of instructions.
Scaffolding students: suggestions on how to equip students with the necessary study skills for studying in a blended learning environment

In this paper we consider the implications of moving from a paper‐based delivery of study support materials to electronic delivery. The paper is based on telephone interviews with 60 students who had received a range of study support materials from a series of ‘student toolkits’, which are printed resource booklets for students of the UK Open University. McLoughlin (2002) sees the integration of electronic delivery at the primary, secondary and tertiary education levels as requiring an extension to current concepts of scaffolding. The extension we propose in this paper is the need to establish study skills plus the ways and means to seek support in a resource‐based environment. However, there is a delicate balance between increased provision and overloaded provision in resource‐based learning.
Urban Evolution on the Desktop: Simulation with the Use of Extended Cellular Automata

There is now wide agreement that to develop effective simulations of urban structure, urban models must be explicitly dynamic and must contain mechanisms for linking macrostructure to micro-behaviour. In this paper, the author poses the need to develop simple simulations which emphasise the conditions under which spontaneous growth, such as that which characterises the regeneration of inner cities and the location of edge cities, can be modelled. The model that is presented is based on the integration of positive feedback with the effects of local interaction, all set within a context in which innovations are produced randomly as spatial noise. The framework adopted to make this model operational is based on an extended cellular automaton in which demand for location, conceived of as potential for development, drives the system which responds through the supply of actual development. Various structures for such models are considered. The simulations are set up within a desktop environment by using the package StarLogo as the simulator, DataDesk as the means for exploring model results graphically and statistically, and Avid VideoShop as the moviemaker for simulating the dynamics of locational change. Experiments are conducted which involve systematically varying the weights or parameters of the feedback, interaction, and innovation effects, and then examining how the growth rate of the system interacts with locational change. The model is generalised to other situations where the growth of systems of cities are simulated and where the effects of self-organisation within the simulated patterns of locational change are examined. In essence, the model is able to predict the spontaneous growth of centres but under conditions where there is a high degree of noise or innovation in the system and where the growth rate is also high.
Theoretical performance analysis of multislice channelized Hotelling observers

Quality assessment of 3D medical images is becoming increasingly important, because of clinical practice rapidly moving in the direction of volumetric imaging. In a recent publication, three multi-slice channelized Hotelling observer (msCHO) models are presented for the task of detecting 3D signals in multi-slice images, where each multi-slice image is inspected in a so called stack-browsing mode. The observer models are based on the assumption that humans observe multi-slice images in a simple two stage process, and each of the models implement this principle in a different way. In this paper, we investigate the theoretical performance, in terms of detection signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) of msCHO models, for the task of detecting a separable signal in a Gaussian background with separable covariance matrix. We find that, despite the differences in architecture of the three models, they all have the same asymptotical performance in this task (i.e., when the number of training images tends to infinity). On the other hand, when backgrounds with nonseparable covariance matrices are considered, the third model, msCHOc, is expected to perform slightly better than the other msCHO models (msCHOa and msCHOb), but only when sufficient training images are provided. These findings suggest that the choice between the msCHO models mainly depends on the experiment setup (e.g., the number of available training samples), while the relation to human observers depends on the particular choice of the "temporal" channels that the msCHO models use.
Navigational Aids and Learner Control in Hypermedia Instructional Programs

This study examined the effects of learner control and navigational aids on performance in a hypermedia instructional program. Results indicated that students who were permitted to move freely within the program and had access to navigational aids, interacted more with the program and this was associated with higher performance on the posttest. The findings revealed that students who had control over the sequence of their instruction deviated from a linear path significantly more often when provided with navigational aids such as those used in this study. Navigational aids may provide a structure that promotes more explanatory behavior or interaction for students under learner control conditions.
E‐learning and the University of Huelva: a study of WebCT and the technological acceptance model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that determine the acceptance of the WebCT learning system among students of the faculties of Business and Education Sciences at the University of Huelva, and to verify the direct and indirect effects of these factors.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 226 students at the University of Huelva completed a survey questionnaire measuring their responses to six constructs which explain the system usage in the context of e‐learning: technical support (TS); computer self‐efficacy (CSE); perceived ease of use (PEOU); perceived usefulness (PU); attitude (A); and system usage (SU). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed for modelling and data analysis.Findings – The most significant results point to the need to rethink the original structural model in terms of the relations of certain variables, although the authors also establish the importance of the direct effect of technical support on perceived ease of use and perceived usefulne.
In defence of rule‐based representations for legal knowledge‐based systems

Abstract Recently the use of rule‐based representations in legal knowledge‐based system has been criticised. Some authors even suggest that the received wisdom is that such representations are inadequate. In this paper I discuss these criticisms, and contend that they are not fatal to the use of rule‐based representations. Although there are limitations to what such representations can do, they none the less remain as important technique capable of forming the basis of useful tools.
Democratizing Classroom Discourse: The Challenge for Online Writing Environments

This article is intended to highlight peer response discourse trends and to initiate a dialogue about the ways in which educators, and designers of educational environments, can play a central role in creating more democratic discourse in classrooms. We report on a research and development project involving education experts, computer engineers, assessment specialists and, most importantly, the teachers and students who inform our work. We share findings about the general discourse patterns of students from six eighth-grade classes as they use the peer feedback component of our developing online writing environment. We also examine multiple responses from one teacher's classroom. We argue that new online environments offer great potential for reimaging classroom discourse (e.g. less teacher-directed and more horizontally distributed). However, our research in this developing environment indicates that students in very different contexts respond to each other in somewhat ‘typical’ ways (e.g. they rarely elicit and offer few change strategies). Furthermore, teachers' initiating texts (e.g. assignments and rubrics) influence student discourse, often in unintentional ways that restrict student voices. Finally, we discuss implications of our work and offer a number of key recommendations for educators and designers working to promote more horizontal (peer-to-peer) discourse.
Risk-aversion: understanding teachers’ resistance to technology integration

Teachers who do not integrate technology are often labelled as ‘resistant’ to change. Yet, considerable uncertainties remain about appropriate uses and actual value of technology in teaching and learning, which can make integration and change seem risky. The purpose of this article is to explore the nature of teachers’ analytical and affective risk perceptions, and how these influence decisions to integrate technology in their teaching practice. These ideas are explored through an in-depth qualitative analysis of teacher interviews focusing on experiences with, and beliefs about, technology and teaching. Results suggest decisions to integrate technology in teaching are influenced by negative affective responses to technology, general risk-aversion in teaching, and the perceived value of technology in teaching. The risk analysis framework and findings presented in this paper can be used to support communication with teachers to minimise perceived risks and, where appropriate, help support future technology use.