bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
BIOMETRIC DATA IN LEARNING ANALYTICS: A SURVEY ON EXISTING APPLICATIONS
Authors: Dinu Viviana elena , Papuc Dalia , Gheorghiu Alexandru , Dascalu Mariaiuliana , Moldoveanu Alin , Moldoveanu Florica
Published: February 2023

Learning analytics (LA) is among the most emergent research fields nowadays, as a consequence of the technological progress (e.g. big data, cloud technologies, virtual reality, brain computer interface) and of the importance given to education and new forms of education (computer-based, online). Also, the European Digital Agenda proposes an efficient equitable digital education, with a positive impact on economy. This goal can be achieved only through a continuum measurement and improvement of educational activities, aspect highly taken into account by LA. Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) defines LA as the measurement, collection, analysis and report of data about students and about their learning contexts, with the purpose of understanding and optimizing the learning process and also the environment in which the learning takes place. Also, the cultural values of today’s society changed: the education takes place in different places, not only in a formal institution. Thus, huge amounts of heterogeneous data related to a particular student can be gathered from different sources and, in order to provide an accurate diagnostic of the educational profile of that student, LA has to be based on all the data, despite of its provenience. This paper discusses about LA: provides a detailed definition of what LA is, in connection with the fields to which it can be applied, revises the benefits brought by LA to education and underlines the multitude of LA data sources. The focus is then put on biometric data, as a consequence of the recent technologies and devices allowing the collection and analysis of this data, e.g. magnetometers for Magnetoencephalography, scanning technology for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, electrodes placed directly on the brain or recording caps, web tools that analyse the online activity of a user. Finally, a set of applications exploiting biometric data with the purpose of analysing and improving the learning process are described and compared.
THE IMPORTANCE OF USING SUUNTO ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR MONITORING TRAINING, IN PREPARATION OF SPORTSMEN PRACTICING SHOOTING, SAMPLE AIR RIFLE 10M MEN
Authors: Serban Catalin , Tifrea Corina
Published: February 2023

This paperwork would like to emphasize the importance of using SUUNTO electronic system for monitoring training, in the assessment of general and specific training effort, sample Air Rifle 10m 60 shots Men. In the branch of shooting sport, in Romania, the SUUNTO electronic system for monitoring training was used for the first time by athlete Alin George Moldoveanu, Olympic champion - London 2012, sample Air Rifle 10m Men, competitive year 2011 -2012. This system allows the athlete to monitor and analyze his physical and technical trainings in terms of the internal parameters of effort or heart rate, respiratory rate, VO2 max, etc. All this information can be downloaded to a personal computer and the graphical visualization of them can be accessed through site www.movescont.com. Archived information represents important milestones in the shooter’s training, is practically the starting point in achieving preparation plans, according to the current requirements of performance shooting sport. In 2008-2012 Olympic cycle, I personally was part of the technical team of Alin Moldoveanu athlete, as a coach, in charge of physical training. Through the information provided by the SUUNTO monitoring system of training, I could conceive, apply and conduct physical training programs directly targeted on the particularities and needs of the athlete. In conclusion, a physical training well designed and applied, results in a structural and functional adjustment of the body in general and of the heart in particular, being able to reduce the frequency and intensity of the beatings during the elaboration of shooting act (a trained heart beat less often), knowing the fact that the heartbeat is mechanically transmitting vibrations to the rifle.
EOG SIGNAL PROCESSING ALGORITHM USED IN EYE MOVEMENT DETECTION
Authors: Munteanu Mihai , Magda Alina , Ciorap Radu , Rusu Corneliu , Vladareanu Luige
Published: February 2023

The EOG signal is based on the potential difference between the cornea and retina (also known as the corneo-retinal potential) and can be measured by using electrodes placed around the eyes. The amplitude of the EOG signal varies between 50 ... 3500 uV. The eye can be seen as a dipole with a positive pole in the retina and the negative one in the cornea. Thus, an electric potential field is created that is changing proportionally with the rotation of the eye. The movements can be assessed from a single eye, but because for a healthy human being the eye movements are coupled, in this paper the signal obtained from both eyes is used. Furthermore, this method allows assessing both vertical and horizontal signal simultaneously. One of the most complex algorithms used to detect steep slopes and peaks within medical signals is the Pan-Tompkins algorithm, but is especially used for ECG signals. This is the reason why the previous studies focused on the detection of the abrupt discontinuities in the EOG signal, from the wavelet transform perspective. In this manner, the points of discontinuity determined by the eye movement will generate high wavelet coefficients, regardless of scale. Starting from previous results regarding different technics used for eye movement investigation and electrooculogram signal (EOG), the paper presents a robust algorithm that is capable of performing real time eye movement detection. This algorithm was implemented in LabVIEW, based on virtual instruments and it was successfully tested in the laboratory of Biomedical Engineering from Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.
TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVE ON USING OF NEW PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES FOR STUDENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT
Authors: Bratu Marilena , Buicabelciu Cristian , Caraman Dorothea
Published: February 2023

This paper aims to present a theoretical and practical analysis of new pedagogical approaches (Self-Directed Learning, Gamification and Augmented Reality) in working with users with special educational needs. These new pedagogical approaches are proposed in the NEWTON European project. NEWTON project, as a part of European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme, is currently developing new pedagogical environments in order to improve the way STEM subjects are taught throughout European schools. NEWTON project include 14 European academic and industry partners. NEWTON emphasizes, among other things, the adaptation of modern methods and technologies to the needs of students with special educational needs, including children with hearing impairments. Using new approaches in education like Augmented Reality or Gamification has been a trending issue in the recent years. However, there is a limited body of research on these approaches for students with special educational needs. In order to analyze the modern pedagogical approaches proposed by NEWTON from the perspective of the activity with the children with hearing impairment, we followed, the following steps: o Description of the main features of the development of children with hearing impairment, because from these result the special requirements in the school activity. o Collecting and analyzing the opinions of teachers working with this category of children regarding the benefits and limitations of modern pedagogical approaches proposed in comparison to classical ones. This included 32 teachers who have experience of working with children with hearing impairment. There were meetings with teachers presenting modern pedagogical approaches and answers to questions. Later, each teacher was asked to fill out a questionnaire with open questions on the benefits and limitations of these methods for learning with children with hearing disabilities.
AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF INFLUENCE OF DECISION CATEGORY IN PROGRAMMING PERFORMANCE USING THE MBTI MODEL
Authors: Li Xuechao , Shih Pochou , Suhrbur Will
Published: February 2023

Programming performance in computer science disciplines has often been attributed to students' commitment to understanding the subject matter and their aptitude for logic and mathematics. Until now various technologies, such as optimization methods, have been researched by scientists and engineers. However, few studies focused on the influence of psychological factors on programming performance. Specifically, a research question that how personality factors impact the machine time of source code written by programmers needs to be solved. In this paper, we conducted a descriptive, non-experimental empirical study: utilizing personality factors based on Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) model to explore whether a personality impacts students' programming performance measured by machine time. Naturally, programmers who prefer to focus on the tasks at hand outperform programmers who put more focus on personal concerns. This hypothesis was verified by statistical analysis in our experiment. In this experiment, 324 students were recruited in Matlab programming course in the Fall semester, 2017 at Auburn University, USA. A personality survey hosted online at surveymonkey.com was administered to participants, while 7 assignments were used to test students' programming performance. Further, we also explored the relationship between programming performance and personality with the Pearson correlation method. Using statistical results from this empirical experiment, this paper discussed and made conclusions about the relationship between computer science students' performance on programming tasks and their personality, specifically Thinking and Feeling types. Based on experimental results, we also presented pedagogical guidelines for computer science instructors in their pursuits of educating the next generation of programmers.
STIMULATING DISCUSSION IN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT: A CASE STUDY
Authors: Chattopadhyay Satya
Published: February 2023

As a Jesuit institution, the mission of our University is "cura personalis" or education of the whole person, and significant emphasis is placed on the Socratic learning which focuses on questions raised between individuals. These interactions: the questions and answers are the basis for developing critical thinking skills that are seminal to Jesuit (Ignatian) pedagogy. Online courses allow us to reach out to a larger audience, and often to those who otherwise cannot enroll in regular classes due to family and/or work place commitments. This case study covers business students enrolled in a core marketing course, in the third year of their program. Data is collected on three different options that were implemented for the on-line discussion forum, which is a requirement for the web based, asynchronous learning course. For the first option there are no prompts for the forum, and students are asked to pose questions in the forum and answer them. For option 2, students are provided a prompt (by the instructor). For option 3, each student must first post a question related to the class topic being covered, and base it on a current business situation taken from a business publication. All students must then respond to two or more questions posed by their classmates. The data collected on the three options relate both to the quality and the quantity of the student discussions via rubrics that are communicated to the students in the syllabus. Analysis of the data using SPSS software supports option 3 as the alternative yielding the best results.
SOFTWARE INSTRUMENT FOR TEACHING JOINT VENTURE BUSINESS MODELS IN HYDRAULIC POWER FIELD
Authors: Dragos Chitariu , Munteanu Adriana
Published: February 2023

In a competitive market companies are forced to create innovative products with high added value. Thus, companies requirements for bachelor engineers are very high. Business models all have to be well understood by the fresh engineers. In order to achieve end market success in a highly competitive such as hydraulic power field, to access new markets, companies must share resources, combine assets and operations. Employment of digital factory technologies, evolution towards Industry 4.0 require integration of manufacturing process form 3D design, computer aided manufacturing and inspection, are allowing improved manufacturing cycles, reducing cost. For instance, hydraulic components manufacturer and automation systems manufacturers, software suppliers must joint to create highly competitive products. In the paper a software application is developed to teach joint venture business models to bachelor and master students. The application will guide the student by presenting different screens where student must enter different information. The system allows selection of business models, presented as on open list. The next screen allows entering companies that form the joint venture and defining the role, structure, assets and key products or services, resources cost. Also, information about market trends must be added. Capital deployment, leadership expectations, key points for investors are introduced in structured manner. The application will have links to the reports from various PLM systems (Product lifecycle management) in order to acquire cost data for every resource/ asset used in the joint venture, in order to track and calculate breakdown costs. At the end the proposed business model can be listed and exported.
AUGMENTED REALITY - A FUTURE PERSPECTIVE FOR IMPROVING LEARNING PROCESS IN THE ROMANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM
Authors: Gheorghe Mirela , Caranica Cristinanicoleta , Platon Otilia elena
Published: February 2023

A new type of technology is becoming an education tool, the augmented reality. This tool is used in different category of education in order to facilitate learning. Together apps and other kind of tools like e-learning platforms can be used to promote learning through augmented reality. The purpose of our study is to investigate the possibilities of augmented reality to have a real contribution to the Romanian education system. The first part of the paper is highlighting the new trends in using augmented reality by other industries. The second part of the article is analyzing the perspective of improving learning process in the Romanian higher education system operating with augmented reality. The last part of the study is presenting the challenges in using this technology found through the realized quantitative study. The questionnaire presents the students attraction to those combined technologies. The sample gathered 164 students and it has been used as tool the online survey methods. A real interest of our research was to discover the augmented reality technology used but most of all how can be used in a learning activity. The research underlined the limits but also the advantages in using this kind of technologies and the specific interactions of this tool with e-learning platforms but also with other kind of tools. The reported results presented the enthusiasm and flexibility of the students in using such tools based especially on their experience of using apps and on their gaming experiences. Finally, we address different chances of research taking into consideration the limits but also the possibilities of the future for augmented reality.
EVOLUTIONARY-BASED APPROACH FOR SOLVING DIGITAL SIGNATURE RECOGNITION TASK
Authors: Stan Alexandru daniel , Cocianu Catalinalucia
Published: February 2023

The work reported in the paper aims to develop an image registration methodology for digital signature recognition task. In our research we propose a solution to the problem of a particular component of banking security systems involving the client's signature. Any document reflecting legal transactions executed by a certain bank that includes client’s signature should be pre-processed by the security system in order to authorize it. One of the first steps in the authorization process involves the recognition of the client’s digital signature. Basically, the digital signature to be recognized is often different from the stored one from the geometrical point of view, in the sense that it could be a distorted variant of it. In our developments the working assumption is that the degradation is modeled by rigid transform, where only translation, rotation, and scaling are considered. The registration problem is solved based on the following general procedure. First, the binary variants of both the acquired image and the stored one are computed to make the entire recognition process tractable. Next an evolutionary-based technique is developed to align the input image to the target one. The proposed fitness function is defined in terms of mutual information computed between the transformed image and the target image. We use various mixtures of standard recombination schemes, involving local/global convex and discrete crossover. The mutation procedure comprises uncorrelated multiple sigma-type parameters. The registration quality is evaluated in the final phase using quantitative and qualitative measures. The experimental results together with some concluding remarks regarding the quality of the proposed methodology are reported in the final part of the paper.
LOW COST TECHNOLOGIES FOR AWARENESS AND EARLY WARNING IN CONDITIONS OF SEVERE WEATHER
Authors: Pietraru Radu nicolae , Banu Alexandrustefan , Mocanu Stefan , Saru Daniela
Published: February 2023

Current and upcoming weather forecasts play a very important role in our society, from big companies to each simple individual that wants to be prepared and adapt to any changes. Many entities use data provided by each country’s National Weather Service in order to combat any negative impact the conditions may have on their daily activities. Unfortunately, the service does not provide a very accurate set of parameters, instead it gives an average forecast for a given area of interest. Here is where personal weather stations come to the rescue. Not only they are cheap and easy to set up, but they also provide the user with the exact data he wants. Depending on each individual’s needs, the weather station can be adjusted and equipped with a wide range of sensors, ranging from wind speed and UV radiation to air quality sensor. Using an Arduino development board (or equivalent) that is available on a large scale, the integration of the sensors can be done without many challenges and, if the user does want to implement this feature, the acquired data can be uploaded and used on the internet. Being supported by a very large community, Arduino boards can implement these features without implying a big money or time penalty. One of the most important aspects a weather station brings, apart from the possibility to build it at a very low price, is that the user can have access to any weather data that defines his area of interest, thus increasing the accuracy and the resolution of the forecast and allows early warning in case of extreme weather phenomena.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE - A POSSIBLE PREDICTOR OF PERFORMANCE OR SUCCESS AT ORGANIZATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL LEVEL?!
Authors: Balanescu Ramona cristina
Published: February 2023

Considered in the past as being solely a rational being, nowadays, following specialist researches, man is also perceived as an emotional being, triggering emotions which, if appropriately educated, allow us to obtain countless benefits, both professionally, and personally. Thus, the concept of emotional intelligence redefines the image about man and about the world. At organizational level, performance achievement depends both on the manager’s or team success, and on the success of every individual employee, such success being influenced by how the members relate and interact with each other. Furthermore, an important role is played by the team vision on performance and on achieving it, this being based on psychological and social factors making their reaching their goals easier or harder, since such factors are related to the emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence cannot be, by itself, a predictor of career success, satisfactory career or effective leadership. It is only one of several important components. It increases the chances of success, however it does not guarantee success in the absence or required knowledge. Some studies describe the role emotional intelligence plays in career planning, and even analyse the levels of emotional intelligence required for every single stage in someone’s career. In time, within organizations, a new type of management has slowly, but surely, outlined itself, namely, the emotional intelligence management. This paper aims at approaching this topic both theoretically, and practically, through applications. The micro-research was performed in a Romanian private company, the subjects interviewed in parallel being both Department Managers (the tool being the EQ test), and their subordinates (the tool being the questionnaire), and it aims at identifying a correlation between the Manager’s EQ level and the organizational climate of the subordinated team.
THE CAREER CONSULTANT'S PROFILE
Authors: Epurescu Elena oliviana
Published: February 2023

To advise is to provide the student the opportunity to explore, discover and to clarify the best ways to live his own life, to have a happy existence. Initially, the scope of the councilors has been identified as a reduced one compared to psychotherapy, then the purpose of the two activities to dissociate from a theoretical point of view. Between the two terms there is a significant difference: counseling is a proactive action, while psychotherapy is a postfactum intervention (remedial action, the therapy). Guidance and counselling means all actions performed by optional advisory and training methods, the general and special conditions, subordinated to, from the point of view of the Content, Size of process-orientated technology/education, and from the perspective of the activity of psycho-pedagogical assistance methodological and social teachers, students and parents, designed at the level of the education system, with a view to the correct academic and career options. Guidance and counselling means all actions performed by optional advisory and training methods, the general and special conditions, subordinated to, from the point of view of the content, size of process-orientated technology/education, and from the perspective of the activity of assistance psycho-pedagogical methodological and social teachers, students and parents, designed at the level of the education system, with a view to the correct academic and career options. In Romania, there is still a well-defined ethical framework at the legislative level, Advisor profession ‘borrowing’ a number of ethical rules from psychologists, sociologists, pedagogues. We expect that in the not too distant future, together with the adjustment of the legal framework concerning the advice, to be completed and such professional code, as a sign that the profession has moved beyond the Advisor to the time of interim and won a tight space defined in the professional Romanian.
APPLICATIONS CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR EDUCATION
Authors: Tita Carmen
Published: February 2023

Developments technology of information and communications over the past decade had led to fundamental changes in educational practice, leading to the introduction of modern teaching and learning methods. Educational practice has changed from a closed pedagogical approach, closely taught by the teacher, to an open, transparent, integrated society, involving parents and the community, supporting the student's initiative, facilitating collaboration, personal skills and lifelong learning, and the online environment on it various types of effects: social, exposure or portraiture, different attitude, etc. The study proposes an impact analysis on how Gheorghe Asachi Technical University Iasi students perceive the importance from using e-learning, m-learning, but also the knowledge which they have about new learning methods. Identifying and analyzing: the current framework in which e-learning and m-learning are used in the teaching programs of the university, the type of technologies used by the students in the training phase they are going through, respectively the undergraduate, master or doctoral programs, the main advantages and disadvantages of e-learning and m-learning and if students find relevant to such courses, how respondents have knowledge of e-learning or m-learning learning systems, and whether in the training programs they participated had disciplines to which they are used, learning styles and their importance to students are the objectives of this article. Measuring the link between students' perception of the essential elements of e-learning and m-learning methods and those defined by specialists in the field, and if they considers relevant from university should adapt its programs and introduce some online courses.
E-LEARNING TUTORIAL FOR CONTACT ANGLE BALL BEARINGS IN DYNAMIC MODELS WITH APPLICATIONS IN MEDICINE
Authors: Gheorghita Andrei , Constantin George , Arotaritei Dragos
Published: February 2023

An extremely important role in modeling shaft - bearing systems, whether it's purely mechanical applications (motors) or medical applications (micro-milling spindles in orthopedics or dentistry), is represented by the bearings. They are the main cause of heat generation in the whole shaft-bearing assemble, but they also bring a major contribution to the radial force of thermal preload, deformations of the shaft or vibrations. Optimization of rotating shafts often gives possibility to adjust the performance but also to increase the service life of the milling tool, as a function of preloading of bearing, which is particularly important in orthopedics due to the overloading of assembly during the surgical act. The forces acting on the bearing, whether of mechanical origin (the force of strain) is due to the thermal effect generated by the friction of the balls on the inner / outer ring and the lubricant used, result in a change in the ball bearing contact angle effect in the overall system analysis. Moreover, dynamically, this angle also changes as a result of external negligible effects that can be considered for a more accurate or neglected model in the case of an approximate model (e.g. centrifugal force, moments, effect gyroscopic, etc.). Advanced graphical interface, calculates the value of the angle on the outer and inner ring, based on the revolution of the axis. The model can be simplified or complicated by giving the user the possibility to include factors that raise the accuracy. This allows you to define the geometric dimensions of the bearing, material constants, the revolution values for which a dynamic analysis is being performed, and graphic display selection of angles as well as export values in tabbed format to be used in other industry-specific applications.
EFFECTIVENESS OF KYPHOSIS RECOVERY PROCEDURES AND KYPHOTIC ATTITUDES - COMPARISON BETWEEN KINETOTHERAPY AND HAM WITH AUDITIV FEEDBACK
Authors: Ordean Mirceanicolae , Grosu Vlad teodor
Published: February 2023

This study aimed to evaluate 10 male and female children between the ages of 15-18, who had problems with static vertebral, chest, and kyphotic attitudes. After the evaluation, this study sought to treat the deficiencies by two different procedures: kinetotherapy and ham with auditiv feedback. Purpose of the study: The results of the two procedures were compared at the end, thus establishing a hierarchy on the effectiveness of correcting these deficiencies. Methods: During the study, we evaluated and then analyzed the angle of the column and the scapular-humeral belt deflection. These measurements were made in three different spatial times: initial, intermediate and final. Findings and results: The best results, the most effective procedure, was kinetotherapy, compared to the ham hearing procedure. In other words, for the angle of the column, in the case of the first experimental sample - kinetotherapy, there was a decreasing evolution from the initial to the final point of 9.0 degrees, and for the second experimental sample - 2 degrees. For the distance between the acromium-wall, in the case of the first experimental sample, there was also a descending evolution from the initial to the final one of 4.6 cm and the second of 3.2 cm. Conclusions and recommendations: The present study had as a general objective the investigation of the efficacy of two different procedures in order to correct the problems of static vertebral, cifotic and atypical attitudes, bringing statistically significant changes. After an ample analysis of these results, having as background source other studies, we have tried to understand why auditory feedback has had weaker results, being a last generation method that should improve the results. Based on previous data, we want to see if through a software system we can achieve the performance of other recovery methods, and besides, the system wants to be able to offer suggestions and set some measured values.
DIGITAL STORYTELLING FOR TEACHING ROMANIAN FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES - AN OPTIMAL METHOD FOR DEVELOPING EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS?
Authors: Felea Cristina , Stanca Liana
Published: February 2023

The term "digital stories" describes a simple creative process through which people with relatively little computer experience come to tell a personal story or collect one from the field in a 2-3 minute video. In recent years, their use in higher education has been related to meaningful technology integration for increasing student engagement and developing 21st century employability skills, integration of new and old literacies, social and collaborative learning, and constructing new understandings of contexts in the process of theorizing personal experiences. The study continues the authors’ previous research by proposing a method of embedding employability skills in the curriculum of Romanian for Academic Purposes to first year undergraduates studying sociology at Babes-Bolyai University. A research scenario is provided for a complex investigation of the ways teaching methodology can help digitally native students integrate 21st century skills with view to their transition from secondary to higher education and further, into the job market. Formative and summative assessments cover digital, media, communication, and collaboration competencies in relation to the processes and final product. A quantitative analysis is performed on data collected from project pages hosted by the e-learning platform logs (wiki) and compared with learning outcomes. Additionally, a selection of relevant case studies is described to illustrate findings and the potential of this instrument. The results are expected to bring further evidence of the benefits and challenges of new teaching practices within Web 2.0 based learning settings and of their significant role in the development of a wide array of skills needed in the academic and work environments.
THE DIGITAL PREMIUM PROGRESS OF AN INCLUSIVE ECONOMY
Authors: Mihai Mihaela , Titan Emilia , Manea Daniela , Catana Aida
Published: February 2023

The progress on digital technologies and services does not only impact the production of goods and services or the way we do business but transforms the way we live, communicate with others and spend our free time. The rapidity of developments is reflected in particular on the increase in the quality of life on the one hand, but on the other hand, it creates inconveniences associated with lack of basic or advanced skills, industrial reorganization, data security, private life, etc. All these developments are monitored by the European Commission, which, recognizing their potential, has brought digital policies to the forefront of its agenda. The Digital Agenda is a program document launched in a crisis-dominated European socio-economic context to define the influence that the use of information and communication technology has on achieving Europe's 2020 goals and to develop a Digital Single Market. In this respect, Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the Digital Agenda, stressed that "we must put the interests of European citizens and companies at the forefront of the digital revolution in order to fully benefit from the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) create new jobs and promote social sustainability and inclusion." At the same time, he argues that "the ambitious strategy presented today clearly shows the areas on which we must concentrate our efforts in the years to come. In order to fully realize the potential of Europe's digital future, we need the full commitment of the Member States, the ICT sector and other major economic actors. "
ALIGNMENT OF CONTENT, PREREQUISITES AND EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: TOWARDS AUTOMATED MAPPING OF DIGITAL LEARNING RESOURCES
Authors: Fioravera Michele , Rabellino Sergio , Marchisio Marina , Di caro Luigi
Published: February 2023

The emergence of Technology Enhanced Learning environments has led to the continual growth of the availability of digital educational resources. In this paper, the potential of enabling their reuse into student-centric services – such as recommender systems or adaptive tutoring tools – is discussed through the proposal and comparison of procedures for automatically detecting the mutual relatedness among learning objects. Since the choice of the similarity measure is fundamental for clustering digital materials, this paper addresses the investigation on two distinct approaches: the content-based semantic similarity, compared to the closeness measure on natural language descriptions of metadata – namely prerequisites and educational objectives. The analysis is conducted on a collection of mathematical problems, equipped with metadata which facilitate their retrieval in Virtual Learning Environments, created by Secondary School teachers with the support of University experts. Natural Language Processing techniques are exploited for extracting relevant information from the metadata, while the developments in the emergent field of Mathematical Language Processing are proposed for the treatment of mathematical expressions included in the resources. The distinct similarity measures presented are examined considering the compared results, and their correlation is evaluated. This study is intended to be the first step towards the definition of a model for structuring shared materials available in disciplinary repositories of virtual communities. This model will be used for implementing a system for the delivery of learning objects trajectories on a digital map automatically generated. The system’s efficacy will be tested through its integration to a Learning Management System hosting secondary school classrooms’ courses. The research is part of a PhD in Pure and Applied Mathematics in apprenticeship, conducted in partnership with leading providers of software based on Computer Algebra System engine.
PLAYING WITH FIRE OR SETTING ORDER? PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF CULTURAL IDENTITIES TROUGH INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
Authors: Natea Mihaela daciana
Published: February 2023

Creating a brand is not an easy task nowadays because generating identities for product or services requires time, money and creative thinking. When it comes to countries regions or places the task is even harder but not because of the number of players that present similar offers but because these identities are based on cultural aspects that reflect from inside out, meaning - they must represent the community but also mean something to the outside world. An important subject developed in the broad subject of Intellectual property is the protection of traditional knowledge, or how a local community or a country can protect cultural and spiritual aspects and the way they can promote it through intellectual property aspects such as trademarks, geographical indications, patents, copyright and related rights. But this protection can raise certain conflicts between countries, because cultural aspects cannot be confined to the limit of a border. This can lead to disputes that have national interest at the core that states cannot neglect because these are elements that define the nations. Such is the case of geographical indications which have shown us in cases such as feta, Tokaj, Habanos and others, that certain elements of intellectual property have a higher meaning that a mere economic one, because they can represent the identity of a place or country. The article explores the different aspects of intellectual property involved in the process of traditional knowledge protection and tries to identify certain aspects that must be taken into consideration when undertaking the task of protecting cultural identities.
GAMING IN VIRTUAL REALITY AND WAR: THE ROYAL WAY TO TEACHING?
Authors: Zodian Mihai
Published: February 2023

What if one could teach XVIth Century politics by taking the students right in the middle of events? This sounds like Star Trek, but is part of the promises brought about by a new wave of Virtual Reality (VR) tools. This paper will approach the issue of military history in gaming, with an accent upon the changes brought by this technological change. While teaching history with video games is a frequently discussed idea in social studies, both regarding the phenomenon of war and other, more general, issues, such as economics, social structures, diplomacy, religion, cultures or gender, Virtual Reality applications are still in flux and its perspectives aren`t very clear. Most of them are software demos or modest programs in comparison with established platforms like PCs, smartphones or consoles, and not only regarding video games. Its supporters argue that the new VR wave of products will change everything about the ways we interact in the electronic world, from using the Internet to publicity or elections, while its opponents consider that is a high-tech luxury for rich people, a mere fad. The paper will present VR`s main features: its technical details, the issue of costs, its most significant applications and some of its potential. The main conclusion is that, while there is a great potential for both playing and teaching military history in Virtual Reality, its prospects depends, the same as in other types of video entertainment, upon a combination of market successes and convincing gameplay (I. Cartarescu-Petrica, 2015; M. Sicart, 2009). For now, it is still too soon to decide if the early hopes weren`t too optimistic.
ADREM: SYSTEM CALL BASED INTRUSION DETECTION FRAMEWORK
Authors: Vaduva Janalexandru , Chiscariu Raduemanuel , Culic Ioana , Florea Iuliamaria , Rughinis Razvan
Published: February 2023

We are living in an era where computers govern the educational process. The market is flooded with puzzles, games, quizzes or other kinds of applications destined to help teachers explain different concepts and to enable students to practice their skills and test the knowledge. For all these systems, be them computers, server or embedded devices, the internet connection is the essential aspect. As a result, we have children and students working with devices that are exposed to the highest degree of security issues and threats. Attacks are continuously evolving, becoming more flexible, adaptable and hard to detect, and leaving children and students vulnerable to malicious software that can either collect sensitive information about them or expose them to inappropriate content. Because of this, it is only natural that security solutions became of significant importance for the tech educational industry. Computers, servers and embedded devices are exposed to the highest degree of security issues and threats since the internet became an essential need. Attacks are continuously evolving, becoming more flexible, adaptable and hard to detect. This made only natural the shift towards adaptive security oriented solutions. One of the security those solutions is represented by anomaly based intrusion detection techniques. Anomaly based intrusion detection systems build a baseline of normal behavior. For a Linux based operating system, which represents a great percent of the platforms used in education, this is accomplished by monitoring a given process or sets of processes. Any significant deviation from the baseline model is flagged as malicious activity. This paper proposes a framework for intrusion detection using system call traces captured from services running on a container. The work done is based on The Australian Defence Force Academy Linux Dataset, more well-known as ADFA-LD. The analysis is done taking into consideration the temporal allocation of the system calls. The classification module is based on supervised machine learning techniques. To test the accuracy of the framework, a case study involving a database application running under a Linux container is analyzed. The results together with the proposed framework implementation are described in details.
DEVELOPED A HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE APPLICATION TO MONITOR EYE MOVEMENTS AND EVALUATE THE VISUAL FIELD
Authors: Baritz Mihaela ioana , Braun Barbu cristian
Published: February 2023

Fundamental and applicative research in this field has highlighted a number of defining aspects of the cognitive-reactive process that is related to the different positions and movements of the eye balls, but also to eye-hand coordination when the visual stimulation is performed in a dynamic regime (high velocities, luminous stimulation intensities, and variable exposure times, controlled or simulated disturbances).
In the first part of the paper there are presented a series of general and particular aspects that are fundamental to the development of this research and which, respectively, allowed the identification of important components correlated with eye movements and with the eye-hand coordination mechanisms.
In the second part of the paper is presented experimental hardware and software for eye movement monitoring and evaluation of visual field. Thus, for each module of activity (monitoring and evaluation), a working methodology was developed that includes the hardware construction of the system along with the development of the software application.
In the final part of the paper are presented the results applied on a sample of subjects chosen according to the criteria established by the analysis procedure and the methodologies for recording in stable and reproducible environment are developed, seeking to eliminate the possible syncope or malfunctions of the hardware and software application.
Also, in the final part the conclusions of the practical applications of eye movement monitoring and visual field evaluation respectively are presented. This chapter highlights the importance of using such a hardware and software evaluation mechanism and also specifies the possibilities for use in re-learning process and further optimization.
LABORATORY OF THINGS: VIRTUAL LABORATORY FOR SIGNAL PROCESSING EXPERIMENTS
Authors: Cimpanu Corina , Lupu Robert gabriel , Ungureanu Florina
Published: February 2023

Nowadays, the evolution of the educational system is mainly based on concepts like distance learning, open universities, virtual learning environments that become quite popular for teaching and learning. Anyhow, in the field of Computer Science, Technology and Engineering these learning environments are still relatively behind when discussing new technologies like distance learning. Due to their inherent necessity of providing effective skill acquisition and hands-on experience, those laboratories availability for online access is limited or restricted. The equivalent virtual laboratory can be based on remote access to real lab equipment or can be represented by a fully-software virtual replica.
The Internet of Things (IoT) concept describes the connection between various physical devices into a global network, along with their identification and information share. The growth of the IoT technology expands the communication capability to, and all the data makes it alive. Perhaps the most used educational approach sharing the same idea with IoT is the concept of a remote or virtual laboratory. In this case, things are instruments and processes involved in laboratory experiments. This virtual environment provides a connection with dedicated hardware controlled via the Internet, and it often uses other network services.
In this paper, the main research activity regards both software and hardware deployment criteria of a virtual laboratory used for educational purposes. Its applications are mainly focused, but not limited to the field of instrumentation and measurements, as well as in signal processing. The experiments are extended to the field of robotics through the remote control application of a servomotor and visualizing online its actual state.
THE INTEGRATION OF IOT PROJECTS IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
Authors: Oprea Marin
Published: February 2023

The Internet of Things (IoT) is defined by the interconnection between networks of smart devices (objects) through specific communication standards and protocols. Data retrieved from these objects is loaded on cloud servers where it is analyzed, processed and then accessed by users through simple, intuitive, easy-to-use interfaces. The rapid development of IoT applications will steadily increase the demand for skilled personnel in this field. Under these circumstances, the study of IoT basic notions in classrooms becomes a necessity. Using the Arduino and Raspberry Pi development platforms, a wide range of IoT projects can be developed, according to the students' level. These platforms capture environmental data through an extended array of sensors (temperature, light, pressure, humidity, force, acceleration, rotation, sound, IR, magnetic field, etc.), making it perfectly suited to projects development in the educational STEM field (Science, Technology, Engineering and Matemathics). In this study my aim is to show, based on examples, how several IoT projects can be developed in class using the two above mentioned platforms and I emphasize the didactical aspects associated with this study. For the first project I used the Arduino Uno development board, the DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor, and ESP8266 WiFi module, and showed how the ambient temperature and humidity can be monitored via Internet. The data collected by the sensor was processed by Arduino, sent to the WiFi module and further on a cloud server on the IoT ThingSpeak platform where it was stored, analyzed and graphically represented in real time. In the second project I used a Raspberry Pi development board, a mobile robotic platform powered by two electric motors and equipped with a webcam in order to video monitor, via the Internet, a particular perimeter under observation. The robotic platform on which the surveillance camera is located can be positional controlled using a web browser that can access an HTML page built for this purpose. The final part of this study is dedicated to the assessment of the quality of STEM training results by classes of students who have worked on IoT projects compared with classes that have undergone traditional training courses.