bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
STAT-CONCOR: SOFTWARE FOR VALIDATING THE PANEL OF ASSESSORS, SUBSEQUENTLY TO THE FABRIC HAND EVALUATION
Authors: Harpa Rodica , Piroi Cristina , Cristian Irina
Published: February 2023

In previous papers, the STAT-HAND (Statistical Analysis for Hand) original software was developed and a case study of practical use was presented for the fabrics’ hand evaluation by means of blind tactile sensory feeling. STAT-HAND is an interactive ICT-based learning tool that helps students acting as evaluators during the laboratory activities performed within the course "Systems and Equipment for the Textile Products' Quality Assurance", from the master curriculum delivered at the Faculty of Textile, Leather and Industrial Management – Iasi. However, without minimizing the related issues of the fabrics' subjective evaluation and the importance of the panel with experts, textile students (regardless of the specialty and the study year) must be able to make connections between the product design and the sensory comfort expected for a specified end use. Therefore, for the discipline "Quality assurance in weaving”, the students from the fourth year of study have to develop strategies for the quality control of fabrics according to a specified destination, paying attention to the selection of the specific measuring processes for the objective evaluation of fabrics. In this context, it is also considered useful for teaching students about the primary handle attributes and the subjective evaluation of fabrics hand, with the support of the STAT-HAND software. Subsequently to the fabric hand evaluation, a statistical analysis was required to prove the reliability of the students’ panel and the connection between the subjective and the objective evaluations they carried out. Therefore, for the next stage regarding the topics of subjective and objective evaluation, it was necessary to develop STAT-ConCor (Statistical Analysis for Concordance and Correlation). This software includes two facilities developed in accordance with two algorithms for calculating the Kendall and Spearman coefficients. STAT-Con uses Kendall’s coefficient of concordance calculation as a measure of emphasizing the agreement/disagreement among evaluators within the panel. STAT-Cor uses Spearman’s coefficient of correlation calculation as a measure of emphasizing the level of correlation between the subjective and objective evaluation.
E-LEARNING TRAINING PROGRAM FRAMEWORK ON ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN ORDER TO IMPROVE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Authors: Herghiligiu Ionut viorel , Robu Ioanbogdan , Sarghie Bogdan
Published: February 2023

The human society has progressed during the last decades to a knowledge-based economy and as a result organizations have reconsidered the importance level of the human capital, research, information/ knowledge engineering, standardized management systems (ISO 14001 - EMS; ISO 9001 - QMS; ISO 2600 - CSR, and so on) and strategic planning design. Nevertheless, in the current context organizations must take into account their environmental impact and their sustainable orientation; otherwise the result will be disruptive regarding the link/ interaction with other organizations and with the market in an effective way that could contribute sustainable to the economics welfare. Environmental management system (EMS) brought a major contribution to the organizational awareness regarding the environmental issues. Also real integration of such a system (EMS) brought many organizational benefits related to overall organizational business performance. The EMS actively links the organizations management with the sustainable development orientation, which it is followed by an organizational behaviour that considers the expectations of all stakeholders regarding environmental issues. Specifically, it refers to institutionalization (absorption) of EMS "key elements" into the organizational strategic management to effectively balance the equilibrium between environmental activities and organizational performance. New training programs are needed to fulfil this goal. Organizations often choose e-learning alternative for human resource knowledge acquisition/ instruction because is the most cost-effective tool, it's convenient, it's flexible, and it has a very positive final result. Concluding, the paper develops an e-learning training program framework regarding the EMS as a managerial instrument of business performance because e-Learning is the most desirable and effective method to implement inside organizations various training programs.
INTERACTIVE TOOLS USED IN BLENDED INSTRUCTION TO TEACH THE BLOW ROOM LINE PROCESSES
Authors: Ichim Mariana , Dan Dorin , Sava Costica
Published: February 2023

During the last years, the use of information and communication technologies in higher education for teaching and learning has been continuously increasing in universities from all over the world. The main benefits of e-learning consist in anytime, anywhere access to educational materials, flexibility in the pace of learning, high interactivity, and assessment at a time that best suits student progress. On the other hand, the traditional face-to-face learning assures social interaction between all participants (teacher and students) that makes learning more effective for many students. In blended instruction, e-learning applications are used to support the traditional face-to-face learning, combining in this way the benefits of both methods of instruction. By incorporating information technology into face-to-face classroom instruction, the blended learning gives better student outcomes than traditional classes. This paper presents some e-learning interactive tools designed for teaching the principles of opening, cleaning and blending in the blow room line to the 3rd year students in the “Technology and Design of Textile Products” specialization at the Faculty of Textiles, Leather and Industrial Management from the “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Romania. The interactive tools provided to students include schematic drawings of machinery from Ingolstadt blow room line existing in the “Processes and machinery in the cotton spinning mill” laboratory, animations, videos and assessment tests. For schematic drawings, the Corel DRAW software has been used, while the interactive animations have been created using Corel R.A.V.E. The evaluation tests have been created using Hot Potatoes software.
INFORMATICS SYSTEM FOR SELECTION OF ORIENTATION AND POSITIONING SURFACES OF WORKPIECE CLAMPED IN FIXTURES
Authors: Seghedin Neculai eugen , Dragos Chitariu
Published: February 2023

Workpiece clamping in fixtures is an operation made accordingly to a succession of stages and activities. Thus, after an optimal orientation and position of the workpiece has been established, follows the selection stage for the surfaces of the workpiece used for orientation and position. On these surfaces support will placed to remove the degrees of freedom of the workpiece. By orientation and positioning surfaces it is understood an actual surface as well as workpiece edges or points. The proposed informatics system consists of a graphic interface that allows the designer to decide on, the surfaces to be chosen for orientation and positioning. The essence of the system is the framing of each surface in a particular class. The system allows, thus, classification of all orientation and positioning surfaces in certain categories, because selection is only between surfaces of the same type. Also, a classification of surfaces on size criteria is allowed. Further, the surfaces are classified in terms of dimensional accuracy, shape deviations, relative position, roughness and undulations. A last point concerns the quality of the surface layer of the surface, expressed by its hardness. In this way, it provides nearly complete characterization of orientation and positioning surfaces. Next, the designer is presented a list of criteria for the evaluation of orientation and positioning surfaces, from which he selects certain criteria that are feasible for a given situation. The designer can grant weighting or coefficients of importance to each evaluation criterion individually. According to mode each area is assigned in in the above mentioned categories and how each criteria is satisfied, to which the importance coefficient for each criteria is added. In this way, the designer can certainly decide on the selection of the orientation-positioning surfaces.
E-LEARNING IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION - A REVIEW
Authors: Arotaritei Dragos , Rotariu Cristian
Published: February 2023

The modern approaches in teaching and learning for basic engineering sciences include the usage of computer simulations, collaborative learning, problem-based learning and Internet access. The cognitive process is a complicated one, and the learning methodologies must be often focused on particular area of knowledge. Feedback messages can help in process of improvement of learning process by adjusting the accessibility and addressability via e-learning technologies and application. The review encompass the main results in e-learning technology in education using desktop simulation tools, WEB3D methods and Internet possibilities as premise to have an improvement in e-learning. courses. Use of computers and new technologies have become a crucial part of learning as well as teaching. E-learning today has been a key factor in various industries and teaching is one among them. The Virtual universities as possible online courses are mentioned also by few significant papers. The biomedical engineering (BME) is in most of things a frontier domain and represents the application of engineering principles and design concepts to biology and medicine. Biomedical Engineering (BME) represents the application of engineering principles and design concepts to biology and medicine. Important tasks as data mining, image processing, gene sequencing requires management and processing large amount of data along with important workload and sharing among many users. Cloud computing can be used in these cases and a review of recent work in these new emerging technologies is made, also. The analysis and opportunity of this choice is motivated by conclusions from literature along with personal assertions. A possibility to use for validation of TAM (Theory of Acceptance Model) is proposed to be used for each case in a custom manner.
NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR ASSISTED BY PC REHABILITATION EVALUATION
Authors: Braun Barbu cristian
Published: February 2023

The paper presents a new technology with application in visual function and body equilibrium prevention and rehabilitation was proposed and developed. It invokes to apply a set of assisted tests to detect any sight or balance diseases for children aged between 4 and 10 years. At this age, such of problems can be yet successfully solved via assisted training exercises as rehabilitation process. The testing invokes to induce some degree of body destabilization, while the subject have to coordinate his hand and eyes to react properly and in time to different light stimulus occurring randomly on a laptop or tablet display. For this reason a dedicated plate was carried out, having the possibility to adapt selectively some special elements for progressive destabilization degrees inducing. For light stimulus, a flexible software interface was developed for different age categories. It has also the role to evaluate the time and property of the person’s reaction to extinguish the stimulus during testing. In actual stage, the test was applied for a child aged 5 years, having small problems in stability and hand – eyes coordination. It was observed that the test was attractive one for the child, being considered as a game. Besides, after about several weeks of training it was demonstrated that the child has a better body posture on the destabilization plate and also better hand-eye coordination. Due to the fact that the developed and proposed technology proved to be efficient one, it will be applied for other persons the above mentioned age range, for prevention and rehabilitation by training.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND BOUNDARY WORK IN HOMEOPATHY
Authors: Ciocanel Alexandra , Rughinis Razvan , Rughinis Cosima
Published: February 2023

In this paper we examine the evolving roles of digital technology in shaping the professional identity and therapeutic encounters of homeopathic practitioners. Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine that relies almost exclusively in making a diagnostic on patients’ verbal description of their symptoms. In contrast to the biomedical diagnosis, the homeopathic diagnosis does not place the patient in a disease category, but in a remedy category. The software that aids homeopathic professionals in their practice is based on a digitalization of books that organized the homeopathic knowledge of remedies and symptoms (repertories and Materia Medica). Organized as an inventory of descriptions of remedies and symptoms, the software operates algorithmically in helping the homeopath to match patients’ symptoms to possible remedies and select the most adequate remedy. During the consultation, the homeopath makes a patient file by writing a selection of words extracted from patients’ talk that express symptoms in great detail – including feelings, signs of suffering and various lifestyle preferences. In this process the homeopath and the software co-create the patient’s “person” as a collection of more-or-less idiosyncratic symptoms, in their attempt to match the patient’s symptomatology with the description of one single remedy. Drawing on interviews with patients and homeopaths, observations of consultations and homeopathic seminars, we argue that the use of digital technology is practiced as boundary work. Firstly, digital technology becomes a boundary marker between the patient and the homeopath. Secondly, digital technology helps homeopaths to legitimize their practice as a rigorous one, being one of the strategies used to gain acceptance in the health-care ecosystem. Last but not least, by presenting the software as only a time-saving device, a neutral aide for making “intelligent suggestions” that can be confirmed but also rejected by the homeopath’s judgment, homeopaths create a distinct professional identity oriented around a central principle of their practice: “Treat the patient as a whole person”.
A MATHEMATICAL METHOD TO VALIDATE NEW ROMANIAN SPEECH AUDIOMETRY MATERIALS FOR EVALUATION THE HEARING LEVEL IN YOUNG AND ADULTS
Authors: Dascalu Cristina gena , Cozma Sebastian , Dimitriu Gabriel , Moscalu Mihaela , Olariu Raluca
Published: February 2023

The hearing assessment is an important step in detecting any possible hearing loss which leads to specific communication and speech pathologies. Different speech intelligibility tests have been developed for some languages, but calibrated materials for Romanian language were not validated until now. We used a new originally kit test containing monosyllabic and bisyllabic words from spoken language, corresponding to the normal speech. The words were filtered by special software in order to select the most common and frequency spectrum homogeneous word lists, and the audiological assessment was made in standard test conditions. The aim of the study was to mathematically assess and validate this material in Romanian language for speech audiometry. In order to do this we recorded for each list the percentage of words correctly identified by different subjects with normal hearing at different sound intensities (in dB) and we generated the corresponding curve, which was then compared with the ideal curve known from literature, corresponding to a normal hearing. The difference between these curves was calculated as a normalized root mean squared error (NRMSE), and a tested list was validated when this difference was small enough. The simulations were made in MATLAB, and we wrote a dedicated algorithm in order to generate the curves and to calculate the proposed error. We tested 260 lists, among them 85.4% were identified with a NRMSE error smaller than 15%; these lists were kept as valid, the others being reformulated. The behaviour of the valid lists was further statistically analysed, in order to prove its usefulness as a clinical tool for widely use in the evaluation of hearing loss or communication disorders.
GRAPHIC INTERFACE FOR IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF T-WAVE WITH APPLICATIONS IN CARDIOLOGY, TUTORIAL FOR BIOENGINEERIING EDUCATION
Authors: Turnea Marius , Arotaritei Dragos , Ilea Mihai , Gheorghita Andrei
Published: February 2023

Although it is an obsolete, simple and accessible device of investigation, it offers doctors a large amount of information on the structure and functionality of the heart. Due to the slope and low-intensity amplitude, but also to the lack of a universal detection rule of the beginning and end of the wave, the delimitation of the T wave remains a concern. Moreover, besides predicting the peak wavelength and its limits, an accurate estimation of the waves can have a major impact on the medical act, such as the detection of the arrhythmias and wavelength alternation. The software package has following modules: ECG signal processing by filtering and noise reduction available on the route and graphical user interface with application in the evaluation of T wave morphology, which can assess pathological type issues, which can lead to sudden cardiac death or to the need to assess the implantation of cardiac stimulation devices. This paperwork takes into consideration both possibilities, in conformity with the available information about the indicative parameters. To alleviate numerical problems related to the previous delimitation associated to the T wave, we use Markov Monte Carlo chain method. This represents a sampling strategy required to solve Bayesian interference issues. We will focus on a particular method of Markov Monte Carlo chain, which refers to Gibbs partial sampling, whose convergence proprieties have already been proved. The correct detection of the T waveform for a set of annotated data, can then be compared by superposition with an example of waveform extracted through classical methods used in diagnosis of arrhythmias.
ELEARNING FOR MATH SKILLS IMPROVEMENT.
Authors: Anghel Gheorghe
Published: February 2023

A mathematician studies Mathematics, because he sees in it something beautiful, something interesting, something that he likes, that he cares about, that intrigues him, that makes him think, meditate and dream’, said Grigore Moisil. Mathematics is and will always be fascinating. Revolving around this subject, the present article is also approaching adjacent topics such as: the role of technology in Mathematics, pedagogical approaches in the field and last, but not least, the 21st century mathematical challenges we are facing. We leave in a new digital era, and for this reason, it is of major urgency to ask questions regarding the risks we are willing to take, the new methods we are willing to experiment with and the changes we want to make. It is our responsibility to prepare our students in such a manner, that they could face the world they live in. A way to do so is to encourage the development of a so-called new field in education, entitled e-learning. ’The student of the future is going to be an explorer’, said Marshall McLuhan, therefore I could not agree more that school education should have as a main objective teaching children by enhancing their inborn curiosity and encouraging them to discover various fields. Interdisciplinarity must be a key word in the process of nowadays teaching, where teaching by means of technology should no longer be an option, but an obligation for all teachers. In the domain of Mathematics, the experimental field is reaching more and more people, as by means of computers, simulation is made possible, simulation that can provide a sense of better understanding for both students and teachers. From personal experience, using a software entitled Math Graph 4.3 has proved as an outstanding tool. Not only has it helped with the visual aid it made available, but it could also represent an interactive way of teaching. This article continues a series of articles, that have already been published and its aim is to present a new way of teaching that uses the latest educational software products, in order to help students better understand the subject of Euclidean Geometry.
ACADEMIC EDUCATION ADAPTATION OF THE ELECTRONIC WARFARE - CYBER DEFENSE CONVERGENCE IN ORDER TO TRAIN A MODERN SECURITY CULTURE
Authors: Topor Sorin , Bazga Bogdan
Published: February 2023

Security is an omnipresent state for which complex and interdisciplinary approaches are needed. Because of the many valences and the ways of perceiving it, we appreciate that only modern education can provide the foundation for a good security culture specific to the period we are going through. In our paper we want to demonstrate that under the correct approach of the electronic warfare - cyber defense convergence, through various academic programs, not only in the field of military sciences, we can realize premises of a solid security culture that human development supports base on education , a fundamental factor determining of a modern military information system security. At the same time, we appreciate that understanding of specific themes in this field by civil society will lead to an assumed self-education, each user of an informational system understanding the risk to which he is exposed and that compliance with the rules is not only a task included in the job description but a contribution essential to maintaining the security status of the organization where he’s belongs. Last but not least, submitting own systemic vulnerabilities observations to top-management structures should be a moral obligation for each member of a professional community. In turn, managers need to check and communicate their response to the entire community, creating by that a form of education at work. Even though this kind of education develops the specific professional-security culture, the existence of several directions will determine the permanent adaptation of security in various fields and, implicitly, the formation of a modern security culture.
SECURING DATA IN ONLINE LEARNING SYSTEMS BY AUTOMATED CLASSIFICATION
Authors: Ogigauneamtiu Florin , Antonoaie Cristina
Published: February 2023

Because of the huge importance data has for the modern business environment, data security is one of the main concerns leaders have, no matter the sector of activity they operate in. Modern learning environments try to leverage technological assets in order to address the current educational needs. Using the modern technology is bringing huge benefits for organizations in terms of minimized costs, rapid deployment, increased adaptability and reliability, rapid and flexible access to services but increases the exposure of organization’s data to malicious actors. Data classification, in the context of information security, is the classification of data based on its level of sensitivity and the impact to the organization if that data will be compromised. The classification of data helps determine what baseline security controls are appropriate for safeguarding that data. By grouping data in a limited set of "classes" that have similar compliance and security requirements, we have the basis to prioritize security investment and to apply common risk-appropriate controls to data across an organization. Without it, each data type might have its own set of handling requirements and it would become impossible to manage and communicate effectively. Classical schemes rely on humans to analyse information and categorize it. This approach has a series of limitations which hamper their effectiveness, negatively impacts the organization security environment and lowers employee efficiency. This article analyses the possibility of using classification algorithms running on automated machines integrated in the organization business environment to implement data classification schemes. Organizations need to realize that data classification does not equate data security.
THE FUTURE OF ELEARNING - A CASE SCENARIO: SECURITY STUDIES
Authors: Grigoras Razvan
Published: February 2023

Delivering some tendencies regarding the future of eLearning represents a strong and effective tool for eLearning researchers and users from the entire world. Nowadays the Maturity Models became some tailored solutions for measuring the development of eLearning. This pessimistic-mercantile way of making science did not offer some prospective layers to adapt to future technology, but to adapt to a static point that fore sure will be outdated when achieved. Therefore, although it is agreed among scientific community that eLearning represents a “mantra” that affects efficiency and value, there are few interests in discovering the future tendencies of eLearning. Peculiar, in the practice of eLearning in security studies those tendencies do not exist at all. Some world-wide events demonstrated us that the ability to anticipate and to respond to security changes is a compulsory asset for a state. Therefore, eLearning must deal with this asset. A pragmatic way of shaping a better perception of security is by developing and applying eLearning trends. This article presents the main propensities and weak signals of the eLearning environment as MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses), IOT (Internet of Things), VRT (Virtual Reality Technologies), BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), mobile learning, gamification and others. This article concludes that identifying the main propensities of eLearning is a key factor in the continuous education of security practitioners. Therefore, by cultivating newest technology in eLearning in the field of security studies, an added-value is achieved. This allows security practitioner to prepare and respond to sudden disrupts and changes of the environment.
SECURITY MANAGEMENT FOR MOBILE LEARNING SYSTEMS
Authors: Zamfiroiu Alin
Published: February 2023

Nowadays, more and more systems become online. And the educational system, in turn, became online by terms like E-Learning or M-Learning. There is the possibility of learning by teleconferencing, there is the possibility of learning by using video tutorials or audio tutorials in which are presented the programming modes of the teachers or the trainers who make the tutorials. Every way of learning is specific to certain people, and each person acquires a certain way of learning according to their capabilities and according to their experience in programming or in the language in which they want to learn new things. Also cloud storage has become very important and more applications keep memory in centralized cloud-oriented servers. The problem with these systems is the security management. For M-Learning systems, the security should be managed both at the application level and at the communication level. Thus, the channel on which the information between the mobile application and the server where the data is stored and centralized are changed, should be secure. And the communication between the two entities must be accomplished without the risk that a third party intervenes on this channel and modifies the interchanged data between the two entities. Within this material are studied and analyzed the methods of increasing the security of mobile applications used in the educational environment. Increasing security is done by testing both the applications and the services provided by the server. For mobile applications made in the educational environment, WhiteBox testing and BlackBox testing are required. The material presents the WhiteBox and BlackBox test methods for mobile educational applications.
ICT CONTENT LEARNED THROUGH NTC LEARNING SYSTEM METHODOLOGY
Authors: Ruzic baf Maja , Rajovic Ranko , Debeljuh Andrea
Published: February 2023

There is a trend of development of new ways of teaching of the school program, using new information and communication technologies and learning methods. In comparison with the traditional learning methods that are guided by the famous saying ,,Repetitio est mater studiorum", the new methodologies offer a simpler way of learning and compared to the quantity of the remembered content, doesn't take much time. This work shows the results of a pre-examination conducted on a sample of 15 students of the Faculty of Educational Science in Pula, University Juraj Dobrila of Pula, Croatia. The research has been done during a course on Information Technologies. The research results show that ways of learning that involve underlining, learning by constant repetition and rewriting the text are outdated and, take too much time and have low efficiency, considering the quantity of remembered content. By using different learning methods, it is possible to make studying more entertaining and more adapt to individual needs and possibilities of students. One of the stages of the NTC (Nikola Tesla) program is characterized by thoughts of classification, thought of series and associations. This paper presents one learning method that uses associations which is part of the NTC learning methodology. Associative learning is not only important for memorizing the lesson, but because it is the basis for later functional knowledge and stimulating this type of learning helps students to increase the level of their functional knowledge. NTC program is intended for the development of functional knowledge and creativity by increasing divergent production and linking information.
TECHNICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS IN DISTANCE LEARNING LMSS
Authors: Frumos Florin , Berechet Lucian daniel , Stofor Ovidiu , Istrimschi Petruadrian
Published: February 2023

Often we discuss about student's educational needs and wishes. What about teacher's needs and/or wishes in terms of educational system functional rules? Simply the teachers should sometimes use paper and students should always use computers or others devices for the same material or task? We think not. But we estimate they both needs a minimal package of teaching and learning tools for a well-structured learning management system (LMS) that will compose a reliable and decent virtual learning environment. Successfully distance learning imply a well-organized pedagogical approach and, subsequently, a structured learning environment. In this perspective, if we struggle to improve the results, we consider that both teachers’ and students’ perspective must be taken into account. We agree that the students must have all the tools that they need to learn. But for this purpose, the teachers should also have the essential tools for managing the learning process. If we demand why the LMS's are not entirely accepted as good learning environments, a good reasons seems to be even the lack of this minimal technical tools for managing teaching-learning processes. This paper emphasizes the teachers’ experience of the most utilized learning management systems (LMS), in both technical and pedagogical perspective. First, in technical perspective, we focus on the strengths and weakness of some commonly used LMSs: Moodle, Blackboard, Google Drive and Google Scholar, Sakai, Joomla LMS, Wordpress LMS. Second, we struggle about pedagogical demands for an ideal LMS: we outlined some of the most useful tools for teacher as didactic process manager, as they result from a survey on some existing software applications (the most used LMS's). We tried to propose the most necessary tools for teachers and students in order to cover the entire teaching and learning process. Also, we propose an “ideal” LMS, completed with functionalities imposed by the pedagogical and administrative norms.
COMMON VISUALITY PRACTICES IN E-LEARNING
Authors: Ionita Mirela , Pastae Veronica , Pripoaeserbanescu Ciprian
Published: February 2023

Despite the fact that images have always been an important part of our daily lives, many contemporary didactic approaches stem from the view that verbal communication is the primary source of information. Given this deeply rooted belief, methodologists (designers of educational content) continue to act as if visual elements could only play a secondary role in the teaching process. Nonetheless, these specialists admit that the perceptions of present-day students, who belong to the digital native generation are inclined to the visual, especially due to the popularity of the digital media, which mainly rely on images. Ever since the 17th century pedagogue Comenius, it has been known that images arouse one’s curiosity and enhance students' pleasure to learn. Whether spoken or written, bulk texts are tedious and tiring if they lack illustrations. Now that we live in an image-based society, researchers should be concerned with how to use the huge potential of visuality in the teaching-learning process. Behavioral psychology studies have shown that images are processed by the brain quicker than text and they are retained more easily than words. Furthermore, research results have proved that with both preschoolers and adults, learning is more effective if images are used as memory aids to acquire information. In the present article we shall reassess the didactic importance of visuality in the context of an image-dominated society. First, we shall define visuality from several pedagogy-related perspectives in order to reveal its usefulness for didactic approaches, based on the inventory of visual typology in the digital environment. Thus, we shall explain the concept of image, starting from the polysemy of the term (which includes optical, mental, sociological, psychological aspects, etc.) and we shall deal with “visual language”. We shall emphasize the intentionality behind images, namely that they are designed to carry information, social values and representations. Then, we shall provide a basis for further analysis by reviewing image typology and the principles of visual representations. The socio-communicative functions of images will provide us with the premises for reconsidering the use of visual elements in contemporary didactic approaches, in the context of the multimedia trend. Next we shall deal with the contextual significance of image as a visual argument in the didactic approach. Finally, we shall highlight the role of visuality in learning, starting from the explicit vs. implicit nature of images, and we shall put forward some criteria for assessing image use in order to prove the effectiveness of the visual component in contemporary pedagogy.
INTRICATE SHIFTS IN THE PATTERNS OF REFLEXIVE PEDAGOGY THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH E-LEARNING
Authors: Lazaroiu George , Nica Elvira , Balica Raluca , Radulescu Adina , Bratu Sofia
Published: February 2023

This article complements a substantial stream of research (especially Cope and Kalantzis, 2017) through an in-depth investigation of the ways a learning setting is similar to an ecosystem, comprising the elaborate interplay of human, textual, musing, and spatial underlying forces that take a consistent, systemic configuration. E-learning is instrumental in dispositions of space, student–to–teacher and student–to–student connections, the textual articulations of knowledge to which students are exposed, the types of knowledge products that learners design, and the manner the results of their training are assessed. Technologies are instructively nonpartisan. Educational technologies may be employed as an environment for didactic pedagogy and may advance substantial pursuits for education. Reflexive pedagogy, facilitated by a developing tendency of educational technologies, may establish e-learning ecologies that are more appealing for students, more adequate, more resource proficient, and more impartial when confronted with learner diversity. Thoroughgoing evaluations and practical options to didactic pedagogy may be reflexive, constituting somehow a rehabilitation of the dialogical, where the assistance of the student is active in an interaction between teacher and student. The results of our analysis provide evidence that there is a transformation in the steadiness of agency between them, where the latter has significant scope and concern for epistemic undertaking, even though within the set of criteria of an activity cycle that has been set by the former. The insistence is on the outcomes and knowledge representations built up by the student and the mechanisms of their construction, i.e. on the social starting points of knowledge. The outcomes of our research indicate that, in a reflexive pedagogy, data should not be discontinued as facts, conceptual accuracy with outstandingly regulated clarifications, or suppositions grounded in proposals that sit within broader epistemic stated values.
FINDING THE RIGHT PEDAGOGY AND RELATED PREREQUISITES FOR A TWO-CAMPUS LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
Authors: Stockert Robin , Stoica George adrian
Published: February 2023

A two-campus master in Music, Technology and Communication is being developed as a joint project between The Norwegian University of Science and technology (NTNU) and the University Of Oslo (UIO). Half the students are in Trondheim at the Music Technology Department of NTNU, while the other half will be in Oslo at the Department of Musicology at UIO. The departments at each University will be paired through several types of networked services, supporting sharing of local and remote resources. A "Portal" between the two locations, will facilitate the sharing of resources, audiovisual communication and collaboration in physical and virtually common workspaces. Students can bring their own devices and interconnect with each other and available online resources. Each topic in the master programme will be taught in real time on both locations, with the best local resources that fits the purpose Available resources in the form of teachers, facilitators, equipment and labs are all necessary building blocks in the new master design, as well as the technology behind the "portal" for interconnection between people and resources. Nevertheless, to facilitate and create student active learning, we need adapted pedagogy and related applied methods to the two-campus learning space. We must support and grow a good social and safe learning culture/atmosphere between the students on both locations. This is a prerequisite to facilitate and obtain effective cross-disciplinary teamwork and collaborative skills between the students. Hence, campuses need to be contemplated as a complete network of connected learning environments, where learning happens within a range of different types of pedagogies, spaces and technologies, which we can define as the learning spectrum. In this paper, we will present and discuss different pedagogical approaches related to a learning spectrum defined by the two-campus master, which can be applied and developed to provide the students with the 21st century soft and core skills.
LOCATION-BASED METAGAMES FOR LEARNING
Authors: Stefan Ioana andreea , Gheorghe Ancuta florentina , Stefan Antoniu , Arnab Sylvester , Loizou Michael , Morini Luca , Baalsrud hauge Jannicke
Published: February 2023

Research argues that digital educational games have the potential to make learning more interesting and more effective, creating unmatched learner engagement. However, creating captivating game-based learning experiences remains challenging. Designing and developing games to support learning is still a costly and time-consuming experience that require a multitude of skills. An easy-to-play game does not equate with an easy-to-create design and development process. Creating game-based experiences is more complex than designing a linear lecture or a static online learning module. Moreover, game customization remains limited, making it difficult for teachers to adapt a game to specific learner needs and subjects. To address these challenges, the authors present the game authoring pipeline of the Beaconing Platform that enables the construction of location-based metagames by non-programmers. In the context of this work, a metagame is defined as the component that provides the overarching narrative experience for players. The paper describes the construction and implementation of two such metagames for two different cities - Targoviste, Romania and Coventry, UK. The location of the device is used to enhance the user experience and to customize the content that is made available to the learners. The metagames integrate quizzes into location-based challenges to create more flexible and more engaging learning experiences that blend virtual and real worlds. In these metagames, participants have to find a real world Point of Interest (POI), defined through GPS coordinates, or a series of them, through indirect clues and complete an activity (e.g. Minigame) there to further the narrative (or unlock the next clue/POI).
GAMIFICATION AND GAME-BASED LEARNING - A SOLUTION FOR ROMANIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM?
Authors: Boboc Andreealarisa , Stoica Ivona , Niculescuciocan Cristina , Orzan Gheorghe
Published: February 2023

Throughout history, many people have supported the use of game and gaming-inspired design in order to improve the human life. In the middle of 2000s, the confluence of web technologies, digital business models and online games gave rise to the latest manifestation of this basic idea. Large organizations have begun to explore gaming as a way to motivate people and improve user experience. Gamification is applied from education and training to health, management, innovation, employee involvement, patrimony, crowdsourcing, civic engagement and marketing (Seaborn & Fels, 2015). Also, mobile applications and different sites have borrowed design elements (points, badges, or social networking game rankings and meta-game systems) to motivate users' activity. More and more curious or enthusiastic people from different fields of activity are moving towards this term. Game-based learning represents an education learning method through games. The present paper aims to highlight the importance of gamification and game-based learning used in education. It has been realized an experiment to students for seeing, if the game-based learning technique has any effect on them, becoming more motivated to learn or changing their attitude or behaviour. The experiment has been based on two groups of students; the first one, had received a test paper and the second one had to pass a quiz, built to the online platform, called kahoot.it, after they read a paper about marketing research subject. The results have been analysed by the help of SPSS 22.0 program, and the hypotheses were verified with independent t test. The experimental model used for research was post-test with control. This study contributes to the developing of education system using modern techniques, in order to improve the student knowledge.
FAKE WARNING: PLAYING WITH IMPRECISE PREDICTIONS
Authors: Grosu Corina , Grosu Marta
Published: February 2023

Probabilistic models play a major role in risk assessment and prevention of disastrous consequences of extreme events such as volcano eruptions, earthquakes and tsunami. Probabilistic models play a major role in risk assessment and prevention of disastrous consequences of extreme events such as volcano eruptions, earthquakes and tsunami. The prognoses issued according to these models offer, as a principal result, early warnings concerning the approaching disaster. Nevertheless, false warnings may also appear, leading to unnecessary panic and waves of painful emotions which all deprive society of essential resources. While the necessary scientific background is acquired during the university years through specialized courses in Probability and Statistics, there is an a priori drawback to the use of this theoretical basis. In fact, each model relies on statistical data collected for similar major events already present in the region under study. The estimation of the parameters is thus deeply influenced by particular characteristics. These in turn determine the bias function which controls the difference between the estimated value of the parameter and its real unknown value. Inspired by the complexity of warning systems, we have designed our present game with the goal to enhance the understanding of some important notions which govern the prognoses based on statistical tests: biased and unbiased estimation as well as confidence interval for the estimated parameters. Included in an e-learning game, these notions are embedded into a scenario, enabling the passing of our hero from the initial “ocean level” in which he gets a secret tsunami warning, through the “lab level” in which he analyses oceanic earthquakes, to the actual “tsunami apparition” game sequence.
AN E-LEARNING PLATFORM FOR TEXTURE IMAGE ANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION
Authors: Cojocaru Janiliutaromeo , Popescu Dan
Published: February 2023

We propose an e-Learning platform or a web-based application for texture image analysis and classification using algorithms that assess fractal methods like: fractal dimension, lacunarity and succolarity. Fractal dimension measures the geometrical complexity of an object and is used as a tool for texture classification assignments. The lacunarity property can improve texture characteristics determined with fractal dimension by the fact that it specifies the texture orientation and shows how texture elements fill space (lacunarity reveals the gap distribution of the texture), while the fractal dimension measures how much space is occupied by texture elements. Succolarity is the fractal property that presents the percolation degree of a fluid flowing around and through an object in an image on a given direction. Various input texture images can be used in the application and the application itself can make automated conversions, adjustments or even offering advises. For classification purposes, multiple algorithms and strategies can be tested and the highest accuracy rate will be chosen for the best classification model. We are using Matlab web server technology to develop the application, mostly because Matlab is a solid and stable environment to develop such applications and one can benefit from the built-in image analysis routines. We intend that this e-Learning platform can be used in educational field for teaching students on image analysis and classification, image segmentation or object recognition issues. Other applicable cases for using this web-based application are research domains where generic or specialized datasets like phytopathology and entomology, tree bark or generic agricultural datasets are used.