bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Commodity, Firmness, and Delight
Authors: Hokanson Brad , Miller Charles , Hooper Simon
Published: May 2011

This chapter is interactive, with surveys and reflective examinations of the reader’s own work in instructional design. It examines instructional design using four professional models: manufacturer, engineer, architect and artist to help develop a broader understanding of the process of design. The values of the instructional design are also challenged, with the chapter examining the balance between utility and aesthetics, function and form. It concludes with a call for the instructional designer to work more as an artist, and offers tactics to encourage that change.
Faculty Development in Instructional Technology in the Context of Learning Styles and Institutional Barriers
Authors: Marinho Robson
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes the within-case analysis of ten faculty members who agreed to share their learning experience and struggles in learning instructional technology. The case focuses on the in-depth description of each participant stressing their unique personal approach and learning styles, describing the main steps experienced and resources utilized by the participants during the learning process. It also highlights one dominant learning characteristic of each participant, which is compared with the participant’s result in the Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire of North Carolina State University, with potential implications for academic administrators in promoting the use of instructional technology by faculty members of diverse profiles. The case also discusses the institutional barriers faced by faculty members while learning how to use instructional technology at a public university in the United States. Three institutional barriers were a major concern for the participants: Time, rewards, and cost. One hundred percent of the participants agreed that providing more time—along with financial and academic rewards—is critical to supporting the learning and implementation of instructional technology.
Theoretical and Instructional Aspects of Learning with Visualizations
Authors: Scheiter Katharina , Wiebe Eric , Holsanova Jana
Published: May 2011

Multimedia environments consist of verbal and visual representations that, if appropriately processed, allow for the construction of an integrated mental model of the content. Whereas much is known on how students learn from verbal representations, there are fewer insights regarding the processing of visual information, alone or in conjunction with text. This chapter uses a semiotics approach to provide a defi- nition of visualizations as a specific form of external representation, and then discusses the differences between verbal and visual representations in how they represent information. Finally, it discusses how meaning is achieved when learning with them. The next section discusses basic perceptual and cognitive processes relevant to learning with visualizations. This background is used to specify the instructional functions that visualizations have either as self-contained instructional messages or as text adjuncts. Moreover, the role of individual differences in processing visualizations is highlighted. The chapter ends with methodological suggestions concerning the important role of interdisciplinary research and assessment methods in this area.
Teaching Social Skills
Authors: Bodie Graham , Fitch-Hauser Margaret , Powers William
Published: May 2011

The ubiquity of instructional technology necessitates a more critical look at the theories that drive adoption and the practical implications of its usage. Blended learning has been offered as one compromise to fully online learning or strict adherence to traditional lecture-based instruction that seems outdated. A particular approach to blended learning is examined in the present chapter through the use of an online learning system. Concept Keys was developed to assist instructors of social skills in breaking down these abstract concepts into manageable units of information appropriate for daily delivery via email. This program is shown to be easily integrated into existing curriculum through two studies. A concluding section attempts to tie these studies together and suggests potential limitations and avenues for future research.
E-Social Constructivism and Collaborative E-Learning
Authors: Salmons Janet
Published: May 2011

Social constructivism is an established educational theory based on the principle that learners and teachers co-construct knowledge through social processes. This chapter proposes an updated theory, e-social constructivism, that takes into account the milieu of electronic communications in which e-learning occurs. Thinkers such as Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner, who laid the theoretical foundations of social constructivism, wrote in a time when face-to-face interactions were the basis for instruction. The works of these writers are reviewed in this chapter. Together with the results of the author’s phenomenological study of collaborative e-learning, they form the basis of e-social constructivist theory. The author uses grounded theory and situational analysis to derive and support e-social constructivist theory. This chapter discusses the implication of that theory for research, teaching and instructional design.
Ethics in Interactions in Distance Education
Authors: Kawachi Paul
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents the desirable interactions involved in teaching and learning at a distance. In these interactions, there are considerable ethical issues–notably that one’s own learner autonomy should be reduced at times in order to help others learn, to achieve the learning task, and at the same time help oneself to learn. Accordingly, learner autonomy is not an overarching goal of education. This is controversial, and this chapter deals with this issue in detail to explain that learner autonomy at best is a rough guideline, and ethically based on reasoning that autonomy should be interpreted as flexibly applied. The maxim that learner autonomy must be flexibly applied is particularly true in both cooperative group learning and in collaborative group learning in distance education where student interactions with other students constitute a major part of the education process. The ethics in interaction in distance education are extended to cover all possible interactions, especially the important interaction by the teacher to each student followed by the interactions by the student with the learning process, that can initiate the aesthetic social intrinsic motivation to lifelong learning and thus to one’s own emancipation. Accordingly, ethics are defined here as those pro-active interactions that induce the motivation to lifelong learning in all the students. Such ethics should override individualist autonomy as a goal in education.
Implications of Anonymity in Cyber Education
Authors: Baggio Bobbe , Beldarrain Yoany
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores the pros and cons of anonymity in cyber education and discusses possible ethical and social implications for online learning. It evaluates both sides of the anonymity issue and presents strategies that may help cyber educators and instructional designers safeguard academic integrity. The educational implications include concern for authenticity and academic integrity, and the dynamics found in social presence. This chapter discusses pertinent policy while analyzing anonymity’s potential for limiting and monitoring academic freedom and the social benefits it brings. Strategies are suggested to enhance social presence by planning for interaction through the instructional design process. The far-reaching effects of anonymity within online educational settings and group dynamics have immediate and long term implications for instruction and learning.
Contemporary Issues in Teaching and Learning with Technology
Authors: Galloway Jerry P.
Published: May 2011

To speak of contemporary issues in instructional technology is like counting wave crests in a stormy ocean: they are changing quickly all the time. New technologies and new issues present themselves daily. Educators struggle with both the instructional integration of computing and developing the skills and knowledge necessary to use technology effectively (Lipscomb & Doppen, 2005). Why, after over 30 years of having computers in schools, are educators still having such difficulties? Today’s population is much more accustom to electronics, yet knowledge is weak, concepts are misunderstood, and the difficulties of teaching with technology seem as serious and convoluted today as ever before. The great physicist and thinker, Richard Feynman, offered some critical comments about the challenges of educators. “What happens is that you get all kinds of statements of fact about education, about sociology, even psychology — all kinds of things which are, I’d say, pseudoscience” (Feynman, 1999, p. 242). Today, we understand “more about education [but] the test scores are going down…we just don’t understand it at all. It just isn’t working” (p. 243). Being critical of how the scientific method is applied to education, Feynman’s comments highlight how the study of teaching and learning yields limited or questionable results. Teacher trainers take their best guess on how to prepare teachers to use technology.
New Directions in the Research of Technology-Enhanced Education
Authors: Ronau Robert N. , Rakes Christopher R. , Niess Margaret L. , Wagener Lauren , Pugalee David , Browning Christine , Driskell Shannon O. , Mathews Susann M.
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents the results of a systematic review of literature in which the authors examined instructional technology integration in career and technical education, mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science. Three lenses were used to examine the literature: a research design framework, a teacher knowledge framework (CFTK), and a technology integration framework (TPACK). The research design framework revealed a low percentage of papers that were actually research studies (41.2%), favoring qualitative design (70% of the 41.2%). Consequently, educators may have difficulty sifting through high proportions of non-research to find the most informative, up-to-date instructional technology research. Three CFTK aspects of teacher knowledge were addressed less than others in the research studies: Individual Context (16%), Subject Matter (33%), and Discernment (29%). Pedagogical Knowledge was addressed the most (65%). The TPACK developmental framework revealed an emphasis on the lowest three levels of instructional technology integration (60%), indicating a gap in the research at the upper two levels. Mathematics studies accounted for almost half of all research addressing TPACK developmental stages (47%). From these findings, the authors conclude that pedagogical knowledge alone is not enough to ensure high levels of technology integration and offer recommendations for improving the disjointed nature of research on instructional technology.
Emerging Edtech
Authors: Chen Ching-Huei , Calinger Manetta , Howard Bruce C.
Published: May 2011

Design principles are universal and may be translated onto the newest trends and emergent technologies. In this research study, the authors combined the perspectives provided by two sources to create a set of recommended design principles for technology-enhanced learning environments. One source was the How People Learn framework (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). The second source was a series of interviews conducted with pacesetters in the field of educational technologies. With the knowledge gained from these two sources, the authors created our own set of design principles. These principles may be used to guide evaluation, instructional design efforts, or best practice models for exemplary use of educational technologies in the classroom.
Rapid E-Learning in the University
Authors: Tan Ivy , Chandran Ravi
Published: May 2011

Rapid e-learning (REL) is a phrase in common use since 2003. This article defines REL, describes types of REL authoring tools, discusses management and instructional issues surrounding REL in corporate and academic settings, and summarizes the experience of the National University of Singapore (NUS), an early adopter of the concept of REL since 2004. Almost all current literature on the topic focuses on REL applications in corporate e-learning. There is very little academic research into issues surrounding REL because this is a recent development. At this stage of implementation of REL, the literature on the topic is limited. The following three definitions are commonly used: 1. Josh Bersin defined REL as a category of online training content, which can be developed in weeks, can be authored by subject matter experts (SMEs), and maintains instructional focus and quality (Bersin & De Vries, 2004). REL tools leverage on common software such as PowerPoint and then convert that to Flash or other formats for Web delivery with options to add audio and simple quiz. Content is published, edited, and republished by the SMEs with little or no assistance. 2. Patti Shank, President of Learning Peaks, broadened the definition to include rapid instructional design, development, deployment, and evaluation (Shank, 2006). REL is no longer just synonymous to the rapid authoring and development of content, but also to the streamlining of the entire project management process and production cycle. 3. Another possible definition of Rapid E-learning is when the phrase is used to indicate how rapidly e-learning is being adopted or embraced by an organization. (Tan, Lee & Goh, 2004). The definitions by Bersin & Associates and Patti Shank, which include process and product, are widely accepted as the main definitions of REL.
Aesthetic Decisions of Instructors and Instructional Designers
Authors: Parrish Patrick
Published: May 2011

The same qualities that make works of art beautiful, meaningful, or at times even transformative in our lives also underlie our best learning experiences. This study sought to better understand the relationship between art and instruction by looking at how aesthetics underlie the design decisions of teachers and instructional designers. Five instructional designers and teachers were interviewed about a course or online learning product they had recently designed. The interviews explored the design decisions they had made based on how they imagined learners would experience the instruction at its beginning, middle, and ending. Participants discussed the introduction of tension to enhance engagement, worked to achieve a coherent experience for learners through narrative qualities, and demonstrated concern for the immediacy of their learners’ experiences, discussing the expected thoughts and feelings of learners at each stage of the course or module.
Wireless Communications
Authors: Webb William
Published: May 2011

Much of the rationale for the launch of 3G networks from 2000 onwards was to promote the expected rise in wireless data usage. Consumers were predicted to make widespread use of mobile internet and mobile TV but it was felt that the data rates offered by 2G networks were insufficiently fast to give them the experience that they expected. But more recently success has been achieved with different types of phone such as the iPhone and with new applications rather than higher data rates. This article takes a look at predictions of the future, considers whether they need to be modified in the light of events and makes its own suggestions as to where things might go from here.
My Top 10 Lessons on Lessons Learned Systems
Authors: Liebowitz Jay
Published: May 2011

Many organizations embark on their knowledge management journey via a lessons learned program. This may entail establishing a lessons learned process for the organization to follow, as well as a lessons learned or best practices repository for ease of search and retrieval. Many of these lessons learned systems are ineffective due to a variety of reasons. This commentary will highlight some of the author’s key “lessons learned about lessons learned” to help organizations better ensure success for their lessons learned initiative.
Socially-Aware Design
Authors: Beale Russell
Published: May 2011

In this article we discuss ‘slanty design’, which incorporate three new principles into a conventional user-centered design process. These are designing for non-goals (things you wish the user not to be able to do); creating anti-usability (designing so that it is difficult to achieve the non-goals); and clean design (solutions without unwanted side-effects that then have to have solutions designed for them). Slanty design incorporates many of the concepts of socio-technical approaches, and is explained using a variety of examples, including an airport baggage carousel, and the remaining challenges outstanding are described.
Sociotechnical Uses of Social Web Tools During Disasters
Authors: Potts Liza
Published: May 2011

Social web tools are being leveraged by participants to communicate throughout their workday as well as during times of crisis. Using the London Bombings of 7 July 2005 as a case study, this chapter illustrates the need for sociotechnical interventions in systems design. By employing Actor Network Theory the author makes visible the active participants and technologies within the ecosystems of social media tools. Such visibility provides insight to the designer seeking to optimize communication systems in the wake of disaster, as well as providing further generalization to everyday use. Guidelines for improving systems and user interfaces based on disaster scenarios are described.
Online Friction
Authors: Skågeby Jörgen
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents conflicts as a central unit of analysis in investigations of online social media sharing. Social media sharing services generate interesting sociotechnical problems as they often make social structures explicit, resulting in observable user experience conflicts. As such, they also present a genre of services where theories of social structure become highlighted and, at times, challenged. Three examples of conflicts, from three different types of networks, are presented. The conflicts were elicited through online, ethnography-inspired, methods. It is argued that the conceptual conflicts help researchers and designers to postulate, find and examine concerns and intentions of users who try to resolve the conflict or move from one end of the conflict to the other. Thechapter also demonstrates three viable ways to communicate analytical conflict insights, intended to inform interaction design, namely use qualities, analytical dimensions and design patterns.
Integrating the Semiotic into UML via Enhancing and Cross-Validating Use Case with an Enriched Domain Model
Authors: Oussena Samia , French Tim
Published: May 2011

Use case models are representation of the way in which users of the system interact with it. The UML specification driven approach to system development enable the use case model to be continuously refined and cross-validated from a number of system viewpoints. However, little has been done for validating the model against the organisational and workgroup setting in which the system will reside. This article aims to address this gap by the use of techniques derived from organisational semiotics for validating use case models against a wider aspect of organisational culture and meaning making at the organisational, workgroup and actor level of abstraction. Such approach will enhance the system development by providing “goodness of fit” between system model and organisational values and beliefs.
The Essence of Organizational Knowledge
Authors: Gao Fei
Published: May 2011

The relationships between organizational static substance knowledge with ‘belief’, ‘the true’, ‘true belief’, or ‘justified true belief’ have been outlined briefly in 2003. In this article, through combining new research outcomes, I further explore why different kinds of organizational static substance knowledge can be counted as belief, the true, true belief, or justified true belief. The discussion on the subtle differences between belief, the true, true belief and justified true belief will shed light on our comprehensive and intensive understanding of different kinds of organizational knowledge and will enable managers or chief knowledge officers (CKO) to effectively and efficiently manage knowledge related activities in our knowledge era.
Shifting Legitimation along Information Infrastructures Growth
Authors: Miscione Gianluca
Published: May 2011

This chapter addresses the institutional dimension of scaling of information systems through the interplay of globally distributed software development with organizational processes. Through examining various phases of a long term project to implement information systems for the public health care sector in global South countries, I highlight changing sources of acceptance and legitimation. The analysis centers on the balance between local and global levels, from pilot sites, through an emerging broader organizational field, to increasingly involving national level institutional settings. In parallel to the established view of the scaling of ICT implementations as relating to complexity and risk in the form of unintended side-effects of the growth of a system, the chapter highlights the qualitative switch between regulatory contexts. Shifting relations to local institutions means that scalability requires actors to interact with quite different organizational cultures, accountabilities and communicative practices.
Office on the Move
Authors: Wu Mei , Lin Haiyun
Published: May 2011

This study, applying social shaping of technology complemented with affordance theory and domestication theory, qualitatively analyses implications of the mobile phone constructed by entrepreneurs in Fujian Province, China. Findings indicate that mobile telephony has significantly transformed the business practice of time and space by Fujian entrepreneurs. It changes time constraints by enabling a 24-hour contact in business operations. It affects the spatial location with a ‘mobile office’. It becomes a platform for staging tricky business performances. It interconnects business and private lives. Consequently it becomes the ‘magic wand’ -- the central axis around which the lives of Fujian entrepreneurs revolve.
A Deeply Embedded Sociotechnical Strategy for Designing ICT for Development
Authors: Dearden Andy , Rizvi Syed Mohammed Haider
Published: May 2011

Development is a social phenomenon. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are a technical phenomenon. Therefore, ICT for development is inescapably a socio-technical phenomenon. For this reason, ICT design efforts that frame themselves with development objectives, require an analysis of their intervention strategies in explicitly socio-technical terms. In this paper, the authors reflect on the strategies adopted by the Rural e-Services project, which has been working with a co-operative of marginal farmers in rural India to design new software and new practices using mobile camera phones to communicate with their agricultural advisors. By combining approaches from participatory development practice and participatory methods of ICT design, the project was able to manage a sustainable socio-technical reconfiguration of the operations of the co-operative.
Natural Language Processing Techniques in Requirements Engineering
Authors: Yilmaz A. Egemen , Yilmaz I. Berk
Published: May 2011

Requirement analysis is the very first and crucial step in the software development processes. Stating the requirements in a clear manner, not only eases the following steps in the process, but also reduces the number of potential errors. In this chapter, techniques for the improvement of the requirements expressed in the natural language are revisited. These techniques try to check the requirement quality attributes via lexical and syntactic analysis methods sometimes with generic, and sometimes domain and application specific knowledge bases.
Requirement Management and Link with Architecture and Components
Authors: Boulanger Jean-Louis
Published: May 2011

In recent years there has been acceleration in the use of computing. The process applies equally to the products used in day-to-day lives (household electrical goods, cars…) and industrial products (industrial monitoring, medical equipment, financial transactions, railway systems…). When computing is introduced into complex systems a higher level of rigor is required.
Multiagent System for Supporting the Knowledge Management in the Software Process
Authors: Neto Francisco Milton Mendes , Morais Marçal José de Oliveira
Published: May 2011

The software process consists of knowledge-intensive procedures, involving various profiles, which handle a wide range of information. The adoption of a solution that satisfies the knowledge demands related to software engineering is not a trivial task. Despite all the investment made by research institutions and software development organizations in automated environments to support the software process, the quality levels and the productivity rates they need has not been reached. In software engineering, the experience, which helps avoid mistakes of the past and improve decision making, still lies mainly in the organization collaborators. This chapter intends to contribute to software engineering by proposing a new approach to support the capture, packaging, storage, mapping, maintenance and retrieval of the knowledge related to the software process. The approach will support the software process through the creation of a knowledge management model to assist the development of intelligent agents that can (i) realize the knowledge needs, (ii) interact with the Information Systems and (iii) support executing the software developers’ tasks. In other words, the chapter proposes creating a multiagent system to manage knowledge related to the execution of software development processes. This system will be the result of implementing the knowledge management models for supporting software process that will also be proposed in this chapter. It will consist of an Information System integrated with a knowledge base related to the implementation of software development processes.
Implications of Markup on the Description of Software Patterns
Authors: Kamthan Pankaj
Published: May 2011

The reliance on past experience is crucial to the future of software engineering. There are a number of avenues for articulating experiential knowledge, including patterns. It is the responsibility of a pattern author to ensure that the pattern is expressed in a manner that satisfies the reason for its existence. This chapter is concerned with the suitability of a pattern description for consumption by both humans and machines. For that, a pattern description model (PDM), and a pattern stakeholder model (PSM) and a pattern quality model (PQM) as necessary input to the PDM, are proposed. The relationships between these conceptual models are highlighted. The PDM advocates the use of descriptive markup for representation and suggests the use of presentation markup for presentation of information in pattern descriptions, respectively. The separation of representation of information in a pattern description from its presentation is emphasized. The potential uses of the Semantic Web and the Social Web as mediums for publishing patterns are discussed.
Software Metrics and Design Quality in Object Oriented Paradigm
Authors: Nair Gopalakrishnan T.R. , R Selvarani
Published: May 2011

As the object oriented programming languages and development methodologies moved forward, a significant research effort was spent in defining specific approaches and building models for quality based on object oriented measurements. Software metrics research and practice have helped in building an empirical basis for software engineering. Software developers require objectives and valid measurement schemes for the evaluation and improvisation of product quality from the initial stages of development. Measuring the structural design properties of a software system such as coupling, inheritance, cohesion, and complexity is a promising approach which can lead to an early quality assessment. The class codes and class diagrams are the key artifacts in the development of object oriented (OO) software and it constitutes the backbone of OO development. It also provides a solid foundation for the design and development of software with a greater influence over the system that is implemented. This chapter presents a survey of existing relevant works on class code / class diagram metrics in an elaborate way. Here, a critical review of the existing work is carried out in order to identify the lessons learnt regarding the way these studies are performed and reported. This work facilitates the development of an empirical body of knowledge. The classical approaches based on statistics alone do not provide managers and developers with a decision support scheme for risk assessment and cost reduction. One of the future challenges is to use software metrics in a way that they creatively address and handle the key objectives of risk assessment and the estimation of external quality factors of the software.
Producing Generic Principles and Pedagogies for Mobile Learning
Authors: Calbraith Davina , Dennick Reg
Published: May 2011

This chapter outlines how innovative research methods were developed (Calbraith, 2010), and how the model described in this chapter was based on (and adapted from) comprehensive research concerning learning objects (Calbraith & Dennick, 2009). It describes how the model was designed and developed to create a robust foundation on which to build rigorous research-based content for mobile learning. Taking a step-by-step approach it describes how reliable pedagogies were formed, how subsequent research testing distilled factors noted from this method into both unique and generic pedagogical principles, and how the principles formed can be used in any context or discipline to produce effective and enjoyable learning. The authors include analysis of a worked example using this approach (in this instance from Nursing) in order to illustrate how each stage of the model may be performed, and to make clear how the process may be replicated and incorporated into many different settings.
But Do They Want Us in “Their” World?
Authors: Brown Tim , Groff Amanda
Published: May 2011

The growth of social media and mobile communication provides educators with an opportunity to transmit course-related information to students in new ways. But are students willing to accept course information through those channels, typically seen as “fun” and “social?” The study in this chapter examines the reasons that students use different types of personal media and how appropriate certain types of communication channels are for academic information. Results show that students prefer to get their academic information through “official” channels, such as email and course management systems. However, they are willing to accept certain types of information through social channels (mobile devices, social networking), as long as they do not have to share personal information.
Standardized, Flexible Design of Electronic Learning Environments to Enhance Learning Efficiency and Effectiveness
Authors: Banas Jennifer R.
Published: May 2011

The demand for mobile, electronic learning environments has increased, but so, too, has the demand for performance-based outcomes. Within this context, efficiency and effectiveness have become the gold standards for quality. The design of electronic learning environments, both blended and fully mobile, requires unique considerations, particularly in regards to self-regulated learning, cognitive load, and learner characteristics. Repeated development of an effective and efficient electronic learning environment can be facilitated through the use of a standardized, flexible course design model. A sample course design model that promotes efficiency and effectiveness, while catering to the unique considerations for mobile learning in an electronic learning environment are presented along with suggestions for future conversations and research.
Mobile Learning in Medicine
Authors: Premkumar Kalyani
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes the medical context and characteristics of medical students, residents, and medical professionals and implications for m-learning. Some technologies used and examples of usage, benefits, outcomes, and barriers at the undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education are explored.
Augmented Reality and Mobile Technologies
Authors: Potter Grant
Published: May 2011

Unlike Virtual Reality (VR) that attempts to replace the perception of an immediate environment with an artificial one, Augmented Reality (AR) applications aim to enhance a person’s perception of their immediate environment. A blend of both the virtual and the real, AR application interfaces on mobile devices display information that is dependent on users’ time and location. AR applications are not necessarily an entirely new technology and have been emerging in various sectors over the past 5 years. For example, in aviation, AR in the form of ‘heads-up-displays’ has been used to display important data to pilots for decades. As mobile devices diversify in their speed, power consumption needs, network connectivity, and locative functions, developers are able to port AR applications to next generation mobile handsets, opening a wide range of utility and potential across public and private sectors.
Using Students’ Own Mobile Technologies to Support Clinical Competency Development in Speech Pathology
Authors: Andrews Trish , Davidson Bronwyn , Hill Anne , Sloane Danielle , Woodhouse Lynn
Published: May 2011

The need to adequately prepare students for the workplace competencies of a health professional in the 21st century demands exploration of alternative learning opportunities. Two such examples are the appropriation of mobile technologies and the use of standardised patients to support clinical learning. This chapter will discuss the appropriation of students’ own mobile devices to support the development of clinical competency for speech pathology students in a standardised patient clinic. The chapter includes descriptions of a project that focussed on the role of mobile technologies in supporting learning across different contexts. The results indicated that the use of mobile technologies in a clinical practice setting can make a positive contribution to clinical competency development. Issues for future integration of mobile technologies in clinical practice are raised.
The New Age “Information Dowser” and Mobile Learning Opportunities
Authors: Adamich Tom
Published: May 2011

The other challenge is to determine if the resulting use of contextual identification (using library classification and subject headings) accessible via a mobile device is appropriate for a particular institution’s information/material retrieval needs, user population, and budget (in this case, a small academic library). The result is the development of the “RMU Information Dowser” project by the Robert Morris University (RMU) Libraries. This project, also designed to possibly satisfy the RMU Libraries mandate to assist in university-wide application of the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education in the future, will profile how the university has been exploring use of a combination of mobile technology and reference processes to create a tool to promote rapid library catalog information retrieval and materials access in a student-centered, socially-friendly context.
Bridging the Gap between Agile and Free Software Approaches
Authors: Adams Paul J. , Capiluppi Andrea
Published: May 2011

Agile sprints are short events where a small team collocates in order to work on particular aspects of the overall project for a short period of time. Sprinting is a process that has been observed also in Free Software projects: these two paradigms, sharing common principles and values have shown several commonalities of practice. This article evaluates the impact of sprinting on a Free Software project through the analysis of code repository logs: sprints from two Free Software projects (Plone and KDE PIM) are assessed and two hypotheses are formulated: do sprints increase productivity? Are Free Software projects more productive after sprints compared with before? The primary contribution of this article is to show how sprinting creates a large increase in productivity both during the event, and immediately after the event itself: this argues for more in-depth studies focussing on the nature of sprinting.
Teaching Software Engineering with Free/Libre Open Source Projects
Authors: Stamelos Ioannis G.
Published: May 2011

One of the major problems in software engineering education is the involvement of students in real world software projects. Industry projects are a solution, but in many cases they are hard to find and student participation can be problematic due to cultural, familiarization and other practical reasons. The abundance of Free / Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) projects is a neat solution, offering multi-lingual, multi-cultural environments in virtually every application domain, at different levels of project size, maturity, organization etc. The paper analyzes how acquisition of practical experience on several basic and advanced software engineering topics can be achieved by working in a FLOSS project. The kind of skills that can be acquired are those requested by the Overview Report for Computing Curricula by ACM and topics examined are those of the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge, by IEEE. Also software engineering areas that require special care or that may not prove suitable for such treatment are identified. Various isolated teaching cases pertaining to this approach are presented and discussed.1
Open Source and Commercial Software Platforms
Authors: Darmon Eric , Torre Dominique
Published: May 2011

In this article, we consider the dynamics and competition between two software platforms (Open Source and proprietary software). Potential user-developers can adopt one of the two platforms in order to develop and sell new applications based on the platform. We consider the static issue first and then use a simple dynamic system where the dynamics comes from the development efforts (spillovers) made on each platforms. In this context, we first identify the conditions for the two platforms to coexist in the long run. From this baseline, we then consider different strategies for the editor. A first strategy is for the editor to “show the code” of its software, so as to develop more compatible products. A second strategy is to strategically monitor the compatibility degree between the proprietary and OS platform. In both cases, we analyse whether a mixed industry may be sustainable in the long run.
Conducting Forensic Investigations of Cyber Attacks on Automobile In-Vehicle Networks
Authors: Nilsson Dennis K. , Larson Ulf E.
Published: May 2011

The introduction of a wireless gateway as an entry point to the automobile in-vehicle network reduces the effort of performing diagnostics and firmware updates considerably. Unfortunately, the same gateway also allows cyber attacks to target the unprotected network which currently lacks proper means for detecting and investigating security-related events. In this article, we discuss how to perform a digital forensic investigation of an in-vehicle network. An analysis of the current features of the network is performed, and an attacker model is developed. Based on the attacker model and a set of generally accepted forensic investigation principles, we derive a list of requirements for detection, data collection, and event reconstruction. We then use the Integrated Digital Investigation Process proposed by Carrier and Spafford (2004) as a template to illustrate how our derived requirements affect an investigation. For each phase of the process, we show the benefits of meeting the requirements and the implications of not complying with them.
Locally Square Distortion and Batch Steganographic Capacity
Authors: Ker Andrew D.
Published: May 2011

A fundamental question of the steganography problem is to determine the amount of data which can be hidden undetectably. Its answer is of direct importance to the embedder, but also aids a forensic investigator in bounding the size of payload which might be communicated. Recent results on the information theory of steganography suggest that the detectability of payload in an individual object is proportional to the square of the number of changes caused by the embedding. Here, we follow up the implications when a payload is to be spread amongst multiple cover objects, and give asymptotic results about the maximum secure payload. Two embedding scenarios are distinguished: embedding in a fixed finite batch of covers, and continuous embedding in an infinite stream. The steganographic capacity, as a function of the number of objects, is sublinear and strictly asymptotically lower in the second case. This work consolidates and extends our previous results on batch and sequential steganographic capacity.
Relating Pedagogical and Learning Space Designs in Second Life
Authors: Reeves Ahmad John , Minocha Shailey
Published: May 2011

Second Life is a three-dimensional virtual world which is being employed by educational institutions and training organizations to support teaching and learning. However, there is little guidance as to how 3D learning spaces should be designed to correspond to the learning activity and the learning context of the student, such as students’ skills and the nature of the program (e.g. distance education, blended learning). This chapter describes an empirical study involving Second Life educators, designers, and students, and derives guiding principles for the design of learning spaces in 3D virtual worlds. It is hoped that the guidance and examples described in this chapter will support educators and designers in designing 3D learning spaces and activities that foster students’ socialization, informal learning, collaboration, and creativity. Although, the empirical study focused on Second Life, it is hoped that the results will be applicable for 3D virtual worlds in general.
Worlds in the Making
Authors: King Bob
Published: May 2011

This chapter introduces and discusses a thesis related to perceived changes in the ontological status of constructivism, and the opportunities and challenges the changes pose for educators. Recommendations are made about how cultural-elders in particular can address the challenges successfully, in order to take full advantage of the opportunities –one of which is the opportunity to use immersive 3D virtual worlds in our collaborative work with students (who have already internalized the new/changed conditions) to facilitate the teaching and learning of LARGE internal matters including but not limited to dispositions and attitudes. The chapter explores and mines the uses and significance of the immersive 3D console-game Katamari in a variety of ways and for a variety of purposes, and a focused analysis and comparison of reproductive processes within constructivism and software is also undertaken to understand the full extent of their ultimately comingled, and hence exponentially reproductive, ontology.
Methods against Methods
Authors: Stierand Marc , Dörfler Viktor
Published: May 2011

This chapter intends to clarify some issues about the often misunderstood terminology of creativity and innovation methods. Following the train of thought outlined in this chapter, it is argued that neither creativity nor innovation is guided by a method. There are only methods against methods that can help the extraordinary individual to step faster and easier into a state of mind that is conducive to creativity, but which has no effect on whether the creative output becomes an innovation. In order to support this claim, three major reasons that seem to be responsible for making people believe that such methods for creativity and innovation exist are outlined here. Next, the chapter addresses the phenomenon of creativity and continues with a discussion on the systemic character of creativity and innovation. Finally it shows that there are no methods for creativity, but methods against non-creativity by explaining in particular how one of these methods against non-creativity works. What this chapter outlines here is a necessarily one-sided and partial view, aiming not to convince the readers of the correctness of the view, but rather to make them think by presenting one possible consistent approach.
Methods to Improve Creativity and Innovation
Authors: Sousa Fernando , Monteiro Ileana , Pellissier René
Published: May 2011

The results indicate a change in attitude favourable to divergent thinking, the provision of a professional, efficient method of organizing knowledge in such a way that can help individuals to find original solutions to problems, and an important way to lead teams to creativity and innovation, according to companies’ different orientations.
An Interdisciplinary Workshop for Business-Idea Generation
Authors: Lange Astrid
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes a workshop concept for small groups that aims at the qualification for creative business-idea generation in interdisciplinary teams of academics. The chapter’s aim is to provide a theory-based and application-oriented description of the workshop, including a first-hand report on implementation. The chapter will start with a description of theoretical contributions and underlying research results to illustrate the workshop’s framework. Then a description of the aims, methods and target group follows, as well as the organizational settings and training methods. Then the chapter will focus on the realization of the workshop. Finally, the workshop concept’s scope of application is discussed and summarized.
Experience with Self-Guiding Group Support Systems for Creative Problem Solving Tasks
Authors: Kolfschoten Gwendolyn L. , Lee Calvin
Published: May 2011

Many teams and groups use brainstorming to improve their creativity. Brainstorming can be supported with Group Support Systems (GSS). However, GSS are most successful when offered in combination with facilitation or at least training. Unfortunately, facilitation or training will impose a barrier to use such systems. In this chapter the use of a GSS for a multi-step creative problem solving task was evaluated. The groups using this GSS got no training, had no GSS experience and got no support, other than a 1 page log-in instruction. With this limited instruction and no training all participating groups handed in a report with the results of their brainstorm, using the tool. This chapter will report the process, the way it is embedded in the tool, and the results of our exploratory questionnaire among the participants.
Knowledge Management and Innovation
Authors: Cardoso Leonor , Gomes A. Duarte
Published: May 2011

In a sample of 1275 individuals belonging to 50 Portuguese organizations, the use of technology plays an important part in terms of the organizational processes related to knowledge management, but this is limited above all to those which are formally instituted and based on knowledge of a mainly explicit nature. In addition, this chapter highlights the importance of management of organizational processes related to tacit knowledge, which emerges essentially from processes of social and discursive interaction involving organizational actors.
Automating the Generation of Joins in Large Databases and Web Services
Authors: Bagui Sikha , Loggins Adam
Published: May 2011

In this data-centric world, as web services and service oriented architectures gain momentum and become a standard for data usage, there will be a need for tools to automate data retrieval. In this paper we propose a tool that automates the generation of joins in a transparent and integrated fashion in heterogeneous large databases as well as web services. This tool reads metadata information and automatically displays a join path and a SQL join query. This tool will be extremely useful for performing joins to help in the retrieval of information in large databases as well as web services.