bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of algorithms’ multiple representations in the context of programming education
Authors: Siozou Stefania , Tselios Nikolaos , Komis Vassilis 
Published: January 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare the effect of different representations while teaching basic algorithmic concepts to novice programmers.Design/methodology/approachA learning activity was designed and mediated with two conceptually different learning environments, each one used by a different group. The first group used the learning environment “Visual Flowchart”, which enables the students to construct and examine an algorithm using visual representation based on actual flowchart objects. The second group used the software “Language Interpreter”, which allows the students to express an algorithms using pseudocode.FindingsAnalysis of results among the two groups showed no statistically significant differences in the students’ performance with respect to the tool they used to solve the activity, the school stream they followed in high school and their gender.Research limitations/implicationsThe lack of difference among the two groups could be attributed to the non‐complicated nature of the given activity. In addition, longitudinal studies of the effect of the different representation in the frame of an introductory first semester academic course in computer science could further validate the results.Practical implicationsTwo alternative learning environments aimed to support learning of basic programming skills.Originality/valueTwo alternative learning environments were presented and discussed in detail, aimed to support learning of basic programming skills. The conclusions of the present study are in contrast to the research that has taken place in the past which compared usage of flowcharts and pseudocode to educate novice programmers, and wider adoption of “flowcharts” was depicted.
An evaluation of learning objects in Singapore primary education: a case study approach
Authors: Pei Lyn Grace Tay , Peck Suan Ng , Wanzhen Liaw 
Published: January 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the usability and interface design of e‐learning portal developed for primary schools in Singapore.Design/methodology/approachUsing Singapore‐based learning EDvantage (LEAD) portal as a case study, this paper reviews and analyses the usability and usefulness of embedded learning objects (LOs) for students aged nine years and above through learning theories such as behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism and interface design theories by Shneiderman, LO review instrument and laws of gestalt psychology.FindingsAnalysis found the portal to be sufficiently motivating and appealing to learners at Piaget's concrete operations stage. The interface design is universally structured and functional. An area for improvement highlighted in this case study is the lack of explicit mention of learning outcomes in the portal.Practical implicationsUsability principles used in this case study should be provided by the Ministry of Education in Singapore to schools to ensure more standardized and rigorous selection process of e‐learning portals.Originality/valueThis evaluation provides schools with insights into the use of learning theories and usability principles for evaluation of learning objects designed for primary‐going students. It aims to inform decision makers of issues in interactive design to consider before subscribing to any e‐learning portals. It also provides a gauge of current usability level of commercially developed portals as usage of such portals continue to proliferate in the Singapore education system.
Component‐based ad hoc systems for ubiquitous computing
Authors: Ko Ren‐Song , Lai Chih‐Chung , Yen Chia‐Kuan , Mutka Matt W. 
Published: January 2009

PurposeThe problems with poor performance and quality of ubiquitous applications due to limited computing resources are addressed.Design/methodology/approachThe concept of ad hoc systems is introduced based on the idea that a resource‐limited device may cooperate with computers around to complete a complex task. Subsequently, the adaptive software framework, FRAME, may be improved to realize ad hoc systems.FindingsIt is possible to apply the adaptive software framework to the challenges of ad hoc systems, including a lot of user intervention and unstable computing environments.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study provides a starting‐point for further research in exploring and utilizing ubiquitous resources to achieve a better user experience.Practical implicationsThe component‐based architecture provides a flexible development approach of ubiquitous applications from the software engineering perspective.Originality/valueOur analysis and experimental results show that the concept of ad hoc systems is practical and can be realized by the adaptive software framework.
Expanding mobile ad hoc grids with wired grid resources
Authors: Tadeu A. Gomes Antônio , Ziviani Artur , Bastos Bruno F. , Lima Luciana S. 
Published: January 2009

PurposeAlthough wireless grids have been originally thought of as isolated processing clusters, the possibility of their approaching – and connecting to – a fixed network allows for a huge expansion of their processing power, due to the resources available in wired grids potentially accessible through such a network. The interoperation of mobile ad hoc grids and resources available in wired grids is, however, a problem still to be tackled in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to tackle this problem.Design/methodology/approachA prototype is developed to demonstrate the feasibility of the interoperation between wireless and wired grids, thus providing a basis for the development of novel applications that can build on this interoperation.FindingsThe outcome of the paper comprises the analysis of the necessary requirements for the interoperation between wireless and wired grids, the proposal of two different interoperation approaches, and the provision of a qualitative assessment of the implications of these approaches.Research limitations/implicationsThere are many points that the authors intend to address as future work. First, they are aware of the need for performing some quantitative analyses of their proxy implementations. Second, they intend to investigate the possibility of mobile ad hoc grids to process tasks coming from wired grids. Third, they are interested in allowing the submission of tasks that present interdependencies (workflows) from mobile devices in the mobile ad hoc grid.Practical implicationsThe paper investigates the interoperation of wireless and wired grids. Such an interoperation may open new perspectives of practical use of wireless devices in scenarios such as emergency response networks and field research systems, to name a few.Originality/valueThe paper provides a first step into the interoperation of wireless and wired grids, thus yielding a basis for the development of novel applications that can build upon this interoperation. This is believed to be of interest to both the grid and mobile computing communities.
ASDF: an object oriented service discovery framework for wireless sensor networks
Authors: Villa D. , Villanueva F.J. , Moya F. , Rincón F. , Barba J. , López J.C. 
Published: January 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a new service discovery protocol (SDP) suitable for wireless sensor networks (WSN). The constraints imposed by ultra low‐cost sensor and actuators devices (basic components of a WSN) are taken into account to minimize the overall footprint.Design/methodology/approachIt is based on the lightweight WSN communication model used by picoObjects, a tiny implementation of the distributed object concept and the same design criteria are followed, aiming at minimal overhead for devices and communication protocols. In spite of its simplicity it is powerful enough to deploy a valuable set of services.FindingsThis approach provides a remote interface that client applications can use without knowing where the service is implemented (platform and location independence).Research limitations/implicationsThe future work is mainly focused on integrating third party services using different SDPs, making possible the real deployment of large heterogeneous pervasive environments.Practical implicationsDesigners may change the underlying SDP model (e.g. centralized versus distributed) without affecting applications by just tweaking configuration settings.Originality/valueEmbedded devices can participate in the service discovering procedure providing their own services by means of standard distributed objects. Also, the protocol is suitable for any kind of dynamic networked system.
PeerSum: a summary service for P2P applications
Authors: Hayek Rabab , Raschia Guillaume , Valduriez Patrick , Mouaddib Noureddine 
Published: January 2009

PurposeThe goal of this paper is to contribute to the development of both data localization and description techniques in P2P systems.Design/methodology/approachThe approach consists of introducing a novel indexing technique that relies on linguistic data summarization into the context of P2P systems.FindingsThe cost model of the approach, as well as the simulation results have shown that the approach allows the efficient maintenance of data summaries, without incurring high traffic overhead. In addition, the cost of query routing is significantly reduced in the context of summaries.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper has considered a summary service defined on the APPA's architecture. Future works have to study the extension of this work in order to be generally applicable to any P2P data management system.Practical implicationsThis paper has mainly studied the quantitative gain that could be obtained in query processing from exploiting data summaries. Future works aim to implement this technique on real data (not synthetic) in order to study the qualitative gain that can be obtained from approximately answering a query.Originality/valueThe novelty of the approach shown in the paper relies on the double exploitation of the summaries in P2P systems: data summaries allow for a semantic‐based query routing, and also for an approximate query answering, using their intentional descriptions.
A visual framework for deploying and managing context‐aware services
Authors: Satoh Ichiro 
Published: January 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a component framework for building visual interfaces for pervasive computing systems.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed framework enables end‐users to build visual interfaces for their systems by using document‐editing manner.FindingsThe building and operating visual interfaces are useful for managing pervasive computing systems.Research limitations/implicationsThe framework is designed based on Java but programming language‐independent version is needed.Practical implicationsA component framework was implemented for building visual interfaces for pervasive computing.Originality/valueA framework for visual interfaces for pervasive computing is unique.
A model for context‐aware applications
Authors: Cheng Ningning , Chen Shaxun , Tao Xianping , Lu Jian , Chen Guihai 
Published: January 2009

PurposeContext correctness and fault handling are very important to the quality of service in context‐aware applications. However, they are often ignored by researchers and application developers. This paper aims to present a model for context‐aware applications.Design/methodology/approachThis paper proposes a transaction model for context‐aware applications, in order to provide a uniform infrastructure for service quality management.FindingsThe paper finds that, in this model, context‐aware applications are organized as a number of logic units and each unit may have a compensation module, which will be executed when errors or exceptions occur during the execution of those applications in order to minimize the bad infection. This model supports nested scopes and the number of levels of subtransactions is unlimited.Practical implicationsThe paper also presents an implementation of this transaction model, which is specialized for context‐aware use.Originality/valueThis paper utilized a novel transaction model to manage the quality of context‐aware applications. The authors have not seen similar work on this topic.
Assessing contention effects of all‐to‐all communications on clusters and grids
Authors: Angelo Steffenel Luiz , Martinasso Maxime , Trystram Denis 
Published: January 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain one of the most important collective communication patterns used in scientific applications which is the complete exchange, also called All‐to‐All. Although efficient algorithms have been studied for specific networks, general solutions like those available in well‐known MPI distributions (e.g. the MPI_Alltoall operation) are strongly influenced by the congestion of network resources.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper we present an integrated approach to model the performance of the All‐to‐All collective operation, which consists in identifying a contention signature that characterizes a given network environment, using it to augment a contention‐free communication model.FindingsThis approach, assessed by experimental results, allows an accurate prediction of the performance of the All‐to‐All operation over different network architectures with a small overhead.Practical implicationsThe paper discusses the problem of network contention in a grid environment, studying some strategies to minimize the impact of contention on the performance of an All‐to‐All operation.Originality/valueThe approach used, assessed by experimental results, allows an accurate prediction of the performance of the All‐to‐All operation over different network architectures with a small overhead. Also discussed is the problem of network contention in a grid environment and some strategies to minimize the impact of contention on the performance of an All‐to‐All operation.
A comparison of perceived quality in business relationships in Norway and Sweden
Authors: Svensson Göran , Andersson Svante , Mysen Tore , Baffour Awuah Gabriel 
Published: January 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare similarities and differences in perceived quality of business relationships in Norway and Sweden.Design/methodology/approachThe Norwegian and Swedish sampling frames consisted of 600 small‐ and medium‐sized firms in each country. A response rate of 36.5 percent was achieved in Norway and 21 percent in Sweden. Leading executives from both countries were used as key informants because they are the primary decision‐makers most knowledgeable about their firm's interactions with suppliers.FindingsThe findings indicate that there are a series of significant differences and associations between the perceived quality of business relationships in small and medium‐sized firms in Norway and Sweden, though both countries resemble each other in both socio‐economic indicators and cultural dimensions.Research limitations/implicationsOne suggestion for further research is to replicate the study in other industries, business relationships, and countries. Another is to undertake a longitudinal approach of the focal areas of “perceived quality” and “supplier criteria”.Practical implicationsThis study is of managerial interest, as the framework may be applied by firms to monitor and evaluate ongoing supplier relationships and, in extension, their current customer relationships. It would be of interest to see if similarities exist amongst other cultures of the focal areas, and/or if there are differences across other countries that are decidedly different from those in Norway and Sweden.Originality/valueThis paper makes a contribution to inter‐organizational theory since it outlines a conceptual framework of focal areas of “perceived quality” and “supplier criteria” for examining business relationships across industries and countries for the benefit of other researchers.
Behaviour patterns in Estonian enterprises from the perspective of the value chain
Authors: Vadi Maaja , Türk Kulno 
Published: January 2009

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to evaluate how Estonian enterprises understand their position in the value chain, and to explore what kind of behaviour patterns correspond to the different positions. It also aims to focus on the question of whether and how Estonian enterprises see the need to improve their position in the value chain.Design/methodology/approachThe approach is based on an empirical study in the course of which original interviews were conducted on the basis of a common plan (primary sources), and expert opinions were gathered on the basis of earlier studies. Two kinds of sources were analyzed to obtain an overview of the situation in Estonian companies in respect to strategy, and more specifically how companies evaluate their position in the value chain and what their aspirations for future are. First, the figureheads from the enterprises were interviewed in 14 enterprises. Second, expert assessments were drawn up about 25 enterprises. Those compiling the expert opinions possessed prior direct contacts with the enterprises under focus.FindingsFirst, it was discovered that Estonian enterprises presented three types of behaviour patterns along with their interest in and/or potential for changing their position in the value chain. Second, several behavioural patterns were indicated by what the figureheads had to say about the current economic situation. Third, the main problems in Estonian enterprises were identified.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has limitations due to the number of companies that were investigated, and therefore the authors also admit a certain degree of subjectivity in the defining of the behaviour patterns. Nevertheless, this study highlights various issues that Estonian enterprises consider in respect to strategy.Originality/valueThe main value of the paper is its contribution to our understanding of which factors impact the development of Estonian enterprises. This knowledge allows us to analyze how organizations from former Soviet bloc countries can better manage their position in the value chain.
How to avoid customers leaving: the case of the Estonian telecommunication industry
Authors: Kuusik Andres , Varblane Urmas 
Published: January 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show that the major factors affecting loyalty are dependant on the level of loyalty of customers.Design/methodology/approachA model of relationship between factors of loyalty and loyalty levels of customers was constructed and tested on the empirical data about 1,000 private customers from the Customer Satisfaction Survey of Elion, the biggest telecommunication company in Estonia. Logit model was used in order to examine which factors influence the probability of the customers remaining on their loyalty level or to moving to another loyalty level.FindingsThe findings of the study revealed that it is not accurate to treat all customers equally in terms of methods of increasing their loyalty. The results reveal that four analysed factors affecting customer loyalty (satisfaction, trustworthiness, image and importance of relationship) are playing different roles in the different levels of customer loyalty. The overall satisfaction and importance of a relationship build the foundation of any kind of loyalty. The reliability of products or trustworthiness of the vendor is most critical for behavioural loyalists and the image creation is the main tool for getting committed customers.Research limitations/implicationsThe method for collecting the source data set certain constraints on the adequacy of the model.Practical implicationsThe results presented in this paper could be used by firms developing targeted approaches as part of the aim of increasing customer's loyalty.Originality/valueThis paper introduces an original approach combining factors affecting the customers' loyalty with the customers' different loyalty levels. Also, the ladder of customer loyalty levels could be used in other research areas.
Management challenges arising from the use of virtual work
Authors: Mihhailova Gerda 
Published: January 2009

PurposeLiterature on virtual and other new ways of work is diverse and confusing, indicating a need for a framework to structure and systematize the related terminology. The purpose of this empirical study is to address the lack of empirical research on how well (and if at all) characteristics of employees' national and occupational culture determine the management challenges and employees' satisfaction with virtual work arrangements.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data was gathered using case study research. An Estonian and a Russian company operating in the service sector suited best as they had a diverse multinational workforce and several years of virtual work experience.FindingsThe paper concludes that occupational culture determines much better than national culture the employees' attitudes towards and satisfaction with virtual work arrangements.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation arose from the lack of national culture research in East European countries: for many of these nations, national culture dimensions/characteristics (e.g. like offered by Hofstede) are still unknown.Practical implicationsThe results help service organizations' managers to prepare a multinational workforce better for virtual work, knowing ahead the potential challenges and thus train the employees based on their occupational culture background.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to theory by offering a framework which enables to systematize the diverse range of terminology used for new, flexible ways of work. The case studies reveal a huge gap waiting to be filled with research on national culture characteristics of East European countries.