65,473 research outputs found
HILT : High-Level Thesaurus Project. Phase IV and Embedding Project Extension : Final Report
Ensuring that Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) users of the JISC IE can find appropriate learning, research and information resources by subject search and browse in an environment where most national and institutional service providers - usually for very good local reasons - use different subject schemes to describe their resources is a major challenge facing the JISC domain (and, indeed, other domains beyond JISC). Encouraging the use of standard terminologies in some services (institutional repositories, for example) is a related challenge. Under the auspices of the HILT project, JISC has been investigating mechanisms to assist the community with this problem through a JISC Shared Infrastructure Service that would help optimise the value obtained from expenditure on content and services by facilitating subject-search-based resource sharing to benefit users in the learning and research communities. The project has been through a number of phases, with work from earlier phases reported, both in published work elsewhere, and in project reports (see the project website: http://hilt.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/). HILT Phase IV had two elements - the core project, whose focus was 'to research, investigate and develop pilot solutions for problems pertaining to cross-searching multi-subject scheme information environments, as well as providing a variety of other terminological searching aids', and a short extension to encompass the pilot embedding of routines to interact with HILT M2M services in the user interfaces of various information services serving the JISC community. Both elements contributed to the developments summarised in this report
An investigation into weighted data fusion for content-based multimedia information retrieval
Content Based Multimedia Information Retrieval (CBMIR) is characterised by the combination of noisy sources of information which, in unison, are able to achieve strong performance. In this thesis we focus on the combination of ranked results from the independent retrieval experts which comprise a CBMIR system through linearly weighted data fusion. The independent retrieval experts are low-level multimedia features, each of which contains an indexing function and ranking algorithm. This thesis is comprised of two halves. In the ïŹrst half, we perform a rigorous empirical investigation into the factors which impact upon performance in linearly weighted data fusion. In the second half, we leverage these ïŹnding to create a new class of weight generation algorithms for data fusion which are
capable of determining weights at query-time, such that the weights are topic dependent
Opening up terrorism talk: The sequential and categorical production of discursive power within the call openings of a talk radio broadcast
The current research undertakes a combined CA/MCA approach to analyse the unfolding moral business of âtalk radioâ discourse, and situates this analysis within a critical discourse studies framework. In a case study analysis of a talk radio broadcast on the topic of terrorism, the sequencing and membership categorization work that is accomplished during the call openings of its contributors is examined. Local manifestations of discursive power allied to the âhostâ role are identified, along with the data-driven distinction of âlayâ and âeliteâ callers. The empowering versus disempowering consequences of sequential turn allocation and identity categorization are explored, leading to some reflections on security versus human rights advocacy within terrorism talk. The contribution of this research to two research enterprises is then outlined. Firstly, we highlight the benefit that a combined CA/MCA approach, which foregrounds powerplay, offers to analysis of talk-in-interaction. Following which, we underline how placing such a micro-level spotlight on the seemingly mundane details of talk in context can offer valuable insights for critical terrorism studies
BIM for infrastructure: An overall review and constructor perspective
The subject of building information modelling (BIM) has become a central topic to the improvement of the
AECOO (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Owner and Operator) industry around the world, to the point
where the concept is being expanded into domains it was not originally conceived to address. Transitioning
BIMinto the domain of infrastructure projects has provided challenges and emphasized the constructor perspective
of BIM. Therefore, this study aims to collect the relevant literature regarding BIM within the Infrastructure
domain and its use from the constructor perspective to review and analyse the current industry positioning
and research state of the art, with regards to the set criteria. The review highlighted a developing base of BIM
for infrastructure. Fromthe analysis, the related research gapswere identified regarding information integration,
alignment of BIM processes to constructor business processes & the effective governance and value of information.
From this a unique research strategy utilising a framework for information governance coupled with a
graph based distributed data environment is outlined to further progress the integration and efficiency of
AECOO Infrastructure projects
Exploring the commercial value of social networks: enhancing consumersâ brand experience through Facebook pages
Purpose â The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors which impact upon the consumersâ
willingness to utilise company Facebook pages and e-word-of mouth by proposing and testing
a conceptual framework which is inspired by theories in marketing and information systems fields.
The authors believe that only by applying both theories will provide a more complete understanding
of the relationship between brand experience and Facebook. The research model attempts to illustrate
the factors according to customersâ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and their impact on brand
experience, brand Facebook page loyalty and e-word-of-mouth (E-WOM).
Design/methodology/approach â The authors adopted an online survey method for data collection.
The subjects the authors used were Facebook users. The data were collected in Taiwan over spring 2011.
The authors then used the structural equation model to analyse the data collected.
Findings â The findings suggest that users are influenced by the technical characterises of a brand
Facebook page, such as ease of use and usefulness, which might be combated by attempting to reduce
customer effort when accessing Facebook pages. The authors conclude that customer effort influenced
brand experience and consequently loyalty to brand Facebook pages and E-WOM.
Research limitations/implications â The limitations of this study relate to the investigation of
consumer perspectives in a specific geographical context and time frame.
Originality/value â The studyâs contributions are both theoretical and practical, as it offers new
insights into brand experience attitudes in an online environment and useful insights to companies
willing to market themselves on Facebook.
Keywords Marketing, Facebook, Virtual community, Extrinsic motivations, Intrinsic motivations
Paper type Research pape
"Please Sir, can we play a game?" : transforming games teaching and coaching: a practitioner's perspective : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Over the last 30 years, traditional skill-based game teaching models have gradually
been supplemented by instruction under an inclusive banner of Game Centred
Learning (GCL) but more specifically, Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU).
This thesis uniquely examines from a practitionerâs perspective how the
development of GCL and its dissemination occurred in New Zealand (NZ) 1945-
2015. The multi-method approach establishes through a triangulation of data
sources utilising a bricolage approach that the development was not mandated by
educational policy but evolved through various combinations of insights from early
luminaries in the field and visits to NZ by a key figure in the field (Rod Thorpe).
Additionally, a new guard of Physical Educators in pre-service teacher education
colleges in NZ were also significantly influential in the dissemination of GCL
strategies as was a new socio-ecological perspective in PE syllabi (1999; 2007). An
emergent autoethnographic documentation of the authorâs role further informs this
evolution of GCL and TGfU practices in NZ. Bourdieuâs concepts of habitus,
practice and field are used as markers to signal change and record tensions that
ultimately led to adoption of GCL practice in PE teaching and sport coaching in
NZ. The thesis findings present implications for PE practitioners through innovative
GCL approaches, associated with play, mastery learning and TGfU, that involves
transforming play. It is concluded that at a practical and theoretical level, TGfU
should be seen in a holistic experiential sense and integrated into PE programmes
acknowledging its potential to contribute to and enhance citizenship. The final
contribution to knowledge of this research is the presentation of a model of GCL
designed to transform play
Maximising Social Interactions and Effectiveness within Distance Learning Courses: Cases from Construction
Advanced Internet technologies have revolutionised the delivery of distance learning education. As a result, the physical proximity between learners and the learning providers has become less important. However, whilst the pervasiveness of these technological developments has reached unprecedented levels, critics argue that the student learning experience is still not as effective as conventional face-to-face delivery. In this regard, surveys of distance learning courses reveal that there is often a lack of social interaction attributed to this method of delivery, which tends to leave learners feeling isolated due to a lack of engagement, direction, guidance and support by the tutor. This paper defines and conceptualises this phenomenon by investigating the extent to which distance-learning programmes provide the social interactions of an equivalent traditional classroom setting. In this respect, two distance learning case studies were investigated, covering the UK and Slovenian markets respectively. Research findings identified that delivery success is strongly dependent on the particular context to which the specific distance learning course is
designed, structured and augmented. It is therefore recommended that designers of distance learning courses should balance the tensions and nuances associated with commercial viability and pedagogic effectiveness
Maximising social interactions and effectiveness within distance learning courses : cases from construction
Advanced Internet technologies have revolutionised the delivery of distance learning education. As a result, the physical proximity between learners and the learning providers has become less important. However, whilst the pervasiveness of these technological developments has reached unprecedented levels, critics argue that the student learning experience is still not as effective as conventional face-to-face delivery. In this regard, surveys of distance learning courses reveal that there is often a lack of social interaction attributed to this method of delivery, which tends to leave learners feeling isolated due to a lack of engagement, direction, guidance and support by the tutor. This paper defines and conceptualises this phenomenon by investigating the extent to which distance-learning programmes provide the social interactions of an equivalent traditional classroom setting. In this respect, two distance learning case studies were investigated, covering the UK and Slovenian markets respectively. Research findings identified that delivery success is strongly dependent on the particular context to which the specific distance learning course is designed, structured and augmented. It is therefore recommended that designers of distance learning courses should balance the tensions and nuances associated with commercial viability and pedagogic effectiveness
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