Development of an object oriented program information database with support for software reuse, 1996

This research addresses the need for organizations to have a project support environment that can produce large, complex, quality systems at a reasonable cost. Many researchers recommend a program database as the basis for this project support environment. The development of an object-oriented database to store and retrieve program information is described along with the design for a software reuse library. The program objects are based on the common taxonomy of all software, e g. composed of modules, programs, functions, and procedures, rather than the domain knowledge that software represents. This design permits maximum flexibility in accommodating most applications. The reuse library is composed of reusable components in the program database. The multi-attributes of keywords and component signatures are used to classify and retrieve reusable software objects. This research demonstrates a means for an organization to provide immediate improvement to its project support environment and to implement a software reuse program. These benefits translate to improved software quality and productivity which are needed to remedy the current software crisis

Co-designing data labs at the public library: Data literacy with, for, and by teens

Abstract. This poster presents research investigating youth data literacy at the public library. The Data Literacy with, for, and by Youth project is framed by principles of participatory design, and asks, how might an informal STEM learning environment such as the public library, support the development of the skills, knowledge, and dispositions that young people need for them to take charge of their data lives, from data creation to data use – to be, in short, data literate. The problem of how to approach something as complex as data literacy in the voluntary drop-in setting of informal, after-school sites of learning - the public library being one such place - guides this study. The aim of the project is to design, build, test, and evolve theory and practice around informal data literacy education alongside youth, with the goal of building a holistic, humanistic, and youth-oriented model of data literacy which incorporates social-awareness, critical approaches, and “goodness of fit” into STEM learning about data

On the Need of User-defined Libraries in OCL

Reuse is a fundamental concept of efficient software development. Object-oriented implementation languages offer reuse on different levels of granularity: method, class, library. While encapsulation of implementation code within methods and classes enables reuse within a project, user-defined libraries are widely used to share implementation code among different projects. The specification language OCL offers language concepts like defined attributes and defined operations to enable reuse within a project. However, reuse among different projects is not possible since OCL does not support the concept of user-defined libraries. There is no standardized way to import user-defined OCL constraints into another project. In this paper, we argue on the need of a standardized mechanism to make reuse of OCL specifications within a different context possible

Object Oriented Implementation of the Parallel Toolkit Library

With manufacturing efficiencies and technological innovation the computing power of commodity machines has been increasing accompanied by decreasing costs. With the very favorable price/performance ratio the computing community has shifted from monolithic machines to networked machines. This has created the need for software to manage the parallelism of the network. One such work has been the Parallel Toolkit Library. The Parallel Toolkit Library provides support for common design functionalities used throughout parallel programs. This work extends the PTK C library for C++ parallel programs. The motivation for the current project stems from the need to let parallel programs reap the benefits of a library with an object oriented programming approach. This also fits well with the introduction of C++ bindings in MPI. The library has been structured on object-oriented concepts. The functionality of the PTK-C has been encapsulated into various classes. Individual functionalities have also been split into multiple classes leading to modularity and reusability of code. Template programming has been used to ensure type safety. The testing results are consistent with expectations in that the PTK-C++ is very much comparable to the PTK-C in terms of performance. In most cases, it would be more efficient to use the toolkit than to rewrite the code to recreate the efficiencies already present in the library

Extending OWL with Finite Automata Constraints

The Web Ontology Language (OWL) is a markup language for sharing and publishing data using ontologies on the Internet. It belongs to a family of knowledge representation languages for writing ontologies. Answer Set Programming (ASP) is a declarative programming approach to knowledge representation. It is oriented towards difficult search problems. In this project, we developed an extension to OWL add support for collection class constraints. These constraints come in the form of membership checks for sets where these set are computed by finite automata. We developed an inference engine for the resulting language. This engine extends the Java-based Pellet library which can reason about an OWL document

A Semantic-Oriented Architecture of a Functional Module for Personalized and Adaptive Access to the Knowledge in a Multimedia Digital Library

This article presents the principal results of the doctoral thesis “Semantic-oriented Architecture and Models for Personalized and Adaptive Access to the Knowledge in Multimedia Digital Library” by Desislava Ivanova Paneva-Marinova (Institute of Mathematics and Informatics), successfully defended before the Specialised Academic Council for Informatics and Mathematical Modelling on 27 October, 2008.This paper presents dissertation work on semantic-oriented architectures and models for personalized and adaptive access to the knowledge in a multimedia digital library. The work was presented on October 27, 2008 before the Specialized Academic Council in Informatics and Mathematical Modelling at the Higher Attestation Commission. As a result of the work there appeared a functional module providing customized user access to the library content flow. The module used an IEEE PAPI and IMS LIP-oriented ontological user model. The main services provide customized user access, browsing, searching, and grouping of digitised objects and collections, user profile management, tracking the user’s behaviour, etc. The services require and trace out data about the preliminary level of the users’ knowledge in the domain covered by the digital library, their object observation style, cognitive goals and interests, preferences about the objects/collections presentation and grouping, physical limitations, used knowledge delivery channels (Web, mobile phone), etc. Then they transform the available digitised objects into a new personalized form, and finally deliver them to the user. The module uses special usage scenarios/instructions defining a wide range of service actions dependent on the user’s background, events, informal learning situations, knowledge delivery channels, etc.This work was partially supported by Project BG051PO001/07/3.3-02/7 as a part of the grant scheme “Support for the Development of PhD Students, Post-doctoral Students, Postgraduate Students and Young Scientists” under the Operation programme “Human Resources Development” of the European Social Fund and the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science

Teaching Construction in the Virtual University: the WINDS project

This paper introduces some of the Information Technology solutions adopted in Web based INtelligent Design Support (WINDS) to support education in A/E/C design. The WINDS project WINDS is an EC-funded project in the 5th Framework, Information Society Technologies programme, Flexible University key action. WINDS is divided into two actions: ·The research technology action is going to implement a learning environment integrating an intelligent tutoring system, a computer instruction management system and a set of co-operative supporting tools. ·The development action is going to build a large knowledge base supporting Architecture and Civil Engineering Design Courses and to experiment a comprehensive Virtual School of Architecture and Engineering Design. During the third year of the project, more than 400 students all over Europe will attend the Virtual School. During the next three years the WINDS project will span a total effort of about 150 man-years from 28 partners of 10 European countries. The missions of the WINDS project are: Advanced Methodologies in Design Education. WINDS drives a breakdown with conventional models in design education, i.e. classroom or distance education. WINDS implements a problem oriented knowledge transfer methodology following Roger Schank's Goal Based Scenario (GBS) pedagogical methodology. GBS encourages the learning of both skills and cases, and fosters creative problem solving. Multidisciplinary Design Education. Design requires creative synthesis and open-end problem definition at the intersection of several disciplines. WINDS experiments a valuable integration of multidisciplinary design knowledge and expertise to produce a high level standard of education. Innovative Representation, Delivery and Access to Construction Education. WINDS delivers individual education customisation by allowing the learner access through the Internet to a wide range of on-line courses and structured learning objects by means of personally tailored learning strategies. WINDS promotes the 3W paradigm: learn What you need, Where you want, When you require. Construction Practice. Construction industry is a repository of ""best practices"" and knowledge that the WINDS will profit. WINDS system benefits the ISO10303 and IFC standards to acquire knowledge of the construction process directly in digital format. On the other hand, WINDS reengineers the knowledge in up-to-date courses, educational services, which the industries can use to provide just-in-time rather than in-advance learning. WINDS IT Solutions The missions of the WINDS project state many challenging requirements both in knowledge and system architecture. Many of the solutions adopted in these fields are innovative; others are evolution of existing technologies. This paper focuses on the integration of this set of state-of-the-art technologies in an advanced and functionally sound Computer Aided Instruction system for A/E/C Design. In particular the paper deals with the following aspects: Standard Learning Technology Architecture The WINDS system relies on the in progress IEEE 1484.1 Learning Technology Standard Architecture. According to this standard the system consists of two data stores, the Knowledge Library and the Record Database, and four process: System Coach, Delivery, Evaluation and the Learner. WINDS implements the Knowledge Library into a three-tier architecture: 1.Learning Objects: ·Learning Units are collections of text and multimedia data. ·Models are represented in either IFC or STEP formats. ·Cases are sets of Learning Units and Models. Cases are noteworthy stories, which describes solutions, integrate technical detail, contain relevant design failures etc. 2.Indexes refer to the process in which the identification of relevant topics in design cases and learning units takes place. Indexing process creates structures of Learning Objects for course management, profile planning procedures and reasoning processes. 3.Courses are taxonomies of either Learning Units or a design task and Course Units. Knowledge Representation WINDS demonstrates that it is possible and valuable to integrate a widespread design expertise so that it can be effectively used to produce a high level standard of education. To this aim WINDS gathers area knowledge, design skills and expertise under the umbrellas of common knowledge representation structures and unambiguous semantics. Cases are one of the most valuable means for the representation of design expertise. A Case is a set of Learning Units and Product Models. Cases are noteworthy stories, which describe solutions, integrate technical details, contain relevant design failures, etc. Knowledge Integration Indexes are a medium among different kind of knowledge: they implement networks for navigation and access to disparate documents: HTML, video, images, CAD and product models (STEP or IFC). Concept indexes link learning topics to learning objects and group them into competencies. Index relationships are the base of the WINDS reasoning processes, and provide the foundation for system coaching functions, which proactively suggest strategies, solutions, examples and avoids students' design deadlock. Knowledge Distribution To support the data stores and the process among the partners in 10 countries efficiently, WINDS implements an object oriented client/server as COM objects. Behind the DCOM components there is the Dynamic Kernel, which dynamically embodies and maintains data stores and process. Components of the Knowledge Library can reside on several servers across the Internet. This provides for distributed transactions, e.g. a change in one Learning Object affects the Knowledge Library spread across several servers in different countries. Learning objects implemented as COM objects can wrap ownership data. Clear and univocal definition of ownerships rights enables Universities, in collaboration with telecommunication and publisher companies, to act as "education brokers". Brokerage in education and training is an innovative paradigm to provide just-in-time and personally customised value added learning knowledg

How can century-old architectural hierarchies for the design of public libraries be re-interpreted and re-used?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel approach to inform heritage conservation based on the effective integration of documentation-based research with advanced survey methods for the creation of a sharable historic building information modelling (HBIM) objects database, specifically oriented to the study of Carnegie libraries whose designs in the USA and the UK were somewhat systematised by early principles of standardisation. The aim is to generate an exemplar developing new methodologies for the salvage, re-use and re-invigoration of shared inherited public buildings which have many common and standardized features. Design/methodology/approach This project will also involve the collaboration of conservation practice and digital recording together with library history. Digital laser scanning and structure from motion will be used together with archival documents to accurately build an information-rich framework for CAD and building information modelling applications. Findings By providing the base elements for the semi-automatic generation of a wide variety of morphological typologies and construction elements, this work ultimately promotes a shift towards the implementation of HBIM to support the conservation, maintenance and management of a high number of insufficiently protected public buildings from the turn of the last century. Originality/value The intention is that the resulting multidimensional parametric object library will provide suitable support for the faster generation of enriched 3D historic models and ultimately support the preservation of a large proportion of the huge but threatened public library building heritage in the UK and USA

Role and Opportunity of Library in the context of Open Science

The role of libraries on Open Science has been recognised and discussed at multiple fora and have been accepted publicly by international organisations and stakeholders. It is natural, as academic libraries are already supporting a knowledge sharing and build a common good. In Slovakia, the National Research Library plays a key role in open science movement as we work as the national body strategically coordinating open science issues accross Slovakia. We participated very actively in the bottom-up project, which is Slovak National strategy for Open Science adopted by the Slovak Government in 2021. The Strategy for years 2021 – 2028 sets commitments in the following areas: Open Access to Scientific Publications, Research Data Management and Sharing, Reinforcing Academic Community with the necessary skills and competences, Support to Research IT Infrastructure and Citizen Science (CS). Besides the national support researchers also need support at an individual practical level. In January 2022 the National Research Library introduced online Citizen Science course based on Moodle Platform. Users gain an insight into how to design CS project, how to find partners or information on data and ethics issues. We are committed to promoting not „only“ research information but overall scientific culture based on project-oriented action and networking. In cooperation with the Slovak University of Technology we opened a fablab, a digital manufacturing center and a space for design and production of physical objects via 3D printers or laser cutters, used by professionals (researchers), expert amateurs and general public. We change in nature and structure to meet our user needs through innovative services and practices. As a result, we increase the visibility and strengthen our role in the academic environment while keeping our users – researchers, academics and students – at the heart of all operations

Towards the integration of digital library applications via web services for use in a scientific workspace

"Our project 'Generic Portals' focuses on the possibilities and problems created by the usage of web-technologies to support web-based Digital Library applications. We observe a divergence of services in the sphere of structured resources and scientific libraries' services. Publications in the form of digital resources have introduced new dynamics into the information exchange in the scientific communities. The changes in the publication process are formed by so-called structured resources, whereas the resource can be seen as an encapsulated object. For the exchange of information we have only to know the interface of the structured resource in detail. W3C has published a working draft which includes a language named Web Service Description Language (WSDL) for describing interfaces of services. A Web service interface is a shared connection between functional components of applications. We consider the requirements for the integration of DL-applications via Web services. We present an adapted process model for supply of DL-oriented Web services. Further we present a component-based approach to relate researchers' activities to so-called DL-oriented Web services. We obtain criteria for the description of DL-oriented Web services based on the researchers' working process. Finally, we present a brief overview what kind of Web technologies might be reused for a prototypical implementation of DL-oriented Web services." (author's abstract