82 research outputs found
Annual Report 2016-2017
The College of Computing and Digital Media has always prided itself on curriculum, creative work, and research that stays current with changes in our various fields of instruction. As we looked back on our 2016-17 academic year, the need to chronicle the breadth and excellence of this work became clear. We are pleased to share with you this annual report, our first, highlighting our accomplishments.
Last year, we began offering three new graduate programs and two new certificate programs. We also planned six degree programs and three new certificate programs for implementation in the current academic year. CDM faculty were published more than 100 times, had their films screened more than 200 times, and participated in over two dozen exhibitions. Our students were recognized for their scholarly and creative work, and our alumni accomplished amazing things, from winning a Student Academy Award to receiving a Pulitzer. We are proud of all the work we have done together.
One notable priority for us in 2016-17 was creating and strengthening relationships with industry—including expanding our footprint at Cinespace and developing the iD Lab—as well as with the community, through partnerships with the Chicago Housing Authority, Wabash Lights, and other nonprofit organizations. We look forward to continuing to provide innovative programs and spaces this academic year. Two areas in particular we’ve been watching closely are makerspaces and the “internet of things.” We’ve already made significant commitments to these areas through the creation of our 4,500 square foot makerspace, the Idea Realization Lab, and our new cyber-physical systems bachelor’s program and lab. We are excited to continue providing the opportunities, curriculum, and facilities to support our remarkable students.
David MillerDean, College of Computing and Digital Mediahttps://via.library.depaul.edu/cdmannual/1000/thumbnail.jp
Mediating the nation-building agenda in public service broadcasting: convergence active user-generated content (AUGC) for television in Kenya
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 2016The
violence, destruction and
death
of
more
than
1
200
people
resulting
from
the
highly
disputed
2007
election
results
in
Kenya
was
a
considerable
watershed
moment.
It
exposed
the
deep
fragmentation
within
the
nation-‐state
and
became
a
significant
fissure
for
the
simmering
tensions
among
the
42
“tribes”
of
Kenya.
In
the
media-‐scape,
these
events
evinced
the
elitist
and
tribal
hegemony
in
media
ownership
and
revealed,
more
than
ever
before,
that
certain
voices
and
narratives
were
privileged
over
others.
These
events
also
unmasked
recurrent
motifs,
which
illuminated
the
stranglehold
that
the
political,
media
and
economic
elites
wielded
over
media
instruments
and
platforms,
for
their
own
benefit.
This
study
aims
to
explore
the
extent
to
which
active
user-‐generated
content
in
the
digital
media
space
can
intervene
in,
and
disrupt,
some
of
these
exclusionary
practices
in
the
public
service
mediascape,
to
potentially
inspire
a
re-‐imagination
in
this
space
for
nation
building
in
Kenya.
It
is
premised
on
a
participatory
action
research
approach
that
draws
on
theoretical
discourse
on
nationalism
and
nation
building,
as
this
is
the
field
from
which
the
study’s
key
problems
stem
and
where
conceptual
discourses
on
digital
media
converge.
The
study
also
draws
on
participatory
discourses
in
the
media,
as
these
potentially
present
an
emancipatory
platform
for
those
on
the
margins
of
the
hegemonic
centres.
Here
it
mainly
draws
on
Bhabha’s
cultural
difference
theory,
Billig’s
banal
nationalisms,
Jenkins’
ideas
on
convergence
culture,
Carpentier’s
thoughts
on
maximalist
media
participation
and
Thumim’s
assertions
on
self-‐representation
in
the
digital
space.
The
study
also
hinges
on
the
practice-‐informed
pilot
project
titled
Utaifa
Mashinani
Masimulizi
ya
Ukenya
(UMMU)
digital
narratives,
co-‐created
by
the
researcher
together
with
the
Abakuria
(the
Kuria
people)
of
Kenya.
This
is
a
community
marginally
represented
in
the
public
service
broadcasting-‐scape
in
Kenya
and
a
people
whose
narrative
discourse
is
seldom
present
in
the
public
sphere.
The
study
argues
that
broadcast
content
–
not
just
in
Kenya
but
also
in
Africa
–
on
User
Generated
Content
(UGC)
for
broadcasting
predominantly
focuses
on
passive
forms
of
UGC
rather
than
Active
User
Generated
Content
(AUGC)
-‐
a
term
coined
in
this
study
to
refer
to
user-‐generated
content
that
entails
a
more
meaningful,
emancipatory
and
empowering
form
of
participation
amongst
those
traditionally
referred
to
as
consumers
of
broadcast
content.
It
contends
that
although
many
contemporary
television
broadcasters
around
the
world
continue
to
create
a
perception
of
increasing
and
robust
audience
participation
in
televised
content,
in
Kenya
this
is
certainly
not
the
case.
It
argues
that
significant
forms
of
current
participation
on
television
are
illusionary,
minimalist
and
futile,
as
they
largely
entrench
television’s
balance
of
power
among
the
media
elites.
Ordinary
people
are
often
‘invited’
to
participate
in
broadcasting,
but
their
entry
point
into
these
narratives
tends
to
be
limited
to
accessing
already-‐completed
narratives
and
engaging
in
what
constitutes
token
participation,
with
minimal,
and
in
most
cases,
no
impact
on
the
story,
its
conception,
distribution
and
socio-‐ economic
benefits.
Drawing
on
insights
from
the
UMMU
project,
the
study
proposes
that
AUGC
can
potentially
disrupt
some
of
the
existing
tropes
and
motifs
in
the
Public
Service
Mediascape
opening
up
spaces
for
multiple
and
diverse
voices
and
narratives
in
Kenya.
This
potentially
enables
active
participation
from
constituencies
that
have
traditionally
been
on
the
margins
of
the
Kenyan
nation-‐state
to
partake
in
the
nation
building
process.
XL201
Embedded System Design
A unique feature of this open access textbook is to provide a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental knowledge in embedded systems, with applications in cyber-physical systems and the Internet of things. It starts with an introduction to the field and a survey of specification models and languages for embedded and cyber-physical systems. It provides a brief overview of hardware devices used for such systems and presents the essentials of system software for embedded systems, including real-time operating systems. The author also discusses evaluation and validation techniques for embedded systems and provides an overview of techniques for mapping applications to execution platforms, including multi-core platforms. Embedded systems have to operate under tight constraints and, hence, the book also contains a selected set of optimization techniques, including software optimization techniques. The book closes with a brief survey on testing. This fourth edition has been updated and revised to reflect new trends and technologies, such as the importance of cyber-physical systems (CPS) and the Internet of things (IoT), the evolution of single-core processors to multi-core processors, and the increased importance of energy efficiency and thermal issues
Research in the Archival Multiverse
Over the past 15 years, the field of archival studies around the world has experienced unprecedented growth within the academy and within the profession, and archival studies graduate education programs today have among the highest enrolments in any information field. During the same period, there has also been unparalleled expansion and innovation in the diversity of methods and theories being applied in archival scholarship. Global in scope, Research in the Archival Multiverse compiles critical and reflective essays across a wide range of emerging research areas and interests in archival studies; it aims to provide current and future archival academics with a text addressing possible methods and theoretical frameworks that have been and might be used in archival scholarship and research
Embedded System Design
A unique feature of this open access textbook is to provide a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental knowledge in embedded systems, with applications in cyber-physical systems and the Internet of things. It starts with an introduction to the field and a survey of specification models and languages for embedded and cyber-physical systems. It provides a brief overview of hardware devices used for such systems and presents the essentials of system software for embedded systems, including real-time operating systems. The author also discusses evaluation and validation techniques for embedded systems and provides an overview of techniques for mapping applications to execution platforms, including multi-core platforms. Embedded systems have to operate under tight constraints and, hence, the book also contains a selected set of optimization techniques, including software optimization techniques. The book closes with a brief survey on testing. This fourth edition has been updated and revised to reflect new trends and technologies, such as the importance of cyber-physical systems (CPS) and the Internet of things (IoT), the evolution of single-core processors to multi-core processors, and the increased importance of energy efficiency and thermal issues
Questions on evaluation in the artistic field.
The Book 2 – EVALUATION discusses and identifies questions,
challenges and potentials relating to processes and procedures
of evaluation in Design-Driven Doctoral Research. The Book 2
examines the concept of ‘evaluation’ on the basis of DDDr by
addressing and reflecting on presentations and experiences
identified at the CA2RE+ Milano and CA2RE+ Hamburg. It primarily
builds on presentations and discussions from the third and fourth
CA2RE+ intensive study programmes, focusing on ‘Comparison’
and ‘Reflection’. It also builds on the diagnostics of the first
CA2RE+ book. It moreover discusses ‘Evaluation’ from a more
comprehensive academic perspective, with similarities and
references to how other research fields within the humanities, the
social and technical sciences evaluate research to ensure quality
and relevance
Research in the Archival Multiverse
Over the past 15 years, the field of archival studies around the world has experienced unprecedented growth within the academy and within the profession, and archival studies graduate education programs today have among the highest enrolments in any information field. During the same period, there has also been unparalleled expansion and innovation in the diversity of methods and theories being applied in archival scholarship. Global in scope, Research in the Archival Multiverse compiles critical and reflective essays across a wide range of emerging research areas and interests in archival studies; it aims to provide current and future archival academics with a text addressing possible methods and theoretical frameworks that have been and might be used in archival scholarship and research
Constructive alignment approach for assessing essential cultural soft skills in the tourism sector through ICT
The focus of this study was to investigate whether Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) may assist the acquisition and assessment of essential soft skills in tourism higher education. Intercultural Competence was identified as an essential skill for tourism due to the cultural diversity of visitors and country/region visited. Biggs and Tang’s (2011) notion of Constructive Alignment was used to define the outcomes, the learning activities, and the assessment tasks making up the learning intervention.
The interaction of the student participants with a blended learning environment provided the data required. Data was collected in two stages. In the first stage, through a focus group with the students, whereas in the second stage, interviews were used. Other stakeholders, academics, university IT services and employer representatives were interviewed separately to gain their views regarding the implementation of a blended learning environment.
The results indicate that both students and academics are insufficiently prepared to work within a blended learning environment, resulting in a rather negative attitude towards it. Academics also referred to the lack of training related to outcomes-based learning and constructive alignment. As a result, learning outcomes are viewed as an administrative control tool, rather than a way to facilitate student learning. This lack of confidence affects not only the participants’ use, but also their trust in the other parties involved, including peers.
However, engagement with the blended learning environment improved students’ trust, both in the blended learning environment itself and also in their peers, suggesting the need for a comprehensive training strategy.
Stakeholders must also be provided with the opportunities to network and exchange information. A framework that establishes confidence and improve trust is required. Intercultural competence may serve this role. It can help identify stakeholders’ attitudes towards one another, increase communication, empathise, and ultimately facilitate constructive interaction between them. Future research may look into applying intercultural competence into blended learning development and staff training in this sense and any other educational initiative where different stakeholders may be involved
An appraisal study of language usage and use for literacy in second language acquisition: An investigation into English textbooks used in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Philosophiae Doctor - PhDSince a number of studies on textbooks in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) have shown that textbooks hold a major place in education (De Guzman, 2000; Oakes & Saunders, 2004), this study proposes to investigate the content of an English Language Teaching (ELT)/ English as a Second Language (ESL) textbook used in 6th form secondary school (Grade 12) in the DRC, Go for English 1RE.
It aims to identify and evaluate the content of this ELT textbook so as to deduce and derive main insights for the determination or not of its appropriateness and relevance in terms of its contribution to language use and literacy in the ELT/ESL curriculum of the DRC.
The study draws its theoretical underpinning from two theories: the Cunningsworth’s textbook analysis theory and McDonough and Shaw evaluation theory. As research design, the study adopts an a descriptive, exploratory and interpretive design which draws on both quantitative and qualitative data collected on the basis of textbook evaluation checklist and semi-structured interviews. In regard to the procedural orientation, the study uses descriptive and content analysis to analyze, interpret and examine both interviews and textbook evaluation likert-scale checklist data. In respect of its data, the study uses ‘mixed methods approach’. Both qualitative and quantitative data come from 259 teacher and student participants on the basis of two different samples. The quantitative data comes from 209 student participants and 25 teacher participants and the qualitative data from 10 student participants and 15 teacher participants.
The findings attest to the general content of "Go for English 1RE ELT" textbook in regard to language activities and tasks related to its subject matter, to the quality and nature of language it contains, and finally to the diversity in its subject matter and its cultural aspects, is suitable for language use and literacy skills development. However, even though its content is suitable, the findings also indicate that this ELT textbook is not well adapted to Congolese 6th form secondary school students’ level
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