Understanding adaptability through layer dependencies

This paper looks at change from the perspective of building design (i.e. building adaptability), and how a better understanding of product architecture can bring about an easier accommodation of change for an unforeseeable future. The work explores the use of a design structure matrix (DSM) to understand the building's capacity to accommodate change using building decomposition methods (Brand's layers) and component interactions as initial guides to suggest possible product architectures. Research for this study took place along side the design stage of an ongoing BSF school project. The systematic analysis of design drawings and reports was undertaken in three phases: code documents using Brand's layers; identify all variant components to create a work breakdown structure; and classification of all component relationships populating a DSM. Simple principles, such as achieving modularity between component dependencies, can potentially reveal the implication of changing components. Insights that have been gained through the data include the appropriate layer placement of components, the possibilities of new/different layers, and the highlighting of unwanted/ hidden dependencies. The DSM permutations have also provided a deeper understanding of the software used and its algorithmic behavior, giving greater clarity of the organization of the components, and the development of component typologies in an effort to provide a consistent, logical approach to refining the matrix

Recommender Systems and Repository Search: the Share.TEC Proposal

This paper presents a general overview of possible approaches for implementing recommender systems and describes a specific implementation in the context of the Share.TEC project, which aims to foster the sharing of digital resources in the Teacher Education field. An outline of the main functionalities is given, together with a brief technical description of how these have been implemented

A critical theory and postmodernist approach to the teaching of accounting theory

[Abstract]: This paper outlines my teaching philosophy for the Accounting Theory subject. A Critical Theory and Postmodernist approach is recommended, which makes full use of non-accounting 'tangential material' (Boyce, 2004) and material from popular culture (Kell, 2004; Nilan, 2004). The paper discusses some classroom interactive activities, as well as interview results from interviews conducted with eleven international students and one Australian student at Charles Sturt University. The teaching approach proposed in this paper is to conduct classroom interactive activities which study theories and research results from a range of disciplines in order to illustrate key points that apply equally as much to accounting theories and the accounting research process, e.g. the Positive/Normative dichotomy. Classroom interactive activities are discussed in class using the 'dialogical approach' to education recommended by Freire (1996), Kaidonis (2004), Boyce (2004), and Thomson and Bebbington (2004). Once students gain experience in studying material from outside accounting, the interview results suggest that they are then better motivated (Wynder, 2006) and better equipped to study and evaluate accounting theories

Usefulness of prototypes in conceptual design: students' view

AbstractPlanning prototyping strategies for conceptual design purposes is a crucial activity, which needs a clear understanding of the potentialities of the different typologies of prototype. Therefore, to prepare future designers, it is very important to provide the required information in design-related academic courses. However, prototypes and prototyping activities are often taught in specific courses with a major emphasis on the underpinning technologies, but with limited attention on design implications, especially about the fuzzy-front-end of the design process. The work presented in this paper aims at investigating about how students perceive the usefulness of prototypes during conceptual design activities, in order to provide first indications about the gap to be filled. To this purpose, two classes of students participated to an experimental session, and were asked to perform a conceptual design task individually. Subsequently, they participated to an on-line survey developed to gather information about the perceived usefulness of prototypes, in relation to the performed conceptual design activity. Several findings have been obtained from this work, but maybe the most impacting one concerns the different consideration that the two samples of students had about the fidelity of prototypes. Indeed, differently from what recently highlighted in current literature, it emerged that engineering students preferred low-fidelity prototypes. However, other unexpected evidences have been found, which highlight that at least for the considered institution, students still lack a comprehensive understanding of the design-related potentialities of prototypes

Sensation Seeking and Perceived Need for Structure Moderate Soldiers’ Well-Being Before and After Operational Deployment

This study examined associations between sensation seeking and perceived need for structure, and changes in reported well-being among deployed soldiers. Participants (n = 167) were assessed before and after a six-month deployment to south Afghanistan. Results indicated that although well-being declined in the soldier sample as a whole following deployment, the degree of decrease was significantly different among soldiers with different personality profiles. Differences were moderated by soldiers’ level of sensation seeking and perceived need for structure. Results are discussed in terms of a person-environment fit theory in the context of preparation and rehabilitation of deployed military personnel

MyLearningMentor: a mobile App to support learners participating in MOOCs

MOOCs have brought a revolution to education. However, their impact is mainly benefiting people with Higher Education degrees. The lack of support and personalized advice in MOOCs is causing that many of the learners that have not developed work habits and self-learning skills give them up at the first obstacle, and do not see MOOCs as an alternative for their education and training. My Learning Mentor (MLM) is a mobile application that addresses the lack of support and personalized advice for learners in MOOCs. This paper presents the architecture of MLM and practical examples of use. The architecture of MLM is designed to provide MOOC participants with a personalized planning that facilitates them following up the MOOCs they enroll. This planning is adapted to learners' profiles, preferences, priorities and previous performance (measured in time devoted to each task). The architecture of MLM is also designed to provide tips and hints aimed at helping learners develop work habits and study skills, and eventually become self-learners.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Project TIN2011-28308-C03-01, the Regional Government of Madrid project S2013/ICE-2715, and the postdoctoral fellowship Alliance 4 Universities. The authors would also like to thank Israel Gutiérrez-Rojas for his contributions to the ideas behind MLM and Ricardo García Pericuesta and Carlos de Frutos Plaza for their work implementing different parts of the architecture

'Bushcraft' and 'Indigenous Knowledge': transformations of a concept in the modern world

The relationship between 'bushcraft' and 'indigenous knowledge' is investigated through a historical review, an examination of ethnographic literature, fieldwork amongst bushcraft practitioners, and through original case studies. Fieldwork was carried out in Sweden, the USA, and the UK. Case studies of the Saami 'kuksa', the 'figure 4' deadfall trap, and making fire by friction are used to explore a number of themes in the contemporary bushcraft world: the role of skilled-practice, ethical values, notions of an individually experienced connection with nature, practice as a personal transformative experience, and as an intersubjective relationship between practitioner and craft engagement with the material affordances in the landscape. It is argued that motivations for practice foreground a relationship with an environmental experience that counters 'alienation' through the development of techniques required to spend un-insulated time in nature which counter modern Western technocratic lifestyles. Bushcraft destabilises apparently similar categories of activity, particularly tourism, outdoor adventure recreation and education, historical re-enactment and survivalism