IDEF5 Ontology Description Capture Method: Concept Paper

The results of research towards an ontology capture method referred to as IDEF5 are presented. Viewed simply as the study of what exists in a domain, ontology is an activity that can be understood to be at work across the full range of human inquiry prompted by the persistent effort to understand the world in which it has found itself - and which it has helped to shape. In the contest of information management, ontology is the task of extracting the structure of a given engineering, manufacturing, business, or logistical domain and storing it in an usable representational medium. A key to effective integration is a system ontology that can be accessed and modified across domains and which captures common features of the overall system relevant to the goals of the disparate domains. If the focus is on information integration, then the strongest motivation for ontology comes from the need to support data sharing and function interoperability. In the correct architecture, an enterprise ontology base would allow th e construction of an integrated environment in which legacy systems appear to be open architecture integrated resources. If the focus is on system/software development, then support for the rapid acquisition of reliable systems is perhaps the strongest motivation for ontology. Finally, ontological analysis was demonstrated to be an effective first step in the construction of robust knowledge based systems

Enhancing students’ confidence, competence and knowledge with Integrated Skills Challenge

Introduction/background: In today's complex healthcare environment, new nursing graduates are expected to master nursing skills in a timely manner and become critical thinkers with the capacity of solving complex healthcare problems efficiently. The increased complexity of the clinical setting requires competence-building begin in introductory courses, establishing foundational skills for critical thinking and prioritisation. In the healthcare professions, teaching and learning methods are focused on integration of clinical knowledge and skills. However, traditional teaching and learning methodologies do not always facilitate the development of a requisite level of these clinical skills. For the Master of Nursing Studies (MNSt) students whose program is shortened this means the acquisition of these skills must be achieved more rapidly. Aim/objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of developing simulation scenarios (Integrated Skill Challenge [ISC]) as a supplemental teaching-learning strategy to enhance the transfer of student self-confidence and competence to the clinical nursing environment. Methods To examine potential effects of ISC on the MNSt students, a pilot study was conducted including 52 participants. Data were collected weekly over 11 week period by using pre and post-test design. Results: Analysis showed a significant increase in the confidence, competence and knowledge. Confidence, competence and knowledge scores increased when students were pre-loaded with knowledge prior to performing in the ISC. Results generally indicated that the ISC had the anticipated effects. Conclusions: This study reveals a high feasibility of developing simulation scenarios as an active learning methodology and that it should be developed further and piloted on a larger sample

PI-in-a-box: Intelligent onboard assistance for spaceborne experiments in vestibular physiology

In construction is a knowledge-based system that will aid astronauts in the performance of vestibular experiments in two ways: it will provide real-time monitoring and control of signals and it will optimize the quality of the data obtained, by helping the mission specialists and payload specialists make decisions that are normally the province of a principal investigator, hence the name PI-in-a-box. An important and desirable side-effect of this tool will be to make the astronauts more productive and better integrated members of the scientific team. The vestibular experiments are planned by Prof. Larry Young of MIT, whose team has already performed similar experiments in Spacelab missions SL-1 and D-1, and has experiments planned for SLS-1 and SLS-2. The knowledge-based system development work, performed in collaboration with MIT, Stanford University, and the NASA-Ames Research Center, addresses six major related functions: (1) signal quality monitoring; (2) fault diagnosis; (3) signal analysis; (4) interesting-case detection; (5) experiment replanning; and (6) integration of all of these functions within a real-time data acquisition environment. Initial prototyping work has been done in functions (1) through (4)

An integrated approach of learning, planning, and execution

Agents (hardware or software) that act autonomously in an environment have to be able to integrate three basic behaviors: planning, execution, and learning. This integration is mandatory when the agent has no knowledge about how its actions can affect the environment, how the environment reacts to its actions, or, when the agent does not receive as an explicit input, the goals it must achieve. Without an a priori theory, autonomous agents should be able to self-propose goals, set-up plans for achieving the goals according to previously learned models of the agent and the environment, and learn those models from past experiences of successful and failed executions of plans. Planning involves selecting a goal to reach and computing a set of actions that will allow the autonomous agent to achieve the goal. Execution deals with the interaction with the environment by application of planned actions, observation of resulting perceptions, and control of successful achievement of the goals. Learning is needed to predict the reactions of the environment to the agent actions, thus guiding the agent to achieve its goals more efficiently. In this context, most of the learning systems applied to problem solving have been used to learn control knowledge for guiding the search for a plan, but few systems have focused on the acquisition of planning operator descriptions. As an example, currently, one of the most used techniques for the integration of (a way of) planning, execution, and learning is reinforcement learning. However, they usually do not consider the representation of action descriptions, so they cannot reason in terms of goals and ways of achieving those goals. In this paper, we present an integrated architecture, lope, that learns operator definitions, plans using those operators, and executes the plans for modifying the acquired operators. The resulting system is domain-independent, and we have performed experiments in a robotic framework. The results clearly show that the integrated planning, learning, and executing system outperforms the basic planner in that domain.Publicad

Applied surveying education : documenting cultural heritage in 3D in the city of Ghent (Belgium) using laser scanning and photo modelling

For several years the city of Ghent (Belgium) and the Ghent University, Department of Geography have been working together to document and measure important cultural heritage sites in 3D. The partnership enables master students in Geomatics and Surveying at the Ghent University to take part in a project driven measuring campaign. During the project, students use and compare several 3D data acquisition methods. This allows the students to implement their theoretical knowledge in the field. The used methods are analysed and critically compared by the students. Through this hands-on-training, students are encouraged to think “outside the box”. When problems occur, they are stimulated to think how these problems could have happened and most importantly how they can solve them. The documentation of these historic monuments in Ghent will be used during future renovation works and archaeological research. This paper will discuss the measurements in the Ghent City Museum (Stadsmuseum or STAM). The following methods are applied during the extensive field work: engineering surveying using total station and GNSS, photo modelling and laser scanning. The deliverables are created in a CAD or GIS environment. After successful completion of the course, students have gained a significant expertise concerning the processing of topographic data, 3D point clouds and imagery in an integrated way. This knowledge can be used after their studies to assess which equipment is most suitable for any given survey project. The final products of the photo modelling and the laser scanning process is a 3D model. Furthermore, digital elevation models and orthorectified images of the historic monument can be created. The orthorectified images are visualised and processed into high resolution orthophoto plans, in a CAD or GIS environment

THE CHALLENGES, RISKS AND PROSPECTS OF THE REALISATION OF THE MUSIC METHODOLOGY MODULE OF ONE – YEAR EDUCATION PROGRAMME

The reform of teachers’ education commenced by the Ministry of Education and Science provides an opportunity to obtain a qualification as a teacher within one year, encompassing studies based in a working environment for those who already have higher education. The goal of the research is to identify the challenges, risks and perspectives of the realization of the module “Music methodology” of the study course “Integrated methods in Teaching Culture Understanding and Self-expression in Art” within the one-year study programme “Skolotājs”. The research compared study course plans in music teaching and choir work methodology at two Latvian higher education institutions, as well as at two foreign higher education institution, where a qualification as a music teacher at a comprehensive school can be attained. The research was undertaken based on an analysis of theoretical sources, providing an understanding about a synthesis of varying contemporary methodological approaches. It encompasses the acquisition of a knowledge of cultural history and the history of music, the style and future directions of popular music, desirably not just theoretically but practically as well, in the education of the students. The actualization of such study courses as music teaching methodology, the research process in music teaching, music history and stylistics, the psychology of music, conducting, choir/vocal ensemble work, methodology and music project management are important for the high quality and integrated acquisition of music teaching methodology

PATIKA: An integrated visual environment for collaborative construction and analysis of cellular pathways

Motivation: Availability of the sequences of entire genomes shifts the scientific curiosity towards the identification of function of the genomes in large scale as in genome studies. In the near future, data produced about cellular processes at molecular level will accumulate with an accelerating rate as a result of proteomics studies. In this regard, it is essential to develop tools for storing, integrating, accessing, and analyzing this data effectively. Results: We define an ontology for a comprehensive representation of cellular events. The ontology presented here enables integration of fragmented or incomplete pathway information and supports manipulation and incorporation of the stored data, as well as multiple levels of abstraction. Based on this ontology, we present the architecture of an integrated environment named PATIKA (Pathway Analysis Tool for Integration and Knowledge Acquisition). PATIKA is composed of a server-side, scalable, object-oriented database and client-side editors to provide an integrated, multi-user environment for visualizing and manipulating network of cellular events. This tool features automated pathway layout, functional computation support, advanced querying and a user-friendly graphical interface. We expect that PATIKA will be a valuable tool for rapid knowledge acquisition, microarray generated large-scale data interpretation, disease gene identification, and drug development

Online neural monitoring of statistical learning.

The extraction of patterns in the environment plays a critical role in many types of human learning, from motor skills to language acquisition. This process is known as statistical learning. Here we propose that statistical learning has two dissociable components: (1) perceptual binding of individual stimulus units into integrated composites and (2) storing those integrated representations for later use. Statistical learning is typically assessed using post-learning tasks, such that the two components are conflated. Our goal was to characterize the online perceptual component of statistical learning. Participants were exposed to a structured stream of repeating trisyllabic nonsense words and a random syllable stream. Online learning was indexed by an EEG-based measure that quantified neural entrainment at the frequency of the repeating words relative to that of individual syllables. Statistical learning was subsequently assessed using conventional measures in an explicit rating task and a reaction-time task. In the structured stream, neural entrainment to trisyllabic words was higher than in the random stream, increased as a function of exposure to track the progression of learning, and predicted performance on the reaction time (RT) task. These results demonstrate that monitoring this critical component of learning via rhythmic EEG entrainment reveals a gradual acquisition of knowledge whereby novel stimulus sequences are transformed into familiar composites. This online perceptual transformation is a critical component of learning

Digital Documentation of Masada Fortress in Israel: Integrated Methodologies of Survey and Representation

The general aim of the MRP - Masada Research Project is to create a comprehensive digital documentation of the archaeological site of Masada. Integrated 3D digital survey methodologies allowed the acquisition of all the information necessary for the creation of a digital database. This paper describes some results about the interaction between complex sets of data, acquired with various tools, and its dissemination through contemporary representation systems. The research conducted explains how the “migration” of reality in a virtual environment depends strongly on the structure of an efficient workflow and the proper use of available technologies. Digital tools allow the creation of customized and open-ended knowledge systems through which users can interface with the elements of the space around them interactively and be/become more conscious about the archaeological heritage

Integrating simulation training during clinical practice in nursing homes: An experimental study of nursing students´ knowledge acquisition, self-efficacy and learning needs

Background Limited access to supervision, feedback and quality learning experiences pose challenges to learning in the clinical setting for first-year nursing students who are beginning their clinical experiences. Prior studies have indicated that simulation training, as a partial replacement of clinical practice hours, may improve learning. However, there has been little research on simulation training integrated as a partial replacement during first-year students’ clinical practice in nursing homes. The primary aim of this study was to examine first-year nursing students’ knowledge acquisition and self-efficacy in integrating a partial replacement of clinical hours in nursing homes with simulation training. Its secondary aim was to examine perceptions of how learning needs were met in the simulated environment compared with the clinical environment. Design The primary aim was addressed using an experimental design that included pre- and post-tests. The secondary aim was investigated using a descriptive survey-based comparison. Methods First-year students at a Norwegian university college (n = 116) were asked to participate. Those who agreed (n = 103) were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 52) or the control group (n = 51). A knowledge test, the General Self-efficacy Scale and the Clinical Learning Environment Comparison Survey were used to measure students’ outcomes and perceptions. The data were analysed using independent samples t-tests, chi-square tests and paired samples t-tests. Results Knowledge scores from pre- to post-tests were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group with a medium to large effect size (p < 0.01, Hedges’ g = 0.6). No significant differences in self-efficacy were identified. Significant differences (p <  0.05) were observed between the simulated and the clinical environment with regard to meeting learning needs; effect sizes ranged from small and medium to large (Cohen’s d from 0.3 to 1.0). Conclusion Integrating the partial replacement of clinical hours in nursing homes with simulation training for first-year nursing students was positively associated with knowledge acquisition and meeting learning needs. These findings are promising with regard to simulation as a viable partial replacement for traditional clinical practice in nursing homes to improve learning.publishedVersio