Living ontologies: collaborative knowledge structuring on the Internet

This thesis discusses the issues involving the support of Living Ontologies: collaborating in the construction and maintenance of ontologies using the Internet. Ontologies define the concepts used in describing a domain: they are used by knowledge engineers as reusable components of knowledge-based systems. Knowledge engineers create ontologies by eliciting information from domain experts. However, experts often have different conceptualisations of a domain and knowledge engineers often have different ways of formalising their conceptualisations. Taking a constructivist perspective, constructing ontologies from multiple conflicting conceptualisations can be seen as a design activity, in which knowledge engineers make choices according to the context in which the representation will be used. Based on this theory, a methodology for collaboratively constructing ontologies might involve comparing differing conceptualisations and using these comparisons to initiate discussion, changes to the conceptualisations and the development of criteria against which they can be evaluated. APECKS (Adaptive Presentation Environment for Collaborative Knowledge Structuring) is designed to support this methodology. APECKS aims not only to support the collaborative construction of ontologies but also to use ontologies to present information to its users adaptively within a virtual environment. It demonstrates a number of innovations over conventional ontology servers, such as prompted knowledge elicitation from domain experts, automated comparisons between ontologies, the creation of design rationales and change tracking. A small evaluation of APECKS has shown that it is usable by domain experts and that automated comparisons between ontologies can be used to initiate alterations, investigations of others' conceptualisations and as a basis for discussion. Possible future development of APECKS includes tighter integration with a virtual environment and with other networked knowledge-based tools. Further research is also needed to develop the methodology on which APECKS is based, by investigating ways of comparing, combining and discussing ontologies

Living ontologies: collaborative knowledge structuring on the Internet

This thesis discusses the issues involving the support of Living Ontologies: collaborating in the construction and maintenance of ontologies using the Internet. Ontologies define the concepts used in describing a domain: they are used by knowledge engineers as reusable components of knowledge-based systems. Knowledge engineers create ontologies by eliciting information from domain experts. However, experts often have different conceptualisations of a domain and knowledge engineers often have different ways of formalising their conceptualisations. Taking a constructivist perspective, constructing ontologies from multiple conflicting conceptualisations can be seen as a design activity, in which knowledge engineers make choices according to the context in which the representation will be used. Based on this theory, a methodology for collaboratively constructing ontologies might involve comparing differing conceptualisations and using these comparisons to initiate discussion, changes to the conceptualisations and the development of criteria against which they can be evaluated. APECKS (Adaptive Presentation Environment for Collaborative Knowledge Structuring) is designed to support this methodology. APECKS aims not only to support the collaborative construction of ontologies but also to use ontologies to present information to its users adaptively within a virtual environment. It demonstrates a number of innovations over conventional ontology servers, such as prompted knowledge elicitation from domain experts, automated comparisons between ontologies, the creation of design rationales and change tracking. A small evaluation of APECKS has shown that it is usable by domain experts and that automated comparisons between ontologies can be used to initiate alterations, investigations of others' conceptualisations and as a basis for discussion. Possible future development of APECKS includes tighter integration with a virtual environment and with other networked knowledge-based tools. Further research is also needed to develop the methodology on which APECKS is based, by investigating ways of comparing, combining and discussing ontologies

A study of methods of evaluating multimedia materials for language learning

There is a long tradition of paper based materials evaluation in ELT, but at this juncture, a scarcity of studies on ELT Multimedia (MM) materials evaluation. Such studies as have been undertaken have tended to adopt the perspective of the materials developer rather than the end user. But there have been no developed studies of evaluation methods which could be adopted by potential users. Despite calls being made for systematic evaluation, not many proposals have been developed, and there has been little exploration of potential best practice, or of the 'goodness of fit' between methods and evaluation puposes. This study aims to investigate evaluation methods in order to establish best practice in the evaluation of multimedia CALL applications, with a focus on learners' experience and opinions, and with the aim of enabling potential teacher-users of CALL materials to gauge the suitability of materials for their learners. Chapter one of this thesis provides a rationale for this study and an overview of the background to this research. Chapter two presents a review of literature undertaken in four domains: educational evaluation and research methods; Human Computer Interaction (HCI) usability evaluation methods; ELT materials evaluation; and studies ofCALL materials in use. Chapter three focuses on the design and conduct of the study by explaining how some methods of evaluation were trialled in a pilot study and four were selected for adoption and analysis in the main study. The methods selected were Foeu.r Groups, Rttrospective Protorolr, PLUM and SUM! Questionnaires and Activity Monitonitg. To determine the qualities and limitations of these methods, a set of criteria was developed from the literature on software usability evaluation methods in HCI and a broader literature on educational evaluation and research methods. The four data study chapters (4-7) each discuss one of the chosen methods and descnbe how the method was ,6perationalised in an evaluation of learner responses to multimedia software. The final chapter draws together the discussion of the findings and presents different proposals for best practice. The focus in the discussion of findings is on how the chosen methods performed according to the set of criteria. The findings confirm that focus groups and questionnaires are quick and efficient methods whereas retrospective protocols and activity monitoring provide more detailed and protracted data. Teacher evaluators can be guided by the objectives of their evaluation to explore different combinations ofthese methods. Participants in the pilot were 12 ESL students from the University of Warwick and in the main study 45 Freshman/sophomore students from a university in Pakistan. The materials used to operationalise methods were the EASE CD-ROMS listening to Lectures and Seminar Skills 1: Presentations. The research contributes to the field in undertaking an in-depth and extensive study of evaluation methods applicable to CALL materials, whi~ adopt a leamer-centred perspective, and conform to sound principles within educational evaluation, yet which draw on practice in the field of HCI, since this expertise is so relevant in the rapid development of multimedia materials for use in ELT. Moreover, by developing the composite set of core criteria this study has created a tool which practitioners in the field can use to select most appropriate methods for their particular evaluation purposes

THE WHOLE NAKED TRUTH OF OUR LIVES: LESBIAN-FEMINIST PRINT CULTURE FROM 1969 THROUGH 1989

During the 1970s and the 1980s, lesbian-feminists created a vibrant lesbian print culture, participating in the creation, production, and distribution of books, chapbooks, journals, newspapers, and other printed materials. This extraordinary output of creative material provides a rich archive for new insights about the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM), gay liberation (the LGBT movement), and recent U.S. social history. In The Whole Naked Truth of Our Lives, I construct and analyze historical narratives of lesbian-feminist publishers in the United States between 1969 and 1989. Interdisciplinary in its conception, design, and execution, The Whole Naked Truth of Our Lives is the only sustained examination of lesbian print culture during the 1970s and 1980s; it extends the work of Simone Murray on feminist print culture in the United Kingdom as well as the work of literary scholars Kim Whitehead, Kate Adams, Trysh Travis, Bonnie Zimmerman, and Martha Vicinus, and historians Martin Meeker, Marcia Gallo, Rodger Streitmatter, Abe Peck, John McMillian, and Peter Richardson. From archival material, including correspondence, publishing ephemera such as flyers and catalogues, and meeting notes, oral history interviews, and published books, I assemble a history of lesbian-feminist publishing that challenges fundamental ideas about the WLM, gay liberation, and U.S. social history as well as remapping the contours of current historical and literary narratives. In the excitement of the WLM, multiple feminist practices expressed exuberant possibilities for a feminist revolution. Cultural feminism and lesbian separatism were vibrant expressions of the WLM; they were not antagonistic to radical feminism or liberal feminism but rather complementary and overlapping. Economic restructuring in the United States (e.g. globalization, decreasing governmental support for the arts, and neoliberalism) tempered visions for a lesbian-feminist revolution. Lesbian-feminist publishers experienced economic restructuring as it unfolded and actively discussed the political, economic, and theoretical implications. The strategies and responses of lesbian-feminist publishers demonstrate the effects of and resistances to these macro-economic forces. Examining the economics of book publishing explains how literary artists and other creative intellectuals support themselves in capitalist economies, illuminates broader intellectual and cultural currents, and suggests how broader economic trends in the United States interacted with cultural production

A study of methods of evaluating multimedia materials for language learning

There is a long tradition of paper based materials evaluation in ELT, but at this juncture, a scarcity of studies on ELT Multimedia (MM) materials evaluation. Such studies as have been undertaken have tended to adopt the perspective of the materials developer rather than the end user. But there have been no developed studies of evaluation methods which could be adopted by potential users. Despite calls being made for systematic evaluation, not many proposals have been developed, and there has been little exploration of potential best practice, or of the 'goodness of fit' between methods and evaluation puposes. This study aims to investigate evaluation methods in order to establish best practice in the evaluation of multimedia CALL applications, with a focus on learners' experience and opinions, and with the aim of enabling potential teacher-users of CALL materials to gauge the suitability of materials for their learners. Chapter one of this thesis provides a rationale for this study and an overview of the background to this research. Chapter two presents a review of literature undertaken in four domains: educational evaluation and research methods; Human Computer Interaction (HCI) usability evaluation methods; ELT materials evaluation; and studies ofCALL materials in use. Chapter three focuses on the design and conduct of the study by explaining how some methods of evaluation were trialled in a pilot study and four were selected for adoption and analysis in the main study. The methods selected were Foeu.r Groups, Rttrospective Protorolr, PLUM and SUM! Questionnaires and Activity Monitonitg. To determine the qualities and limitations of these methods, a set of criteria was developed from the literature on software usability evaluation methods in HCI and a broader literature on educational evaluation and research methods. The four data study chapters (4-7) each discuss one of the chosen methods and descnbe how the method was ,6perationalised in an evaluation of learner responses to multimedia software. The final chapter draws together the discussion of the findings and presents different proposals for best practice. The focus in the discussion of findings is on how the chosen methods performed according to the set of criteria. The findings confirm that focus groups and questionnaires are quick and efficient methods whereas retrospective protocols and activity monitoring provide more detailed and protracted data. Teacher evaluators can be guided by the objectives of their evaluation to explore different combinations ofthese methods. Participants in the pilot were 12 ESL students from the University of Warwick and in the main study 45 Freshman/sophomore students from a university in Pakistan. The materials used to operationalise methods were the EASE CD-ROMS listening to Lectures and Seminar Skills 1: Presentations. The research contributes to the field in undertaking an in-depth and extensive study of evaluation methods applicable to CALL materials, whi~ adopt a leamer-centred perspective, and conform to sound principles within educational evaluation, yet which draw on practice in the field of HCI, since this expertise is so relevant in the rapid development of multimedia materials for use in ELT. Moreover, by developing the composite set of core criteria this study has created a tool which practitioners in the field can use to select most appropriate methods for their particular evaluation purposes.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo