Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

What politics? : Youth and political engagement in Africa

Peer reviewe

Women as social entrepreneurs in the hospitality and tourism industry: Does empowerment play a role?

This paper which is a work in progress presents a qualitative study exploring the nature, motivations and extent to which female entrepreneurs use their H&T businesses as platforms for engagement in various forms of social entrepreneurship (SE) leading to value creation, economic and community development. Although SE is seen as a key contributor to the creation and diversification of entrepreneurial activity, women empowerment and local economic development, there is limited research on the role of female H&T entrepreneurs in emerging non -western destinations. We focus on the following research questions: a) Can female entrepreneurs in H&T be considered as social entrepreneurs? b) How does the structure and organization of society shape the nature of female participation in SE? c) What are the challenges involved in mobilizing female entrepreneurs to effectively engage in SE? d) How does SE maximise value creation and higher levels of satisfaction for all participants? Concepts from women-owned H&T enterprises, SE and women empowerment are drawn upon. We argue that women are embedded in male dominated traditions/customs, community associations and government bureaucracies that may either empowered or dis-empower them. Using the case of Cameroon, we examine how embeddedness enhances the capacity of women to engage in SE in the H&T industry, thereby contributing to local economic development. Empirically we adopt a mixed methods approach using multiple case studies: a survey questionnaire, five focus groups meetings (two women -only, one male-only, and two mix of male and female entrepreneurs) and twenty-five in-depth interviews with selected female entrepreneurs (18), (non)governmental organisations (03) and beneficiaries (04) of social enterprise ventures between May 2014 and February 2015. The findings clarify the role of women in SE in H&T and policy implications for maximising social value creation through the participation of women in SE

Simple identification tools in FishBase

Simple identification tools for fish species were included in the FishBase information system from its inception. Early tools made use of the relational model and characters like fin ray meristics. Soon pictures and drawings were added as a further help, similar to a field guide. Later came the computerization of existing dichotomous keys, again in combination with pictures and other information, and the ability to restrict possible species by country, area, or taxonomic group. Today, www.FishBase.org offers four different ways to identify species. This paper describes these tools with their advantages and disadvantages, and suggests various options for further development. It explores the possibility of a holistic and integrated computeraided strategy

THE IMPACT OF THE WIKI-ENHANCED TBLT APPROACH ON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL IN A BOYS’ PUBLIC SCHOOL IN AL AIN, UAE

This study investigated the impact of the wiki-enhanced task-based language teaching (TBLT) approach on students’ writing skill in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, it explored the students’ and teacher’s views and perceptions toward the implementation of the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach. The study data were collected quantitatively and qualitatively from two classrooms in a public high school in the UAE, which consisted of 30 students. The quantitative data were collected via a pretest–posttest design from the two assigned groups of students: the control and experimental groups. The qualitative data were collected via a survey of the students and a semi-structured interview with the teacher. The study was conducted during a whole academic semester. The findings of the study show that implementing the wiki-enhanced TBLT technique considerably improves EFL learners’ writing skills in relation to the four language components examined in this study: syntactic complexity, grammatical accuracy, fluency, and lexical complexity. In addition, the students enjoyed working together on writing tasks using the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach. Their responses showed that the TBLT approach encourages better performance in collaborative writing tasks and classroom engagement. Moreover, the classroom teachers indicated that the implementation of this approach played a significant role in promoting students’ performance, communication, collaboration, and engagement in the target language (English) in the experimental group. Furthermore, the findings showed that students can construct new knowledge with the aid of their peers, thereby improving their capacity to devise and discuss original ideas. As students can practice collaborative writing while at home, the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach is beneficial for online learning. Adopting this approach increased students’ participation in class because they were more comfortable working together while using technology, improving the quality of their writing and assignments. Several theoretical and pedagogical implications regarding the implementation of this approach have been drawn. The first theoretical implication of this study is that the wiki approach supports previous efforts to move the socio constructivist perspective of learning from the spoken discourse to the written discourse. The second theoretical implication is that it provides support to Chapelle\u27s framework (2003) where learning should be focused on tasks that require the use of the target language. Learning should take place in meaningful and real-life contexts, and instruction should be tailored to the individual needs of the learner. The third theoretical implication is that his study is the first to be conducted in the Gulf region, especially in the UAE. Regarding the pedagogical implications of the TBLT approach, the first pedagogical implication is that teachers need to consider the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach a standard and favored classroom strategy. The second pedagogical implication is that the wiki approach can be used by teachers as a teaching strategy to promote students’ participation and engagement and create a friendly social environment in the L2 classroom. The third pedagogical implication is that technology has proved to be integral in the classroom in teaching and learning the target language. The fourth pedagogical implication is for course designers who need to consider the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach as part of the curriculum. Based on these findings, future research can consider examining the effect of the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach on EFL learners’ writing skill at different levels, such as primary, college, or university students. Future research might also investigate the effect of Google Docs–based TBLT approach on developing students’ writing skill and explore students’ perceptions toward using this approach