SEPEC conference proceedings: Hypermedia and Information Reconstruction. Aerospace applications and research directions. Addendum

The papers presented at the conference on hypermedia and information reconstruction are compiled. The following subject areas are covered: hypertext, typographic man, and the notion of literacy; a knowledge base browser using hypermedia; Ai GERM - a logic programming front end for GERM; and HEAVENS system for software artifacts

Experimental Object-Oriented Modelling

This thesis examines object-oriented modelling in experimental system development. Object-oriented modelling aims at representing concepts and phenomena of a problem domain in terms of classes and objects. Experimental system development seeks active experimentation in a system development project through, e.g., technical prototyping and active user involvement. We introduce and examine "experimental object-oriented modelling" as the intersection of these practices

Factors shaping the evolution of electronic documentation systems

The main goal is to prepare the space station technical and managerial structure for likely changes in the creation, capture, transfer, and utilization of knowledge. By anticipating advances, the design of Space Station Project (SSP) information systems can be tailored to facilitate a progression of increasingly sophisticated strategies as the space station evolves. Future generations of advanced information systems will use increases in power to deliver environmentally meaningful, contextually targeted, interconnected data (knowledge). The concept of a Knowledge Base Management System is emerging when the problem is focused on how information systems can perform such a conversion of raw data. Such a system would include traditional management functions for large space databases. Added artificial intelligence features might encompass co-existing knowledge representation schemes; effective control structures for deductive, plausible, and inductive reasoning; means for knowledge acquisition, refinement, and validation; explanation facilities; and dynamic human intervention. The major areas covered include: alternative knowledge representation approaches; advanced user interface capabilities; computer-supported cooperative work; the evolution of information system hardware; standardization, compatibility, and connectivity; and organizational impacts of information intensive environments

Integrating institutional repositories into the Semantic Web

The Web has changed the face of scientific communication; and the Semantic Web promises new ways of adding value to research material by making it more accessible to automatic discovery, linking, and analysis. Institutional repositories contain a wealth of information which could benefit from the application of this technology. In this thesis I describe the problems inherent in the informality of traditional repository metadata, and propose a data model based on the Semantic Web which will support more efficient use of this data, with the aim of streamlining scientific communication and promoting efficient use of institutional research output

An Ontology-based Approach to Web Site Design and Development

Building a data-intensive web site is a complex task. Ad-hoc rapid prototyping approaches easily lead to unsatisfactory results, e. g. poor maintainability and extensibility. The situation becomes even more difficult when customization issues arise and web sites need to present customized views to individual users. To address this problem, a number of model-based approaches have been proposed, which attempt to simplify the design and development of data-intensive web sites. However these approaches suffer a number of limitations, such as relatively little support for the composition of sophisticated user interfaces and the specification of presentation styles and little support for customization design. In this work we propose and implement an ontology-based approach, OntoWeaver, which provides comprehensive support for the design and development of data-intensive web sites. In particular, OntoWeaver provides a set of ontologies to represent all aspects of data-intensive web sites in a declarative and re-usable format. The declarative nature of the specification of web sites opens up a number of possibilities with respect to intelligent analysis and management. Moreover, OntoWeaver includes providing high level support for developing customized web sites. Finally, it offers a powerful tool suite to support the design and development of data-intensive web sites. In the course of this research, we have also extended OntoWeaver by addressing the issue of integrating web service technology into a high level web site design framework

Goals Software Construction Process

Generalized hyper competitiveness in the world markets has determined the need to offer better products to potential and actual clients in order to mark an advantagefrom other competitors. To ensure the production of an adequate product, enterprises need to work on the efficiency and efficacy of their business processes (BPs) by means of the construction of Interactive Information Systems (IISs, including Interactive Multimedia Documents) so that they are processed more fluidly and correctly.The construction of the correct IIS is a major task that can only be successful if the needs from every intervenient are taken into account. Their requirements must bedefined with precision, extensively analyzed and consequently the system must be accurately designed in order to minimize implementation problems so that the IIS isproduced on schedule and with the fewer mistakes as possible. The main contribution of this thesis is the proposal of Goals, a software (engineering) construction process which aims at defining the tasks to be carried out in order to develop software. This process defines the stakeholders, the artifacts, and the techniques that should be applied to achieve correctness of the IIS. Complementarily, this process suggests two methodologies to be applied in the initial phases of the lifecycle of the Software Engineering process: Process Use Cases for the phase of requirements, and; MultiGoals for the phases of analysis and design. Process Use Cases is a UML-based (Unified Modeling Language), goal-driven and use case oriented methodology for the definition of functional requirements. It uses an information oriented strategy in order to identify BPs while constructing the enterprise’s information structure, and finalizes with the identification of use cases within the design of these BPs. This approach provides a useful tool for both activities of Business Process Management and Software Engineering. MultiGoals is a UML-based, use case-driven and architectural centric methodology for the analysis and design of IISs with support for Multimedia. It proposes the analysis of user tasks as the basis of the design of the: (i) user interface; (ii) the system behaviour that is modeled by means of patterns which can combine Multimedia and standard information, and; (iii) the database and media contents. This thesis makes the theoretic presentation of these approaches accompanied with examples from a real project which provide the necessary support for the understanding of the used techniques.Orientador Professor Doutor Paulo Nazareno Maia Sampai

The development of intelligent hypermedia courseware, for design and technology in the English National Curriculum at Key Stage 3, by the sequential combination of cognition clusters, supported by system intelligence, derived from a dynamic user model

The purpose of this research was to develop an alternative to traditional textbooks for the teaching of electronics, within Design and Technology at Key Stage 3, in the English National Curriculum. The proposed alternative of intelligent hypermedia courseware was investigated in terms of its potential to support pupil procedural autonomy in task directed, goal oriented, design projects. Three principal design criteria were applied to the development of this courseware: the situation in which it is to be used; the task that it is to support; and the pedagogy that it will reflect and support. The discussion and satisfaction of these design criteria led towards a new paradigm for the development of intelligent hypermedia courseware, i.e. the sequential combination of cognition clusters, supported by system intelligence, derived from a dynamic user model. A courseware prototype was instantiated using this development paradigm and subsequently evaluated in three schools. An illuminative evaluation method was developed to investigate the consequences of using this courseware prototype. This evaluation method was based on longitudinal case studies where cycles of observation, further inquiry and explanation are undertaken. As a consequence of following this longitudinal method, where participants chose to adopt the courseware after the first trial, the relatability of outcomes increased as subsequent cycles were completed. Qualitative data was obtained from semi-structured interviews with participating teachers. This data was triangulated against quantitative data obtained from the completed dynamic user models generated by pupils using the courseware prototype. These data were used to generate hypotheses, in the form of critical processes, by the identification of significant features, concomitant features and recurring concomitants from the courseware trials. Four relatable critical processes are described that operate when this courseware prototype is used. These critical processes relate to: the number of computers available; the physical environment where the work takes place; the pedagogical features of a task type match, a design brief frame match and a preferred teaching approach match; and the levels of heuristic interaction with the courseware prototype

Authoring of Adaptive Single-Player Educational Games

Digital Educational Games, as one of the most important application areas of Serious Games, combine positive properties of digital games, such as strong motivation for players and inherent learning processes, with educational methods and technologies. Adaptive algorithms allow such games to be aligned automatically to the needs of different players, thereby increasing the learning efficacy. However, educational games are among the most complex game production endeavors, since they are often faced with small budget on the one hand and special requirements with impacts on all aspects of game development, from design through programming to asset production, on the other. Authoring tools have been successfully created and used in fields related to Serious Games and educational games, including e-Learning, multimedia, interactive storytelling and entertainment games. These tools incorporate parts of the production workflows in their respective areas and allow all authors, including non-programmers, to create applications. While it appears beneficial to create authoring tools for educational games, we find that authoring tools for educational games have to account for the higher complexity and interactivity of games compared to other forms of multimedia and that they have not been researched thoroughly in the past. These challenges are addressed in this thesis by presenting a concept for an authoring tool for adaptive educational single-player games that accounts for the specifics of educational game development. Major results are an educational game description model, concepts for adaptive control of educational games and author support mechanisms specifically for adaptive educational game authoring. These concepts are implemented in the authoring tool "StoryTec", which is validated in the course of a set of evaluation studies. The novel features of StoryTec include the specific support for adaptive educational games, a concept for structural and interaction templates shown to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the authoring tool, as well as the support for collaborative work. It builds the foundation for a number of current and future research and development projects, including the extension towards authoring of multiplayer games, and is tested and used by over 120 members of an open community