Local Type Checking for Linked Data Consumers

The Web of Linked Data is the cumulation of over a decade of work by the Web standards community in their effort to make data more Web-like. We provide an introduction to the Web of Linked Data from the perspective of a Web developer that would like to build an application using Linked Data. We identify a weakness in the development stack as being a lack of domain specific scripting languages for designing background processes that consume Linked Data. To address this weakness, we design a scripting language with a simple but appropriate type system. In our proposed architecture some data is consumed from sources outside of the control of the system and some data is held locally. Stronger type assumptions can be made about the local data than external data, hence our type system mixes static and dynamic typing. Throughout, we relate our work to the W3C recommendations that drive Linked Data, so our syntax is accessible to Web developers.Comment: In Proceedings WWV 2013, arXiv:1308.026

Propuestas de análisis de usabilidad para sedes web

This work makes an introduction to usability in the web information design framework. Analyses different techniques tipology proposals, and their application in development and evaluation of web sites. A generic framework for usability methods application is proposed, to apply in particular context of activity

Enhancing teaching and learning with technology through collaborative research with students

There is increasing awareness that technological developments should enhance student learning experience and compliment traditional teaching methodologies (McGugan and Peakcock, 2005). The recently published JISC inquiry into the implications of Web 2.0 technology for higher education (2009), highlighted how learners make effective use of Web 2.0 technology in social contexts. However, at present our knowledge of how university students and staff engage with and use technologies, including Web 2.0 technology, both through the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and outside of it is limited. This project aimed to explore how Sport Sciences students expect, use, and would like to see, technologies used to enhance their learning whilst at university. The project adopted a collaborative approach by involving students in development of the study, particularly in assisting with design of data collection tools, participant recruitment and interpretation of findings. The study involved interviewing twenty-one students about their familiarity and use of Web 2.0 technologies. These students also gave ideas for potential technological enhancements within the sport curriculum. This data then formed the basis of a staff and a student questionnaire used to ascertain broader views of technologies as well as the perceived potential of such technologies to enhance student learning. The findings from this wider survey of staff (n = 17) and students (n = 323) informed curricular innovations in teaching and learning that involved introduction of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and discussion boards in the institutional VLE as well as use of Facebook for specific student learning activity. The presentation will include a demonstration of how FAQs and Facebook have been utilised and report on initial staff and student evaluation of how these particular approaches to using technology enhance student learning. Issues associated with the use of these technologies are discussed

Modeling views in the layered view model for XML using UML

In data engineering, view formalisms are used to provide flexibility to users and user applications by allowing them to extract and elaborate data from the stored data sources. Conversely, since the introduction of Extensible Markup Language (XML), it is fast emerging as the dominant standard for storing, describing, and interchanging data among various web and heterogeneous data sources. In combination with XML Schema, XML provides rich facilities for defining and constraining user-defined data semantics and properties, a feature that is unique to XML. In this context, it is interesting to investigate traditional database features, such as view models and view design techniques for XML. However, traditional view formalisms are strongly coupled to the data language and its syntax, thus it proves to be a difficult task to support views in the case of semi-structured data models. Therefore, in this paper we propose a Layered View Model (LVM) for XML with conceptual and schemata extensions. Here our work is three-fold; first we propose an approach to separate the implementation and conceptual aspects of the views that provides a clear separation of concerns, thus, allowing analysis and design of views to be separated from their implementation. Secondly, we define representations to express and construct these views at the conceptual level. Thirdly, we define a view transformation methodology for XML views in the LVM, which carries out automated transformation to a view schema and a view query expression in an appropriate query language. Also, to validate and apply the LVM concepts, methods and transformations developed, we propose a view-driven application development framework with the flexibility to develop web and database applications for XML, at varying levels of abstraction

Sustainable design education - considering design for behavioural change

This paper reports on the development and evaluation of ‘design-behaviour’ (www.design-behaviour.co.uk), a web-based resource created to support the teaching of Design for Behavioural Change – a new field of enquiry in sustainable design research. The paper presents a brief introduction to sustainable design teaching in the Department of Design and Technology at Loughborough University. It goes on to outline the project methodology used to develop a web-based resource to centralise and disseminate teaching material on the subject of Design for Behavioural Change for a design and engineering audience. Selected findings from a literature review are introduced and the results of a pilot study (through which the authors explored how this subject could be taught to industrial/product design students) are discussed. The paper explains how the resource was developed and presents the results of an evaluative user questionnaire. It concludes with an outline of improvements made in response to feedback received and a discussion of further developments planned