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Creating the strategic learning environment at City University London
Purpose: This paper describes the creation of a new approach to the implementation of educational technologies at a UK Higher Education Institution. Driven by changes in technology, an evaluation of the virtual learning environment (VLE) provided the opportunity to reassess the application of technology to the curriculum. However, such an evaluation and subsequent implementation is not about technology but a social process of negotiation and stakeholder engagement. The narrative of the evaluation is explored to offer lessons to other institutions.
Design/methodology/approach: The paper takes a story telling approach as this enables greater emotional engagement with the reader as well as the description of the social and organisational aspects of such a VLE evaluation. This approach enables the difficulty of change in complex organisations, such as a University, to be addressed more fully.
Findings: Key lessons from the evaluation of the VLE and resulting creation of the strategic learning environment (SLE) are drawn which can be of use to other institutions. The main finding is the fact that such evaluations and implementation of educational technologies are not about technical factors but about opportunities and threats presented by such technologies to the educational experience. These findings also inform future development of the SLE at the institution.
Originality/value: This paper will be of interest to institutions that are undertaking evaluation exercises of their educational technology provision as well as those that are implementing new technologies or considering large scale organisational change
The effectiveness of a single intervention of computer-aided argument mapping in a marketing and a financial accounting subject
An argument map visually represents the structure of an argument, outlining its informal logical connections and informing judgments as to its worthiness. Argument mapping can be augmented with dedicated software that aids the mapping process. Empirical evidence suggests that semesterâlength subjects using argument mapping along with dedicated software can produce remarkable increases in studentsâ critical thinking abilities. Introducing such specialised subjects, however, is often practically and politically difficult. This study ascertains student perceptions of the use of argument mapping in two large, regular, semesterâlength classes in a Business and Economics Faculty at the University of Melbourne. Unlike the semesterâlength expertâled trials in prior research, in our study only one expertâled session was conducted at the beginning of the semester and followed by class practice. Survey results conducted at the end of the semester, show that, with reservations, even this minimalist, âoneâshot inoculationâ of argument mapping is effective in terms of studentsâ perceptions of improvements in their critical thinking skills
Threats Management Throughout the Software Service Life-Cycle
Software services are inevitably exposed to a fluctuating threat picture.
Unfortunately, not all threats can be handled only with preventive measures
during design and development, but also require adaptive mitigations at
runtime. In this paper we describe an approach where we model composite
services and threats together, which allows us to create preventive measures at
design-time. At runtime, our specification also allows the service runtime
environment (SRE) to receive alerts about active threats that we have not
handled, and react to these automatically through adaptation of the composite
service. A goal-oriented security requirements modelling tool is used to model
business-level threats and analyse how they may impact goals. A process flow
modelling tool, utilising Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) and
standard error boundary events, allows us to define how threats should be
responded to during service execution on a technical level. Throughout the
software life-cycle, we maintain threats in a centralised threat repository.
Re-use of these threats extends further into monitoring alerts being
distributed through a cloud-based messaging service. To demonstrate our
approach in practice, we have developed a proof-of-concept service for the Air
Traffic Management (ATM) domain. In addition to the design-time activities, we
show how this composite service duly adapts itself when a service component is
exposed to a threat at runtime.Comment: In Proceedings GraMSec 2014, arXiv:1404.163
Advanced Cloud Privacy Threat Modeling
Privacy-preservation for sensitive data has become a challenging issue in
cloud computing. Threat modeling as a part of requirements engineering in
secure software development provides a structured approach for identifying
attacks and proposing countermeasures against the exploitation of
vulnerabilities in a system . This paper describes an extension of Cloud
Privacy Threat Modeling (CPTM) methodology for privacy threat modeling in
relation to processing sensitive data in cloud computing environments. It
describes the modeling methodology that involved applying Method Engineering to
specify characteristics of a cloud privacy threat modeling methodology,
different steps in the proposed methodology and corresponding products. We
believe that the extended methodology facilitates the application of a
privacy-preserving cloud software development approach from requirements
engineering to design
The strategic implications of black empowerment in South Africa: a case study of boundary choice and client preferences in a small firm
This paper initiates a research programme on the strategic implications of BEE, through an in-depth case study of a small South African services firm. The case involves a meter-reading firm that has adapted flexible boundaries within the value chain to accommodate heterogeneous client preferences shaped by BEE policy. While the case is very specific, the analysis highlights three core features of BEE policy as a strategic variable. Firstly, the case supports an assertion that BEE policy is a demand-based intervention, altering client preferences regarding the value chain. Secondly, the case confirms that BEE is a market-based policy that may be implemented in a variety of ways by different clients. Thirdly, the case shows that firms do not passively respond to BEE policy but explore strategic responses that balance BEE requirements with other organizational goals.Boundaries, Vertical integration, Demand-side; Black empowerment
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