An adaptive environment for personal information management

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This dissertation reports the results of research into the provision of adaptive user interfaces to support individuals in the management of their personal information. Many individuals find that they have increased responsibility for managing aspects of their own lives, including the information associated with their jobs. In contrast with traditional approaches to information management, which are generally driven by organisational or business requirements, the requirements of personal information management systems tend to be less rigidly defined. This dissertation employs research from the areas of personal information management and adaptive user interfaces - systems which can monitor how they are used, and adapt on a personal level to their user - to address some of the particular requirements of personal information management systems. An adaptive user interface can be implemented using a variety of techniques, and this dissertation draws on research from the area of software agents to suggest that reactive software agents can be fruitfully applied to realise the required adaptivity. The reactive approach is then used in the specification and development of an adaptive interface which supports simple elements of personal information management tasks. The resulting application is evaluated by means of user trials and a usability inspection, and the theoretical architectures and techniques used in the specification and development of the software are critically appraised. The dissertation demonstrates an application of reactive software agents in adaptive systems design and shows how the behaviour of the system can be specified based on the analysis of some representative personal information management tasks.EPSRC (Award Reference Number 95700906

Implementation and design of a service-based framework to integrate personal and institutional learning environments

The landscape of teaching and learning has changed in recent years because of the application of Information and Communications technology. Among the most representative innovations in this regard are Learning Management Systems. Despite of their popularity in institutional contexts and the wide set of tools and services that they provide to learners and teachers, they present several issues. Learning Management Systems are linked to an institution and a period of time, and are not adapted to learners' needs. In order to address these problems Personal Learning Environments are defined, but it is clear that these will not replace Learning Management Systems and other institutional contexts. Both types of environment should therefore coexist and interact. This paper presents a service-based framework to facilitate such interoperability. It supports the export of functionalities from the institutional to the personal environment and also the integration within the institution of learning outcomes from personal activities. In order to achieve this in a flexible, extensible and open way, web services and interoperability specifications are used. In addition some interoperability scenarios are posed. The framework has been tested in real learning contexts and the results show that interoperability is possible, and that it benefits learners, teachers and institutions.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Enhanced Management of Personal Astronomical Data with FITSManager

Although the roles of data centers and computing centers are becoming more and more important, and on-line research is becoming the mainstream for astronomy, individual research based on locally hosted data is still very common. With the increase of personal storage capacity, it is easy to find hundreds to thousands of FITS files in the personal computer of an astrophysicist. Because Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) is a professional data format initiated by astronomers and used mainly in the small community, data management toolkits for FITS files are very few. Astronomers need a powerful tool to help them manage their local astronomical data. Although Virtual Observatory (VO) is a network oriented astronomical research environment, its applications and related technologies provide useful solutions to enhance the management and utilization of astronomical data hosted in an astronomer's personal computer. FITSManager is such a tool to provide astronomers an efficient management and utilization of their local data, bringing VO to astronomers in a seamless and transparent way. FITSManager provides fruitful functions for FITS file management, like thumbnail, preview, type dependent icons, header keyword indexing and search, collaborated working with other tools and online services, and so on. The development of the FITSManager is an effort to fill the gap between management and analysis of astronomical data.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in New Astronom

Personal Food Computer: A new device for controlled-environment agriculture

Due to their interdisciplinary nature, devices for controlled-environment agriculture have the possibility to turn into ideal tools not only to conduct research on plant phenology but also to create curricula in a wide range of disciplines. Controlled-environment devices are increasing their functionalities as well as improving their accessibility. Traditionally, building one of these devices from scratch implies knowledge in fields such as mechanical engineering, digital electronics, programming, and energy management. However, the requirements of an effective controlled environment device for personal use brings new constraints and challenges. This paper presents the OpenAg Personal Food Computer (PFC); a low cost desktop size platform, which not only targets plant phenology researchers but also hobbyists, makers, and teachers from elementary to high-school levels (K-12). The PFC is completely open-source and it is intended to become a tool that can be used for collective data sharing and plant growth analysis. Thanks to its modular design, the PFC can be used in a large spectrum of activities.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, Accepted at the 2017 Future Technologies Conference (FTC

The relationships between foreign loans and development project management in the experience of the Loans Control Division of the Department of Highways in Thailand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North Campus, New Zealand

Appendix B in Thai languageThis study is concerned with the relationships between foreign loans and development project management. The main focus of the study is to investigate factors that undermine the effectiveness and efficiency of the management of loan projects in the experience of the Loans Control Division of the Department of Highways in Thailand. The emphasis is on road projects funded through foreign loan schemes because roads are one main infrastructure that requires never-ending financial support, with little or no direct cost recovery. When partly financed with loan monies, road projects also add to the burden of debt repayment for the nation. Thus, one essential objective in implementing road projects is to minimize investments cost by delivering a well-managed project. As loan projects have unique characteristics and require particular management skills, a comprehensive study of the experience of the Loan Control Division will help to reveal solutions to improve the effective and efficient management of other loan projects. The findings suggest that the Loans Control Division is presently facing three main factors that create a hostile environment for the management of loan projects. They are: the differences between local regulations and foreign guidelines; an unsupported working environment and the lack of knowledge and skills. These factors reflect a lack of understanding of loan projects at both national and personal levels. At the national level, it is evident in this study that the merger in the 1990s of local regulations for local projects with those for local projects was based on an ignorance of the requirement to have specific regulations that are compatible with foreign loan guidelines and which support the management of loan projects. At the personal level, the study suggests that the majority of the respondents need specific knowledge and particular skills to help them carry out their work efficiently. Proper orientation and training is inadequate and the knowledge and experience of individuals has not yet been transferred to the organization. It is therefore recommended that to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the management of loan projects, it is essential to take the unique characteristics of each loan project into account and to provide necessary resources, such as an in-house orientation and training programmes, a good working and learning environment, and a handbook or manual for work procedures

Health and safety in the United Kingdom higher education libraries: a review of the literature

The focus of this article is to review the literature relating to health and safety in UK Higher Education libraries. This will include an overview of the literature on accident theories and also the human element. Various key findings emerge from this analysis. Personal safety is achieved through self-responsibility, following guidelines and having a working knowledge of reporting procedures. A safety culture in the work environment is developed through a proactive approach on the part of management, the provision of information, training, and carrying out safety inspections. These inspections are aimed at preventing the environment from creating a situation where an accident could occur. There can never be a work environment in which no accidents will occur and best practice can only minimize the risk of accidents

Space Station Freedom pressurized element interior design process

The process used to develop the on-orbit working and living environment of the Space Station Freedom has some very unique constraints and conditions to satisfy. The goal is to provide maximum efficiency and utilization of the available space, in on-orbit, zero G conditions that establishes a comfortable, productive, and safe working environment for the crew. The Space Station Freedom on-orbit living and working space can be divided into support for three major functions: (1) operations, maintenance, and management of the station; (2) conduct of experiments, both directly in the laboratories and remotely for experiments outside the pressurized environment; and (3) crew related functions for food preparation, housekeeping, storage, personal hygiene, health maintenance, zero G environment conditioning, and individual privacy, and rest. The process used to implement these functions, the major requirements driving the design, unique considerations and constraints that influence the design, and summaries of the analysis performed to establish the current configurations are described. Sketches and pictures showing the layout and internal arrangement of the Nodes, U.S. Laboratory and Habitation modules identify the current design relationships of the common and unique station housekeeping subsystems. The crew facilities, work stations, food preparation and eating areas (galley and wardroom), and exercise/health maintenance configurations, waste management and personal hygiene area configuration are shown. U.S. Laboratory experiment facilities and maintenance work areas planned to support the wide variety and mixtures of life science and materials processing payloads are described

What motivates European firms to adopt environmental management systems?.

The growing world concern about the impact of industrial activities on the environment has motivated companies to adopt Environmental Management Systems (EMSs). Despite this trend, very Httle has been written about the variables associated with the implementation of this type of management tool. This article describes the individual, strategic and organizational variables that a sample of European firms use to determine whether to adopt these EMS. It also discusses the most frequently used environmental standards, the outside influences that motivate directors to implement them and the personal perceptions that playa key role in determining whether the standards will be adopted.Environmental Management Systems; European firms;

Assessing environmental management in agriculture

This paper incorporates interdisciplinary New Institutional Economics and suggests a holistic framework for assessing the forms and efficiency of environmental management in agriculture. First, it defines environmental management as a specific system of social order regulating behaviour and relations of various agents related to natural environment, and environmental management in agriculture as eco-management associated with agricultural production. Second, it specifies spectrum of modes and mechanisms of eco-management comprising: institutional environment, market, private, collective, public and hybrid. Third, it suggests stages in analysis and improvement of environmental management in agriculture including: identification of problems, and risks associated with natural environment; assessment of efficiency of available and feasible modes, and specifying cases of market, private, and public failures; assessment of comparative efficiency of alternative modes for new public intervention and selection of the most efficient one(s). Forth, it classifies personal, institutional, technological, natural, and transaction costs factors of management choice. Finally, it builds a principle governance matrix with the most effective market, private, and public modes taking into account the critical dimensions of eco-activity and transactions (appropriability, assets specificity, uncertainty and frequency), and their potential to coordinate and stimulate eco-activities, meet preferences and reconcile conflicts of individuals, protect eco-rights and investments, overcome uncertainty and risk, assure socially desirable level of environmental protection, and minimize overall (implementing, third-party and transacting) costs.environmental and natural resources governance; institutions, market, private, public and hybrid modes; agriculture