Computerized Administrative Decision Making and Fundamental Rights

Taking as a departure point the introduction of expert systems in the field of administrative adjudication, this paper aims to present some of the issues and problems that the law and jurists will face as a result of new informational technologies. After an examination of how these technologies would function in a legal context, and a short discussion concerning administrative justice as it is now conceived and experienced, the impact of computerized administrative decision-making is examined. The paper assesses the likely impact of expert systems on administrative normativity, on the decision-making process, and on the quality of decisions made. This discussion shows, among other things, that the conception of expert systems in law might lead to a major change in the way jurists understand law and its functions. It also shows that the introduction of expert systems into administrative matters carries some major implications about the way law functions in action

Computerized Administrative Decision Making and Fundamental Rights

Taking as a departure point the introduction of expert systems in the field of administrative adjudication, this paper aims to present some of the issues and problems that the law and jurists will face as a result of new informational technologies. After an examination of how these technologies would function in a legal context, and a short discussion concerning administrative justice as it is now conceived and experienced, the impact of computerized administrative decision-making is examined. The paper assesses the likely impact of expert systems on administrative normativity, on the decision-making process, and on the quality of decisions made. This discussion shows, among other things, that the conception of expert systems in law might lead to a major change in the way jurists understand law and its functions. It also shows that the introduction of expert systems into administrative matters carries some major implications about the way law functions in action

Hypermedia computer-based education in social work education

Journal ArticleHypermedia computer-based education (CBE) is an emerging information technology that makes possible user-directed, nonsequential exploration of, and interaction with, information presented through a variety of media including text, animation, graphics, sound, and video

Computer Science Education and Interdisciplinarity

The world today is characterized through three major elements in the scientific field: the development of classical sciences, the increasingly evolution in the field of computer science and, as result, the emergence of a large number of new border sciences or interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary sciences. In the formation of future specialists, computer science education cannot ignore the reality of a society in which research and technological progress are based primarily on interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity. Throughout this chapter, we will analyze the way in which all these elements are evolving in a very closely interdependency one of each other: the evolution of computer science accelerates the development of classical sciences, and the development of classical sciences and computer science generates the emergence and progress of new border sciences and how the educational curricula in computer sciences have to be adapted to this trend. We will present and analyze the ways in which computer science education can be performed in an interdisciplinary and/or transdisciplinary manner at all educational levels. In the same time, we will emphasize the reasons why it is necessary to teach computer science in an interdisciplinary and/or transdisciplinary way and the benefits that teaching strategy brings in the training of future specialists

Scoping a vision for formative e-assessment: a project report for JISC

Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. If the relationship between teaching and learning were causal, i. e. if students always mastered the intended learning outcomes of a particular sequence of instruction, assessment would be superfluous. Experience and research suggest this is not the case: what is learnt can often be quite different from what is taught. Formative assessment is motivated by a concern with the elicitation of relevant information about student understanding and / or achievement, its interpretation and an exploration of how it can lead to actions that result in better learning. In the context of a policy drive towards technology-enhanced approaches to teaching and learning, the question of the role of digital technologies is key and it is the latter on which this project particularly focuses. The project and its deliverables have been informed by recent and relevant literature, in particular recent work by Black andIn this work, they put forward a framework which suggests that assessment for learning their term for formative assessment can be conceptualised as consisting of a number of aspects and five keystrategies. The key aspects revolve around the where the learner is going, where the learner is right now and how she can get there and examines the role played by the teacher, peers and the learner. Language: English Keywords: assessments, case studies, design patterns, e-assessmen

The organizational implications of medical imaging in the context of Malaysian hospitals

This research investigated the implementation and use of medical imaging in the context of Malaysian hospitals. In this report medical imaging refers to PACS, RIS/HIS and imaging modalities which are linked through a computer network. The study examined how the internal context of a hospital and its external context together influenced the implementation of medical imaging, and how this in turn shaped organizational roles and relationships within the hospital itself. It further investigated how the implementation of the technology in one hospital affected its implementation in another hospital. The research used systems theory as the theoretical framework for the study. Methodologically, the study used a case-based approach and multiple methods to obtain data. The case studies included two hospital-based radiology departments in Malaysia. The outcomes of the research suggest that the implementation of medical imaging in community hospitals is shaped by the external context particularly the role played by the Ministry of Health. Furthermore, influences from both the internal and external contexts have a substantial impact on the process of implementing medical imaging and the extent of the benefits that the organization can gain. In the context of roles and social relationships, the findings revealed that the routine use of medical imaging has substantially affected radiographers’ roles, and the social relationships between non clinical personnel and clinicians. This study found no change in the relationship between radiographers and radiologists. Finally, the approaches to implementation taken in the hospitals studied were found to influence those taken by other hospitals. Overall, this study makes three important contributions. Firstly, it extends Barley’s (1986, 1990) research by explicitly demonstrating that the organization’s internal and external contexts together shape the implementation and use of technology, that the processes of implementing and using technology impact upon roles, relationships and networks and that a role-based approach alone is inadequate to examine the outcomes of deploying an advanced technology. Secondly, this study contends that scalability of technology in the context of developing countries is not necessarily linear. Finally, this study offers practical contributions that can benefit healthcare organizations in Malaysia

Algorithm and Decision in Musical Composition

Through a series of creative projects this doctorate set out to research how computer-assisted composition (CAC) of music affects decision-making in my compositional practice. By reporting on the creative research journey, this doctorate is a contribution towards a better understanding of the implications of CAC by offering new insights into the composing process. It is also a contribution to the composition discipline as new techniques were devised, together with new applications of existing techniques. Using OpenMusic as the sole programming environment, the manual/machine interface was explored through different balances between manual and algorithmic composition and through aesthetic reflection guiding the composing process. This helped clarify the purpose, adequacy and nature of each method as decisions were constantly being taken towards completing the artistic projects. The most suitable use of algorithms was as an environment for developing, testing, refining and assessing compositional techniques and the music materials they generate: a kind of musical laboratory. As far as a technique can be described by a set of rules, algorithms can help formulate and refine it. Also capable of incorporating indeterminism, they can act as powerful devices in discovering unforeseen musical implications and results. Algorithms alone were found to be insufficient to simulate human creative thought because aspects such as (but not limited to) imagination, judgement and personal bias could only, and hypothetically, be properly simulated by the most sophisticated forms of artificial intelligence. Furthermore, important aspects of composition such as instrumentation, articulation and orchestration were not subjected to algorithmic treatment because, not being sufficiently integrated in OpenMusic currently, they would involve a great deal of knowledge to be specified and adapted to computer language. These shortcomings of algorithms, therefore, implied varying degrees of manual interventions to be carried out on raw materials coming out of their evaluations. A combination of manual and algorithmic composition was frequently employed so as to properly handle musical aspects such as cadence, discourse, monotony, mechanicalness, surprise, and layering, among others. The following commentary illustrates this varying dialogue between automation and intervention, placing it in the wider context of other explorations at automating aspects of musical composition

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems (SIMPHS): Report on Typology/Segmentation of the PHS Market

This market segmentation reports for Personal Health Systems (PHS) describes the methodological background and illustrates the principles of classification and typology regarding different fragments forming this market. It discusses different aspects of the market for PHS and highlights challenges towards a stringent and clear-cut typology or defining market segmentation. Based on these findings a preliminary hybrid typology and indications and insights are created in order to be used in the continuation of the SIMPHS project. It concludes with an annex containing examples and cases studies.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ