Digital Preservation and Web Access to the Konkoly Observatory Schmidt Telescope Plate Archive

ACM Computing Classification System (1998): J.2.The digital preservation of the Konkoly Observatory Schmidt telescope plates, as well as the web access to the plate previews, aim for the preservation of this scientific heritage and the re-use of the astronomical photographic plates in time domain astronomy. The photographic plates used as detectors and information storage at astronomical observations with the Konkoly Schmidt telescope had been obtained in the period 1962–1996. The work on the digital plate preservation and web access started in 2001 with creation of an electronic plate catalogue and the digitization of selected representative plates as well as with interlinking of the publishing in Konkoly Observatory Information Bulletin on Variable Stars (IBVS) with the Wide-Field Plate Database (WFPDB) developing in Sofia. We describe the process of the digitization of the Konkoly Schmidt telescope plates.This work is supported by the bilateral project between the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and partially by the grants BG NSF DO-02-273 and BG NSF DO-02-275

Digital Preservation and Web Access to the Konkoly Observatory Schmidt Telescope Plate Archive

ACM Computing Classification System (1998): J.2.The digital preservation of the Konkoly Observatory Schmidt telescope plates, as well as the web access to the plate previews, aim for the preservation of this scientific heritage and the re-use of the astronomical photographic plates in time domain astronomy. The photographic plates used as detectors and information storage at astronomical observations with the Konkoly Schmidt telescope had been obtained in the period 1962–1996. The work on the digital plate preservation and web access started in 2001 with creation of an electronic plate catalogue and the digitization of selected representative plates as well as with interlinking of the publishing in Konkoly Observatory Information Bulletin on Variable Stars (IBVS) with the Wide-Field Plate Database (WFPDB) developing in Sofia. We describe the process of the digitization of the Konkoly Schmidt telescope plates.This work is supported by the bilateral project between the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and partially by the grants BG NSF DO-02-273 and BG NSF DO-02-275

Методи за семантично описание на цифрови данни в областта на медицинските системи

The article discusses modern approaches to the study of patients with cardiac complaints. Methods for semantic description of digital data in the field of medical systems and construction of an ontology for Holter monitoring system are presented. A method of efficient organization of unstructured data used in this system has been studied.Научното изследване е проведено като част от проекта „Изследване на приложението на нови математически методи за анализ на кардиологични данни“ № КП06-Н22/5 от 07.12.2018 г., финансиран от Фонд „Научни Изследвания“

UML consistency rules: a systematic mapping study

Context: The Unified Modeling Language (UML), with its 14 different diagram types, is the de-facto standard tool for objectoriented modeling and documentation. Since the various UML diagrams describe different aspects of one, and only one, software under development, they are not independent but strongly depend on each other in many ways. In other words, the UML diagrams describing a software must be consistent. Inconsistencies between these diagrams may be a source of the considerable increase of faults in software systems. It is therefore paramount that these inconsistencies be detected, ana

Spaces for interactive engagement or technology for differential academic participation? Google Groups for collaborative learning at a South African University

Published ArticleThe rhetoric on the potential of Web 2.0 technologies to democratize online engagement of students often overlooks the discomforting, differential participation and asymmetrical engagement that accompanies student adoption of emerging technologies. This paper, therefore, constitutes a critical reality check for student adoption of technology to the extent that it explores the potential of Google Groups (i.e. self-organised online groups) to leverage collaborative engagement and balanced participation of students with minimal educator support. Community of Inquiry and a case study approach involving in-depth interviews with racially mixed students and Google Group artifacts were drawn upon as theoretical and methodological lenses for examining the equality of participation, academic rigor and complexity of engagement in Google Groups. Study findings were mixed: a semblance of authentic peer-based engagements, emergent academic networking, and inter-racial communication in Google Groups was juxtaposed with gender asymmetries in participation, dominance of group administrators’ postings and shallow collaborative engagements. The study, therefore, recommends actively engaged Group leaders who steer gender and racially balanced engagements, scaffold peer on-task behavior; including a sound pedagogical strategy anchored in collaborative problem-solving; authentic construction of knowledge; effective completion of collaborative tasks by students; and constructive assessments by the educator and peers

THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Technology-based foreign language teaching has provided many effective strategies in the learning process. The use of technology in teaching leads to a good command of the target language with ease. Learners stand a better chance of improving their foreign language skills if learning is strengthened with technology; therefore, technology-aided learning environment is a key factor that motivates the learners to accomplish better. This study puts forward how technology-based instruction helps learners achieve success in foreign language learning process

E-Governance: Strategy for Mitigating Non-Inclusion of Citizens in Policy Making in Nigeria

The Nigerian federation that currently has 36 states structure adopted the Weberian Public Administrative system before now as an ideal way of running government, which was characterized with the traditional way of doing things without recourse to the deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Today e-governance is seen as a paradigm shift from the previous way of governance. Research has shown that, the adoption and implementation of e-governance is more likely to bring about effective service delivery, mitigate corruption and ultimately enhance citizens’ participation in governmental affairs. However, it has been argued that infrastructure such as regular electricity power and access to the Internet, in addition to a society with high rate of literacy level are required to effectively implement and realize the potentials of e-governance for improved delivery of services. Due to the difficulties currently experienced, developing nations need to adequately prepare for the implementation of e-governance on the platform of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Hence, this study seeks to examine whether the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the context of Nigeria would mitigate the hitherto non-inclusion of citizens in the formulation and implementation of government policies aimed at enhanced development. To achieve the objective of the study, data were sourced and analyzed majorly by examining government websites of 20 states in the Nigerian federation to ascertain if there are venues for citizens to interact with government in the area of policy making and feedback on government actions, as a way of promoting participatory governance. The study revealed that the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the country is yet to fully take place. This is due to lack of infrastructure, low level of literacy rate and government inability to provide the necessary infrastructure for e-governance to materialize. The paper therefore, recommends among others the need for the Federal Government to involve a sound and clear policy on how to go about the adoption and implementation of egovernance through deliberate effort at increasing budgetary allocation towards infrastructural development and mass education of citizens

The Impact of e-Democracy in Political Stability of Nigeria

The history of the Nigerian electoral process has been hitherto characterized by violence stemming from disputes in election outcomes. For instance, violence erupted across some states in Northern Nigeria when results indicated that a candidate who was popular in that part of the country was losing the election leading to avoidable loss of lives. Beside, this dispute in election outcome lingers for a long time in litigation at the electoral tribunals which distracts effective governance. However, the increasing penetrating use of ICTs in Nigeria is evident in the electoral processes with consequent shift in the behavior of actors in the democratic processes, thus changing the ways Nigerians react to election outcomes. This paper examines the trend in the use ICT in the Nigerian political system and its impact on the stability of the polity. It assesses the role of ICT in recent electoral processes and compares its impact on the outcome of the process in lieu of previous experiences in the Nigeria. Furthermore, the paper also examines the challenges and risks of implementing e-Democracy in Nigeria and its relationship to the economy in the light of the socio-economic situation of the country. The paper adopted qualitative approach in data gathering and analysis. From the findings, the paper observed that e-democracy is largely dependent on the level of ICT adoption, which is still at its lowest ebb in the country. It recognizes the challenges in the provision of ICT infrastructure and argues that appropriate low-cost infrastructure applicable to the Nigerian condition can be made available to implement e-democracy and thus arouse the interest of the populace in governance, increase the number of voters, and enhance transparency, probity and accountability, and participation in governance as well as help stabilize the nascent democrac

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse