A knowledge acquisition assistant for the expert system shell Nexpert-Object

This study addresses the problems of knowledge acquisition in expert system development examines programs whose goal is to solve part of these problems. Among them are knowledge acquisition tools, which provide the knowledge engineer with a set of Artificial Intelligence primitives, knowledge acquisition aids, which offer to the knowledge engineer a guidance in knowledge elicitation, and finally, automated systems, which try to replace the human interviewer with a machine interface. We propose an alternative technique to these approaches: an interactive syntactic analyzer of an emerging knowledge base written with the expert system shell called Nexpert Object. This program intends to help the knowledge engineer during the editing of a knowledge base, both from a knowledge engineering and a knowledge representation point of view. The implementation is a Desk Accessory written in C, running on Macintosh concurrently with Nexpert Object

A learning conversation approach for teacher appraisal and professional development: An investigation of the ways in which specific forms of appraisal of teaching performance evoke different levels of Learning Conversations, and how far this affects teachers' perceptions of their own performance

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Within the parameters of the development, since the 1970s, of the National Teacher Appraisal Scheme, and the current changes in Education, a research programme of observation, video-recording and analysis of teaching performance is described and evaluated. The aim was to ascertain, by means of specific techniques, the value and benefits to teachers in developing their personal and professional levels of experience on the path to becoming self-organised learners. The potential of two specific methods of appraising teachers' classroom performance to generate developmental Learning Conversations is examined and compared. Using video-recordings of their lessons, two groups of ten teachers in one secondary school, individually reflected, discussed and evaluated their own performance with the researcher, by using either conversational repertory grid or conversational rating scale techniques, as the basis for an extended focused Learning Conversation. A third group of ten teachers was intended as a control group. The immediate and longer term developmental effects on the individual teachers, and on the school, were examined as the research activities gradually evolved from an original positivist experimental research paradigm to a conversational action research paradigm. Parallel to the account of the changes and developments in the research project, the impact of the research journey on the personal and professional development of the researcher is also related

Workplace learning through structured interactions

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-114).Individuals need to keep learning to stay employable and compete in today’s job market, and organisations need to keep learning in order to maintain a competitive advantage in the economy. The workplace is thus being recognised as a legitimate environment for learning new skills and knowledge, through participation in everyday work activities. This recognition has led to numerous studies that connect learning and the workplace, giving rise concepts such as ‘the learning organisation’, ‘organisational learning’, ‘workplace learning’ and ‘informal learning’. All of which have created confusion, uncertainty and complexity in understanding how learning takes place. In order to understand how individuals learn in the workplace, and thus understand how organisations can enhance such learning, this study investigates individuals’ perceptions of their workplace as a learning environment and their experiences of learning through participation in work activities

A framework for developing citizen-centric e-government applications in developing countries: The design-reality gap in Uganda

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDE-government should be at the heart of service delivery in developing countries if the life of citizens, especially the socially and economically marginalised, is to be improved. Often in developing contexts, citizens have been treated as recipients of such interventions, in a top-down approach from central governments, resulting in the non-use of such interventions. A situation of non-use of e-services results in wastage of the public fiscus. The extant literature points to a number of underlying causes of the problem. One such problem is the “Design-Reality Gap.

Optimising the prescription and use of lower limb prosthetic technology: a mixed methods approach

Aim: Lower limb amputation is an increasingly prevalent surgical procedure in the Western world due to the increase of peripheral vascular disease. Not everyone who receives a prosthetic limb will benefit from its use and may abandon this expensive technology, a move which may negatively effect their adjustment to the amputation and also impact on their quality of life. There is currently no consensus on the most important outcomes to measure in lower limb prosthetic rehabilitation, or on the specific outcome measures to be consistently used in prosthetic rehabilitation. The aim of this research is to explore ways to optimise lower limb prosthetic prescription by identifying and gaining a consensus on 1) the most important outcomes of prescription, 2) the most important predictors of prosthetic use, and 3) the most important factors which have an effect on optimising use of the prosthesis. Method: This is a mixed methods study. Repertory grid interviews were conducted with 2 lower limb prosthesis users to explore the values and preferences that prosthetic users have of their prosthetic devices; to investigate users’ perceptions of alternative prosthetic options and to demonstrate a novel method for exploring the values and preferences of lower limb prosthetic users. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 12 multidisciplinary service-providers within the amputation rehabilitation setting, and 6 focus groups were completed with 24 prosthesis users to identify the outcomes and predictors of prosthetic prescription from both the patient and professional perspective. This data was then used to create a Delphi survey of 23 experts within the amputation and prosthetic field, including users, service providers and academics, to develop a consensus on the most important factors to address within the prosthetic prescription process. Findings: The repertory grid interviews highlighted the need to include patient choice and opinion in the prosthetic prescription process, while the focus groups and interviews identified the outcomes and predictors of prosthetic prescription while ascertaining what other factors affect optimal use of the prosthesis. These factors were physical, psychological and social in nature, and in particular, showed how service provision affects optimal use. A consensus on the most important factors to address in the fitting process and service was then established in the Delphi study. Conclusion: By combining user and practitioner knowledge throughout the study, this research has developed a list of the essential elements to be monitored and improved in prosthetic prescription to improve outcomes, as well as highlighting the importance of patient inclusion and choice within the rehabilitation setting. This research indicates how fitting centres can potentially improve the service with the hope of improving fitting rates and user satisfaction and reducing the waste of medical resources