Science as a Social System and Virtual Research Environment

The accumulation of gradual changes in scientific landscape and research practice due to the Internet has the potential to enhance the quality of both cognitive and social aspects of science and scientists. New types of research outputs, modes of scientific communication and new circulation mechanisms, as well as enhanced opportunities for scientific re-use and measuring research impact, in combination with new approaches to research assessment and evaluation are all having profound effects on the social system of science. To be sure that these innovations will not break the social sustainability of the science community, it will be valuable to develop a model of science as a tool for computer simulation of social consequences from possible innovations within virtual research environment. Focusing on possible social problems related to these new virtual research environments this short paper provides a brief analysis of the current situation in science (challenges, problems, main actors), general views on model of science (landscape, main agents, important properties, etc.) and on areas where simulation can contribute to better understanding of possible futures for the scientific community.Virtual Research Environment, Science System Social Sustainability, Agent Based Modeling

Two theoretical dimensions of the cyber hate crime

The impact and relationship between technologies and society establish the development of certain adaptive models, based on coexistence (Human-information-Machine), as well as several behavioral and cognitive changes of the human being, and new models of influence and social control through ubiquitous communication. which is the basis of a new social units called "virtual communities". The rupture of social norms that accompanies rapid social change, and subsequently the appearance of sub-cultural values establishes gaining status of participation in criminal activities, the components of social unites in general conform to social norms by social ties. the individuals or groups see themselves unfairly disadvantaged compared to other similar individuals, within physical-cybernetic ecosystem environment, which supports the interconnection and transformation of social phenomenon of digital dimension, with several implications in cyber hate crime. Thereby establishing the theoretical basis for further research looking which social vulnerability, identify the trajectory of the massive vector of impact "Information", which is a component of social cybernetics from the following three dimensions: (P) Propagation - (R) Replica - (C) Control called the "Cyber Hate Crime Pathway" that links hate crimes within the cyber-physical ecosystem, and where different types of social vulnerability are established. This study incorporates an epistemology approach of the relation between social and cybernetic theories, that will allow establishing a scientific base for future research in the field of new phenomena that will continue to appear within the Physical-Cybernetic ecosystem. It will also allow the contributions and implications to science derived from the product of this research establish a global holistic field applied to criminal justice system, academic and the new entities of social cybernetic

Visual Identity as a Form of Communication in MMORPG

The Visual identity of an in game simulated world (virtual reality) is a factor defined and established by the visual identity of all elements of the environment. Each of the (cultural, social, biological) visual elements is part of a system defining all levels of experience within the virtual reality world. Communication forms are crucial in defining the specifics of any particular element which in turn designs specific experience (for each of the agents immersed in the virtual reality). Specific experience is dependent on visual communication rules emerged through the construction of definite visual identity elements of an in game simulated world, and an understanding of particular game requests that both the visual elements and the visual identity structure as a whole must satisfy. The theme of Visual identity is very important for future development of convincing virtual reality in MMORPG and as a part of communication research for further development of Information science

Vision for the Engagement of the e-Facilitator in School in the Inspiring Science Education Environment

The Inspiring Science Education project is all about elaborating a learning environment using an inquiry based learning (IBL) approach. The Inspiring Science Education portal as a main part of the environment is the place where a registered user can find (create) eLearning Tools and digital educational resources, which can be used in class and as a place to connect with like-minded teachers and schools around Europe to share experiences and collaborate on projects. On the other hand, starting from 2009 in various EU countries, including Bulgaria, research was done to describe and categorize the professional profile of the e-facilitator, carrier of the mission to overcome digital divide between the generations, through implementing ICT knowledge. Our team worked on the requirements and explored the need for an e-facilitator in school as a major ICT expert and consultant, who empowers access to the electronic services in the e-education space, facilitates links with virtual libraries, acts as initiator and architect of social communication by forming communities involving all participants in the learning process—students, teachers, parents, administration, etc. This paper expresses the author’s projection of the roles and functionalities of the e-facilitator in school in the Inspiring Science Education environment. ACM Computing Classification System (1998): K.3.1

The PP&S100 Project: Process Control as an Information System Instance

The Project PP&S100, Problem Posing & Solving, is part of a set of initiatives promoted by the General Directorate of the Italian Ministry of Education, Research and University, for supporting the many innovations that have recently affected curricula at the upper secondary level. Main goals of the project include strengthening computer science culture and enhancing its role as a scientific discipline; founding education processes on logics, mathematics and computer science weaved together to pursue an interdisciplinary scenario, building a culture of "problem posing and solving" by investing across a broad disciplinary group of subjects, ensuring growth of computer science based training of trainers and practicing activities within specific social networks and virtual learning environment to share learning materials, teaching supplies, mentoring and self-evaluation. This work presents a hierarchical conceptual model for "Computational Thinking" assumed by PP&S100, formalized according to the outcomes shown by information systems courses held at the Politecnico di Torino and validated using Process Control as an information system instanc

CERN for AGI: A Theoretical Framework for Autonomous Simulation-Based Artificial Intelligence Testing and Alignment

This paper explores the potential of a multidisciplinary approach to testing and aligning artificial general intelligence (AGI) and LLMs. Due to the rapid development and wide application of LLMs, challenges such as ethical alignment, controllability, and predictability of these models have become important research topics. This study investigates an innovative simulation-based multi-agent system within a virtual reality framework that replicates the real-world environment. The framework is populated by automated 'digital citizens,' simulating complex social structures and interactions to examine and optimize AGI. Application of various theories from the fields of sociology, social psychology, computer science, physics, biology, and economics demonstrates the possibility of a more human-aligned and socially responsible AGI. The purpose of such a digital environment is to provide a dynamic platform where advanced AI agents can interact and make independent decisions, thereby mimicking realistic scenarios. The actors in this digital city, operated by the LLMs, serve as the primary agents, exhibiting high degrees of autonomy. While this approach shows immense potential, there are notable challenges and limitations, most significantly the unpredictable nature of real-world social dynamics. This research endeavors to contribute to the development and refinement of AGI, emphasizing the integration of social, ethical, and theoretical dimensions for future research.Comment: 32 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Urban Emotions and Realtime Planning Methods

The Urban Emotions approach combines methods and technologies from Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), Social Media, sensors and bio-statistical sensors to detect people’s perception for a new perspective about urban environment. In short, it is a methodology for gaining and extracting contextual information of emotion by using technologies from real-time human sensing systems and crowdsourcing methods. “Real-time planning” describes a system in which planning disciplines get a toolset for a fast and simple creation of visualization or simulation from municipal geodata in a consistent workflow. This includes applications from Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality as well as the above mentioned combination of real-time humane sensors and urban sensing systems. Due to the fact, that a real existing city never corresponds with a laboratory situation, Virtual Reality can be one of the solutions to fill the gap for detecting people’s perceptions concerning design, while filtering other unintended side effects. Insights and results from Urban Emotions project, granted by German Research Foundation and Austrian Science Fond, will be presented in this contribution. It is based on a German contribution, published earlier this year (Zeile 2017)

Eficacia instruccional de diversas herramientas de la web 2.0 en la mejora de competencias ocupacionales

Se analiza la eficacia instruccional de diversas herramientas de la web 2.0 en la mejora de competencias ocupacionales. Para ello, se ha diseñado un programa instruccional, Fomento de Competencias Ocupacionales (FOCO), con el que se pretenden alcanzar diversas competencias ocupacionales todo ello a través de la competencia comunicativa escrita y a partir de varias herramientas de la web 2.0 entre las que se encuentran un “Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) ó Learning Management System (LMS) ó Course Management System (CMS), foro y YouTube”. A las que se añaden otras aplicaciones web. Por tanto, con esta investigación se espera que mejore la competencia digital y en comunicación lingüística escrita de los participantes, que se adquieran diversas competencias tanto básicas como específicas y que se analice el valor de la web como herramienta de enseñanza, de aprendizaje y de intercambio social. Durante la realización de este estudio se recibieron ayudas competitivas del proyecto del MICINN (EDU2010-19250) para el trienio 2010-2013; concedido al IP (J.N. García); así como dos Becas FPI del MICINN adscritas a los proyectos (M. L. Álvarez; J. García Martín).We analyze the instructional effectiveness of various Web 2.0 tools to improve occupational skills. For that purpose, we have designed an instructional program, Occupational Skills Development (FOCO). The student of this program will achieve various occupational skills through written communication competence and from several web 2.0 tools among which are a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) or Learning Management System (LMS) or Course Management System (CMS), forums and YouTube. To which are added other Web applications. Thus, this research is expected to improve digital competence and written competence of participants, acquired various basic and specific skills and to analyze the value of the web as a tool for teaching, learning and sharing social. We received competitive funds from the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research MICINN project (EDU2010-19250) for the triennium 2010-2013, awarded to IP (J.N. García) and two FPI Grants MICINN attached to projects (ML Álvarez, J. García Martín)

Using Blended Learning To Support Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic To Increase Credit Recovery Passage Rates: A Mixed-methods Study

During the spring of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forever changed the lives of Americans. Being an educator, I experienced the school shutdowns of March 2020 and felt the impacts on our educational system on a personal level. More students than ever failed courses needed to be promoted and to graduate high school. This led to more students at my school needing to take VirtualSC credit recovery courses. VirtualSC credit recovery courses are fully virtual and have no face-to-face interactions with teachers. Instead, they are self-paced courses that provide students with learning modules that they move through as they master each unit. Given the social isolation that many students experienced during the school shutdowns, my experience as a school counselor led me to believe that our school needed to provide more social support and academic remediation for students who would continue to take fully virtual courses even after they returned to in-person learning. The purpose of this improvement science research study was to answer the research question: What impact does blended learning have on students taking virtual credit recovery? The Theoretical Framework that guided this study was Trauma-Informed practices due to the academic learning losses and the negative social-emotional toll that students experienced during the Covid-19 school shutdowns from Spring 2020 through the 2021 school years. This study involved providing blended learning to a class of 28 freshmen students taking a VirtualSC credit recovery course that they needed for graduation. Students were provided with a daily class period during the semester in which they had consistent internet access, an academically supportive classroom environment, and face-to-face certified teachers who could help them in real-time in their courses. A mixed-method research design allowed for multiple modalities of data collection to be gathered and analyzed. Qualitative data provided an understanding of both students’ and teachers’ perceptions of how a lack of in-person teaching and social interactions led to an increased need for credit recovery courses as well as an increased need for social interactions among student peer groups and between students and teachers. Quantitative data provided evidence that there was a significant relationship between the blended learning interventions that were established and implemented in this study and credit recovery passage rates. The research findings supported using blended learning to help academically at-risk students pass their credit recovery courses and get back on track to graduation in four years

Blind data aggregation from distributed, protected sources: the future model for security-oriented collaborations

Successful e-health research depends on access to and usage of a wide range of clinical, biomedical, social, geo-spatial, environmental and other data sets. In large scale, multi-centre clinical studies crossing geographical and organizational divides, the need to access, link and aggregate data securely is essential. Whilst the e-Science community have come up with a wide variety of technologies that support authentication and authorization, past experiences from working with organizations such as the National Health Service (NHS) in projects such as the MRC funded Virtual Organizations for Trials and Epidemiological Studies (VOTES) project, have shown that irrespective of the technological advances and capabilities offered by the e-Science community, data providers themselves are typically unwilling to provide direct access to their data sets, i.e. through penetration of the NHS firewall for example from HE/FE. There are many reasons for this which we outline in this paper, both pragmatic and technological. Ultimately, data providers and the key stakeholders in this space are acutely aware of confidentiality and ethics concerns on data access and usage. They will only release their data provided it can be ensured that it is not possible to link it with other data sets that can result in potential violations of patient confidentiality for example through statistical disclosure. This paper presents a novel approach and its implementation that directly addresses these issues, providing a so-called Virtual Anonymisation Grid for Unified Access to Remote Clinical Data (Vanguard). Key features of Vanguard are its support for pull models of interaction with data providers such as the NHS, who do not necessarily have to open up their firewalls and thereby open themselves up to risks of attack; support of secure, anonymous data aggregation; support for novel ways in which data release to users undertaking research allows them to obtain and use data in a secure, disclosure free environment where third parties cannot access/use any released data. We demonstrate this through case studies applying the Vanguard system to clinical scenarios and systems working with the NHS in Scotland