Using ICT tools to manage knowledge: a student perspective in determining the quality of education

Within the e-learning context of a university, technology has the potential to facilitate the knowledge interaction between the source (instructor) and the recipient (students). From a literature review, it can be concluded that prior studies have not explored the types of channels that encourage knowledge transfer in this environment. For example, how explicit knowledge travels through the e-learning environment and goes through interaction processes and is received and acquired is largely unknown. According to Alavi & Leidner (2001), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can help speed up the processes of transferring knowledge from those who have knowledge to those seeking knowledge. Within the university context, technologies such as email, Internet, IRC chat, bulletin boards and tools such as WebCT and BlackBoard have the potential to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and act as a link between source and recipient. Effective knowledge transfer has to consider effective knowledge acquisition, which are therefore inexplicably linked. Nonaka's spiral model addresses knowledge acquisition through spiraling processes in which an individual would be able to convert tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge and vice versa. According to Nonaka & Takeuchi (1995) there are four types of interaction, which give way to the conversion of one form of knowledge into another, namely tacit-to-tacit, tacit-to-explicit, explicit-to-tacit and explicit-to-explicit. In an academic environment, this can be studied as the source, either transferring tacit or explicit knowledge, and similarly as the recipient, receiving knowledge either in tacit or explicit form. Nonaka & Takeuchi (1995) also refer to this as the SECI model, where SECI stands for Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination and Internalisation. This 'Research in Progress' reports the outcomes of a study undertaken to understand how and to what extent knowledge spiraling processes and accompanying characteristics of SECI can be ICT-enabled to contribute towards the studying and learning processes for university education. A survey instrument was developed for this purpose and it is currently undergoing peer-review and other customary validity and reliability tests. Once the instrument is validated, it will be administered on about 50 tertiary students. It is hoped that the results obtained from this survey will be reported in the QIK 2005 conference

Integrating FEUP's print service and information system at CICA

Estágio realizado no CICA-FEUP e orientado pelo Eng.º António Francelino Gomes VianaTese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

Real-time communications over switched Ethernet supporting dynamic QoS management

Doutoramento em Engenharia InformáticaDurante a última década temos assistido a um crescente aumento na utilização de sistemas embutidos para suporte ao controlo de processos, de sistemas robóticos, de sistemas de transportes e veículos e até de sistemas domóticos e eletrodomésticos. Muitas destas aplicações são críticas em termos de segurança de pessoas e bens e requerem um alto nível de determinismo com respeito aos instantes de execução das respectivas tarefas. Além disso, a implantação destes sistemas pode estar sujeita a limitações estruturais, exigindo ou beneficiando de uma configuração distribuída, com vários subsistemas computacionais espacialmente separados. Estes subsistemas, apesar de espacialmente separados, são cooperativos e dependem de uma infraestrutura de comunicação para atingir os objectivos da aplicação e, por consequência, também as transacções efectuadas nesta infraestrutura estão sujeitas às restrições temporais definidas pela aplicação. As aplicações que executam nestes sistemas distribuídos, chamados networked embedded systems (NES), podem ser altamente complexas e heterogéneas, envolvendo diferentes tipos de interacções com diferentes requisitos e propriedades. Um exemplo desta heterogeneidade é o modelo de activação da comunicação entre os subsistemas que pode ser desencadeada periodicamente de acordo com uma base de tempo global (time-triggered), como sejam os fluxos de sistemas de controlo distribuído, ou ainda ser desencadeada como consequência de eventos assíncronos da aplicação (event-triggered). Independentemente das características do tráfego ou do seu modelo de activação, é de extrema importância que a plataforma de comunicações disponibilize as garantias de cumprimento dos requisitos da aplicação ao mesmo tempo que proporciona uma integração simples dos vários tipos de tráfego. Uma outra propriedade que está a emergir e a ganhar importância no seio dos NES é a flexibilidade. Esta propiedade é realçada pela necessidade de reduzir os custos de instalação, manutenção e operação dos sistemas. Neste sentido, o sistema é dotado da capacidade para adaptar o serviço fornecido à aplicação aos respectivos requisitos instantâneos, acompanhando a evolução do sistema e proporcionando uma melhor e mais racional utilização dos recursos disponíveis. No entanto, maior flexibilidade operacional é igualmente sinónimo de maior complexidade derivada da necessidade de efectuar a alocação dinâmica dos recursos, acabando também por consumir recursos adicionais no sistema. A possibilidade de modificar dinâmicamente as caracteristicas do sistema também acarreta uma maior complexidade na fase de desenho e especificação. O aumento do número de graus de liberdade suportados faz aumentar o espaço de estados do sistema, dificultando a uma pre-análise. No sentido de conter o aumento de complexidade são necessários modelos que representem a dinâmica do sistema e proporcionem uma gestão optimizada e justa dos recursos com base em parâmetros de qualidade de serviço (QdS). É nossa tese que as propriedades de flexibilidade, pontualidade e gestão dinâmica de QdS podem ser integradas numa rede switched Ethernet (SE), tirando partido do baixo custo, alta largura de banda e fácil implantação. Nesta dissertação é proposto um protocolo, Flexible Time-Triggered communication over Switched Ethernet (FTT-SE), que suporta as propriedades desejadas e que ultrapassa as limitações das redes SE para aplicações de tempo-real tais como a utilização de filas FIFO, a existência de poucos níveis de prioridade e a pouca capacidade de gestão individualizada dos fluxos. O protocolo baseia-se no paradigma FTT, que genericamente define a arquitectura de uma pilha protocolar sobre o acesso ao meio de uma rede partilhada, impondo desta forma determinismo temporal, juntamente com a capacidade para reconfiguração e adaptação dinâmica da rede. São ainda apresentados vários modelos de distribuição da largura de banda da rede de acordo com o nível de QdS especificado por cada serviço utilizador da rede. Esta dissertação expõe a motivação para a criação do protocolo FTT-SE, apresenta uma descrição do mesmo, bem como a análise de algumas das suas propiedades mais relevantes. São ainda apresentados e comparados modelos de distribuição da QdS. Finalmente, são apresentados dois casos de aplicações que sustentam a validade da tese acima mencionada.During the last decade we have witnessed a massive deployment of embedded systems on a wide applications range, from industrial automation to process control, avionics, cars or even robotics. Many of these applications have an inherently high level of criticality, having to perform tasks within tight temporal constraints. Additionally, the configuration of such systems is often distributed, with several computing nodes that rely on a communication infrastructure to cooperate and achieve the application global goals. Therefore, the communications are also subject to the same temporal constraints set by the application requirements. Many applications relying on such networked embedded systems (NES) are complex and heterogeneous, comprehending different activities with different requirements and properties. For example, the communication between subsystems may follow a strict temporal synchronization with respect to a global time-base (time-triggered), like in a distributed feedback control loop, or it may be issued asynchronously upon the occurrence of events (eventtriggered). Regardless of the traffic characteristics and its activation model, it is of paramount importance having a communication framework that provides seamless integration of heterogeneous traffic sources while guaranteeing the application requirements. Another property that has been emerging as important for NES design and operation is flexibility. The need to reduce installation and operational costs, while facilitating maintenance is promoting a more rational use of the available resources at run-time, exploring the ability to tune service parameters as the system evolves. However, such operational flexibility comes with the cost of increasing the complexity of the system to handle the dynamic resource management, which on the other hand demands the allocation of additional system resources. Moreover, the capacity to dynamically modify the system properties also causes a higher complexity when designing and specifying the system, since the operational state-space increases with the degrees of flexibility of the system. Therefore, in order to bound this complexity appropriate operational models are needed to handle the system dynamics and carry on an efficient and fair resource management strategy based on quality of service (QoS) metrics. This thesis states that the properties of flexibility and timeliness as needed for dynamic QoS management can be provided to switched Ethernet based systems. Switched Ethernet, although initially designed for general purpose Internet access and file transfers, is becoming widely used in NES-based applications. However, COTS switched Ethernet is insufficient regarding the needs for real-time predictability and for supporting the aforementioned properties due the use of FIFO queues too few priority levels and for stream-level management capabilities. In this dissertation we propose a protocol to overcome those limitations, namely the Flexible Time-Triggered communication over Switched Ethernet (FTT-SE). The protocol is based on the FTT paradigm that generically defines a protocol architecture suitable to enforce real-time determinism on a communication network supporting the desired flexibility properties. This dissertation addresses the motivation for FTT-SE, describing the protocol as well as its schedulability analysis. It additionally covers the resource distribution topic, where several distribution models are proposed to manage the resource capacity among the competing services and while considering the QoS level requirements of each service. A couple of application cases are shown that support the aforementioned thesis

Implementation of Time Memory Trade-off attack using MPI on GPC

Time memory trade-off (TMTO) is a computationally intensive cryptographic attack originally introduced by Hellman in 1980. Since then many different improvements and implementations were researched and developed. In this thesis, we propose a frame work to implement TMTO with parallel computing using message passing interface (MPI) which is generic to serve a general cryptographic algorithm with flexibility. We have presented the framework development, design rationale, behavior testing, and proposal for collision handling. For the design rationale, we identified all the components, and features needed to build or expand the framework, and we identified the differences between it and original methodology proposed by Hellman. We explained the rationale behind choosing specific features for our implementation and for adding verification features like XOR cipher. We tested the behavior of the framework using mostly Simeck and partially Speck ciphers. We show that the main issue affecting the effectiveness of the generic implementation is collisions. We concluded that problem is almost completely parallel and coarse grained once we ignore the requirement for uniformly distributed random generation of the starting points. Throughout the program design and job result analysis, it became apparent that collision will be the main challenge so we proposed a fine grained collision detection and avoidance algorithm using parallel computing that should eliminate this problem and increase the coverage of the framework. The proposed algorithm relies on three layers of processes. The difference from the current approach is the middle layer that will be responsible for detecting and preventing collisions using doubly linked list structures. This will also be helpful in detecting cipher biases since it monitors the calculated block over the whole search space

2005-2006 Academic Catalog

https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/academic_catalogs/1008/thumbnail.jp

Automatização de feedback para apoiar o aprendizado no processo de resolução de problemas de programação.

No ensino de programação, é fundamental que os estudantes realizem atividades práticas. Para que sejam bem sucedidos nessas atividades, os professores devem guiá-los, especialmente os iniciantes, ao longo do processo de programação. Consideramos que o processo de programação, no contexto do ensino desta prática, engloba as atividades necessárias para resolver um problema de computação. Este processo é composto por uma série de etapas que são executadas de forma não linear, mas sim iterativa. Nós consideramos o processo de programação adaptado de Polya (1957) para a resolução de problemas de programação, que inclui os seguintes passos [Pól57]: (1) Entender o problema, (2) Planejar a solução, (3) Implementar o programa e (4) Revisar. Com o foco no quarto estágio, nós almejamos que os estudantes tornem-se proficientes em corrigir as suas estratégias e, através de reflexão crítica, serem capazes de refatorar os seus códigos tendo em vista a boa qualidade de programação. Durante a pesquisa deste doutorado, nós desenvolvemos uma abordagem para gerar e fornecer feedback na última fase do processo de programação: avaliação da solução. O desafio foi entregar aos estudantes feedback elaborado e a tempo, referente ás atividades de programação, de forma a estimulá-los a pensar sobre o problema e a sua solução e melhorar as suas habilidades. Como requisito para a geração de feedback, comprometemo-nos a não impormais carga de trabalho aos professores, evitando-os de criar novos artefatos. Extraímos informações a partir do material instrucional já desenvolvido pelos professores quando da criação de uma nova atividade de programação: a solução de referência. Implementamos e avaliamos nossa proposta em um curso de programação introdutória em um estudo longitudinal. Os resultados obtidos no nosso estudo vão além da desejada melhoria na qualidade de código. Observamos que os alunos foram incentivados a melhorar as suas habilidades de programação estimulados pelo exercício de raciocinar sobre uma solução para um problema que já está funcionando.In programming education, the development of students’ programming skills through practical programming assignments is a fundamental activity. In order to succeed in those assignments, instructors need to provide guidance, especially to novice learners, about the programming process. We consider that this process, in the context of programming education, encompasses steps needed to solve a computer-programming problem. We took into consideration the programming process adapted from Polya (1957) to computer programming problem-solving, that includes the following stages [Pól57]: (1) Understand the problem; (2) Plan the solution; (3) Implement the program and (4) Look Back. Focusing on the fourth stage, we want students to be proficient in correcting strategies and, with critical reflection, being able to refactor their code caring about good programming quality. During this doctoral research, we developed an approach to generate formative feedback to leverage programming problem-solving in the last stage of the programming process: targeting the solution evaluation. The challenge was to provide timely and elaborated feedback, referring to programming assignments, to stimulate students to reason about the problem and their solution, aiming to improve their programming skills. As a requirement for generating feedback, we compromised not to impose the creation of new artifacts or instructional materials to instructors, but to take advantage of a usual resource already created when proposing a new programming assignment: the reference solution. We implemented and evaluated our proposal in an introductory programming course in a longitudinal study. The results go beyond what we initially expected: the improved assignments’ code quality. We observed that students felt stimulated, and in fact, improved their programming abilities driven by the exercise of reasoning about their already functioning solution

Virtual Morphology and Evolutionary Morphometrics in the new millenium.

EDITED VOLUME; abstract N/

Factors enabling and constraining ICT implementation in schools: a multiple case study of three secondary schools in Lesotho

This study focused on the implementation of ICTs in secondary schools in Lesotho. The main question addressed was: What are the enabling and constraining factors in the implementation of ICTs in schools? The work was undertaken in recognition of the fact that schools in the country were autonomously acquiring computers and using a variety of curricula without much coordination and policies from the government. There were factors encouraging schools to delve into this educational change: and challenges were already evident. This required further investigation. The research approach commenced with a critical review of the literature. Literature was drawn from developed and developing countries in order to understand the process of ICT implementation from a variety of contexts. The enquiry about the implementation process in all the countries focused on the rationale behind the use of ICTs in schools. ICT policies guiding implementation, principal leadership, teacher professional development and ICT resources. The literature review was followed by case studies of three secondary schools in Mafeteng district in Lesotho. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods of research, the study sought to determine from key people in three case study schools their overall understanding of how the process of implementation was carried out and what they perceived as enablers and constraints. The findings revealed that planning, access arrangements, training, support and to a lesser extent resources played a role in either impeding or encouraging the key ICT implementers at school and classroom level. Additionally, the key role of the principal and the MoE were highlighted in the study

ARTISTIC INTERDISCIPLINARITY AND LA FURA DELS BAUS 1979-1989

PhDThis thesis aims to explore questions of artistic interdisciplinarity through a study of the Catalan theatre company La Fura dels Baus's practice in the period from 1979 to 1989. This study sees artistic interdisciplinarity and La Fura as prominent aspects of contemporary theatre,which have received little critical attention in theatre studies. The general introduction attempts to define a conceptual and contextual framework for this thesis. Chapter 1 examines `artistic interdisciplinarity' as a significant conceptual instrument for this study. Chapter 2 investigates some instances of artistically interdisciplinary practice before and after performance art. Chapter 3 takes a general look at what constitutes the wider social and aesthetic context within which La Fura had its inception. Chapter 4 focuses on the group's early productions in Catalonia from 1979 to 1983, a period often neglected by scholars writing on the company's work. Chapter 5 presents Accions (1983-87),S u o/Suz (1985-91) and TierMon (1988- 90). These three productions comprise the features of the lenguajefurero. Chapter 6,7 and 8 examine these features, La Fura's manipulation of scenic threads such as space, time, sound, image,body and movement as well as the interdisciplinary exchanges with different arts. Chapter 8 also looks at the relations among La Fura's productions and questions of national and aesthetic identities in Catalonia and Spain. The final unit presents the conclusions of this thesis.Through a cross-disciplinary methodology, this thesis has the double ambition of stimulating further debates and actions in re-mapping theatrical language as well as connecting ideas about both main objects of study to an understanding of the art of theatre and its environments at the end of the twentieth century.Coordenagdo de Aperfeicamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES) and the Universidaded e Brasilia (UnB

Playing to engage: Fostering engagement for children and teachers in low socioeconomic regions through science and mathematics play-based learning

Commitment to improving the literacy and numeracy results of children from low Socio Economic Backgrounds (SES) has long been a priority of the Australian Federal and State Governments. Upon entering formal schooling these children frequently start on a back foot compared with their middle and high SES counterparts. Often this is because of differences in their upbringing, including limited access to educational toys, more limited vocabulary as they engage with adults and other children and infrequent attendance at early learning facilities. Over the past decade, as identified by the Australian Chief Scientist, the number of children selecting career pathways into areas such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has been steadily decreasing. Lack of engagement in these subject areas will limit job opportunities for children in the future, cause problems for the economy and diminish Australia’s capacity to develop new technologies and advance science research. For these reasons it is imperative schools provide positive, engaging experiences in these areas. To help address the specific needs of low SES children in improving their academic results and building greater capacity for engagement in the areas of science and mathematics, this thesis explored the implementation and evaluation of a study entitled Playing to Engage in a formal school setting. Specifically, Playing to Engage encompassed the development and implementation of a play-based program, Active Learning in a series of lower primary classrooms. Simultaneously, to help support and strengthen the outcomes from this program, a professional development package targeting science and mathematics play-based experiences was created, and a strategic campaign was implemented to engage parents and promote this style of learning in the classroom. This study utilised a mixed methodology approach incorporating a single case study with action research and participant evaluation to present an holistic interpretation of the research. These approaches provided a cohesive environment where the researcher was able to transition between leading the study and also being a participant, which added an innovative double helix representation to the traditional action research model. A significant focus of the methodological approach was helping teachers to evolve from a passive recipients of professional development, moving along the continuum into andragogy and ultimately higher order heutagogical dimensions where they were able to identify gaps in their own learning and source methods conducive to their personal learning style to meet their learning needs. Throughout the study four meta-themes intertwined to impact on the discussion and findings. These included 1) teacher, parent and children’s differing interpretations of the term play in a primary school context, 2) implementing an inclusive Lesson Study model of professional development specifically linked to play-based learning, science and mathematics to build confidence and versatility in teachers, 3) identifying the significance of and nurturing the development of 21st century skills in both children and teachers in preparation for an unknown, evolving future, and 4) the impact of an Active Learning play-based program on academic achievement including NAPLAN results. Without these four elements interacting with one another, the research would have been incomplete; together they cohesively encapsulate the vision of the study to improve engagement levels in children and teachers in low socioeconomic regions through science and mathematics play-based learning, and their achievement in national testing