Unlocking the potential of public sector information with Semantic Web technology

Governments often hold very rich data and whilst much of this information is published and available for re-use by others, it is often trapped by poor data structures, locked up in legacy data formats or in fragmented databases. One of the great benefits that Semantic Web (SW) technology offers is facilitating the large scale integration and sharing of distributed data sources. At the heart of information policy in the UK, the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the part of the UK government charged with enabling the greater re-use of public sector information. This paper describes the actions, findings, and lessons learnt from a pilot study, involving several parts of government and the public sector. The aim was to show to government how they can adopt SW technology for the dissemination, sharing and use of its data

Transformational maintenance by reuse of design histories

This thesis provides theory and procedures for modifying software artifacts implemented by a formal transformation process. Installing modifications requires knowing not only what transformations were applied (a derivation history) to construct the artifact, but also why the application sequence ensures that the artifact meets its specification. The derivation history and the justification are collectively called a design history. A Design Maintenance System (DMS), when provided with a formal change called a maintenance delta, revises a design history to guide construction of a new artifact. A DMS can be used to integrate a stream of deltas into a history, providing implementations as a side effect, leading to an incremental-evolution model for software construction.We provide a broadly applicable formal model of transformation systems in which specifications are performance predicates, subsuming the functional specifications which are traditional for transformation systems. Such performance predicates provide vocabulary used in the design history to describe the effect of applying sets of transformations.A nonprocedural, performance-goal-oriented Transformation Control Language (TCL) is defined to control navigation of the design space for a transformation system. Recording the execution of a TCL metaprogram directly provides a design history.A complete classification of, and representation for, the set of possible maintenance deltas is given in terms of the inputs defined by the transformation system model. Such deltas include not only specification changes, but also changes to implementation support technologies. Delta integration procedures for revising derivation histories given functional or support technology deltas are provided, based on rearranging the order of transformations in the design space. Building on these operations, integration procedures that revise the design history for each type of delta are described. An agenda-oriented TCL execution process dovetails smoothly with the integration procedures.Our DMS is compared to a number of other maintenance systems. By using an explicit delta and verified commutativity, our DMS often reuses transformations correctly when others fail

USTOPIA REQUIREMENTS THOUGHTS ON A USER-FRIENDLY SYSTEM FOR TRANSFORMATION OF PROGRAMS IN ABSTRACTO

Transformational programming is a program development method which is usually applied using 'pen and paper'. Since this requires a lot of clerical work (copying expressions, con- sistent substitution) which is tiresome and prone to error, some form of machine support is desirable. In this paper a number of systems are described that have already been built to this aim. Some of their shortcomings and limitations are identified. Based on experience with program transformation and transformation systems, a long list of features is given that would be useful in an 'utopian' transformation system. This list is presented using an orthogonal division of the problem area. A number of problems with the realisation of some aspects of our 'utopian' system are identified, and some areas for further research are indicated

Tactics for Transformational Programming

This paper discusses the relationship between transformational programming and theorem proving. It illustrates the use of the theorem proving environment as a basis for a program construction tool DEBATE 1 (Deduction Based Transformational Environment) which is under construction in University College Dublin. Using a theorem proving framework directly would require the user to be familiar with theorem proving details. The tool user should only be concerned with transformational programming steps and not with theorem proving activities. Therefore a layer of transformational tactics are discussed and presented. These tactics consist of the application of theoremproving tactics. However, they ensure that the user’s only interaction with DEBATE are design decisions required within the transformational programming paradigm. The N Queens problem is used throughout the paper to demonstrate how the Isabelle theorem prover is adapted by a transformation tactic layer so that it may be used as a program construction tool

ICOPER Project - Deliverable 4.3 ISURE: Recommendations for extending effective reuse, embodied in the ICOPER CD&R

The purpose of this document is to capture the ideas and recommendations, within and beyond the ICOPER community, concerning the reuse of learning content, including appropriate methodologies as well as established strategies for remixing and repurposing reusable resources. The overall remit of this work focuses on describing the key issues that are related to extending effective reuse embodied in such materials. The objective of this investigation, is to support the reuse of learning content whilst considering how it could be originally created and then adapted with that ‘reuse’ in mind. In these circumstances a survey on effective reuse best practices can often provide an insight into the main challenges and benefits involved in the process of creating, remixing and repurposing what we are now designating as Reusable Learning Content (RLC). Several key issues are analysed in this report: Recommendations for extending effective reuse, building upon those described in the previous related deliverables 4.1 Content Development Methodologies and 4.2 Quality Control and Web 2.0 technologies. The findings of this current survey, however, provide further recommendations and strategies for using and developing this reusable learning content. In the spirit of ‘reuse’, this work also aims to serve as a foundation for the many different stakeholders and users within, and beyond, the ICOPER community who are interested in reusing learning resources. This report analyses a variety of information. Evidence has been gathered from a qualitative survey that has focused on the technical and pedagogical recommendations suggested by a Special Interest Group (SIG) on the most innovative practices with respect to new media content authors (for content authoring or modification) and course designers (for unit creation). This extended community includes a wider collection of OER specialists. This collected evidence, in the form of video and audio interviews, has also been represented as multimedia assets potentially helpful for learning and useful as learning content in the New Media Space (See section 4 for further details). Section 2 of this report introduces the concept of reusable learning content and reusability. Section 3 discusses an application created by the ICOPER community to enhance the opportunities for developing reusable content. Section 4 of this report provides an overview of the methodology used for the qualitative survey. Section 5 presents a summary of thematic findings. Section 6 highlights a list of recommendations for effective reuse of educational content, which were derived from thematic analysis described in Appendix A. Finally, section 7 summarises the key outcomes of this work

Sustainable Packaging Solutions within Machinery Spare Parts Supply Chain : Replacing single-use plastic packaging

The harmful effects of plastic is a topic under discussion worldwide and its usage is a concern despite the industry in environmental, political and society contexts. It is important to maintain this planet to the further generations and it requires everyone to take their responsibility by acting with sustainable manners. This thesis is a study over how packaging of machinery spare parts could be developed more sustainable with a focus on single-use plastic packaging. It is also a market research, whether this topic has already been acknowledged in this industry and if sustainable developments within packaging would increase the value brought to customers. The aim is to find optional ways to replace the use of single-use plastic in packaging. However, the most important role of packaging is to protect the goods and enable their safe and efficient delivery to customer; this fact cannot be overlooked, when considering new ways in packaging of globally operating supply chains. This study analyzes quantitative and qualitative data and it consists of review over the topics of plastic, sustainable development and social and environmental responsibility of companies by using literature sources as well as industrial sources from collected data. Used methods for data collection were observation, structured interviews and quantitative data was provided by the third party service provider responsible of packaging. There were interviewed B2B customers and the party responsible of packaging of these machinery spare parts. The findings of this study proved that B2B customers see usage of plastic in packaging as an issue to be developed more sustainable. There is not a clear answer to solve this issue, but different options as utilizing the theories of circular economy and new innovations may provide drastic improvements in this area. This study proposes three different concepts, which support supply chain managers in developing more sustainable packaging solutions.Muovin haitalliset vaikutukset ovat olleet jo vuosia aiheena keskusteluissa niin politiikassa kuin yhteisöä ja ympäristöä vaikuttavalla tasolla. Muovin käytön aiheuttamat haitat ovat nähtävillä ympäri maailman merissä ja vesistöissä, joissa se kierrättämättömänä aiheuttaa lukuisia haittoja eläimille ja ekosysteemeille. Sen vuoksi on tärkeää, että yritykset keskittyvät kehittämään toimintaansa vastuullisemmaksi, jotta tämä planeetta säilyy tuleville sukupolville. Tämä tutkielma keskittyy, kuinka koneiden varaosien pakkaamista voitaisiin kehittää kestävämmäksi ja kuinka muovin kertakäyttö pakkausmateriaalina voitaisiin korvata. Tutkielma pyrkii myös selvittämään, onko tällä teollisuusalalla jo huomioitu aihe ja lisäisikö kestävä kehitys toimitusketjussa arvon luontia asiakkaalle. Tutkimuksen tarkoitus on löytää vaihtoehtoisia ratkaisuja kertakäyttömuoville pakkauksessa. Siitä huolimatta pakkauksen rooli suojella tuotteita kuljetuksen aikana ja mahdollistaa tehokas toimitus asiakkaalle tulee olla keskiössä vaihtoehtoisia ratkaisuja arvioitaessa. Tämä tutkimus pohjautuu määrälliseen ja laadulliseen aineistoon kerättynä toimialan yrityksiltä ja kirjallisuuskatsaukseen aiheista muovi pakkausmateriaalina, kestävä kehitys ja yritysten sosiaalinen ja ympäristöön liittyvä vastuu. Käytetyt metodit olivat havainnointi sekä strukturoidut haastattelut ja määrällinen data oli saatu kolmannelta osapuolelta, joka on vastuussa pakkaamisesta. Haastateltavat olivat teollisuusyritysasiakkaita ja varaosien pakkaamisesta vastuussa oleva osapuoli. Tämän tutkimuksen tulokset indikoivat, että yritysasiakkaat kokevat muovin käytön pakkausmateriaalina ongelmalliseksi ja toivovat tämän osa-alueen kehittämistä kestävämmäksi. Ongelmalle ei ole selkeää yksiselitteistä vastausta vaan enemmänkin useita mahdollisuuksia, kuten kiertotalouden teorian hyödyntäminen pakkaamiseen ja uudet innovaatiot, jotka voisivat mahdollistaa kestävän kehityksen. Tämä tutkielma esittää kolme konseptia, jotka tukevat toimitusketjuja pakkausratkaisujen kestävässä kehityksessä

A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Reuse of Open Learning Resources

Educational standards are having a significant impact on e-Learning. They allow for better exchange of information among different organizations and institutions. They simplify reusing and repurposing learning materials. They give teachers the possibility of personalizing them according to the student’s background and learning speed. Thanks to these standards, off-the-shelf content can be adapted to a particular student cohort’s context and learning needs. The same course content can be presented in different languages. Overall, all the parties involved in the learning-teaching process (students, teachers and institutions) can benefit from these standards and so online education can be improved. To materialize the benefits of standards, learning resources should be structured according to these standards. Unfortunately, there is the problem that a large number of existing e-Learning materials lack the intrinsic logical structure required, and further, when they have the structure, they are not encoded as required. These problems make it virtually impossible to share these materials. This thesis addresses the following research question: How to make the best use of existing open learning resources available on the Internet by taking advantage of educational standards and specifications and thus improving content reusability?In order to answer this question, I combine different technologies, techniques and standards that make the sharing of publicly available learning resources possible in innovative ways. I developed and implemented a three-stage tool to tackle the above problem. By applying information extraction techniques and open e-Learning standards to legacy learning resources the tool has proven to improve content reusability. In so doing, it contributes to the understanding of how these technologies can be used in real scenarios and shows how online education can benefit from them. In particular, three main components were created which enable the conversion process from unstructured educational content into a standard compliant form in a systematic and automatic way. An increasing number of repositories with educational resources are available, including Wikiversity and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology OpenCourseware. Wikivesity is an open repository containing over 6,000 learning resources in several disciplines and for all age groups [1]. I used the OpenCourseWare repository to evaluate the effectiveness of my software components and ideas. The results show that it is possible to create standard compliant learning objects from the publicly available web pages, improving their searchability, interoperability and reusability