Cloud services within a ROLE-enabled Personal Learning Environment

The ROLE project (Responsive Open Learning Environments) is focused on the next generation of Personal Learning Environments (PLE). In this paper, we first describe the engineering process used to create either a new widget bundle, a group of applications or service widgets. The widgets integrated in a ROLE PLE consist of two cloud-based services, a social networking and a mind-mapping tool, where learners can perform and collaborate on learning activities. We also modified other widgets to create a complete learning experience. The whole platform is running on a cloudcomputing infrastructure and one of the services is using a cloud-based database. Additionally, we describe the initial experiences from using this cloud education environment in Galileo University, Guatemala, in a web-based course with students from three different Latin-American countries. We measured emotional aspects, motivation, usability and attitudes towards the environment. The results demonstrated the readiness of cloud-based education solutions, and how ROLE can bring together such an environment from a PLE perspective

A web-based platform for water efficient households

16th Water Distribution System Analysis Conference, WDSA2014 — Urban Water Hydroinformatics and Strategic PlanningThe advent of ICT services on water sector offers new perspective towards sustainable water management. This paper presents an innovative web-based platform, targeting primarily the household end-users. The platform enables consumers to monitor and control, on real-time basis, the water and energy consumption of their household providing valuable information and feedback. At the same time, the platform further supports end-users to modify and improve their consumption profile via an interactive educational process that comprises a variety of on-line tools and applications. This paper discusses the rationale, structure and technologies upon which the platform has been developed and presents an early prototype of the various tools, applications and facilities.European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013), through the iWIDGET Project (2012-2015

Inciting Networks Effects Through Platform Authority: A Design Theory for Service Platforms

The provisioning of software has shifted towards a service model, where applications are hosted, metered, and billed through service platforms rather than being sold as on-premise software. These services can exhibit network effects, which are self-enforcing effects of value generation. They describe the interdependency of service or platform value, service consumption, and third party service provisioning. Service platforms need to be designed to incite these network effects. We propose a design theory which is based on the operator’s platform authority as the key factor for controlling and influencing stakeholders in and around the service platform in different control modes. As a design method, we propose a conceptual modeling language which supports service platform design with staged areas of authority, process flows as well as control methods. We present the rationale behind the language, discuss its application, and propose testable hypotheses for an empirical evaluation

An energy management platform for public buildings

This paper describes the development and implementation of an electronic platform for energy management in public buildings. The developed platform prototype is based on the installation of a network of wireless sensors using the emerging Long Range (LoRa) low power long-range wireless network technology. This network is used to collect sensor data, which is stored online and manipulated to extract knowledge and generate actions toward energy saving solutions. In this process, gamification approaches were used to motivate changes in the users' behavior towards more sustainable actions in public buildings. These actions and the associated processes can be implemented as public services, and they can be replicated to different public buildings, contributing to a more energy-sustainable world. The developed platform allows the monitoring and management of the heating/cooling, electric power consumption, and lighting levels. In order to validate the proposed electronic platform, sensor information was collected in the context of a university campus, which was used as an application scenario in public buildings.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Information sharing across multiple humanitarian organizations—a web-based information exchange platform for project reporting

This article analyzes information sharing problems in the humanitarian development sector and proposes the concept of a web-based exchange platform to face some of the technical challenges. The "Development Information Exchange System” is a mediator-wrapper-architecture that uses XML documents to loosely couple autonomous and heterogeneous information systems. Detailed project information of humanitarian organizations that resides on data provider systems can be formatted with XSL stylesheets according to the needs of the users and shared within or between organizations. The system can help to close the control loop by providing qualitative information about humanitarian projects. This makes project management more efficient. The proposed architecture solves an interface problem between the various partners and stakeholders of humanitarian projects. It is a first step towards a service-oriented architecture between humanitarian organizations. The next step could be the definition of cross-organizational business processes. These processes may be defined platform-independently with the Business Process Execution Language for Web Services. A prototype of the exchange platform is presented and evaluated in this articl

Integration of Linked Open Data Authorities with OpenRefine : A Methodology for Libraries

The primary purpose of this paper is to explore the integration process of linked open data authority with OpenRefine for easy access of related metadata towards the creation of data cleaning and updating in a modern integrated library system. The integration process and methods are based on the API of reconciliation repositories collected from web resources. This integrated framework will be designed and developed on OpenRefine techniques and components based on RDF, CSV, SPARQL, and Turtle scripts. This integrated framework is based on JAVA and Apache Web Server for running the OpenRefine on the Ubuntu Platform. This integrated framework has been explored the data cleaning and import of bibliographic metadata from multiple linking authorities such as Open Library, ORCID, VIAF, VIAF BNF, Library of Congress Authorities data, and Wikidata. These are the essential findings of this study for creating a new interface to library professionals and advanced users. The library professionals are very much benefitted by using this system and services towards easy import and access of related linking resources from the Wikidata. Aside from these, it also explores the other facilities for data cleaning and updating the information from multiple scripts and URLs in the Web environment. It is possible to fetch related linking authorities for enhancing the advanced level services in a modern library management system. So, library carpentry and data carpentry are essential concepts for making a dynamic integrated interface for library professionals

Responsible AI and Power: Investigating the System Level Bureaucrat in the Legal Planning Process

Numerous statements and pamphlets indicate that governments should increase the transparency of ICT-implementations and algorithms in eGovernment services and should encourage democratic control. This paper presents research among civil servants, suppliers and experts who play a role in the automation of spatial policymaking and planning (e.g. environment, building, sound and CO2 regulation, mobility). The case is a major digitalisation programme of that spatial planning in the Netherlands. In this digital transition, the research assumption is that public and political values such as transparency, legitimacy and (perceived) fairness are difficult to validate in the practice of the design process; policy makers tend to lose sight of the algorithms and decision trees designed during the ICT -implementation of eGovernment services. This situation would implicate a power shift towards the system level bureaucrat. i.e., the digitized execution of laws and regulations, thereby threatening democratic control. This also sets the stage for anxiety towards ICT projects and digital bureaucracies. We have investigated perceptions about ‘validation dark spots’ in the design process of the national planning platform that create unintended shifts in decision power in the context of the legal planning process. To identify these validation dark spots, 22 stakeholders were interviewed. The results partially confirm the assumption. Based on the collected data, nine validation dark spots are identified that require more attention and research

Measuring Government's Performance (Services) Oman Service Maturity Model (OSMM)

To measure or asses any government's efficiency we need to measure the performance of this government in regards to the quality of the service it provides. Using a technological platform in service provision became a trend and a public demand. It is also a public need to make sure these services are aligned to values and to the whole government's strategy, vision and goals as well. Providing services using technology tools and channels can enhance the internal business process and also help establish many essential values to government services like transparency and excellence, since in order to establish e-services many standards and policies must be put in place to enable the handing over of decision making to a mature system oriented mechanism. There was no doubt that the Sultanate of Oman wanted to enhance its services and move it towards automation and establishes a smart government as well as links its services to life events. Measuring government efficiency is very essential in achieving social security and economic growth, since it can provide a clear dashboard of all projects and improvements. Based on this data we can improve the strategies and align the country goals to them