85 research outputs found
E-learning at University of the Arts London
This report is a systematic exploration of staff relationships with e-learning. It presents a renewed evidence base from which e-learning provision and related support can be planned particularly in a rapidly changing HE terrain and an institutional context where e-learning and academic structures are emerging from large change programmes. The research is based on 25 interviews with programme directors (PD) evenly distributed across the 4 colleges, with representatives from all discipline groups, and levels of study. The interviewees provided rich insights into attitudes to, practices in and aspirations for e-learning, but in some instances, were also limited by the newness of the PD role. While some PDs had an intimate understanding of their programme areas, others, understandably, given the newness of posts, were in the process of familiarising themselves with the work of their teams
Microservices : granularity vs. performance
Microservice Architectures (MA) have the potential to increase the agility of software development. In an era where businesses require software applications to evolve to support emerging software requirements, particularly for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, we examine the issue of microservice granularity and explore its effect upon application latency. Two approaches to microservice deployment are simulated; the first with microservices in a single container, and the second with microservices partitioned across separate containers. We observed a negligible increase in service latency for the multiple container deployment over a single container
Automation for network security configuration: state of the art and research trends
The size and complexity of modern computer networks are progressively increasing, as a consequence of novel architectural paradigms such as the Internet of Things and network virtualization. Consequently, a manual orchestration and configuration of network security functions is no more feasible, in an environment where cyber attacks can dramatically exploit breaches related to any minimum configuration error. A new frontier is then the introduction of automation in network security configuration, i.e., automatically designing the architecture of security services and the configurations of network security functions, such as firewalls, VPN gateways, etc. This opportunity has been enabled by modern computer networks technologies, such as virtualization. In view of these considerations, the motivations for the introduction of automation in network security configuration are first introduced, alongside with the key automation enablers. Then, the current state of the art in this context is surveyed, focusing on both the achieved improvements and the current limitations. Finally, possible future trends in the field are illustrated
Cross-organisational workflow enactment via progressive linking by run-time agents
Driven by popular adoptions of workflow and requirements from the
practice of virtual enterprise (VE), research in workflow interoperability is
currently on the increase. Nonetheless, it is still in its early stage compared with
the maturity of individual workflow technology. Some attempts have been tried,
however results are not satisfactory especially in a VE context, where many of
the partnerships are dynamic and temporary. Reasons include the rigidity and
high initial coordination cost inherently associated with top-down modelling
and enactment approaches. Therefore, this paper proposes a bottom-up and
WfMS 1
Keywords: Multi-Agent Systems, Workflow Interoperability, Virtual Enterprise
-independent approach towards cross-organisational workflow
enactment, which is via progressive linking enabled by run-time agents. This is
expected to pave the way for further cross-organisational workflow needs
An Exploratory Study Of ExpectationâImportanceâPerformance Analysis With Cultural Tourists In Havana, Cuba
ImportanceâPerformance Analysis (IPA) is an efficient method for measuring two dimensions of a personâs attitude on a given topic. The current study added a third dimension, Expectation, to determine if an individualâs expectation about a cultural tourism experience impacts their rating of that experienceâs performance. The study, based in Havana, Cuba, gathered impressions from international visitors regarding 30 types of cultural tourism activities and amenities through an intercept survey. Results indicated that many Expectation and Performance scores were correlated. Additionally, some differences arose in Expectations and perceived Performance among varying age groups and length of stay. The use of this new scale (EIPA) would be valuable to local tourism managers as well as tourism researchers wishing to explore expanded uses of IPA, and should be tested in a variety of cultural contexts
Deadline-aware fair scheduling for multi-tenant crowd-powered systems
Crowdsourcing has become an integral part of many systems and services that deliver high-quality results for complex tasks such as data linkage, schema matching, and content annotation. A standard function of such crowd-powered systems is to publish a batch of tasks on a crowdsourcing platform automatically and to collect the results once the workers complete them. Currently, these systems provide limited guarantees over the execution time, which is problematic for many applications. Timely completion may even be impossible to guarantee due to factors specific to the crowdsourcing platform, such as the availability of workers and concurrent tasks. In our previous work, we presented the architecture of a crowd-powered system that reshapes the interaction mechanism with the crowd. Specifically, we studied a push-crowdsourcing model whereby the workers receive tasks instead of selecting them from a portal. Based on this interaction model, we employed scheduling techniques similar to those found in distributed computing infrastructures to automate the task assignment process. In this work, we first devise a generic scheduling strategy that supports both fairness and deadline-awareness. Second, to complement the proof-of-concept experiments previously performed with the crowd, we present an extensive set of simulations meant to analyze the properties of the proposed scheduling algorithms in an environment with thousands of workers and tasks. Our experimental results show that, by accounting for human factors, micro-task scheduling can achieve fairness for best-effort batches and boosts production batches
Artificial intelligence in the legal sector: pressures and challenges of transformation
Recent technological developments in automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) promise to disrupt the very foundations of how legal work is practised and delivered. Yet how they challenge current business models, where they encounter resistance, and how the benefits of AI can be realised remain unexplored. Drawing on interviews with professionals in the UK legal services sector, the paper highlights how technological and market pressures combine to challenge the business models of legal services firms. However, the findings reveal important
cultural and structural challenges that hamper transformation. The paper extends the debate on technological disruption in legal services through a focus on business model innovation as
a tool that can support firms in the sector to reimagine legal service provision
Coloured petrinet for flexible business workflow modelling
Etrinet diagrams are a recognized form of modelling real time systems and have been included in the list of UML techniques for modelling the dynamic aspects of Object Oriented Systems. In this paper, we explain how workflow techniques can be used for developing models for larger independent systems. These chunks or independent systems which are part of the large systems are expressed through the use of worklets. This can then be used as the basis of modelling systems where timeliness is of importance. However, this requires extending workflow ideas to incorporate flexibility, handling of exceptions and adaptability. Extensions of the petrinet diagrams are then proposed for expressing the models obtained from such workflow techniques
The future of work: Towards a progressive agenda for all. EPC Issue Paper 9 DECEMBER 2019
Europeâs labour markets and the world of work in general are being transformed by the megatrends of globalisation, the fragmentation of the production and value chain, demographic ageing, new societal aspirations and the digitalisation of the economy. This Issue Paper presents the findings and policy recommendations of âThe future of work â Towards a progressive agenda for allâ, a European Policy Centre research project. Its main objectives were to expand public knowledge about these profound changes and to reverse the negative narrative often associated with this topic. It aimed to show how human decisions and the right policies can mitigate upcoming disruptions and provide European and national policymakers with a comprehensive toolkit for a progressive agenda for the new world of work
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