Context-sensitive user Interfaces for semantic services

Service-centric solutions usually require rich context to fully deliver and better reflect on the underlying applications. We present a novel use of context in the form of customized user interface services with the concept of User Interface as a Service (UIaaS). UIaaS takes user profiles as input to generate context-aware interface services. Such interface services can be used as context to augment semantic services with contextual information leading to UIaaS as a Context (UIaaSaaC). The added serendipitous benefit of the proposed concept is that the composition of a customized user interface with the requested service is performed by the service composition engine, as is the case with any other services. We use a special-purpose language (called User Interface Description Language (UIDL)) to model and realize user interfaces as services. We use a real-life e-government application, human services delivery for the citizens, as a proof-of-concept. We also present a comprehensive evaluation of the proposed approach using a functional evaluation and a nonfunctional evaluation consisting of an end user usability test and expert usability reviews

Web service management system for bioinformatics research: a case study.

In this paper, we present a case study of the design and development of a Web Service management system for bioinformatics research. The described system is a prototype that provides a complete solution to manage the entire life cycle of Web services in bioinformatics domain, which include semantic service description, service discovery, service selection, service composition, service execution, and service result presentation. A challenging issue we encountered is to provide the system capability to assist users to select the "right" service based on not only functionality but also properties such as reliability, performance, and analysis quality. As a solution, we used both bioinformatics and service ontology to provide these two types of service descriptions. A service selection algorithm based on skyline query algorithm is proposed to provide users with a short list of candidates of the \best" service. The evaluation results demonstrate the eciency and scalability of the service selection algorithm. Finally, the important lessons we learned are summarized and remaining challenging issues are discussed as possible future research directions

The Effect of a Food Addiction Explanation Model for Weight Control and Obesity on Weight Stigma

There is increasing scientific and public support for the notion that some foods may be addictive, and that poor weight control and obesity may, for some people, stem from having a food addiction. However, it remains unclear how a food addiction model (FAM) explanation for obesity and weight control will affect weight stigma. In two experiments (N = 530 and N = 690), we tested the effect of a food addiction explanation for obesity and weight control on weight stigma. In Experiment 1, participants who received a FAM explanation for weight control and obesity reported lower weight stigma scores (e.g., less dislike of 'fat people', and lower personal willpower blame) than those receiving an explanation emphasizing diet and exercise (F(4,525) = 7.675, p = 0.006; and F(4,525) = 5.393, p = 0.021, respectively). In Experiment 2, there was a significant group difference for the dislike of 'fat people' stigma measure (F(5,684) = 5.157, p = 0.006), but not for personal willpower weight stigma (F(5,684) = 0.217, p = 0.81). Participants receiving the diet and exercise explanation had greater dislike of 'fat people' than those in the FAM explanation and control group (p values 0.05). The FAM explanation for weight control and obesity did not increase weight stigma and resulted in lower stigma than the diet and exercise explanation that attributes obesity to personal control. The results highlight the importance of health messaging about the causes of obesity and the need for communications that do not exacerbate weight stigma

The relationship between gambling advertising and gambling attitudes, intentions and behaviours:a critical and meta-analytic review

Gambling advertising has become ubiquitous in westernised countries in the last two decades, yet there is little understanding of the relationship between exposure to gambling advertising and gambling attitudes, intentions and behaviour. We conduct a critical and meta-analytic review of the past two decades of empirical research. The research suggests a positive association between exposure to gambling advertising and gambling-related attitudes, intentions and behaviour. The association is greatest for gambling behaviour. There is some evidence for a dose-response relationship. The quality and breadth of research on gambling advertising are weaker than those in comparable areas (e.g., alcohol, tobacco), with an absence of longitudinal and experimental studies. Gaps in, and methodological problems with, the field are discussed, and research directions recommended

Engineering Cloud-based Applications: Towards an Application Lifecycle

The adoption of cloud computing by organizations of all sizes and types in the recent years has created multiple opportunities and challenges for the development of software to be used in this environment. In this work-in-progress paper, the focus is on the latter part, providing a view on the main research challenges that are created for software engineering by cloud computing. These challenges stem from the inherent characteristics of the cloud computing paradigm, and require a multi-dimensional approach to address them. Towards this goal, a lifecycle for cloud-based applications is presented, as the foundation for further work in the area