End-User Service Computing: Spreadsheets as a Service Composition Tool

In this paper, we show how spreadsheets, an end-user development paradigm proven to be highly productive and simple to learn and use, can be used for complex service compositions. We identify the requirements for spreadsheet-based service composition, and present our framework that implements these requirements. Our framework enables spreadsheets to send requests and retrieve results from various local and remote services. We show how our tools support different composition patterns, and how the style of declarative dependencies of spreadsheets can facilitate service composition. We also discuss novel issues identified by using the framework in several projects and education

Open Source Software: All You Do Is Put It Together

The authors propose an infrastructure for rapidly prototyping applications from open source software components. The Adaptable Multi-Interface Communicator infrastructure (AMICO) is based on ideas of middleware platforms for component integration, but it focuses on pragmatic aspects of OSS integration, often absent from many existing integration platforms. The authors also identify the key requirements of middleware for rapid prototyping with OSS components and illustrate their approach through two examples in complex scenarios

Physical Activity Change of English, French and Chinese Speaking Immigrants in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada

SAP is an open access publisherOBJECTIVES: The multicultural study aims at examining Physical Activity Change of English, French and Chinese speaking immigrants in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada, and identifying demographic factors that correlate with the change and impact the change. METHODS: 810 immigrants of three language sub-groups were recruited by purposive-sampling. Using self-reports, respondents answered questions regarding Physical Activity Change and Demography in Multicultural Lifestyle Change Questionnaire of English, French or Chinese version. Data were analyzed statistically in percentage, correlation, regression and factor analysis. RESULTS: Immigrants of different gender, language and category sub-groups exhibited different rates in Physical Activity Change, and different language sub-groups displayed different Physical Exercise Items rates after immigration, but no statistical difference between the rates. Physical Activity Change (Physical Activity Behavior Change + Physical Activity Belief Change) was negatively correlated with Gender, Category of Immigration, Employment Status and Primary Occupation. Physical Activity Behavior Change was negatively correlated with Age, Gender, Category of Immigration, Employment Status and Primary Occupation. Age, Gender, Category of Immigration and Employment Status significantly impacted Physical Activity Change. Mother Tongue, Age, Gender, Category of Immigration and Employment Status significantly impacted Physical Activity Behavior Change. Two factors (factor one: physical activity behavior change factor and factor two: physical activity belief change factor) influenced significantly Physical Activity Change. Factor one exposed more significant effect than factor two. CONCLUSIONS: Different immigrant sub-groups experienced different Physical Activity Change and three language sub-groups presented different physical activity patterns after immigration. Age, Gender, Category of Immigration, Employment Status and Primary Occupation were main factors impacting significantly Physical Activity Change. Mother Tongue was an important factor influencing significantly Physical Activity Behavior Change. Culture and acculturation were relating contributing factors. Data may provide evidence and implication for physical exercising policy-making and policy-revising in Canada

Loop: A learning analytics tool to provide teachers with useful data visualisations

One of the great promises of learning analytics is the ability of digital systems to generate meaningful data about students’ learning interactions that can be returned to teachers. If provided in appropriate and timely ways, such data could be used by teachers to inform their current and future teaching practice. In this paper we showcase the learning analytics tool, Loop, which has been developed as part of an Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching project. The project aimed to develop ways to deliver learning analytics data to academics in a meaningful way to support the enhancement of teaching and learning practice. In this paper elements of the tool will be described. The paper concludes with an outline of the next steps for the project including the evaluation of the effectiveness of the tool

Scientometrics as an Important Tool for the Growth of the Field of Learning Analytics

This article introduces the special issue from SoLAR’s Learning Analytics and Knowledge conference. Learning analytics is an emerging field incorporating theory and practice from numerous disciplines to investigate how learner interactions in digital environments can provide actionable data about the learning process. As the field continues to expand there is a timely opportunity to evaluate its ongoing maturation. This evaluation could be in part informed by regular scientometric analyses from both the Journal and Conference publications. These analyses can collectively provide insight into the development of learning analytics more broadly and assist with the allocation of resources to under-represented areas for example.</jats:p

Learning analytics – a growing field and community engagement

This editorial discusses events that marked the period since the publication of the previous issue – the 5th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK 2015), Learning Analytics Summer Institutes (LASIs 2015), and Learning Analytics Policy Briefing in the European Parliament. This period saw releases of two important publications for system-wide implementation of learning analytics in higher education published by Jisc and the Australian Government’s Office for Learning and Teaching. An important recognition of the maturation of the field of learning analytics is the recent publication of the 2015 Google Scholar Metrics identifying the LAK proceedings as the only conference proceedings among the 20 most cited publication venues in educational technology. Building bridges for enhancing impact is another important activity for the field maturation through developing linkages of learning analytics with educational data mining, user modeling, the learning sciences, technology enhanced learning, cyber-learning, and learning at scale. This editorial also introduces a special section published in this issue dedicated to the exploration of connections between self-regulated learning and learning analytics, introduces two regular research papers featured in this issue and describes several special sections that will be published in future issues of the journal.</jats:p

An Ontology-Enabled Approach for Modelling Business Processes

International audienceColoured Petri Nets (CPNs) have formal semantics and can describe any type of workflow system, behavioral and syntax wise simultaneously. They are widely studied and successfully applied in modelling of workflows and workflow systems. There is an inherent problem regarding business processes modelled with CPNs sharing and subsequently their reuse need to be considered. The Semantic Web technologies, such as ontologies, with their characteristics demonstrate that they can play an important role in this scenario. In this paper, we propose an ontological approach for representing business models in a meta-knowledge base. Firstly, the CPN ontology is defined to represent CPNs with OWL DL. Secondly, we introduce four basic types of manipulation operations on process models used to develop and modify business workflow patterns. To the best of our knowledge, representing business process definitions and business workflow patterns as knowledge based upon ontologies is a novel approach

Overcoming cross-cultural group work tensions: mixed student perspectives on the role of social relationships

As universities worldwide rapidly internationalise, higher education classrooms have become unique spaces for collaboration between students from different countries. One common way to encourage collaboration between diverse peers is through group work. However, previous research has highlighted that cross-cultural group work can be challenging and has hinted at potential social tensions. To understand this notion better, we have used robust quantitative tools in this study to select 20 participants from a larger classroom of 860 students to take part in an in-depth qualitative interview about cross-cultural group work experiences. Participant views on social tensions in cross-cultural group work were elicited using a unique mediating artefact method to encourage reflection and in-depth discussion. In our analysis of emergent interview themes, we compared student perspectives on the role of social relationships in group work by their academic performance level. Our findings indicated that all students interviewed desired the opportunity to form social relationships with their group work members, but their motivations for doing so varied widely by academic performance level