Groupwork Assessment Development (GAD): A framework for developing an effective group work assessment

Assessments that require students to work in a group are incorporated at different levels of tertiary education. The overarching purpose of group work is to develop collaborative ability which is a highly sought-after skill by employers around the world. Working in a group doesn’t always ensure that all members cooperate and collaborate effectively towards achieving a shared goal. Consequently, both the students and teachers could encounter challenges in progressing with the group work and therefore, receive negative experience. In the literature, several best practices have been identified as basic elements for cooperative learning that can mitigate some of the key challenges. This paper proposes Groupwork Assessment Development (GAD), a framework for designing and conducting group assessments that incorporates some of these best practices. The framework embeds strategies to guide teachers in designing the assessment and to prepare the students in undertaking the group work. At the core, the GAD framework emphasises on the constructive coherence between the three key areas of the curriculum: learning outcomes, assessments and learning activities. It provides a roadmap for a teacher in selecting a group task, designing the assessment with a set of learning activities and facilitating the group assessment with continuous monitoring and evaluation. The framework guides students through three distinct phases: Planning, Execution and Quality Assurance towards achieving the intended learning outcomes for the assessment. The authors have conducted an exploratory study to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of the GAD framework in developing a group assessment. The study shows that GAD framework provides both cooperative and collaborative learning environment for students which results in a positive group work experience. The study also revealed that overall satisfaction of the teachers facilitating the group work has improved with the adaption of the GAD framework

Realising end-user driven web application development using meta-design paradigm

Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) need to use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to enhance their business processes to become competitive in the global economy. When an information system is introduced to an organisation it changes the original business environment thus changing the original requirements. This in turn will change the processes that are supported by the information system. Also when users get familiar with the system they ask for more functionality. This gives rise to a cycle of changes known as co-evolution. In addition, SMEs have budget constraints which make the problem associated with co-evolution worse. One solution to overcome this situation is to empower end-users to develop and maintain the information systems. Within the above context the work presented addresses the following research question: “How to support SME end-users to develop and / or maintain Web applications to support their business processes?” There are two main components to this question: What are the requirements of a suitable end-user development approach for SMEs and how to create the Web applications based on the requirements. The requirements of a suitable end-user development approach can be established by identifying the different types of Web applications required by SMEs, the capabilities of end-users in relation to developing and / or maintaining Web applications and how they conceptualise the Web applications. The literature review is conducted to discover different types of Web applications required by SMEs and to identify a suitable end-user development approach and tools that can support the development of these various types of Web applications. According to the literature survey, the main types of Web applications required by SMEs can be categorised as information centric Web applications (Simple Web sites which focus on effective presentation of unstructured information), data intensive Web applications (the focus is on efficient presentation and management of structured data such as product catalogue) and workflow intensive Web applications (The focus is on efficient automation of business processes such as an order processing system). The literature on end-user development shows that the existing end-user development approaches are focused on specific types of Web applications. The frameworks and tools in the Web development discipline mainly target experienced Web developers. Therefore a gap is identified as “there are limited end-user development approaches for developments of different types of Web applications which are required by SMEs to IT enable their businesses’”. The capabilities of SMEs in relation to Web application development were identified based on a study conducted with a group of SMEs. This study first surveyed the SMEs experience and knowledge in relation to Web application development and their attitude towards end-user development. Then their capabilities relating to Web application development were studied in a hands-on session to develop a Web site. The second study is conducted with administrative staff members involved in development of a Web application. This study helps to establish the requirements of a suitable end-user development approach from the point of view of the end-user developers. This study on end-user development observed the different activities carried out by end-users. Then the end-user was interviewed to identify the issues and benefits of end-user development in the project. Following that, a set of requirements for the end-user development approach was derived based on the findings from these two studies and the related literature: 1) A need to support different types of Web applications required by SMEs; 2) A need to support the specification of Web applications at the conceptual level; 3) A need for a common data repository to store the data used in different applications within the organisation; 4) Providing a common login to all applications within the organisation; 5) Striping a balance between Do it Yourself (DIY) and a professional developer that allows end-users to do the activities they are capable of while getting help from a professional developer to do the difficult tasks. The conceptual aspects of different types of Web applications (information centric, data intensive and process intensive) were identified based on a literature survey of existing conceptual modelling approaches. This set of aspects was refined by modelling selected Web applications for each type of Web application. The aspects needed to specify different types of Web applications are: presentation, data, task, workflow, access control, navigation, and personalisation. Then the usage of these aspects in a set of end-user specifications was analysed. This study reveals that end-users only focus on some of these aspects such as data and process to specify the applications. Therefore, another requirement for the development approach was identified – a need to support development of Web applications with minimum aspects. A meta-design paradigm based on the meta-model of Web applications is proposed to support the identified requirements. A meta-model of Web applications is developed based on the patterns of different types of Web applications. A component based Web application development framework called CBEADS (Component based eApplication Development and Deployment Shell) was extended to support the meta-model based development approach. Web applications can be created by populating the values for the attributes of the meta-model which are related to the attributes of different aspects of the Web applications at the conceptual level. The meta-model is organised into three levels: shell level, application level, and function level. Aspects common to many web applications are modelled at the shell level. The data model and user model are stored and managed at the shell level. This supports the requirements of common data repository and the common login to all applications. The aspects common to a web application are modelled at the application level. The function specific aspects required to implement the functionality of the Web application are modelled at the function level. The metamodel has two properties called overriding and inheritance. Inheritance property allows developing Web applications with minimum aspects. The activities required to develop the Web applications in a framework supporting the meta-model are grouped into three levels based on the complexity of these tasks named routine level, logical level and programming level.These different levels together with the overriding property help to balance between DIY and a professional developer. The meta-design paradigm is practically evaluated with a group of users including SMEs and students. The studies establish strategies for the success of the meta-design paradigm such as characteristics of individuals, facilitation and infrastructure. The original contributions of this thesis enhance the field of end-user development by providing a new end-user development approach that can be used by business end-users to develop web applications. More importantly the major contributions of this research provide a practical approach that can be used particularly by SME end-users with little or no previous experience in web application development. Significant research contributions are made in the following four areas: 1) Establishing requirements for an end-user development approach suitable for business users. 2) Identifying a set of aspects required to model different types of Web applications at the conceptual level. 3) Developing a meta-design paradigm based on the meta-model of different types of Web applications 4) Developing the strategies for successful use of the meta-design paradigm

Solving design issues in Web meta-model approach to support end-user development

End-user development is proposed as a solution to the issues business organisations face when developing web applications to support their business processes. We are proposing a meta-model based development approach to support End-User Development. End-users can actively participate in web application development using tools to populate and instantiate the meta-model. The meta-model has three abstraction levels: Shell, Application and Function. At Shell Level, we model aspects common to all business web applications such as navigation and access control. At Application Level, we model aspects common to specific web applications such as workflows. At Function Level, we model requirements specific to the identified use cases. In this paper we discuss how we have solved the issues in application development for business end-users such as need for central repository of data, common log in, optimizing user model, application portability and balance between “Do it Yourself” (DIY) and professional developers in hierarchical meta-model approach. These solutions are being incorporated into Component based EApplication Development and Deployment Shell (CBEADS©) version 4, supporting meta-model implementation. We believe that these solutions will help end-users to efficiently and effectively develop web applications using meta-model based development approach

Modeling web information systems for co-evolution

When an information system is introduced to an organisation it changes the original business environment thus changes the original requirements. This can lead to changes to processes that are supported by the information system. Also when users get familiar with the system they ask for more functionality. This gives rise to a cycle of changes known as co-evolution. One way to facilitate co-evolution is to empower end-users to make changes to the web application to accommodate the required changes while using that web application. This can be achieved through meta-design paradigm. We model web applications using high level abstract concepts such as user, hypertext, process, data and presentation. We use set of smart tools to generate the application based on this high-level specification. We developed a hierarchical metamodel where an instance represent a web application. High level aspects are used to populate the attribute values of a meta-model instance. End-user can create or change a web application by specifying or changing the high level concepts in the meta-model. This paper discusses these high level aspects of web information systems. We also conducted a study to find out how end-users conceptualise a web application using these aspects. We found that end-users think naturally in terms of some of the aspects but not all. Therefore, in meta-model approach we provide default values for the model attributes which users can overwrite. This approach based on meta-design paradigm will help to realise the end-user development to support coevolution

Study of using the meta-model based meta-design paradigm for developing and maintaining web applications

When an information system is introduced to an organisation it changes the original business environment thus changes the original requirements. This can lead to the changes to the business processes that information system supports. Also user requests for more functionality as they get used to the system. This gives rise to a cycle of changes known as co-evolution. One way to facilitate co-evolution is to empower end-users to make changes to the web application to accommodate the required changes while using that Web application. This can be achieved through meta-design paradigm. A fundamental objective of a meta-design paradigm is to create socio-technical environment that empowers users to engage actively in the continuous development of systems rather than be restricted to the use of existing systems. Meta-design paradigm can be realised: 1) by providing a technical infrastructure to develop open ended systems that allow end-user developers to evolve the systems; 2) by creating a learning environment which supports end-users to learn and involve in activities required to create / maintain Web applications; and 3) by building a socio-technical environment that allows end-users and professional developers to collaborate in development and maintenance of the system. We developed the necessary technical infrastructure to support meta-design paradigm based on a meta-model of Web applications. This Meta-model based meta-design paradigm supports the development of different types of Web applications required by business organisations and was implemented using Components based eApplication development and deployment System (CBEADS). Using this system we studied how meta-model based meta-design paradigm can be used to develop web applications for three Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This study shows that the meta-model based infrastructure can help to establish the infrastructure, learning environment and socio-economic environment to empower end-users to develop Web applications without restricting them to be passive users of the systems

Groupwork Assessment Development (GAD) : a framework for developing an effective group work assessment

Assessments that require students to work in a group are incorporated at different levels of tertiary education. The overarching purpose of group work is to develop collaborative ability which is a highly sought-after skill by employers around the world. Working in a group doesn’t always ensure that all members cooperate and collaborate effectively towards achieving a shared goal. Consequently, both the students and teachers could encounter challenges in progressing with the group work and therefore, receive negative experience. In the literature, several best practices have been identified as basic elements for cooperative learning that can mitigate some of the key challenges. This paper proposes Groupwork Assessment Development (GAD), a framework for designing and conducting group assessments that incorporates some of these best practices. The framework embeds strategies to guide teachers in designing the assessment and to prepare the students in undertaking the group work. At the core, the GAD framework emphasises on the constructive coherence between the three key areas of the curriculum: learning outcomes, assessments and learning activities. It provides a roadmap for a teacher in selecting a group task, designing the assessment with a set of learning activities and facilitating the group assessment with continuous monitoring and evaluation. The framework guides students through three distinct phases: Planning, Execution and Quality Assurance towards achieving the intended learning outcomes for the assessment. The authors have conducted an exploratory study to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of the GAD framework in developing a group assessment. The study shows that GAD framework provides both cooperative and collaborative learning environment for students which results in a positive group work experience. The study also revealed that overall satisfaction of the teachers facilitating the group work has improved with the adaption of the GAD framework

Towards end user development of web applications for SMEs : a component based approach

Garbage in Garbage out!' This is very true when user requirements are not addressed accurately in Web (or any) Application development. Adding fuel to this fire is the ever-changing business requirements that force these web (or any) applications to change and evolve. In order to deliver web applications that meet user requirements, within budget and time constraints, it is important to use appropriate methodologies, tools and techniques suitable for a dynamic environment. Experts in Software Development have been researching and practicing many approaches to over come these issues. However, after a decade into Web application development, only a few of these approaches are effectively used in this domain. This paper discusses use of two such approaches: (a) use of Components and (b) End User development that can be effectively used in combination for Web Application development. In our work in the Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) sector we have developed a set of Components that allow End Users to assemble, deploy and run Web Applications. We have incorporated these Components into a framework that facilitates the deployment of these Components developed by developers

Smart tools to support meta-design paradigm for developing web based business applications

Many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) tend to gradually adopt Web based business applications to enhance their business processes. To support this gradual adoption we need a framework that supports iterative development. Further processes that have been supported by web based business applications can change and evolve requiring applications to be changed accordingly. To support these needs we have extended the Component Based E Application Development and Deployment Shell; CBEADS©. We analysed many business applications and derived a meta-model. We implemented this meta-model with in CBEADS© and developed a set of Smart Tools to take the instance values of the meta-model and generate the web based business applications. When a new business application is required, a business analyst can create a new instance of the meta-model. To change an implemented business application the appropriate values of the meta-model instance that corresponds to the particular application can be changed

A tool to support end-user development of web applications based on a use case model

Many Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) tend to gradually adopt Web based business applications to enhance their business processes. To support this gradual adoption we need a framework that supports iterative development. Further processes that have been supported by web based business applications can change and evolve requiring applications to be changed accordingly. One way to facilitate these requirements is to empower SMEs to make changes to the web application to accommodate the required changes while using that web application. This paper presents a requirement specification tool and a Use Case model of a Web based application which can be used to specify and create the Web applications. This approach will bring the formalism to ad-hoc end-user development by including requirement specification phase. In this approach an application is viewed as a collection of packages. A package consists of related set of use cases. A scope list is developed at the package level. This will assure the required functionality of the application is completely specified. This will also provide a framework to validate the requirements. We have developed this tool in Component Based Development/ Deployment System (CBEADS). Now we are in a process of testing it

Opportunities for pharmacists to optimise quality use of medicines in a Sri Lankan hospital: an observational, prospective, cohort study

Background: Quality use of medicines (QUM) has been identified as a priority in Sri Lanka. Aim: To identify opportunities to optimise QUM, and evaluate medication appropriateness and medication information exchanged with patients and carers on discharge in a Sri Lankan tertiary care hospital. Methods: An observational, prospective, cohort study of patients systematically sampled from two medical wards. A research pharmacist determined their pre-admission medication regimen via interview at time of discharge. Issues of poor adherence and discrepancies between the pre- and post-admission medication regimens were recorded. Drug-related problems were categorised into opportunities to optimise drug therapy. The appropriateness of discharge medications was evaluated using a validated tool. The patient or carer was interviewed after discharge regarding the quality of medicine information exchanged in hospital. Results: The 578 recruited patients were taking 1756 medications prior to admission, and 657 (37.4%) of these medications were not continued during admission. Opportunities to optimise drug therapy were identified on 1496 occasions during admission (median, 2.0 opportunities/patient), 215 opportunities, (14.4%) were resolved spontaneously by the medical team prior to discharge. The median score for appropriateness of medications on discharge was 1.5 per patient (interquartile range, 0.0–3.5). Of 427 patients surveyed after discharge, 52% recalled being asked about their medications on admission to hospital, 75% about previous adverse medication reactions and 39% recalled being informed about changes to their medications on discharge. Conclusion: Significant opportunities exist for pharmacists to enhance quality use of medicines for patients in the current hospitalbased healthcare system in Sri Lanka