Mulsemedia in Telecommunication and Networking Education: A Novel Teaching Approach that Improves the Learning Process

The advent and increased use of new technologies, such as innovative mulsemedia and multi-modal content distribution mechanisms, have brought new challenges and diverse opportunities for technology enhanced learning (TEL). NEWTON is a Horizon 2020 European project that revolutionizes the educational process through innovative TEL methodologies and tools, integrated in a pan-European STEM-related learning network platform. This article focuses on one of these novel TEL methodologies (i.e., mulsemedia) and presents how NEWTON enables mulsemedia- enhanced teaching and learning of STEM subjects, with a particular focus on telecommunication and networking related modules. The article also discusses the very promising results of NEWTON case studies carried out with engineering students across two different universities in Spain and Ireland, respectively. The case studies focused on analyzing the impact on the learning process of the mulsemedia-enhanced teaching in the context of telecommunication and networking modules. The main conclusion of the article is that mulsemedia-enhanced education significantly increases students' learning experience and improves their knowledge gain

FINAL FRONTIER GAME: A CASE STUDY ON LEARNER EXPERIENCE

International audienceTeachers are facing many difficulties when trying to improve the motivation, engagement, and learning outcomes of students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. Game-based learning helps the students learn in an immersive and engaging environment, attracting them more towards STEM education. This paper introduces a new interactive educational 3D video game called Final Frontier, designed for primary school children. The proposed game design methodology is described and an analysis of a research study conducted in Ireland that investigated learner experience through a survey is presented. Results show that: (1) 92.5% of students have confirmed that the video game helped them to understand better the characteristics of the planets from the Solar system, and (2) 92.6% of students enjoyed the game and appreciated different game features, including the combination between fun and learning aspects which exists in the game

Application of blockchain technology to 5G-enabled vehicular networks: survey and future directions

Blockchain is disrupting several sectors as it continues to grow mainstream. The attraction for Blockchain is increasing from various application domains looking to take advantage of its immutability, security, cost-saving, transparency and fast processing properties. Blockchain has empowered several sectors to upgrade their existing systems or operate an entire system architecture shift. For instance, Blockchain has enabled IoT systems to improve their quality of services while simultaneously ensuring their security requirements. Particularly, several works are applying Blockchain to manage trust in 5G-enabled autonomous vehicular systems to ensure secure vehicle authentication and handover, guarantee message integrity and provide an irrefutable vehicle reputation record. Vehicular network systems require proper data storage management, highly secure transactions, and non-interference networks. The immutability, tamper-proof, and security by design of Blockchain make it a suitable candidate technology for 5G vehicular network systems. We present in this paper a methodical literature analysis of the application of Blockchain to 5G vehicular networks, architecture, and technical aspects. We also highlight and discuss some issues and challenges facing the application of Blockchain technology to 5G vehicular network

Macrophages in the synovial lining niche initiate neutrophil recruitment and articular inflammation

The first immune-activating changes within joint resident cells that lead to pathogenic leukocyte recruitment during articular inflammation remain largely unknown. In this study, we employ state-of-the-art confocal microscopy and image analysis in a systemic, whole-organ, and quantitative way to present evidence that synovial inflammation begins with the activation of lining macrophages. We show that lining, but not sublining macrophages phagocytose immune complexes containing the model antigen. Using the antigen-induced arthritis (AIA) model, we demonstrate that on recognition of antigen-antibody complexes, lining macrophages undergo significant activation, which is dependent on interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5), and produce chemokines, most notably CXCL1. Consequently, at the onset of inflammation, neutrophils are preferentially recruited in the vicinity of antigen-laden macrophages in the synovial lining niche. As inflammation progresses, neutrophils disperse across the whole synovium and form swarms in synovial sublining during resolution. Our study alters the paradigm of lining macrophages as immunosuppressive cells to important instigators of synovial inflammation

How do patients, politicians, physiotherapists and other health professionals view physiotherapy research in Switzerland? A qualitative study

Background. Since 2002, the professional education for Swiss physiotherapists has been upgraded to a tertiary educational level. With this change, the need for research related to professional practice has become more salient. The elaboration of research priorities is seen as a possible way to determine the profession’s needs, to help coordinate research collaborations and to address expectations regarding physiotherapy. There is still limited evidence about stakeholders’ views with regard to physiotherapy research. The objective of this study was to investigate key stakeholders’ opinions about research in physiotherapy in Switzerland. Methods. Focus groups with patients, health professionals, researchers and representatives of public health organizations were conducted, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with politicians, health insurers and medical doctors from three linguistic regions in Switzerland. An interview guide was elaborated. Data were transcribed and analysed using inductive content analysis (Atlas-ti 6W). Results. Eighteen focus groups and 23 interviews/written commentaries included 134 participants with various research experiences and from different settings. Fourteen categories were defined reflecting three themes: identity, interdisciplinarity and visibility. Stakeholders had positive views about the profession and perceived physiotherapists’ important role now and in the future. Yet, they also felt that physiotherapy was not sufficiently recognized in society and not visible enough. A stronger professional identity would be key to enhancing interdisciplinary work. Conclusions. Results of this qualitative study provide insights into key aspects for moving the physiotherapy profession forward. Identity is at the heart of physiotherapy, not necessarily in terms of research priorities but in the definition of domains of competence and future positioning. Identity is also tightly connected to Interdisciplinarity as this might threaten the existence of the profession. Stakeholders outside the profession insist on the importance of visibility. The results of this study can help stakeholders reflect on the future of physiotherapy and elaborate research priorities. Keywords interdisciplinary; physiotherapy; policy; qualitative research; research prioritie

Irish attitudes toward COVID tracker app & privacy: sentiment analysis on Twitter and survey data

Contact tracing apps used in tracing and mitigating the spread of COVID-19 have sparked discussions and controversies worldwide. The major concerns in relation to these apps are around privacy. Ireland was in general praised for the design of its COVID tracker app, and the transparency through which privacy issues were addressed. However, the "voice" of the Irish public was not really heard or analysed. This study aimed to analyse the Irish public sentiment towards privacy and COVID tracker app. For this purpose we have conducted sentiment analysis on Twitter data collected from public Twitter accounts from Republic of Ireland. We collected COVID-19 related tweets generated in Ireland over a period of time from January 1, 2020 up to December 31, 2020 in order to perform sentiment analysis on this data set. Moreover, the study performed sentiment analysis on the feedback received from a national survey on privacy conducted in Republic of Ireland. The findings of the study reveal a significant criticism towards the app that relate to privacy concerns, but other aspects of the app as well. The findings also reveal some positive attitude towards the fight against COVID-19, but these are not necessarily related to the technological solutions employed for this purpose. The findings of the study contributed to the formulation of useful recommendations communicated to the relevant Irish actors

Privacy in times of COVID-19: a pilot study in the Republic of Ireland

Contact tracing apps used in tracing and mitigating the spread of COVID-19 have sparked discussions and controversies worldwide with major concerns around privacy. COVID Tracker app used in the Republic of Ireland was praised in general for the way it addressed privacy and was used as baseline for other contact tracing apps worldwide. The success of the app is dependent on the general public uptake, hence their voice and attitude is the one that really matters. This paper focuses on developing a survey and the methods aiming to examine the attitudes toward privacy during COVID-19 of the general public in the Republic of Ireland and their impact on the uptake of the COVID tracker app. Various privacy models are used and health belief model as well in this purpose. A pilot study with 286 participants show a change in attitude towards privacy during COVID-19 pandemic, with more people willing to share their data in the interest of saving lives. However, privacy attitudes are shown to have impacted the adoption of the app in Ireland

A machine learning resource allocation solution to improve video quality in remote education

The current global pandemic crisis has unquestionably disrupted the higher education sector, forcing educational institutions to rapidly embrace technology-enhanced learning. However, the COVID-19 containment measures that forced people to work or stay at home, have determined a significant increase in the Internet traffic that puts tremendous pressure on the underlying network infrastructure. This affects negatively content delivery and consequently user perceived quality, especially for video-based services. Focusing on this problem, this paper proposes a machine learning-based resource allocation solution that improves the quality of video services for increased number of viewers. The solution is deployed and tested in an educational context, demonstrating its benefit in terms of major quality of service parameters for various video content, in comparison with existing state of the art. Moreover, a discussion on how the technology is helping to mitigate the effects of massively increasing internet traffic on the video quality in an educational context is also presented