A framework for e-learning: a blended solution?: current developments in technology-assisted education

This paper describes a Framework for e-Learning and presents the findings of a study investigating whether the use of Blended Learning can fulfill or at least accommodate some of the human requirements presently neglected by current e-Learning systems. This study evaluates the in-house system: Teachmat, and discusses how the use of Blended Learning has become increasingly prevalent as a result of its enhancement and expansion, its relationship to the human and pedagogical issues, and both the positive and negative implications of this reality. [From the Authors

A disciplinary commons for database teaching

This paper discusses the experience of taking part in a disciplinary commons devoted to the teaching of database systems. It will discuss the structure of a disciplinary commons and our experience of the database version

From sudoku to DNA in six steps

Tony Valsamidis, senior lecturer in information systems, Greenwich University reviews Genesis Machines: The New Science of Biocomputing by Martyn Amos - Atlantic Books ISBN - 184354 224 2. What do encryption, the double helix and sudoku have in common? They are all bound together by the newish science of biocomputing in rather surprising ways, as Martyn Amos masterfully shows in this compendious volume

Where is the "e" in eLearning?

In this paper, we consider what is meant by elearning and contrast the delivery of material with the actual learning process using an analogy derived from Searle. A case study describes an attempt to use a groupware system in a knowledge management course that met with mixed results. The reasons for these are explored with issues regarding extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and scaffolding being considered in the elearning contex

Across the Bridge: CLEF 2001 – Non-English Monolingual Retrieval. The French task.

This paper presents work on document retrieval based on participation in the Cross-Language Evaluation Forum (CLEF) 2001 task of non-English monolingual retrieval task using French only. In summary, the experiment findings indicate that Okapi, the text retrieval system in use, can successfully be used for non-English text retrieval although a lot of internal pre-processing is required in the basic search system to convert the documents and topics into Okapi access formats. Various shell scripts were written to achieve the conversion in a Unix environment, failure of which would significantly have impeded the overall performance. Based on the experiment findings using Okapi, which was originally designed for the English Language, it was clear that there was significant difference between French and English retrieval depending on the retrieval system in use

Multi-processor File-System Performance Modelling

The introduction of parallelism has brought forth new and diverse approaches to architecture and algorithm design. Furthermore, the measurement and prediction of performance, while varying the many design parameters, has become a more complex issue. In this paper we describe a simulation tool which is used to estimate the performance in an ongoing Parallel Database project. The tool consists of two major layers. In this paper we will focus on the file-system layer. This layer models current and future file-system configurations running on a multi-processor architecture. We illustrate the power of the tool by varying a small number of the tool's input parameters and demonstrating how they effect the system's performance. PROJECT BACKGROUND With the increased usage of Relational technology, the database user community is demanding highly usable and portable products, combined with acceptable performance. Database Decision Support applications, which involve considerable manipulation of ..

PRIMA : A Parallel Relational Database Machine Architecture

As the raw volume of databases increases, single processor architectures using software-based RDBMSs are seen to be inefficient. distributed memory multiprocessor database machines are being seen as a very cost-effective solution. 1 The research for this project was funded by the London Parallel Applications Centre, in collaboration with ASK Ingres - 2 - The PRIMA project is investigating how a commercial RDBMS, namely Ingres, can be used on the Topsy multicomputer in such a way as to maximise the performance benefits from the parallelism available with the architecture. A detailed performance prediction methodology is being used to aid the design team in producing optimal solutions using the present Topsy architecture and providing input to the design of future architectures. The performance tool being used enables both the focused study of the file-system and the evaluation of more general DBMS modules such as select and join. The project also aims to develop a general way to para..