Student-Centred Assessments and their Impact on Learning – An IS Case Study

In higher education, one can find many different assessment methods ranging from the most traditional examination based assessment to computer-based on-line assessment and many other innovative assessment practices. Yet, achieving a high level of positive impact of assessment on student learning is always a major concern among academic practitioners. Choosing the right set of assessment modes, designing the assessment activities and evaluating their impact on student learning are some of the major challenges. This challenge is more pronounced in the recently emerging Information Systems (IS) programmes as there is an ever-growing wide variety of assessment methods matching with the ever-changing tools and techniques that evolve in the computer hardware and software disciplines. In such a dynamic context, IS courses in higher education are faced with a very short life-cycle and hence do not have the luxury of experimenting different assessment modes from time to time. They need to arrive at the right combination of assessments based on the prevailing situation. It is therefore a question as to which assessment methods are the best to be adopted and what is the impact of such assessments on student learning. This paper proposes a pragmatic four-step student-centred approach to identify and design suitable assessment methods and to examine their impact on student learning. The student-centred approach is illustrated through a study conducted for a particular IS course in a higher education setting. Due to the generic nature of this approach, it could be adopted in courses from other areas as well

An adaptive framework for biometric systems

This paper provides guidelines to classify biometric systems based on the level of privacy and security risks associated with their transactions. The classification of biometric systems as Basic, Medium or Advanced details how the transactions make use of biometric information for one or more purposes, such as, authorisation, accountability and analysis of sensitive data. An adaptive framework proposed here considers this classification as the fundamental building block in providing a step-wise implementation procedure for implementing biometric systems. It is believed that by adopting such an adaptive framework, societies, businesses and government would be able to harness the benefits of biometrics. This would pave way for a significantly faster diffusion of biometric systems in many everyday life scenarios. © 2009 IEEE

The development of an information systems strategic plan : An e-government perspective

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have been playing a major role in governments across the world to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of public services. However, ICT has been utilised only in a piecemeal fashion by different public sectors and, hence, many governments are keen to incorporate an integrated e-government strategy to achieve business and service excellence. This paper presents the development of an Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP) for a large government organisation as a case study. We discuss the evolution of an e-government strategy and examine its influence in the development of an information systems strategy within a state sector organisation in New Zealand. The findings from the case study analysis are used to measure the degree of alignment between the objectives of the e-government strategy and the organisation's ISSP strategy. We identify the challenges that face the organisation and propose a ten-point framework for the improvement of the ISSP alignment with the e-government strategy. Finally, we conclude with a summary of the outcomes of this study and the future research directions. © 2009 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

MapReduce neural network framework for efficient content based image retrieval from large datasets in the cloud

Recently, content based image retrieval (CBIR) has gained active research focus due to wide applications such as crime prevention, medicine, historical research and digital libraries. With digital explosion, image collections in databases in distributed locations over the Internet pose a challenge to retrieve images that are relevant to user queries efficiently and accurately. It becomes increasingly important to develop new CBIR techniques that are effective and scalable for real-time processing of very large image collections. To address this, the paper proposes a novel MapReduce neural network framework for CBIR from large data collection in a cloud environment. We adopt natural language queries that use a fuzzy approach to classify the colour images based on their content and apply Map and Reduce functions that can operate in cloud clusters for arriving at accurate results in real-time. Preliminary experimental results for classifying and retrieving images from large data sets were quite convincing to carry out further experimental evaluations. © 2012 IEEE

Personalised measures of obesity using waist to height ratios from an Australian health screening program

Objectives The aim of the current study is to generate waist circumference to height ratio cut-off values for obesity categories from a model of the relationship between body mass index and waist circumference to height ratio. We compare the waist circumference to height ratio discovered in this way with cut-off values currently prevalent in practice that were originally derived using pragmatic criteria. Method Personalized data including age, gender, height, weight, waist circumference and presence of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease for 847 participants over eight years were assembled from participants attending a rural Australian health review clinic (DiabHealth). Obesity was classified based on the conventional body mass index measure (weight/height(2)) and compared to the waist circumference to height ratio. Correlations between the measures were evaluated on the screening data, and independently on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that included age categories. Results This article recommends waist circumference to height ratio cut-off values based on an Australian rural sample and verified using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database that facilitates the classification of obesity in clinical practice. Gender independent cut-off values are provided for waist circumference to height ratio that identify healthy (waist circumference to height ratio >= 0.45), overweight (0.53) and the three obese (0.60, 0.68, 0.75) categories verified on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey dataset. A strong linearity between the waist circumference to height ratio and the body mass index measure is demonstrated. Conclusion The recommended waist circumference to height ratio cut-off values provided a useful index for assessing stages of obesity and risk of chronic disease for improved healthcare in clinical practice

Big data analytics and internet of things for personalised healthcare: opportunities and challenges

With the increasing use of technologies and digitally driven healthcare systems worldwide, there will be several opportunities for the use of big data in personalized healthcare. In addition, With the advancements and availability of internet of things (IoT) based point-of-care (POC) technologies, big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) can provide useful methods and solutions in monitoring, diagnosis, and self-management of health issues for a better personalized healthcare. In this paper, we identify the current personalized healthcare trends and challenges. Then, propose an architecture to support big data analytics using POC test results of an individual. The proposed architecture can facilitate an integrated and self-managed healthcare as well as remote patient care by adapting three popular machine learning algorithms to leverage the current trends in IoT, big data infrastructures and data analytics for advancing personalized healthcare of the future

Biometrics in banking security : A case study

Purpose - To identify and discuss the issues and success factors surrounding biometrics, especially in the context of user authentication and controls in the banking sector, using a case study. Design/methodology/approach - The literature survey and analysis of the security models of the present information systems and biometric technologies in the banking sector provide the theoretical and practical background for this work. The impact of adopting biometric solutions in banks was analysed by considering the various issues and challenges from technological, managerial, social and ethical angles. These explorations led to identifying the success factors that serve as possible guidelines for a viable implementation of a biometric-enabled authentication system in banking organisations, in particular for a major bank in New Zealand. Findings - As the level of security breaches and transaction frauds increase day by day, the need for highly secure identification and personal verification information systems is becoming extremely important especially in the banking and finance sector. Biometric technology appeals to many banking organisations as a near perfect solution to such security threats. Though biometric technology has gained traction in areas like healthcare and criminology, its application in banking security is still in its infancy. Due to the close association of biometrics to human, physical and behavioural aspects, such technologies pose a multitude of social, ethical and managerial challenges. The key success factors proposed through the case study served as a guideline for a biometric-enabled security project called Bio-Sec, which is envisaged in a large banking organisation in New Zealand. This pilot study reveals that more than coping with the technology issues of gelling biometrics into the existing information systems, formulating a viable security plan that addresses user privacy fears, human tolerance levels, organisational change and legal issues is of prime importance. Originality/value - Though biometric systems are successfully adopted in areas such as immigration control and criminology, there is a paucity of their implementation and research pertaining to banking environments. Not all banks venture into biometric solutions to enhance their security systems due to their socio-technological issues. This paper fulfils the need for a guideline to identify the various issues and success factors for a viable biometric implementation in a bank's access control system. This work is only a starting point for academics to conduct more research in the application of biometrics in the various facets of banking businesses

An optimal transportation routing approach using GIS-based dynamic traffic flows

This paper examines the value of real-time traffic information gathered through Geographic Information Systems for achieving an optimal vehicle routing within a dynamically stochastic transportation network. We present a systematic approach in determining the dynamically varying parameters and implementation attributes that were used for the development of a Web-based transportation routing application integrated with real-time GIS services. We propose and implement an optimal routing algorithm by modifying Dijkstra’s algorithm in order to incorporate stochastically changing traffic flows. We describe the significant features of our Web application in making use of the real-time dynamic traffic flow information from GIS services towards achieving total costs savings and vehicle usage reduction. These features help users and vehicle drivers in improving their service levels and productivity as the Web application enables them to interactively find the optimal path and in identifying destinations effectively

Role of mobile technology in the construction industry - A case study

The construction industry is facing a number of pressures to decrease costs, improve productivity and have a competitive edge in terms of quality of service and customer satisfaction. Recent advancements in mobile technology provide new avenues for addressing this situation. This paper presents the role of emerging mobile technologies and, in particular, the development of a mobile facsimile solution that assists collaborative communications between parties on or away from the construction site. This paper first identifies potential use cases for mobile technologies in the construction industry and highlights the issues that would hamper their adoption. It discusses the modelling of the problems related to the workflow of a construction process with the aid of a focus group formed with various construction industry representatives in New Zealand. The various problem-solving processes adopted by the industry practitioners at different functional levels are analysed and the findings summarised. Finally, this paper describes the development of one such mobile solution, called ClikiFax, which could address some of the issues and pressures prevailing in the context of the New Zealand construction industry. Copyright © 2009, Inderscience Publishers