Active leave behavior of members in a fault-tolerant group

With the fast development of network applications, there are more asynchronous distributed systems and more requirements for fault tolerance. Asynchrony means there is no upper bound for either message transfer or operation execution. Active replication is an effective means to enhance fault tolerant capability in distributed systems. A key component in a system is replicated and all the replicas make up of a fault-tolerant group. Members in such a group execute all client requests and then re…     

Prediction of members’ return visit rates using a time factor

The profit of portal companies in Taiwan is generated by online advertising and e-commerce. Effective advertising requires predicting how users respond to advertisements and then targeting (presenting advertisements) the users in ways that reflect their preferences. The behavioral targeting leverages historical users’ behaviors in order to select for display the ads which are most related to the users’ preferences. Although we may not want to provide advertisements that repeat the same concept, we can exploit predicted return visit rates for the registered members at the specific category of a portal site. However, customers’ preferences change over time. In order to capture the ‘concept drift’, we propose a novel and simple time function to increase/decrease the weight of the old data in evaluating various members’ past behaviors. Then, we construct a member’s Click Preference Index with a Time factor (CPIT) model in order to effectively distinguish the different kinds of member behaviors and predict return visit rates. The marketers of a portal site can thus target the members with high return visit rates and design corresponding marketing strategies. Experimental results with a real dataset have demonstrated that this CPIT model can be practically implemented and provide satisfactory results.     

Electronic networking in initial teacher education: is a virtual faculty of education possible?

This article is a report of the use of an electronic network by trainee teachers in a `school-based' initial teacher education course to facilitate discussion between participants. A rational for incorporating computer conferencing, drawing on teachers' knowledge and how this might be acquired, is presented. The potential of electronic networks for sharing ideas about teaching, and encouraging `reflective practice', is examined. Features of one application of electronic working are briefly described, and data are reported on the extent to which the potential of the medium was realised with the trainee teachers in a specific case. Deeply held concerns about computer conferencing by these trainees indicates that participation in a `virtual community' cannot be assumed when computer conferencing is introduced into initial teacher education courses.     

Developing a taxonomy of faculty participation in asynchronous learning environments—an exploratory investigation

Anecdotal evidence suggests that instructor performance in the online discussion portion of online courses has a major impact on learning and learner satisfaction. If this is the case, faculty development is an important component of success. This paper describes the development of a taxonomy of six categories to describe instructor postings to asynchronous discussions in online courses. This taxonomy was used during the inspection of 18 post-graduate level course sections at a Midwest university. The resulting data show that there is considerable variation in faculty teaching styles, interaction, and the amount of content-related feedback. The process also allowed issues such timeliness of feedback and responsiveness of faculty to be quantified. In-depth interviews with instructors and learners with experience of online courses were conducted to validate the qualitative data.     

Why do users continue using social networking sites? An exploratory study of members in the United States and Taiwan

In this paper, we draw on an extended Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) to explore factors that affect members’ continued use intention toward Social Networking Sites (SNSs). We also theorize about the intricate relationships among a variety of UGT constructs. Further, we conduct this research in a global context by comparing SNS use in the United States and Taiwan. Empirical survey data are collected to validate the research model, and several intriguing findings are observed. Our research results indicate that four determinants, i.e., gratifications, perceived critical mass, subjective norms, and privacy concerns, influence SNS users’ continuance intention and that regional differences moderate the effects of both gratifications and privacy concerns on continuance intention. Our study makes noticeable contributions to the literature on UGT and SNSs. The findings reported also inform service providers in developing better strategies for member retention.