Deconstructing and reconstructing: Transforming primary science learning via a mobilized curriculum

The history of science education reform has been fundamentally centered around science curriculum development and implementation. The advent of mobile technologies has necessitated a re-examination of how students could better learn science through these 21st century tools. Conventional teaching materials may not prepare students to learn the inquiry way and to become self-directed and social learners who could learn “everywhere and all the time (seamlessly)” using mobile technologies. This paper is based on our first year of work in our mobile learning research project in transforming primary three science lessons into a “mobilized” curriculum for a classroom context in which students routinely use mobile technologies. Using an exemplar fungi topic, we discuss our approach as well as experiences in deconstructing and reconstructing an existing curriculum through a co-design approach with teachers in a Singapore local school. In doing so, we make a contribution to the methodology for developing mobilized science curricula for in-class learning that also extends to out-of-class learning.     

A Pedagogy of Play: Integrating Computer Games into the Writing Classroom

Traditional distinctions between work/play and classroom/gamespace create barriers to computer games’ integration into academic settings and the writing classroom in particular. For a writing class, the work/play distinction often relegates games to an object of analysis in which students critique the games but have little invested in the gameplay itself. After examining briefly how historical changes in education created these distinctions, we offer an alternative position that places play and gamespace within the realm of the classroom. In so doing, we open up a gap for computer game theory to inform the pedagogy that can be practiced in a writing classroom. We show one such example of game theory informing writing pedagogy—the theory of emergent gaming. We then offer an example of an enacted emergent pedagogy in which students play the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft throughout the term, composing self-determined, rhetorically focused writing projects informed by play and written for other game players.     

Towards building a universal defect prediction model with rank transformed predictors

Software defects can lead to undesired results. Correcting defects costs 50 % to 75 % of the total software development budgets. To predict defective files, a prediction model must be built with predictors (e.g., software metrics) obtained from either a project itself (within-project) or from other projects (cross-project). A universal defect prediction model that is built from a large set of diverse projects would relieve the need to build and tailor prediction models for an individual project. A formidable obstacle to build a universal model is the variations in the distribution of predictors among projects of diverse contexts (e.g., size and programming language). Hence, we propose to cluster projects based on the similarity of the distribution of predictors, and derive the rank transformations using quantiles of predictors for a cluster. We fit the universal model on the transformed data of 1,385 open source projects hosted on SourceForge and GoogleCode. The universal model obtains prediction performance comparable to the within-project models, yields similar results when applied on five external projects (one Apache and four Eclipse projects), and performs similarly among projects with different context factors. At last, we investigate what predictors should be included in the universal model. We expect that this work could form a basis for future work on building a universal model and would lead to software support tools that incorporate it into a regular development workflow.     

Toward a more flexible Web-based framework for multidisciplinary design

In today's competitive environment, both industry and government agencies are under pressure to reduce the time and cost of multidisciplinary design projects. New tools have been introduced to assist in this process by facilitating the integration of and communication among diverse disciplinary codes. One such tool, a framework for multidisciplinary design, is defined as a hardware–software architecture that enables integration, execution, and communication among diverse disciplinary processes. An examination of current frameworks reveals weaknesses in various areas, such as sequencing, monitoring, controlling, and displaying the design process. The objective of this research is to explore how Web technology can improve these areas of weakness and lead toward a more flexible framework. This article describes a Web-based system that optimizes and controls the execution sequence of design processes in addition to monitoring the project status and displaying the design results.     

The Role of Solution Architects in Systems Integration

The roles and responsibilities of programmers, analysts, and project managers are well understood, but there is still ambiguity about the roles of the various architects such projects require. Without understanding how architects contribute to a systems integration project, it will be difficult to use them effectively. Much of the confusion stems from the inability to differentiate the roles of architects and designers, yet in large complex projects, the failure to recognize these important differences represents a missed opportunity to achieve an integrated perspective on the complete system solution. This paper discussed that a key step toward regaining this opportunity is to identify the different architect types that a typical systems integration project requires and to understand their roles and responsibilities. Armed with this understanding, an organization can harness the diverse talents into a solution architects group that will be a single point of responsibility through all stages of the project's life-cycle     

Sticks,stones and Facebook accounts: What violence outreach workers know about social media and urban-based gang violence in Chicago

Recent research has identified a relatively new trend among youth (12–24) living in violent urban neighborhoods. These youth use social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to brag about violence, make threats, recruit gang members and to plan criminal activity known as Internet banging. Studies have typically examined youth communication by mining data on social media and surveying or interviewing youth about their social media behaviors. However, there is little to no empirical research that examines how adults who work directly with youth in violent, urban neighborhoods shape, conceptualize and intervene in urban-based youth violence facilitated by social media. Utilizing qualitative interviews with violence outreach workers, we asked outreach workers to describe how youth use social media and the extent to which they use social media to intervene in crisis that emerge in violent Chicago neighborhoods. Participants describe youth behavior that included taunting rival gangs, posturing and boasting about violent events. We also found evidence that social media enhanced crisis intervention work in violent neighborhoods when coupled with close, trusting relationships with youth.     

Crowds,citizens and sensors: process and practice for mobilising learning

Participatory sensing is an emerging field in which citizens are empowered by technologies to monitor their own environments. Harvesting and analysing data gathered in response to personal or local enquiries can be seen as an antidote to information provided by official sources. Democratising sensing means that ordinary people can learn about and understand the world around them better and can be a part of the decision-making in improving environments for all. In this paper, we review and describe participatory sensing and discuss this in relation to making a series of prototype tools and applications for mobile users—Located Lexicon, Where’s Fenton? and Tall Buildings. In the first of these projects, Located Lexicon, we wanted to find out whether a lexicon of terms derived from user-generated content could enable the formation of Twitter like groups that allow users to engage in finding out more about their location. In the second project, Where’s Fenton? we made a publicly available app that involves users in counting the abundance and logging the location of deer in a park. This project focused specifically on anonymity of the user in collecting data for a specific enquiry. In the last project, Tall Buildings, we experimented with using dimensions of altitude, distance and speed to encourage users to physically explore a city from its rooftops. In all of these projects, we experiment with the pedestrian as a human sensor and the methods and roles they may engage in to make new discoveries. The underlying premise for our work is that it is not possible to calibrate people to be identical, so experimenting with crowd-sourced data opens up thinking about the way we observe and learn about the physical environment.     

Interaction spaces in computer-mediated communication

In this paper we describe the development of the Interaction Space Theory developed as part of the SANE project. The EU funded project provided an inter-disciplinary context for the study of interactions in the hybrid workplace where physical work environment is enhanced with information and communication technologies (ICT) which enable collaboration with remote partners. We explain how the theoretical approach, empirical work and methodological strategy employed by SANE researchers contribute toward the social intelligence design approach through the development of the methodology for identification of workplace requirements for mobile knowledge workers. In addition, we demonstrate how empirical findings, based upon our theoretical approach, can lead to development of novel methods and techniques for evaluating the impact of new and emerging technologies in the workplace.     

Modeling Distributed Knowledge Processes in Next Generation Multidisciplinary Alliances*

Current research on distributed knowledge processes suggests a critical conflict between knowledge processes in groups and the technologies built to support them. The conflict centers on observations that authentic and efficient knowledge creation and sharing is deeply embedded in an interpersonal face to face context, but that technologies to support distributed knowledge processes rely on the assumption that knowledge can be made mobile outside these specific contexts. This conflict is of growing national importance as work patterns change from same site to separate site collaboration, and millions of government and industrial dollars are invested in establishing academic-industry alliances and building infrastructures to support distributed collaboration and knowledge. In this paper we describe our multi-method approach for studying the tension between embedded and mobile knowledge in a project funded by the National Science Foundation's program on Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence. This project examines knowledge processes and technology in distributed, multidisciplinary scientific teams in the National Computational Science Alliance (Alliance), a prototypical next generation enterprise. First we review evidence for the tension between embedded and mobile knowledge in several research literatures. Then we present our three-factor conceptualization that considers how the interrelationships among characteristics of the knowledge shared, group context, and communications technology contribute to the tension between embedded and mobile knowledge. Based on this conceptualization we suggest that this dichotomy does not fully explain distributed multidisciplinary knowledge processes. Therefore we propose some alternate models of how knowledge is shared. We briefly introduce the setting in which we are studying distributed knowledge processes and finally, we describe the data collection methods and the current status of the project.     

Concept for multidevelopment project and team organization of product and process generations

Large and middle-sized manufacturers need to carry out multiple development projects simultaneously to serve a variety of products to markets with different customer needs. The purpose of this article is to explore product development project and team organization with respect to technology and design transfer strategy among multiple development projects, as well as their impact on project integrity and performance. The focus is on the strategic and cross-functional integration of product and process generations with distinctive platforms and their derivative projects. First, this study proposes a concept of multilayer development project and team organization, which builds a creative environment through effective information sharing among and within the individual development projects and teams. Second, using analysis results on six product development projects at a large Japanese computer manufacturer, it is concluded that multilayer teams are effective in realizing project integrity through implementing inter- and intraproduct and process generation technology and design transfer strategy. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Asynchronous Transfer Mode and other Network Technologies for Wide-Area and High-Performance Cluster Computing

We review fast networking technologies for both wide-area and high performance cluster computer systems. We describe our experiences in constructing asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)-based local- and wide-area clusters and the tools and technologies this experience led us to develop. We discuss our experiences using Internet Protocol on such systems as well as native ATM protocols and the problems facing wide-area integration of cluster systems. We are presently constructing Beowulf-class computer clusters using a mix of Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet technology and we anticipate how such systems will integrate into a new local-area Gigabit Ethernet network and what technologies will be used for connecting shared HPC resources across wide-areas. High latencies on wide-area cluster systems led us to develop a metacomputing problem-solving environment known as distributed information systems control world (DISCWorld). We summarize our main developments in this project as well as the key features and research directions for software to exploit computational services running on fast networked cluster systems.     

Team leader strategies for enabling collaboration technology adaptation: team technology knowledge to improve globally distributed systems development work

Active management of team adaptation of collaboration technologies offers an important lever for influencing success rates in distributed project work, particularly in settings characterized by high task interdependence, such as information systems development (ISD). Substantial uncertainty exists as to how a leader might influence such technology adaptation during project work. Prior research indicates that a major leader resource to accomplish technology adaptation in these settings would be team technology knowledge (TTK). This empirical field study develops a five-factor model of strategies regarding awareness of TTK that team leaders take in intervening to affect technology adaptation in distributed ISD projects. The analysis indicates insights into when and why these strategies are effective and how they relate to each other as well as the leader's awareness of TTK. The study provides a way for ISD team leaders to approach improving team collaboration from a socio-technical perspective as well as insights into potential levers for improving team technology adaptation and the efficacy of ISD projects.     

What makes mobile computer supported cooperative work mobile? Towards a better understanding of cooperative mobile interactions

Despite the high availability of mobile phones and personal digital assistants with online capabilities, mobile computer supported cooperative work is still in its infancy. So far, only little is known about the distinct attributes of mobile cooperative work in comparison to its stationary counterpart. Across which dimensions does cooperation via mobile devices differ from traditional hard-wired settings and what implications have to be drawn for future research? To bring more light to this question, we conducted an experimental business-case at Frankfurt University with 16 graduate students and analysed their collaborative behaviour across mobile and non-mobile channels of communication over a 5 week period. We find that mobile messages differed from stationary messages in terms of size and that the use of mobile emails prevailed over stationary emails under conditions of stress. Finally, we found that the social structure of mobile communication corresponded with the structure of stationary communication. This indicates that mobile communication technologies support existing communication relations rather than creating new relations. From the perspective of system designers, these results may serve as practical insights into the user behaviour of mobile technologies and might support the future development of mobile computer supported cooperative work environments.     

An Analysis of Merge Conflicts and Resolutions in Git-Based Open Source Projects

Version control systems such as Git support parallel collaborative work and became very widespread in the open-source community. Whilst Git offers some very interesting features, resolving conflicts that arise during synchronisation of parallel changes is a time-consuming task. In this paper we present an analysis of concurrency and conflicts in official Git repository of four projects: Rails, IkiWiki, Samba and Linux Kernel. We analyse the collaboration process of these projects at specific periods revealing how change integration and conflict rates vary during project development life-cycle. We also analyse how often users decide to rollback to previous document version when the integration process generates conflicts. Finally, we discuss the mechanism adopted by Git to consider changes made on two continuous lines as conflicting.     

Dynamic mobile RFID-based supply chain control and management system in construction

Construction project control attempts to effectively obtain real-time information and enhance dynamic control and management via information sharing and analysis from involved participants of the projects to reduce construction conflicts and project delay. However, extending the construction project control system to job sites is considered inefficient since construction sites are unconventional practice. Integrating promising information technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, mobile devices-PDA and web portals can help improve the effectiveness and convenience of information flow in construction supply chain control systems. Radio frequency identification is appropriate for various construction applications, and provides cost savings through increased speed and accuracy of data entry. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a RFID-based supply chain management application called the mobile construction RFID-based dynamic supply chain management (M-ConRDSCM) system in construction projects, demonstrating that it responds efficiently and enhances the information flow among offices and sites in a construction supply chain environment. The M-ConRDSCM system is then applied to a selected case study involving a High-Tech factory building in Taiwan to verify the proposed methodology and demonstrate the effectiveness of information sharing of project control in the construction phase. The advantage of the M-ConRDSCM system lies not only in improving work efficiency for on-site engineers, but also in providing dynamic operation control and management to enable project participants to control the whole project. Moreover, this study presents a generic system architecture and its implementation.     

Model-based testing approaches selection for software projects

Selecting software technologies for software projects represents a challenge to software engineers. It is known that software projects differ from each other by presenting different characteristics that can complicate the selection of such technologies. This is not different when considering model-based testing. There are many approaches with different characteristics described in the technical literature that can be used in software projects. However, there is no indication as to how they can fit a software project. Therefore, a strategy to select model-based testing approaches for software projects called Porantim is fully described in this paper. Porantim is based on a body of knowledge describing model-based testing approaches and their characterization attributes (identified by secondary and primary experimental studies), and a process to guide by adequacy and impact criteria regarding the use of this sort of software technology that can be used by software engineers to select model-based testing approaches for software projects.     

Studies of mobile document work and their contributions to the Satchel project

This paper provides a retrospective account of the field studies, questionnaire surveys and user trials we carried out during our Satchel research project. Satchel is a system that supports mobile document work by providing streamlined access to documents and document services. We describe each study and present illustrative results to show how each one contributed to the overall success of the research project. More specifically, we describe how each study affected the design of our Satchel prototypes and the design of the scenarios that were used as communication tools during the course of the project. We analyse the relative value of each of the studies and trials, concentrating on cost factors such as research effort, expenses, and amount of subject time required. Although we acknowledge that not all research projects will be able to include such a wide number or variety of user studies, we hope that our analysis will provide useful information for other research projects.     

Tying Knots: Participatory Infrastructuring at Work

Today, most design projects are infrastructuring projects, because they build on technologies, competencies and practices that already exist. While infrastructuring was originally seen as being full of conflicts and contradictions with what is already present, we find that many contemporary reports seem to mainly address participatory infrastructuring as horizontal co-design and local, mutual learning processes in which people attempt to make the most out of available technology. In this paper we expand our view of design activities in three dimensions: First, how participatory processes play out vertically in different political and practical arenas; second, on the back stage of design, the messy activities that occur before, between and after the participatory workshops. And third, on their reach; how they tie into existing networks across organizations, and how agency and initiatives become dispersed within these networks. To illustrate and discuss the process of participatory infrastructuring we use a case study from an educational context. This particular project contains a diverse set of design activities at many organizational levels revolving around technology, decision-making, competence-building, commitment and policy-making. The project highlights these complexities, and our discussions lead to a vocabulary for participatory infrastructuring that focuses on knotworking, rather than structure, and on both horizontal and vertical reach and sustainability. This vocabulary is grounded in the meeting of the literature on infrastructuring, participatory design, and activity theory, and leads to a revised understanding of, for example, learning and conflicts in participatory infrastructuring.     

Alignment in an inter-organisational network: the case of <Emphasis Type="Italic">ARC transistance</Emphasis>

We consider the processes of achieving alignment in coordinated inter-organizational networks through a case study of a system development project in ARC Transistance, a network of European automobile clubs that cooperate to provide pan-European service. The theoretical contribution of the paper is, first, an extended strategic alignment model for inter-organizational networks that distinguishes between integration of IS with business strategy and infrastructure, and what we label ‘accordance’ between the strategies and infrastructures of the network and the member firms. Second, we propose that for a network organization, network and member strategies might be complementary as well as tightly coupled. We similarly argue that IS architectures for networks should strive for being ‘business strategy-neutral’ to more easily accommodate the diversity of members. Finally, we discuss how the process of developing a network information system can be a driver towards network alignment, but how the lack of effective governance structures makes alignment harder to achieve.     

Effective digital collaboration in the construction industry – A case study of BIM deployment in a hospital construction project

Building information modeling (BIM) and related digital innovations can serve as a catalyst for more transparency, tighter integration, and increased productivity in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Yet, many project teams struggle with how to work based on the new technology. Collaborative design based on shared information systems like BIM requires changing traditional and institutionalized work practices and routines. A case study of integrated BIM design in a large healthcare construction project serves as an example for how commonly experienced challenges can be overcome. The project has been awarded BuildingSMART's 2015 award for ‘outstanding open BIM practice’ making it Norway's role model for BIM practice. Based on diffusion of innovations theory, we identified the following set of key factors enabling digital collaboration in this project: change agents, new roles and responsibilities, a cloud computing infrastructure, BIM contracts, and a BIM learning environment. The findings presented in this article may serve as an example for BIM implementation and collaborative work in construction projects.