Conferences as learning communities: some early lessons in using ‘back-channel’ technologies at an academic conference – distributed intelligence or divided attention?

Abstract Most, if not all, researchers attend conferences as a part of their practice, and yet it is an under-researched activity. Little attention has been paid either to developing a theoretically informed understanding of conference practice as knowledge building, or to assessing the extent to which conferences are successful. This paper addresses these issues in the context of a small empirical study of the introduction of mobile, interactive (‘back-channel’) technologies into a conference setting. Science studies and learning theories literatures are used to develop an eight-point statement describing the aims of an idealised conference. This is then used as a framework through which to make sense of what happened when ‘back-channel’ technologies such as internet relay chat (IRC) and blogging were introduced into the 2004 Colston Symposium ‘The Evolution of Learning and Web Technologies: Survival of the Fittest?’. Focusing on sequential issues and the conference as a forum for knowledge building, the analysis shows that conference order is disrupted by the introduction of the back-channel technologies. Nevertheless, other pressures on academic and professional practice (the governance agenda, calls for greater collaboration and a more consensual approach, and so on) suggest that the potential of the new technologies to help open up the black box of scientific and professional practice will be seen as increasingly important. If these tools are to be used effectively in the future, conferences will need to be supported by new skills and practices.     

Can we let computers change practice? Educators’ interpretations of preschool tradition

The introduction of ICT into preschool practice is generally lagging. However, there is a variation regarding use of new technology. Hence, the aim of this study is to analyze which are the possibilities and difficulties to embed computers into preschool practice.     

低压电力线载波数据通信及其应用前景

文章对低压电力线载波数据通信的信道特征及实现方法作了较详细描述，同时对近年来该专业领域出现的新技术和新器件以及其应用现状和发展前景作了全面介绍了，文章根据笔者多年的实践和所收集到的国内外最新资料整理而成。     

Emergent structures in drug dispensing to inpatients: implications for patient safety

The present article recounts a study on the implications of a new technology on work practices related to dispensing drugs to inpatients. Safety has previously been strongly linked to local adaptations of work practice, and consequently the implementation of a technology that may deeply influence work practice might as a result influence safety, hopefully for the better, but possibly for the worse. The study took place three years after the introduction of the new technology and focuses on how technology came to be used in a practice. It is shown how the new technology leads to a partial redefinition of the nurses activity. On the one hand, the computer system enables the nurses to have a higher degree of participation in the practice of caretaking, while on the other hand the system may lead to a further division between the two communities of practice present in the ward. And, while this redefinition seems to supports the resilience of the practice, the study points out the need to understand this redefinition, in order to prevent negative consequences over the long term.     

Designing and Conducting an Empirical Study on Test Management Automation

Test management aims at organizing, documenting and executing test cases, and at generating execution reports. The adoption of a support tool and of a standard process for such activities is expected to improve the current practice. ITALO is a European project devoted to the evaluation of the benefits coming from test management automation. In this paper the experiences collected and the lessons learned during ITALO are summarized. A formal methodology was adopted for the selection of a support tool among those available from the market. A survey of the current practice in component testing was conducted to adapt the existing process model so as to obtain the greatest benefits from automation. An empirical study was then designed to measure the effects that are expected to be produced by the new test process complemented with the introduction of the support tool. Three pilot projects were conducted to measure the benefits obtained from tool usage and process modification. Results are presented and discussed in this paper.     

基于字符特征的随机问题阅读式验证码技术

在实际应用中,验证码的安全性与易用性是人们关注的重要方面.针对当前很多站点的验证码都缺乏可靠的安全性,设计了一种基于字符特征的随机问题阅读式验证码,它能有效抵御光学字符识别技术对阅读式验证码的破解.     

Handsketching as a human factor aspect in graphical interaction

For some years a lot of effort has been put into improving the human-computer interface in CAD-systems. After a short introduction on input problems in design processes, some of this work is reported here as well as a fairly new method, handsketching. In the third part of this paper a special system called CASUS is thoroughly explained from the user's point of view. A fourth part deals with the authors' conviction that psychological theories and methods are necessary in order to create still better interfaces. In the last chapter the system presented with all its interface features is compared to some human factor considerations discussed before. No attention is paid to the fact that very often the quality of work is changed by introducing CAD-systems. Though the designer's situation can be very often improved much more by designing his entire work, this paper lays claim only to designing a tool for the designer's hand.     

The Influence of Structured Programming on PL/I Program Profiles

Two sets of commercial PL/I programs are studied. One set represents programming practice before the introduction of structured programming techniques and the other set after their introduction. The use of these new methods is found to make a measurable difference on the quality of the programs. A few minor changes in the use of PL/I are noted. Substantial modifications to the control structure of the programs are measured. Also, some improvements in the qualitative aspects of the two sets are discussed. Although, they are much improved, further alterations can make the programs still better. The time and training required to introduce structured programming techniques will begin paying dividends within six months.     

AI and Law: What about the future?

The introduction of results of AI and Law research in actual legal practice advances disturbingly slow. One of the problems is that most research can be classified as either theoretical or pragmatic, while combinations of these two are scarce. This interferes with the need for feedback as well as with the need of getting support, both financially and from actual legal practice. The conclusion of this paper is that an emphasis on research that generates operational and sophisticated systems is necessary in order to provide a future for AI and Law.     

Complexity, signal detection, and the application of ergonomics: reflections on a healthcare case study

Complexity is a defining characteristic of healthcare, and ergonomic interventions in clinical practice need to take into account aspects vital for the success or failure of new technology. The introduction of new monitoring technology, for example, creates many ripple effects through clinical relationships and agents' cross-adaptations. This paper uses the signal detection paradigm to account for a case in which multiple clinical decision makers, across power hierarchies and gender gaps, manipulate each others' sensitivities to evidence and decision criteria. These are possible to analyze and predict with an applied ergonomics that is sensitive to the social complexities of the workplace, including power, gender, hierarchy and fuzzy system boundaries.     

浅谈数据挖掘技术在软件工程中的应用

近年来,各个软件开发组织为了对他们的过程和数据更好的了解,收集大量产品和过程数据已经成为标准惯例。这就需要从数据库中抽取新的、重要和有用的信息,这个过程就是数据挖掘。当前,将数据挖掘的技术应用于软件工程是非常有用并且合理的。文中对数据挖掘的使用进行了综述,包括相关概念、过程、技术和研究现状的介绍,并在此基础上结合了作者的评论和观点对软件工程中数据挖掘的应用特点进行浅析和探讨。     

A minimal test practice framework for emerging software organizations

Testing takes a large share of software development efforts, and hence is of interest when seeking improvements. Several test process improvement frameworks exist, but they are extensive and much too large to be effective for smaller organizations. This paper presents a minimal test practice framework (MTPF) that allows the incremental introduction of appropriate practices at the appropriate time in rapidly expanding organizations. The process for introducing the practice framework tries to minimize resistance to change by maximizing the involvement of the entire organization in the improvement effort and ensuring that changes are made in small steps with a low threshold for each step. The practice framework created and its method of introduction have been evaluated at one company by applying the framework for a one‐year period. Twelve local software development companies have also evaluated the framework in a survey. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Journalists as Crowdsourcerers: Responding to Crisis by Reporting with a Crowd

Widespread adoption of new information communication technologies (ICTs) is disrupting traditional models of news production and distribution. In this rapidly changing media landscape, the role of the journalist is evolving. Our research examines how professional journalists within a rural community impacted by Hurricane Irene successfully negotiated a new role for themselves, transforming their journalistic practice to serve in a new capacity as leaders of an online volunteer community. We describe an emergent organization of media professionals, citizen journalists, online volunteers, and collaborating journalistic institutions that provided real-time event coverage. In this rural context, where communications infrastructure is relatively uneven, this ad hoc effort bridged gaps in ICT infrastructure to unite its audience. In this paper, we introduce a new perspective for characterizing these information-sharing activities: the “human powered mesh network” extends the concept of a mesh network to include human actors in the movement of information. Our analysis shows how journalists played a key role in this network, and facilitated the movement of information to those who needed it. These findings also note a contrast between how HCI researchers are designing crowdsourcing platforms for news production and how crowdsourcing efforts are forming during disaster events, suggesting an alternative approach to designing for emergent collaborations in this context.     

Managerial use of metrics for object-oriented software: anexploratory analysis

With the increasing use of object-oriented methods in new software development, there is a growing need to both document and improve current practice in object-oriented design and development. In response to this need, a number of researchers have developed various metrics for object-oriented systems as proposed aids to the management of these systems. In this research, an analysis of a set of metrics proposed by Chidamber and Kemerer (1994) is performed in order to assess their usefulness for practising managers. First, an informal introduction to the metrics is provided by way of an extended example of their managerial use. Second, exploratory analyses of empirical data relating the metrics to productivity, rework effort and design effort on three commercial object-oriented systems are provided. The empirical results suggest that the metrics provide significant explanatory power for variations in these economic variables, over and above that provided by traditional measures, such as size in lines of code, and after controlling for the effects of individual developers     

PROTEUS仿真软件在单片机教学改革中的作用

本文通过对单片机教学改革的思考,分析单片机教学中存在的弊端,提出了一种新的教学方法,在实践环节中引入EDA技术,以新款的EDA软件Proteus为平台,设计一套符合时代需要的实验系统,并用实例说明联合仿真的方法和过程。     

艺术设计专业色彩教学实践探讨

色彩教学是艺术设计专业教学实践的重要组成部分。较之于其他专业,艺术设计专业色彩教学的培养目标有其特殊性。目前的艺术设计专业色彩教学实践中存在着很多问题。针对这些问题,本文首先从教学内容方面提出了自己的改革建议,然后简单介绍了三个行之有效的教学方法。     

Artificial intelligence and software engineering: a tutorial introduction to their relationship

This article is a tutorial introduction to artificial intelligence for software engineers, and a similar introduction to software engineering for artificial intelligence workers. Software engineering and artificial intelligence are compared and contrasted in terms of the problems they attempt to solve, the methods they employ, and the tools and techniques that are used. It is argued that a fusion of the two disciplines will be needed for many new software demands. The evidence for this is examined briefly and some of the steps that are needed for an alliance of the two disciplines are mentioned.     

中间件TUXEDO在综合教学管理系统中的应用

本文在提出了教学管理系统现实中存在的问题后,给出了可供选择的解决方案,介绍了采用中间件TUXEDO在B/S与C/S相结合的三层体系结构的综合教学管理系统中的应用与实现,总结和讨论了中间件软件在系统开发过程中的地位和发展趋势.