Semantically enriched Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) platform

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are becoming an essential source of information for both students and teachers. Noticeably, MOOCs have to adapt to the fast development of new technologies; they also have to satisfy the current generation of online students. The current MOOCs’ Management Systems, such as Coursera, Udacity, edX, etc., use content management platforms where content are organized in a hierarchical structure. We envision a new generation of MOOCs that support interpretability with formal semantics by using the SemanticWeb and the online social networks. Semantic technologies support more flexible information management than that offered by the current MOOCs’ platforms. Annotated information about courses, video lectures, assignments, students, teachers, etc., can be composed from heterogeneous sources, including contributions from the communities in the forum space. These annotations, combined with legacy data, build foundations for more efficient information discovery in MOOCs’ platforms. In this article we review various Collaborative Semantic Filtering technologies for building Semantic MOOCs’ management system, then, we present a prototype of a semantic middle-sized platform implemented at Western Kentucky University that answers these aforementioned requirements.     

Usability of a cloud-based collaborative learning framework to improve learners’ experience

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is concerned with how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) might facilitate learning in groups which can be co-located or distributed over a network of computers such as Internet. CSCL supports effective learning by means of communication of ideas and information among learners, collaborative access of essential documents, and feedback from instructors and peers on learning activities. As the cloud technologies are increasingly becoming popular and collaborative learning is evolving, new directions for development of collaborative learning tools deployed on cloud are proposed. Development of such learning tools requires access to substantial data stored in the cloud. Ensuring efficient access to such data is hindered by the high latencies of wide-area networks underlying the cloud infrastructures. To improve learners’ experience by accelerating data access, important files can be replicated so a group of learners can access data from nearby locations. Since a cloud environment is highly dynamic, resource availability, network latency, and learner requests may change. In this paper, we present the advantages of collaborative learning and focus on the importance of data replication in the design of such a dynamic cloud-based system that a collaborative learning portal uses. To this end, we introduce a highly distributed replication technique that determines optimal data locations to improve access performance by minimizing replication overhead (access and update). The problem is formulated using dynamic programming. Experimental results demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed collaborative learning system used by institutions in geographically distributed locations.     

Evaluating the effects of frame of reference on spatial collaboration using desktop collaborative virtual environments

Spatial collaboration is an everyday activity in which people work together to solve a spatial problem. For example, a group of people will often arrange furniture together or exchange directions with one another. Collaborative virtual environments using desktop PCs are particularly useful for spatial activities when the participants are distributed. This work investigates ways to enhance distributed, collaborative spatial activities. This paper explores how different frames of reference affect spatial collaboration. Specifically, it reports on an experiment that examines different combinations of exocentric and egocentric frames of reference with two users. Tasks involve manipulating an object, where one participant knows the objective (director) and the other performs the interactions (actor). It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the different combinations for a spatial collaboration task. Findings from this study demonstrate that frames of reference affect collaboration in a variety of ways and simple exocentric-egocentric combinations do not always provide the most usable solution.     

A STEP-BASED CAD/CAPP INTEGRATION

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Merging Functional Form Feature into GT Codes to Enhance the CAD/CAM Integration

The TangShan Research Institute of Group Technology has been engaged in the develop-ment of GT for the light industry machinery building factories since 1980.Under its overall supervisionmore than 8 factories have applied GT to drawing control and process planning,while 4 of them reorga-nized their machine shops into GT cells and the throughput capabilities were raisd immediately by 15 toeven 49%.Since the existing GT coding systems predict only the global characteristics of machine parts,theirapplication alone is unable to transfer all the information needed for the CAD/CAM integration in aCIM environment.From the very beginning of 1989,we started to study the feasibility of introducingconcepts of Functional Form Features into GT codes.Based on the exhaustive study of nearly 100,000part drawings from machineries for making pottery and porcelain appliances,cigarette,paper pulp,glass bottles,plastics moulding,beer and beverage filling etc.,a new GT/FFF coding system wasworked out and a corresponding set of standard drawings assembled from FFF primitives Was formulat-ed which can cover up to 65—75% of existing parts from light industry machineries.FFF based GTcodes greatly facilitate the standardization control of released drawings,accelerate the engineering de-sign and process planning,and certainly will play an important role in the future CIM organization.     

CAPP中参数化规格表的建立及可视化填写的实现

计算机辅助工艺设计（CAPP）软件能否高效地发挥其功用，其基础数据库建立的好坏起着极其重要的作用。在对众多商品化CAPP软件进行详细调研的基础上，开发出了能由用户自行建立参数化规格表并实现可视化填写的CAPP系统，并在国家863/CF-CIMS应用示范工程中得到应用。     

基于STEP的零件加工工艺计划模型

为了满足ＣＩＭＳ环境下工艺系统与其它系统集成的需要，建立了标准工艺计划模型具十分重要的意义。本文描述了一个基于ＳＴＥＰ的零件加工工艺计划模型，介绍了建立这一模型的关键技术，给出了参照ＳＴＥＰ建立工艺计划模型的方法。     

Tracing success: graphical methods for analysing successful collaborative problem solving

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the use of trace diagrams for analysing collaborative problem solving. The paper describes a study where trace diagrams were used to analyse joint navigation in a virtual environment. Ten pairs of undergraduates worked together on a distributed virtual task to collect five flowers using two bees with each participant controlling one of the bees. This task is used extensively in research on multi-robot systems. The joint navigation of the pairs was analysed using trace diagrams. They showed that more successful pairs divided the task up, showed very little overlap and very little backtracking. Whereas, the less successful pairs, showed no task division, there was significant overlap and extensive backtracking. From this analysis we developed numerical measures of task division, overlap and backtracking. Task division was significantly and negatively related with task performance. Backtracking and overlap were significantly and positively correlated.     

箱体零件CAD／CAPP／CAM集成系统的研究与实践

在ＣＩＭＳ环境下，针对箱体零件ＣＡＤ、ＣＡＰＰ、ＣＡＭ信息集成的功能需求，在基于特征的箱体零件信息模型、工艺计划模型与服务于工艺设计的制造环境模型的支持下，开发出了特征造型，工艺设计及加工过程仿真与ＮＣ编程等子系统，从而完成了一个集成化的箱体零件ＣＡＤ／ＣＡＰＰ／ＣＡＭ系统。     

DETERMINATION OF TOTAL NITROGEN IN BARLEY AND MALT BY COMBUSTION METHOD—COLLABORATIVE TRIAL

A combustion method, relying on the Dumas principle, for the determination of total nitrogen in barley and malt, has been collaboratively tested by the Analysis Committee of the European Brewery Convention. Repeatability, r₉₅, and reproducibility, R₉₅, values were 0.063 and 0.116% of dry matter, respectively, for samples with nitrogen contents in the range 1.23 to 1.86% N of dry matter. There was no significant difference between these values for barley and malt. The Analysis Committee approved the adoption of the combustion method for inclusion in Analytica EBC as an alternative method.