38,875 research outputs found
Development and leadership in computer-mediated collaborative groups
Get PDFComputer-mediated collaboration is an important feature of modern organisational and educational settings. Despite its ever increasing popularity, it is still commonly compared unfavourably with face-to-face collaboration because non-verbal and paralinguistic cues are minimal. Although research on face-to-face group collaboration is well documented, less is known about computer-mediated collaboration.
The initial focus of this thesis was an in-depth analysis of a case study of a computer-mediated collaborative group. The case study was a large international group of volunteer researchers who collaborated on a two-year research project using asynchronous communication (email). This case study was a window on collaborative dialogue in the early 1990s (1992-94) at a time when information and communication technologies were at an early stage of development.
After identifying the issues emerging from this early case study, another case study using technologies and virtual environments developed over the past decade, was designed to further understand how groups work together on a collaborative activity. The second case study was a small group of students enrolled in a unit of study at Murdoch University who collaborated on a series of nine online workshops using synchronous communication (chat room). This case study was a window on collaborative dialogue in the year 2000 when information and communication technologies had developed at a rate which few people envisioned in the early 90s.
The primary aim of the research described in this thesis was to gain a better understanding of how computer-mediated collaborative communities develop and grow. In particular, the thesis addresses questions related to the developmental and leadership characteristics of collaborative groups.
Internet research requires a set of assumptions relating to ontology, epistemology, human nature and methodological approach that differs from traditional research assumptions. A research framework for Internet research - Complementary Explorative Data Analysis (CEDA) - was therefore developed and applied to the two case studies.
The results of the two case studies using the CEDA methodology indicate that computer-mediated collaborative groups are highly adaptive to the aim of the collaborative task to be completed, and the medium in which they collaborate. In the organisational setting, it has been found that virtual teams can devise and complete a collaborative task entirely online. It may be an advantage, but it is certainly not mandatory to have preliminary face-to-face discussions. What is more important is to ensure that time is allowed for an initial period of structuration which involves social interaction to develop a social presence and eventually cohesiveness. In the educational setting, a collaborative community increases pedagogical effectiveness. Providing collaborative projects and interdependent tasks promotes constructivist learning and a strong foundation for understanding how to collaborate in the global workplace. Again, this research has demonstrated that students can collaborate entirely online, although more pedagogical scaffolding may be required than in the organisational setting. The importance of initial social interaction to foster a sense of presence and community in a mediated environment has also been highlighted.
This research also provided greater understanding of emergent leadership in computer-mediated collaborative groups. It was found that sheer volume of words does not make a leader but frequent messages with topic-related content does contribute to leadership qualities.
The results described in this thesis have practical implications for managers of virtual teams and educators in e-learning
Method for removing a high definition nanostructure, a partly freestanding layer, a sensor comprising said layer and a method using said sensor
No full textThe present invention is in the field of a method for removing a high definition nanostructure in a partly free-standing layer, the layer, a sensor comprising said layer, a use of said sensor, and a method of detecting a species, and optional further characteristics thereof, using said sensor. The sensor and method are suited for detecting single ions, molecules, low concentrations thereof, and identifying sequences of base pairs, e.g. in a DNA-strand.QN/Quantum NanoscienceApplied Science
The IIMI style manual
Get PDFDocumentation / Technical writing / Standards / Irrigation management / Computers / English language
Test facility in Port Said-Egypt for photovoltaic solar generators
No full textIn framework of an applied research project a test facility for evaluating the performance of photovoltaic (PV) solar generators has been implemented at the Faculty of Engineering in Port Said-Egypt. The goals of the project is to perform the different required tests on photovoltaic (PV) solar generators in order to verify the fulfillment of the international standard specifications and to verify the characteristics given by the manufacturer. This will be achieved determining the electrical, the thermal and the mechanical characteristics of the module. This test can be considered to be a preparation for Egyptian PV market helping for propagation and harmonisation of standards. The developed test facility is including the main tests of PV systems, e.g. the electrical output under normal operating conditions and the influence of different environmental factors
Identifying Author Fingerprints in Texts via Graph Neural Networks
No full textThe world is generating more and more network data in many different areas (e.g., sensor networks, social networks and even text). A unique characteristic of these data is the coupling between data values and underlying irregular structure on which these values are defined. Thus, researchers developed Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to use deep learning approaches on these irregular network data. GNNs developers tried to replicate the recent success of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and developed its graph counterpart Graph Convolutional Neural Network (GCNN) and more different variations of GNNs (e.g. EdgeNet). However, all these architectures are relatively young, and the impact of different parameters to classification result is not well researched compared to regular neural network architectures. To address this issue, we propose to use authorship attribution problem to research the impact of different architectures and their variations to classification accuracy and how GNNs can be used to improve on authorship attribution task compared to the baseline architectures. Explicitly, we define the dataset which is going to be used throughout the experiments and the method to convert text excerpts of authors into the network that can be classified with GNNs (called WAN). WAN is as a network that captures unique author fingerprint. We also define the set of GNN architectures (and different combinations and variations of them), baseline architecture (SVM) and experiments that are used with those architectures. This experiment setting allows us to compare different GNN architectures among themselves and the baseline architecture. Also, we define a method to reduce the dimensions of author fingerprints (WANs) and use these sparse author fingerprints for the same experiments with the same architectures. Numerical results show the improvement over the baseline architectures in nearly all defined experiments. Also, we found that more complex GNN architectures (e.g. EdgeNets) are superior to shallower architectures with more laborious experiments (e.g. classification by gender). More complex architectures also require hyperparameter re-tuning in order to achieve optimal results. Furthermore, experiments with sparse author fingerprints showed that we could achieve comparable results to standard fingerprints with faster training times and significantly reduced dimensions. GNN architectures used with sparse author fingerprints were usually superior to baseline architectures
Osteomorphological differences in the appendicular skeleton of Antidorcas marsupialis (Zimmerman, 1780) and Antidorcas bondi (Cooke & Wells, 1951) (Mammalia, Bovidae) with notes on the osteometry of Antidorcas bondi
Get PDFSAID
No full textInformation dissemination applications (video, news, social media, etc.) with large number of receivers need to be efficient but also have limited loss tolerance. The Information Centric Networks (ICN) paradigm offers an alternative approach for reliably delivering data by naming content and exploiting data available at any intermediate point (e.g., caches). However, receivers are often heterogeneous, with widely varying receive rates. When using existing ICN congestion control mechanisms with in-sequence delivery, a particularly thorny problem of receivers going out-of-synch results in inefficiency and unfairness with heterogeneous receivers. We argue that separating reliability from congestion control leads to more scalable, efficient and fair data dissemination, and propose SAID, a control protocol for Scalable and Adaptive Information Dissemination in ICN. To maximize the amount of data transmitted at the first attempt, receivers request any next packet (ANP) of a flow instead of next-in-sequence packet, independent of the provider’s transmit rate. This allows providers to transmit at an application-efficient rate, without being limited by the slower receivers. SAID ensures reliable delivery to all receivers eventually, by cooperative repair, while preserving privacy without unduly trusting other receivers.attempt, receivers request any packet of a flow instead of next-in-sequence packet, independent from the transmitting rate of the provider. This also allows the provider send data at an application-efficient rate without being affected by the slower receivers. SAID ensures all receivers successfully obtain all the packets eventually by cooperative repair. Exploiting ICN capabilities, we still assure reliability and preserve privacy without unduly trusting other receivers
The Common Frame of Reference in Europe
No full textDiscusses the origins of the Draft Common Frame of Reference and assesses the need for further work in particular areas, taking as an example the subject of restitutionary damages for non-performance of a contract. Also assesses the possible relevance of the DCFR in work on African legal unity
Do UK based weight management programmes cause weight loss maintenance in adults? A systematic review
Get PDFThe aim of this dissertation was to examine whether UK based weight management programmes promote weight loss maintenance (follow up of 12 months to assess effectiveness of intervention in weight loss) in adults through the process of a systematic review. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described obesity as a "global epidemic". Weight management comprises two phases; weight loss and weight loss maintenance. The latter phase is the true goal for obesity and the most difficult element of weight management to achieve. However much less is know about this as compared with the weight loss phase. There is little purpose in committing time and money to reducing obesity if the weight is regained. This is counter-productive and weight loss maintenance is essential to combat the obesity epidemic. Searches were made for relevant information from a variety of scientific online databases and journals,. Seven articles met the inclusion criteria and were analysed in the review. All studies incorporated a multi-component (diet, exercise, behaviur modification) intervention approach. All control and internvetion groups reported weight loss at 12 months when compared with baseline. All groups recieved an intervention. One study reported a significant difference (P<0.05) between groups. Four studies reported on at least one component (diet, physical activity, behaviour modification) however there was not enough information to conclude whether they complied with national guidelines (NICE CG43 and SIGN 115). High attrition rates and loss to follow up are problematic for each study except one. Analysis on an intention to treat basis was common however this is problematic and there are alternative methods which may be more suitable for dealing with missing data
Vertical Movements and Petroleum System Modelling in the Southern Chotts Basin, Central Tunisia
No full textThe southern Chotts basin (SCB), Central Tunisia, has shown hydrocarbon potential since the end of the 1980s. This basin records a complex structural history which appears decoupled at the Hercynian or Variscan unconformity. The Paleozoic series is deformed by short to medium wavelength folds (kilometres-multi kilometres scale) and by steep normal faults. The Mesozoic series is largely less deformed. The evolution of the basin through time is still a matter of debate as the preserved Paleozoic series is fragmented (e.g. affected by erosions). In this paper, we proposed a reconstruction of the vertical movements affecting the basin and an evaluation of their magnitude. Using basin modelling techniques, we provided new insights on the possible thermal evolution of the basin that might be used in the future exploration phases. This study was completed by structural restorations allowing the reconstruction of the paleogeography of the basin at the time of deposition of principal reservoir formations.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Applied Geolog
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