1,720,977 research outputs found

    Thinking in imperative or objects? A study on how novice programmer thinks when it comes to designing an application

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    Novice programming is a challenging subject to teach and learn. However, programming is an essential skill that is required by many majors apart from Computer Science. The challenges in a novice programming subject change according to the programming language used. At the beginning of the 90s, the object-oriented programming was introduced. Detienne claimed that it is easier for programmers to program using the object-first approach as humans think naturally in objects. The IEEE and ACM joint task force on Computing Curriculum proposed two tracks of curriculum, one for imperative-first and the other for objectfirst implementation. However, most of the work conducted on novice programming focused on the issues of syntax errors, reducing the possibilities of syntax error through a new or adapted programming environment. This paper will present the preliminary work to investigate if students will naturally think in objects or a series of steps. Three intervention methods were implemented in three different workshops. The intervention methods are the object-first, the imperative-first and the problem-solving-first. The students are then requested to design an application. Through the design, the research will identify if the students use the object-first or the imperative-first design. Assuming that the object-first intervention group will design primarily in objects, and the imperative-first intervention group in a series of steps, the problem-solving intervention will be the ”neutral” group. The object-first design is reflected through the attributes and methods of a particular object. The imperative-first design is identified if the solution contains a series of steps. The findings show that most of the students designed the application using a series of steps reflecting the imperative-first design. This finding should be included when considering if imperative-first or object-first should be the way forward for a novice programming subject

    Fourth of July

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    Exploration on the impact of online supported methods for novice programmers

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    Programming is a challenging subject to students who are exploring it for the very first time. Common problems faced by the students are difficult to break down the main problem to sub-problems, providing a solution to the problem using specific steps and placing the different steps in the correct order to solve the problem. Three online supported methods are implemented in a programming 1 class across three semesters. They are online group discussion using Facebook group, the hour of code activities provided by code.org, and online journaling using Google Form. The impact of the three different are being discussed. It is observed that all the three methods increased students engagement towards the subject. Students posed questions, gave feedback and participated actively in the class. More study is needed to determine the impact of these methods toward students grade

    Voice of the people

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    Being a global citizen

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    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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