BBC News - Artificial intelligence community mourns John McCarthy - 25 October 2011 -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15444222
This article commemorates this important Artificial Intelligence Pioneer, and also is informative -
"Artificial intelligence researcher, John McCarthy, has died. He was 84.
The American scientist invented the computer language LISP.
It went on to become the programming language of choice for the AI community, and is still used today.
Professor McCarthy is also credited with coining the term "Artificial Intelligence" in 1955 when he detailed plans for the first Dartmouth conference. The brainstorming sessions helped focus early AI research."
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Oxford University warns of losing talented students - BBC News
This is an interesting article from BBC about how lack of funding for research could cause UK to lose out to other countries economcally. This is a warning from the Vice Chancellor of Oxford University.
Oxford University warns of losing talented students - By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15170451 -
"Oxford University's vice-chancellor has warned that a lack of funding will make it difficult to compete with international rivals.
Professor Andrew Hamilton warned that the UK's universities would struggle to compete for the best research students in the "global market for talent".
This was not only about competing with top US universities, but also China and India, said Prof Hamilton.
The UK's higher education sector would "increasingly lose out", he said.
In his annual speech, Prof Hamilton highlighted concerns about funding for postgraduate research."
I've also posted this on the Vitae Researchers blog - What's up Doc blog - http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/346441-464371/Oxford-University-warns-of-losing-talented-students.html.
Oxford University warns of losing talented students - By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15170451 -
"Oxford University's vice-chancellor has warned that a lack of funding will make it difficult to compete with international rivals.
Professor Andrew Hamilton warned that the UK's universities would struggle to compete for the best research students in the "global market for talent".
This was not only about competing with top US universities, but also China and India, said Prof Hamilton.
The UK's higher education sector would "increasingly lose out", he said.
In his annual speech, Prof Hamilton highlighted concerns about funding for postgraduate research."
I've also posted this on the Vitae Researchers blog - What's up Doc blog - http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/346441-464371/Oxford-University-warns-of-losing-talented-students.html.
Saturday, October 08, 2011
Stanford University - Free computer science courses - Introduction to Databases
I've taken my own advice that these Stanford University Courses are a great opportunity to study free courses. I've registered for the 'Introduction to Databases' course. It actually starts on Monday (October 10th). It runs until 12th December. So I'm glad I registered this morning, and happened to be in time for this course. The registration was straightforward, and immediately made available online resources to help me prepare.
These are the links to my previous blog post and to the Stanford University news article - http://userdrivenmodelling.blogspot.com/2011/09/stanford-university-free-computer.html.
The Stanford University Website I referenced, which is the place to start if considering registering for any of these 3 courses - http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/august/online-computer-science-081611.html - 'Machine Learning, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Introduction to Databases'.
These are the links to my previous blog post and to the Stanford University news article - http://userdrivenmodelling.blogspot.com/2011/09/stanford-university-free-computer.html.
The Stanford University Website I referenced, which is the place to start if considering registering for any of these 3 courses - http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/august/online-computer-science-081611.html - 'Machine Learning, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Introduction to Databases'.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
BBC News - Steve Jobs Apple 'visionary' dies aged 56
Sad news - 6 October 2011 - BBC - Steve Jobs Apple 'visionary' dies aged 56 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15193922.
"Steve Jobs, co-founder and former chief executive of US technology giant Apple, has died at the age of 56.
Apple said his "brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve".
Jobs announced he was suffering from pancreatic cancer in 2004.
US President Barack Obama said that with his death, the world had 'lost a visionary'. "
"Steve Jobs, co-founder and former chief executive of US technology giant Apple, has died at the age of 56.
Apple said his "brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve".
Jobs announced he was suffering from pancreatic cancer in 2004.
US President Barack Obama said that with his death, the world had 'lost a visionary'. "
Saturday, October 01, 2011
BBC article - Battle of the knowledge superpowers
This article is a useful discussion - Battle of the knowledge superpowers - By Sean Coughlan - BBC News education correspondent - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14949538. -
"Knowledge is power - economic power - and there's a scramble for that power taking place around the globe.
In the United States, Europe and in rising powers such as China, there is a growth-hungry drive to invest in hi-tech research and innovation.
They are looking for the ingredients that, like Google, will turn a university project into a corporation. They are looking for the jobs that will replace those lost in the financial crash.
Not to invest would now be "unthinkable", says Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, the European Commissioner responsible for research, innovation and science, who is trying to spur the European Union to keep pace in turning ideas into industries."
"Knowledge is power - economic power - and there's a scramble for that power taking place around the globe.
In the United States, Europe and in rising powers such as China, there is a growth-hungry drive to invest in hi-tech research and innovation.
They are looking for the ingredients that, like Google, will turn a university project into a corporation. They are looking for the jobs that will replace those lost in the financial crash.
Not to invest would now be "unthinkable", says Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, the European Commissioner responsible for research, innovation and science, who is trying to spur the European Union to keep pace in turning ideas into industries."
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
BBC article - Google+ opens social network to everyone
This is an interesting article on the BBC News Technology page about Google+ social networking.
Google+ opens social network to everyone - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14985494 - 20 September 2011
"Google+ is being opened up for anyone to join after two-and-a-half months in closed testing.
The search firm's latest foray into social networking was initially offered to journalists and people working in technology related fields.
However, members' ability to invite friends meant its user base quickly grew to tens of millions."
Google+ opens social network to everyone - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14985494 - 20 September 2011
"Google+ is being opened up for anyone to join after two-and-a-half months in closed testing.
The search firm's latest foray into social networking was initially offered to journalists and people working in technology related fields.
However, members' ability to invite friends meant its user base quickly grew to tens of millions."
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
INCOSE UK Bristol Event 28th September
An interesting event takes place on 28th September at University of the West of England. The title is 'The Rise and Fall of the Systems Engineering Lifecycle'. The event is organised by INCOSE - International Council on Systems Engineering.
Booking is online at - http://www.incoseonline.org.uk/EventBooking/AutoBooking/MainPage.aspx?CatID=Events&EventID=198
Details of the event are :-
"The Bristol Local Group Presents
'The Rise and Fall of the Systems Engineering Lifecycle'
Kicking off the new Bristol Local Group season, this event will examine how the nature of systems engineering changes across development lifecycles, how organisational roles and responsibilities adapt to suit, and what happens when there are mismatches between them. This interactive workshop will include an examination of the following questions:
•What tends to get missed in commonly used lifecycles?
•Where is the Systems Engineering focus and how does it shift?
•What information flows and networking between stakeholders and organisations is necessary and how is this encouraged?
Date: 28th September – 6.30pm for 7pm till 9pm
Location: Room 1N05, University of the West of England (UWE), Frenchay Campus, Bristol
NON-MEMBERS WELCOME."
Also an INCOSE conference takes place at Warwick in November, details are available at - http://www.incoseonline.org.uk/EventBooking/ASEC2011/General_Information.aspx?CatID=Events
"Annual Systems Engineering Conference (ASEC) 2011
9th-10th November 2011
Scarman Training and Conference Centre, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Doing Systems Engineering well'
The UK's premier Systems Engineering event will address key contemporary themes for a wide audience, and provide an excellent forum for networking, sharing experience and advancing the discipline."
Booking is online at - http://www.incoseonline.org.uk/EventBooking/AutoBooking/MainPage.aspx?CatID=Events&EventID=198
Details of the event are :-
"The Bristol Local Group Presents
'The Rise and Fall of the Systems Engineering Lifecycle'
Kicking off the new Bristol Local Group season, this event will examine how the nature of systems engineering changes across development lifecycles, how organisational roles and responsibilities adapt to suit, and what happens when there are mismatches between them. This interactive workshop will include an examination of the following questions:
•What tends to get missed in commonly used lifecycles?
•Where is the Systems Engineering focus and how does it shift?
•What information flows and networking between stakeholders and organisations is necessary and how is this encouraged?
Date: 28th September – 6.30pm for 7pm till 9pm
Location: Room 1N05, University of the West of England (UWE), Frenchay Campus, Bristol
NON-MEMBERS WELCOME."
Also an INCOSE conference takes place at Warwick in November, details are available at - http://www.incoseonline.org.uk/EventBooking/ASEC2011/General_Information.aspx?CatID=Events
"Annual Systems Engineering Conference (ASEC) 2011
9th-10th November 2011
Scarman Training and Conference Centre, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Doing Systems Engineering well'
The UK's premier Systems Engineering event will address key contemporary themes for a wide audience, and provide an excellent forum for networking, sharing experience and advancing the discipline."
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Stanford University - Free computer science courses, new teaching technology reinvent online education
This is a very useful educational resource provided for free by Stanford University Professors. The courses are - Machine Learning, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Introduction to Databases.
The article that explains this is at - http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/august/online-computer-science-081611.html - Free computer science courses, new teaching technology reinvent online education - Stanford Report, August 16, 2011.
Below is part of the article, and those interested can click on the link above for the whole article.
"Stanford Engineering professors are setting out to add a new level of interactivity to online education by offering three of the university's most popular computer science classes for free.
Morgan Quigley
Computer Science professor Andrew Ng uses tablet-recording technology he developed to instantly display notes for his interactive video lecture.
BY JAMIE BECKETT
Stanford Engineering professors are offering three of the school’s most popular computer science courses for free online this fall, and at the same time launching an experiment that could transform the way online education is delivered.
The professors are taking technologies designed to enhance learning for Stanford students and extending them to a broad online audience. They are delivering lectures as short, interactive video clips that allow students to progress at their own pace through course materials. They are offering live quizzes with instant feedback. And they are testing new technologies that allow students to rank questions that should be posed to the instructors.
The professors also hope to extend the benefits of Stanford-style education to those who lack access.
“Both in the United States and elsewhere, many people simply do not have access to a high-quality education. By putting out this initial set of courses, we hope to teach some of the latest computing technologies to anyone who wants to learn it – for free,” said Andrew Ng, an associate professor of computer science who is teaching a new online machine learning course.
The three courses – Machine Learning, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Introduction to Databases – cover material that forms the basis of some of the most prevalent technologies today, from online shopping to web search and robotics."
The article that explains this is at - http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/august/online-computer-science-081611.html - Free computer science courses, new teaching technology reinvent online education - Stanford Report, August 16, 2011.
Below is part of the article, and those interested can click on the link above for the whole article.
"Stanford Engineering professors are setting out to add a new level of interactivity to online education by offering three of the university's most popular computer science classes for free.
Morgan Quigley
Computer Science professor Andrew Ng uses tablet-recording technology he developed to instantly display notes for his interactive video lecture.
BY JAMIE BECKETT
Stanford Engineering professors are offering three of the school’s most popular computer science courses for free online this fall, and at the same time launching an experiment that could transform the way online education is delivered.
The professors are taking technologies designed to enhance learning for Stanford students and extending them to a broad online audience. They are delivering lectures as short, interactive video clips that allow students to progress at their own pace through course materials. They are offering live quizzes with instant feedback. And they are testing new technologies that allow students to rank questions that should be posed to the instructors.
The professors also hope to extend the benefits of Stanford-style education to those who lack access.
“Both in the United States and elsewhere, many people simply do not have access to a high-quality education. By putting out this initial set of courses, we hope to teach some of the latest computing technologies to anyone who wants to learn it – for free,” said Andrew Ng, an associate professor of computer science who is teaching a new online machine learning course.
The three courses – Machine Learning, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Introduction to Databases – cover material that forms the basis of some of the most prevalent technologies today, from online shopping to web search and robotics."
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
When algorithms control the world
This BBC story based on a book by Eli Pariser 'The Filter Bubble', is interesting in how it explores the way algorithms affect our lives in unpredictable ways. An important example of this is the way so much financial trading is done by algorithms with no human interaction, with unpredictable consequences -
When algorithms control the world - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14306146.
23 August 2011
By Jane Wakefield
Technology reporter
"If you were expecting some kind warning when computers finally get smarter than us, then think again.
There will be no soothing HAL 9000-type voice informing us that our human services are now surplus to requirements.
In reality, our electronic overlords are already taking control, and they are doing it in a far more subtle way than science fiction would have us believe.
Their weapon of choice - the algorithm."
When algorithms control the world - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14306146.
23 August 2011
By Jane Wakefield
Technology reporter
"If you were expecting some kind warning when computers finally get smarter than us, then think again.
There will be no soothing HAL 9000-type voice informing us that our human services are now surplus to requirements.
In reality, our electronic overlords are already taking control, and they are doing it in a far more subtle way than science fiction would have us believe.
Their weapon of choice - the algorithm."
Monday, August 08, 2011
Careers in Academia - September - Vitae - Birmingham 13th Sep 2011
This is a useful free careers event for Vitae. Vitae are a very helpful organisation for researchers. I'll copy and paste the details below, from their website. More information and the booking form are available on the website -
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/53174-382791/Careers-in-Academia---September-.html.
"
This interactive one-day event is aimed at postgraduate researchers and will enable you to:
* review the current higher education environment
* meet with successful academics from a range of disciplines to hear how they advanced their academic career
*understand the balance required between skills, achievements and building your professional profile
*review where you are in your career, where you want to be and how to get there
*ask questions that you've always wanted to but weren't sure who to ask network with fellow researchers
*develop an action plan to strategically manage your career.
The research carried out by the UK's higher education sector is held in extremely high regard by the international community. In producing 8% of the world's scientific papers and 13% of the world's most highly cited works, the UK ranks second only to the USA. The UK's research staff are central to this achievement*.
Like most careers, there are many elements that are required in order to develop a successful academic career and these are not always transparent. This event addresses how to succeed in a competitive and complex research environment and will allow you to think about the pros and cons of different career options available.
"
Saturday, August 06, 2011
World wide web celebrates 20th birthday - BBC News
This short video from BBC goes over the invention of the world wide web -
World wide web celebrates 20th birthday - BBC News - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14430076.
6 August 2011
"Exactly 20-years-ago today a modest British scientist launched his new invention. At the time, almost no-one noticed but it has since revolutionised our lives.
Tim Berners-Lee called his new invention the "world-wide-web".
Richard Westcott has been taking a look back at the technology that went on to change the world."
World wide web celebrates 20th birthday - BBC News - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14430076.
6 August 2011
"Exactly 20-years-ago today a modest British scientist launched his new invention. At the time, almost no-one noticed but it has since revolutionised our lives.
Tim Berners-Lee called his new invention the "world-wide-web".
Richard Westcott has been taking a look back at the technology that went on to change the world."
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
BBC Computing stories - NHS, Sun, Web blocking, IE browser Spoof
These are some interesting computing stories from the BBC website in the last 2 days.
3 August 2011
Pull plug on NHS e-records - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14378346
By Nick Triggle
Health correspondent, BBC News
"Ministers should consider pulling the plug on the central part of the NHS IT programme in England, MPs say.
The Public Accounts Committee said mounting problems with the electronic records system were making the £7bn project 'unworkable'."
3 August 2011
Government drops website blocking
"Plans to block websites that host copyright infringing material are to be dumped by the government.
Business secretary Vince Cable announced the change following a review of the policy by telecoms regulator Ofcom." - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14372698
2 August 2011
Data of Sun website users stolen
"Thousands of people who entered competitions on The Sun website have been warned that their personal information may have been stolen.
The paper's publisher, News Group, said the data was taken when the site was hacked on 19 July." - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14371738
3 August 2011
Internet Explorer story was bogus
"A story which suggested that users of Internet Explorer have a lower IQ than people who chose other browsers appears to have been an elaborate hoax.
A number of media organisations, including the BBC, reported on the research, put out by Canadian firm ApTiquant." - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14389430
3 August 2011
Pull plug on NHS e-records - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14378346
By Nick Triggle
Health correspondent, BBC News
"Ministers should consider pulling the plug on the central part of the NHS IT programme in England, MPs say.
The Public Accounts Committee said mounting problems with the electronic records system were making the £7bn project 'unworkable'."
3 August 2011
Government drops website blocking
"Plans to block websites that host copyright infringing material are to be dumped by the government.
Business secretary Vince Cable announced the change following a review of the policy by telecoms regulator Ofcom." - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14372698
2 August 2011
Data of Sun website users stolen
"Thousands of people who entered competitions on The Sun website have been warned that their personal information may have been stolen.
The paper's publisher, News Group, said the data was taken when the site was hacked on 19 July." - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14371738
3 August 2011
Internet Explorer story was bogus
"A story which suggested that users of Internet Explorer have a lower IQ than people who chose other browsers appears to have been an elaborate hoax.
A number of media organisations, including the BBC, reported on the research, put out by Canadian firm ApTiquant." - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14389430
My Publications on UWE Research Repository
I've been putting all my publications on to the UWE - University of the West of England, Bristol research repository. I'll list them below in order of publication. The repository makes publications available in Word/PowerPoint and PDF formats -
Hale, P., Scanlan, J., Hill, T., Nour, M., Bru, C., Jocelyn, A., Round, M. and Dunkley, M. (2001) Provision of a web based decision support system for wing box tooling. In: ICE 2001 (International Conference on Concurrent Enterprising), 23rd - 25th June, 2001, Bremen, Germany. - https://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/15279/.
Hale, P., Scanlan, J., Bru, C. and Dunkley, M. (2002) Preliminary findings from the DECIDE project. In: 9th International Conference on Concurrent Engineering ISPE/CE2002 Concurrent Engineering Conference, 2002, Cranfield University, UK. - https://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/15523/.
Hale, P., Scanlan, J. and Bru, C. (2003) Design and prototyping of knowledge management software for aerospace manufacturing. In: 10th ISPE International Conference on Concurrent Engineering ISPE/CE2003, 26th-30th July, 2003, Madeira, Portugal. - https://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/15355/.
Hale, P., Solomonides, T. and Beeson, I. (2009) Enabling diagrammatic de-abstraction and modelling of engineering problems. In: University of the West of England, Bristol, Graduate Conference, 15th June, 2009, Bristol, UK. - https://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/15112/.
Hale, P. (2010) User driven modelling and systematic interaction for end-user programming. In: Systems Research Showcase, 24th March, 2010, Bristol, UK. - https://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/15113/.
Hale, P., Solomonides, T., Beeson, I., Willey, N., Bultitude, K. and Reynolds, D. (2010) Requirements for phylogenetic tree visualisation: A user driven approach. In: BBSRC/AHRC Workshop on "The Challenges of Visualising Biological Data", 16th-17th November, 2010, Bristol, UK. - https://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/15118/.
Hale, P., Solomonides, T. and Beeson, I. (2011) Requirements and software engineering for tree-based visualisation and modelling: A user driven approach. In: Postgraduate Conference for Computing: Applications and Theory (PCCAT 2011), 8th June, 2011, Exeter University, Exeter, UK. - https://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/15077/.
I have a Journal Publication to be accepted subject to amendments and the same for my PhD. When they're published I'll add these to the repository.
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Systems Engineering Event, Bristol July 13th
This is an interesting and useful event in Bristol on Wednesday -
"INCOSE UK
The Bristol Local Group Presents
The Final Step - Getting Systems Into Service
Why does the final part of getting a system into service often follow a more protracted path than expected?
This event will look at this important part of the lifecycle from both a systems and a project management perspective to examine some of the pitfalls and issues that can occur, and some of the approaches that are used to mitigate against them. This interactive workshop based event will examine the following questions:
How should systems be engineered to achieve a controlled entry into Service?
How are systems engineered for entry into Service?
What needs to be done to bridge the gap?
Date: Wednesday 13th July – 6.30pm for 7pm till 9pm
Location: Room 1N05, University of the West of England (UWE), Frenchay Campus, Bristol
NON-MEMBERS WELCOME.
This event is free, and refreshments will be provided, however to ensure appropriate catering arrangements can be made please register online at: .
http://www.incoseonline.org.uk/EventBooking/AutoBooking/MainPage.aspx?CatID=Events&EventID=165."
"INCOSE UK
The Bristol Local Group Presents
The Final Step - Getting Systems Into Service
Why does the final part of getting a system into service often follow a more protracted path than expected?
This event will look at this important part of the lifecycle from both a systems and a project management perspective to examine some of the pitfalls and issues that can occur, and some of the approaches that are used to mitigate against them. This interactive workshop based event will examine the following questions:
How should systems be engineered to achieve a controlled entry into Service?
How are systems engineered for entry into Service?
What needs to be done to bridge the gap?
Date: Wednesday 13th July – 6.30pm for 7pm till 9pm
Location: Room 1N05, University of the West of England (UWE), Frenchay Campus, Bristol
NON-MEMBERS WELCOME.
This event is free, and refreshments will be provided, however to ensure appropriate catering arrangements can be made please register online at: .
http://www.incoseonline.org.uk/EventBooking/AutoBooking/MainPage.aspx?CatID=Events&EventID=165."
Thursday, June 23, 2011
PCCAT Exeter University Conference Paper June 8th 2011
This is the paper and presentation I gave for Postgraduate Conference for Computing: Applications and Theory (PCCAT 2011) - June 8th 2011 - http://www.pccat.ex.ac.uk/index.php?pid=1
The paper is titled - Requirements and software engineering for tree-based visualisation and modelling: A user driven approach
This is the link where I placed it in the University of the West of England Research Repository. The PowerPoint presentation I gave is also there. There are Word and PowerPoint 2007 files and also PDF versions. These are all available from this link - https://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/15077/.
This is the abstract -
Abstract
This paper is about potential to provide an interactive visual ontology/taxonomy based modelling system. The research is part of efforts to structure, manage, and enable understanding of complex engineering, business and/or scientific information to enable those involved to collaborate using a systems approach. The aim and objectives are to provide a taxonomy management system to close the link between requirements gathering and end-user modellers. The research is into modelling of product data structures. This research could be adapted to business process modelling, and biology taxonomy visualisation/representation. The modelling system was developed to assist decision support for problems such as wing and engine design. The methodology involves modelling using tree structured ontology based modelling. It is argued that visualising this structure enables improved Maintenance, Extensibility, Ease of Use, and Sharing of Information, and so enables better and more accessible modelling. This is achieved by uniting the software taxonomy structure with the structure of the domain to be modelled and visualised, and using Semantic Web technologies to link this with ontologies and to end-users for visualisation. This research assists with management of development, use, and re-use of software in order to make this an integrated process. The research brings together related fields of Semantic Web, End-User Programming, and Modelling, to assist domain expert end users.
Further information -
I've published my more general thoughts about the benefits of Postgraduate Conferences and Research Repositories to students, in the UK Vitae (organisation for research students and staff) - What's Up Doc Blog - http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/346441/Whats-up-doc-blog-for-postgraduate-researchers.html. I publish my thoughts that are more general to all researchers rather than my specific research to there -this is my post to that blog - http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/346441-406701/Getting-your-Research-Published---PostGraduate-Conferences.html.
The paper is titled - Requirements and software engineering for tree-based visualisation and modelling: A user driven approach
This is the link where I placed it in the University of the West of England Research Repository. The PowerPoint presentation I gave is also there. There are Word and PowerPoint 2007 files and also PDF versions. These are all available from this link - https://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/15077/.
This is the abstract -
Abstract
This paper is about potential to provide an interactive visual ontology/taxonomy based modelling system. The research is part of efforts to structure, manage, and enable understanding of complex engineering, business and/or scientific information to enable those involved to collaborate using a systems approach. The aim and objectives are to provide a taxonomy management system to close the link between requirements gathering and end-user modellers. The research is into modelling of product data structures. This research could be adapted to business process modelling, and biology taxonomy visualisation/representation. The modelling system was developed to assist decision support for problems such as wing and engine design. The methodology involves modelling using tree structured ontology based modelling. It is argued that visualising this structure enables improved Maintenance, Extensibility, Ease of Use, and Sharing of Information, and so enables better and more accessible modelling. This is achieved by uniting the software taxonomy structure with the structure of the domain to be modelled and visualised, and using Semantic Web technologies to link this with ontologies and to end-users for visualisation. This research assists with management of development, use, and re-use of software in order to make this an integrated process. The research brings together related fields of Semantic Web, End-User Programming, and Modelling, to assist domain expert end users.
Further information -
I've published my more general thoughts about the benefits of Postgraduate Conferences and Research Repositories to students, in the UK Vitae (organisation for research students and staff) - What's Up Doc Blog - http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/346441/Whats-up-doc-blog-for-postgraduate-researchers.html. I publish my thoughts that are more general to all researchers rather than my specific research to there -this is my post to that blog - http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/346441-406701/Getting-your-Research-Published---PostGraduate-Conferences.html.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Development of the Internet - Timeline
Alexandra L. Hanchar-Martinez emailed me details of his Internet Timeline educational resource. This is a useful resource so I provide the links below -
History Of The Internet Timeline -
Technology Milestones In The Development Of The Internet
Updated June 13th, 2011
http://www.high-speed-internet-access-guide.com/articles/internet-timeline.html -
"As of 2011, the Internet has become an accepted part of everyday life. Despite our daily reliance upon this technological marvel, to many of us, how it came to be is still a mystery. This brief Internet timeline details how the Internet was started, which major technological milestones affected its development, how it is used for communication today, and where the Internet is headed in 2011 and beyond."
Researching this led me also to this teaching resource -
KHS Teacher Resources - http://www.khsteachers.org/.
History Of The Internet Timeline -
Technology Milestones In The Development Of The Internet
Updated June 13th, 2011
http://www.high-speed-internet-access-guide.com/articles/internet-timeline.html -
"As of 2011, the Internet has become an accepted part of everyday life. Despite our daily reliance upon this technological marvel, to many of us, how it came to be is still a mystery. This brief Internet timeline details how the Internet was started, which major technological milestones affected its development, how it is used for communication today, and where the Internet is headed in 2011 and beyond."
Researching this led me also to this teaching resource -
KHS Teacher Resources - http://www.khsteachers.org/.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Exeter University June 8th - PCCAT 2011 Timetable
This is the timetable for the Exeter University PCCAT Conference June 8th (Postgraduate Conference for Computing: Applications and Theory) -
Timetable and travel advice -
Programme (link to PDF doc) and Map - http://www.pccat.ex.ac.uk/on-the-day.php.
Programme (PDF doc) - http://www.pccat.ex.ac.uk/files/programme.pdf.
My talk is scheduled at 2.30 pm - This is -
"Requirements and Software Engineering for Tree-based Visualisation and Modelling - a User Driven Approach
Peter Hale, Tony Solomonides and Ian Beeson
University of the West of England, UWE"
This is my Revised abstract -
Abstract
This paper is about potential to provide an interactive visual ontology/taxonomy based modelling system. The research is part of efforts to structure, manage, and enable understanding of complex engineering, business and/or scientific information to enable those involved to collaborate using a systems approach. The aim and objectives are to provide a taxonomy management system to close the link between requirements gathering and end-user modellers. The research is into modelling of product data structures. This research could be adapted to business process modelling, and biology taxonomy visualisation/representation. The modelling system was developed to assist decision support for problems such as wing and engine design. The methodology involves modelling using tree structured ontology based modelling. It is argued that visualising this structure enables improved Maintenance, Extensibility, Ease of Use, and Sharing of Information, and so enables better and more accessible modelling. This is achieved by uniting the software taxonomy structure with the structure of the domain to be modelled and visualised, and using Semantic Web technologies to link this with ontologies and to end-users for visualisation. This research assists with management of development, use, and re-use of software in order to make this an integrated process. The research brings together related fields of Semantic Web, End-User Programming, and Modelling, to assist domain expert end users.
Timetable and travel advice -
Programme (link to PDF doc) and Map - http://www.pccat.ex.ac.uk/on-the-day.php.
Programme (PDF doc) - http://www.pccat.ex.ac.uk/files/programme.pdf.
My talk is scheduled at 2.30 pm - This is -
"Requirements and Software Engineering for Tree-based Visualisation and Modelling - a User Driven Approach
Peter Hale, Tony Solomonides and Ian Beeson
University of the West of England, UWE"
This is my Revised abstract -
Abstract
This paper is about potential to provide an interactive visual ontology/taxonomy based modelling system. The research is part of efforts to structure, manage, and enable understanding of complex engineering, business and/or scientific information to enable those involved to collaborate using a systems approach. The aim and objectives are to provide a taxonomy management system to close the link between requirements gathering and end-user modellers. The research is into modelling of product data structures. This research could be adapted to business process modelling, and biology taxonomy visualisation/representation. The modelling system was developed to assist decision support for problems such as wing and engine design. The methodology involves modelling using tree structured ontology based modelling. It is argued that visualising this structure enables improved Maintenance, Extensibility, Ease of Use, and Sharing of Information, and so enables better and more accessible modelling. This is achieved by uniting the software taxonomy structure with the structure of the domain to be modelled and visualised, and using Semantic Web technologies to link this with ontologies and to end-users for visualisation. This research assists with management of development, use, and re-use of software in order to make this an integrated process. The research brings together related fields of Semantic Web, End-User Programming, and Modelling, to assist domain expert end users.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Vitae - What makes a successful researcher? invitation to take part in a focus group June 15th London
This is a forum organised by Vitae who assist research stuents and staff in their development. Vitae will refund travel expenses for this focus group.
This is the event description and contact details copied and pasted from Vitae :-
The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is a comprehensive new approach to enhancing the careers of researchers. It was developed through interviews with successful researchers in a range of disciplines. It encourages you to identify your strengths and prioritise your professional development. Divided into four domains and 63 descriptors it covers all the skills and attributes to become a successful researcher. The RDF enables you to consider skills and experiences that will enhance your career prospects and articulate your knowledge, behaviours and attributes to employers. It is not exclusive to people hoping to pursue an academic career (there are some frequently asked questions on the RDF).
The RDF has been incorporated into a 'Professional Development Planner' to allow you to identify the areas you want to develop further, create an action plan and record evidence of your progress. You can use it to help you plan for your long term career ambitions but also to make a feasible short term plan. The planner allows you to set targeted aspirational goals. For each descriptor there are successive phases of ability. Read the phases and decide which phase best describes you currently (with as much evidence as possible). Decide where you would like to be and come up with an action plan with realistic goals and time lines to get you there (using training, experience, practice, networking etc.)
I will be starting a pilot on using the RDF planner next week, culminating in a focus group in London on 15 June. This is a great chance for you to focus on your personal development and get help drawing up your action plan. It is also an opportunity for you to inform the development of a powerful career tool for all researchers in the UK. Your input would be invaluable in ensuring the Researcher Development Framework is an effective personal, professional and career enhancing resource for postgraduate researchers and research staff.
We’ll refund travel expenses for the focus group. Please send me an email at tennie.videler@vitae.ac.uk to take part or get some more information, ideally before 1 June.
Looking forward to seeing some of you on 15 June!
This is the event description and contact details copied and pasted from Vitae :-
The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is a comprehensive new approach to enhancing the careers of researchers. It was developed through interviews with successful researchers in a range of disciplines. It encourages you to identify your strengths and prioritise your professional development. Divided into four domains and 63 descriptors it covers all the skills and attributes to become a successful researcher. The RDF enables you to consider skills and experiences that will enhance your career prospects and articulate your knowledge, behaviours and attributes to employers. It is not exclusive to people hoping to pursue an academic career (there are some frequently asked questions on the RDF).
The RDF has been incorporated into a 'Professional Development Planner' to allow you to identify the areas you want to develop further, create an action plan and record evidence of your progress. You can use it to help you plan for your long term career ambitions but also to make a feasible short term plan. The planner allows you to set targeted aspirational goals. For each descriptor there are successive phases of ability. Read the phases and decide which phase best describes you currently (with as much evidence as possible). Decide where you would like to be and come up with an action plan with realistic goals and time lines to get you there (using training, experience, practice, networking etc.)
I will be starting a pilot on using the RDF planner next week, culminating in a focus group in London on 15 June. This is a great chance for you to focus on your personal development and get help drawing up your action plan. It is also an opportunity for you to inform the development of a powerful career tool for all researchers in the UK. Your input would be invaluable in ensuring the Researcher Development Framework is an effective personal, professional and career enhancing resource for postgraduate researchers and research staff.
We’ll refund travel expenses for the focus group. Please send me an email at tennie.videler@vitae.ac.uk to take part or get some more information, ideally before 1 June.
Looking forward to seeing some of you on 15 June!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The value of an EngD in Systems – what an EngD did for me
This is a useful event for anyone interested in EngDs or in engineering R and D in general. The event is organised by University of Bristol, involving INCOSE Bristol Group also.
This is the description by INCOSE Bristol group of the event :-
"Want to know more about the Engineering Doctorate in Systems? In a spirit of inclusivity, this INCOSE BLG event forms part of the University of Bristol's Second Annual Research Conference for Engineering Doctorate in Systems, and will include refreshments on arrival, a poster session by 50 Research Engineers, talks from two Research Engineers who have recently completed their EngD courses, and a Q&A session with the Systems Centre staff.
Delegates wishing to attend the main University of Bristol event can find more information here: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/eng-systems-centre/events/2011/conference-engd.html. The University of Bristol has kindly reserved 20 places for delegates who usually attend INCOSE BLG meetings, but these are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration for the main event needs to be done directly with the University of Bristol, not INCOSE UK. "
Date: Tuesday 24th May – 5.30pm for 6pm till 8pm
Location:Room 1.01-1.01a, Merchant Venturers Building, University of Bristol, Woodlands Road, Bristol, BS8 1UB.
NON-MEMBERS WELCOME.
This event is free, and refreshments will be provided, however to ensure appropriate catering arrangements can be made please register online at: http://www.incoseonline.org.uk/EventBooking/AutoBooking/MainPage.aspx?CatID=Events&EventID=187."
This is the description by INCOSE Bristol group of the event :-
"Want to know more about the Engineering Doctorate in Systems? In a spirit of inclusivity, this INCOSE BLG event forms part of the University of Bristol's Second Annual Research Conference for Engineering Doctorate in Systems, and will include refreshments on arrival, a poster session by 50 Research Engineers, talks from two Research Engineers who have recently completed their EngD courses, and a Q&A session with the Systems Centre staff.
Delegates wishing to attend the main University of Bristol event can find more information here: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/eng-systems-centre/events/2011/conference-engd.html. The University of Bristol has kindly reserved 20 places for delegates who usually attend INCOSE BLG meetings, but these are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration for the main event needs to be done directly with the University of Bristol, not INCOSE UK. "
Date: Tuesday 24th May – 5.30pm for 6pm till 8pm
Location:Room 1.01-1.01a, Merchant Venturers Building, University of Bristol, Woodlands Road, Bristol, BS8 1UB.
NON-MEMBERS WELCOME.
This event is free, and refreshments will be provided, however to ensure appropriate catering arrangements can be made please register online at: http://www.incoseonline.org.uk/EventBooking/AutoBooking/MainPage.aspx?CatID=Events&EventID=187."
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Computer Software, Users and Trust
I'm at the What's up Doc Research Blogging training event today and very much enjoying it - http://www1.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/346441/Whats-up-doc-blog-for-postgraduate-researchers.html.
I wrote this post on the train from Bristol to Birmingham, I've just been working on my PhD changes and on an NVQ 2 in business admin. I often undertake vocational training to keep my research focused. The combination of the PhD changes, Communications Unit I just finished, and the What's up Doc? event hashelped me generate this post.
Communication is the key to successful computing, so this involves person to person, person to computer, and computer to person communication.
For some tasks the person does not need to know how the computer is doing the tasks. Feedback is still very important. For example when applying formatting to a document a person does not need to know how the computer processes this, only how it's applied. Just like in person to person communication what is needed is trust. The software provides feedback illustrating what has been done. The person then trusts that what he or she has intended has been done. A failure of trust may occur when formatting on screen and in print preview looks a certain way and the printout looks different. That loss of trust affects the quality of user interaction for the task, the application such as the word processor, and the persons' trust in computers and computer applications.
For modelling and calculation, the user seeing the results is not enough to establish trust. When taught maths at school we were taught 'show your working'. We could get follow through marks even if our result was wrong, because exactly where the mistake happened could be seen. The same is true for computer systems, they must show the whole calculation chain. The more complex the calculation, then the more effort is needed to ensure good representation, visualisation, and interaction with the calculation including the 'workings'. This must be done in an audit trail that is developed with the users in mind. Then as users have different needs it should be possible to choose different visualisations. More advanced users may want to create and edit their own model and visualisation. This is where the end-user programming/modelling comes in.
The user needs to be able to interact with the way models/calculations are performed to create and edit them, and choose how they display. The more this can be achieved via diagrammatic programming skills such as drag and drop, then the wider the range of people that can model/program this way.
For written information also, trust is required, this is often called 'provenance' in science for example, who is the source? and can they be trusted. Wikipedia documents show an audit trail of changes. A more structured and visualised view of sources and provenance helps a user track these sources and establishes trust in the document writers (if the trust is deserved), the document, and the document management system. Semantic Web based systems based on RDF (Resource Description Framework) can track these relationships of provenance/trust. Visualising and enabling of user interaction with this would enable trust built on greater user interaction.
Users aren't stupid, so developers should always enable the maximum interaction that is necessary and useful, then trust the user to get it right, but leave them a way of backing out when they make a mistake.
I wrote this post on the train from Bristol to Birmingham, I've just been working on my PhD changes and on an NVQ 2 in business admin. I often undertake vocational training to keep my research focused. The combination of the PhD changes, Communications Unit I just finished, and the What's up Doc? event hashelped me generate this post.
Communication is the key to successful computing, so this involves person to person, person to computer, and computer to person communication.
For some tasks the person does not need to know how the computer is doing the tasks. Feedback is still very important. For example when applying formatting to a document a person does not need to know how the computer processes this, only how it's applied. Just like in person to person communication what is needed is trust. The software provides feedback illustrating what has been done. The person then trusts that what he or she has intended has been done. A failure of trust may occur when formatting on screen and in print preview looks a certain way and the printout looks different. That loss of trust affects the quality of user interaction for the task, the application such as the word processor, and the persons' trust in computers and computer applications.
For modelling and calculation, the user seeing the results is not enough to establish trust. When taught maths at school we were taught 'show your working'. We could get follow through marks even if our result was wrong, because exactly where the mistake happened could be seen. The same is true for computer systems, they must show the whole calculation chain. The more complex the calculation, then the more effort is needed to ensure good representation, visualisation, and interaction with the calculation including the 'workings'. This must be done in an audit trail that is developed with the users in mind. Then as users have different needs it should be possible to choose different visualisations. More advanced users may want to create and edit their own model and visualisation. This is where the end-user programming/modelling comes in.
The user needs to be able to interact with the way models/calculations are performed to create and edit them, and choose how they display. The more this can be achieved via diagrammatic programming skills such as drag and drop, then the wider the range of people that can model/program this way.
For written information also, trust is required, this is often called 'provenance' in science for example, who is the source? and can they be trusted. Wikipedia documents show an audit trail of changes. A more structured and visualised view of sources and provenance helps a user track these sources and establishes trust in the document writers (if the trust is deserved), the document, and the document management system. Semantic Web based systems based on RDF (Resource Description Framework) can track these relationships of provenance/trust. Visualising and enabling of user interaction with this would enable trust built on greater user interaction.
Users aren't stupid, so developers should always enable the maximum interaction that is necessary and useful, then trust the user to get it right, but leave them a way of backing out when they make a mistake.
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