This blog is about my PhD research (now finished) at University of the West of England into User Driven Modelling. This is to make it possible for people who are not programmers to create software. I create software that converts visual trees into computer code. My web site is http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~phale/. I'm continuing this research and the blog. My PhD is at http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/17918/ and a journal paper at http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/17817/.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Bristol Systems Engineering and Computing Events
- Organisation and Behaviours - Systems Engineering within the wider enterprise -
http://www.incoseonline.org.uk/EventBooking/AutoBooking/MainPage.aspx?CatID=Events&EventID=203.
"This event will feature Richard Beasley and will be based upon the relevant sections on SE and organisations from the public review version of the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) which can be found at http://www.sebokwiki.org/, and has been developed as part of the BKCASE (Body of Knowledge and Curriculum to Advance Systems Engineering) project. Attendees will be invited to discuss and review the material so far, with the intention of feeding pertinent observations back into the public review process, acting as a sanity check from real-life practitioners."
From BCS Bristol Branch Members - November Newsletter
"As winter draws in we have some great talks coming up to take us through to the Spring School
First up only a few days away.- Graham Lee is speaking on "Mobile Application Security and Privacy: State of the Disunion" at the City of Bristol College on Wed 23rd Nov 2011. Find out details for Graham and tell us your coming: http://www.bristol.bcs.org.uk/?q=node/125
- On the 5th of December Paul Gerard will be giving a talk on "Using Business Stories to Test Requirements and Systems" at the City of Bristol CollegeFind out details for Paul and tell us your coming: http://www.bristol.bcs.org.uk/?q=node/130
- Our Xmas event on the 12th of December has proved very popular on "Future Technology - a younger perspective" Presented by Metaverse Evangelist Ian Hughes at @Bristol. At the time of writing there were only 3 spaces remaining. Full Details are here http://www.bristol.bcs.org.uk/?q=node/127
- We have the BCS President Professor M.J.Norton coming to the City of Bristol College on the 11th of Jan 2012 to give a talk on "Achieving successful IT enabled business change"This would be a great opportunity to Q and A with the president so lets get as many people along as possible. Full details can be found here http://www.bristol.bcs.org.uk/?q=node/121
You can see a summary of the full program on PDF by following this link (http://www.bristol.bcs.org.uk/2011/Bristol-branch-program-2011-12.pdf) or via the events page on the website (http://www.bristol.bcs.org.uk/?q=event/new)."
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
BBC News - European commissioner calls for 'digital champions'
"Neelie Kroes, the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, has called on EU states to appoint digital champions similar to the UK's Martha Lane Fox.
Ms Kroes said the lastminute.com founder was "doing a great job" at convincing UK adults who did not use the internet to change their minds.
Talking to the BBC, Ms Kroes said it was vital to deal with the 30% of Europeans currently not online.
She said EU states needed ministers with specific digital portfolios.
Ms Kroes made the comments at the inaugural London Conference on Cyberspace.
She took the opportunity to emphasise the social benefits of being online."
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
BBC News - Artificial intelligence community mourns John McCarthy
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."
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Oxford University warns of losing talented students - BBC News
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
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
"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
"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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"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
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
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
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 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!