Trends and Applications in Information Systems and Technologies: Volume 3 (Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 1367) 3030726592, 9783030726591
163 34 57MB
English Pages [695]
Preface
Contents
Information Technologies in Education
Digital Competences in European University Teaching Staff: Teaching and Guidance
1 Introduction
2 Method
2.1 Design
2.2 Participants
2.3 Instruments
2.4 Procedure
2.5 Data Analysis
3 Results
3.1 Digital Competences in University Teachers
3.2 Detection of Good Practise in University Teachers
4 Conclusions
References
Comparative Analysis of the Presence of University Professors from Southern Ecuador in Scientific Social Networks
1 Introduction
2 Materials and Methods
3 Results
4 Conclusions
References
SOLL Platform and the Adoption of Innovation by Teachers
1 Introduction
1.1 Online Platform - SOLL
2 Results
3 Discussion
4 Conclusion
References
Evaluation of Difficulty During Visual Programming Learning Using a Simple Electroencephalograph and Minecraft Educational Edition
1 Introduction
2 Previous Works
3 Details of the Experiment
3.1 Minecraft Educational Edition
3.2 Textbook Used in the Experiment
3.3 Participants
3.4 Method of Measuring Brain Waves
4 Experimental Result
4.1 Results
4.2 Consideration
5 Evaluation by Questionnaire
5.1 Explanation of Questionnaire Items
5.2 Questionnaire Evaluation on Manga and Bridge
5.3 Questionnaire Evaluation on Bridge and Extra
6 Conclusion and Future Work
References
Applying Strategic Planning in a Distance Undergraduate Course in Information Systems: A Case Study
1 Introduction
2 Strategic Planning in Academic Management
3 Methodology
3.1 Strategic Planning Process and Participants
4 Results and Discussion
4.1 The Undergraduate Distance Course in Information Systems
4.2 The Course Strategic Planning Results
5 Conclusion
References
Development of Climate Change Online Modules to Improve Environmental Engineering Curriculum of Jordanian and Syrian Universities
1 Introduction
2 Methodology
2.1 EGREEN Project
2.2 ADDIE Model
3 Results and Discussion
4 Conclusions
References
Adoption of Technological Products and Services in an Ecuadorian University for External Consumers
1 Introduction
2 Educational Inclusion
3 Information and Communication Technologies
4 Labor Inclusion
5 Conclusions
References
Towards Computational Thinking Beliefs of Computer Science Non-major Students in Introductory Robotics - A Comparative Study
1 Introduction
2 Related Work
3 Methods
3.1 Data Collection
3.2 Constructing the Questionnaire
3.3 Data Analysis
4 Results
4.1 Prior Experience
4.2 Evaluation of the Nao Robot
4.3 Evaluation of the Lego Robot
4.4 Self-assessment on Computational Thinking
5 Conclusion
5.1 Limitations
5.2 Future Work
6 Appendix
References
Context, Input and Process as Critical Elements for Successful Emergency Remote Learning
1 Introduction
2 Background: The CIPP Model
2.1 Context
2.2 Input
2.3 Process
3 Methodology
4 Results
5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
The Effects of an Educational Video Game on Elementary School Students' Engagement and Motivation in Pre Inca Cultures Learning
1 Introduction
2 Methodology
2.1 Educational Content of the Game
2.2 Proposed Educational Game
2.3 Video Game Design
2.4 Participants and Procedure
3 Results and Discussion
3.1 Responses to the Open-Ended Questions
3.2 Responses to the Choice Questions
3.3 Engagement Analysis
3.4 Motivation Analysis
4 Future Work
5 Conclusions
References
Higher Education Teachers Training (HET2) Model: Active Learning in Higher Education Environment
1 Introduction
2 Background
2.1 Digital Transformation
2.2 Active Learning
2.3 Integrating Social Business into an Organization
3 Higher Education Teachers Training (HET2) Model
3.1 Framework MobileCreate, Share, Document, Improve and Training: mCSDIT2
3.2 Training of Organizational Workers: ToOW Model
3.3 ECLECTIC Approach
4 Case Study Design
4.1 Classes Plan Design
4.2 Training Evaluation
5 Conclusions
References
Flashcards as a Microlearning Tool in English Language Teaching
1 Introduction
2 Level of Foreign Language Acquisition in the Czech Republic
3 Flashcards as a Microlearning Tool
3.1 Spaced Repetition
3.2 Active Recall
4 Research Methodology
5 Research Design
6 Results
6.1 Evaluation of Pretests and Posttests
6.2 Analysis of the Experimental Group with Regard to the Use of the Anki Application
7 Discussion
8 Conclusion
References
SocialPG: Proposed Model for Building Pervasive Social Play Experiences
1 Introduction
2 Pervasive Games and Social Expansion
3 Components of a Pervasive Social Play Experience
4 SocialPG, Model for the Construction of Social Pervasive Experiences
4.1 Goals, Game Mechanics and Game Elements
4.2 The Story
4.3 The Participants
4.4 Pervasive Computing, Application Integration and Game World
5 SocialPG, Model Validation
6 Conclusions and Future Work
References
Strategies on Teaching Introducing to Programming in Higher Education
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Flipped Classroom
2.2 Pair Programming
2.3 Active Learning
3 The Research Questions
4 Methodology
5 Results
5.1 When
5.2 Where
5.3 What
5.4 Who
5.5 Most Cited
6 Conclusions
References
The Role of Higher Education Institutions in the Accessible Tourism Ecosystem: Requirements for the Conceptualization of an Information System
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Information Systems in Accessible Tourism
2.2 Importance of Higher Education Study Programmes for Accessible Tourism
3 Methodology
3.1 Objectives and Contextualization
3.2 Data Collection and Analysis
4 Findings
4.1 Sample Profile
4.2 Attributed Relevance and Probability of Use
4.3 Relevant Information to Insert on the Platform
4.4 Information to Retrieve from the Platform
5 Conclusion
References
Towards a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Approach for an Object-Oriented Programming Course
1 Introduction
2 Background and Related Work
3 Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Proposal for OOP Teaching
3.1 Defining Roles
3.2 The Proposed Activity
4 Experts’ Review
5 Discussion
6 Conclusions and Future Work
References
BIM Education Experience in Social Project Resolution with User Evaluation
1 Introduction
1.1 Study Case
2 Methodology
3 Results
4 Discussion
5 Conclusions
References
Instrumentation, Implementation and Tools in STEM - STEAM Education: A Systematic Literature Review
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Planning
2.2 Conducting the Review
2.3 Review Report
3 Conclusions
References
Analysis and Evaluation of Distance Schooling and Learning with Respect to ICT Usage During COVID-19 Period in Bulgaria
1 Introduction
2 Background and Related Research
3 National Library for Educational Resources
4 Conclusion
References
Designing a Competence-Based Learning Course with Digital Tools in Higher Education
1 Competence-Based Learning in Higher Education
2 Overview of the Context and Background
2.1 Overview of the Erasmus Project CATCH 21
2.2 Overview of the Course Syllabus “21st Century Skills”
2.3 Overview of the Key Terms
3 Applying Digital Tools in Competence-Based Learning Process
3.1 Design and Implementation of Competence Framework
3.2 Identification of one’s Own Learning Needs and Capacities on the Base of Professional Competence Profiles
3.3 Design and Evaluation of Individual Learning Plan
3.4 Identify Learning Paths (Planned Interventions)
3.5 Keeping Record for Completed Interventions
3.6 Evaluation of Learning
3.7 Impact on Practice
4 Discussion and Lessons Learned
5 Conclusion and Future Work
References
Pair Programming and the Level of Knowledge in the Formation of Pairs
1 Pair Work
2 The Experience: Two Different Designs
3 Student Responses
4 Discussion of Results
5 Conclusions
References
Virtual Learning Environments and Learning Change in Modern Higher Education During the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic: Attitudes of University Teachers
1 Introduction
2 Virtual Learning: Yesterday and Today
3 Virtual Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic
4 Teacher’s Approach to Distance Teaching in an Emergency Situation
5 Conclusions
References
Evaluation, Analysis, and Treatment of Educational Risks in Migration of Presential Teaching for Remote
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
3 Methodology
4 Findings
4.1 External and Internal Context
4.2 Risk Identification
4.3 Risk Analysis and Assessment
4.4 Risk Treatment
4.5 Critical Monitoring and Analysis
5 Conclusion
References
UDL Ontology
1 Introduction
2 Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
3 Related Work
4 DL Ontology
4.1 Down Syndrome Learning Abilities and Strengths
4.2 How UDL Addresses Learning Abilities
4.3 DLOntology for Down Syndrome
4.4 Reasoning Process
5 Conclusions and Future Work
References
Organizational Models and Information Systems
A Roadmap for Implementing the General Data Protection Regulation in Higher Education Institutions Using Kotter’s Organizational Change Model
1 Introduction
2 Managing Organizational Change
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Literature Review
3.2 The Critical Success Factor Method
3.3 The Delphi Method
3.4 The Hierarchical Cluster Analysis
4 Proposed Roadmap for Applying the Kotter’s Change Management Model to the Implementation of the GDPR
5 Conclusion
References
How to Staff Software Engineering Team Roles Using the Concept of Personality? – An Exploratory Study
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
3 Study Design and Execution
4 Analysis and Results
5 Interpretation
5.1 Limitations of the Study
6 Lessons Learned and Future Work
References
Management Model and Strategic Management in Higher Education, Continuous Improvement, and Impact in Rankings
1 Introduction
2 Strategic Management in the UBO and Institutional Antecedents
3 Method
4 Results
5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
A Typology of Relational Attitude in IT Outsourcing: An Analysis on the Contractor's Perspective
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Knowledge Acquisition
2.2 Relational Governance
3 Methodology
4 Results
5 Conclusion
References
Retail Data Warehousing Notable Development Process Determinants
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Data Issues
2.2 Development Planning and Strategies
2.3 Vendor Assistance
3 Proposed Conceptual Model
4 Research Methodology and Case Description
5 Case Description
6 Data Analyses and Discussion
7 Conclusion
References
The Present State of System Analysis and Design in East Malaysia
1 Introduction
2 Review of the Literature
3 Research Methodology
4 Data Analyses and Discussions
5 Conclusions
References
The Process of Validating Public Information Systems Framework
1 Introduction
2 Review of the Literature
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Methodology for Data Gathering and Analyses
3.2 Pilot and Primary Cases
3.3 Methodology for Developing the Framework
3.4 Methodology for Validating the Framework Developed
4 Discussions
5 Conclusions
References
The Digital Transformation of the Grocery Business - Driven by Consumers, Powered by Technology, and Accelerated by the COVID-19 Pandemic
1 Introduction
2 Digital Transformation and Its Importance to the Grocery Business
2.1 Digital Transformation
2.2 The Grocery Business Landscape
2.3 Digital Transformation at the Grocery Store: The Rise of Online Grocery
3 Key Drivers for Digital Transformation in Grocery
3.1 Changing Consumer Behaviors
3.2 Acceleration by the Pandemic
4 Key Enablers: Digital Transformation of the Grocery Ecosystem
4.1 Digital Consumer: Online Grocery Shopping
4.2 Digital Store Operations
4.3 Last Mile: Pickup and Delivery
4.4 All Things Digital: Big Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Marketing
5 Successful Online Grocery Experiences Through Digital Transformation
6 Conclusions
References
Route Planning in Large-Scale Transport Networks: A Multi-criteria Approach Using Prefractal Graphs with Optimization of Transportation Costs
1 Introduction
2 Basic Concepts in Fractal and Prefractal Graphs
3 Model
3.1 Multiple Objective Functions
3.2 Algorithm
4 Theoretical Results
5 Conclusion
References
Applying an Adaptation of the Prado Project Management Maturity Model in an Academic Context
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Project Management
2.2 CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration)
2.3 Prado Project Management Maturity Model
3 Research Methodology
4 Description of the Case Study
5 Conclusions
References
A Blockchain-Based Loyalty Program for a Smart City
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Background
2.1 Blockchain for Loyalty Programs
2.2 Smart City Loyalty Programs
3 Business Model
4 Implementation
5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
Transportation and Infrastructures’ Sustainability in Ultra-peripheral Territories: Studies Over the Azores Region
1 Introduction
2 The Azores Region in Brief
3 Materials and Methods
4 Outcomes
5 Discussion and Conclusions
References
A Cloud-Based IoT Approach to Support Infrastructure Monitoring Needs by Public Civil Protection Organizations
1 Introduction
2 A Review of IoT State of the Art in the Monitoring Field
3 Proposed Cloud-Based IoT Architecture for PCPOs Infrastructures Monitoring Needs
4 A Prototype to Monitoring Monoliths
5 Conclusion and Final Remarks
References
The Role of Customers and Their Privacy in an IoT Business Context
1 Introduction
2 Privacy Challenges and Trends in a World of IoT
3 Impact of IoT on Customers Privacy in the Context of Business
4 A Conceptual Privacy Model for a Multi-scenario Perspective of Business
5 Conclusion
References
Use of Bots to Support Management Software Development and Streamline Client/Producer Communication in the 5.0 Industry
1 Introduction
2 Bots in the Software
3 Objectives and Methodology
4 Results
4.1 Advantages and Problems of Using Bots
4.2 Bots and Artificial Intelligence
4.3 Bots, and Their Impact on Software Developers
5 Discussion and Conclusions
References
Model for Dynamics Credit Risk Characterization and Profit Inference in Credit Card Fintechs
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Reference
2.1 System Dynamics
2.2 Provisioning Dynamics for Credit Risk in Brazil
2.3 Related Works
3 Methodology
3.1 System Variables
4 Results and Analysis
4.1 Simulation of Customer Acquisition and Maintenance
4.2 Simulation of Default and Recovery
4.3 System Outputs
4.4 Applications
5 Conclusions
References
Software Systems, Architectures, Applications and Tools
Monitoring and Prevention: How Technical Debt is Managed by Software Practitioners
1 Introduction
2 InsighTD Project
3 Methodology
3.1 Research Questions
3.2 Data Collection
3.3 Data Analysis
4 Results
4.1 What are the Main Practices Used to TD Monitoring by Software Practitioners? (RQ1)
4.2 What are the Main Actions Proposed to Prevent TD Occurrence by Software Practitioners? (RQ2)
5 Discussion
5.1 Implications for Practitioners and Researchers
6 Threats to Validity
7 Conclusions
References
Use of Mobile Applications in the Tourism Sector in Portugal - Intention to Visit the Algarve Region
1 Introduction
2 Background Research
2.1 Mobile Tourism Applications
2.2 The Algarve Region
3 Objectives
4 Research and Conceptual Models
5 Research Methods and Survey
6 Results Analysis
6.1 Adherence to Mobile Tourism Applications Over the Algarve
6.2 Hypotheses Validation
7 Conclusions
References
Carvers Suite – Smart Application for Data Recovery in SSD
1 Introduction
2 Data Restoration and File Carving
2.1 Data Restoration in Storage Media
2.2 Data Recovery Techniques
2.3 File Carving Techniques
3 Recovery Protocol in SSD Through File Carving Techniques
3.1 Methodology
3.2 Scenarios
3.3 The Protocol
4 Carvers Suite Implementation
4.1 Identify the Carver to Use
4.2 File Recovery
4.3 File Classification
4.4 Report Generation
5 Conclusions
References
Gamification Strategies for Eliciting Software Requirements
1 Introduction
2 Related Work
3 Methodology
4 Results and Discussion
4.1 Characterization of Strategies Selected
4.2 Discussion
5 Conclusions
6 Future Work
References
System for Monitoring and Controlling Industrial Lighting with Amazon Alexa
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
1.2 Related Works
2 Method
2.1 Architecture
2.2 Operation
3 Results
4 Conclusions
References
Mobile System for Personal Support to Psoriatic Patients
1 Introduction
2 Related Work on Computer Vision Use in Psoriasis
3 Psoriasis Follow-App System
4 Evaluation of Computer Vision Modules
5 Conclusion and Future Work
References
NetAC, An Automatic Classifier of Online Hate Speech Comments
1 Introduction
1.1 NetLang Project
1.2 Paper Organization
2 NetAC
2.1 Analyzer and Classifier – Main Module
2.2 Dictionaries
3 Complementary Features
3.1 Adding/Removing New Keywords
3.2 Dictionary Consulting
3.3 Adding New Languages
3.4 Uploading Files
4 A Case Study
5 Conclusion
References
A Web Platform to Integrate Bioinformatics Tools. A Case of Study
1 Introduction
2 Bioinformatics Web Platform
2.1 Backend Architecture
3 Case Study
3.1 Phylogenetic Tree and Gene Structure of Dehydrins
3.2 Circos Diagram of Aquaporins
3.3 Aquaporin Structure Prediction by Deep Learning
4 Conclusions
References
Usability Evaluation on Mobile Devices, Practical Case
1 Introduction
2 Background
3 Study Design
3.1 Analysis Units
3.2 Research Question
3.3 Data Collect
4 Results
4.1 Users Survey
4.2 Experts Survey
5 Discussion
6 Conclusions
References
Big Data Stream Discretization Using ChiMerge Algorithm
1 Introduction
2 ChiMerge Algorithm
3 ChiMerge Data Processing
3.1 Threshold Readjusting
4 Implementation in Apache Spark and Spark Streaming
4.1 Data Streams Collection in Real-Time
4.2 Merging and Threshold Readjustment
5 A Comparative Evaluation
6 Accuracy
7 Conclusion
References
Flexible Physical Process Control Through Predictor-Corrector Differential Models in Industry 4.0 Scenarios
1 Introduction
2 State of the Art on Industry 4.0 Control Mechanisms
3 New Flexible Control Solution for Physical Processes
3.1 Differential Models for Physical Processes and Servo Problems
3.2 A Predictor-Corrector Method to Ensure the Model Precision and Flexibility
3.3 Adaptative Control
4 Experimental Validation: Simulation and Results
5 Conclusions and Future Works
References
Review of Specific Features and Challenges in the Current Internet of Things Systems Impacting Their Security and Reliability
1 Introduction
2 Related Work
3 Major Specific Features and Challenges
3.1 Economic, Managerial and Organisational Aspects
3.2 Infrastructural Challenges
3.3 Security and Privacy Challenges
3.4 Complexity Challenges
3.5 Interoperability Problems
4 Discussion
5 Conclusion
References
Designing a FIWARE-Based Smart Campus with IoT Edge-Enabled Intelligence
1 Introduction
2 Related Works
3 IPVC Smart and Sustainable Campus
4 IoT Devices with Edge-Enabled Intelligence
5 IPVC-S2C Digital Ecosystem
5.1 FIWARE App Server
5.2 Short-Term Historical and Real-Time Data
5.3 IPVC-S2C App Server
6 Preliminary Results
7 Conclusions and Future Work
References
A Testing Tool for IoT Systems Operating with Limited Network Connectivity
1 Introduction
2 Principle of the Technique
2.1 Model of the Problem
2.2 Test Case and Test Coverage Criteria
3 Tool Support: Oxygen Module
4 Related Work and Discussion
5 Conclusion
References
Design of an Interactive Mobile Platform to Assist Communities in Voluntary Cooperation to Counter the COVID-19 Outbreak
1 Introduction
2 Related Works
3 Amoris IoT Mobile App
3.1 Amoris IoT Mobile App
3.2 Voluntary Aid
3.3 Medical Emergency
3.4 Help Requests
3.5 Services API
3.6 Command and Control Center
3.7 Student Orientation
3.8 Orientation Cards
4 Tests and Results
5 Conclusion and Future Works
References
Hyper-Parameter Tuning of Classification and Regression Trees for Software Effort Estimation
1 Introduction
2 Related Work
3 Experimental Design
3.1 Threats to Validity
4 Results
4.1 Impact of Tuning on Accuracy and Stability
4.2 Ranking of SEE Models
4.3 Discussion
5 Conclusion
References
Enabling Buildings’ Comfort Using Context-Aware Technologies: A Systematic Review of the Literature
1 Introduction
2 Context-Aware Technologies
3 Methods
4 Results
4.1 Overview
4.2 Modality and Building Types
4.3 Context-Aware Characteristics
5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
Smart Cities: Drivers to Increase Context-Awareness Based on a Systematic Review of the Literature
1 Introduction
2 Methods
3 Results
3.1 Overview
3.2 Application Domains
3.3 Context-Aware Characteristics
3.4 Maturity Level
4 Discussion and Conclusion
References
Home Appliance Recognition Using Edge Intelligence
1 Introduction
2 Related Work
3 Use Case and Reference Scenario
4 Dataset Creation
5 Experiments
6 Discussion
7 Conclusion
References
Challenges and Strategies for Information Systems in the Decision-Making Process to Face the COVID-19 Pandemic: The São Paulo Case
1 Introduction
2 Actions, Privacy and Data Protection in the Pandemic
2.1 Scenarios and Perspective from Latin America
3 The São Paulo Case
3.1 Cellular Infrastructure as a Base for Identifying Mobility Behavior
3.2 Vehicular Mobility Monitoring
3.3 Health Data Monitoring
3.4 Fiscal Secrecy in Monitoring the Economic Rescue
3.5 Escalator Approach in São Paulo
4 Conclusions
References
Data Science Procedures to Aggregate Unstructured Disease Data in Georeferenced Spreading Analysis
1 Introduction
2 Related Works
3 Design of an Epidemic Data Science Project
4 Evaluation of Tests and Results of the Proposed System
4.1 Extraction and Storage
4.2 Visualization and Georeferenced Views
5 Conclusion and Future Works
References
Mixture-Based Open World Face Recognition
1 Introduction
2 Proposed Methodology
2.1 First Variant: Curve-Based Representations
2.2 Second Variant: GMM-UBM Representations
3 Experiments
4 Results
5 Conclusions
References
Game-Based Learning: A Push for Introducing a C(Classroom)-MORPG
1 Game-Based Learning and Gamification Pedagogy Within COVID-19 Times: From the Web 2.0 Apps to RPG
2 The RPG Environments and the Creation of Schoolers and Scholars: The Platform and Its Main Features
3 Pilot Case Study: Research Methodology and Aims
4 Final Considerations
References
Jooka: A Bilingual Chatbot for University Admission
1 Introduction
2 Related Work
3 Chatbot Design
3.1 Off-Campus Support
3.2 On-Campus Support
3.3 Social Cues
4 Chatbot Implementation
4.1 Architecture
4.2 Input Processing
4.3 Output Generation
5 Evaluation
5.1 System Usability Scale (SUS)
5.2 Chatbot Usability Questionnaire (CUQ)
5.3 Results
5.4 Discussion
6 Conclusion and Future Work
References
Author Index
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Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 1367
Álvaro Rocha · Hojjat Adeli · Gintautas Dzemyda · Fernando Moreira · Ana Maria Ramalho Correia Editors
Trends and Applications in Information Systems and Technologies Volume 3
Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing Volume 1367
Series Editor Janusz Kacprzyk, Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland Advisory Editors Nikhil R. Pal, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India Rafael Bello Perez, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Computing, Universidad Central de Las Villas, Santa Clara, Cuba Emilio S. Corchado, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain Hani Hagras, School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Colchester, UK László T. Kóczy, Department of Automation, Széchenyi István University, Gyor, Hungary Vladik Kreinovich, Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA Chin-Teng Lin, Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan Jie Lu, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Patricia Melin, Graduate Program of Computer Science, Tijuana Institute of Technology, Tijuana, Mexico Nadia Nedjah, Department of Electronics Engineering, University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Ngoc Thanh Nguyen , Faculty of Computer Science and Management, Wrocław University of Technology, Wrocław, Poland Jun Wang, Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
The series “Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing” contains publications on theory, applications, and design methods of Intelligent Systems and Intelligent Computing. Virtually all disciplines such as engineering, natural sciences, computer and information science, ICT, economics, business, e-commerce, environment, healthcare, life science are covered. The list of topics spans all the areas of modern intelligent systems and computing such as: computational intelligence, soft computing including neural networks, fuzzy systems, evolutionary computing and the fusion of these paradigms, social intelligence, ambient intelligence, computational neuroscience, artificial life, virtual worlds and society, cognitive science and systems, Perception and Vision, DNA and immune based systems, self-organizing and adaptive systems, e-Learning and teaching, human-centered and human-centric computing, recommender systems, intelligent control, robotics and mechatronics including human-machine teaming, knowledge-based paradigms, learning paradigms, machine ethics, intelligent data analysis, knowledge management, intelligent agents, intelligent decision making and support, intelligent network security, trust management, interactive entertainment, Web intelligence and multimedia. The publications within “Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing” are primarily proceedings of important conferences, symposia and congresses. They cover significant recent developments in the field, both of a foundational and applicable character. An important characteristic feature of the series is the short publication time and world-wide distribution. This permits a rapid and broad dissemination of research results. Indexed by DBLP, EI Compendex, INSPEC, WTI Frankfurt eG, zbMATH, Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST), SCImago. All books published in the series are submitted for consideration in Web of Science.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11156
Álvaro Rocha Hojjat Adeli Gintautas Dzemyda Fernando Moreira Ana Maria Ramalho Correia •
•
•
•
Editors
Trends and Applications in Information Systems and Technologies Volume 3
123
Editors Álvaro Rocha ISEG University of Lisbon Lisbon, Portugal Gintautas Dzemyda Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies Vilnius University Vilnius, Lithuania
Hojjat Adeli College of Engineering The Ohio State University Columbus, OH, USA Fernando Moreira DCT Universidade Portucalense Porto, Portugal
Ana Maria Ramalho Correia Department of Information Sciences University of Sheffield Lisbon, Portugal
ISSN 2194-5357 ISSN 2194-5365 (electronic) Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ISBN 978-3-030-72659-1 ISBN 978-3-030-72660-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
This book contains a selection of papers accepted for presentation and discussion at the 2021 World Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (WorldCIST’21). This conference had the scientific support of the University of Azores, Information and Technology Management Association (ITMA), IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society (IEEE SMC), Iberian Association for Information Systems and Technologies (AISTI), and Global Institute for IT Management (GIIM). It took place online at Hangra do Heroismo city, Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal, March 30–31 to April 1–2, 2021. The World Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (WorldCIST) is a global forum for researchers and practitioners to present and discuss recent results and innovations, current trends, professional experiences, and challenges of modern information systems and technologies research, technological development, and applications. One of its main aims is to strengthen the drive toward a holistic symbiosis between academy, society, and industry. WorldCIST’21 built on the successes of WorldCIST’13 held at Olhão, Algarve, Portugal; WorldCIST’14 held at Funchal, Madeira, Portugal; WorldCIST’15 held at São Miguel, Azores, Portugal; WorldCIST’16 held at Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; WorldCIST’17 held at Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal; WorldCIST’18 held at Naples, Italy; WorldCIST’19 held at La Toja, Spain; and WorldCIST’20, which took place online at Budva, Montenegro. The Program Committee of WorldCIST’21 was composed of a multidisciplinary group of 309 experts and those who are intimately concerned with information systems and technologies. They have had the responsibility for evaluating, in a ‘blind review’ process, the papers received for each of the main themes proposed for the conference: A) information and knowledge management; B) organizational models and information systems; C) software and systems modeling; D) software systems, architectures, applications and tools; E) multimedia systems and applications; F) computer networks, mobility and pervasive systems; G) intelligent and decision support systems; H) big data analytics and Applications; I) human–computer interaction; J) ethics, computers and security; K) health informatics;
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Preface
L) information technologies in education; M) information technologies in radiocommunications; N) technologies for biomedical applications. The conference also included workshop sessions taking place in parallel with the conference ones. Workshop sessions covered themes such as healthcare information systems interoperability, security and efficiency; user expression and sentiment analysis; gamification application and technologies; code quality and security; amalgamating artificial intelligence and business innovation; innovation and digital transformation for rural development; automatic detection of fake news in social media; open learning and inclusive education through information and communication technology; digital technologies and teaching innovations in COVID-19 times; devops and software engineering; pervasive information systems; advancing eHealth through software engineering fundamentals; blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in business; innovation and intelligence in educational technology, evolutionary computing for health care; ICT for auditing and accounting; and leveraging customer behavior using advanced data analytics and machine learning techniques. WorldCIST’21 received about 400 contributions from 51 countries around the world. The papers accepted for oral presentation and discussion at the conference are published by Springer (this book) in four volumes and will be submitted for indexing by WoS, EI-Compendex, Scopus, DBLP, and/or Google Scholar, among others. Extended versions of selected best papers will be published in special or regular issues of relevant journals, mainly JCR/SCI/SSCI and Scopus/EI-Compendex indexed journals. We acknowledge all of those that contributed to the staging of WorldCIST’21 (authors, committees, workshop organizers, and sponsors). We deeply appreciate their involvement and support that was crucial for the success of WorldCIST’21. March 2021
Álvaro Rocha Hojjat Adeli Gintautas Dzemyda Fernando Moreira
Contents
Information Technologies in Education Digital Competences in European University Teaching Staff: Teaching and Guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Antonio Pantoja Vallejo and Beatriz Berrios Aguayo Comparative Analysis of the Presence of University Professors from Southern Ecuador in Scientific Social Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen Michelle Benítez Arrobo, Mónica Hinojosa Becerra, Mónica Maldonado Espinosa, and Isidro Marín Gutiérrez SOLL Platform and the Adoption of Innovation by Teachers . . . . . . . . Andreia Magalhães, José Matias Alves, and António Andrade Evaluation of Difficulty During Visual Programming Learning Using a Simple Electroencephalograph and Minecraft Educational Edition . . . Katsuyuki Umezawa, Makoto Nakazawa, Manabu Kobayashi, Yutaka Ishii, Michiko Nakano, and Shigeichi Hirasawa Applying Strategic Planning in a Distance Undergraduate Course in Information Systems: A Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olival de Gusmão Freitas Júnior, Marcus de Melo Braga, and Victor Diogho Heuer de Carvalho Development of Climate Change Online Modules to Improve Environmental Engineering Curriculum of Jordanian and Syrian Universities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leandro Oliveira, Pedro Pimenta, and Eduardo Luís Cardoso Adoption of Technological Products and Services in an Ecuadorian University for External Consumers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrés Palacio-Fierro and Hugo Arias-Flores
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Towards Computational Thinking Beliefs of Computer Science Non-major Students in Introductory Robotics A Comparative Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bianca Bergande and Anne Gressmann Context, Input and Process as Critical Elements for Successful Emergency Remote Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Luciana Oliveira, Anabela Mesquita, Arminda Sequeira, Adriana Oliveira, and Paulino Silva The Effects of an Educational Video Game on Elementary School Students’ Engagement and Motivation in Pre Inca Cultures Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gina V. Acosta Gutiérrez, Adams S. Pérez García, and Alejandro E. Ildefonso Medina
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Higher Education Teachers Training (HET2) Model: Active Learning in Higher Education Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Fernando Moreira, Maria João Ferreira, Carla Santos Pereira, David Fonseca Escudero, Cesar Collazos, and Alex Gomes Flashcards as a Microlearning Tool in English Language Teaching . . . . 113 Tomas Javorcik SocialPG: Proposed Model for Building Pervasive Social Play Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Ramón Valera-Aranguren, Patricia Paderewski Rodriguez, Francisco Luis Gutierrez Vela, Jeferson Arango-López, and Fernando Moreira Strategies on Teaching Introducing to Programming in Higher Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Sónia Rolland Sobral The Role of Higher Education Institutions in the Accessible Tourism Ecosystem: Requirements for the Conceptualization of an Information System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Pedro Teixeira, Joana Alves, Celeste Eusébio, and Leonor Teixeira Towards a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Approach for an Object-Oriented Programming Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Leandro Flórez-Aristizábal, Clara L. Burbano, and Fernando Moreira BIM Education Experience in Social Project Resolution with User Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Miguel Ángel Pérez Sandoval, Isidro Navarro Delgado, Alia Besné Yanguas, Georgina Sandoval, Fernando Rafael Minaya Hernández, Ernesto Redondo Dominguez, Joaquim N. Moya, and David Fonseca Escudero
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Instrumentation, Implementation and Tools in STEM - STEAM Education: A Systematic Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Marcelo Juca-Aulestia, Fanny Zúñiga-Tinizaray, Mónica Pozo-Vinueza, Franklin Malla-Alvarado, Mayra Cáceres-Mena, Pablo Almendariz-Pozo, Andres Cáceres-Mena, and Daniel Román-Robalino Analysis and Evaluation of Distance Schooling and Learning with Respect to ICT Usage During COVID-19 Period in Bulgaria . . . . . 195 Ognyan Nakov, Valeri Mladenov, Elizabet Mihaylova, and Plamen Nakov Designing a Competence-Based Learning Course with Digital Tools in Higher Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Pencho Mihnev, Albena Antonova, Atanas Georgiev, Krassen Stefanov, Eliza Stefanova, and Nikolina Nikolova Pair Programming and the Level of Knowledge in the Formation of Pairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Sónia Rolland Sobral Virtual Learning Environments and Learning Change in Modern Higher Education During the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic: Attitudes of University Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 Edita Butrime Evaluation, Analysis, and Treatment of Educational Risks in Migration of Presential Teaching for Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Renan Silveira Holtermann, Ricardo Matos Chaim, and Bruno Contessotto Bragança Pinheiro UDL Ontology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 María Viola Deambrosis, Regina Motz, and María Amelia Eliseo Organizational Models and Information Systems A Roadmap for Implementing the General Data Protection Regulation in Higher Education Institutions Using Kotter’s Organizational Change Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 José Fernandes, Carolina Machado, and Luís Amaral How to Staff Software Engineering Team Roles Using the Concept of Personality? – An Exploratory Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 Erica Weilemann and Philipp Brune Management Model and Strategic Management in Higher Education, Continuous Improvement, and Impact in Rankings . . . . . . . 285 Claudio Ruff, Marcelo Ruiz, Tomas Flores, Cristián Cornejo, Roberto Cortés, and Alexis Matheu
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A Typology of Relational Attitude in IT Outsourcing: An Analysis on the Contractor's Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 Thiago Poleto, Thyago Celso Cavalcante Nepomuceno, Victor Diogho Heuer de Carvalho, and Ana Paula Cabral Seixas Costa Retail Data Warehousing Notable Development Process Determinants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 Syed Nasirin, Esmadi A. A. Seman, H. Ismail, Jackel C. V. Lung, Nooralisa M. Tuah, Abdullah M. Tahir, and S. Lada The Present State of System Analysis and Design in East Malaysia . . . . 314 Syed Nasirin, Esmadi A. A. Seman, H. Ismail, Iza A. A. Bahar, Jackel C. V. Lung, Nooralisa M. Tuah, Abdullah M. Tahir, and S. Lada The Process of Validating Public Information Systems Framework . . . . 319 Iza A. A. Bahar, S. Nasirin, H. Ismail, Nona M. Nistah, T. Amboala, Esmadi A. A. Seman, and S. Lada The Digital Transformation of the Grocery Business - Driven by Consumers, Powered by Technology, and Accelerated by the COVID-19 Pandemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 Haroon R. Abbu, David Fleischmann, and Pradeep Gopalakrishna Route Planning in Large-Scale Transport Networks: A Multicriteria Approach Using Prefractal Graphs with Optimization of Transportation Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 João Paulo Pereira and Dmitriy Pavlov Applying an Adaptation of the Prado Project Management Maturity Model in an Academic Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 Ana Araújo and Pedro Ribeiro A Blockchain-Based Loyalty Program for a Smart City . . . . . . . . . . . . 360 Zorica Bogdanović, Aleksandra Labus, Miloš Radenković, Snežana Popović, Svetlana Mitrović, and Marijana Despotović-Zrakić Transportation and Infrastructures’ Sustainability in Ultraperipheral Territories: Studies Over the Azores Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371 Gualter Couto, Rui Alexandre Castanho, Pedro Pimentel, Célia Carvalho, Áurea Sousa, Maria da Graça Batista, Ana Vulevic, and José Manuel Naranjo Gómez A Cloud-Based IoT Approach to Support Infrastructure Monitoring Needs by Public Civil Protection Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 João Pedro Gomes, Carlos R. Cunha, Gabriel Noira, and Arlindo Santos The Role of Customers and Their Privacy in an IoT Business Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 Carlos R. Cunha, João Pedro Gomes, Arlindo Santos, and Elisabete Paulo Morais
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Use of Bots to Support Management Software Development and Streamline Client/Producer Communication in the 5.0 Industry . . . 401 Gustavo Caiza, Fernando Ibarra-Torres, Marcelo V. Garcia, and Valeria Barona-Pico Model for Dynamics Credit Risk Characterization and Profit Inference in Credit Card Fintechs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 João Paulo Vieira Costa, Cleber Mitchell de Lima, Newton Franklin Almeida, Ricardo Matos Chaim, and João Carlos Félix Souza Software Systems, Architectures, Applications and Tools Monitoring and Prevention: How Technical Debt is Managed by Software Practitioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425 Boris Pérez, Camilo Castellanos, and Darío Correal Use of Mobile Applications in the Tourism Sector in Portugal - Intention to Visit the Algarve Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435 Catarina Vasconcelos, José Luís Reis, and Sandrina Francisca Teixeira Carvers Suite – Smart Application for Data Recovery in SSD . . . . . . . . 450 Geovanni Ninahualpa, Michael Yugcha, Cristhian Gálvez, Teresa Guarda, Javier Díaz, and Darío Piccirilli Gamification Strategies for Eliciting Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . 461 Gloria Piedad Gasca-Hurtado, Vianca Vega-Zepeda, and Liliana Machuca-Villegas System for Monitoring and Controlling Industrial Lighting with Amazon Alexa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473 Manuel Ayala-Chauvin, Fernando Saá, Fernando Villarroel-Córdova, and Albert de la Fuente-Morato Mobile System for Personal Support to Psoriatic Patients . . . . . . . . . . . 483 Rui S. Moreira, Paulo Carvalho, Rui Catarino, Toni Lopes, Christophe Soares, José M. Torres, Pedro Sobral, Ana Teixeira, Isabel F. Almeida, and Vera Almeida NetAC, An Automatic Classifier of Online Hate Speech Comments . . . . 494 Constança Elias, Jorge Brandão Gonçalves, Maria Araújo, Pedro Pinheiro, Cristiana Araújo, and Pedro Rangel Henriques A Web Platform to Integrate Bioinformatics Tools. A Case of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506 Federico Agostini, Pilar Hernández, Gabriel Dorado, and Sergio Gálvez Usability Evaluation on Mobile Devices, Practical Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516 Danilo Martinez, Mireya Zapata, Renan Garcia, Andrés Zambrano, Jhony Naranjo, and Kevin Zurita
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Big Data Stream Discretization Using ChiMerge Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . 527 Abderraouf Safsaf, Naima Lounes, Walid-Khaled Hidouci, and Rachid Chalal Flexible Physical Process Control Through Predictor-Corrector Differential Models in Industry 4.0 Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535 Borja Bordel, Ramón Alcarria, and Tomás Robles Review of Specific Features and Challenges in the Current Internet of Things Systems Impacting Their Security and Reliability . . . . . . . . . 546 Miroslav Bures, Matej Klima, Vaclav Rechtberger, Bestoun S. Ahmed, Hanan Hindy, and Xavier Bellekens Designing a FIWARE-Based Smart Campus with IoT Edge-Enabled Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557 Pedro Martins, Sérgio I. Lopes, and António Curado A Testing Tool for IoT Systems Operating with Limited Network Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570 Matej Klima and Miroslav Bures Design of an Interactive Mobile Platform to Assist Communities in Voluntary Cooperation to Counter the COVID-19 Outbreak . . . . . . 577 Francisco L. de Caldas Filho, Nayara Rossi Brito da Silva, Paulo H. F. C. Mendes, Leonardo de Oliveira Almeida, André Cavalcanti, Fabio Lucio Lopes de Mendonça, and Rafael T. de Sousa Jr. Hyper-Parameter Tuning of Classification and Regression Trees for Software Effort Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589 Leonardo Villalobos-Arias, Christian Quesada-López, Alexandra Martínez, and Marcelo Jenkins Enabling Buildings’ Comfort Using Context-Aware Technologies: A Systematic Review of the Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599 Ana Isabel Martins, Ana Carolina Oliveira Lima, Paulo Bartolomeu, Lucilene Ferreira Mouzinho, Joaquim Ferreira, and Nelson Pacheco Rocha Smart Cities: Drivers to Increase Context-Awareness Based on a Systematic Review of the Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609 Nelson Pacheco Rocha, Ana Dias, Gonçalo Santinha, Mário Rodrigues, Carlos Rodrigues, and Alexandra Queirós Home Appliance Recognition Using Edge Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619 José Manuel Torres, Luis Aguiar, Christophe Soares, Pedro Sobral, and Rui S. Moreira
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Challenges and Strategies for Information Systems in the Decision-Making Process to Face the COVID-19 Pandemic: The São Paulo Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630 Alessandro S. Santos, Igor C. Teixeira, Rodrigo Neves, Icaro Gonçales, Angelina Inacio, Eduardo T. Ueda, Eduardo F. Z. Santana, Higor A. de Souza, and Fabio Kon Data Science Procedures to Aggregate Unstructured Disease Data in Georeferenced Spreading Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641 Lucas C. de Almeida, Daniel S. do Prado, Natália A. Marques, Francisco L. de Caldas Filho, Lucas M. C. e Martins, and Rafael T. de Sousa Jr. Mixture-Based Open World Face Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653 Arthur Matta, João Ribeiro Pinto, and Jaime S. Cardoso Game-Based Learning: A Push for Introducing a C(Classroom)-MORPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663 Eduardo Nunes and Mário Cruz Jooka: A Bilingual Chatbot for University Admission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671 Walid El Hefny, Yasmin Mansy, Mina Abdallah, and Slim Abdennadher Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
Information Technologies in Education
Digital Competences in European University Teaching Staff: Teaching and Guidance Antonio Pantoja Vallejo
and Beatriz Berrios Aguayo(B)
University of Jaen, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaen, Spain {apantoja,bberrios}@ujaen.es
Abstract. Nowadays, we live in a practically digitised world. Therefore, education has been one of the first aspects to have the need to update itself digitally. This, together with exceptional situations, such as COVID-19 (coronavirus diseases), have meant that the only way to teach is through information and communication technology (ICT). As an objective of this communication, we propose to analyse the level of digital competences of European university teaching staff, in addition to detecting good practices in teaching and guidance using ICT. This is a mixedmethod research study in which 918 teachers participated in the quantitative part and 76 in the qualitative part. As an instrument, the scale Necesidades formativas en estrategias orientadoras y tutoriales (NFEOT-17) has been used for quantitative research, and the techniques of discussion group, nominal group and the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) technique have been used for qualitative research. The results show that low digital competence is manifested in relation to teaching and university orientation. Furthermore, determining factors have been detected that characterise good ICT practices. In conclusion, the need to develop digital competencies in university teachers is highlighted so that they can be part of the new digital era and face exceptional situations that may arise. Keywords: Competences · ICT · Teachers · High education
1 Introduction It is a reality that during the times of the pandemic when teachers have had to teach their classes remotely, it is more necessary than ever for them to be digitally up to date. However, we are left in doubt as to whether they are really prepared to provide quality teaching and guidance with digital tools as the only option. Due to the continuous changes perceived in education, a growing need has been detected to update it and with it the skills of teachers to face this challenge [1]. [2] showed how the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) establishes three determining points in reference to the digitisation of education: the first refers to the integration of technological competences in educational contexts, the second to the application of co-technological knowledge as a means of solving problems, and the third to the generation of knowledge through digital tools.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 3–11, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_1
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Now more than ever, educators in the context of higher education have a special interest in technology-supported learning environments, as they offer new learning opportunities and support for students to meet their different needs. These new digitised environments allow the development of effective teaching methods that integrate innovative approaches. Today, we already have numerous methods that are developed in digital environments of which teachers can take advantage to adapt their teaching to this new digital age [3]. According to recent authors such as [4], teachers have many shortcomings in terms of their digital skills. According to [5], the greatest need that we have in terms of digital literacy is the shortage of certain skills and competences in the operation of information, the search for information and the development of communication skills. On the other hand, [6, 7] determine that the main needs detected by the students in relation to the use of ITC by teachers are as follows: the absence of digital tools in teaching and guidance, students’ lack of knowledge about the tools at their disposal and teachers’ lack of interest in improving their digital skills. Regarding counseling in higher education, many universities have created guidance plans that try to respond to the needs of students in terms of academic, personal and professional dimensions. In the case of the universities that make up this project, they share a similar plan called the Tutorial Action Plan (PAT). The objectives of this plan are to advise students of the different grades that allow them to take better advantage of their potential, to inform them about the availability and use of resources for learning offered by the university, to develop students’ level of autonomy to the maximum, to receive guidance on job placement options and continuous training based on their professional interests and to encourage student participation in university extension activities. The need to develop teachers’ digital skills is what motivates us to detect so-called good practices. When we refer to good practices, we can look at a series of indicators already established years ago [8] that the teacher: • • • • • • •
Encourages contact with the students continuously; Promotes cooperation between students; Uses active learning strategies with students; Provides students with immediate feedback; Organizes tasks so that they are carried out as scheduled; Provides continuous feedback to learn students’ expectations; and Respects everyone’s pace and abilities.
Nowadays, a series of elements are established that determine good practices in the use of ICTs such as [9] the following: • • • •
The teacher understands the impact that ICTs have on global society and on education. The teacher receives good teacher training. The teacher has extensive knowledge about how to learn through digital environments. The importance of the context, the teacher’s leadership and their concern to improve their skills. • The teacher acquires competences not only in technical aspects of ICT but also in its pedagogy and the social area.
Digital Competences in European University Teaching Staff
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• The development of standards to be used as a guide for the implementation of ICT in teacher training. These principles should be developed more than ever in these times where ITC tools together with teachers’ good digital skills make e-learning 3.0 possible [3]. It is now a reality that the use of ICT in university classrooms allows multiple advantages when it comes to promoting student learning [10–13]: • • • •
Various ways of teaching leaving aside the traditional model; Active learning development; Development of meaningful learning in students; and Visual stimulation of the context.
The research presented is part of the R + D TIMONEL project: Sistema de Recomendación (SR) basado en necesidades de orientación y tutoría de alumnado y egresados universitarios. The purpose of the project is to analyse the orientation needs of students and university teaching staff at different universities in Europe and to detect good practices in orientation, which will culminate in the creation of a recommendation system where teachers, students and graduates can access and satisfy their needs in the academic, personal and professional arenas. This particular research focuses on the impact of the new digital age on teaching and university orientation, analysed from the teacher’s point of view. Before defining the SR TIMONEL, we propose three consecutive phases (Fig. 1), ranging from the knowledge of reality regarding guidance and tutoring in universities, to the proposal of a work model based on the needs detected and the recommendations of users of the system itself.
Fig. 1. Organisation of R + D TIMONEL project
In this study, the results obtained within phases 1 and 2, corresponding to the teaching staff, are detailed, the first being the one that carried out a wide collection of information regarding the guidance needs among undergraduate students and university graduates,
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as well as faculty from the three participating universities. The second phase focused on the knowledge of good practices developed by university tutors. In accordance with these two actions, the following objectives were set: a) to analyse the level of digital competences of European university teachers based on their own beliefs and b) to detect good teaching and guidance practices using ICTs as tools.
2 Method 2.1 Design Depending on the nature and objectives set out in this research, quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis techniques are used, using a mixed model of a concurrent type [14]. 2.2 Participants The complexity of the study entails different samples depending on the phases through which it is passing. Phase 1 is the one in which the most subjects have participated and the one with the most diversity. Representativeness has been guaranteed by handling the indicators and distribution shown in Table 1. Regarding the PAT, only Spanish universities are included since it is not developed in Portugal or the United Kingdom. As it is a mixed methodology, two samples have been selected: the sample for the quantitative part and the one for the qualitative part. The quantitative research has been made up of a set of participants obtained through proportional random stratified sampling (except in the PCO and QML, which has been intentional due to the variability of the degrees and the difficulty of accessing the subjects in the case of the QML) with a calculated error of 5%. In the cases of the UJA and UGR, only the common degrees are taken into consideration. In total, a sample of 918 teachers has been obtained. For the qualitative part, three discussion groups were held made up of teachers from different areas of knowledge, and they were completed with 11 interviews with teachers with experience in PAT in different areas of knowledge (See Table 1). 2.3 Instruments The quantitative part was evaluated using the scale Formative Needs in Guidance and Tutorial Strategies (NFEOT-17), Cronbach’s alpha was .79, KMO = .939, and in Bartlett’s sphericity test, χ2 = 28169.969, p = .000. An exploratory factor analysis was carried out through the principal components and the Varimax rotation, and four factors were extracted through the Kaiser criteria, which coincide with the theoretical model proposed in the confirmatory factor analysis. The scale has a Likert-type format with five response options (totally disagree to totally agree) and has 61 items. The different qualitative instruments were prepared by the multidisciplinary team that makes up the research team, reinforced by teachers and tutors with experience both in university teaching and in their participation in PAT. Discussion group, nominal group and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) techniques were used with different teachers in each of them.
Digital Competences in European University Teaching Staff
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Table 1. Participants in the qualitative and quantitative part Technique
Qualitative Experience
Discussion group
Nominal group
SWOT
University UJA
UGR
PCOa
QMLa
Novel (−5 years)
7
2
4
–
Experience (+15 years)
7
4
3
–
Novel in PAT 4
6
–
–
Experience in PAT
4
6
–
–
Novel in PAT 4
6
–
–
Experience in PAT
6
–
–
4
Quantitative UJA
UGR
PCO
QML
−5 years
141
169
13
3
+15 years
225
306
50
11
Total
366
475
63
14
Note: UJA = University of Jaen; UGR = University of Granada; PCO = Polytechnic of Coimbra; QML = Queen Mary University of London. a They are excluded from the collection of information on PAT as this document is not established in their universities.
2.4 Procedure In the first place, the calculation of the sample of the teaching staff in the different universities was carried out. Once the number of teachers to whom the scale would be administered had been established, it was given to them, responding within 10 min. Teachers who could not physically answer the scale were provided an online version. Subsequently, a sample of teachers from different branches were chosen for qualitative techniques. Finally, quantitative and qualitative data were analysed independently in order to reach common conclusions. 2.5 Data Analysis The SPSS v.21 program has been used for the analysis of the quantitative research. A descriptive analysis of the data of the ICT dimension of the supplied scale has been carried out, calculating significant differences of means through the t-test and correlations through the Pearson R test. For the qualitative analysis, the N-Vivo program was used and the transcripts of the different qualitative techniques were analysed.
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3 Results 3.1 Digital Competences in University Teachers Once the results of the questionnaire and of the different qualitative techniques used have been analysed, we concluded with the following statements: • Teachers affirm that they do not have good training in ICT for teaching and even less for academic orientation. • They do not have the resources to offer students academic guidance. • ICT tasks are carried out in coordination with the PAT of the degree. • They do not have enough skills to handle ICT • They know the meaning of ICT but not so much about how to use it to the maximum potential. • They do not consider it advisable to use certain digital tools such as social networks since sensitive information about students such as their work preferences, personal data, CV, etc. can be made public. • The students, despite the teachers’ efforts to update themselves digitally, do not take advantage of digital tools. • Training is required for the teacher by the institutions so that they are complemented by the digital skills of the students. In addition, different variables such as gender, teaching experience, participation in the PAT and ICT teacher training have been taken into account to check if there were significant differences in terms of teachers’ digital skills (Table 2). Table 2. Mean difference between different variables and digital competence in teachers Variables
N
Means
Standard deviation
p
Male
502
35.42
8.78
.029
Female
416
34.15
8.74
Teaching experience
5 years or less
326
34.48
8.82
15 years or more
592
35.04
8.76
PAT participation
Yes
395
36.08
8.39
No
509
34.08
8.86
Yes
369
36.25
8.46
No
549
33.90
8.87
Sex
Guidance and tutoring training
.359 .001 .000
As can be seen in Table 2, there are significant differences in the variables sex, participation in the PAT and training in orientation and tutoring. Regarding sex, men have better ICT skills than women. With respect to participation in the PAT, those belonging to this university plan show a greater link with the technological media.
Digital Competences in European University Teaching Staff
9
Finally, those who have been trained in orientation and tutoring skills also have a higher average in terms of the use of ICT. Next, in Table 3, a positive correlation is shown between the dimensions analysed on the scale, which shows a greater use of technologies as part of the teaching, tutorials and guidance competencies in the academic, personal and professional dimension. Therefore, the use of ICT is positive when it comes to providing guidance to students. Table 3. Pearson Correlation between NFEOT-17 dimensions AG ICT
PG
PRG ICT
.423a .323a .414a 1
Sig. (bilateral) .000
.000
.000
N
918
918
918
918
Note: a The correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (bilateral). Academic guidance (AG); Personal guidance (PG); Professional guidance (PG)
3.2 Detection of Good Practise in University Teachers Based on the collection of data from both parties (qualitative and quantitative), a series of factors have been detected that characterise good practices in university teachers through the use of ICT (Table 4). Table 4. Perceived good practice factors Factors
Percentage
Commitment
22.7%
Global performance Training actions Specific knowledge Resources used
9.1% 11.4% 6.8% 18.2%
Institutional recognition 20.5% Live trajectory
6.8%
The teachers express the importance of acquiring a commitment to job performance, highlighting the importance of using ICT as essential elements. As determined, this commitment is one of the main factors that will determine ‘professionalism’. Others determine that this commitment should be understood as ‘teaching responsibility’
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A. P. Vallejo and B. B. Aguayo
(NG_UGR); otherwise, it is understood that involvement is reduced to voluntarism or vocation. For their part, teachers determine as relevant the training actions that they receive for their professional performance. In the case of ICT in these times in which teaching and advice have been practically online, they value more than ever the importance of being well trained in terms of digital tools that may be available to teachers to teach their classes. ‘Universities have recently offered numerous training courses that allowed teachers to be digitally updated’ (DG_UJA). Linked to the previous point is the use of resources, in this case digital. Good training allows greater use of digital resources ranging from forums and web pages to social networks such as WhatsApp. Of those surveyed, 18.2% express an urgent need to know digital resources in order to offer quality teaching and guidance in all academic grades. Finally, a large number of teachers express the need for institutional recognition when they are in a state of continuous updating. As they reflect, they do not feel valued when altruistically they develop counseling functions for students in which they comment on how ‘we use digital tools that help students to satisfy their academic, personal and professional needs’ (DG_UJA).
4 Conclusions University teachers, faced with a new reality of a digital society, have found it necessary to acquire new teaching, research and management skills. In all of them, we conclude that ICT facilitates their performance. In these new times, new teaching models with scientific, technological and pedagogical training are required. Based on the results obtained in this research, we conclude that it is necessary for the teacher to act as a guide and facilitator of learning to become constructive by facilitating the necessary technological tools. Teachers still do not perceive themselves with the sufficient competence level to face the new e-learning 3.0 or, what is worse, to respond to exceptional situations such as those caused by COVID-19 (coronavirus diseases) that led to a 100% online teaching model. The main findings have been the detection of good teaching practices in its virtual teaching and guidance model. That is why we conclude that the main attributes of a teaching trainer must be: a pre-training for teachers in ICT, their commitment to improve their digital skills and the need for greater institutional recognition. Variables such as participation in university orientation plans and prior training have facilitated the development of digital skills in teachers. These are factors that can determine good practices.
References 1. Stracke, C.M.: Quality frameworks and learning design for open education. Int. Rev. Res. Open Distrib. Learn. 20(2) (2019). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v20i2.4213 2. Fernández-Cruz, F.J., Fernández-Díaz, M.J.: Los docentes de la Generación Z y sus competencias digitales. Comunicar 24(46), 97–105 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3916/C46-201 6-10
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3. Aljawarneh, S.A.: Reviewing and exploring innovative ubiquitous learning tools in higher education. J. Comput. High. Educ. 32(1), 57–73 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-01909207-0 4. Sánchez, M.R.F., Sánchez, M.S.O., Ramírez, R.R.: La evaluación de la competencia digital en la docencia universitaria: el caso de los grados de empresariales y económicas. Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Sociales 7(2), 332–348 (2016). https://www.funlam.edu.co/revistas/ index.php/RCCS/article/view/1726 5. Iordache, C., Mariën, I., Baelden, D.: Developing digital skills and competences: a QuickScan analysis of 13 digital literacy models. Ital. J. Sociol. Educ. 9(1), 6–30 (2017). https://doi.org/ 10.14658/pupj-ijse-2017-1-2 6. Pantoja Vallejo, A., Berrios Aguayo, B., Colmenero Ruiz, M.J.: ICT impact in orientation and university tutoring according to student’s opinion. In: WorldCIST 2020: Trends and Innovations in Information Systems and Technologies, pp. 245–252. Springer, Cham (2020) 7. Martín Romera, A.; Berrios Aguayo, B., Pantoja Vallejo, A.: Quality factors and elements perceived by the participating teachers in the tutorial action plan for European universities. Educación XX1 23(1), 349–371 (2020). https://doi.org/10.5944/educXX1.23874 8. Chickering, A.W., Gamson, Z.: Seven Principles for Good Practise in Undergraduate Education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, Washington (1987) 9. Resta, P.: Las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación en la formación docente. UNESCO, Uruguay (2004) 10. Aljawarneh, S.: A web engineering security methodology for e-learning systems. Netw. Secur. 2011(3), 12–15 (2011) 11. Aljawarneh, S., Alshargabi, B., Hayajneh, S.M.A., Imam, A.T.: Integration of E-learning and cloud computing platform through software engineering. Recent Pat. Comput. Sci. 8(2), 100–105 (2015) 12. Aljawarneh, S.A., Alawneh, A., Jaradat, R.: Cloud security engineering: early stages of SDLC. Futur. Gener. Comput. Syst. 74, 385–392 (2016) 13. Aljawarneh, S.A., Radhakrishna, V., Cheruvu, A.: VRKSHA: a novel tree structure for timeprofiled temporal association mining. Neural Comput. Appl. 32, 1–29 (2017) 14. Creswell, J.W., Plano Clark, V.L.: Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research, 2nd edn. Sage Publications, Los Angeles (2011)
Comparative Analysis of the Presence of University Professors from Southern Ecuador in Scientific Social Networks Karen Michelle Benítez Arrobo1(B) , Mónica Hinojosa Becerra1(B) , Mónica Maldonado Espinosa1(B) , and Isidro Marín Gutiérrez2(B) 1 Universidad Nacional de Loja, Loja, Ecuador {karen.benitez,monica.hinojosa,monica.maldonado}@unl.edu.ec 2 Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador [email protected]
Abstract. Scientific social networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, and the Google Scholar platform, have become a tool to make the work of researcherprofessors visible, measure the impact of their publications, and interact with other researchers. Hence the need to analyze the presence in scientific social networks of the Faculties of Social Sciences and Socio-Humanistic Area of the universities belonging to Zone 7 of southern Ecuador, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL), Universidad Técnica de Machala (UTMACH) and Universidad Nacional de Loja (UNL). The interaction with professors, the RS Score index in ResearchGate, the h index in Google Scholar, and the presence in Academia.edu were observed. In the case of the Faculties analyzed, the professors do not take advantage of the benefits of scientific networks, which affects the visibility of scientific production and the dissemination of the research results. Keywords: Academic scientific networks · Science dissemination · University research
1 Introduction Scientific social networks can be defined as communication tools that can be very useful for talkers to communicate with each other. They are tools that can serve as a complement to carry out research projects (Brunsell and Horejsi 2010). These have become the new tool for researchers to gain visibility in the scientific field (Yan et al. 2021). They appeared between 2007 and 2008 with the purpose of disseminating research results “currently their use is increasing among the scientific community, since they are agile platforms to disseminate the results of research as well as to share knowledge” (González et al. 2015: 640). The evolution that social networks have had to enter the scientific world, goes from social interaction to the ability to communicate between researchers, they allow organizing and conducting full-text searches, recommending articles to other colleagues and being able to store information as a library (Santana Arroyo 2010). © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 12–21, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_2
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With the evolution of Web 2.0, the current model of the Internet (Grané and Willem 2008), researchers have at hand the possibility of entering the global scientific community. Academic networks facilitate contact and exchange of opinions and even the possibility of participating in research being carried out by other scientists (Maestro et al. 2010). Therefore, we can talk about science as communication, collaboration and evaluation methods of scientific articles and reports (Codina 2009). Along with the scientific social network is the publication of articles in scientific journals (Zapata and Velásquez 2008), the Identificador de Objeto Digital, known in English as Digital Object Identifier (DOI), and the evaluation of scientific production through the bibliometric indexes, the h index of the Google Scholar platform, which serves as a valid bibliometric indicator to measure the trajectory of a person, a team or a researcher, because it combines productivity with impact. In addition, it shows followers the quality and academic recognition of the researchers (Wiechetek et al. 2020). Sharing research results helps to generate new knowledge. Henceforth, the importance of the use of scientific social networks at the academic level, as part of the universities that make up Zone 7 in Ecuador, we consider that the presence of research professors from universities should be analyzed: Técnica de Machala (UTMAC), Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL) and Nacional de Loja (UNL), in the scientific social networks: ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Google Scholar as well as to the academic, economic, social, and cultural factors that intervene in the scientific production of research professors. Our document is divided into the Introduction where we describe the scientific academic social networks, their emergence and bibliometric indices. In the Methodology part, we will analyze the academic social networks (ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Google Academic) of the professors of the Social Faculties of the universities of southern Ecuador (UTMACH, UNL and UTPL). The total universe of teacher-researchers of the faculties of socio-humanistic is 840. While those who use academic social networks of these universities is 240 teacher-researchers (28% of the total). In addition to the quantitative analysis of these academic social networks, interviews were conducted on this topic. In the Results section we identify the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja as the one that most uses academic social networks. There are higher UTPL indices in all the categories analyzed. In the Conclusions section we evaluate the data.
2 Materials and Methods For the present research work, the three universities that make up Zone 7 - South of Ecuador were chosen: Universidad Técnica de Machala (UTMACH), Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UNL) and Universidad Nacional de Loja (UNL). As a criterion for selecting the sample, the current researcher-professors from each of the universities were identified, through the research department in the case of the UTPL and UNL universities, whilst in the case of the UTMACH the list of research professors can be found on the university website https://bit.ly/3hhkjFE determining a sample population of 240 professors identified in the Socio-Humanistic Faculties of the three universities. Besides this investigation was conducted in two phases.
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In the first phase, professors were directly mapped to determine their presence in the scientific social networks ResearchGate, Academia.edu and the Google Scholar platform (Mason and Sakurai 2020). The mapping technique allows “to identify the key actors of a system and also allows to analyze their interests, their importance and influence on the results of an intervention” (Ollari 2013 p. 1). Once the sample was identified and validated, observation files were prepared, taking as a basis for direct, systematic and orderly observation of the object of study within a particular situation to acquire new knowledge, with differentiated variables for each platform. Within ResearchGate, the profile of the researcher, publications, number of citations, recommendations and the score obtained in the RG Score, which determines the impact that their publications have had, were considered (Pertuz et al. 2020). In Academia.edu the number of followers, the total number of readings registered to their publications, were analyzed in an orderly manner, the type of publication uploaded to the scientific social network (book, article, chapters, conferences, among others), thus determining the interest generated by the researcher in the scientific community that is part of these scientific social networks (Boudry and Durand-Barthez 2020). Google Scholar allowed us to identify the scientific production generated by the researcher with the year of publication, as well as the number of citations received, the most important data obtained on this platform is the h index, an indicator that considers the number of citations obtained (Furnham 2020). In the second phase, we carried out a qualitative analysis through interviews that allowed us to know the benefits of having a presence in scientific networks for professors, as well as identifying the socio-economic, cultural, social, political and academic factors that intervene for the scientific production of university researcher-professors in Zone 7 - South of Ecuador along with the problems they face. This allowed us to contextualize the data obtained in the first phase and strengthen our analysis and conclusions. We interviewed UTPL professors, who in the data obtained and analyzed in the first phase of research appear as the professors with the most publications, appointments and visits in academic social networks, to know first-hand the work of a researcher with a representative presence in scientific social networks. We consider important the opinion of Lcda. Leidy Jaramillo, Research and Political Approach Analyst. She managed the social networks of the presidency of Ecuador. She is Coordinator in digital marketing of Sayce and Tatiana León, graduated in Social Communication from Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, master’s degree in Political and Business Communication from Universidad Camilo José Cela in Madrid (Spain); to contextualize the importance of the presence of researchers in scientific social networks as a new way of communicating and of international visibility (Salatino 2020).
3 Results After having identified the researcher-professors of the three universities, which belong to Zone 7 - South of Ecuador, the presence of the same in scientific social networks is broken down as a summary in data: ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Google Scholar.
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15
Table 1. Presence of researcher-professors from the Faculties of Social Sciences and SocioHumanistic Area at ResearchGate, Academia.edu, Google Scholar. University UTMACH
Nº of Professors
Sample of Professors
Professors on ResearchGate
Professors on Academia.edu
Professors on Google Scholar
80
23
12
12
12
UNL
250
65
15
19
8
UTPL
510
152
52
44
53
Source: ResearchGate, Academia.edu. Google Scholar. With consultation date November 2019. Authorship: Own elaboration
In Table 1 we observe that the presence of professors from Zone 7-South of Ecuador is partial, in the three faculties analyzed less than 28% are assigned to a platform. It was observed that they do not update their profiles continuously. The use of social networks varies in each university, the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja has more incursion in Google Scholar, compared with the Universidad Nacional de Loja, which is where fewer researcher-professors are present. On the other hand, at the Universidad Técnica de Machala, the number of research professors is maintained on the two social networks and on the Google Scholar platform. Researcher-professors who use academic social networks the most are those of the UTPL with 29.8% of the total, followed by the researcher-professors of the UTMACH with 28.75% and finally by the UNL who have a network account social academic 26% of the teaching-researchers of Faculties of the Social Area. In the interviews we discovered that the UTPL conducts teacher-training courses and among those courses they have on the use of academic social networks. They have proven useful as a collaborative and knowledge exchange space. The possibilities for the circulation of science and interactivity offered by these platforms should not be missed, as there is a risk of becoming just another repository. The construction of a digital identity through academic social networks (specifically ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Google Sholar) is relevant. An important issue both for the researcher-professor and for the Universities with a view to its evaluation and also for organizations oriented to the assurance of university quality in Ecuador (The Council of Higher Education, CES, is an autonomous entity of the Ecuadorian government, under public law, with legal status. Its function is to be the planning, regulating and coordinating body of the National System of Higher Education of the Republic of Ecuador). Currently the importance of these elements for the development of evaluation systems in line with advances in science and technology cannot be ignored (Table 2). Within the Social Sciences Faculty of the Universidad Técnica de Machala (UTMACH), there are 16 careers or master’s degrees. The professors of the Communication, Plastic Arts, Clinical Psychology, Jurisprudence, Initial Education and Sociology majors are those who are present in the ResearchGate social network, Academia.edu and the Google Scholar platform; being the Communication career the one with the greatest presence of professors. The content of the research of the Faculty is related to the domain of social development with its line of research of “society and culture, sustainable tourism”.
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Table 2. Classification of professors of the faculty of social sciences (UTMACH) present in ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Google Scholar. ResearchGate Academia.edu Google Scholar Total Plastic and Visual Arts
2
2
2
6
Physical Education
0
0
0
0
Computing
0
0
0
0
Basic Education
0
1
0
1
Initial Education
0
0
1
1
Physics-Mathematics
0
0
0
0
English
0
0
0
0
Language and Literature
0
0
0
0
Clinical psychology
1
2
2
5
Communication
6
6
4
16
Social Science
0
0
0
0
Jurisprudence
2
1
1
4
Environmental Management
0
0
0
0
Sociology and Political Science
1
0
2
3
Social work
0
0
0
0
Educational Psychology and guidance Total
0
0
0
0
12
12
12
36
Source: ResearchGate, Academia.edu. Google Scholar. With consultation date November 2019. Authorship: Own elaboration
On the contrary, there are as many careers or master’s degrees where there is no researcher-professor who uses an academic social network at UTMACH. They are Physical Education, Computing, Physics-Mathematics, English, Language and Literature, Social Science, Environmental Management, Social work, and Educational Psychology and guidance. Most likely, the researcher-professors of these careers have not had any training on academic social networks (Table 3). In the Socio-Humanistic Area of the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, four careers are registered. The scientific social network most used by researcher-professors is Google Scholar with a total of 53 members, followed by ResearchGate with 52 members, and finally, Academia.edu with 44 professors. In this case, the career with the most professors involved in scientific social networks is the Education major, followed closely by the Communication career. Regarding scientific production, it is important to mention that the UTPL works with interdisciplinary research groups in order to make the most of the development of research projects (Table 4).
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17
Table 3. Classification and observation sheet of professors at UTPL of the Socio-Humanistic Area present in ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Google Scholar platform. ResearchGate
Academia.edu
Google Scholar
Communication
16
12
13
41
Jurisprudence
15
9
12
36
6
7
4
17
Education
15
16
24
55
Total
52
44
53
149
Psychology
Total
Source: ResearchGate, Academia.edu. Google Scholar. With consultation date November 2019. Authorship: Own elaboration
Table 4. Classification of professors at UNL of the Faculty of Education, Art and Communication present in ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Google Scholar platform. ResearchGate
Academia.edu
Google Scholar
Total
Arts y Music
0
0
0
0
Basic Education
0
0
0
0
Pedagogy of Physical Activity
0
0
0
0
Experimental Sciences
0
0
0
0
Chemistry and Biology
0
0
0
0
Psychopedagogy
1
4
1
6
Social Communication
4
4
3
11
Initial Education
0
0
0
0
Language and Literature
2
0
1
3
Mathematics and Physics
0
0
0
0
Pedagogy in Languages
0
0
0
0
Total
7
8
5
20
Source: ResearchGate, Academia.edu. Google Scholar. With consultation date November 2019. Authorship: Own elaboration
In the case of the Universidad Nacional de Loja, the largest presence of researcherprofessors is in Academia.edu, and ResearchGate, only 8 professors use Google Scholar to publish their research. Within these social networks and platform, researcherprofessors have content related to: education, culture, communication, socio-economic, legal and administrative matters. As data shows, the greatest presence of professors and publications is in the Social Communication career.
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K. M. B. Arrobo et al.
On the contrary, there are as many careers or master’s degrees where there is no teacher-researcher who uses an academic social network at UNL. They are Arts and Music, Basic Education, Pedagogy of Physical Activity, Experimental Sciences, Chemistry and Biology, Initial Education, Mathematics and Physics and Pedagogy in Languages. The researcher-professor of these careers have not had any training on academic social networks. Table 5. Impact of the publications of university researcher-professors of Zone 7 - South of Ecuador on the scientific social network ResearchGate. Nº of Professors on ResearchGate
Nº of Publications on ReseachGate
Nº of quotes
UTMACH
12
143
313
UTPL
52
1077
958
UNL
15
360
102
Source: ResearchGate, Academia.edu. Google Scholar. With consultation date November 2019. Authorship: Own elaboration
Academic publications on scientific social networks is the way in which new knowledge and findings are shared. In this sense, one of the main roles that a researcher must fulfill is to disseminate science, in this we analyze the impact of the publications of professors in ResearchGate. Table 5 shows, in a general way, the number of publications of the professors present in the ResearchGate scientific social network, as well as the number of citations, an interesting data that this network throws up is the academic positioning through the RG Score giving to the authors a public score, which depends on the number of publications, questions, answers and followers. In this case, we can see that the UTPL significantly exceeds the other Faculties in the number of publications and citations, which also benefits it in the world rankings. The results of the interviews indicate that the UTPL invests in training in specific courses of scientific publications, databases and academic social networks. Those researcher-professors who publish more and in prestigious scientific journals are positively valued and rewarded. While in public universities (UNL and UTMACH) there is no such privilege. That is why the UTPL is among the best universities in Ecuador and Latin America. The scientific social network Academia.edu allows its users to connect with other researchers and share their work, facilitating the follow-up of articles, books, conferences that are relevant to their area of study. Therein, the researcher knows the number of followers of her profile, and the number of views of her work. As we can see in Table 6, there is a large number of people who have searched for or entered the profile of researcher-professors; consequently, their publications are local, national and international in scope. An important fact is that in the three universities analyzed, Social Communication careers stand out for the highest number of publications and visits.
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Table 6. Impact of the publications of university researcher-professors of Zone 7 - South of Ecuador in the scientific social network Academia.edu. Nº of Professors on Academia.Edu
Nº of publications on Academia.Edu
Nº of visits
UTMACH
12
13
UTPL
44
373
198.373 1.837.808.741
UNL
19
125
1.668.408
Source: ResearchGate, Academia.edu. Google Scholar. With consultation date November 2019. Authorship: Own elaboration
The UTPL researcher-professors have the most visits to Academia.edu. 73% of the documents hosted belong to UTPL professor-researchers. But 99.89% visits are made to documents of teachers-researchers of the UTPL. Table 7. Impact of the publications of university researchers from Zone 7 - South of Ecuador in the scientific social network Google Scholar. Nº of professors on Google Scholar
Nº of publications on Google Scholar
UTMACH
12
141
UTPL
53
1423
UNL
8
74
Nº of quotes 119 722.787 251
Source: ResearchGate, Academia.edu. Google Scholar. With consultation date November 2019. Authorship: Own elaboration
Google Scholar allows researcher-professors to upload: articles, theses, reports, books, conference documents, helping them to discover possible collaborators and possessing a name in a specific research area. Table 7 shows the impact of the publications uploaded to this platform. To illustrate this, at the Universidad Nacional de Loja, only 8 professors are part of Google Scholar, but their 74 publications have 251 citations, that is, 251 people who have been interested in their work and have taken it as reference. The UTPL researcher-professors have the most visits on Google Sholar. 86.87% of the documents hosted belong to UTPL professor-researchers. But 99.94% are the citations to documents of teachers-researchers of the UTPL.
4 Conclusions Of a total of 840 current researcher-professors at universities: Técnica de Machala (UTMACH), Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL) and Nacional de Loja (UNL), it stands out that, in the case of the UTPL (Socio Humanistic Area) of the 152 professors belonging to this area, 50% are present in scientific social networks, unlike the UNL (Education,
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K. M. B. Arrobo et al.
Art and Communication Faculty) of 65 research professors belonging to this Faculty only 20% are present in scientific social networks, the UTMACH (Social Sciences Faculty) less than 10% are users of these academic social networks. Taking into account these data, among the three Faculties there is no more than 50% of the presence of professors in scientific networks, we consider that this is due to ignorance about the use and importance of scientific social networks as a key tool for research and the benefits they provide such as achieving international recognition, being part of and appearing in the world scientific ranking, and the recognition of universities as institutions that contribute to the creation of knowledge. An important fact is that professors of Communication majors are the ones who make the most use of scientific social networks, out of every 5 professors present in these networks, 3 belong to the Communication career. This can be associated with the nature of the degree and its proximity to ICTs and new technologies. The research initiative is born from the researcher himself, his motivation to discover a solution to the problems that afflict society, as well as in the social sphere, the recognition as a researcher-professor before the scientific community as a community in general. In the political sphere, investigating from the academy brings as a consequence the prestige that a university can achieve. In the economic sphere, when a researcher-professor performs his exploration and manages to obtain innovative and interesting results, highimpact journals pay the researcher so that their results are published on their platforms. Hence, it is ambiguous that many professors who research do not consider that the use of scientific social networks, ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Google Scholar are important for the visibility of publications. After analyzing the results obtained, it was found that the number of readings recorded per publication by a researcher was between 20 and 60 readings. That is, more than 20 people on average have entered and read the articles and books, published on scientific social networks, by researchers from the analyzed Faculties. Therefore, we emphasize the potential of these scientific interaction communities for researchers to achieve acknowledgement and contacts that motivate the growth of their scientific and professional production. Researcher-professors are being influenced to create profiles on ResearchGate, Academia.edu or Google Scholar by external agents (such as publishers, evaluation agencies or scientific journals). This produces a deviation from the nature of these systems that require an active and systematic role of the researcher-professor. It may be the case that for a researcher to publish in an academic journal, they request a profile on an academic social network that will later become outdated. Therefore, the importance of academic social networks cannot be denied. The time that a researcher-professor spends in academic social networks must be counted, updating their information and interacting with their peers. Universities will have to yield and assign hours as part of their academic charge since they are the biggest beneficiaries in the University Rankings. Visibility in academic networks is part of your work as a researcher, having a digital identity is essential. Refusing to be visible on academic social networks can condemn the researcher-professor to academic ostracism. Being in these academic networks takes time, but the era of identity and digital reputation is here to stay. In managing scientific production, it is important to analyze the type of content to be published, who may be interested in that content, how to make the content attractive,
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and, above all, to get more and more people who is interested in what is published either on social networks or web portals. We consider that the Research and Institutional Communication departments have not provided strategies for the dissemination of science, training and incentivizing professors to become part of scientific social networks. There are also no clear initiatives for the creation of digital content for the different social networks, taking into account that the information to be presented is accurate, in a language understandable to both the scientific community and society in general.
References Boudry, C., Durand-Barthez, M.: Use of author identifier services (ORCID, ResearcherID) and academic social networks (Academia.edu, ResearchGate) by the researchers of the University of Caen Normandy (France): a case study. PLoS ONE 15(9), e0238583 (2020). https://doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0238583 Brunsell, E.: y Horejsi, M. Social networking. Sci. Teach. 77(1), 12–13 (2010) Codina, L.: Ciencia 2.0. Redes Sociales y aplicaciones en línea para los académicos. Hipertext.net (7) (2009). https://bit.ly/2Eh14gN Furnham, A.: What I have learned from my Google Scholar and H index. Scientometrics 122(2), 1249–1254 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-019-03316-4 González-Díaz, C., Iglesias-García, M., Codina, L.: Presencia de las universidades españolas en las redes sociales digitales científicas: Caso de los estudios de comunicación. El profesional de la Información. 24(5), 640–647 (2015) Grané, M., Willem, C. (eds.): Web 2.0: nuevas formas de aprender y participar. Barcelona: Laertes Educación (2008) Maestro Cano, J.A., Ribes Llopez, I., Merlo Vega, J.A., Ferreras Fernández, T., Gallo León, J.P., Angosto Castro, A.: Ciencia 2.0: Aplicación de la Web Social a la investigación (2010). https:// bit.ly/2COZbYq Mason, S., Sakurai, Y.: A ResearchGate-way to an international academic community? Scientometrics (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03772-3 Ollari, M.: El mapeo de actores como herramienta visual para el diagnóstico de un programa. ZIGLA (2013). https://bit.ly/2Em7kns Pertuz, V., Pérez, A., Vega, A., Aguilar-Ávila, J.: Análisis de las redes de colaboración entre las Instituciones de Educación Superior en Colombia de acuerdo con ResearchGate. Revista Española de Documentación Científica 43(2), 265 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3989/redc.2020. 2.1686 Salatino, M. Open access in dispute in Latin America: toward the construction of counterhegemonic structures of knowledge. In: Digital Activism, Community Media, and Sustainable Communication in Latin America, pp. 125–148. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham (2020) Santana Arroyo, S.: Redes de intercambio de información científica y académica entre los profesionales en el contexto de la Web 2.0. ACIMED 21(3), 321–333 (2010) Wiechetek, L., Phusavat, K., Pastuszak, Z.: An analytical system for evaluating academia units based on metrics provided by academic social network. Expert Syst. Appl. 159 (2020). https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2020.113608 Yan, W., Zhang, Y., Hu, T., Kudva, S.: How does scholarly use of academic social networking sites differ by academic discipline? A case study using ResearchGate. Inf. Process. Manage. 58(1). (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102430 Zapata, C., Velásquez, J.: Algunas pautas sobre la escritura de artículos científicos. Ingeniare. Revista Chilena de Ingeniería 16(1), 128–137 (2008)
SOLL Platform and the Adoption of Innovation by Teachers Andreia Magalhães1(B) , José Matias Alves1 , and António Andrade2 1 Centro de Investigação em Desenvolvimento Humano, Universidade Católica Portuguesa,
Porto, Portugal 2 Centro de Estudos em Gestão e Economia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa,
Porto, Portugal
Abstract. The Internet of Things (IoT) appears with great educational potential, as it is a network composed of various objects and devices connected to the Internet, allowing the performance of interdisciplinary activities. Thus, we present the SOLL platform: Intelligent Objects Linked to Learning, which, supported by a set of technologies that collect and store data from a greenhouse, allows dynamic, interactive and interdisciplinary learning and a synchronous or asynchronous evaluation. In this article, the platform architecture is exposed and, using a focus groups of teachers, the data obtained show that teachers recognize that they would adopt this innovation, at least that it responds to the structure of the learning community, adopting a different learning model, with exploration and enrichment of educational information. Keywords: Education · Technology · Internet of Things · Innovation adoption
1 Introduction In the perspective of Díaz and Hernández de Frutos [1] that, in a way, inspired the perspective of this study, knowledge also results from a set of network connections in which learning results from the ability to create and cross those connections that emerge in the network from the interaction within a group. However, although these interactions can arise spontaneously, it is something that should be encouraged [2]. Therefore, the technologies “allow the distance learning paradigm to be created” ([3], p. 120) and provide some of the informal social interactions students have at school, based on connectivity, introduced by Siemens in 2004, which is characterized by a network of knowledge and learning, with an emphasis on the use of digital technology to improve and extend online interaction and finding an echo in the words of the European Commission [4], which considers that “digital technologies have an impact on education, training and learning through the development of more flexible learning environments adapted to the needs of a highly mobile society”. This will have to evolve into a model based on the “cultivation of skills,” ([5], p. 98) in which the student needs a more active role. Given the high speed of information and knowledge spread in today’s society, students © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 22–30, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_3
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will have to maintain lifelong learning, and it is necessary that they be equipped with tools that allows them to evaluate and assimilate new knowledge. However, new media do not necessarily lead to new pedagogies or new learning [6], as the expository model of content transmission is often maintained, with the novelty of “we can see the teacher from a distance, or watch recordings of your classes, follow your expositions without the special restriction of the classroom and without the temporal restriction of the fixed schedule” ([3], p. 120). What is intended is that the teachinglearning process is understood as a construction that involves an active role on the part of the students. It is imperative that they develop the capacity to establish their own goals, to plan and monitor their efforts towards a better academic performance, directing, to a certain extent, their learning in the school context [7]. According to Adrião ([5], p. 134), the interactivity provided by the digital educational resources can help both in the task of teaching and in the task of learning and encourage and support constructivist pedagogy [8]. In this way, is more likely to reach all students who wish to participate in the process of knowledge construction and teachers who implement it have further improved technology environments [9]. The result could be a democratization of education never seen before [8] and an aid in the fight against school failure. In this context, “the fundamental paradigm that emerges is teaching in a project environment” ([3], p. 122), which due to its dynamics and interdisciplinary characteristics “captures more attention and involvement from students” ([3], p. 122), in relation to the expository classes. For this reason, the Internet of Things introduced “a novel paradigm that is rapidly gaining ground in the modern wireless telecommunications scenario” [10]. Some authors argue that it is an unprecedented technology [11]. Is such an innovative technology that its impact on society will be equivalent to that of an Industrial Revolution [12]. In this way, Internet of Things “is not a single technology; rather it is an agglomeration of various technologies that work together” ([13], p. 1) in an interconnection of everyday objects, which are often equipped with ubiquitous intelligence [14] and which exchange ample information between them [15]. This technology will increase the ubiquity of the Internet because it will integrate all objects into an embedded system, which will give rise to a strongly present network of objects communicating with humans or other objects. For Gubbi et al. [16], IoT is considered as something more user-centred and not restricted to communication protocols, that is, it is the “Interconnection of detection and actuation devices, providing the ability to share information across platforms through a unified framework, developing a common operational framework to enable innovative applications. This is achieved by ubiquitous detection, data analysis, and information representation with cloud computing as a unifying structure” ([16], p. 1647). In other words, it is a technology that allows, through sensors, to connect objects with the Internet so that information about the environment or activity can be obtained and that will provide feedback and control [12]. According to Aldowah et al. [17] “new forms of information exchange lay the foundation for more interactive and personalized learning” and real-time data “are useful for analysing actions, interactions, preference trends and changes in student skill levels” [17]. The teacher remains “essential for guiding students to and through learning objects” and “must also take students away from the variety of disconnected experiences to develop meaning and assimilate their new
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knowledge, skills and emotions” ([18], p. 35). This technology, according to Area [19], should mobilize and integrate pedagogical dimensions, such as: informational, resources and materials, texts, videos; practice, experience and learning activities, individual and group; communicative, social interaction between students and teacher and dimension tutorial and assessment, monitoring and assessment of learning by the teacher. As for the pedagogy to be used, according to Mortimer [20], it is any conscious activity of a person designed to improve the learning of another. Thus, the teacher should use several pedagogical models to focus the discussion on the essential topics, acting as a guide and a facilitator of learning [21]. The teacher must help to contextualize, to expand the universe reached by the students and to help the discovery of new meanings [22]. In a social dimension, the teacher should act as a discussion advisor [21] motivating participation [23] and facilitating interactivity in the learning community [24]. For the teacher to guide students towards meaningful learning and in a dynamic learning environment Garrison & Aderson [25] establishes a set of indicators of the presence of teaching, which includes the cognitive and social presence, which is shown in Table 1, cited by Monteiro & Moreira ([26], p. 41) withdrawn and adapted from Garrison & Aderson [27]. Thus, an opportunity arises for the development of new learning skills, recognized in the Profile of Students Leaving Mandatory Schooling, to help students develop skills in order to become successful students, confident and creative individuals, as well as active and informed citizens [28, 29]. In this sense, the use of technology-rich environments that replicate the interdisciplinarity of the real world is a determining factor and the Internet of Things is an excellent ally to motivate and involve students in learning, particularly the young ones, due to the lower capacity for self-regulation. Table 1. Indicators of the presence of teaching cited by Monteiro & Moreira (2013) withdraw and adapted by Garrison & Anderson (2003).
Design and organization
Cognitive presence Social presence
Presence of teaching
Speech facilitation
Cognitive presence Social presence
Organize and limit the curriculum, select activities Set times Design assessment tools Establish an environment of trust, hospitality, warmth, control, accomplishment, sharing and dialogue Focus and moderate discussions Asking stimulating questions Questioner, promote reflection Motivate students to participate Offer different ideas and perspectives for analysis and discussion Respond directly to questions and make comments more developed
Cognitive presence
Recognize the uncertainty where it existed Make connections between ideas Build structures Summarize discussions and conduct learning
Direct instruction
Provide for closure and foreshadow further study Shaping the discussion, but not dominating it Give feedback with respect Social Presence
Be constructive with correction comments Be open to negotiation and justifications Deal with conflict quickly and privately
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In order to operationalize the above, the SOLL platform: Smart Objects Linked to Learning emerged, supported by a set of technologies that collect and store real data for later interdisciplinary analysis. 1.1 Online Platform - SOLL In order to take advantage of technology to create for students special learning conditions “so that, they are able to critically select and seek the knowledge they wish to acquire, and integrate them into the set of knowledge that they already have and are capable of conducting a practice based on them” ([13], p.69), the SOLL: Smart Objects Linked to Learning [14] project was created, which is based on the construction of a greenhouse, monitored by sensors that, through the Internet of Things, transmit real data in real time and constantly updated for the SOLL platform. From this, the students perform a set of activities, which fulfil the Essential Learning of the subjects of the 3rd Cycle of Basic Education, and intervene in the environment, acquiring new values. From the interaction between the different project targets, as shown in Fig. 1, all the work is developed by students in an integrated and interdisciplinary way.
Fig. 1. Interaction between the different targets of the SOLL project, prepared by the authors
The online learning platform, www.soll.pt, is supported by a set of technologies that collect and store real data. Figure 2 shows a logical architecture of the system as opposed to a physical architecture in which the equipment emerges and not the service of the SOLL learning platform. To access this learning platform - SOLL, both teachers and students need to do an authentication. For this, they require a user and a password that will be sent by the administrator of the learning platform.
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Fig. 2. Logical architecture of the system as opposed to a physical architecture in which the equipment emerges and not the service of the SOLL learning platform, elaborated by the authors
As can be seen from the diagram, students have access only to activities, questionnaires and observations of actual data from the greenhouse. From this platform of learning, students are offered some activities, which comply with the Essential Learning of the respective disciplines and encourages action on the environment. Each activity has associated a notepad, useful links for information research, access to tools that work synchronously and asynchronously, for the presentation of the work done and informational documents. After the activity is carried out, students will be asked to carry out a questionnaire about it and, in the end, a feedback on the evaluation and correction of the incorrect answers will be provided. In this way, as you wish, “the assessment is continuous and systematic in the service of learning, and provides the teacher, the student, (…) with information on the development of the work, the quality of the learning done and the ways to improve it” ([32] p. 3790-(4)) and “the information obtained as a result of the evaluation also allows the revision of the teaching and learning process” ([32] p. 3790-(4). With this interdisciplinary resource, students achieve what is required in the Student Profile when Exit Compulsory Schooling, in which “Areas of Competence add competencies understood as complex combinations of knowledge, skills and attitudes that allow effective human action in diverse contexts” ([33], p. 9). They are of diverse nature: “cognitive and metacognitive, social and emotional, physical and practical. It is important to emphasize that competencies involve knowledge (factual, conceptual, procedural and metacognitive), cognitive and psychomotor skills, attitudes associated with social and organizational skills, and ethical values” ([33], p. 9). The teachers have access to a management system of student activity on the plat-form and, the same learning platform, allows teachers to monitor, in real time, the activities
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carried out by the students through the observation of the notepad and the answers to the questionnaires. At any time during the learning process, so that there is contact between teacher and students or between students, an email and hangouts connection is contemplated. The teacher has a sense of student performance and/or difficulties and can provide more personalized teaching, as it allows real-time verification of individual or group work. This sample has the following characteristics: 154 students, 79 (51%) boys and 75 (49%) girls in 6 classes of the 8th grade; 14 teachers (prof.) distributed by the subjects of mathematics (Mat), natural sciences (NS), physics and chemistry (PC), geography (Geo) and information and communication technologies (ICT).
2 Results From the focus group of teachers, some opinions were collected about innovation adoption category that are presented in the Table 2. Table 2. Teachers’ opinions on innovation adoption. Now that you know what the IoT offers, would you redesign the activities?
“yes, it could be applied in other situations…” “exactly… in fact I even think it should be applied in other situations…” “Oh, without a doubt… I think that in order to have continuity for a moment… I would have the advantage of redesigning myself to be able to use it concretely in certain subjects… if I am going to do an interdisciplinary or flexible job…”
Are you motivated to take more advantage of the resource?
“I think so…” “of course… of course… we are always open to innovation… Always…” “yes, yes… of course… Anyone who doesn’t will be left behind…” “but it is true… it is not to be left behind but it is… we have reached a point where… is my point of view, I know that not everyone thinks like that, but… There are teachers who are very resistant… Yes, it is not… in these things…”
Regarding the Internet of Things, it appears that teachers consider that it would be applicable to other contexts, so they would redesigned the activity to apply to other situations. In this sense, they are motivated to take advantage of the resource, as they are open to innovation and do not want stay out of date. However, they recognize that not all teachers think the same way, there is a lot of resistance.
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3 Discussion When analyzing the data obtained, it appears that teachers, with regard to the adoption of innovation, consider technology to be a useful tool to make classes more dynamic and demonstrate motivation to apply the Internet of Things to other content in order to take more advantage of this resource. In other words, teachers consider that it would be applicable to other contexts, so they would redesign the activity to apply to other situations. Corroborating with Meirinhos & Osório ([35], p. 93) when they mention the “appearance of new forms of learning and training, more in line with the new current social environment”. As weaknesses, teachers identify: for some students, even technology does not matter, because excess leads to saturation; lack of resources, difficulty in controlling the class. The difficulty encountered in adopting innovation is the lack of resources, since free versions are often limited. Now, it is necessary that teachers start to “plan and structure the educational process in an open and flexible way, which allows diversified approaches, where motivating, dynamic, current resources and teaching materials are inserted, using an interactive and cooperative methodology for this, placing several communication channels at the service of teaching” ([36], p. 28). From the foregoing, we can see that teachers believe that the use of this technology will improve school performance, corroborating with Meirinhos & Osório ([35], p.93). So they are motivated to take advantage of the resource, as they are always open to innovation and don’t want to stay out of date, although they recognize that not all teachers think the same. There is still some resistance to the use of technology, as a result of a predominance of a pedagogy exhibition centered on the teacher, in the pressure to teach the subjects and fulfill the program, in the ignorance about technology and its pedagogical use and weak leaderships. The use of IoT needs some necessary conditions for a pedagogy of student involvement and autonomy, training in the context of action, involvement of intermediate leaders in this pedagogical metamorphosis.
4 Conclusion This platform appears as an asset for learning, as teachers recognize that they would adopt this innovation. Therefore, its exploration becomes useful for the enrichment of interdisciplinary learning through the realization of dynamic, contextualized and real activities that provide the development of various skills, “Useful to analyse actions, interactions, trends of preferences and changes in levels of student skills”, as referenced by Aldowah et al. [17]. So the teacher can take advantage to “plan and structure the educational process in an open and flexible way, allowing diversified approaches, where resources and dynamic, current and motivating teaching materials are inserted, using for this an interactive and cooperative methodology, placing at the service of its teaching several communication channels” (Goulão & Henriques, [36], p.28) and enjoy this technology to accompany, motivate, dialogue, be a leader and mediator, fostering and mediating a positive human interaction. This platform, find echo in the current directives recommended by the OECD [38], when responding to current learning, since it brings numerous benefits to the development of children, especially in the construction of their identity, leading them to
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their autonomy and acquisition of new knowledge, enabling their effective development knowing how to use personal resources in the face of the adversities that will face in their lives [39]. In this way, the teacher can accompany, motivate, dialogue, be a leader and mediator, fostering and mediating a positive human interaction” ([36], p. 28 e 29). In short, the SOLL platform demonstrates robustness, as it is recognized by teachers the intention to adopt this innovation, applying it to other contexts and redesigning activities, since it induces a central shift from a pedagogy of explanation to a pedagogy of implication, participation and autonomy. This translates into an asset for the interdisciplinary development of the cognitive process of students in the 3rd cycle and an excellent ally to motivate and involve students in learning, especially the youngest, due to the lesser capacity for self-regulation.
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Evaluation of Difficulty During Visual Programming Learning Using a Simple Electroencephalograph and Minecraft Educational Edition Katsuyuki Umezawa1(B) , Makoto Nakazawa2 , Manabu Kobayashi3 , Yutaka Ishii4 , Michiko Nakano3 , and Shigeichi Hirasawa3 1
Shonan Institute of Technology, Kanagawa, Japan [email protected] 2 Junior College of Aizu, Fukushima, Japan 3 Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan 4 Chiba University, Chiba, Japan http://www.info.shonan-it.ac.jp/umezawa-lab/
Abstract. There are various difficulties encountered by learners during learning such as good or bad learning content, the difficulty level of the learning content, and the degree of learning proficiency. It is possible to detect these difficulties by measuring the browsing history, editing history, and biological information such as brain waves or eye-tracking information. In this paper, we aim to detect the learning state of each learner by measuring brain wave information during learning of visual programming using the Minecraft educational edition. Furthermore, the detected learning status is statistically correlated using the results of a questionnaire conducted after the experiment. The results show that the assessment of task difficulty by learners is more significantly affected by the experience with Minecraft than by the experience with programming.
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Introduction
This research aims to develop a self-study system equipped with an artificial teacher who gives advice to students by detecting the learners and to evaluate language learning in a unified framework. “Detecting the learners” means that the system understands the learners’ learning conditions, such as the learner’s degree of understanding, the difference in the learner’s thinking process, the degree of concentration or boredom during learning, and the problem-solving skill of each learner, which can be interpreted from the learning behavior. Several studies have used Electroencephalograph (EEG) information as a way to understand the learners’ learning conditions [1]. It has been found that measuring the ratio of the α wave and β wave is effective for observing human thinking state [2,3]. Moreover, β/α increases when working on difficult tasks[4]. c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 31–41, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_4
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In this paper, we try to detect the learning state of each learner by measuring the brain wave information during learning of visual programming without grammatical errors. Specifically, we measure the brain wave information when the learner is learning programming using the Minecraft educational edition. In addition, a questionnaire is conducted after the experiment to statistically analyze the measured learning state. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In Sect. 2, we describe previous works related to this study. In Sect. 3, we explain the specifics of the experiment. In Sect. 4, we show the experimental results. In Sect. 5, we evaluate the experimental results using the questionnaire. Finally, in Sect. 6, we summarize our study and discuss future work.
2
Previous Works
The relationship between intellectual work and brain waves has been studied under the assumption that the β wave is strongly related to a person’s mental state. Giannitrapani, for example, investigated the relationship between intellectual work and brain waves by measuring the brain waves of a person taking an intelligence test [1]. The low-frequency component of the β wave was found to be dominant during the reading and comprehension test, mathematics test, and diagram test. Other researchers have found that the power spectra of the α and β waves, the ratio of the α and β waves in relation to all brain waves, and the simple ratio of the α and β waves are effective for estimating a person’s state of mind [2]. It was also shown that the activity of a person’s brain can be estimated by measuring the α and β waves and estimating β/α [3]. In addition, many studies have been conducted to analyze the effects of visual programming using Minecraft. Zorn et al. [5] proposed a new visual programming tool for Minecraft that could be used as a plug-in, and statistically showed that this tool gave participants a positive perception. Sun et al. [6] also showed that Minecraft improved students’ creativity and their feelings of enjoyment, hope, ˇ and pride in programming. In addition, Sajben et al. [7] showed that Minecraft can help improve skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and communication. However, these studies are based on questionnaires of experimental participants [5,6] and interviews with teachers and lecturers [7].
3
Details of the Experiment
We performed experiments using the Minecraft educational edition provided by Microsoft Corporation. We also used reference [8] as a textbook for the experiment. 3.1
Minecraft Educational Edition
The Minecraft educational edition works in conjunction with visual programming called MakeCode. We can perform various actions (such as stacking blocks) by moving agents (robots) programmatically in the world of Minecraft.
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Fig. 1. Mincraft educational edition.
3.2
Textbook Used in the Experiment
The textbook used in the experiment [8] is a story about the search for a flower called Jade Orchid by manipulating an agent through programming in the world of Eduland. It comprises 5 chapters. Each chapter consists of a manga explaining the story, the main story with a sample of programming, and additional questions for those who finished the main story. In this experiment, we measured the following three types of brain waves. (a) Brain waves while reading the manga in Chapter 3 (we call it Manga). (b) Brain waves during programming to make a bridge by looking at Chapter 3 (we call it Bridge). (c) Brain waves during programming to make a different kind of bridge while thinking on their own about additional problems (we call it Extra). 3.3
Participants
The experiment was conducted with a total of 30 students comprising of a fourthyear student from the Umezawa lab at Shonan Institute of Technology, a thirdyear student from the Shonan Institute of Technology High School, and first- to third-year students from Waseda University Honjo Senior High School. 3.4
Method of Measuring Brain Waves
The EEG used for measuring the brain waves was a MindWave Mobile headset (NeuroSky, Inc.). As shown in Fig. 2, the headset was connected to a ThinkGear Connector by Bluetooth, and the ThinkGear Connector communicated with a log-collection application by TCP/IP. The ThinkGear Connector is a driver provided by NeuroSky Inc., which transfers brain wave data converted in the headset into the log collection application.
34
K. Umezawa et al. Table 1. Acquired brain waves [9].
Fig. 2. Outline of the method for measuring brain waves.
Type
Frequency (Hz)
δ wave
0.5–2.75
θ wave
3.5–6.75
Low α (αl ) wave
7.5–9.25
High α (αh ) wave 10–11.75 Low β (βl ) wave
13–16.75
High β (βh ) wave 18–29.75 Low γ wave
31–39.75
mid γ wave
41–49.75
Eight types of brain waves were acquired based on Ref. [9]: these are shown in Table 1.
4
Experimental Result
Figure 3 shows the EEG measurements of participant 27, as an example. Note that the raw data were too large to show in the graph; therefore, Fig. 3 only shows measurements averaged every 60 s. The vertical axis shows the value of β/α. Note, however, that we can also measure high α wave (αh ), low α wave (αl ), high β wave (βh ), and low β wave (βl ). Hence, when considering β/α, which is the ratio between the α wave and β wave, there are four combinations of βl /αl , βh /αh , βl /αh , and βh /αl that can be considered. Furthermore, the ratio of the averages of low and high frequencies (βl + βh )/(αl + αh ) was also considered (hereinafter referred to as βl+h /αl+h ). 4.1
Results
Just by looking at Fig. 3, we cannot discern the type of brain wave that increases or decreases. Hence, we first compare Manga and Bridge for each participant, followed by Bridge and Extra. We first performed an F -test to check if we could assume equal variance, and then performed a t-test for the difference in means. We show the results (p-value) of the t-test of Manga and Bridge in Table 2. The bold cells correspond to values smaller than 0.05, indicating that the average value is significantly different. In addition, the “+” sign on the right shoulder of each number indicates that the average value of Brigde is significantly higher than that of Manga, and the “−” sign indicates that the average value of Brigde is significantly lower than that of Manga. In addition, we show the results (p-value) of the t-test of Bridge and Extra in Table 3. The meaning of the bold cell is the same as Table 2. The “+” sign
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Fig. 3. Value of β/α of experiment participant 27.
on the right shoulder of each number indicates that the average value of Extra is significantly higher than that of Bridge, and the “−” sign indicates that the average value of Extra is significantly lower than that of Bridge. 4.2
Consideration
We first look at Table 2 and 3. For participant 13 in Table 2 and participant 17 in Table 3, the results showing significant increases in mean value and significant decreases in mean value were mixed, which was not the case for the other participants. This signifies that the choice of the type of EEG brain wave to look into is not important, instead, it is important to use a combination of all types of brain waves. In addition, looking at Table 2, the average value of β/α for many participants became higher in Bridge than that in Manga. This result is consistent with previous studies showing that the value of β/α increases when solving difficult problems. In Table 3, there are some participants whose average value of β/α was high and some whose value was low. Before the experiment, we thought Extra would be more difficult because the participants have to think on their own. It is
36
K. Umezawa et al. Table 2. Comparison between Manga and Bridge. Participants βl /αl
βh /αh
βl /αh
βh /αl
βl+h /αl+h
0.6419
0.9329
0.0049+
01
0.5626
0.0000+
02
0.1004
0.3886
0.3144
0.0028+ 0.1118
03
0.5150
0.4894
0.7718
0.9912
0.7937
04
0.1617
0.0065+
0.2113
0.1978
0.5875
05
0.1842
0.7861
0.8375
0.1805
0.2945
06
0.3709
0.6185
0.1840
0.6578
0.6169
07
0.2375
0.8462
0.3192
0.1194
0.6586
08
0.3076
0.6196
0.4439
0.1229
0.3695
09
0.2780
0.8531
0.2907
0.1940
0.4955
10
0.9274
0.7058
0.9666
0.9567
0.5342
11
0.1077
0.0000+ 0.0000+ 0.0000+ 0.0000+
12
0.0000+ 0.0579
0.0115+ 0.1248
0.1880
13
0.0002+
0.0002−
0.0000+ 0.5109
0.9090
14
0.3137
0.0000+ 0.1501
0.4415
0.0039+
15
0.0036+
0.0412+
0.0706
0.0033+
0.0002+
16
0.0000+
0.0000+
0.0016+
0.0000+
0.0000+
17
0.4149
0.0000+ 0.2088
0.0795
0.0008+
18
0.3227
0.0002+ 0.5957
0.2939
0.3651
0.5193
0.0011+
0.2183
0.0018+
0.0280+
20
0.2733
0.0000+
0.4743
0.0003+
0.0006+
21
0.5523
0.6804
0.3221
0.7251
0.6111
22
0.8316
0.0141+ 0.2703
0.6676
0.5907
23
0.7221
0.7106
0.6300
0.4343
0.7128
24
0.2561
0.4852
0.4271
0.7199
0.5958
25
0.0511
0.0066+ 0.6265
0.0085+ 0.0293+
26
0.0520
0.0001+ 0.5199
0.3799
27
0.0051+
0.0050+ 0.4638
0.0000+ 0.0000+
28
0.8002
0.0177− 0.2257
0.1982
0.0081−
29
0.1108
0.7917
0.5612
0.2232
0.9590
30
0.4945
0.4080
0.3861
0.5234
0.8058
19
0.9471
thought that the programming method could be understood by performing the programming according to the textbook (Bridge). As a result, it can be considered that there were some participants whose difficulty decreased when they thought and solved additional problems by themselves (Extra).
5
Evaluation by Questionnaire
We then performed a cross-analysis using the analysis results above and the results of the questionnaire conducted after the experiment.
Evaluation of Difficulty Table 3. Comparison between Bridge and Extra. Participants βl /αl
βl /αh
βh /αl
βl+h /αl+h
0.2068
0.8512
0.0484− 0.7113
01
0.2044
0.0209−
02
0.9389
0.5035
0.7836
0.7776
03
0.0976
0.0535
0.4809
0.0496+ 0.0299+
04
0.2081
0.3930
0.0209+ 0.2079
0.2000
05
0.9039
0.0160+
0.0539
0.2354
06
0.0188− 0.0000− 0.2140
0.0000− 0.0000−
07
0.0041− 0.0000− 0.1452
0.0000− 0.0000−
0.3709
08
0.0814
0.0205+
09
0.6604
0.0226− 0.3045
0.0411− 0.0014−
10
0.2201
0.1796
0.0887
0.0490+ 0.0344+
11
0.1388
0.7737
0.7192
0.3480
0.9897
12
0.0002+
0.4142
0.0222+
0.0357+
0.0000+
13
0.7385
0.9226
0.3749
0.8016
0.9656
14
0.2822
0.0156+ 0.0629
0.5638
0.0120
15
0.0049− 0.7027
0.2765
0.0391− 0.0090−
16
0.8443
0.2107
0.5516
0.5449
0.3478
17
0.5652
0.0000− 0.0006+ 0.1662
0.7103
18
0.3026
0.0000+ 0.9481
0.4383
0.0000+
19
0.5870
0.4299
0.8853
0.7444
0.2541
20
0.2010
0.0293− 0.9732
0.6764
0.5844
21
0.1100
0.4203
0.5183
0.8164
22
0.3152
0.0173− 0.0379− 0.9500
0.1009
23
0.4909
0.2008
0.2880
0.4456
0.3736
24
0.8875
0.0307− 0.0903
0.5460
0.0511
25
0.3290
0.6658
0.8995
0.5351
0.5816
26
0.7583
0.1087
0.5516
0.6249
0.3283
27
0.0106+ 0.7424
0.0286+ 0.3134
0.0937
28
0.1980
0.6134
0.9928
0.6089
0.0013+
29
0.0247+
0.0481+
0.5068
0.0020+
0.0023+
0.3130
0.0072+
0.8393
0.0498+
0.6204
30
5.1
βh /αh
0.9662
0.9605
0.0001+ 0.7092
Explanation of Questionnaire Items
We asked the following four questions (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4). Q1 Do you have any programming experience? A1. Yes A2. No Q2 Are you good at programming? A1. Weak A2. Weak a little
37
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K. Umezawa et al.
A3. Normal A4. Good a little A5. Good Q3 Do you have any experience with Minecraft? A1. Yes A2. I have experienced Minecraft other than PC A3. No Q4 Are you interested in Manga? A1. Boring A2. Boring a little A3. Normal A4. Interesting a little A5. Interesting 5.2
Questionnaire Evaluation on Manga and Bridge
We analyzed the questionnaire results for Manga and Bridge. We performed a χ2 -test on each cross-tabulated data of Q1 to Q4. Unfortunately, no significant difference could be found from all the questionnaire results. 5.3
Questionnaire Evaluation on Bridge and Extra
We next analyzed the questionnaire results for Bridge and Extra. For each questionnaire, we cross-tabulated the results of the questionnaire and changes in β/α values. The results of the cross-tabulation are shown in Tables 4, 5 and 6. The meanings of “Up”, “Unchanged (UC)”, and “Down” are as follows. For each participant in Table 2, if at least one of the five types of brain waves has “+”, the participant interprets that the average value has gone up. The same applies to “down”. If “+” and “−” do not exist in all five types of brain waves, or if “+” and “−” are mixed, the participant interprets the average value as “unchanged”. The questionnaire Q4 about manga was omitted because it is unrelated to Bridge and Extra. Table 4. Q1: Do you have any programming experience?
Table 5. Q2: Are you good at programming?
Average Up UC Down Total
Average
Yes
5
4
2
11
Weak
0
2
2
No
7
6
6
19
Weak a little
4
2
0
6
30
Normal
6
4
5
15
Good a little
1
2
1
4
Good
1
0
0
1
12 10
8
30
Total
12 10
8
Total
Up UC Down Total 4
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Table 6. Q3: Do you have any experience with Minecraft? Average Up UC Down Total No
1
0
4
5
Yes (PC version)
7
5
4
16
Yes (Non-PC version)
4
5
0
9
12
10
8
30
Total
Table 7. χ2 -test results of Bridge and Extra. Questionnaire p-value Result Q1
0.7240 > 0.05 No significant difference
Q2
0.4404 > 0.05 No significant difference
Q3
0.0227 < 0.05 Significant difference
Table 8. Residual analysis results of Minecraft experience. Average Up UC Down
∗
No
−1.000 −1.732 2.954∗∗
Yes (PC version)
0.448
Yes (Non-PC version) 0.325 : p < 0.05, ∗∗ : p < 0.01
-0.259
-0.221
1.690
-2.162∗
We performed a χ2 -test on each cross-tabulated data from Tables 4, 5 and 6. The resulting p-values are shown in Table 7. As shown in Table 7, there was a significant difference in “Q3: Minecraft experience”. Therefore, we performed residual analysis on “Q3: Minecraft experience”, as shown in Table 8. The values shown in bold represent items that have a significant difference (absolute value is 1.96 or more) by residual analysis. Among the participants who had no experience with Minecraft, the number of participants whose average value of β/α went down (i.e., participants who did not feel that the additional problem was more difficult) increased. Among the participants who had an experience with Minecraft but no experience with the PC version of Minecraft, the number of participants whose average value of β/α went down (i.e., participants who did not feel that the additional problem was more difficult) decreased. As shown in Table 8, the results were different between the PC version and the Non-PC version. This may be due to game operations rather than Minecraft experience. We would like to conduct a more detailed analysis in future work.
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Conclusion and Future Work
In this paper, we detected the learning state of each learner by measuring the brain wave information during learning of visual programming using the Minecraft educational edition. The detected learning status was statistically evaluated using the results of a questionnaire conducted after the experiment. We found that the assessment of task difficulty by learners was more significantly affected by the experience with Minecraft than by the experience with programming. In the future, we plan to conduct a similar experiment using a normal text-based programming language other than a visual programming language to try to detect the learning state by EEG. Acknowledgment. Part of this research was carried out as part of the research project “Research on e-learning for next-generation” of the Waseda Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University. Part of this work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP20K03082, JP19H01721, JP19K04914, and JP17K01101, and Special Account 1010000175806 of the NTT Comprehensive Agreement on Collaborative Research with the Waseda University Research Institute for Science and Engineering. Research leading to this paper was partially supported by the grant as a research working group “ICT and Education” of JASMIN. Research Ethics The experiments were approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Shonan Institute of Technology. We also received signatures from examinees and parents of the examinees concerning experiment participation.
References 1. Giannitrapani, D.: The role of 13-HZ activity in mentation, The EEG of Mental Activities, pp. 149–152 (1988) 2. Uwano, H., Ishida, K., Matsuda, Y., Fukushima, S., Nakamichi, N., Ohira, M., Matsumoto, K., Okada, Y.: Evaluation of software usability using electroencephalogram - comparison of frequency component between different software versions. J. Hum. Interface Soc. 10(2), 233–242 (2008). (in Japanese) 3. Yoshida, K., Sakamoto, Y., Miyaji, I., Yamada, K.: Analysis comparison of brain waves at the learning status by simple electroencephalography. In: KES 2012. Proceedings, Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems, pp. 1817–1826 (2012) 4. Umezawa, K., Ishida, T., Saito, T., Nakazawa, M., Hirasawa, S.: A judgment method of difficulty of task for a learner using simple electroencephalograph. Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ) SIG Technical report (2016). (in Japanese) 5. Zorn, C., Wingrave, C., Charbonneau, E., LaViola Jr, J.J.: Exploring minecraft as a conduit for increasing interest in programming. In: The Procedings of the 8th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games, pp. 352–359 (2013) 6. Sun, D., Ouyang, F., Li, Y., Chen, H.: Exploring creativity, emotion and collaborative behavior in programming for two contrasting groups. In: The proceedings of International Conference on Computational Thinking Education, vol. 2020, pp. 36–37 (2020)
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ˇ 7. Sajben, J., Klimov´ a, N., Lov´ aszov´ a, G.: Minecraft: education edition as a gamebased learning in Slovakia. In: The proceedings of 12th annual International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, pp. 1–8 (2020) 8. Ando, N.: Programming adventures using Hana’s Minecraft, Microsoft (2017) 9. ThinkGear Serial Stream Guide. http://developer.neurosky.com/docs/doku.php? id=thinkgear communications protocol. Accessed 30 Dec 2020
Applying Strategic Planning in a Distance Undergraduate Course in Information Systems: A Case Study Olival de Gusmão Freitas Júnior1 , Marcus de Melo Braga1 , and Victor Diogho Heuer de Carvalho2(B) 1 Computing Institute, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
{olival,marcus}@ic.ufal.br 2 Backland Campus, Federal University of Alagoas, Delmiro Gouveia, Alagoas, Brazil
[email protected]
Abstract. This work presents the process of developing strategic planning for a remote undergraduate course in information systems at a public Brazilian university. This is a case study in which data were collected using documentary analysis through reports from the institutional academic information system and the expertise of professors of the structuring teaching core of the course. A bibliographic survey was also carried out to better understand the subject in focus. The results show that the planning process needs a renewal for continuous improvement and that many difficulties need to be overcome until a level of maturity is reached where the processes of learning, change management, and organizational development are understood as a fundamental part of academic management. The strategic planning model presented in this paper shows that there is a need to implement an organizational culture that can guarantee the installation and development of a learning and organizational change process capable of conferring academic excellence to an undergraduate course. Keywords: Strategic planning · Undergraduate course · Information systems · Distance learning
1 Introduction Concepts such as electronic, distance, or remote learning (all of which can be considered synonyms) have become popular and widespread around the world thanks to their flexibility and low cost [1], allowing both teachers and students to develop activities on their end at their own pace with more appropriate workloads [2]. The bases of distance learning—as we will call it from now on—are the teaching flexibility, the use of information technology tools in the didactic process [3], and a well-consolidated plan, demonstrating the viability of this form of teaching at the proposing institution, incorporating the flexibility to guarantee that different methodologies, techniques, and digital tools can be used to make study materials available, carry out educational development activities, and apply different forms of student evaluation [4, 5]. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 42–51, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_5
Applying Strategic Planning in a Distance Undergraduate Course
43
For both teachers and students, distance learning resources enable an easier process for the development of the teaching-learning process, using other communication equipment besides the personal computer, such as tablets and smartphones with Internet connection [6], in addition to the use of more dynamic and qualified resources and materials available through specialized software [7], in a trend that can be called mobile learning [8]. Distance learning also presents an alternative highlighted in crisis situations, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Consequently, to mitigate the fear of academic year loss, schools and universities have adopted remote teaching strategies [9], which in contrast demand from teachers accustomed to traditional (face-to-face) teaching the need for differentiated preparation for the use of available technological tools. Given this context, undergraduate courses in information technology have a strong alignment with the perspective of distance learning due to their nature oriented to the management, development, and daily use of technology. These courses are quite viable alternatives for institutions that seek to test and implement this educational strategy, either in full distance undergraduate courses or for more sporadic applications within classroom courses, tending toward the use of a blended learning process [10]. Therefore, the need for a serious and integrative planning process is emphasized, generating solid plans for courses designed to work completely remote or those adopting the blended strategy [2]. This work presents a case study about the strategic planning process applied to a distance undergraduate course in information systems at a Brazilian public university. The main assumption of this study is the need to improve the strategy so that the target undergraduate course can achieve high quality and excellence in the training of information systems professionals, with the strategic planning process being in charge of a group of leading professors. Thus, the planning process was based on the use of data from the academic information system used at the institution, with the participation of professors involved with the structuring teaching core of the course. The paper is organized as follows: Sect. 2 presents related literature with core concepts on strategic planning in academic management; Sect. 3 describes the applied methodology; Sect. 4 presents the results and discussion; and Sect. 5 concludes.
2 Strategic Planning in Academic Management Strategic planning in any type of organization is a complex process, involving several organizational dimensions [11], such as human resources, processes, finance, internal and external disclosure of the products or services produced, and use of technologies, among others. In many cases, organizations see strategic planning as something relatively new, impacting the organizational culture between the old way of managing and new paradigms, more adjusted to the needs of modern organizations [12]. Modern institutions of higher education perceive that the dynamic socioeconomic scenario in which they are inserted demands well-structured planning to deal with constant changes and transformations [13], making them responsive to the challenges and
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pressures exerted by this scenario. In addition, the cultural change that is imposed promotes greater connectivity between the teams of each sector of the universities, promoting innovations in processes and ensuring the sharing and dissemination of new ideas and people’s expertise, in the latter case avoiding rework and facilitating the execution of the activities involved [14]. Studies have demonstrated the benefits of strategic plans for universities that start to implement them in their managerial praxis, for example, identification, differentiation, and prioritization of stakeholders to better understand their strategies and interests [11]; developing commitment to their mission with increased stakeholder engagement and collaboration to create a solid foundation for change [13, 15]; development of collaborative governance at the university [16]; providing a well-defined course of action promoting entrepreneurship, supporting the faculty and university staff to align their activities with the requirements necessary to advance programs within institutions [17]; and better alignment with evaluation criteria of global university rankings, with consequent better performance in these rankings [18]. Universities also perceive the need to improve their information systems, seeking better informational and procedural integration (both closely related), which leads to the use of comprehensive systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) [19]. The complexity of strategic planning is also represented through these types of systems, because they aim to integrate all organizational management in their implementation, staff training, and effective use, having direct impacts on the daily life of the university [20]. To meet this need, courses in areas related to business and information technology have come to place a strong emphasis on the life cycle of these systems to form more qualified human capital, including to meet the existing needs in universities [21, 22]. Consequently, there are advantages arising from the adoption of an ERP by universities, such as the university dealing with a single technological supplier; improvement of interdepartmental interconnections and compatibility in the exchange of information; avoidance of parallel systems; automatic data entry regeneration and instant spread to where it is applied; activities more focused on academic business processes; greater transparency; and promotion of internal and external benchmarks [23]. The next section will present the methodological approach adopted for the case study on a strategic planning process focusing on a distance undergraduate course at a Brazilian higher education institution.
3 Methodology The nature of this study is exploratory and descriptive, with a qualitative approach using a case study at the Federal University of Alagoas. The qualitative approach focuses on understanding the phenomenon within its own environment, allowing researchers to better understand its characteristics and effects [24]. A case study is a type of qualitative research in which the phenomenon is analyzed in depth, seeking to detail the object of study and its environment of occurrence [25]. The present article reports on a case study developed at the Federal University of Alagoas, focused on the bachelor’s degree course in information systems, developed through distance learning. The methodological procedures for carrying out the case study involved four stages:
Applying Strategic Planning in a Distance Undergraduate Course
45
1) A literature review on strategic planning in universities. 2) A documental analysis, with documents related to the planning practices at the Federal University of Alagoas. The main documents analyzed were as follows: a. b. c. d.
Project for the development of strategic planning. Information systems course pedagogical project. Institutional development plans. Management reports.
The collection of these documents was carried out by means of copies obtained at the university, in electronic format, using the integrated academic management system and open documents available in the university’s portals systems. 3) A data analysis, considering the aspects pointed out by [24, 25], which can be summarized as follows: a. Pre-analysis. b. Exploration of the material. c. Data treatment, inferences, and interpretation. 4) A presentation of results in a report. The Subsect. 3.1 will give a brief presentation of the strategic planning technique used and the group of participants involved. 3.1 Strategic Planning Process and Participants The applied strategic planning process involved the analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), developed during strategic meetings of the structuring teaching core, considered the brain of the course planning. This group is strategically composed of seven professors, two of whom are the course coordinator and the deputy coordinator, in addition to five others selected for their strong performance in the course and for their innovative and entrepreneurial vision. In Sect. 4, below, the results obtained and a discussion about them will be presented.
4 Results and Discussion The results of the application of the case study on the planning of the distance graduation course are divided into two parts: (i) Initially, a general presentation of the course and its history will be made. Then, some data collected via reports generated by the integrated system of academic management and (ii) the results of the applied strategic planning process will be presented.
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4.1 The Undergraduate Distance Course in Information Systems In 2007, the Computing Institute of the Federal University of Alagoas offered the first entry of students of the undergraduate information systems course, distance learning, with 200 places distributed among four on-site support centers: Maceió, Maragogi, Santana do Ipanema, Olho D´Água das Flores, and Arapiraca. In 2008, there was no entry of new students, but since 2009, the offer has been annual for 200 students, with approval through an entrance exam. The course was evaluated in 2012 by the Ministry of Education as concept 4 (on a scale where the maximum concept is 5), placing it among the best information systems courses in the country. However, there are a number of problems inherent to the course that are being improved by its collegiate and teaching structuring core, such as the reform of the course’s pedagogical plan, the complete update of the didactic material of the disciplines, and the qualification of teachers and tutors to work in this modality of distance learning. The undergraduate course in information systems should assume the role of agent of change, aiming to transform the local and regional productive market through the incorporation of innovations in information technology to solve organizational problems. The Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems at the Federal University of Alagoas meets the needs of contemporary organizations, which have a strategic element in information technology, in that technological solutions automate organizational processes and are sources of competitive advantage. Table 1 presents general data collected from the university’s integrated academic management system. Table 1. General data about the undergraduate course in information systems. Course Components Component
Workload (in hours)
Compulsory subjects
3,060
Flexible part (electives)
160
Supervised internship
240
Course conclusion monograph
120
Curricular Payment Hours
3,580
Undergraduate Methodology Admission form
Entrance exam
Organization
8 modules
Average number of face-to-face meetings per discipline
2
Final evaluation of the discipline
In the classroom
Supervised internship
Mandatory
Course conclusion monograph
Mandatory
Next, the analysis carried out through the strategic planning process will be described.
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4.2 The Course Strategic Planning Results Achieving academic excellence should be the goal of any undergraduate course. For this, it is necessary to diagnose the weaknesses of the course, as well as to determine strategies to combat these weaknesses. The joint view of the strengths and weaknesses of the course with the opportunities and threats from the external environment enables identification of a set of strategic measures that make it possible to explore the opportunities or reduce the impact of the threats. Based on the complete environmental analysis of the course, a mapping of organizational guidelines, professional profile, and strategic elements was composed. Figure 1 presents the organizational guidelines defined through the strategic planning process.
Fig. 1. Strategic planning organizational guidelines.
Figure 2 displays the presentation of the profile defined for the professional who should graduate from the information systems course targeted by the case study.
Fig. 2. Profile defined for the professional who should graduate.
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The strategic guidelines adopted in strategic planning were (i) focus on students; (ii) continuous improvement of services provided to society; (iii) improving the academic performance of the course; (iv) improving the performance of the course’s operational management; (v) effective and efficient management of the course workforce; and (vi) improving the budgetary-financial sustainability of the course. Figure 3 completes this mapping with the identified strategic elements.
Fig. 3. Strategic elements identified according to the SWOT analysis.
Table 2 presents the weaknesses considered priority by the structuring teaching core, as well as the suggested actions to correct these weaknesses.
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Table 2. Course weaknesses and actions taken to correct them. Weaknesses
Corrective actions
Deficient bibliographic collection
a) Acquisition of books on the basic bibliography of the IS course. a) b) The Central Library of the university was asked to purchase 118 titles with 10 copies each c) Subscription to a renowned publisher for access to an e-book base d) Adequacy of the didactic material of the course according to national norms, aiming at publication
High dropout rate
a) Dissemination of the course in agreement with the university through local TV stations, to show the conditions for acceptance to the course, curriculum, and profile of the graduate, as well as to demystify the condition of distance learning as a modality in academic training, highlighting even the initial results of students already referred professionally b) Leveling course for new students, addressing mathematical and computer skills c) Improvement of support to students, through a direct channel with coordination d) Greater contact with the teacher and more face-to-face classes, especially in complex subjects e) Improvement of the online tutor’s feedback, exercising better control over the tutoring activities regarding the individual correction of the activities
Teaching-research-extension integration failure a) The possibility of students writing and publishing a journal article will be studied, replacing the development of the monograph at the end of the course. This measure aims to awaken the scientific spirit of the students, and, at the same time, the teachers will be more motivated to guide them b) Offering digital inclusion and computer courses aimed at the local community during school recess periods, promoted in a student-tutor-teacher partnership c) Hiring scholarship monitors for each pole. Each pole will have four monitors to assist teachers in practical classes Lack of teacher/tutor evaluation
At the end of each course, an assessment form will be made available in the virtual learning environment, by which the student will make a general assessment of the course, the teacher, and the tutor
Low quality of existing teaching material
The course will seek to follow nationally established standards of quality in distance learning, promoting the publication of materials through the management system of the Open University of Brazil from the Ministry of Education
In Sect. 5 below, the conclusion of this work will be presented.
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5 Conclusion Brazilian federal universities are experiencing a particular moment of turbulence in the federal education system and need to adapt to the new demands and social pressures that have emerged to demonstrate their value. The occurrence of a critical situation in the public health area with the outbreak of COVID-19 made evident the relevance of professional training in the distance modality. This situation has demanded from academic managers constant analysis of scenarios and the establishment of strategies and action plans that enable the adequate management of changes, involving all stakeholders to meet, with excellence, the needs arising from a critical situation. The main limitations throughout the process were: (i) finding an agenda that reconciled the available hours of the professors in the structuring core, amid the need to use adequate resources to hold virtual meetings; and (ii) the difficulty of organizing information from non-interconnected information systems, such as the academic information system and the university library management system, to assist the planning process. The agility in the decision-making process, the valorization of human capital, the optimization of resources, and the search for academic excellence led to implementing the process of strategic planning in the bachelor’s degree in Information Systems at the Institute of Computing of the Federal University of Alagoas. Such a process will ensure management focused on academic excellence, enabling the course to follow the market and the productive sector prospectively, anticipating and understanding possible problems, and taking advantage of future trends.
References 1. Costa, R.D., Souza, G.F., Valentim, R.A.M., Castro, T.B.: The theory of learning styles applied to distance learning. Cogn. Syst. Res. 64, 134–145 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys. 2020.08.004 2. Widyanti, A., Hasudungan, S., Park, J.: e-Learning readiness and perceived learning workload among students in an Indonesian university. Knowl. Manag. E-Learning. 12, 18–29 (2020). https://doi.org/10.34105/j.kmel.2020.12.002 3. Pashev, G., Rusenova, L., Totkov, G., Gaftandzhieva, S.: Adaptive workplace e-learning model. TEM J. 9, 613–618 (2020). https://doi.org/10.18421/TEM92-25 4. Costaner, L., Guntoro, G., Sutejo, S.: E-learning feasibility analysis: dwi sejahtera vocational high school pekanbaru context. IOP Conf. Ser. Earth Environ. Sci. 469, (2020). https://doi. org/10.1088/1755-1315/469/1/012038 5. Tan, B.S., Wong, S.L.: Learning principles of accounting in ICT-supported learning environments of Malaysian secondary schools: future-oriented approach. Res. Pract. Technol. Enhanc. Learn. 15 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41039-020-00128-6 6. Naveed, Q.N., Qureshi, M.R.N., Tairan, N., Mohammad, A.H., Shaikh, A., Alsayed, A.O., Shah, A., Alotaibi, F.M.: Evaluating critical success factors in implementing E-learning system using multi-criteria decision-making. PLoS ONE 15, 1–25 (2020). https://doi.org/10. 1371/journal.pone.0231465 7. Kazaine, I., Arhipova, I.: Procedures for the control and quality assurance of e-learning materials. Res. Rural Dev. 2, 279–284 (2018). https://doi.org/10.22616/rrd.24.2018.084 8. Petersen, F.: Students’ attitude towards using a mobile learning management system : a large, undergraduate Information Systems class. In: 2020 Conference Information Communication Technology Social ICTAS 2020 - Proceedings (2020). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICTAS47918. 2020.233991
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9. Hasan, N., Bao, Y.: Impact of “e-Learning crack-up” perception on psychological distress among college students during COVID-19 pandemic: a mediating role of “fear of academic year loss.” Child. Youth Serv. Rev. 118, 105355 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth. 2020.105355 10. Silva, K., Kronbauer, C., Viana, D.: Perceptions of learning management system application in computer undergraduate courses. In: ACM International Conference Proceeding Series (2018). https://doi.org/10.1145/3293614.3293637 11. Falqueto, J.M.Z., Hoffmann, V.E., Gomes, R.C., Onoyama Mori, S.S.: Strategic planning in higher education institutions: what are the stakeholders’ roles in the process? High. Educ. 79, 1039–1056 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00455-8 12. James, M.A., Derrick, G.E.: When “culture trumps strategy”: higher education institutional strategic plans and their influence on international student recruitment practice. High. Educ. 79, 569–588 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00424-1 13. Andrade, M.S.: Utah valley university: a continuing culture of transformation. J. Manag. Inq. 29, 145–149 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492619860593 14. Alfalih, A.A., Ragmoun, W.M.: The role of entrepreneurial orientation in the development of an integrative process towards entrepreneurship performance in entrepreneurial university: a case study of Qassim university. Manag. Sci. Lett. 10, 1857–1872 (2020). https://doi.org/10. 5267/j.msl.2019.12.033 15. Byrne, N., Cole, D.C., Woods, N., Kulasegaram, K., Martimianakis, M.A., Richardson, L., Whitehead, C.R.: Strategic planning in health professions education: scholarship or management? Acad. Med. 94, 1455–1460 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.000000000000 2852 16. Derakhshan, R., Fernandes, G., Mancini, M.: Evolution of governance in a collaborative university-industry program. Proj. Manag. J. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/875697282091 1245 17. Lozano-Nieto, A.: Program-level strategic planning for electrical engineering technology programs. Int. J. Electr. Eng. Educ. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/0020720920953129 18. Dowsett, L.: Global university rankings and strategic planning: a case study of Australian institutional performance. J. High. Educ. Policy Manag. 42, 478–494 (2020). https://doi.org/ 10.1080/1360080X.2019.1701853 19. Adamescu, D., Costoiu, M., Corocˇaescu, M., Ple¸su, V., Iancu, P., Adamescu, G., Arsene, C., Tˇalpu¸s, M.: Integrated software application for university management of material resources. Chem. Eng. Trans. 21, 493–498 (2010). https://doi.org/10.3303/CET1021083 20. Bologa, A.R., Muntean, M., Sabau, G., Scorta, I.: Higher education ERPs: Implementation factors and their interdependecies. WSEAS Trans. Comput. 8, 651–660 (2009) 21. Colvin, R.G., Carmona, J.: Strategic planning for positioning/repositioning a business school integrating enterprise systems (SAP) in curriculum. J. Educ. Bus. 95, 483–489 (2020). https:// doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2019.1693331 22. Costa, C.J., Aparicio, M., Raposo, J.: Determinants of the management learning performance in ERP context. Heliyon. 6, e03689 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03689 23. Fowler, A., Gilfillan, M.: A framework for stakeholder integration in higher education information systems projects. Technol. Anal. Strateg. Manag. 15, 468–489 (2003). https://doi.org/ 10.1080/095373203000136051 24. Marriam, S.B.: Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco (2009) 25. Yin, R.K.: Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods. SAGE Publications, Inc, Thousand Oaks (2017)
Development of Climate Change Online Modules to Improve Environmental Engineering Curriculum of Jordanian and Syrian Universities Leandro Oliveira1
, Pedro Pimenta2
, and Eduardo Luís Cardoso1(B)
1 CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina – Laboratório Associado,
Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto, Portugal [email protected] 2 IPMAIA – Instituto Politécnico da Maia, N2i - Núcleo de Investigação do IPMAIA, Maia, Portugal
Abstract. Climate Change has been identified as one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats facing the planet and humanity today. The Middle East is one of the regions most affected by climate change, with Jordan and Syria already facing serious problems related to available water resources, and environmental quality. This work aims to describe the process of developing online modules under the EGREEN Project to reinforce/insert themes related to climate change in the environmental engineering courses at Jordanian and Syrian universities. The EGREEN project aims to ensure that universities in Jordan and Syria can offer high quality education that is compatible with European standards and meet the needs of the emerging knowledge society market, and strengthening the environmental area, using distance learning. Following the ADDIE model (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate), online modules were developed within the scope of the EGREEN project. To follow this model, information was collected by: direct observation, consulting internal project documents, conducting interviews with students and teachers, and participating in focus groups. The Moodle learning platform was selected for implementation purposes. Twelve EGREEN modules were developed and implemented in 6 Jordanian and 3 Syrian universities. The development of EGREEN modules allowed environmental engineering students to deepen their knowledge on climate change, preparing to face their future professional challenges. Keywords: E-learning · Online courses · ADDIE · Climate change
1 Introduction Rising global air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of ice and rising sea levels are signs of climate change [1–3]. In 2019, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 0.95 °C above the twentieth-century average of 13.9 °C, making it the second-warmest year on record. The annual global temperature has increased at an © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 52–59, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_6
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average rate of 0.07 °C per decade since 1880 and more than double that rate (+0.18 °C) since 1981. Analyzing temperatures between the years 1880 and 2019, it was found that only between 2015 and 2019 there were the five hottest years, it is also worth mentioning that between 2005 and 2019 there were nine of the ten hottest years [4]. It is estimated that if measures are not taken worldwide to limit pollutant emissions, the average global surface temperature could rise from 1.8 ºC to 4 ºC by 2100. This situation means that the increase of temperature, since the pre-industrial season, would be above 2 ºC, temperature after which there may be irreversible and catastrophic changes [3]. Jordan and Syria have made strategic strides towards reducing poverty, achieving a high adult literacy rate, a low infant mortality rate and high population access to the environment and sanitation. However, these achievements are compromised by the scarcity of water and environmental resources being aggravated by climate change, bringing added threats to health, productivity and food and human security [5]. Jordan and Syria host major projects under the “water” theme like Disi projects [6] and Red Sea Dead Sea - RSDS [7] who want to adapt to climate change. Investment in the Environment and Climate Change sector is expected to increase dramatically and, therefore, there is a need for qualified engineers and scientists in the field of Environment and Climate Change. The Environment and Climate Change program is one of the highest priority programs in Jordan and Syria and is part of the cooperation agenda between the European Commission, Jordan, and Syria. Jordan and the European Union (EU) agree, in line with the EU-Jordan action plan, to strengthen that country’s environmental policy, with a view to the progressive integration of the Jordanian-related labor market into that of the EU and to consolidate the policy sustainable development in the Jordanian Environment sector, as well as in Syria [8]. Distance learning has become popular around the world and learning management systems have become indispensable tools for online education. Whether focusing on distance education or face-to-face education, most universities use learning management systems to support and improve teaching and learning processes. It provides several opportunities for interaction and decision, based on the primacy of flexibility, easy access to knowledge and learning as a social and collaborative process [9]. Teaching mediated by online learning platforms through e-learning has contemporarily recognized as an appropriate method and resource to face the current challenges, which an increasingly globalized world faces, in terms of lifelong learning and development of technological and social skills [10]. The literature that crosses the teaching of issues related to the environment, including climate change, with distance learning, is showing that online courses where these topics are addressed can contribute to increase the knowledge and skills of the participants [10, 11]. The main objective of this study is to describe and understand the process of developing online modules under the EGREEN Project to reinforce/insert contents related to climate change in the environmental engineering course at Jordanian and Syrian universities, as well as to propose some improvements for the future implementation of new e-learning courses.
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2 Methodology 2.1 EGREEN Project The EGREEN project (573927-EPP-1-2016-1-JO-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP) aims to ensure that the universities in Jordan and Syria can offer a high quality education compatible with European standards and meets the market needs of the emerging knowledge-based society by modernizing their ‘environment’ curricula, developing and implementing a sustainable bachelor degree program [12]. This project took place between 2017 and 2020, involving: 6 Jordanian Universities [The University of Jordan (UJ), German Jordanian University (GJU), Al Albayt University (AAU), Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan (AUJ), Mutah University (MU) and Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST)], 3 Syrian Universities [Al-Baath University (ABU), Aleppo University (AU) and Tishreen University (TU)] and 5 EU partners [Hamburg University of Technology (HUT)—German, Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences (OLUAS)—German, University of Innsbruck (UI)—Austria, Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP)—Portugal, and Paulo e Beatriz - Consultores Associados Lda (P&B)—Portugal] [12]. 2.2 ADDIE Model On education in its broadest sense or in professional training, instructional design is a planning resource designed to ensure the development of learning activities in a systematic and coherent way. Among the most well-known systemic models, there is the Instructional System Design, also known as ADDIE [13], which comprises five phases: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (see Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. ADDIE model for instructional design.
In Analysis, Design and Development phases, primary data were collected through documents developed for the EGREEN project, reports and internal documents, and observations of some project activities. Meetings were held between experts/professors in the area of distance education and in the environment of the EGREEN Consortium
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in which the structure of the EGREEN modules (subjects and contents where the theme “climate change” could be addressed) was discussed. Some specifications were developed, as follow: specification of activities of learning; specification of the formative and summative evaluation modalities; specification of training distribution systems; choosing the most appropriate content and media for the target students; choice of teaching strategies and learning activities; research of suitable materials on the market. All audio, video, and text materials for the future implementation of modules were also developed, selected, prepared or created. Previously it was published [14] a set of guidelines for the structure of the EGREEN modules, covering two main topics: - i) general e-learning module requirements; ii) reusing of contents (‘resources’) and structuring of contents and activities to offer technical and pedagogical support. Following these guidelines, a set of EGREEN modules were implemented around the theme of climate change. In the Implementation phase, the following activities were accomplished: distribution of e-learning modules with contents and activities; support for the students’ learning process; training of teachers; and, establishment of communication protocols guaranteeing the interaction of the trainee with the teacher and between trainees. The Evaluation corresponds to the process of collecting, analyzing and systematically disseminating useful information necessary for the formulation of value judgments that allow for continuous improvement. The evaluation of the courses was carried out by the students’ feedback given to the teachers and by the experience of the teachers of the EGREEN courses during their teaching (direct observation). A focus group and an external evaluator were other approached implemented to contribute to the evaluation process.
3 Results and Discussion This work provides an example of how an instructional design approach can be applied to the structured development of e-learning modules as a strategy for integrating and reinforcing content related to climate change in the environmental engineering course of Jordanian and Syrian universities. Through iterative development, in which some phases of the model were repeated in several partner universities making adjustments according to internal formative evaluation towards its continuous improvement. The ADDIE model was applied to develop and evaluated these e-learning modules, which were made available through the Moodle Learning Platform. The application of the ADDIE model, for the development of the EGREEN Courses, allowed the creation of Table 1 that summarizes the phases of the model with its inputs and outputs. In the Analysis phase of the ADDIE model, the needs and context of the stakeholders were assessed at the beginning of the development process through inquires to universities and related stakeholders (companies, associations and public bodies). In addition, meetings with project partners and Jordanian and Syrian stakeholders, allow the identification of a set of 12 curricular units (EGREEN modules to be developed) where key content addressed challenges associated with climate change: • Water resources engineering including non-conventional water resources; • Water and wastewater treatment including bio-techniques for wastewater treatment;
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Design of sustainable buildings including energy efficient building services; Air pollution and air quality management; Environmental engineering and sustainable development; Introduction to environment and climate change and environmental monitoring systems; Energy resources and energy conversion technologies; Design of renewable energy systems; Heating ventilating and air conditioning systems including solar energy driven system; Power and refrigeration cycles; Modulation and simulation of power plant cycles; Waste resource management including solid waste management.
Table 1. Using ADDIE model to develop EGREEN courses. ADDIE model
Inputs
Outputs
Analysis
Preliminary discussions with Experts/Professors of EGREEN Consortium
Learning needs data; Pilot curriculum and training program; Revised learning objectives and format to scale training
Design
Learning objectives, development of evaluation, and media selection; Experts/Professors and module development team of design document
Syllabus of EGREEN courses; Training materials e-Leaning Reference Module
Development
Module development and learning management system team review of module
Multimedia e-learning module
Implementation
Training of Teachers in e-Learning Pilot launch and usability testing Assessment of technical fit and specifications
Refinement of modules
Evaluation
Evaluation design and review of results Focus Groups with Teachers and University Managers. External evaluator
Formative evaluation results; Barriers and facilitators to future implementation beyond e-learning
During the design process, syllabus and learning materials for EGREEN courses were developed both in English and in Arabic. A reference model for an e-learning module was designed and developed to offer guidance and good practice advice [14] and was a key specification material used in motivation sessions, in training of teachers sessions and in the support of the module development. The establishment of clear and measurable learning objectives was important and facilitated focus and evaluation of knowledge and skill acquisition. Teachers from the
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different Universities and different areas of knowledge did engage themselves in the planned stages of the design and development of e-learning courses. The contractual target was to achieve two e-learning modules, but 12 different e-learning modules were deployed in relevant areas for the Climate Change subject. At the implementation stage an enlarged pilot was launched reaching 3321 students in Jordanian universities, and 3363 students Syrian universities. The participants reported that by engaging in the EGREEN modules, they were able to learn and contact new challenges related to climate change according to their professional future. The first assessment, including by external experts, allow us to identify very different levels of extension of the e-learning approaches. Some of the solutions were considered by the Teachers as adequate to the specific contextual needs. Some of the simpler technological solutions were considered as a supplement in some modules, or as a basic solution to reach a wider audience of students, overcoming broadband restrictions. These considerations confirmed the ability of the proposed development methodology to answer to different requirements and purposes. In Fig. 2 an example of the EGREEN courses available on the EGREEN platform (https://vle.ju.edu.jo/moodle/) is showed.
Fig. 2. Example of available EGREEN Courses at Learning Platform.
Evaluation did include a Focus Group with teachers and managers at different levels of the participant universities, where it was recognized that following a structured approach was a key decision to achieve the objective to improve environmental engineering curriculum trough the integration of climate change online modules. The availability of a reference model for an e-learning module it was seen by the external evaluator as a strong contribution and a key resource to support the work of Jordanian and Syrian universities. University Managers and Teachers were looking to the strategic improvements based in e-learning focused on the Climate Change topics as key areas of knowledge needed for the region. E-learning could meet the needs for higher education flexibility in the region to address the local social conditions. Also
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seen as possible benefits are associated to the social reputation of the universities, to the potential increase in the student’s recruitment and to the local leadership in e-learning. The limitations of this study include the inability to formally assess the impact of attending EGREEN courses, as well as the inability to directly assess the specific impact of these e-learning modules on employment outcomes, in addition to other elements of the entire initiative. As future research, it is suggested the application of other evaluation methods, namely questionnaires that allow a quantitative assessment of the training and importance of the knowledge acquired for the professional practice. This information will be useful in a continuous improvement model of EGREEN modules.
4 Conclusions This article reported on the development of e-learning modules in climate change to improve the environmental engineering curriculum that were part of a larger implementation effort in Jordanian and Syrian universities in collaboration with EU partners. The application of the ADDIE model allowed the structured development of an enlarged number of EGREEN modules, improving teaching on climate change at the partner universities. A relevant e-learning offer, focused on a priority topic, was also an opportunity for these universities and its faculty to reinforce a leadership role in collaboration with its stakeholders, looking forward to meeting student’s expectations and needs of their professional future. In addition, the experience of the consortium allowed the improvement of the environmental engineering courses, making them compatible with European standards, and fostering an international perspective for its students. Acknowledgements. We would like to acknowledge the active participation of all the partners of the EGREEN project. This work is supported by the European Commission within the framework of the program Erasmus Plus - Capacity Building in the field of higher education [project number 573927-EPP-1-2016-1-JO-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP].
References 1. Abdulla, F.: 21st century climate change projections of precipitation and temperature in Jordan. Procedia Manuf. 44, 197–204 (2020) 2. Givati, A., Thirel, G., Rosenfeld, D., Paz, D.: Climate change impacts on streamflow at the upper Jordan River based on an ensemble of regional climate models. J. Hydrol. Reg. Stud. 21, 92–109 (2019) 3. Masson-Delmotte, V., Zhai, P., Pörtner, H.-O., Roberts, D., Skea, J., Shukla, P.R., Pirani, A., Moufouma-Okia, W., Péan, C., Pidcock, R., Connors, S., Matthews, J.B.R., Chen, Y., Zhou, X., Gomis, M.I., Lonnoy, E., Maycock, T., Tignor, M., Waterfield, T. (eds.) IPCC:Summary for Policymakers, in Global Warming of 1.5 °C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. World Meteorological Organization: Geneva, Switzerland (2018)
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4. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: State of the Climate: Global Climate Report for Annual 2019. https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201913. Accessed 10 Oct 2020 5. THKJ: Jordan’s Way to Sustainable Development. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, New York (2015) 6. Ferragina, E., Greco, F.: The Disi project: an internal/external analysis. Water Int. 33(4), 451–463 (2008) 7. Coyne-Et Bellier, Tractebel Engineering, and Kema: Red Sea - Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program Feasibility Study (2012) 8. ECCEU: Joint statement following the 12th EU-Jordan Association Council (2017) 9. McGill, T.J., Klobas, J.E.: A task-technology fit view of learning management system impact. Comput. Educ. 52(2), 496–508 (2009) 10. Otto, D., Caeiro, S., Nicolau, P., Disterheft, A., Teixeira, A., Becker, S., Bollmann, A., Sander, K.: Can MOOCs empower people to critically think about climate change? A learning outcome based comparison of two MOOCs. J. Clean. Prod. 222, 12–21 (2019) 11. Otto, D.: MOOCs—A Powerful Tool for Imparting Climate Literacy? Insights from Parleys with Students, pp. 131–149 (2018) 12. EGREEN Consortium: The EGREEN Project. https://sites.ju.edu.jo/en/egreen/Home.aspx. Accessed 21 Oct 2020 13. Belanger, F., Jordan, D.H.: Evaluation and Implementation of Distance Learning: Technologies, Tools and Techniques. Idea Publishing Group, Hershey (2000) 14. Cardoso, E.L., Pimenta, P., Lopes, F.: Course designing and content reusing and integration. Atti del MoodleMoot Italia 2017 (2017)
Adoption of Technological Products and Services in an Ecuadorian University for External Consumers Andrés Palacio-Fierro1,2(B)
and Hugo Arias-Flores3
1 Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Económicas, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica,
Quito, Ecuador [email protected] 2 Programa de Doctorado, Universidad Camilo José Cela, Madrid, España 3 Centro de Investigación en Mecatrónica y Sistemas Interactivos, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, Ecuador [email protected]
Abstract. This article describes the experiences, initiatives and advances in disability issues for external consumers at a university in Ecuador, which has promoted collaboration agreements with various institutions. This synergy has allowed technological solutions to be developed in the field of disability. These include software for blind students, an augmentative communication board app for people with hearing disabilities, a telerehabilitation platform using the Kinect sensor for those with physical disabilities, a literacy kit with tangible interfaces and RFID sensors. Also, an inclusive board for people with intellectual disabilities which integrates Braille code, QR codes and augmented reality. These technologies have transcended academic frontiers and today, thanks to projects of connection with society, they support a vulnerable and traditionally forgotten population. In terms of educational inclusion, figures and initiatives that the university carries out through its Academic Department and Research Institute are presented. In the workplace, the institution developed a MOOC platform to raise awareness on the treatment of people with disabilities, through which nearly 800,000 public sector workers have been trained. Thanks to all these technological initiatives, a teleworking proposal was generated, which is still in development to connect people with disabilities and companies in carrying out intellectual tasks through a technological platform. The result of all these initiatives has left gratifying experiences and increasingly higher challenges in favor of educational and labor inclusion, especially of people with disabilities where there are more barriers in society than due to their abilities. Keywords: External consumers · Educational inclusion · Labor inclusion · Technology · University
1 Introduction There is an estimate of 10% of the world population, that is, about seven hundred million people with a disability condition. In Latin America and the Caribbean there are around © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 60–68, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_7
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eighty-six million in this condition [1], while in Ecuador 415,500 people are part of this vulnerable group. Of these, 46.78% have physical disabilities, 22.54% intellectual, 12.87% hearing, 11.85% visual and 1.33 of language [2, 3]. This 2.86% of people with disabilities in Ecuador was invisible until 2012, the date on which the Organic Law on Disabilities of Ecuador was created, which considers a person with a disability as all those “who, as a consequence of one or more physical, mental, intellectual or sensory deficiencies, regardless of the cause that originated it, is permanently restricted in its biological, psychological and associative capacity to carry out one or more essential activities of daily life” [4]. From its creation, a change in the legislation and articulation with the National Plan for Good Living 2013–2017 was evident. Initiative that promoted new reforms and programs in the area of health, housing, decent work, access to basic services and education, becoming a benchmark in Latin America in social inclusion policies. In order to achieve this important achievement in terms of disability, in 2009 the Ecuadorian government, through its Vice President, Lic. Lenin Moreno, formed the “Manuela Espejo Solidarity Mission”, a social and clinical program to geo-referentially study and register all People with disabilities. Until 2011, this mission covered the 24 provinces and 221 cantons of the country. 293,743 people with disabilities were identified, 24% with intellectual disabilities and 76% with other disabilities. To date, this program has made more than 14,000 visits at national scales to identify people with disabilities who need help [3]. This aid refers to both the economic and the technical aspects. In the first case, the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Bonus was established, which consists of an economic aid of $240 per month for people with disabilities and catastrophic illnesses. According to the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES), the delivery of this voucher reaches 21,000 direct caregivers, especially mothers who are responsible for caring for their children with severe disabilities. While 124,857 people receive the disability bonus in the individual amount of $50. To date, the Government has delivered more than $362 million in the care of people with disabilities, including technical aid [5]. In this technical aid program, the Indoamerica Technological University played a very important role in signing an agreement with the Vice President of Ecuador and the National Council for Equality of Disabilities (CONADIS). This article describes the efforts made by our University on issues of educational and labor inclusion through research and development projects of technologies in favor of people with disabilities. In the educational inclusion, figures and initiatives that the university carries out through its Department of University Welfare and the Academic Department are presented.
2 Educational Inclusion Inclusive education can be understood as a guiding principle aimed at achieving reasonable levels of school integration for all students. In the context of a broader vision of integration, inclusive education involves the formulation and application of a wide range of learning strategies that respond precisely to the diversity of learners [6]. Educational inclusion is based on special education -focusing on disability-, in other words, inclusion was a philosophy to ensure that students with disabilities were included in regular classes, regardless of whether they could comply with the curricular activity established [7].
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Educational inclusion must guarantee the right of boys, girls, adolescents, youth and adults to access and remain in the classroom, with equal opportunities, with the necessary adaptations [8]. In Ecuador, educational inclusion responds to the guarantee of the right to a quality education, through access, permanence, learning and completion of all children, adolescents, youth and adults in the educational system, at all levels. And modalities; recognizing diversity, in conditions of good comprehensive treatment and in educational environments that promote good living [9]. With these premises and the importance of Ecuadorian legislation in strengthening a comprehensive social inclusion of people with disabilities, the Government has worked not only in terms of financial aid, but also with access to an important right such as education. In this regard, in Ecuador there are 107 specialized educational institutions, where children with multiple disabilities or intellectual disabilities attend [10]. In addition, the Ecuadorian State’s public policy of expanding the academic offer in the higher education system contemplates the implementation of online, distance careers, and technologies to link with the productive system. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have the obligation to modify their pedagogical model to raise the levels of income, permanence and graduation of students with disabilities in conditions and equal opportunities with inclusion [11]. In this last context, Ecuador has explicit regulations in promoting equal opportunities for people with disabilities in the university system, such as the 2008 Constitution [12] (Arts. 11; 16; 35; 42; 47) and the Organic Law on Higher Education [11] (Art. 7; 12; 13). However, there are difficulties in its operation, the level of education of people with disabilities, according to figures from the National Agenda for Equality in Disabilities is low in relation to the Ecuadorian population without disability; 54% do not have some level of instruction, 18% have completed the basic level, 17% finish high school and only 10% reach higher education [13]. Within these regulations, HEIs in Ecuador cannot deny entry to any person with a disability, nevertheless, it is still necessary to carry out countless actions that help this vulnerable group. The Indoamerica Technological University, with its administrative headquarters in the city of Ambato and its research headquarters in the city of Quito, has carried out some initiatives in the field of disability. For example, in the first semester of 2019, 18 enrolled students with disabilities are reported, as detailed in Table 1; evidencing that physical motor disability is the one that occurs most in students. According to the Department of University Welfare, this figure is known due to the scholarship application process, in which the student declares if he has the capacity to choose a higher percentage of scholarship. But this registry of students with disabilities apparently is not complete, it has an under-registration and does not show the reality of students with disabilities, because several cases are identified at the end of the semester, for not declaring their disability or for not having an adequate diagnosis that identifies the type of disability, much less with an academic record that shows the requirements of the segment of students with disabilities. On the other hand, students with disabilities have the benefit of a scholarship, which can be chosen after an application process in which it is evident that they have a disability, this with the sole purpose of guaranteeing equal opportunities in the access to
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Table 1. Registration of students with disabilities at the Indoamerica University. Modality
Type of disability Number
Face to face Auditory
Blended
Psychosocial
3
Motor physics
1
Intellectual
2
TOTAL
7
Auditory
3
Motor physics
5
Intellectual
1
Visual
1
TOTAL Distance
1
Motor physics TOTAL
10 1 18
Source: Department of Human Welfare
higher education. The scholarship addresses a discount on tuition and the percentage of scholarship assigned depending on the degree of disability. The University has an inclusive infrastructure, where there are access ramps, elevators, signs, special toilets for the use of people with disabilities; places designed and endorsed by the competent authority on disability. However, it does not have an Institutional Program on Disability that helps to articulate the projects and activities of the different academic units, through training for the university community or curricular adaptations.
3 Information and Communication Technologies Information and communication technologies (ICT) can be effective in the training of students with and without disabilities, since ICTs provide students with adaptive ways to compensate for disabilities and allow them to improve learning [14]. In the field of disability, ICTs are considered relevant elements in the social, educational and labor inclusion of people with disabilities. In this context, ICTs make it easier for people to learn anywhere and anytime [15]. Of course, websites must meet accessibility criteria, so that users are able to use the sites effectively, efficiently and satisfactorily, including users with disabilities [16]. It is for these reasons that the Universidad Indoamérica, for 10 years, has developed the line of research in ICT for Special Education and rehabilitation. Table 2 summarizes the TICS generated at the University’s Research, Development and Innovation Institute. One of the first solutions was in 2009, when the IACVI (Intelligent Agent for Children with Visual Impairment) software was developed, which has the ability to interact with a boy or girl with visual disabilities through a voice synthesizer and a screen reader.
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Table 2. Information and communication technologies for disabilities developed at the Indoamerica University Year
Technologies to support people with disabilities
Authors
2009
IACVI: Intelligent Agent for children with Visual Impairment
Jadán Janio, Arias Hugo, Altamirano Ileana
2010
HELPMI: Tool that Emulates Word Language with Images
Jadán Janio, Arias Hugo, Altamirano Ileana
2011
SCSC: Support Center for Special Children
Altamirano Ileana, Jadán Janio, Arias Hugo
2012
LUCKI: Playful in Kinect Controlled Universes
Jadán Janio
2014
MOOC: Disability awareness platform
Lara Álvarez Patricio
2015
TEVI: Virtual keyboard for people with psychomotor disabilities
Jácome Ligia
2016
KITERACY: Kit of tangible objects to strengthen the initial reading
Jadán Janio, Altamirano Ileana
2017
DivertiDown: Interactive Game to Increase Attention and Visual Retention in Children with Down Syndrome
Navas Eduardo
2018
EPHORT: Tele-rehabilitation system for self-reeducation of patients after hip replacement surgery
Yves Rybarczyk, Jadán Janio, Guevara Cesar
2018
Little Bear Lucy: Literacy Kit to Strengthen Jadán Janio, Guevara Cesar, Zapata Initial Reading for Students with Special Mireya Educational Needs
2019
Q’INQU: Inclusive board game
Jadán Janio, Arias Hugo
Source: Institute of Research, Development and Innovation
Later in 2010, he developed the HELPMI software (Tool that Emulates a Language of Words through Images), an alternative communication board for mobile devices and smartphones, in order to provide communication support to language therapists and students with hearing disabilities and language. In 2011, it developed SCSC (Support Center for Special Children), a web platform to support parents of children with special educational needs [17]. The publication and socialization of these technologies allowed the Vice Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador to take an interest in IACVI software. For this, a tripartite agreement was signed between the Indoamerica Technological University, the National Federation of the Blind of Ecuador and the “Manuela Espejo” Mission of the Vice Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador. As part of the agreement, the software was installed in nearly 1,200 portable
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computers. 40 engineering students participated in the process. The students of Parvularia were in charge of training teachers and students in the use of tiflotechnological software and tools [18]. In 2012, LUCKI (Play in Controlled Universes by Kinect in Inclusion) was born, a software for PC with Windows system that uses the Microsoft Kinect device aimed at children with motor problems. The software creates playful scenarios to teach human body parts by identifying limb parts and movements. In 2014, an agreement was signed with the National Council for Equality of Disabilities (CONADIS), for the development of a MOOC platform (Massive Open Online Course), which is an Open and Massive Online Course for training public workers on the treatment of people with disabilities (https://plataformaconadis.gob.ec). The platform was designed with the aim of informing, educating, and sensitizing human talent in public and private institutions, social organizations for and with disabilities, the educational community, people with and without disabilities and their families in the field of disability. To date, close to 800,000 public sector workers have been trained. In 2015 TEVI (Virtual Keyboard) was released, designed to facilitate the communication of children with language problems due to a physical disability. The TEVI interface has two components, one that is adapted for children who still cannot read or write. Information is entered through a panel of pictograms. The other is a virtual QWERTY keyboard with predictive text features. In both cases, the entry of information is supported by a web camera that captures the movements of the child’s head to control the mouse pointer. This software was applied in the rural area of the Tungurahua province, where 75 children benefited. In 2016, as a product of a three-year investigation, Kiteracy (Kit for Literacy) was developed, a kit of physical or tangible objects based on two methods of literacy, the global and “PictoFónico” (PiFo). This kit focuses on students with special educational needs developing phonological awareness, supported by a soft toy that identifies digital cards with pictograms or 3D letters or also a physical object, a plastic or wooden toy, which represents the word in the case of global method. This kit was evaluated in Spain with 12 children with Down syndrome and in Costa Rica with 8 children with the same condition, giving excellent results in terms of interaction and motivation. In 2018, it changed its name to “Little Bear Lucy” to carry out a bonding project, in which the University donates the kits to 25 schools, between public and private schools in the province of Pichincha and Tungurahua. Students from the Systems Engineering for Development course, the Digital Design course to generate the content and the Psychology Course to apply the kit with nearly 500 students have participated. In 2017 DivertiDown is presented, an interactive game (playful - didactic) to increase attention and learning in children with Down syndrome, it is a graphic platform whose interface was designed using especially audiovisual elements of objects that encourage affective processes, cognitive and behavioral with animals, their habitat and food, also incorporates scenarios of easy association to improve their academic activity. In 2018, as a product of a network of researchers from three Ecuadorian universities, EPHORT was created, a tele-rehabilitation system for self-reeducation of patients after hip replacement surgery. The objective of the system is to facilitate and increase the speed of the functional and motor recovery process, thanks to the fact that patients can
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perform therapeutic movements at home and at any time of the day (https://www.cedia. edu.ec/en/winning-projects/cepra-xi/tele-rehabilitation). Finally, in 2019 Q’inqu is created, an inclusive board game, a proposal to integrate children or adults with disabilities in entertainment activities at home, where inclusion begins. The game is made up of a traditional board with a cultural theme based on the Inca treasure hunt. The game also integrates an augmented reality mobile application that identifies Braile code patterns, NFC (Near Field Connection) tags and QR codes, in order to generate interaction, entertainment and learning. This toy is a finalist in the CITI Micro Entrepreneurs of the Year contest to obtain financing so that it can reach educational centers or homes where there are people with disabilities. All these technological solutions would not have been possible without research. In this context, the Institution has the “Institute for Research, Development and Innovation”, to carry out research in multiple fields of science; in addition, it guarantees an adequate articulation of research activities and that the financial and personnel resources invested achieve the expected results; such as indexed journal publications or patent production, among others. The institute is made up of five research centers: 1) Mechatronics and Interactive Systems (MIST), 2) Biodiversity and Climate Change (BioCamb), 3) Business, Society and Technology (ESTec), 4) Territory and Sustainable Habitat (CITEHS) and 5) Human Sciences and Education (CICHE). The MIST research center has been a participant in R + D + i projects, the purpose of which is to develop proposals in the areas of technology, education and innovation. The research center in Human Sciences and Education (CICHE), in its lines of research, also includes education and psychology. In both centers, researchers form research networks, in which publications of scientific books and articles have been generated in the area of Special and Inclusive Education. Currently, inclusive education research projects are being carried out in initial education and also in higher education. These investigations aim to strengthen the quality of the learning process of students with disabilities with curricular adaptations and technical aids (interpreters, translations, braille, etc.). This research proposal is based on the current paradigm of disability, in which people with disabilities are development actors with equal opportunities and conditions.
4 Labor Inclusion At the Indoamerica University, there are not only research and education, there is a good practice to develop the participation of people with disabilities in the workplace. Thanks to technology and research, it was possible for a person with a disability to be part of the team. But its incorporation was not simple, the collaborator with visual impairment tells us today, “not everything was easy, when I lost my sight in 2003 due to an accident, my life changed, I ran into doors and people who discriminated against me because of my disability, they only looked at my cane and nobody bothered to read the two pages. of my resume”. This is a reality for people with disabilities when looking for a job in the workplace. Building the skills that a person with a disability can bring to the workplace requires strategies that encourage creativity. Thus, this person for a time was a consultant in
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an occupational management program for people with visual disabilities, in which he managed to insert approximately 100 people per year at the country level. Here she meets Dr. Janio Jadán, who was looking for a visually impaired person to work on a project, from then on, the projects were added, until today. As of May 2017, he continues to be Associate Editor of the CienciAmérica Magazine of the Indoamerica University. For him, the CienciAmérica Magazine is a challenge, reading an article, evaluating the content, answering emails, but time passed and he obtained good results. This achievement had the complicity and support of the Editorial Team of the Magazine. He is in the path to success, but this triumph is demanding him each day to learn and imposing him new challenges to meet.
5 Conclusions Despite the development of technical standards and accessibility legislation, ICToriented policies in education in Latin America show differences in their maturity and consolidation, reflecting the heterogeneity and social inequality that persist in the region; The challenge is to develop the capacities of teachers and students, provide conditions for pedagogical change, policy evaluation and research development [19]. In this sense, several important actions are pending that could pose an adequate inclusion to the University: 1. The admissions process for students with disabilities is a great challenge for the University, since there are no technical-pedagogical tools that can adequately identify the type of disability the student has and therefore all the educational needs it requires. to have an adequate academic performance. Currently, students with disabilities entering the University show their disability when problems arise in the classroom or when at the end of the semester, they realize that they do not reach the minimum score to accredit a subject. 2. There are various social prejudices regarding the issue of disability, fear of being discriminated in the case of people with disabilities and, on the other hand, in the case of students and teachers, fear of ignorance about how to treat a person with disabilities. 3. Pedagogical support is a strategy still under development. The University does not have professionals specialized in attending to the special educational needs of its students with disabilities, generating difficulties for teachers and career coordinators in the proper treatment of these students. in the classroom. 4. An adequate registry of students with disabilities, which allows having valid and updated information on their condition and the ways of approaching the student.
References 1. OMS: Resumen. Informe Mundial sobre la discapacidad. OMS, Malta (2011). https://www. who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/accessible_es.pdf. Accessed 21 May 2020
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2. CONADIS: Registro Nacional de Discapacidades. Registro Nacional de Discapacidades, recuperado. https://www.consejodiscapacidades.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downlo ads/2014/03/conadis_registro_nacional_discapacidades.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2020 3. EL TELÉGRAFO: personas con discapacidad cuentan con más derechos (2017). https:// www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/sociedad/6/plan-estatal-atiende-a-grupo-con-discapacidad. Accessed 12 Apr 2020 4. Ley Orgánica de Discapacidades, Registro oficial 796, Ecuador (2012) 5. MIES: La situación mejora para 500.000 personas con discapacidad, Ministerio de Inclusión Económica y Social (2019). https://www.ecuadorenvivo.com/politica/24-pol itica/93194-la-situacion-mejora-para-500-000-personas-con-discapacidad.html#.XLxldi 1Dm3W. Accessed 19 May 2020 6. UNESCO: La Educación Inclusiva: El Camino Hacia El Futuro, Conferencia Internacional de Educación (2008) 7. Tchombe, T.M.S.: Epistemologies of Inclusive Education and Critical Reflexivity for Pedagogic Practices in Primary Years (4–11). In: Phasha, N., Mahlo, D., Dei, G.J.S. (eds.) Inclusive Education in African Contexts. Anti-Colonial Educational Perspectives for Transformative Change. SensePublishers, Rotterdam (2017) 8. Muñoz, V.: Derecho a la Educación de las personas con discapacidad en América Latina y el Caribe. https://www.uaq.mx/contraloriasocial/diplomado/Modulo%20I/DeclAmerDeryDeb. pdf. Accessed 23 May 2020 9. MINEDUC: Educación Especializada e Inclusiva (2019). https://educacion.gob.ec/escuelasinclusivas. Accessed 29 May 2020 10. EL TELÉGRAFO: la inclusión abarca acceso a la educación y deporte (2019). https://www. eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/sociedad/6/inclusion-educacion-deporte. Accessed 21 04 2020 11. Ley Orgánica de Educación Superior, Registro Oficial 298, Ecuador (2010) 12. Constitución de la República del Ecuador: Registro Oficial 449, 6 (2008) 13. Agenda Nacional para la Igualdad en Discapacidades 2013 – 2017. CONADIS, Quito. https:// riberdis.cedd.net/bitstream/handle/11181/5043/Agenda_nacional_discapacidades.pdf?seq uence=1&rd=0031375625155259. Accessed 19 Apr 2020 14. Heiman, T., Fichten, C.S., Olenik-Shemesh, D., et al.: Educ. Inf. Technol. 22, 2727 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-017-9623-0 15. Fonseca, D., Conde, M.Á., García-Peñalvo, F.J.: Univ. Access. Inf. Soc. 17, 229 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-017-0548-6 16. Ismailova, R., Inal, Y.: Univ. Access. Inf. Soc. 17, 437 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10 209-017-0541-0 17. Guerrero, J.: AINIDIU, CANDI, HELPMI: ICTs of a personal experience. In: Workshop on Engineering Applications, WEA 2012, pp. 1–7 (2012). doi:https://doi.org/10.1109/WEA. 2012.6220097 18. Jadán-Guerrero, J., Ramos-Galarza, C.: Innovación Tecnológica para mejorar los procesos de lectura inicial de estudiantes con síndrome de Down. Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Editorial Don Bosco (2017) 19. Castillo-Valenzuela, N., Garrido-Miranda, J.M.: information and communications technology and educational policies in Latin America and the Caribbean. In: Voogt, J., Knezek, G., Christensen, R., Lai, K.W. (eds.) Second Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham (2018)
Towards Computational Thinking Beliefs of Computer Science Non-major Students in Introductory Robotics - A Comparative Study Bianca Bergande(B)
and Anne Gressmann
Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences, 89231 Neu-Ulm, Germany [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract. While computational thinking is a popular concept in K12 education, it is not very well researched in undergraduate students of computer science non-major degrees. In the current study the critical factors in learning computational skills from the students’ point of view are being researched. To grasp which skills are considered critical a questionnaire was constructed to measure the self-evaluation for a mixed group of undergraduate computer science non-major students who attained an introduction in physical computing using both Lego Mindstorms and humanoid Nao robots at a university of applied sciences. The results show, that the computational thinking self-assessment of the students has a significant influence on their evaluation of physical computing exercises. Furthermore, the students prefer humanoid robots over automotive robots and their robot evaluations and computational thinking self-assessment varies based on their field of study. The results point to further investigations into the conceptions and beliefs of students in future studies. Keywords: Computational Thinking · Physical computing Humanoid robots · Self-assessment · Lego Mindstorm · Nao
1
·
Introduction
As the use of computers and technological devices and their competent use has become a basic need in the 21st century, topics from the field of computer science and technical skills like programming are increasingly finding their way into the curricula of degree programs with a focus in economics or engineering [1,2]. The integration of these contents into the curricula is the subject of numerous studies, since the students have problems with the appropriation of unfamiliar contents and often perceive these as very abstract and difficult to understand [1,3]. To lower the bar for students, two concepts have become very popular: physical computing and computational thinking (CT) [4,5]. The goal c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 69–80, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_8
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of physical computing is to make computer science literally easier to grasp by introducing abstract concepts like conditions and loops in a tangible setting that involves working with a device to solve a problem and thereby internalize the logic of programming [6]. In the past years, it also has gained more popularity in higher education as it has become a catalyst to a broader educational concept, that aims to deliberately strengthen abilities that are deemed important for computer science [5,7]. Ever since Wing proposed CT as a literacy of the 21st century with universal benefits, the term has become a popular concept in education [3,4]. In short, CT includes “solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior, by drawing on the concepts fundamental to computer science” and has been integrated into some physical computing classes especially in K12 education [4,8]. However, the idea to further examine the combination of these concepts in higher education has not been widely discussed for computer science non-major students yet, a group of growing significance in the age of digitization [1,2]. One of the major reasons for this gap in research lies in the lack of valid research designs for this group [7]. Also, there are a number of different reports about the usage of physical computing devices like Arduino boards, Lego Mindstorms and the like, but hardly any comparative works [5,9]. Therefore, in this paper the adaptation of valid CT design for middle school students into a research design for computer science non-major undergraduates is carried out and tested in a comparative physical computing setting [8]. The paper is structured as follows: in Sect. 2 the current state of research is explored followed by methodology, data collection and analysis in Sect. 3. This is followed by the results for each construct in Sect. 4. In Sect. 5 the study is summed up, limitations are explained and a perspective for further research is outlined.
2
Related Work
Theoretically, physical computing is mostly embedded with constructivist notions of learning. Constructivism primarily understands learning as a process, in which the learner actively constructs new knowledge by using “old” knowledge to solve a new problem within its given context and thereby transforming its knowledge and skills overall [5,6]. Saira et al. also link physical computing exercises to constructionism as the exercises with devices include not only the construction but also the deconstruction in process-oriented tasks [5]. For educational robotics this means it helps transform their users from passive to active learners in the process of interaction with the robot and therefore strengthens their abilities to solve problems, procedural thinking and understanding of abstract concepts as promoted by Papert since the 1980s [5,8]. In an aim to put constructionist principles to use and strengthen the CT skills of high school students Atmatzidou and Demetriadis [8] designed an 11week long robotic class using Lego Mindstorm V2 robots. The authors arguments for their idea mainly focuses on how to engage young adults in robotics in order to strengthen their CT abilities and help them to have more success in other surroundings and corresponding subjects. To successfully participate, the students
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have to connect the abstract concepts and ideas of their classes and tutorials with a concrete task that is carried out by the Lego Mindstorm V2. To understand the robot, work with its possibilities and limitations, understand the tasks, decompose it into the necessary steps and then put them back together to solve a given challenge are very complex cognitive processes and require a lot of abilities that are linked to CT skills [5,6,8]. They operationalised CT by identifying the five core dimensions of it after an extensive literature review and defined the concrete ability linked to each dimension [8]. Their definition of CT therefore includes 5 dimensions: abstraction, generalisation, algorithm, modularity and decomposition [8]: – Abstraction: Abstraction is defined as the process of creating something simple from something complicated, by leaving out the irrelevant details, finding the relevant patterns, and separating ideas from tangible details. Skills: This dimension includes the abilities to separate the important from the redundant information, analyse and specify common behaviours or programming structures between different scripts and identify abstractions between different programming environments. – Generalisation: Generalisation is transferring a problem-solving process to a wide variety of problems [10]. Skills: A person with good generalisation skills is good in expanding an existing solution in a given problem to cover more scenarios. – Algorithm: An algorithm is a practice of writing step-by-step specific and explicit instructions for carrying out a process. Skills: The ability to develop an algorithm involves explicitly stating the algorithm steps, identifying different effective algorithms for a given problem and then find the most efficient algorithm. – Modularity: Modularity is defined as the development of autonomous processes that encapsulate a set of often used commands performing a specific function and might be used in the same or different problems [10]. Skills: To use modularity, one has to develop autonomous code sections for use in the same or different problems. – Decomposition: Decomposition is the process of breaking down problems into smaller parts that may be more easily solved, especially when facing a large and complex task [4]. Skills: This includes the ability to break down a problem into smaller or simpler parts that are easier to manage. They collected data in their course using self-assessment questionnaires based on the operationalisation above, think-aloud protocols and teachers observations protocols to collect as much data as possible. Their analysis revealed that the different dimensions of CT score differently for each gender. The female students in their sample eventually reached the same CT skill level as their male counterpart, but needed more time to achieve this. They also found that the older students (the range of their sample was 15 to 18 years old) had a lower score for the generalisation subscale, which might be a result of the data collection modality they found [8]. Their validated CT design for middle school students
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was transferred into a research design for computer science non-major undergraduates and tested in a comparative physical computing setting that aims to solve the following research questions: – How do students assess themselves in regard of their CT skills? – How do they assess specific tasks with a physical computing entity in use and how do these compare between the Lego Mindstorm vehicles and the humanoid Nao robot? – Do these ratings correlate with each other or specific features of the participants like gender, age or degree?
3
Methods
The research design is a cross-section survey, using questionnaires for data collection to capture complex data in an effective way [11]. To realize this a questionnaire was created to measure the self-assessment of students CT skills and their evaluation of the physical computing experience using CT concepts. The computer science non-major undergraduate students are in their first semester and study either Information Management Automotive (IMA), a study course that combines computer science, economics and car engineering, or Information Management Corporate Communication (IMCC), which includes computer science, economics and design. 3.1
Data Collection
Since evaluation of self-assessed skills and a learning exercise that includes simple computing principles are the two core principles of this study, the choice was made to participate in and support a different experiment conducted at the faculty in winter term 2018/19 [9]. The following environment was designed by the 2nd author and the 1st authors’ questionnaire design was slightly adapted to reflect this design, since the original design only asked for one kind of exercise except for two in comparison. In an attempt to conduct a comparative study about the different motivation of students considering different physical computing devices, the following study design was chosen [9]. The sample were freshmen students who were invited to participate in the study via the Moodle dashboard of their introductory programming class and had the opportunity to choose if they wanted to attend. The participants then could choose from a selection of time slots of about 2 hours on two days during a 6 week period in the first half of their semester. The devices used were 4 Lego EV3 Mindstorm robots that were build like a vehicle and 4 humanoid Nao robots. Before attending they could watch two introductory videos which showed the basic functions of each robot. The experiment itself consisted of 4 phases: exercising with the first robot for about 45 min, answering survey 1 for 15 min, then switch places with other participants and work with the other robot for 45 min to finish the participation after answering survey 2.
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The exercises for the Lego Mindstorm, that was build in the shape of a vehicle, included simple tasks like collision avoidance and light detection, which resemble programming basics like conditions and loops. The humanoid Nao robot had tasks of the same principles, which were adapted to its human-like shape, included a welcome dialog triggered by the word “hello” and followed by simple interaction. For controlling the robots the graphic interfaces of Choregraphe and Lego Mindstorms EV3 Home Edition were used, so that the participants did not have to code, but only drag and drop control elements on screen [9]. The original questionnaire was split into two halves, with survey one including questions about the general evaluation of the exercise plus the device and the second questionnaire containing both the general evaluation of the exercise and device and the self-assessment of the participant. 3.2
Constructing the Questionnaire
The underlying structure of the questionnaire which can be found in Sect. 6 is based on the study about applied CT and physical computing by Atmazidou and Demetriadis [8], that measured the CT skills development at different points in time over a semester. While the evaluation of an 11-week program is not comparable the setting shows some similarities as the students are introduced into basic programming concepts in a physical computing setting. Therefore, the underlying concept of CT and the questionnaire is derived from this paper [8]. It is separated into two parts: the evaluation of the physical computing setting and the self-assessment of the participants. To match the two parts the participants had to make a six-digit code consisting of the initials of their parents and the day they were born to ensure a proper case identification while maintaining anonymity. In the first part of the questionnaire, prior knowledge and an evaluation of both the robot and the exercise were queried, just as Atmatzidou and Demetriadis [8] did. The questions about prior programming and physical computing experiences are designed to show if the participants have a general interest in the subject of computer science and programming. The prior experience block also tries to find if the given knowledge of participants influences their learning experience in any way, as constructionist notions might suggest [5,6]. In the next part, they were asked to rate the exercise with the respective robot they had just been using and to reflect on this for a moment. Then, they should rank the different tasks of the exercise from the hardest to the easiest. The tasks all match a different CT concept, though the connection is based on the questionnaire by Atmatzidou and Demetriadis [8]; understanding control structures matches “decomposition” for example. This way the ranking also gives practical information about what to take into consideration when creating physical computing exercises for beginners. In the second part, the students repeated the exercise and robot evaluation for the second robot and then had to give feedback on how much they agree to a number of positive and negative statements, which match CT concepts in accordance to [8] on a 7-point likert scale. The last part featured questions on demographic standard
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variables such as gender and age but also included the study courses to include an important variable, that has been found to be influential for this sample in past studies [9]. The questionnaire was realized using LimeSurvey, a free, web-based survey tool (https://www.limesurvey.org/en/). 3.3
Data Analysis
The data was downloaded from LimeSurvey and the missing values were defined. Questionnaires with missing values were excluded from the data analysis which resulted in 120 cases. The two data sets were combined into one so that there was one evaluation of both devices, their exercises and the self-assessment for each participant to provide a basis for comparability. Though the samples are connected, they include different items for each data collection in a short amount of time and thus are treated as disconnected for further analysis. To enable comparability within the CT scale all negatively constructed items were inverted and the mean of all CT items was used to create the new variable “computational thinking score” or CT-score for short, which should make the comparison of the evaluations of both the physical computing exercises and the self-evaluation possible. As a first step, general distributions such as sum, mean, and standard deviation were conducted for the whole sample as well as for the groups study course, age and gender. Since both graphical analysis with Q-Q-Diagrams as well as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and the Shapiro Wilk test showed a significance of 0,000 only non-parametric analysis can be applied. In addition, the internal consistency of the CT items was tested and showed a low yet acceptable value of 0,605 [12]. To see if there is an influence of demographic data or study course as pointed out in the related research section, the data was analysed to test the assumptions of the research model. Interestingly, no correlations can be reported besides a positive correlation between the study course and the CT-score (asymptotic significance (2 sides) of 0,02), which is confirmed in further tests for the relationships between the items. For gender, study course and prior experiences with physical computing or programming Mann-Whitney-U-Tests were carried out, for the age groups Kruskall-Wallis tests were conducted with the Nao, Lego and CT evaluations as dependent variables [13]. To see if there is a relationship between the CT-score and the physical computing evaluations or prior experience variables Kruskall-Wallis tests with the CT-score as independent variable were conducted as well and confirmed significant relationships below the critical threshold value of 0,05 [13].
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Results
A 120 university freshmen took part in the study, of which 65,8% (N = 79) are female and 34,2% (N = 41) identify as male. 60,8% (N = 73) are in the young age group of 17 to 20, 35% are between 21 and 24 years old and only 4,1% are older.
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When it comes to study courses, the majority of 86,7% (N = 104) studies IMCC and only 12,5% (N = 15) IMA, one student studies mechanical engineering. For maintaining the anonymous nature of this survey, he was excluded from all course-related higher statistics. 4.1
Prior Experience
When asked if this is their first physical computing experience 87,5% (N = 105) answered that this was indeed their first contact with robots. The other 12,5% (N = 15) had worked with physical computing before of which each 8,3% (N = 10) reported to have been working with a Lego and Nao robot or 5% (N = 6) with an Arduino or another platform (1,7%, N = 2) before. Concerning experiences with programming languages prior to their studies, 35,8% (N = 43) of the students affirmed to have known no programming languages before studying. This is interesting, as 57,5% (N = 69) said they knew JAVA before studying. This could be a misinterpretation of the question since JAVA is the first programming language they learn in their first computer science class, which was held by the time the study was conducted. The other numbers are more realistic for the other programming languages though with 19,2% (N = 23) stating they knew C++, 18,3% (N = 22) JavaScript, 6,7% (N = 8) Python, 5,8% (N = 7) PHP and each 5% (N = 6) knew Ruby and C. The testing for correlations between prior knowledge and robot evaluations or the CT-score revealed no significant correlations. 4.2
Evaluation of the Nao Robot
The overall mean of the Nao exercise evaluation is very positive with 1,32. IMA students gave by far the best ratings (mean = 1,20) followed by the females with a mean of 1,30 and the IMCC students and male participants (mean = 1,34 each). The ranking of the different exercise elements revealed that the participants found the fixing of technical issues to be hardest (chosen by 25,8%) and the arranging of the code blocks to be the easiest part of their tasks with humanoid Nao robot with 27,5% picking this element. The homogeneity in outcomes also led to no significant correlations with neither prior experiences, study courses, gender nor age groups. 4.3
Evaluation of the Lego Robot
The Lego Mindstorm was not as popular as the Nao robot, yet received a positive evaluation with a mean of 2,06. The subgroups show slight deviations with the IMA students showing the most positive rating (mean 1,87), while IMCC students rated them lower (mean = 2,10). Female students liked them a little bit more than male participants (mean = 2,04 vs. 2,10). The ranking of the Lego Mindstorm robot exercise elements along a hardest to easiest scale showed the same results as the humanoid counterpart, with exactly the same percentages. A
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very surprising result, which shows that the shape of the robot or kind of exercise might not pose such a different learning experience as one might assume. When it comes to the relationships between Lego Mindstorm evaluations and other variables, no significant correlations can be reported. 4.4
Self-assessment on Computational Thinking
The CT related self-evaluation statements are mostly positive with a mean of 2,89 for the whole sample. The study course IMCC and the genders each have the same mean of 2,93, while men rate themselves slightly better with a mean of 2,81 and IMA students rate themselves best (mean = 2,61). Regarding age, the younger half of participants shows worse self-ratings than the age group of participants that are older than 29 (mean = 2,92 vs. 2,47). Unfortunately, only one participant is in this group, so that this is not representative. This is also reflected by no significant correlation outcomes for the variable. Interestingly, no correlations with the other variables can be reported besides a positive correlation between the study course and the CT-score (asymptotic significance (2 sides) of 0,02), which is confirmed in further tests for the relationships between the items. This means, that a better CT-score is associated with studying IMA, the more technological study course of both courses researched. This is also in line with the finding, that a better CT-score is associated with a better Nao and Lego exercise evaluation (significance 0,06 and 0,00), which shows that the selfassessment of students concerning CT abilities strongly influences their learning experience in physical computing environments.
5
Conclusion
A teaching experiment has been carried out to find out about the CT skills of first term computer science students in connection with physical computing exercises with two different robots. The students mostly were beginners with little to no experience with physical computing and mostly had only basic knowledge about programming languages by the time the data was collected. Their level of experience showed no relevant significance on neither their self-evaluation nor the assessment of the exercise or devices, which could also stem from the homogeneous outcomes, as other studies showed that physical computing has the most positive impact for inexperienced students [5]. The evaluation of the humanoid Nao robot was very positive above all groups and especially well received by the females and the IMA students. This is very positive, as the original reason the Nao robots were purchased by the university was to lower inhibitions towards computing exercises by using an anthropromorphic device and the robot showed to be very popular and motivating in the experiment [9]. The Lego Mindstorm V3 robots were less popular in comparison, but received a good rating as well. Unsurprisingly, the IMA students enjoyed working with the vehicle-shaped robot more than their counterparts. While the difference is not huge enough for statistical significance, the design of a device
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should be regarded as a critical factor when choosing a certain device for a specific target group [9]. Nonetheless, the students perceived the same tasks to be particularly hard or easy across this distinction, but this is not as surprising as the IDEs showed similar designs, which made the arrangement of the code blocks easy for the participants. The IDEs and their drag and drop principle might be very accessible, but if technological issues occur with an unfamiliar device in a limited time frame the user will most likely feel powerless and need help. Another practical advice for the didactic design of robotic settings is therefore to always provide help or standardised solutions to make the learning experience empowering not overwhelming for students [5,9]. The positive correlation between the more technological study course IMA and the better CT-score point towards a domain sensitivity of the phenomenon. It also further validates the CT-scale as the affinity towards technology and engineering is reflected in better evaluations of the robots, while the effect is stronger for the less popular Lego Mindstorm robot. How to enhance CT beliefs can therefore be considered an important goal in achieving better learning experiences for programming beginners. Although the choice of devices or settings must be researched in more detail since working with robots should foster interest particularly in underrepresented groups not only those who are already enthusiastic about the topics surrounding computer science [9]. 5.1
Limitations
The major limitation of this study is the unbalanced group size, which might have had an influence on the statistical outcomes since it was not heterogeneous or balanced enough. In addition, some results point towards misinterpretations on behalf of the participants like the one about prior knowledge of programming languages and its contradictory outcomes. Another issue with the programming languages question is that “knowing” does not adequately define if they heard about it or already worked with it which might add to the incoherent replies and points towards the need to better define the prior knowledge section of the questionnaire in the future. 5.2
Future Work
As the study used only an adaptation of Atmatzidou and Demetriadis [8] work and a different research design it should not be surprising that it showed different outcomes regarding age and gender. However, the questionnaire provided some insights which should be part of future research which further tests a better version of this questionnaire in a more diverse group to further investigate the influences between physical computing, CT and study courses as this shows to be a promising field. Furthermore, the relationship between similar concepts like conceptions or epistemology in computer science students should be explored as they also build on metacognitive concepts and have shown to be influential in academic achievements as well [14,15].
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Appendix
The Questionnaire In order to guarantee anonymity and still be able to assign the questionnaire to a further survey. We ask you to provide it with a self-generated code. The code consists of a combination of the your parents’ names and your own date of birth. This code does not allow identification. Example of the code: – – – –
Your mother’s name is ELSBETH Your father’s name is EDGAR Your birthday is 08.10.1988 This results in the code EL ED 08.
Please enter your individual personal code here: 1) Which robot did you work with lately? (NAO/Lego EV3) 2) How much did you like the exercises with the Lego Mindstorm Robot/ the Nao Robot? (Please evaluate: 1 = very well / 5 = not at all) 3) Take a minute to think about your experience. Working with the kit and performing the tasks has likely been challenging at some points. Which step has been the most challenging for you? Please put the different tasks in order from the easiest (=1) to the hardest (=7). Please read all 7 dimensions before putting them in order: (Ranking of replies) – a) understanding the code blocks – b) understanding control structures – c) finding a solution – d) understanding the underlying concepts – e) fixing technical problems – f) Debugging the code blocks – g) Arranging the code blocks. 4) Which programming languages did you know before ProTech? Please check the boxes that apply: (Multiple Choice: JAVA/Java Script/PHP/C/C++/ Python/Ruby) 5) Is this the first time you have come in touch with physical computing?(Yes/No) 6) If you have done physical computing before, which platforms did you use? Please check the boxes. (Multiple Choice: Nao/Lego Mindstorms/Arduino Boards/Others:) 7) Now that we have assessed the exercise, please think about your own abilities and please give a quick feedback. How much do you approve the following statements? (1 = I totally agree / 7 = I totally disagree). Please read carefully. – I can easily separate important from redundant information. – I have a hard time to sort out important from unimportant information. – It is fun to find common patterns in different datasets and codes. – I can easily identify a programming structure or command from a line of code. – It is a challenge for me to apply my knowledge in new tasks.
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– – – – – –
I like it when I can use one solution to solve different problems. It is easy to adapt a general concept to a specific problem. I often find myself reusing parts of an old solution in a new task. I enjoy working with a fixed concept or script to create something new. Creating solutions is best with creativity! No boundaries for me! When facing a challenge I think it is best to carefully plan and then carry out a plan step by step. – The easiest way to complete a task is to break it down into pieces. – I prefer to keep the whole system in mind when working on a task. – I feel like I learn more when I work hands on than “just” programming on a screen. – Also fixing technical issues is not helpful when learning programming. It distracts me. 8) Demographics: Thank you for your patience! As a final step I need some personal information about you while respecting your privacy! Please note that this questionnaire will be part of research that is aimed to be published. While your age or gender might be significant your personal data will be automatically anonymised and you cannot be identified. – What is your age? Please tick of the boxes that apply! (younger than 17/1720/21-24/25-29/29+) – What is your gender? (Female/Male/No answer) – What are you studying? (IMCC/IMA/Other/No answer).
References 1. Janke, E., Brune, P., Studt, R.: Exposing students to the unfamiliar - improving software engineering teaching in non-major computer science programs. In: 2013 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), pp. 1294–1298 (2013) 2. Guzdial, M.: Education Paving the way for computational thinking. Commun. ACM 51, 25–27 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1145/1378704.1378713 3. Lockwood, J., Mooney, A.: Computational thinking in education: where does it fit? A systematic literary review. Int. J. Comput. Sci. Educ. Schools 2(1), 41–60 (2018). abs/1703.07659, 2017 4. Wing, J.M.: Computational thinking. Commun. ACM 49, 33–35 (2006). https:// doi.org/10.1145/1118178.1118215 5. Anwar, S., Bascou, N., Menekse, M., Kardgar, A.: A systematic review of studies on educational robotics. J. Pre-College Eng. Educ. Res. (J-PEER) 9(2), 26 pages (2019). https://doi.org/10.7771/2157-9288.1223. Article 2 6. Przybylla, M., Romeike, R.: Physical computing and its scope - towards a constructionist computer science curriculum with physical computing. Inform. Educ. 13, 241–254 (2014). https://doi.org/10.15388/infedu.2014.05 7. Shute, V.J., Sun, C., Asbell-Clarke, J.: Demystifying computational thinking. Educ. Res. Rev. 22, 142–158 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.09.003. ISSN 1747-938X 8. Atmatzidou, S., Demetriadis, S.: Advancing students’ computational thinking skills through educational robotics: a study on age and gender relevant differences. Robot. Auton. Syst. 75(Part B), 661–670 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot. 2015.10.008. ISSN 0921-8890
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9. Gressmann, A., Weilemann, E., Meyer, D., Bergande, B.: Nao robot vs. lego mindstorms: the influence on the intrinsic motivation of computer science non-majors. In: Proceedings of the 19th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research (Koli Calling 2019), Article 14, 10 pages. Association for Computing Machinery, New York (2019). https://doi.org/10.1145/3364510.3364512 10. Barr, V., Stephenson, C.: Bringing computational thinking to K-12: what is involved and what is the role of the computer science education community? ACM Inroads 2, 48–54 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1145/1929887.1929905 11. Jedlitschka, A., Pfahl, D.: Reporting guidelines for controlled experiments in software engineering. In: 2005 International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering, ISESE 2005, Noosa Heads, Qld. Australia, 10 pages (2005). https://doi. org/10.10.1109/ISESE.2005.1541818 12. Streiner, D.L.: Starting at the beginning: an introduction to coefficient alpha and internal consistency. J. Pers. Assess. 80, 99–103 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1207/ S15327752JPA800118 13. Field, A.: Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics: And sex and drugs and rock’n’roll, 3rd edn. SAGE Publications Ltd. (2009). ISBN 1847879071 14. McDermott, R., Pirie, I., Cajander, ˚ A., Daniels, M., Laxer, C.: Investigation into the personal epistemology of computer science students. In: Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE 2013). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, pp. 231–236 (2013) 15. Pancratz, N., Diethelm, I.: Utilizing the repertory grid method to investigate learners’ perceptions of computer science concepts. In: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. WCCE 2017: Tomorrow’s Learning: Involving Everyone. Learning with and about Technologies and Computing, pp. 547–556 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74310-3 55
Context, Input and Process as Critical Elements for Successful Emergency Remote Learning Luciana Oliveira1(B) , Anabela Mesquita2 , Arminda Sequeira1 Adriana Oliveira1 , and Paulino Silva1
,
1 CEOS.PP ISCAP Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Jaime Lopes Amorim, Matosinhos, Portugal
[email protected] 2 Polytechnic of Porto and Algoritmi RC, Rua Jaime Lopes Amorim, Matosinhos, Portugal
Abstract. In Spring 2020, the world moved from traditional classes to what was coined as ERL (Emergency Remote Teaching/Learning/Instruction), posing real challenges to all actors involved, requiring an immediate, unprecedented, and unplanned devising of mitigation strategies. The impacts of this transition cannot, however, be studied only at the educational level, as it consists of a broader social shift with multidomain repercussions. In this paper, we use the CIPP model (Context, Input, Process and Product evaluations) to further investigate interrelations among the context, input and process elements of ERL during the first wave of COVID-19, as the second wave presses towards reconfining. A correlation analysis of 46 variables, based students’ responses (N = 360) to a closed-ended questionnaire shows the crucial importance of motivation and engagement in online classes, as learning enablers or constrainers. These also shape the students’ perception of the role that online classes play in helping them to stay more positive during ERL. Keywords: ERL · CIPP model · Confinement · COVID-19
1 Introduction In March 2020, the world moved from traditional classes to what was coined as ERL (Emergency Remote Teaching/Learning/Instruction). The urgent and unplanned transition to fully remote teaching posed real challenges to all actors involved in the process, requiring immediate and unprecedented use of technologies, in particular in education. The impacts of this transition cannot, however, be studied only at the educational level, as it consists of a broader social shift with multilevel repercussions. In this paper, we use the CIPP model – Context, Input, Process and Product evaluations [1] to reflect on the circumstances and impact of the Emergency Remote Learning. The context assesses needs, problems, assets, and opportunities, as well as relevant contextual conditions and dynamics (e.g., institutional, social, financial, and governmental aspects). The input evaluation focus on how it should be done and assesses competing strategies and the work plans and budgets of the selected approach (e.g., technology infrastructure, software, faculty support, faculty professional development, learning resources such as access to libraries). The process evaluation considers if the program is being done and consists © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 81–91, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_9
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of monitoring, documenting, assessing, and reporting on the implementation of plans (e.g., how processes can be adapted to this new reality, quality of teaching and learning). Finally, the product evaluation sees if the program succeeded and it identifies and assesses costs and outcomes – intended and unintended short term and long term (e.g., course completion rates, aggregated grade analyses, feedback). According to Hodges [2], the “Evaluation of ERT should be more focused on the context, input, and process elements than product (learning)”. The author explains that they “are not advocating for no evaluation of whether or not learning occurred, or to what extent it occurred, but simply stressing that the urgency of ERT and all that will take to make it happen in a short time frame will be the most critical elements to evaluate during this crisis”. As such, in previous research, we focused on reporting on the overall evaluation according to six proposed dimensions. In this paper, we focus on the CIPP model’s context, input and process elements concerning in Northern Portugal. As of October 2020, with the rise of the second wave of COVID-19, and the pressure to reconfine, we further investigate which are the most impactful variables of these CIPP Model elements, and how they interrelate, in order to obtain in-depth knowledge to foster current strategies being devised by teachers and Higher Education Institutions.
2 Background: The CIPP Model In this paper we focus on the CIPP model’s context, input and process elements, leaving the process element out, according to what is recommended by Hodges [2]. 2.1 Context The first lockdown and the consequent adoption of ERL forced nearly 2 billion students worldwide to move online. One of the contextual challenges felt is related to this years’ university graduates [3] as these experienced major interruptions in teaching and assessment in the final stage of education. This may imply, for some, postponing graduation, and job market entry. This situation is aggravated by the global recession caused by COVID-19, with increased unemployment rates and salary reduction, which tends to get worse as the second wave expands. Family issues should also be considered, pertaining to two different scopes: the structure and stability of family income and, the conditions of the physical space that the family shares, which may be very limited, raising questions of privacy but also of equipment (desktops, laptops, or iPads) and internet access sharing. If the family is experiencing income shrinking, the continuation of studies may be threatened. The instability of family income is also linked to students’ anxiety, which has been considered one of the most evident psychological problems [3, 4]. These psychological issues had their origin in the feeling of uncertainty about what was going to happen, namely, on the studies [5], future employment [6], and previous psychological health of students [7, 8]. It could also have been caused by the gradually increasing distance between people resulting from the quarantine that affected all students and in particular, those staying far from home as they were not only worried about their health, safety, and education but they also had concerns for the wellbeing
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of their families. Furthermore, anxiety disorders are more likely to occur and worsen in the absence of interpersonal communication [9, 10], which was the case. The significant shortage of masks and disinfectants during the first wave, the overwhelming and sensational news headlines, and erroneous news reports also contributed to this effect [11]. Studies also show that the anxiety regarding the epidemic was associated with the place of residence of the students, source of parental income, whether living with parents and whether a relative or an acquaintance was infected with COVID-19 [4]. Living with parents is a favourable factor against feeling anxious. Moreover, social support not only reduces the psychological pressure during the epidemics but also changes the attitude regarding social support and help-seeking methods. This result suggests that effective and robust social support is necessary during public health emergencies [12]. In some countries, for some individuals, the psychological impact of the pandemic situation was suggested to have been more significant than the physical health danger posed by the diseases themselves [13] affecting the mental health of college students. In addition to the psychological factors described above, it is necessary to consider that the economic crisis and the sanitary measures to combat the epidemic will produce a significant personal income shrinkage [14]. This might result on an increase of the number of working students, as it is often college students who report the highest levels of financial strain, defined by their perceptions of economic stress or lack of financial support from their families, that feel most compelled to work during their undergraduate studies [15, 16]. Additionally, as distance education does not require the student to move to the city/region where the university is located, this means that those who previously could not afford or did not want to relocate can now apply for admission in a university in another region [14]. Finally, it is known that students’ financial situation has a high impact on a student’s dropout decision [17]. Another aspect to consider relates to lecturers as they are an important part of the educational ecosystem, designed to support learners with formal, informal, and social resources. Any efficient online education requires an investment in an ecosystem of learners’ support, which takes time to identify and build. Of course, it is possible to use a simple online content delivery which can be quick and inexpensive, although it can be confusing and not robust. This means it is essential to build a whole ecosystem integrating all sorts of instruction in which the planning of the design process is key [2]. Issues of online design must be taken into consideration as well. In a period of crisis and crisis response, there is an increased risk of diminishing the quality of the courses delivered. If there was already a stigma concerning the online instruction, with people thinking it has lower quality, this prejudice might be exacerbated with this quick move online, without the proper preparation of all the key actors involved. Usually, a full-course development project can take months when done correctly. The need to “just get it online” is in direct contradiction to the time and effort generally dedicated to developing quality education. 2.2 Input The input concerns the resources available to implement the ERL during the COVID-19 crisis. One of the categories of these is the technology as it is central for both teachers
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and students although less accessible for students, as some of them do not have computers, and others may have to share the computer they have, as parents and siblings are also working remotely during the crisis. Furthermore, the lack of internet access is exacerbating the digital divide [2]. 2.3 Process One of the challenges during the first lockdown in the Spring of 2020 was the loss of face-to-face contact and direct interactions with both colleagues and teachers and, some studies suggest that students experienced severe limitations in subjects that benefited from physical interaction with the materials, and tended to lose the “pacing mechanism” of scheduled lectures, thus having a higher chance of dropping out than those in traditional settings [18, 19]. Another challenge is related to the interaction. Knowledge is socially created [20], and this means that it hatches from interactions between students, students and the content and students and the teacher to increases the learning outcomes. Social constructionism recognizes learning as both a social and a cognitive process, not merely a transmission of information [2]. Chat rooms or real-time tutorials were used to maximize interactions. One lesson learned with the first lockdown was the importance of empathy in ERL, as the “ability to understand and share the feeling of another” [21]. According to the results of the survey, which compared the perspectives of teachers and students, for faculty, the remote teaching and learning experience was much more positive to students. During and after the lockdown, they say they learn better in traditional classes and that ERL was less effective [22]. They claimed to have missed discussions, engagement, and interaction. Another important issue relies on providing feedback to students. As stated, “Anything over a week after the students submit their work may be too long” [21]. Equity and inclusion are also relevant for the success of online instruction, as stated by Jebsen “The intent is to improve access to learning more equally while treating everyone equitably” [23]. Moreover, students may also face other challenges, such as lack of a structured environment that prevents them from remaining motivated or focused [24]. Also, as students are at home, they can suffer from negative emotions and poor mental health (anxiety and depression is a result of missing friends and isolation). Physical problems of being online all the time (such as strained eyes and migraines) should also be added to the list. For all these reasons, it is important that lecturers are able to create a safe and comfortable educational online environment and develop empathy with all their students.
3 Methodology The adopted methodology consists of exploratory survey-based research, quantitative in nature. The authors proposed an evaluation instrument [22], a close-ended questionnaire, comprised of 67 variables organized in six dimensions of issues that impact ERL, as follows: (A) Educational and organizational issues – 33 items, (B) Technological and working conditions – 5 items, (C) Social issues – 11 items, (D) Family-related issues – 4 items, (E) Psychological issues – 6 items, (F) Financial issues – 8 items, framed in the
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context, input and process elements of the CIPP model. Each item on the questionnaire was presented in a labelled 4-point Likert scale anchored at 1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = frequently, and 4 = always. The main goal of this stage of analysis was to identify the most impactful variables, among the initial set of 67, by expressing their interdependencies and adding to previous knowledge about students’ perceptions regarding ERL. The survey was disseminated among students enrolled in HEI in Northern Portugal, through social media channels, namely in institutional public pages and open groups. Survey data were downloaded and transferred into IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0, and the correlation analysis was transposed into a network developed in Gephi 0.9.2. The sample consists of 360 valid responses from students, from which we considered only the 341 students that indicated they were involved in ERL. The great majority of the participants are female (74.72%), aged 18 to 22 years (83.06%).
4 Results A series of Spearman rank-order correlations were conducted to determine the relationships among the 67 categorical nominal variables used in previous research [22]. For this study, we considered appropriate to use ‘strong’ and ‘moderate’ correlation coefficients, as we believe it provides depth and richness. No ‘very strong’ correlations (rs > .8) were found. ‘Strong’ and ‘moderate’ correlations were found among 46 variables (Table 1), which are considered as the most impactful ones among the previous set. For all cases, the correlations among the pairs of variables are significant as p < .001. An undirected network of correlations was built (Fig. 1.) and is composed of 46 nodes (variables) and 96 edges (correlations). The nodes size is ranked by total degree, i.e., the bigger the node (variable), the higher number of correlations with other variables (nodes). The edges thickness is ranked and labelled with the correlation coefficient (rs ). Nodes colours are partitioned according to the network modularity, and as observed, nine clusters were created. The pragmatic consistency of the clusters of variables was verified by the researchers and the clusters were then labelled according to their dominant logic. Table 1 depicts the labels of the variables for each cluster, the Mode of the student’s answers, the CIPP element and the cluster label. The cluster analysis reveals that the most relevant clusters belong to the contextual element of the CIPP model (K6, K5, K0 and K1), and that process elements are not totally linked to process; K3 ‘relationship with teachers/school’ is, and K2 ‘relationship with peers’ is not. The input element is totally isolated (K7) and liked to context the element regarding the (K0) ‘family context’. The cluster analysis also reveals that the sets of variables with higher correlation coefficient reside in the subdomains of the “Remote Learning Environment”, “Pedagogy”, “Interactions with teachers/school” and “Educational resources” (K6, K5, K3 and K4). These consists of the most impactful variables, according to students’ responses. Within this group of clusters, the variables with a higher total degree are A24 “In online classes, I learn as much as in face-to-face classes”, and A23 “I am motivated to participate in online classes” which are positively and strongly correlated. The notion of learning as much in online classes tends to increase together with the motivation to
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Fig. 1. The network of Spearman correlations (moderate and strong)
participate in online classes. According to the previous results [22], the majority of the students answered “rarely” to both (c.f. column Mo in Table 1), thus, either students lacked the motivation to participate in online classes because they felt they did not learn as much or the other way around. Other possible motivational constrainers are found in variables correlated with A23, namely the rare belief that (A18) “Online classes help me to stay more positive during this phase”, the (A30) lack of optimism regarding their academic success in the confinement semester, and the students’ belief that after this phase they will rarely be (A33) “interested in taking classes/training online”, which, in turn, is correlated with the almost consensual idea that (A25) “Online classes are more tiring than face-to-face classes”. The motivation to participate in online classes (A3) is also positively correlated with what we believe to be motivation enabling variables during the confinement period namely, the frequent notion that (A32) “It has been possible to guarantee a minimum quality in my education”, from K5, the frequent notion of (A9) “feeling closer to my teachers”, the frequent perception that (A27) “Online classes are interactive, which allows me to participate”, the almost consensual assumption that students have (A28)
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Table 1. Depiction of variables’ labels, clusters and mode K
Var
Mo
Variable label
CIPP/K label
6
A24
2
In online classes, I learn as much as in face-to-face classes
Context/Remote learning environment
A23
2
I am motivated to participate in online classes
A30
2
I am optimistic about my academic success this semester
A33
2
After this phase, I will be more interested in taking classes/training online
A18
2
Online classes help me to stay more positive during this phase
A9
3
I’ve been feeling closer to my teachers
A19
3
It’s easy to work online with my classmates
A27
3
Online classes are interactive, which allows me to participate
A28
4
I have the necessary skills to use digital learning environments
A25
4
Online classes are more tiring than face-to-face classes
A32
3
It has been possible to guarantee a minimum quality in my education
A3
3
My teachers have the necessary skills to manage online classes/work
A5
3
The contact that my teachers keep with me is adjusted to my learning needs
A4
3
The classwork proposed by the teachers is appropriate
A14
3
The online assessment mechanisms (tests, papers, etc.) are appropriate
A1
3
My teachers created strategies to resume classroom work
A2
3
My teachers sent clear information about how online classes will work
B36
1
At home, I need to share my workspace with other people, and this causes me limitations
E54
3
My family environment facilitates my participation in online classes/work
B37
4
At home, I have a proper workstation with the ideal conditions to participate in online classes/work
B38
2
My work/study environment is disturbed by other people who live with me
E55
4
In my family environment, my personal space and study/work schedules are respected
E56
4
I feel cherished in my family environment
5
0
Context/Pedagogy
Context/Family context
(continued)
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K
Var
Mo
Variable label
CIPP/K label
1
C40
3
I feel less motivated than usual
Context/Wellbeing
C43
3
I feel more nervous than usual
C41
3
I feel more anxious than usual
C42
3
I feel sadder than usual
C39
3
I feel more tired than usual
C44
4
I’ve been having more sleep disorders
B34
4
At home, I have all the necessary equipment for online classes/work
B35
1
At home, I need to share the computer I work on, and this causes me limitations
F62
1
I feel impeded from participating in online classes due to lack of adequate material/equipment
F61
1
I needed to buy equipment/devices to participate in online classes/work
F60
3
I am preoccupied with the worsening of my financial situation
D51
3
My wellbeing depends on keeping in contact with my friends/colleagues in school
C49
1
I have lost access to a safe space when the school closed
D50
4
I miss my school friends/colleagues
D53
2
The suspension of in-person classes has worsened my relationships with my friends/colleagues
A10
3
My teachers use software and digital educational resources suitable for online classes
A8
3
My teachers care about my personal wellbeing
A6
3
My teachers have created alternative ways to contact me (chat rooms/groups, social networks, etc.)
A21
3
The school board is committed to my welfare and academic success
A12
2
My teachers started using more creative and diverse resources/materials
A11
2
I have gained access to more educational resources/materials
F67
1
The interruption of in-person classes has put my stay in higher education at risk, for financial reasons
E59
1
The interruption of in-person school activities put my stay in higher education at risk, for family reasons
7
2
3
4
8
Input/Working conditions
Process/Social interactions with peers
Process/Social interactions with teachers/school
Context/Educational resources
Context/Risks
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“necessary skills to use digital learning environments”. A3 is also positively correlated with the frequent belief that (A3) “My teachers have the necessary skills to manage online classes/work”, from K5, and the frequent notion of (A19) being “easy to work online with my classmates”, which is also negatively correlated with (A25) “Online classes are more tiring than face-to-face classes”. Our pragmatic assumption is that the higher the easiness to work with peers online, the lower the feeling of tiredness in online learning. The “Wellbeing” cluster (K1) is relatively isolated in the network but very close to the educational clusters, having a single entry point (C40) “I feel less motivated than usual”, which is negatively correlated with six variables: A23, A33, A24, A30, A18, and A32. This means that unusual overall personal demotivation tends to increase or decrease when students feel or not motivated to participate in online classes (fostered by the previously mentioned enablers and constrainers), are more or less likely to take classes/training online after the confinement, are able or unable to learn as much in online classes than in face-to-face classes, are optimistic or not about their academic success, consider or not that online classes helped them to stay more positive during confinement, and consider or not that it was possible to guarantee the minimum quality of their education. The intra-cluster analysis of K1 reveals that overall personal demotivation (C40) is positively correlated with (C42) sadness, (C39) tiredness, (C43) nervousness, and (C41) anxiety. There is a strong correlation triangle among nervousness, anxiety and sadness, while sadness and nervousness are also correlated with (C44) sleep disorders. Although tiredness is not correlated with sleep disorders, it is almost strongly correlated to nervousness. The Social interactions cluster (K2) also appears relevant to the students’ wellbeing with a strong correlation between (D51) “My wellbeing depends on keeping in contact with my friends/colleagues in school” (Mo = 3) and (D50) “I miss my school friends/colleagues” (Mo = 4). The remaining correlations suggest that if the relationship with friends/colleagues worsens, students are likely to feel that they lost access to a safe space. In the Pedagogy cluster (K5), the most impactful variables consist of the guarantee of minimum quality in education (A32), the necessary skills that teachers have to manage online classes (A3), and the adjusted contact they keep with students. These variables appear positively correlated with the frequent notion of proposed classwork and assessment being adequate. The perception of the teachers’ skills to manage online classes is also associated with the creation of strategies to resume classes during confinement and the clearness of regulatory information shared with students. Regarding their family context (K0) and working conditions (K7), which we had previously grouped under the same dimension (Technological and working conditions), there is a clear separation between the organization of work/workload, privacy and disturbances, which students tend to relate to their family context (K0). In turn, the pure technological issues, such as owning, accessing, and sharing devices, are more closely linked to the students’ financial situation and concerns (K7).
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5 Discussion and Conclusion We make causation assumptions among correlations based on the students answers to each of the correlated variables since one of our objectives was to extract contextual knowledge about this specific sample in this specific period of analysis. For this, we used the modes of the answers for each variable combined with the correlation coefficient and the node total degree, to focus on the high impact variables on the network of correlations. The forwarded causation assumptions will most likely change for other datasets, though a certain level of abstraction in correlations may still be observed with other data for the same variables. Results reveal the centrality of CIPP contextual elements and the centrality of motivation to participate in virtual classes during ERL as an important learning constrainer or enabler. Besides conditioning learning itself, motivation also shapes the students’ perception of the role that online classes play in helping them to stay more positive during ERL. Students that were motivated and engaged showed a more positive attitude towards the ERL while those that were less motivated showed worst results. This is in line with the literature as authors [2] stress the importance of the context, in particular in unusual circumstances, which is the case. Additionally, it is also stressed that it is vital to learn how to develop empathy online as this contributes to involve all the actors in the learning process. Results also show that there is here some ground for future research, in particular concerning how to involve and engage students in online classes and virtual rooms as these are fundamental factors in the learning process.
References 1. Stufflebeam, D.L.: The CIPP Model for Evaluation, in International Handbook of Educational Evaluation. Kellaghan, T., Stufflebeam, D.L. (eds.), pp. 31–62. Springer, Dordrecht (2003) 2. Hodges, C., et al.: The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. EDUCAUSE Review (2020). https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-bet ween-emergency-remote-teachingand-online-learning 3. Sahu, P.: Closure of Universities Due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Impact on Education and Mental Health of Students and Academic Staff, Cureus (2020) 4. Cao, W., et al.: The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiat. Res., 112934 (2020) 5. Cornine, A.: Reducing Nursing Student Anxiety in the Clinical Setting: An Integrative Review. Nursing education perspectives (2020) 6. Wang, C., et al.: A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern. Lancet 395(10223), 470–473 (2020) 7. Al-Rabiaah, A., et al.: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) associated stress among medical students at a university teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia. J. Infection Public Health (2020) 8. Kafka, A.: Shock, Fear, and Fatalism: As Coronavirus Prompts Colleges to Close, Students Grapple With Uncertainty (2020). https://www.chronicle.com/article/Shock-FearFatalismAs/248240/. Accessed 12 Mar 2020 9. Kmietowicz, Z.: Rules on isolation rooms for suspected covid-19 cases in GP surgeries to be relaxed. British Medical Journal Publishing Group (2020)
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10. Xiao, C.: A novel approach of consultation on 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19)-related psychological and mental problems: structured letter therapy. Psychiatry Invest. 17(2), 175 (2020) 11. Ayittey, F.K., et al.: Economic impacts of Wuhan 2019-nCoV on China and the world. J. Med. Virol. (2020) 12. Yin-xia, B., et al.: Correlation between psychological changes of the community cro wd and the social support in grave public health event. Nei Moivgol Med. J. 4 (2005) 13. McBride, O., et al.: Monitoring the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population: an overview of the context, design and conduct of the COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium (C19PRC) Study (2020) 14. Sinelnikov-Murylev, S.G.: Prospects for the higher eeducation system’s development in the pandemic. Monitoring of Russia’s Economic Outlook, Moscow. IEP (6), 15–19 (2020) 15. Adams, D.R., Meyers, S.A., Beidas, R.S.: The relationship between financial strain, perceived stress, psychological symptoms, and academic and social integration in undergraduate students. J. Am. Coll. Health 64(5), 362–370 (2016) 16. Peltz, J.S., et al.: The role of financial strain in college students’ work hours, sleep, and mental health. J. Am. College Health, 1–8 (2020) 17. Gupta, S.K., et al.: Lean Six Sigma for reducing student dropouts in higher education – an exploratory study. Total Qual. Manage. Bus. Excell. 31(1–2), 178–193 (2020) 18. Fedynich, L.V.: Teaching beyond the classroom walls: The pros and cons of cyber learning. J. Instruc. Pedagogies 13 (2013) 19. Morrison, G.R., et al.: Designing Effective Instruction. Wiley, Hoboken (2019) 20. Berger, P., Luckmann, T.: The social construction of reality (1966) 21. Kelly, K.: Looking for Empathy in Wiley’s COVID-19 Remote Learning Survey Results (Spring 2020). PhilOnEdTech (2020). https://philonedtech.com/looking-for-empathy-in-wil eys-covid-19-remote-learning-survey-results-spring-2020/. Accessed 07 Oct 2020 22. Oliveira, L., et al.: Emergency Remote Learning during COVID-19: socio-educational impacts on Portuguese students. In: Proceedings of 23rd International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning. Springer (2020) 23. Jebsen, J.: Challenges in Equity and Inclusion for Online Learning: An Interview with Dr. Brett Christie – O’Donnell Learn (2020). Accessed 03 Sept 2020. https://www.odlearn.com/ challenges-in-equity-and-inclusion-for-online-learning-an-interview-with-dr-brett-christie/ 24. MacLeod, A.: Preparing For Remote Learning: The Second Wave Looming Over Us. In: Curiosity Shots (2020)
The Effects of an Educational Video Game on Elementary School Students’ Engagement and Motivation in Pre Inca Cultures Learning Gina V. Acosta Guti´errez(B) , Adams S. P´erez Garc´ıa, and Alejandro E. Ildefonso Medina Esan University, Lima, Peru {14100966,15200140,13200125}@ue.edu.pe
Abstract. There has been increasing recognition that education is not limited to what the children are taught through traditional education and that cognitive processes may be broader than those taught and tested in school. This study aims to design a video game that improves students’ engagement and motivation on the most important Pre Inca cultures. Most of the Pre Inca civilizations are worldwide recognized for the quality of their fine textiles, temple construction and stone sculptures and fine metal working of copper, gold, silver. Our research focuses on using the amusing nature of video games to get the students involved into topics that may include many elements to remember and retain for students. The motivation and interest generated from a video game involves that the student can not only remember the information and characters within the game, but also that they get involved with the content of the game and have the initiative to ask or know more about it, and the result is active learning instead of passive learning. Keywords: Interactive learning environments · Educational video game · Cognitive engagement · Elementary education
1
Introduction
There is no wonder that over the past decade there has been an extended interest in video games, learning, and engagement among educational researchers and learning scientists [1–3]. Several educational researchers and learning scientists believe that video games can be used beneficially for students’ academic engagement and motivation [4]. Also, students considered interactivity extremely important [5,6]. Learning is an active process on the part of the learner and knowledge, as well as understanding, can only be constructed by the learners themselves [7–9]. However, memorable educational experiences should not only be enriching and transformational but also enjoyable [10]. The most frequently reported aspect of rich learning c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 92–102, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_10
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environments is the flexibility they provide to students in terms of studying at their own pace [11]. Lastly, an important factor is the motivation of the students [12]. Games help reinforce student motivation when they try to win and receive emotional benefits when they obtain a reward [13]. According to the recent research [14], educators are discovering the cognitive potential of games in the classroom and are also becoming more interested in these educational video games to motivate the students and improve learning[15,16]. Through the use of video games the student will be able to repeat the lessons and topics suggested by the teacher repeatedly. This will prevent students from getting frustrated when failing because they will be able to repeat the lessons until they achieve their goals, which will positively improve their motivation for learning [17–19]. Furthermore, the use of educational video games is increasing [14,20–22] in fields like health care, soft skills training, math, engineering, business, language, and other domains. We can boost the students’ motivation for learning through entertainment software, as proposed in [15,17,23,24]. For instance, [25] claim that educational video games have the potential to stimulate students to use complex cognitive processes in exciting ways. This is because the gaming context can be used to effectively motivate students using positive emotion and mild frustration to apply attention, memory, and motor skills to process information in a goal-directed manner.
2
Methodology
The main objective of this study is to design and develop a videogame that can be used as a learning tool during the classes as a reinforcement and to achieve an engagement and motivate the children to learn more a certain subject or topic seen in elementary school. In order to determine the success of the video game, several questions were asked to students with the objective to determine their level of immersion and motivation after the experience. The selected topic was the most known Pre Inca cultures of Peru, which is already being taught in most elementary schools and it is part of the national curriculum established by the Ministry of Education of Peru for elementary education [26]. These Pre Inca civilizations preceded the Inca culture, which was the largest and last Pre-Columbian civilization to remain independent until the Spanish conquest of Peru, and are taught in elementary school to 8 and 9-year-old children. Several factors were taken into consideration for the choice of the topic, an important factor was that in Peru there are more than 14 Pre Inca cultures that were developed in the periodization of Pre-Columbian Peru, and each culture is different from the other because they specialized and distinguished in different areas. Because of this, only the best known and most important cultures are taught in schools, which are Chavin, Paracas, Nazca and Chimu, although some schools may decide to add other cultures to their curriculum, these four Pre Inca cultures are the most relevant that children should know. Another factor
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was that these civilizations have a lot of features that are taught such as the location, because these civilizations were based in different states of Peru; the constructions they made, because all of them made different edifications and temples; the ceramics and pottery; etc. Due to this, children have to learn several elements of the cultures and be able to differentiate which characteristics belong to each of the civilizations, therefore, a learning tool would help to facilitate learning and for children to get acquainted with the information they need to learn in an interactive and fun way. 2.1
Educational Content of the Game
For this study, the information that is taught in class was gathered from the four best known Pre-Inca cultures. The Chavin, Paracas, Nazca and Chimu cultures were considered to be included in the game. The information included for each culture is detailed below: Chavin. One of the features that were included was the ‘cabezas clavas’, which are sculptural monoliths that represent the heads of mythical beings and they were embedded in the walls of the Temple of Chav´ın de Hu´ antar [27]. Also, the name of its discoverer, Julio C. Tello, who was a Peruvian archaeologist and is considered the “father of Peruvian archeology” [28]. Likewise, the best-known stone sculptures of this civilization are mentioned, such as the Tello Obelisk, the Raimondi Stele and the Lanz´ on. Paracas. The Paracas-Cavernas, which were caverns where people buried the mummified corpses of their deceased, were included in the game. The Paracas Necropolis, which was a large rectangular cemetery were where they buried the mummified corpses of their most powerful personages along with brightly embroidered textiles, feathered costumes, and fine jewelry, interspersed with food offerings, [29] were also included in the game. Furthermore, cranial trepanations, which was a characteristic practice of this civilization, consisted in surgical operation in the skull as a treatment for infections or traumatic injuries. Likewise, the Paracas textiles, which are known all over the world for their high quality and fine fabrics. Nazca. The Nazca culture is recognized worldwide for the Nazca lines located in Ica, which were designated in 1994 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site [30]. The Nazca lines are ancient geoglyphs that can be seen from an overflight of the area, since these are large and reach more than 300 m. Maria Reiche is also mentioned in the game, she was recognized as the curator of the Nazca Lines and lived nearby to protect them [31,32]. Also, the Nazca Aqueducts, which form part of a sophisticated hydraulic system containing trenches, tunnels and wells that bring water from underground aquifers up to the surface for domestic and agricultural use [33].
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Chimu. The Chimu civilization is known for their architecture, which is characterised by monumental adobe brick buildings [34], such as Chan Chan and the Fortress of Paramonga. Chan Chan was their capital city and is the largest city of the pre-Columbian era in South America and the world’s largest mud-brick (adobe) city in the Americas [35]. Also, the Tumi which was a ceremonial knife is a popular and well known feature of the Chimu civilization. 2.2
Proposed Educational Game
The proposed educational game is a 2D video game based on the most known Pre Inca cultures of Peru: Chavin, Paracas, Nazca and Chimu. The game was designed to be a learning tool to support the classes that include these civilizations, in order to help introduce the information and create engagement and motivation in children. 2.3
Video Game Design
The design of the game was made with the intention of achievement the first level of Immersion proposed by Brown and Cairns [36], “Engagement” in which players will be willing to invest time, effort and attention. The game consists of 4 levels, where each level is based in a culture. When the player selects a culture to play a screen will appear displaying information and images about the culture and its main characteristics. The player can interact with the buttons of the screen, each button is programmed to display 2 representative images of the button title information when interacting with them (see Fig. 1). At this point, the player must read the information and only then can continue to the next scene which is a question about the information presented before. Once the player has answered the question correctly they can proceed to the game itself, otherwise the player will be returned to the information scene. The point of this question is to condition the player to pay attention to the information presented, because they know they must answer a question later. After answering the first question correctly the player can proceed to the minigame of the culture or the game itself. In order to pass the minigame they must collect all the rewards or coins. The main enemy of the game are the mummies, which are based on the Paracas mummies found on the ParacasCavernas and Paracas Necropolis, and the player can get rid of the mummies by making the character jump on them. Each culture has a minigame which is based on the main features of the civilization. Likewise, the coins or the items to collect are inspired by a feature of the cultures. For instance, the items to collect on the Chavin level are the ‘cabezas clavas’, while in Nazca culture the elements are a Nazca line (the hummingbird) and in Chimu culture the elements are the Tumi (see Fig. 2). Once the player has completed the minigame a second question is presented, but this is a badge question. The player only gets one chance to correctly answer this question, if they answer the question correctly they will gain a badge of that culture, but if they don’t, they will be redirected to the cultures menu. Likewise,
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the cultures’ badges are inspired by a feature of the cultures. Also, the badge scene will display a personalized message with the player’s name to congratulate them on obtaining the badge.
Fig. 1. Paracas culture information scene. On the left, the initial information screen. On the right, the information screen showing the buttons’ images as a result of its interaction.
Fig. 2. Minigame scenes. From the top left and continuing clockwise: Chavin minigame, Nazca minigame, Paracas minigame and Chimu minigame
2.4
Participants and Procedure
For this study, the participants were 90 elementary school students from six classes from the Jose Joaquin Inclan school in Lima. The students who participated were between 9 and 10 years old. Firstly, we had a video meeting with
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the assistant principal and the teachers of the children, where we presented the objectives of this project and the demo of the video game. Then, they gave us their thoughts and impressions of the demo and we set a date for the test. The test was carried out in one day and was done during the teachers’ classes throughout the day because the classes had different hours. So, we were able to connect to the Zoom classes and help give instructions on each class and converse with the teachers and children and listen to their comments of the game. The following week, we had a video meeting with the assistant principal and the teachers where they gave us their comments about how the test turned out and their thoughts of the experience. Then, the children completed the satisfaction survey about the game, which had both open-ended and choice questions.
3 3.1
Results and Discussion Responses to the Open-Ended Questions
In relation to the five open-ended questions, in response to the question “What did you like the most about the video game?” students mentioned several features of the game such as the design of the minigames, the items to collect, the music, the mummies. Also, almost 25% of the children indicated that what they liked the most was the badge, this matches what we observed while the children played the game during the test since several of them showed enthusiasm when they won each badge. At this point, we asked all the students to send us a photo of them with their badges and we received several photos of them posing very happy (see Fig. 3). Some of the specific responses were as follows: “the content of the cultures”; “the theme of the cultures and that we had to find the items of each culture in the minigames”; “I liked the levels because it was also educational”; “I liked the badges and answer the questions” In response to the question “At home, did you talk about your experience with the video game with your family? What have you told them?” students indicated that the video game was very educational and that they could interact with content about the Pre-Inca cultures. Some of the responses were as follows: “I told them that the game entertained me and help me to learn“; “Yes, because it is the first time that I learn something about cultures in a game”; “I told them that the game was a lot of fun and that at the same time I learned more about cultures” In response to the question “Would you like the game to last longer?” more than 92% of the children answered that they would like the game to last longer. Also, we could observe during the test that many of the children mentioned that they were playing the game several times. In response to the question “Would you like the game to be included in your history classes?” more than 96% of the students that they would like the game to be included in their history classes. They commented that it would be an interesting and fun way to learn in class. In response to the question “What would you improve about the game? What would you like it to have or what would you add to it?” the answers here were very varied and different, but several of them were about adding more characters
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and levels. They also mentioned that they would like to have a multiplayer or competition mode, improve the design of the main character, more types of enemies, more cultures and questions.
Fig. 3. Children with their badges
3.2
Responses to the Choice Questions
The survey included one choice question and four questions to give a score from 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good). In relation to the choice question, in response to the question “How was your experience with the game?”, where the choices were “good”, “regular” and “bad”, 72 students or 80% answered that their experience was good. In relation to the five choice questions, the average of the scores for each question are shown in Table 1. From the results we can conclude that “Challenge of Cultures” has a good level design, the music is enjoyable and the character and badges designs are cute and amusing. Overall, the results are quite good, since in all the questions the average is higher than 4. 3.3
Engagement Analysis
The game designed for the study was supposed to be engaging and to motivate students to learn about Pre Incan cultures. According to Brown and Cairns [36] there are three levels of immersion related to videogames: Engagement,
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Table 1. Result from choice questions Question From 1 to 5, how did you like the design of the levels?
Score 4.3
From 1 to 5, how did you like the character and badge design? 4.28 From 1 to 5, how did you like the music of the video game?
4.17
From 1 to 5, did you find the video game interesting?
4.53
Engrossment and Total Immersion. The objective was to achieve the first level of immersion “engagement”, which would mean that the students would invest time, effort and attention to the game. The results from the choice questions in Table 1 show that the students liked the overall design of the game and found it interesting, additionally, from the open ended questions the vast majority of students wanted the game to be longer, to be included in their regular classes and showed a lot of enthusiasm when getting badges for completing a specific culture, many of them even talked about the game to their relatives, so we conclude that the level of engagement was achieved. In relation to the next level which according to Brown and Cairns [36] requires that the game produces emotional responses from the player, it was not expected to be achieved considering the simplicity and length of the game but there were some indications of this level when the students showed happiness and enthusiasm as they received their badges for completing levels. Also, it was evident from the open ended questions, that the students would like the game to have more elements like multiplayer and more levels, most of the elements suggested by the students showed the desire for a more challenging experience in the game which supports the claims of Hamari and Shernoff [37] that challenge of the educational game has a positive effect on learning and engagement. 3.4
Motivation Analysis
According to Gonz´ alez-Pienda et al. [38] one of the dimensions of academic motivation is the expectation component, which includes “perceptions and individual beliefs about the ability to perform a task”. In this study, each time a student completed a culture they received badges to show the achievement, we noticed a lot of enthusiasm from the students when getting badges for completing a specific culture and 1 out of 4 students claimed the badges was their favorite part of the game. We conclude that getting the badges gives the students a sense of achievement and reassurance which allows them to feel more capable to complete the other levels of the game and hence to keep learning.
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Future Work
The purpose of this research was to design, develop and provide a learning tool that can be used in class to reinforce knowledge through a video game. Due
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to the large number of positive feedback from the children and teachers and the good response of the children towards the content of the video game. The authors of the present investigation will be taking into account the comments received in order to improve the game and later carry out a quantitative study on the impact of the game to evaluate the effectiveness and the impact of the game on the school performance of children. In addition, more games for more disciplines should be created and thoroughly tested and so be able to contribute to the education of Peru.
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Conclusions
The game was able to produce engagement and motivation in the students as they showed a lot of interest in it and many of them even asked for permission to play the video game again and they also asked for more levels and more ingame questions. We also received the comments of the teachers during the video meetings about the video game, who liked the idea of applying an educational video game so that the students can learn in a more dynamic and interactive way. This study reinforces the statement that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools like video games can be a great learning tool if designed properly and the researches that show that game-based learning is an innovative approach that can lead to good results.
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Higher Education Teachers Training (HET2 ) Model: Active Learning in Higher Education Environment Fernando Moreira1(B) , Maria João Ferreira2 , Carla Santos Pereira3 David Fonseca Escudero4 , Cesar Collazos5 , and Alex Gomes6
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1 REMIT, IJP, Universidade Portucalense & IEETA, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
[email protected] 2 REMIT, Universidade Portucalense & ISTTOS, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
[email protected] 3 REMIT, Universidade Portucalense & CEMAT, IST, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
[email protected] 4 La Salle, Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona, Spain
[email protected] 5 Universidad del Cauca, Popayán, Colombia
[email protected] 6 Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
[email protected]
Abstract. Digital transformation is an undeniable reality, and its impact is widespread and global. The digital transformation crosses not only the different sectors and economic activities but also society in general. In this setting, the higher education sector is no exception being continuously affected by advances in digital technologies, which contribute to significant, sometimes drastic, changes in education and training. Therefore, and considering two of the main actors in teaching-learning environment (students and teachers) it can be said that on the one hand, students expect to find dynamic teaching environments enriched with technology. On the other hand, teachers gain by using new tools that not only facilitate content sharing but also lead to greater student motivation among other aspects of the teaching-learning process. As mentioned, technological updates are constant and, consequently, teachers in general, and those in higher education, have the imperative to accompany these same updates and introduce them into the teaching-learning process. Thus, to meet this challenge, teachers themselves must take on the role of students and train and update themselves. Taking advantage of Digital Transformation technology facilitators and realizing the need for updated approaches to address the training of higher education teachers, we propose the use of a model to guide teachers training within Digital Transformation. The approach is a combination of three models that will be applied to Higher Education Teachers Training (HET2 ). Keywords: Higher education · Teachers training · Active learning · Digital transformation
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 103–112, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_11
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1 Introduction Organizations in recent years, due to digitalization, have undergone an enormous (r)evolution at the social, economic, and technological levels where the traditional barriers of information transfer and knowledge silos have been progressively eliminated. A change of paradigm in what comes to the use of information systems and technologies (IST) in the day-to-day life of every citizen, by itself, does not sustain such a transformation; it is also necessary a culture and behaviour changes. On the one hand, the use of IST in an appropriate and integrated way with the organization’s processes will depend on an individual and collective effort, which may be called “collective leadership” [1]. On the other hand, the younger generation, accustomed to sharing, often through mobile devices, personal information on social networks, enters the job market looking for similar tools. Following these developments, and according to the European Commission report “Towards a sustainable Europe by 2030”, EU is harnessing the power of the digital transformation to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, and it is fully committed to develop capacity and expertise in key digital technologies such as connectivity, the ‘internet of things’, cybersecurity, and so on. [2]. “…because digital itself is so intangible…. It’s often even harder to understand the diverse needs, perspectives, and skill gaps of the people that have to change along with the technology” [3]. Hence, it may be assumed that continuous education/training is an imperative in the organizational context [3]. Teachers need new life-long learning approaches to assist them in keeping up with the rhythm of technological change that requires a continuous update of the learning contents, learning processes and delivery approaches of developing training. The learning mechanisms require an immediate update, putting people, particularly the teachers, in the center of the flow of knowledge and, changing the traditional learning to experimental, social and data-driven learning. According to UNESCO [4] “learning will be more tailored to the needs of individuals and actively re-integrated into real life”, so the teachers need to observe a set of key challenges carefully. Hence, to address these key challenges of the teaching-learning process (TLP), it is mandatory to develop new approaches to training teachers. In this paper, a case study scenario will be presented in which we adopt a new approach that is a combination of three models will be applied to Higher Education Teachers Training (HET2 ): m_CSDIT2 [5], ToOW [6], and ECLECTIC [7]. It be point out that m_CSDIT2 and ToOW models proposed have been conceptualized to have their applicability in an organizational context, and a HEI is a type of organization.
2 Background 2.1 Digital Transformation The definition of digital transformation (DT) is not consensual among the stakeholders involved in this issue, particularly in organizations, leading to several perspectives of what it means. These perspectives range from a focus on technology, to digital customer engagement, to new digital business models and so on. The lack of clarity often results
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in piecemeal initiatives, missed opportunities and false starts in the organization digitalization. According to [8], DT may be defined as “the realignment of, or new investment in, technology, business models, and processes to drive new value for customers and employees and more effectively compete in an ever-changing digital economy”. [9] puts forward that DT is “a process that aims to improve an entity by triggering significant changes to its properties through combinations of information, computing, communication, and connectivity technologies. “Following this line of reasoning, from the HEI’ point of view, DT can be seen as a deep and accelerating transformation with regard to processes, activities, competencies and models, in order to take advantage of the changes and opportunities offered by the inclusion of digital technologies into high education. 2.2 Active Learning Chickering [10] identified the use of these strategies as a fundamental part of good teaching practice. Several authors in the literature define the concept of active learning (AL), namely Vos and Graaff [11], that identify the concept of AL as an effective teaching methodology to stimulate students/trainees to become actively involved in their own learning, to achieve complexgoals,tothinkcriticallyandtosolveproblems.AccordingtoDuron,etal.[12]university should offer multiple opportunities for students/trainees to engage in the analysis, synthesis, and evaluation levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, since AL at these levels (analysis, synthesis,evaluation)helpsstudents/traineestothinkcritically–oneoftheskillssuggested as fundamental for the 21st century [13]. Activities that constitute active approaches seek to promote a higher learning level by emphasizing students’/trainees’ abilities/skills to control their learning environments and develop interdependent or cooperative relationships with their peers. In this context, Kane [14] defined a set of characteristics that characterize AL: 1) active engagement of students/trainees in learning, 2) students/trainees taking responsibility for their own learning, and sometimes for the learning of others, 3) teachers providing activities that facilitate AL, instead of simply transferring information. 2.3 Integrating Social Business into an Organization The future of organizational work is social, collaborative and mobile [15]. The introduction of Social Business (SB) into an organization requires important changes in the way its collaborators work in all the organization structure [16]. Moreover, in [17] seven dimensions are proposed that must be questioned and defined: (1) vision and goals; (2) cultural readiness; (3) organizational structure; (4) social strategy; (5) communication; (6) social technologies; and (7) training and education. In this context, the last dimensions (social technologies and training and education) should allow knowledge to flow in the organization. The primary function of social technologies and training and educating professionals in the networked organization is to connect and communicate based on three core processes: (1) Facilitating collaborative work and learning amongst workers, especially as peers; (2) Sensing patterns and helping to develop emergent work and learning practices; and (3) Working with management to fund and develop appropriate tools and processes for workers.
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3 Higher Education Teachers Training (HET2 ) Model The HET2 Model is an approach aimed at the oriented training of higher education teachers. Three models support the HET2 Model: (1) m_CSDIT2 , (2) ToOW, and (3) ECLETIC described in the following subsections. The three models depend on each other hierarchically, i.e., ECLETIC is used by ToOW, and ToOW is used by m_CSDIT2 (see Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. The HET2 Model dependencies
3.1 Framework Mobile_Create, Share, Document, Improve and Training: m_CSDIT2 SB in organizations is a reality that needs to be improved and even, in some cases, systematized. Acknowledging this context, the m_CSDT2 framework was formerly proposed and updated in [5, 7]; at that stage, the framework was used to introduce and/or systematizes SB in organizations and the use of social business intelligence (SBI) within SB. The main aim is to contribute to the improvement of business processes, relationships with stakeholders and continuous training of employees within organizations. The relevance of conducting SB supported by social media tools and SBI is widely acknowledged and recognized by the scientific community and organizations. However, there is a lack of approaches that allow the systematization and that guide its implementation within an organization. To address this end, we propose [5, 6] an approach consisting in a three-layer framework (m_CSDIT2 ) (Fig. 2) which covers the: (1) Creation, sharing documentation of information and knowledge in and out of an organization, improvement of organizational processes and relationships with stakeholders, based on information and knowledge; (2) Training of organizational workers – ToOW model; and (3) Promotion of ad-hoc discussion. As shown in Fig. 2, it is possible to develop a generic approach for implementing SB through the use of social media tools and the support of SBI, in order to achieve the wellbeing of the organization considering the agility and collective intelligence dimensions. In this approach, the emphasis is given in the production of value for the organizational ecosystem.
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Fig. 2. The m_CSDIT2 approach
The approach may be briefly described as the collaboration in the workplace based on social media tools. This means that the organization learns through the participation and involvement of its employees through a network, connecting, interacting, and collaborating to obtain or share information and/or knowledge through social media tools. That information and/or knowledge is also obtained from the SBI. We propose that collaboration in the workplace is achieved through the integration of suitable social media tools to the needs of organizational development and learning. To that end, we suggest a mixed form of peer tutoring with an instructor who acts as observer/facilitator. To realize the potential benefits of collaboration in the workplace based on social media tools, we recommend that organizations support rather than restrict the adequate use of social media tools in the workplace. Thus, organizations must define the best long-term strategies and implement action plans to take advantage of collaboration based on social media tools. 3.2 Training of Organizational Workers: ToOW Model The ToOW [6] addresses the 2nd layer of the framework and is presented in Fig. 3 as a cyclic sequence of stages, aiming to use technologies that support DT in the definition of training strategies for the organizational workers, aligned with the organizational strategy. The model aims to promote the development of a culture of lifelong training, adding value to organizational development and being central to achieve the objectives defined in the alignment of the organizational strategy with the organization training needs.
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Fig. 3. The ToOW model adapted from [6].
As depicted in Fig. 3, the ToOW model was designed to train organizational workers supported by ECLECTIC approach (see Sect. 3.3) (3). The training strategies of the organization (2) are aligned with the organizational strategy (1) and analytical tools are used to evaluate the employees training, on the basis of their performance, according to the defined organizational strategy (4). In order to enable a more flexible training scheme, the model also considers training actions proposed by employees; however, training attendance is always being compulsory according to the defined training strategies (2). The definition/adjustment of the training strategies (2) should be made on a periodical basis, so as to pace with the evolution/needs of the organization. All the training sessions carried out have to be evaluated so that it can be understood if the investment made in training employees meet the needs of the organization and the impact may have on organizational processes’ improvement. Hence, analytics tools – one of DT pillars - are used to monitor and compare training results with the defined metrics goals to improve organizational processes. 3.3 ECLECTIC Approach Three AL techniques were selected to be used during the training courses consisting de several weeks. These techniques are used together in a predefined sequence (Group Project (3), Peer Review (4) and Peer Teaching (5)) for each of the group projects carried out. The accomplishment of each of the group projects is preceded by the creation of the working groups and a short lecture where the topics assigned to the working groups are presented. The training courses are divided into four blocks, in which each block represents the application of ECLECTIC approach (Fig. 4) [7]. In the first class of each block, the groups (3 elements in each group) are constituted by the teacher and the assignment of one topic (1). In the next phase (2), a short lecture on each of the subjects assigned is carried out by the teacher. In phase (3) the guidelines of the Group Project technique
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Fig. 4. ECLECTIC approach [7]
are explored, always with the supervision of the teacher when the students/trainees are present in class. At the end of this period, students/trainees submit their work through the LMS Moodle. After this moment, the second phase of the project is started using the Peer Review technique (4), by assigning the works submitted to different groups. The groups review the papers (using the Peer Review techniques of a scientific paper) and complete the corresponding evaluation grid. At this stage, the teacher evaluates the work and evaluates the revisions presented by the students/trainees. The revisions are sent to the authors of the works and they have to make corrections/changes suggested by their peers, after the supervision of the teacher, who analyzes and verifies the proposed changes. The groups submit the final version in the LMS Moodle. In the penultimate phase (5), teaching sessions are held by the students/trainees to the other students/trainees on the topic they have worked; at this stage the technique Peer Teaching is applied. This activity is assessed through an evaluation grid. During each block, a Process Control (6) is performed in order to verify how each technique that constitutes the ECLECTIC approach is being applied and meets its purpose. At the end of this session, a new block begins with the redistribution of the elements of each group, to ensure that practically all the students worked with all.
4 Case Study Design 4.1 Classes Plan Design In this section, we outline an application environment for a training plan that uses the ToOW model. The application model targets the teachers of an HEI that seeks to be more agile and proficient in the training of its teachers, in order to improve the students’ TLP, while enhancing the training procedures of teachers and the performance evaluation system (Step 1, Fig. 3). In the teachers training environment outlined here, the subjects targeted in the courses are defined according to the HEI necessities; the number of teachers that will attend those courses is twenty. The institution has a corporate website that is one of the institutional communication platforms. The site also includes all the
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platforms necessary for the academic support of teaching activities, namely registration of lectures summaries and grades release. For internal communication and training purposes, the institution will set up an intranet based on cloud computing technology to train a team of teachers (Step 2, Fig. 3). The intranet will include a folder for each topic of the training courses with (1) videos with main concepts, (2) images and (3) literature about the learning topics. Virtual reality (VR) will be used in order to increase the communication skills of teachers with students/trainees. The lessons plan is defined according to ECLETIC model. There will also be a course blog where teachers can chat and post comments and questions on the topic under study with colleagues and the training teacher (Step 3, Fig. 2). As the history of all interactions and engagement of teachers with the academic community will be stored, enabling the creation of a data warehouse for the teacheracademic community, and analytical tools can be easily used to monitor KPIs defined by the HEI concerning teacher performance (Step 4, Fig. 3). Consequently, KPIs such as the number of classes taught, number of training courses attended, pass/fail rates can be measured and contribute to the teacher’s assessment. Depending on the organizational strategy, some of the KPIs related to the performance of teachers can be shared among the HEI, in order to improve collective intelligence and stimulate the achievement of organizational objectives. Suppose the results of the teachers’ evaluation are not satisfactory, the reasons can be analysed, and the alignment of the organizational strategy with the training needs can be resettled, generating a new cycle of application of the ToOW model. 4.2 Training Evaluation The evaluation of teacher training is carried out in two ways: learning evaluation and the evaluation of the training. Monitoring and evaluation of learning are monitored on the basis of Milestones (M# n m , with “n” representing the project number, and the “m” milestone for delivery or evaluation of project “n”). These moments are constituted by the presentation by the teacher (M# 1 n ), by the submission of the report (M# 2 n ) in the LMS, by the works peer review (M# 3 n ), and by the use of the peer teaching technique (M# 4 n ) by the groups. In addition to this objective, they aim to provide students/trainees with moments of feedback, allowing a dialogue between teachers and students/trainees and among students/trainees. The pedagogical strategies used in the classroom context are the combination of the expositive and active method. The lectures (called short-lectures) aim to present the themes attributed to each working group. All students are encouraged to do reading exploration activities, consult databases, namely the use of B-on, and feedback from the teacher, in the light of the work to be done, in the context classroom work and work have done outside the classroom. The active method is achieved through the use of the three AL techniques already mentioned. As regards the evaluation elements, these are distributed at different times and designated by milestone M# n 4 , throughout the training courses. The final grade of the student/trainee results from the classifications of the four projects (with a weight
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of 25% each project), allowing different final classifications for each of the students/trainees. The evaluation elements of each project are as follows: Report_#n 1 (50%), Revision_of_Other_Report_group_#n 2 (30%), Presentation/Teaching_#n 3 (20%). The training evaluation process will be carried out through two questionnaires: one at the beginning of the training and another at the end. The first aims to verify the teachers’ familiarity with the subject, as well as to characterize groups in terms of gender. The second aims to assess the added value of training.
5 Conclusions The DT that currently refers so much, must be seen as the necessary preparation for an organization to survive and compete in the future, continuously adapting to a continually changing environment. The need for continuous transformation will not diminish in the immediate future. DT involves a constant study/analysis of the environment to recognize technological trends, their evolution and continuous experimentation to define responses to these trends effectively and, also to propagate successful experiences by organizations. In this setting DT, is currently one of the biggest challenges faced by HEI and involves a highly complex set of activities. Within these activities, TLP plays a key role and requires special attention. Teacher training involves restrictions and requirements that are usually not considered in formal training programs. These requirements include time and facilities resources for the TLP. In addition, the starting point and expected TLP outcomes may differ significantly. Although these new training processes do not fit into formal education, they may benefit from the opportunities offered by informal learning processes. Recognizing this new learning/training context, the HET2 model aims to contribute to the implementation of higher continuing education in an HEI. The expected benefits of using the model are two. The first one, the model recognizes the crucial role that an HEI plays in promoting a learning/training culture for its employees/teachers. And, the second, the model guides the definition of training strategies and activities, as well as the achieved training results monitoring which are measured according to the performance metrics considered in the organizational strategy. HET2 is a model that contributes to teacher training within HEI and contributes positively to the teacher training process. As future work, the model will be implemented and tested in an HEI. Funding. This work was supported by the FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. [Project UIDB/05105/2020].
References 1. Eva, N., Cox, J.W., Tse, H.M., Lowe, K. B.: From competency to conversation: a multiperspective approach to collective leadership development. Leadersh. Q. p. 101346 (2019) 2. Timmermans, F., Katainen, J.: Towards a sustainable Europe by 2030, European Commission (2019) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/rp_sustainable_eur ope_30-01_en_web.pdf
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3. El Kadiri, S., Grabot, B., Thoben, K.-D., Hribernik, K., Emmanouilidis, C., von Cieminski, G., Kiritsis, D.: Current trends on ICT technologies for enterprise information systems. Comput. Ind. 79, 14–33 (2016) 4. Scott, C.L.: The futures of learning 1: why must learning content and methods change in the 21st century? (2015) https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000234807 5. Ferreira, M.J., Moreira, F., Seruca, I.: Digital transformation towards a new context of labour: enterprise 4.0. In: Technological Developments in Industry 4.0 for Business Applications. Hershey: Information Science Reference (IGI), vol. 1, pp. 26–49 (2019) 6. Ferreira, M.J., Moreira, F., Seruca, I.: Organizational training within digital transformation: the ToOW model. In Proceedings of the 19th ICEIS, pp. 526–532 (2017) 7. Moreira, F., et al.: ECLECTIC as a learning ecosystem for higher education disruption. UAIS 18(3), 615–631 (2019) 8. Solis, D.: Digital Transformation – The six stages of digital transformation (2017). https:// www.briansolis.com/2017/01/definition-of-digital-transformation/ 9. Vial, G.: Understanding digital transformation: a review and a research agenda. JSIS 28(2), 118–144 (2019) 10. Chickering, A.W., Gamson, Z.F.: Seven principles for good practice. AAHE Bull. 39, 3–7 (1987) 11. Vos, H., Graaff, E.: Developing metacognition: a basis for active learning. Eur. J. Eng. Educ. 29(4), 543–548 (2004) 12. Duron, R., Limbach, B., Waugh, W.: Critical thinking frame group for any discipline. Int. J. TLHE 17(2), 160–166 (2006) 13. World Economic Forum: What are the 21st-century skills every student needs? (2016). https:// www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/03/21st-century-skills-future-jobs-students/ 14. Kane, L.: Educators, learners and active learning methodologies. IJLE 23(3), 275–286 (2004) 15. Streitz, N., et al.: Ambient displays and mobile devices for the creation of social architectural spaces. Kluwer Int. CSCW 2, 387–409 (2003) 16. Cortada, J., et al.: The business of social business: what works and how it’s done. IBM (2012). https://www.ibm.com/midmarket/common/att/pdf/IBV_2012_The_business_of_soc ial_business.pdf 17. Sideraworks: What Is Social Business? (2013). https://www.sideraworks.com/wp-content/ uploads/2012/03/WhatIsSocialBusiness_SideraWorks.pdf
Flashcards as a Microlearning Tool in English Language Teaching Tomas Javorcik(B) Faculty of Education, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic [email protected]
Abstract. The paper deals with the use of a mobile application based on the principle of flashcards to support the teaching of English to primary school pupils. Using such an application while doing homework is a prerequisite for expanding pupils’ vocabulary, improving pronunciation and storing words in long-term memory. The reason for using the mobile application is to make English language teaching more attractive, since in the Czech Republic there is a declining trend in the level of English language acquisition. Based on further described criteria, a mobile application working on the principles of flashcards was selected. The application was available to a group of pupils to facilitate their home preparation for their English lessons. The pupils’ acquired knowledge was then tested and also their work with the application was monitored. Simultaneously, a feedback through a questionnaire survey was obtained from the pupils using this application. Besides the effect of flashcards on the level of vocabulary in the English language of a selected target group, the paper also deals with the potential use of flashcards as one of the possible tools of microlearning. Keywords: Flashcards · English language · Microlearning · Anki · Mobile technologies · Mobile application
1 Introduction Current pedagogical literature is starting to mention more often that we live in a time of rapid technological progress, when digital technologies dominate our society. Even from birth, the younger generations are affected by this enormously rapid and unstoppable progress, encompassing a broad spectrum of their lives. Digital technologies influence interpersonal communication, the spending of free time, means of obtaining information, the overall approach to life and methods of education. The field of education, specifically teaching focused on the acquisition of foreign language vocabulary using digital technologies, will be significant to our research. One of the impulses for the selection of this paper’s topic is the desire to enrich classical home study and also to streamline its course. Can digital technologies be a fulcrum for pupils trying to acquire vocabulary of a new foreign language? Will they allow pupils to take significant steps forward and streamline their time spent studying? One possible way to streamline the learning process is microlearning, which is suitable for home preparation of pupils and students. We can use a wide range of tools for © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 113–122, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_12
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microlearning, from single applications to sophisticated microlearning courses. Applications working on the principle of flashcards are also included among such tools. The combination of microlearning and flashcard application has already been discussed by Edge et al. [1].
2 Level of Foreign Language Acquisition in the Czech Republic To justify our motivation to deal with ways to streamline the teaching of foreign languages, especially the English language, we can generally state that the level of English language skills of Czech students does not meet the expectations of their teachers. Given various international comparisons, this level is also insufficient compared to other countries. We can substantiate these claims with several credible statistics. Valuable information on foreign language teaching can be found in the current thematic report of the Czech School Inspectorate (CSI), focused on language literacy in the school year 2017/2018, published in September 2019. The report summarizes “the main results of the evaluation of the conditions and course of education and the achieved level of language literacy of pupils in primary and secondary schools, while the level of language literacy is assessed for the lower primary school pupils” [2]. The teacher evaluation shows a higher satisfaction of teachers concerning reading comprehension and listening comprehension in their pupils, however only less than 16–17% of the teachers report complete satisfaction. Further, the teachers declare lower satisfaction with the skill levels in spoken expression and written expression. Concerning spoken expression, the complete satisfaction of teachers has dropped to 11%, and in the case of written expression it reaches a poor 7% [2] (Table 1). Table 1. The success rate of 5th grade primary school pupils in the English language test according to the Czech School Inspectorate [2]. Success rate in the English language test - 5th grade of primary school School year 2012/2013
School year 2016/2017
79%
77%
As one of the possible measures to increase pupils’ skills, teachers suggest support of families and better home preparation of pupils, which could be provided to pupils through an application using flashcards. In today’s world we find it interesting that only a few people stop to consider whether pupils know how to learn properly. Vlˇcková [3] found based on research focused on foreign language teaching that 40% of pupils know how to learn correctly, but 35% are not so sure and another 23% cannot learn and do not know how to learn correctly. If we take into account those pupils who are not sure how to learn properly and those who cannot learn, we have a total of 58% of pupils. These pupils need a teacher to tell them how to learn properly. Therefore, in her research, Vlˇcková asked whether the teacher tells pupils how to learn a foreign language and found that “23% of pupils state
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that the teacher does not tell them how to learn the foreign language. 28% states “only sometimes” and 34% declare that the teacher “says it” [3]. The declining trend in English language acquisition is also confirmed by international surveys. From all the available surveys we would like to highlight the Education First: English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) survey from 2019. According to the results of this survey, the Czech Republic has a lower knowledge of the English language than neighboring countries (Germany, Poland and Austria), with the exception of Slovakia where the situation is similar [4] (Table 2). Table 2. Comparison of the level of English language acquisition according to the EPI index in selected countries [4]. Country
Index EPI 2019 Difference compared to 2018
Czech Republic 59,30
−0,69
Germany
63,77
+0,03
Poland
63,76
+1,31
Austria
64,11
+0,98
Slovakia
58,82
+0,71
However, the statistics also show that while all neighboring countries have seen growth in 2019, the index of the Czech Republic fell by 0.69, when compared to 2018.
3 Flashcards as a Microlearning Tool The first use of cards dates back to at least the 19th century, by Favell Lee Mortimer, an English teacher and author of educational books for children. In the past, these were purely paper-cut cards, with a handwritten question on one side and the correct answer on the other. This approach led the pupil to ask questions concerning the given topic on the front and then turn the card to the other side where the answer was written. The used card was then placed in pre-prepared boxes that were organized based on the Leitner system, that is, divided according to the degree of information acquisition. Leitner system represents a simple model, which requires several boxes for storing cards symbolizing the level of information acquirement. This model is specifically described in the following figure, where the correctly answered card always moves one position higher and always degrades from any box back to the first when answered incorrectly (Fig. 1).
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Fig. 1. Leitner system – graphic illustration [5]
Such cards are very often used to memorize foreign language vocabulary, historical data or any other information that can be acquired in a question-answer format. If necessary, we can choose one of the three basic card formats, that is, single-sided cards, double-sided ones and three-sided ones. Single-sided cards are characterized by a question and an answer, in which the same answer is always expected for a given question, but the answer does not have to unambiguously correspond to the same question. Only one resulting direction of questioning can be used. Double-sided cards can be used to ask questions in two directions. The best known use of double-sided cards is for memorizing vocabulary of a foreign language. For example, one side contains a word in Czech and the other side the word equivalent in a foreign language. Three-sided cards were invented for the electronic version used in card-based applications. The real life application of such cards is, for example, when learning words of standard Chinese, because the pronunciation of the word is completely different from the written form, and therefore needs a separate space for memorization. In order for the effect of the cards to be significant, we must also take into account the psychological aspects of learning, where in addition to learning itself, we can also include its types, styles, perceptual preference and memory. These and other aspects are crucial, as the algorithms of the researched applications are based on this knowledge. Therefore, we focused on particularly two methods that flashcards take advantage of: a. Spaced repetition, b. Active recall. 3.1 Spaced Repetition This is the most effective method used for long-term memorization of learned information. It is based on the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve. Helus [6] further expands this based on newer research conducted by Bahrick involving eight hundred students. He researched the forgetting of a learned language which students stopped using after graduating from high school. The research showed that after three years, students remembered only about 40% of the material originally learned (Fig. 2). The principle of the spaced repetition method is that a person recalls at regularly spaced intervals the information that he wants to store in long-term memory. The principle of this method is more accurately shown in Fig. 2, where the declining retention of information is illustrated. If the student actively recalls the material learned, the retention decreases more slowly in regards to the days and the student remembers the material for
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Fig. 2. Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve [6].
a longer period of time. Brown, Roediger and McDaniel [7] point out that if we divide the task into several blocks while learning and blend the acquired information with something else (we can alternate between learning different subjects), the information will be more difficult for us to remember, we may even feel that we are doing worse and that we are unable to study at all. But the efforts made will help us to achieve far more lasting results and we will be able to use the acquired knowledge more comprehensively (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3. Spaced repetition [8]
The effect of spaced repetition in connection with learning a foreign language vocabulary was examined in detail by Karpicke and Bauernschmidt [9]. These authors have come to the conclusion that repeating a word in a foreign language several times in a row does not bring any advantage. The most effective way, according to their research, is to recall a word and then pay attention to other new words in the same way. 3.2 Active Recall Active recall can be described as an attempt to deliberately recall certain information or facts and is considered the most effective method of learning. Brown et al. [7] state
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that a simple example of active recall is flashcards with foreign language words, in which “[R]etrieval strengthens the memory and interrupts forgetting”. If reading a text or listening to a lecture is followed by a simple short quiz, we will achieve better memorization and thus more effective learning. Nolen-Hoeksema et al. [10] add that “if you read the text four times in a row, you will be less effective than if you read it only once and ask yourself questions about the text being studied. The effort to recall the studied text is an effective use of study time. This has long been proved by experiments that worked with similar materials to those used in actual teaching”. To further expand on this topic we would like to mention an extensive article conducted by Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan and Willingham [11]. This article describes methods that showed a positive effect on learning in the real environment, but also methods that have had little or minimal effect. The authors regard the “practice testing” method, which requires students to actively recall the curriculum, as highly effective.
4 Research Methodology Based on this knowledge of the psychology of learning, we were able to define the requirements for selecting a suitable application supporting the flashcards method and then propose research objectively examining the effect of flashcards on the acquisition of the English language during pupils’ home preparation. To date, there are more than fifteen card-based applications on the market. However, during a more detailed survey of individual applications, we encounter significant differences that make the applications unsuitable for our purposes. After filtering out all unsuitable applications, we selected an application called Anki which offers the most features and add-ons. Add-ons allow for customization of its features and thus enhance the application so that its usage is as efficient as possible and allows the user to maximize its potential. The last, and at the same time, the greatest advantage for our research, is the possibility to display an extensive tab with statistics kept for individual packs of cards. It contains statistical information that can be used to find out how individual pupils perform in their studies and what specific results they achieve.
5 Research Design The research was carried out in the form of a pedagogical experiment in which the experimental group used the Anki mobile application. Students could use this application in their homework and practice vocabulary from the topic currently being discussed. There was no manipulation of conditions in the control group. In both groups, the initial level of knowledge of the current topic was measured, and after the end of the experiment, the same didactic test was used to determine the output knowledge. The didactic test assessed the level of knowledge of 46 English words. For each flawlessly translated word from Czech into English, the pupil scored one point, the maximum score in the test was 46 points. A questionnaire survey was conducted in the experimental group, which aimed to obtain feedback from the students on the use of the Anki application and on this particular method of home preparation.
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The research was carried out on a group of 30 pupils attending 5th grade of primary school (10 years of age). The target group was chosen deliberately due to the young age of the pupils, since they have not yet firmly mastered learning methods, thus making it possible to objectively determine the effect of flashcards on their acquisition of the English language.
6 Results The didactic test at the beginning of the experiment revealed that both groups (control and experimental) have the same level of knowledge from the currently discussed topic. It can therefore be stated that the groups are equivalent. 6.1 Evaluation of Pretests and Posttests In both the experimental and control group, there was a statistically significant increase in knowledge compared to the initial value of the findings through pretest. The finding are shown in the following graphs. In both cases, the statistical significance was verified by paired t-test with a determined level of significance α = 0.05.
In order to clearly determine the effect of the Anki application on the result in the didactic test, we compared the results of the posttests of the experimental and control groups. For this comparison, we have defined the following null and experimental hypothesis: H0: There is no statistically significant difference between the average number of points achieved by the experimental group in the final testing and the average number of points achieved by the control group in the final testing. HA: There is a statistically significant difference between the average number of points achieved by the experimental group in the final testing and the average number of points achieved by the control group in the final testing. Based on the calculation of the Student’s t-test, a value of p = 0.249 was obtained. The value is higher than the significance level α = 0.05, therefore the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. There is no statistically significant difference between the average
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number of points achieved by the experimental group in the final testing and the average number of points achieved by the control group in the final testing. The results of didactic pretests and posttests were subsequently compared according to gender, as we worked with the assumption that the Anki application will have a greater effect on the results of boys than of girls. However, a statistically significant difference could not be proved. 6.2 Analysis of the Experimental Group with Regard to the Use of the Anki Application When analyzing the number of studied cards from the statistical data in the Anki application, it was found that some pupils repeated a much greater number of word cards in the Anki application than other pupils. This finding led us to verify whether there is a relationship between the number of repeated cards and the score achieved in the test. Based on the calculation, the value of the Pearson correlation coefficient is r = 0.902. The resulting value corresponds to a very high dependence. There is a positive relationship between the number of points achieved and the number of cards studied. The complete data of the pupils’ work from the Anki application, including their results in the pretest and posttest, are illustrated in the following table (Table 3). Table 3. Pupils’ statistical data from the Anki application
The most important metric for our research was the number of repeated cards, therefore the records were sorted according to this metric. Two pupils with the total number of the most repeated cards came in the first and second place by a wide margin. The first pupil repeated 297 cards and the second 262 cards. Pupil number three falls behind them with 165 repeated cards. However, these three pupils achieved a final test score of 65% or more, with the next best score being 23.91%. Another important metric is the number of study days, 15 total, which indicates the number of days in which the pupil studied using the application. Pupil number 1 studied for 9 days out of 15, with the average study time per study day being 5.3 min. During this time, he managed to repeat an average of 33 vocabulary cards in a study day. If we focus on the time spent studying in the application, we find that the time for the first three pupils ranged from 5.3 to 2.8 min. This supports the possibility of using flashcards as one of the tools in microlearning. Looking at pupils 4–9 (66% of pupils), we can conclude that the difference in the comparison of
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their pretests and posttests does not show a drastic improvement. This also corresponds with the data illustrating the usage of the Anki application where we see much lower values in all the metrics when compared to the first three pupils. The smallest number of repeated cards was 10, by pupil number 9, who used the application twice and repeated only five cards on average. We can assume that the Anki application did not appeal to him enough to give it priority over another way of learning.
7 Discussion From the results of the data analysis it was concluded that there is no statistically significant difference between the average number of points achieved by the experimental group in the final testing and the average number of points achieved by the control group in the final testing. In the case of the final analysis of the experimental group with regard to the use of the application, it was found that there is a positive relationship between the number of achieved points and the number of studied cards. The results also show that pupils who study a greater number of cards will achieve a higher overall score in the tests. To supplement the research, a questionnaire survey was conducted among the pupils of the experimental group. Questions about the Anki application showed a positive impression of the overall appearance of the cards (89% of pupils). Pupils also commented positively on the pictures supplementing the words on the cards. In 77% of cases, they answered that the pictures helped them with memorizing the words. We can therefore assume that for most pupils, a word supplemented with a picture can lead to better memorization. When asked whether the Anki application helped the pupils with the pronunciation of English words, 89% of the pupils rated the application positively. When asked about the pupils’ point of view on whether the application helped them to memorize new words in a better way, as many as 78% of the pupils gave a positive answer.
8 Conclusion The paper deals with the use of a mobile application based on using flashcards to support the teaching of English language to primary school pupils. A prerequisite for expanding pupils’ vocabulary, improving their pronunciation and storing words in their long-term memory was the use of the application when doing homework. The aim of the research was to measure whether the use of the application with flashcards during home preparation for the English lesson will lead to an improvement of study results in comparison with the control group. The presented results suggest that if the application with flashcards is used regularly, it can affect the results achieved in didactic tests, which measure the degree of vocabulary acquisition in the selected target group. At the same time, we verified the possibilities of this application for use in pandemic conditions and for the needs of microlearning, where we see the greatest potential for its use outside the teaching of foreign languages, especially in the fixation phase of teaching. For this reason, we want to further investigate the potential of flashcards in microlearning on a larger sample of different age groups of pupils and students.
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References 1. Edge, D., Fitchett S., Whitney M., Landay J.: MemReflex. In: Proceedings of the 14th international conference on Human-computer interaction with mobile devices and services companion - MobileHCI 2012, ACM Press, New York, pp. 193–194 (2012) ˇ 2. Ceská školní inspekce: Tematická zpráva: Rozvoj jazykové gramotnosti na základních a stˇredních školách ve školním roce 2018/2019, pp. 25–30 (2019). https://www.csicr.cz/html/ 2019/TZ_jazykova_gramotnost_2018_2019/html5/index.html?&locale=CSY 3. Vlˇcková, K.: Strategie uˇcení cizímu jazyku: výsledky výzkumu používání strategií a jejich efektivity na gymnáziích. Paido, Brno (2007) 4. Education First: EF English Proficiency Index, EF (2019). https://www.ef-czech.cz/__/~/ media/centralefcom/epi/downloads/full-reports/v9/ef-epi-2019-english.pdf 5. Zirguezi: Leitner system alternative, Wikipedia, San Francisco (2004). https://commons.wik imedia.org/wiki/File:Leitner_system_alternative.svg 6. Helus, Z.: Úvod do psychologie, 2nd edn. Grada, Praha (2018) 7. Brown, P.C., Roediger, H.L., McDaniel, M.: Make it stick. Harvard University Press, New York (2014) 8. Falleto, J.: Spaced Repetition. Curiosity (2018). https://curiosity.com/topics/spaced-repeti tion-is-an-effective-science-backed-way-to-learna-new-language-curiosity/ 9. Karpicke, J.D., Bauernschmidt, A.: Spaced retrieval: absolute spacing enhances learning regardless of relative spacing. J. Exp. Psychol. Learn. Mem. Cogn. 37(5), 1250–1257 (2011) 10. Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Fredrickson, B., Loftus, G., Wagenaar, W.: Atkinson & Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology. Wadsworth Pub Co, New York (2009) 11. Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Nathan, M.J., Willingham, D.T.: Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychol. Sci. Public Interest 14(1), 4–58 (2013)
SocialPG: Proposed Model for Building Pervasive Social Play Experiences Ramón Valera-Aranguren1(B) , Patricia Paderewski Rodriguez2 Francisco Luis Gutierrez Vela2 , Jeferson Arango-López3 , and Fernando Moreira4
,
1 Universidad Centroccidental “Lisandro Alvarado”, Barquisimeto, Venezuela
[email protected] 2 Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
{patricia,fgutierr}@ugr.es 3 Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia
[email protected] 4 REMIT, IJP, Universidade Portucalense & IEETA, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
[email protected]
Abstract. Pervasive computing has become a key part of building applications that use fun as a motivating component, this is because it allows the exploration of new interaction schemes by making the concept of space and time ambiguous and confusing, building game mechanics that engage the participant with innovative elements, generating interesting and entertaining experiences. This research describes SocialPG, a model proposal that describes the social expansion as a strategy to enhance game experiences supported by pervasive computing, in this sense, shows its components, how they relate and what is the flow of interaction that a user experiences when getting involved; among the most important aspects is the incorporation of a new role to the traditional game mechanics, the viewer, also, includes an expert validation under Delphi methodology that shows the acceptance of the model and possible opportunities for improvement. Keywords: Pervasive games · Social gaming experience · Pervasive computing
1 Introduction Huizinga’s magic circle metaphor [1] is a voluntary and contractual structure that circumscribes the space and time where the participant has fun, there he develops diverse activities, mainly playing. Game designers can break these boundaries or expand them to reproduce a new generation of emotions. The temporal and spatial expansion has been enhanced by pervasive computing environments that provide technological devices with high levels of computing power, miniaturization, and connectivity. A user can take them anywhere without complications and they perform tasks of different nature and complexity, Nevelsteen [2] makes a valuable summary about various projects that include these technological aspects and © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 123–132, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_13
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how these advances impact the development of the experience, Magerkurth [3], Gentes [4] and Akribopoulos [5] relate concrete game experiences where pervasive computing elements are used. The social expansion has to do with the incorporation of strategies and elements that play with the state of consciousness of the participant, to motivate them to participate in mechanics of collective work designed to achieve certain objectives, technology can be a key factor to support it and make it possible. The penetration level projected for smartphones worldwide for the years 2020–2025 [24] means an increase in the demand for mobile applications that take full advantage of sensors, computing power, and connectivity, games will take an important role in this, because there are findings that show how users are increasingly using their free time in short and intense mobile gaming experiences that have a large social component [25], all this means being prepared with strategies to help the designer on the way to achieve the best possible products. Findings found by Arango-López [26] demonstrate the absence of formal work methodologies specially designed to build pervasive games or software engineering artifacts that support the design, likewise, Mello [28] reinforces this, indicating that it is a fertile field of research that presents many challenges and that as a line of research is a field in frank ascent and interest. There are some initiatives aimed at controlling and directing the process of developing pervasive games, Arango-Lopez in GeoPGD [11] for example offers an integrated scheme of work based on phases to develop geolocalized pervasive experiences, emphasizing the management of history and aspects related to GamePlay, such as dynamics and the game world. TeMPS [28] is a proposal that offers a conceptual framework to study pervasive games, establishing a set of dimensions, Timing, Mobility, Perceptibility, and Sociability, and exposes how to bring the characteristics of a game experience closer to them, and then measure how pervasive a game is. This work aims to introduce a conceptual model focused mainly on the social expansion that offers in initial stages of design a frame of reference around the components that are typically used to build a pervasive social game experience. To address this model, a general idea of what pervasive play means will be offered, addressing in particular social expansion, and then presenting its main components and relationships, which will then serve as input to formulate the model. Special attention is given to social expansion, particularly the incorporation of a new role, the audience, and the validation of the model will be carried out by a group of experts through the application of Delphi methodology using a data collection instrument; finally, there is a section on conclusions and future work where the essential knowledge obtained in the research is summarized and the direction it will take in the immediate future.
2 Pervasive Games and Social Expansion There is no consensus to define a Pervasive Game, however, what stands out in all the definitions found, is that it promotes a different playing experience than the one offered by traditional games, mainly because the game is developed at the same time as the player’s daily life, it breaks the social and physical limits of traditional games [18], it
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promotes new experiences through its opposition to the rules within the environments where they are developed [19] and it generates a greater motivation to a higher degree than that presented by traditional games [20]. One of the biggest problems when analyzing pervasive games is that the concept of pervasiveness can be used for many types of experiences (live role-playing games, geolocated games, etc.). To solve this problem, we will use the work done by the GEDES research group at the University of Granada related to the conceptualization and characterization of pervasive play [21], which has been carried out within the research project entitled DISPERSA (Design of Pervasive Games Based on Context-Sensitive Learning Experiences), which addresses the problem of developing geolocated pervasive game experiences [14]. The social aspect in a game experience refers to the interaction that participants make, through individual or group actions, within the framework of mechanics designed to achieve specific objectives. Communication, collaboration, and competition are some of the most used mechanisms to implement it. Socially expanded games depend on temporal and spatial expansion. Montola [22] warns that games that do not break the barrier provided by the area and the playing session will hardly break the social barrier. This supposes that the pervasive social game experiences that are the subject of this research will require spatial and temporal expansion supported by pervasive computing technologies. In the specific case of games with social expansion, there are some interesting case studies, Montola [22] for example gives great importance to the role played by the spectator and the degree of awareness he has about his role and the impact on the mechanics of prepared games. In this way, the spectator may become an obstacle for the player, a witness of a game event, the receiver of a message or an object to be collected by the participating players. A participant can engage in a gaming experience consciously, i.e., with full knowledge of the role they play and how their actions influence the objectives, or they may do so with little or no clarity about it. It can include mechanics that support role changes in the participants, i.e., a person can start the experience with a certain role and degree of influence in achieving the objectives and in different circumstances can change their functions and behavior, so it is possible, for example, that a spectator can become a player.
3 Components of a Pervasive Social Play Experience Grace [6] exposes that a play experience is built on a set of objectives that are achievable through a determined agenda, one that is known from the beginning by the participant or revealed progressively as the experience progresses. This journey includes a set of meanings that serve to confront a conflict that Grace [6] has called “The Obstacle”, which in turn becomes the reason to have fun and stay engaged. Grace [6], establishes that the minimum structure for a game experience specification document must have at least two fundamental elements, objectives, and the way to achieve these objectives. Within a formal scheme of game design, the MDA framework [7] is an important reference because it defines game mechanics as actions, behaviors, and control mechanisms provided to the player within a game context, Järvinen [8] suggests that
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they function as meanings that direct the player into predictable behavior to obtain the proposed objectives. An interesting aspect of the mechanics is that, as pointed out by Sicard [9], several interaction schemes can be interwoven and formed, and at the same time they can be invoked by agents, with this term referring to any entity acting on the game world. The game world, as expressed by Adams [15] is an artificial universe, an imaginary place in which game events occur. It is composed of real objects that are sensitive to interaction and virtual objects. As a whole, it represents the physical or virtual space, or both, where the mechanics of games involving players and spectators take place. The operation of the game world and the objects that integrate it is supported by a set of technological elements related to connectivity, miniaturization, and computing power that once deployed in a physical space serve as intermediaries between the participant and the real world. Schell [10] defines the story as a narrative framework where there are characters with specific objectives and a set of obstacles interposed so that with different levels of effort, they can achieve them, the conflict that must be resolved through individual or group actions in a game world contextualized in a specific time or place. Lopez-Arcos [23] suggests that the story is an essential component to maintain motivation and to direct the development of the activities of the game experience, the appearance, and presentation of the objects of the game world, is inspired by the concepts described in it. Social play experiences can take two forms, Emmerich [14] indicates that participants can create teams and compete with others, or they can work together to pursue specific goals. According to the role they play in the achievement of the objectives defined by the designer, the participants can be divided into players and spectators, the players are more involved in overcoming the obstacles and resolving the artificial conflict posed by the designer, the audience on their part, has other interests and their participation is more related to their interaction with the player and support him in achieving the objectives. The rules of audience participation can be very different from those that direct the player’s interaction.
4 SocialPG, Model for the Construction of Social Pervasive Experiences The conceptual model considers that any experience that occurs in applications inspired by games starts from the definition of a set of objectives and the corresponding mechanics to achieve them. There is a thread (narrative) centered on a historical period, a script with a world populated by fictional characters and other elements produced by the imagination, to direct the deployment of interaction and activities of participants, so that everything takes place in a game world that is driven by pervasive computing technology, can be in real-world geolocated with the presence of sensors, a virtual world created by technologies such as virtual reality or augmented reality or a mixture of both. Participants communicate, work in teams, or individually to execute collaborative or competitive processes, which contribute to the achievement of the designed objectives.
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The model consists of three layers, superimposed one over the other, so that the services of one layer are exposed as specific functionalities to the layer immediately above, in this way, the lower layer called “Pervasive Computing and Application Integration” represents all the technological elements that support the construction of the “Game World” which in turn offers the services necessary for “The Participants” to interact on it, 9 in this last one different types of interaction occur, between players, between spectators and between players and spectators. The “Objectives, Mechanics and Components of the Game” and “The Narrative” are layers that inspire the design of the game world, all the activities of the overlapping layers are directed by the rules and definitions formulated here. (See Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. SocialPG, General View from Model.
Next, we will give more detail about each of the layers and the activities and functionalities that are executed in them. 4.1 Goals, Game Mechanics and Game Elements The relationship between Objectives, Feelings, Mechanics, and Play Elements in the framework of the Model for the construction of pervasive social play experiences can be summarized as follows: • The targets are the central axis around which the game mechanics revolve. • The game mechanics can be a composition of other game mechanics and components. • A game mechanic is built to create a specific set of feelings, ones that can keep the participant motivated. • The game mechanics serve to promote the cooperative work of players and spectators. 4.2 The Story The interactive nature with which the story is executed, allows the player a sense of freedom and sense of control, for this, the designer must plan the form in the story unfolds, so there can be a linear development or based on the decisions of the player. There are different criteria for structuring a story, Grace [6] describes that an alternative can be to structure it in three sections, beginning, development, and end, in the beginning, the conflict is typically generated, in the development, various actions are triggered in response to it and the end is the phase where it is given exit or solution, Schell [13] for his part recommends the “Hero’s Journey” to structure it.
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From a social point of view, it is very important to incorporate stories with narrative elements that involve different characters. Artificially constructed conflicts must be resolved through the joint and coordinated action of the players and the intervention and support of the spectator. The narrative elements that make up the story must be aligned with the mechanics and elements of the game. To do this, the proposal by López-Arcos [23] extended by Arango-López [11] is very useful, suggesting that a story can be divided into components that in turn contain others, in this way, a story contains chapters, these in turn contain sequences and finally scenes. The current model proposes traceability between each element of the story and the mechanics and game elements built by the designer. 4.3 The Participants The model establishes two types of participants, differentiated by the role they play in achieving the objectives defined by the designer, the players are more involved in overcoming obstacles and resolving the artificial conflict posed by the designer to achieve the expected objectives, the audience for its part, has other interests and their participation is more related to their interaction with the player and support him in achieving the objectives. The motivational elements for both types of participants are different, in the case of players there are multiple models to describe them, we will take as a reference the proposal of Marczewski [12], which states that a player moves by intrinsic rewards and intrinsic, depending on this configures various profiles. In the case of the audience, there are different proposals regarding the factors that motivate them to participate in a social game experience, Seering [13] describes some of them based on the behavior of the spectator in various streaming sessions that project live games of specific games, in this sense, Helpers, Power Seekers, Collaborator, Solipsists, and Trolls. The level of knowledge that a participant has about what they can or cannot do within the Game and what type of role they play at a given time is called the level of consciousness and can be used in different ways in various game mechanics. The exchange of roles is contemplated, that is to say, in a determined moment of the experience a Participant can be a “Player”, but at any moment of the history, he can be transformed into a “Spectator”, and vice versa, with this new features, other types of interaction with the experience are included. 4.4 Pervasive Computing, Application Integration and Game World Pervasive computing refers to the set of technological elements that support the development of the gaming experience, this includes all the advances related to connectivity, miniaturization, and computing power that once deployed in a physical space serve as intermediaries between the participant and the real world. Any technological infrastructure with the open and standardized mechanisms that allow acting on them or capturing events that can be translated and interpreted as facts of interest to the participants in the game experience is added to this layer.
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The Game World is composed of real objects sensitive to interaction and virtual objects generated from real objects or data structures available in other systems whose access is directed by the pervasive computing layer. The appearance and presentation of the objects of the game world are inspired by the concepts described in the narrative, therefore, for example, the presentation of a badge to the participant must be consistent with the narrative elements arranged in the story.
5 SocialPG, Model Validation To validate the model, the Delphi methodology was applied [16, 17] with a group of experts using a tool that is related to two fundamental aspects of the model, namely, its general structure and the functions and importance of each of the layers that make it up. (See Table 1). Table 1. Description of the survey sections. Section
Description
No. of questions
General information An introduction and explanation of the evaluation is about the expert made. The methodology to be used is also indicated and personal, academic and work questions are asked
6
SocialPG, General Description
Questions related to SocialPG in general terms
7
SocialPG, Layers Details and Utility
Questions related to Social in specific terms, walking 25 through each of the layers that make it up
A total of 10 experts in the area of video games and software engineering, with mostly postgraduate degrees and more than 10 years of experience, were summoned. After presenting the aspects related to the model electronically, they proceeded to give their opinion, with which important elements could be gathered: • The model summarizes the elements needed to represent pervasive social play experiences. (90% of Experts) • Experts do not recognize any other model that deals exclusively with pervasive social game experiences. (100% of Experts) • The rating level given for the model in general terms is quite high. (4.4 points on a 5-point scale) The opinions of the experts in the section of description and analysis of the layers, allowed to collect additional aspects that will be considered in future versions of the model, deserves special attention the recommendation to incorporate a model language for the objectives and game mechanics, along with the expansion of the layer of the participants including the playability, additionally, the experts agreed to give the same importance to each of the layers that are part of the model, the high impact of each one, allowed to infer, that all the layers are important to reproduce experiences of pervasive social games. (See Table 2).
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Assessment (Max value. 5)
Goals, game mechanics, Game Components
4.6
The story
4.5
The participants
4.5
Game world
4.8
Pervasive computing & application integration 4.5
6 Conclusions and Future Work SocialPG is a model to guide the designer in the construction of pervasive social game experiences in the initial stages of design, it intends to present an integrated vision of all the components that may be required to achieve it, it presents a layered arrangement in which the objectives are a very important element and around which the mechanics and game components revolve, The story is highlighted as an essential component that marks the structure of the game world, in turn this becomes a cluster of virtual or real objects powered by pervasive computing, likewise, it reveals a new role that does not participate directly in achieving the objectives, the audience, which catalyzes these are achieved and allows to generate new schemes of engagement that will make the experience more attractive. Unlike other initiatives such as GeoPGD [11] and TeMPS [28], SocialPG emphasizes the social component, due to the marked tendency of users of current games to interact with other similar games to stay engaged and continue participating. The vision is that incorporating the viewer can lead to the construction of new and non-traditional game mechanics, some attractive and exciting that generate expectation and motivation to the participant to stay engaged and continue participating. To validate the SocialPG model, a study was conducted by Delphi methodology, based on a group of experts who were mostly professionals with graduate degrees and extensive experience in software engineering and video games, they have applied a tool that was designed to collect their opinion in two main areas, the validity of the model as a whole and the importance and description of each of the layers that make it up. By analyzing the data, it was evident that the model has a wide acceptance to represent pervasive social gaming experiences, also could be detected important considerations that will be taken into account for future versions of models. It is expected to incorporate to SocialPG a notation that serves to represent the objectives, mechanics, and components of the Game, as an alternative to creating documents that represent the structure of a pervasive social game experience, in a clear and precise way. A key aspect for future research is to identify the software architecture needed to support the gaming experiences defined by SocialPG so that it can identify changes and alterations in the environment and can act accordingly, the components must have the
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ability to integrate with advances in sensors and electronic devices that are available in pervasive computing, thus making the gaming experience more real and motivating. Funding. This work was supported by the FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. [Project UIDB/05105/2020].
References 1. Huizinga, J.: Homo ludens: a study of the play element in culture. New York. J. & J. Harper Editions (1970) 2. Nevelsteen, K.J.: A Survey of Characteristic Engine Features for Technology-Sustained Pervasive Games. Springer (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17632-1 3. Magerkurth, C., Engelke, T., Memisoglu, M.: Augmenting the virtual domain with physical and social elements: towards a paradigm shift in computer entertainment technology. In: Proceedings of the 2004 ACM SIGCHI International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology, pp. 163–172 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1145/1067343.1067363 4. Gentes, A., Guyot-Mbodji, A., Demeure, I.: Gaming on the move: urban experience as a new paradigm for mobile pervasive game design. Multimedia Syst. 16(1), 43–55 (2010). https:// doi.org/10.1145/1457199.1457205 5. Akribopoulos, O., Logaras, M., Vasilakis, N., Kokkinos, P., Mylonas, G., Chatzigiannakis, I., Spirakis, P.: Developing multiplayer pervasive games and networked interactive installations using ad hoc mobile sensor nets. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology, pp. 174–181. ACM (2009). https://doi.org/10.1145/ 1690388.1690418 6. Grace, L.: Doing Things with Games: Social Impact Through Play. CRC Press (2019). https:// doi.org/10.1201/9780429429880 7. Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M., Zubek, R.: MDA: a formal approach to game design and game research (2004) 8. Järvinen, A.: Games Without Frontiers: Theories and Methods for Game Studies and Design. Doctoral’s Thesis, University of Tampere (2008) 9. Sicart, M.: Designing game mechanics. Int. J. Comput. Game Res. 8,(2) (2008) 10. Schell, J.: The art of game design: a book of lenses. CRC Press (2008). https://doi.org/10. 1201/9780080919171 11. Arango-López, J., Vela, F.L.G., Collazos, C. A., Gallardo, J., Moreira, F.: GeoPGD: methodology for the design and development of geolocated pervasive games. Universal Access in the Information Society, pp. 1–13 (2020) 12. Marczewski, A.: Even ninja monkeys like to play. CreateSpace Indep. Publish Platform, Charleston, Chapter User Types, pp. 69-84 (2015) 13. Seering, J., Savage, S., Eagle, M., Churchin, J., Moeller, R., Bigham, J.P., Hammer, J.: Audience participation games: blurring the line between player and spectator. In: Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, pp. 429–440 (2017). https://doi.org/ 10.1145/3064663.3064732 14. Emmerich, K., Masuch, M.: Helping friends or fighting foes: the influence of collaboration and competition on player experience. In: FDG, pp. 150–157 (2013) 15. Adams, E., Rollings, A.: Fundamentals of game design (game design and development series). Prentice-Hall, Inc (2006) 16. Dalkey, N., Helmer, O.: An experimental application of the Delphi method to the use of experts. Manage. Sci. 9(3), 458–467 (1963)
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17. Linstone, H.A., Turoff, M. (eds.): The delphi method, pp. 3–12. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA (1975) 18. Caon, M., Mugellini, E., y Abou Khaled, O.: A pervasive game to promote social offline interaction. In: Proceedings of the 2013 ACM conference on Pervasive and ubiquitous computing adjunct publication, pp. 1381–1384. ACM (2013) 19. Linehan, C., Bull, N., y Kirman, B.: BOLLOCKS!! Designing pervasive games that play with the social rules of built environments. In: Advances in Computer Entertainment. Springer, pp. 123–37 (2013) 20. Åhlén, M., Winbjörk, M., Hietala, S.: Conquest-outdoor based games enhanced with sensors. In: International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence. Springer, pp. 68–71 (2014) 21. Arango, J., Gutiérrez, F.L., Collazos, C., Moreira F.: Modeling and defining the pervasive games and its components from a perspective of the player experiences. In: WorldCist, pp. 625–635, Springer Verlag (2018) 22. Montola, M., Stenros, J., Waern, A.: Pervasive games: theory and design. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers Inc, (2009) 23. López-Arcos, J.R., Padilla-Zea, N., Paderewski, P., Gutiérrez, F.L., Abad-Arranz, A.: Designing stories for educational video games: a player-centered approach. In: Proceedings of the 2014 Workshop on Interaction Design in Educational Environments, pp. 33–40 (2014) 24. MOBILE GAMING MARKET - GROWTH, TRENDS, FORECASTS (2020 – 2025). (2020). Mondor Intelligence. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/ 25. McCauley, B., Merola, G., Gumbley, S.: Play on demand: why do players play the mobile games they do. IJEBR 13(4), 37–54 (2017) 26. Arango-López, J., Collazos, C.A., Vela, F.L.G., Castillo, L.F.: A systematic review of geolocated pervasive games: a perspective from game development methodologies, software metrics and linked open data. In: International Conference of Design, User Experience, and Usability, pp. 335–346. Springer, Cham (2017 27. Viana, J.R.M., Viana, N.P., Trinta, F.A.M., de Carvalho, W.V.: A systematic review on software engineering in pervasive games development. In: 2014 Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment, pp. 51–60. IEEE (2014) 28. Guo, H., Trætteberg, H., Wang, A. I., Zhu, M.: Temps: a conceptual framework for pervasive and social games. In: 2010 Third IEEE International Conference on Digital Game and Intelligent Toy Enhanced Learning, pp. 31–37. IEEE (2010)
Strategies on Teaching Introducing to Programming in Higher Education Sónia Rolland Sobral(B) REMIT, Universidade Portucalense, Porto, Portugal [email protected]
Abstract. Teaching and learning how to program are not easy tasks: they can be very challenging. Introductory programming courses traditionally have high rates of failures and dropouts. Teachers and researchers must develop strategies to combat this problem. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the scientific production on strategies on teaching how to program in higher education in journals indexed in an international database’ indexed in Elsevier’s Scopus in the years 2000 to 2019. We provide an up-to-date review of the existing literature. To provide a comprehensive survey, we not only categorize existing strategies but also present detailed descriptions of relevant topics such as Active Learning, Pair Programming, Flipped Classroom and Project Based Learning. The sample was composed by 92 articles in total. The first results obtained by bibliometric analysis showed that publication rates increased slowly but have expanded in the last two years, in which journals the articles are published, which are the organizations and countries that publish the most and which are the most cited articles. The motivation for this study is to bear in mind the research that has been done so that it strategies can be used and experienced by teachers who teach programming to undergraduate students. Keywords: Introducing to programming · Strategies · Bibliometrics · Review · Active learning
1 Introduction Initial programming curriculum units have a great importance to the academic life and professional future of a computer science student. The content of these units, the objectives, the programming languages, and the way everything is learned and taught needs a lot of thought to be successful [1]. Teaching programming to students who have never done it before is not an easy task. Some say that programming is very difficult [2, 3] while for others it may be easy [4]. The truth is that traditionally introductory programming courses have high dropout and failure rates [5]. CS1 (Computer Science 1) is the designation widely used for introduction to programming courses in computer science major since Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) 1978 Computing Curricula [6]. The course belongs to the first semester and is where many students start using a programming language to run small programs. Teaching how to program is a task that © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 133–150, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_14
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proves to be complicated since although some students love it and can succeed easily, others feel that it is almost impossible to be able to pass the course, which often leads them to abandon it [2, 3]. Programmability is the “visible” skill to be acquired in an introductory unit in computer science. Programming can be considered an art [7], a science [8], a discipline [9] or even the science of abstraction [10]. However, using a programming language is no more than a method for the programmer to communicate instructions to the computer. Before designing a program, the student must know the problem, know how to use the necessary tools to solve the problem that need to be solved with the machine, such as methods used to specify specifications and rigorous solutions that can be implemented on the computer. For this, the student will also have to learn one or more programming languages and paradigms to use the programming notions and systematize the use of data structures and algorithms to solve different categories of problems. Students often have the perception that the focus is on learning the syntax of the programming language, leading them to focus on implementation activities rather than activities such as planning, drawing, or testing [11]. The acquisition of competences for the development of computer programs is one of the main challenges faced by computer science students. As a result of not being able to develop the abilities needed (for example, abstraction), students drop out the subjects and sometimes even the course [12]. A teacher has a moral and professional obligation to develop strategies to combat this problem. Active teaching methodology has been widely embraced for this purpose [13, 14], involving students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing [15]. It is a process of having students engage in some activity that forces them to reflect upon ideas and how they are using those ideas, keeping students mentally (and often physically) active while learning, through activities that involve gathering information, thinking and problem solving [16]. Any professional responsible and motivated to carry out all tasks to help students develop the necessary skills in such a unit [17, 18]. Some methods and strategies have been extensively studied and tried to motivate students who do not have the internal strength to succeed: active methodologies [13–15], project based learning [19], agile methodology such as SCRUM [20, 21], pair programming [22] and many others [23, 24]. There are several strategies and methodologies that help the teaching-learning process. It is necessary to know these strategies, as well as to become aware of the various possibilities that they give to the process so that they are adopted or, on the contrary, are discarded. The experience report of other teachers becomes an essential tool to know what and how these techniques are used. Literature offers this possibility. The purpose of this paper is to provide an up-to-date review of the existing literature and to analyze the scientific production on strategies on teaching how to program in higher education in journals indexed in Elsevier’s Scopus. Quality studies are important to give clues on how research in the area has been carried out and eventually to predict the future [25]. Bibliometric analysis [26] is the quantitative study of bibliographic material: it provides a general picture of a research field that can be classified by papers, authors and journals. Bibliometric methods employ a quantitative approach for the description, evaluation, and monitoring of published research. These methods have the potential to introduce
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a systematic, transparent, and reproducible review process and thus improve the quality of reviews [27]. Bibliometric analysis provides objective criteria that can assess the research development in a field and act as a valuable tool for measuring scholarship quality and productivity [28]. Bibliometric methods offer systematization and replication processes that can improve understanding of the dissemination of knowledge in a field and can highlight gaps and opportunities that may contribute to the advancement of the discipline [29]. This article is divided into several sections: the next section presents the literature review on teaching learning strategies that were used in CS1. The methodology is defined in the third section. Then the results are presented and at the end they are discussed, and the conclusion is made.
2 Literature Review We did a thorough review of the bibliography related to strategy to be used in teachinglearning programming in higher education and we analyzed what was defined by previous studies [30–33]. Then we summarize some of those strategies that we consider most important, namely flipped classroom, pair programming, active methodologies, gamebased learning, and peer assessment. It is necessary to make it clear that other strategies were presented for this purpose, however it seemed to us that these are the ones that appear most in the quality literature. 2.1 Flipped Classroom Flipped classroom is a strategy that has been widely used in different teaching-learning subjects at the university. The dynamics of this teaching-learning technique is to invert the traditional order: students have contact with new subjects before the classroom, using videos, texts, or other material, as well as small online tests to check their knowledge. In this way, the face-to-face classes are reserved for discussion, doubts, and application of previously acquired knowledge. There are great advantages: each student learns at his own pace and during classes and interactions with the teacher, so he can make better use of time, achieving an application of the knowledge he previously acquired. In this way, the instructors can propose dynamic classes and solve more interesting exercises, not wasting time with classes to transmit knowledge. The concept of flipped classrooms intends to invert the way content is taught and applied. If, in the traditional format, the contents are usually presented in a face-to-face class and later applied to homework, in an inverted format it works the other way around: the contents are learned by the students before classes and the application of knowledge is done in the classroom with the accompaniment of the instructor. There are several definitions: “educational technique that consists of two parts: interactive group learning activities inside the classroom, and direct computer-based individual instruction outside the classroom” [34] or “specific type of blended learning design that uses technology to move lectures outside the classroom and uses learning activities to move practice with concepts inside the classroom” [35]. Not everything is easy in this paradigm: the materials for the students have to be very efficient, the students have to do their previous work and the instructor has to be able to
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understand what is the best support he can give to his students. The responsibility for learning is on the student’s side so students can work towards mastery of the material [36]. This means, in Bloom’s revised taxonomy [37, 38], that students do the lower levels of cognitive work outside of class and focus on the higher forms of cognitive work in class [39]. Are all students capable of doing their homework before classes? Can this technique be used by less motivated students? And as for the students that are highly motivated: do they have advantages in being guided by this type of inverted classes? Despite the doubts, several reports have been made to show that the adoption of inverted classes can have good results. Existing literature generally makes comparisons of inverted classes with traditional classes [40–42]. Different objectives are referred, as programming self-efficacy and academic performance [43], gauge the use of the MUSIC model [44], check for different acceptance by gender [45], or compare different technological approaches: students take computers to the classroom or ban computers from the classroom, requiring students to solve programming problems on paper [46, 47]. In these experiences, different technologies are used: some use Coursera MOOCs [48], Microsoft PowerPoint Documents [41], others use YouTube videos [49], others make videos and put them on the teacher’s YouTube channel [50], others use links embedded in pages [51, 52]. There are those who use Facebook [53, 54], MOODLE [55], blackboard [56], TeachBack and Spinoza [46, 47] or WordPress [51]. Most teaching-learning dynamics go through online versions of the course textbook [57] and videos before laboratory classes [42, 58–60]. Videos are usually created by the instructor or chosen by him, but there are cases where students are encouraged to look for videos that fit the given subject [54]. Some articles report multiple-choice quizzes over the video material [49] or at the beginning of classes [61]. Inverted classes are generally used as a teaching-learning strategy, but in some cases Partially Flipped Classroom Model is used [62]. There are pedagogical techniques that are used, such as Pair Programming. Think-Pair-Share, Contingency Plans [62], Peer Instruction and Team-Based Learning [63], group activity and discussion [64], ProblemBased Learning [65], peer instruction [56], pair programming [59]. As an example of the inverted dynamics of the class: initial five minutes of class used by the instructor to review the goals and objectives of the class, ten minutes for questions and clarifications from students, 80 min to do programming exercises in pairs, ten minutes for a short test and the last five minutes of class for the instructor to specify goals and objectives for the next class. Outside of class, students watch videos, read reference material, and solve homework problems [43]. Viewing long static videos can be boring and course overwhelming [58]. Students generally perceive the online lectures as helpful [66]. Intrinsic motivation did not impact performance in the flipped classroom [67]. Self-study gives more motivation to study programming and it is appreciated more by the students who like self-pace [68]. Students prefer inverted classroom rather than traditional lectures. 60% [69]. Students’ enthusiasm for the course increased over the semester [59]. Drop, Pass and Failure Rates compare to traditional lectures [59, 70], but significantly higher grades on the exam are the inverted offering compared to the traditional offering [42], as the inverted offering encourages students to “go big or go home” [70]. 57% of respondents preferred using class time for problem solving or active learning with the instructor present versus listening to a lecture
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[60]. Gate-check video quizzes are not sufficient to improve the grades of students in a flipped CS1 classroom [49] or flipped classroom results in enhanced student performance in the final exam and also contributes to improving competency acquisition [40, 43]. By adding explicit learning objectives and exercises to be completed before students come to class, these worksheets can improve student preparedness, allowing for class-time to focus more on advanced learning objectives [56]. 2.2 Pair Programming Pair programming is a practice in which two programmers work collaboratively at one computer, on the same design, algorithm, or code [71, 72]. All programming tasks are done in pairs at one display, keyboard, and mouse [73, 74]. The tasks include all phases of the development process (design, debugging, testing, etc.) not just coding [75]. One is the driver, who controls the keyboard and mouse and is responsible for entering program code. The other is the navigator and sits next to the driver and watches for errors, discusses alternative design approaches, offers suggestions [76, 77]. He continuously assures quality, trying to understand, asking questions, looking for alternative approaches, helping to avoid defects alone [78]. The programmers regularly trade roles while pairing creator becomes quality assurer and vice versa [79]. Code written by only one member of the pair is reviewed by both partners together before it is officially accepted as part of the program. The driver and navigator can brainstorm on demand at any time, communicating at least every 45 s to a minute [80]. One version is the Distributed pair programming, where the pair is not sitting side by side on the same computer: they synchronously collaborate on the same design or code, but from different locations [80]. To be able to do this, they require technological support for sharing desktops and verbal conversation or even capability of video conferencing with Web cams if required [80]. Pair-think refers to the pair’s enhanced ability to generate and evaluate alternatives and pair relaying is the effect of having two people working to resolve a problem together [81]. In 1995, Larry Constantine [82] reported observing dynamic duos at Whitesmiths, Ltd. producing code faster and more bug-free than ever before: “Two programmers in tandem is not redundancy; it’s a direct route to greater efficiency and better quality”. Then in 1999, Extreme Programming (XP), a collection of well-known software engineering practices, was conceived and developed to address the specific needs of software development, producing all software in pairs, two programmers at one screen. XP is one of the agile software process paradigms. Pair programming is one of the key practices in XP [77], which operates on 12 core principles: the planning game, continuous testing, on-site customer, small releases, refactoring, a 40-h work week, system metaphor, continuous integration, simple design, collective code ownership, coding standards, and pair programming [22]. XP uses short iterations with small releases and rapid feedback, close customer participation, constant communication and coordination, continuous refactoring, continuous integration and testing, collective code ownership and pair programming [83]. The first empirical study was published in 1998 by Professor Nosek [84] from Temple University. He reported on his study 15 programmers working for 45 min on a challenging problem, important to their organization, in their own environment, and with their own equipment. Results showed that pair programming improved both their performance and their enjoyment of the problem-solving process. The groups
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completed the task 40% more quickly and effectively by producing better algorithms and code in less time. Generally, programmers are skeptical about working in pairs: usually a programmer’s job is lonely and silent, but after trying it out they become very fond and most programmers grow to prefer pair programming. They admit to working harder and smarter on programs because they do not want to let their partner down [81]. Many benefits are described in the literature, such as increased productivity, improved code quality, enhanced job satisfaction, confidence [77], and less time to solve the problem than individuals [84]. Pair programming has become widely accepted as an alternative to solo programming: when they pair off they find solutions which none of them would have found alone [78] and started to be used in teaching as a collaborative teaching strategy, especially in the introduction to programming courses, but not only. The first experiences were carried out at North Carolina State University [71, 85], University of Karlsruhe [73, 78] and University of California at Santa Cruz [86, 87] among others. In these cases, the courses were always CS1, computer science one. Findings included more confident students, greater course completion and pass rates [22], a more likely to persist in computerrelated majors, reduced workload for the teaching staff [87]. There are studies that prove the speed of getting the tasks done: assignments 40–50% faster than solo developers [88]. It often benefits women and can be a solution for more women in computer science courses [76, 89]. But there are those who hate this strategy using various arguments, the first of which is a huge expenditure of time, money and resources: when two people are doing the same task, the spent effort is doubled [77], pairs spend almost twice as much total programmer effort as solo programmers [79]. Others doubt the benefits and say there is a need for more rigorous studies to compare the effectiveness of pair programming with reviewing techniques [73, 78]. Other studies find reasons that make the findings unclear: students with lower self-reported programming skill enjoy pair programming more than students with higher self-reported programming skill, work their best when the pair is at their own level and don’t like working with peers who think they have a lower level of knowledge [89]. However, educators cannot predict this perception, nor can pairs be formed based on similar technical competence [85]. The most critical aspect of creating an effective pair programming implementation is to minimize the potential scheduling conflicts between partners [86]. Many of the studies that have been done on pair programming are related to compatibility like personality type, learning style, skill level, programming self-esteem, work ethic or time management preference [90]. The team’s success depends on how effective they work as a team, despite their skills and abilities [91]. Students notably preferred to pair with a partner of similar or higher skill level, pairs comprised of a sensor and an intuitive learning style seem to be compatible, and pairs with differing work ethic are generally not compatible [90]. Some studies investigated personality type using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to measure an individual’s personality based on extroversion vs. introversion, sensing vs. intuition, thinking vs. feeling and judging vs. perceiving [75]. Other studies are based on the five-factor NEO Personality Inventory: Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Openness to experience [91]. But there are studies that find as a result that personality type had no effect on the results, so these pairings can be treated as random [92].
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2.3 Active Learning Active learning presupposes the concept of Student-Centered Instruction (SCI), often defined by contrast with traditional instructional approaches characterized by greater teacher direction [24]. SCI is an instructional approach in which students influence the content, activities, materials, and pace of learning. This learning model places the student (learner) in the center of the learning process. The instructor provides students with opportunities to learn independently and from one another, and coaches them in the skills they need to do so effectively [16]. It is proven to be a good way to motivate students and make them work on the subjects that are taught in the classroom, attracting, and engaging them. There are several studies that prove the advantages and motivation created in students with the use of active methodologies as opposed to passive learning in large classes, such as in Technology-Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) [23]. In programming courses, instructional activities encourage students to learn how to program by doing programming and thinking about what they are doing. A variety of approaches fit beneath the umbrella of student-centered learning, including case-based learning, goal-based scenarios, learning by design, project-based learning, and problembased learning [24]. Leaning by design is “a project-based inquiry approach to science learning with roots in case-based reasoning and problem-based learning, pointing out the theoretical contributions of both” [93]. Project-based learning is a comprehensive approach to classroom teaching and learning that is designed to engage students in investigation of authentic problems. Students are responsible for both the questions and the answers to such problems [19]. This form of learning allows students to experiment and improve their skills by developing medium projects in contrast to small programs as is usual in courses of this type. With this methodology the students gain independence and self-study traits, accompanying the subjects taught in classes with aspects related to real life. Problem-based learning is an instructional method in which students learn through facilitated problem solving, using a complex problem that does not have a single correct answer [94].
3 The Research Questions The question, along with the purpose of the review, the intended deliverables and the intended audience, determines how the data are identified, collected and presented [95]. There are several questions that we want to answer in this paper: – How has the evolution of the publication of articles in quality journals related to strategies to introductory programming in higher education been? – What are the characteristics of journals where there is a greater number of publications related to the subject? – What is the approach to strategies to introductory programming in higher education? – Who publishes on the subject? Where do they work? – What are the most cited articles?
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4 Methodology The term bibliometrics was first used in 1969 by Alan Pritchard, hoping that the term would be used explicitly in all studies which seek to quantify the processes of written communication and would quickly gain acceptance in the field of information science [96]. Moed mentioned the potential of this type of study that reveals the enormous potential of quantitative, bibliometric analyses of the scholarly literature for a deeper understanding of scholarly activity and performance, and highlights their policy relevance [97]. In scientific research, it is important to get a wider perspective of research already being conducted concerning a relevant subject matter [98] and a bibliometric analysis profile on the research trajectory and dynamics of the research activities across the globe [99]. This is a bibliometric study that systematically analyses the literature using articles indexed at Elsevier’s Scopus database. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of international journal papers that we expect provides a useful reference for future research. To define the search words, we used the knowledge established in several previous studies [30–33]. The articles we intend to find are from this century (2000 until last year) and are published in journals (articles or reviews). The intersection will be between university, learning-teaching how to program and the strategies that were presented in the literature review section presented in this article, so the search strategy was: TITLE-ABS-KEY (“learn to program” OR “learning programming” OR “introductory programming” OR “introduction to programming”) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (universit* OR “higher education” OR “degree” OR “Undergraduate”) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (“project” OR group OR pair OR “active learning” OR flipped OR “based learning” OR strateg*) AND DOCTYPE (ar OR re) AND PUBYEAR > 1999 AND PUBYEAR < 2020.
5 Results 5.1 When Considering the twenty years of publications, the average number of articles found is 4.6 annual documents. It is noticeable that in the last few years there has been an enormous increase in articles: if we consider the last five years considered in the study, there were 52 papers while in the years 2000–2004 there were only seven articles. This is very visible if we analyze Fig. 1 (Annual evolution published papers). 5.2 Where Papers were published in 60 international journals, eight of which published three or more articles. IEEE Transactions on Education published six articles, Computer Applications in Engineering Education published five papers. Both journals are from the United States. 40% of the subjects are Social Sciences, 27% Computer Science and 21% Engineering.
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21 18 15 12 9 6 3 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
0
Fig. 1. Annual evolution published papers.
The following table presents information related to the sources that published three or more articles, namely the country of origin, the subject (s), quartile (s) (Q), Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR 2019), and the Hirsch index (H Index) (Table 1). Table 1. Journals information’s. Journal
#
Country
Subject
Q
SJR 2019
H index
IEEE Transactions on Education
6
United States
Engineering Social Sciences
Q1 Q1
0.88
65
Computer Applications 5 in Engineering Education
United States
Computer Science Engineering Social Sciences
Q2 Q1 Q2
0.4
26
Computer Science Education
4
United Kingdom
Engineering Social Sciences
Q1 Q2
0.53
29
Conf. In Research and Practice in Informat Techn
4
Australia
Computer Science
0.11
35
International Journal of 4 Engineering Education
Ireland
Engineering Social Sciences
Q1 Q2
0.45
47
Computers and Education
3
United Kingdom
Computer Science Social Sciences
Q1 Q1
3.05
164
Computers in Education Journal
3
United States
Computer Science Social Sciences
Q3 Q3
0.26
13
Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education
3
Turkey
Social Sciences
Q3
0.32
20
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5.3 What In the 92 articles we found 160 different keywords. Students (32), Teaching (24), Curricula (18), Computer Programming (17), Introductory Programming Course (13), Education (10) and Introductory Programming (10) are the most common keywords (Fig. 2. Most common keywords.).
Fig. 2. Most common keywords.
5.4 Who 46% of the articles have one or two authors and 41% have three or four co-authors (Fig. 3. Number of authors.). There are three authors with three articles: Hacer Özyurt and Özcan Özyurt (both from Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi, Trabzon, Turkey) and Linda Werner, and 12 authors with two documents.
5 6 +7 4% 5% 3% 4 21% 3 21%
1 23% 2 23%
Fig. 3. Number of authors.
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There are five little clusters: C1: Hacer Özyurt and Özcan Özyurt C2: Tomáš Pitner, Stelios Xinogalos, Miloš Savic and Mirjana Ivanovic C3: Nor Hasbiah Ubaidullah and Zulkifley Mohamed C4: Luka Fürst and Viljan Mahnic C5: Linda Werner and Charles E. McDowell (Table 2). Table 2. Authors with two or more articles. Author
N Affiliation
Hacer Özyurt
3
Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi, Trabzon, Turkey
Özcan Özyurt
3
Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi, Trabzon, Turkey
Linda Werner
3
University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, United States
Tomáš Pitner
2
Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Stelios Xinogalos
2
Panepistimion Makedonias, Thessaloniki, Greece
Miloš Savic
2
University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Mirjana Ivanovic
2
University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Nor Hasbiah Ubaidullah 2
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim, Malaysia
Zulkifley Mohamed
2
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim, Malaysia
Sohail Iqbal Malik
2
Al-Buraimi College: Al-Buraimi, OM
Luka Fürst
2
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Viljan Mahnic
2
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Charles E. McDowell
2
University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, United States
Abdullah Mohd Zin
2
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
Donna Teague
2
Queensland University of Technology QUT, Brisbane, Australia
The authors are from 34 different countries: 26% from United States, 11% from Turkey and 10% from Malaysia. Two articles are written in Spanish and one document is in Turkish. 5.5 Most Cited The most cited articles in our database are related to peer programming: the first [22] makes a review on the subject, while the second [76] shows that the strategy can be very useful for women as it is a way to help not only in the skills of programming but also because it is a way to increase self-confidence; both papers are written by authors from University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, United States. The most cited article has 213 citations, the tenth has 26. In the following table (Table 3) we list top ten more cited papers.
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S. R. Sobral Table 3. Most cited papers.
Document title
Authors
Year
Pair programming improves student retention, confidence, and program quality
McDowell, C., Werner, L., Bullock, H.E., Fernald, J.
2006 Communications of the ACM 49(8), pp. 90–95
Pair-programming helps female computer science students
Werner, L.L., McDowell, C., Hanks, B.
2004 ACM Journal on 109 Educational Resources in Computing 4(1), pp. 4
MATLAB meets LEGO mindstorms - a freshman introduction course into practical engineering
Behrens, A., Atorf, L., Schwann, R., (…), Hameyer, K., Aach, T.
2010 IEEE Transactions on Education 53(2),5208321, pp. 306–317
A distributed system for learning programming on-line
Verdú, E., Regueras, 2012 Computers and L.M., Verdú, M.J., (…), Education 58(1), De Castro, J.P., Queirós, pp. 1–10 R.
Review PCRaster Karssenberg, D., software and course Burrough, P.A., Sluiter, materials for teaching R., de Jong, K. numerical modelling in the environmental sciences
Source
Cited by 213
92
78
2001 Transactions in GIS 5(2), pp. 99–110
57
Closing the gender gap Rubio, M.A., 2015 Computers and in an introductory Romero-Zaliz, R., Education 82, programming course Mañoso, C., De Madrid, pp. 409–420 A.P.
34
Transforming an introductory programming course: from lectures to active learning via wireless laptops
Barak, M., Harward, J., Kocur, G., Lerman, S.
33
Why complicate things? Introducing programming in high school using Python
Grandell, L., Peltomäki, 2006 Conferences in Research M., Back, R.-J., and Practice in Salakoski, T. Information Technology Series 5(2), pp. 71–80
2007 Journal of Science Education and Technology 16(4), pp. 325–336
My program is ok - am Kinnunen, P., Simon, B. 2012 Computer Science I? Computing Education 22(1), freshmen’s experiences pp. 1–28 of doing programming assignments
33
28
(continued)
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Table 3. (continued) Document title
Authors
Improving Topalli, D., Cagiltay, programming skills in N.E. engineering education through problem-based game projects with scratch
Year
Source
2018 Computers and Education 120, pp. 64–74
Cited by 26
6 Conclusions The curricular units of the first year of computer science degrees where freshman students have a first contact with computer thinking and a programming language are the object of concern for researchers and teachers. The skills to be acquired are very important for students because they are necessary for later courses. It appears that the performance of students in these subjects proves to be very important for the success of students in the course (and future professional life) but they are also decisive for the continuation or drop out of students in undergraduate courses. Everyone who cares about this issue should try to develop strategies for success - decreasing according to traditional failure and dropout taxes. In the literature there are reports of experiences with different methodologies, such as flipped classes, active methodologies, or programming by pairs. This article provides a review and a biometric study of this literature and of these strategies that help in the success of the curricular units of introduction to programming. The interest in this study is to know what are the methodologies that have been used and at the same time to know the characteristics of these publications. We find that articles have grown in number in the past few years; that the newspapers in which they are published are mainly from the United States, in English, first and second quartile journals and whose subjects are Social Sciences, Computer Science and Engineering. The most common keywords in these articles are Students and Teaching. There are three authors with three articles, everyone else has fewer publications. Two of these authors have affiliation in Turkey and the other in the United States. 26% of the articles in our database are from United States. The two most cited articles were written by authors from the United States and are about pair programming and published in journals associated with ACM. Our study shows that in recent years there has been an increase in publications on strategies for learning - teaching initial programming. This reason leads us to believe that the coming years continue to show an increase in this field - which is an excellent indicator for researchers and teachers concerned with this subject.
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The Role of Higher Education Institutions in the Accessible Tourism Ecosystem: Requirements for the Conceptualization of an Information System Pedro Teixeira1(B) , Joana Alves1 , Celeste Eusébio2 , and Leonor Teixeira3 1 Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism,
University of Aveiro, 3010-193 Aveiro, Portugal {pmiguel,joanapimentelalves}@ua.pt 2 Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies, Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism, University of Aveiro, 3010-193 Aveiro, Portugal [email protected] 3 Institute of Electronics and Informatics Engineering of Aveiro, Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism, University of Aveiro, 3010-193 Aveiro, Portugal [email protected]
Abstract. For information systems to be successful, it is important to involve and consider the perspective of all stakeholders. In the accessible tourism market, higher education institutions (HEI) are a very important stakeholder, playing a major role in training and research. This work intends to explore the information requirements that are most valued by higher education institutions in order to conceptualize a Web-based information system which is capable of promoting more accessible tourism conditions for visitors with disabilities (VwD). To achieving this goal, questionnaires were applied to a sample of students and directors of tourism in HEI. Generally speaking, both groups understood the need for a Web platform and also revealed interest in using it. Regarding information to retrieve from the platform, accessible market characteristics and training opportunities were highlighted, while inputs connected to research sharing were the best regarded. Overall, this work allows a general view of information technologies in education, for the specific case of accessible tourism. Keywords: Accessible tourism · Higher education institutions · Information systems
1 Introduction One of the main challenges in accessible tourism is to deliver accessible information to visitors with disabilities (VwD). Information systems can be excellent tools for information sharing between VwD and tourism organizations, which helps to promote accessible tourism. Despite this, research shows that technology solutions to promote accessible © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 151–162, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_15
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tourism based on the Web are currently very scarce. With the growth of the accessible tourism market and all the potential associated with it, Web platforms can be an excellent way to capitalize on it. The success of Web systems depends on how well they fits the users’ needs [1]. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how information exchange should be processed. This interaction is mainly defined by the inputs and outputs traded between the users and the information platform [2]. In addition to this, it is important to assure that the system in this area can work as a technological solution to overcome accessibility constraints in tourism. Another very important aspect for the development of accessible tourism and overcoming barriers and constraints is training [3]. The accessible tourism market has specific needs, which require more attention in terms of their information requirements for support and the offer of adapted tourism products implies tourism industry staff having the knowledge and skills needed to work with the accessible tourism market [4]. For this reason, organizations responsible for training human resources in tourism, like higher education institutions (HEI), are important actors in the creation of a more inclusive accessible tourism market. The scarce literature in this area suggests that the people working in the tourism industry have little information on the needs and travel constraints of people with disabilities (PwD) [5] and that the information delivered by traditional information sources to this market is frequently inadequate, inaccurate or incomplete [6]. Moreover, few studies use an integrative perspective of all the stakeholders that should be involved in the creation of tourism experiences for the accessible market (demand, supply agents and HEI). Therefore, this study is part of a research project that intends to overcome this gap, by conceptualizing a platform for improving accessible tourism conditions for people with special needs (PwSN), by integrating the three essential stakeholders: accessible tourism market, tourism supply agents and organizations responsible for training human resources in tourism. The present paper aims to analyse how universities and other HEI in the tourism field can contribute to the development of an accessible tourism information platform. To achieve this goal, the paper is divided into five parts. After the introduction, theoretical background about the discussed topic is presented, namely the importance of information systems and the role of higher education study programmes in accessible tourism. The third part presents a description of the applied methodology. In section four, the results obtained indicate the information that HEI intend retrieve and insert into a potential platform. In the last section, the main conclusions, limitations and some suggestions for future research are pointed out.
2 Literature Review 2.1 Information Systems in Accessible Tourism In tourism, PwD have greater accessibility requirements, as well as the need for more detailed and specific information, especially while searching for tourism activities [7] and planning travel. However, as stated by Waschke [8], the supply of specific information is scarcer for those with higher accessibility requirements. As a consequence, the tourism
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industry fails to appeal to PwD and thus ignores possible business opportunities and wastes this considerable potential market [9]. In tourism, the use of information systems can be primarily responsible for facilitating access conditions for people with any disability. This type of system allows easy access for PwD to a range of tourism activities [10], contributing to better tourism experiences. This type of systems can be a crucial aspect for the integration of the digital world, accessibility and tourism [11]. As new digital activities increase, the amount of data also increases exponentially, making the effective processing of data a significant activity. These systems can provide data processing and improve information management by helping to distinguish which information is essential and which is not relevant [12], which can be particularly important for VwD with specific information requirements. A lot of data exists on various types of platforms like Web-systems and social media. This type of platform is now the preferred means of communication in tourism [13], so its capacity cannot be underestimated. Information, therefore, is the foundation for accessible tourism, and because of that, the role of information systems is crucial. However, the process of building an accessible tourism platform is a somewhat complex task, and therefore should combine the cooperation of many entities, not only PwD, but also the different stakeholders involved in the accessible tourism market environment [14]. 2.2 Importance of Higher Education Study Programmes for Accessible Tourism According to the World Health Organization, 15% of the world’s population has some kind of disability and/or impairment [15]. More recently, a report published by the European Commission on the economic impact of accessible tourism in Europe revealed that about 138.6 million people in the European Union had some kind of specific need for mobility [16], and by 2020 this number is expected to be in the order of 154.6 million. The world’s population is also ageing [17]. Accessible tourism is a growing market, including not only PwD and seniors, but also people with other special needs (e.g. pregnant women, people with respiratory diseases and diabetics) [18], which should not be ignored by the tourism industry. Accessible tourism is a very heterogeneous market and requires the offer of adapted tourism products and hospitality staff with specific skills to respond adequately to their specific needs. However, in most cases, those special needs are either unknown or ignored by the agents of the tourism industry [19]. In addition, negative attitudes and insensitivity of staff are common behaviours towards visitors with special needs [20]. This results in numerous constraints, which have a negative impact when people with special needs purchase tourism products or services. Given this, some authors have highlighted the importance of training to overcome these constraints [21]. Tourism staff should receiving training to recognize and understand the particular needs of PwD and attending customers appropriately without any prejudice [22]. The importance of training is known, but the literature in this area is limited and highlights that in the majority of countries, tourism schools have not initiated any specialized programmes for the requirements of the accessible tourism market. Moreover, in Portugal, the literature in this field is very scarce [4].
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3 Methodology 3.1 Objectives and Contextualization The results presented in this article are part of a research project that aims to develop an innovative tool, a Web application named Access@Tour. This application will work similar to a Web based information system to support information management in the context of accessible tourism. Access@Tour will promote communication, information sharing, accordingly to suggestions based on users’ profiles and knowledge transfer among three types of users, specifically (i) consumers (PwD, the elderly and other people with functional limitations); (ii) supply agents (producers, accommodation units, food & beverage units, transport and tourism animation enterprises, intermediaries – travel agents and tour operators, and public organizations with responsibility in the sector); and (iii) institutions responsible for training in tourism (HEI). The intention is also that the platform work as a repository of knowledge, where accessible tourism-related research can be shared and training elements can be obtained. The challenge of this work is to examine the role of HEI in the conceptualization of a Web platform for accessible tourism, by understanding information considered relevant to insert into and retrieve from a potential platform (Access@Tour). This platform will stimulate communication among all actors involved in the creation of tourism experiences and simultaneously create knowledge that could be used to improve research and training in the accessible tourism. 3.2 Data Collection and Analysis As the literature review showed, studies about this theme are still limited and questionnaires are an efficient method of collecting primary information about the topic under analysis [4]. To evaluate the perspectives of HEI and so capture some information requirements that should be included in the platform, two self-administered questionnaires were applied to a sample of students and all directors of Portuguese higher education tourism study programmes (PHETSP). Table 1 illustrates the process used to collect the data. The questionnaires administered were developed based on the literature regarding accessible tourism and education [e.g. 4, 21, 22]. Five-point Likert-type scales were used to examine the relevance attributed to the creation of a digital platform (ranging from 1 = “not relevant” to 5 = “highly relevant”), the probability of using it (ranging from 1 = “not at all likely” to 5 = “very likely”), the type of information that should be retrieved (ranging from 1 = “not important” to 5 = “very important”), and inputs that users would like to insert on the platform (ranging from 1 = “not at all likely” to 5 = “very likely”). The questionnaires also included a number of socio-demographic questions, important for understanding the profile of the respondents. To test the readability, feasibility, layout, style and clarity of questions, a pilot test was conducted with a sample of 10 directors and 42 students. Based on the results of these pre-tests, additional modifications to the questionnaires were made. The analysis of the results obtained was carried out using the SPSS software. A descriptive analysis was adopted to calculate frequencies, means and standard deviations.
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Table 1. Data collection procedure Directors of PHETSP
Students of PHETSP
Population: all directors of PHETSP (undergraduate and master’s degree) – 76 Instrument used to collect the data: questionnaire Sources used to design the questionnaire: literature review, HEI websites and National Agency of Degree Accreditation (A3ES)
Population: all students of PHETSP (undergraduates and master’s students) Instrument used to collect the data: questionnaire Sources used to design the questionnaire: literature review, HEI websites and A3ES
Administration: Online questionnaires (October 2019 – June 2020)
Administration: Online and face-to-face questionnaires (October 2019 – June 2020)
Language: Portuguese
Language: Portuguese/English Sampling approach: Non-probabilistic
Sample size: 42 valid questionnaires
Sample size: 508 valid questionnaires
4 Findings 4.1 Sample Profile Table 2 summarizes the demographic profile of the sample (students and directors of Portuguese higher education tourism study programmes (PHETSP). In relation to students, the majority seem to be taking a bachelor degree (89.4%), have Portuguese nationality (93.9%), are female (75.2%), declare no disability (97%) and be around 22 years old. Regarding the directors, the biggest share are responsible for a first study cycle (65.9%), have Portuguese nationality (97.6%), are female (64.3%), almost none declare a disability (95.2%) and are around 46 years old. Table 2. Sample profile Sample profile
Students N
Directors %
Mean
Std. deviation
N
%
Mean
Std. deviation
46.00
6.56
Tourism study cycle Undergraduate
454
89.40
29
65.90
54
10.60
13
29.50
477
93.90
41
97.60
31
6.10
1
2.40
Male
126
24.80
15
35.70
Female
382
75.20
27
64.30
No
493
97.00
40
95.20
Yes
15
3.00
2
4.80
Age
508
Master’s Nationality Portuguese Other Gender
Has a disability
22.56
6.91
42
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4.2 Attributed Relevance and Probability of Use As can be observed in Fig. 1, directors and students consider the Access@Tour platform to be relevant. Moreover, both reveal a great likelihood of using it. However, some differences were observed between these two groups in terms of relevance and interest in this platform. Students give higher importance to the creation of the platform Access@Tour, when compared with the directors; however, they expressed less probability of using it.
Fig. 1. Relevance and probability of using
On the other hand, the directors point out an opposite direction; they considering the creation of this platform less important, but they state a higher intention to use it when compared with the students. These different perspectives may be related to the different profiles of these two groups in terms of knowledge and of access to information related to the accessible tourism market. Based on these results, it is important to highlight the relevance that students attach to a platform with these characteristics, showing a high sensibility to the characteristics and relevance of the accessible tourism market. 4.3 Relevant Information to Insert on the Platform The inputs that users related to HEI would like to insert on the platform are represented in Table 3. Regarding students, four main characteristics should be inserted into the platform. Testimonials about training and work experience related to accessible tourism market are the most highlighted. The students’ intention of inserting this type of information suggests that they recognize the importance of sharing their own experiences so that others can obtain more knowledge of the main information requirements to satisfy the needs of this growing market. This can point out the lack of accessible tourism training (theoretical and practical) in PHETSP, as indicated in literature [4]. Conversely, they showed less interest in sharing their curriculums.
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Regarding the information that directors are more interested in inserting on the platform, education and research are the areas where they are most available to share information (research networks, academic works and research projects on accessible tourism). Table 3. Information to insert on the platform
Students
Information to insert on the platform
N
Testimonials about training experiences targeted for the accessible tourism market
508 3.64
1.12
Testimonials about work experiences related to the 508 3.64 accessible tourism market (curricular internships, part-time jobs)
1.13
Dissemination of personal projects (cultural and business) for the accessible tourism market
508 3.59
1.15
Curriculum vitae
508 3.24
1.22
Directors Research networks in accessible tourism
Mean Std. deviation
42 4.60
0.62
Academic work in accessible tourism
42 4.60
0.66
Research projects in accessible tourism
42 4.51
0.70
Complementary offers in accessible tourism
42 4.49
0.67
Curricular offers in accessible tourism
42 2.88
1.76
Other information
42 2.51
1.76
Note: scale from 1 – Not at all likely to 5 – Very likely
4.4 Information to Retrieve from the Platform Table 4 presents the information that students and directors are interested in obtaining from this platform. Although both directors and students attach a high importance to the different types of information described in Table 4, the directors, as expected, assign greater importance to different types of information when compared to students. Table 4. Information to retrive from the platform Information to retrieve from the platform
Market characteristics
Needs of the accessible tourism market
Students (N = 508)
Directors (N = 42)
Mean
Std. D
Mean
Std. D
4.28
0.88
4.49
0.70
(continued)
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Information to retrieve from the platform
Students (N = 508)
Directors (N = 42)
Mean
Std. D
Mean
Std. D
Types of experiences sought by the accessible tourism market
4.26
0.84
4.63
0.58
Specific equipment related to the accessible tourism market
4.22
0.85
4.70
0.56
Constraints of the accessible tourism market (infrastructures, communication, interaction and information)
4.21
0.84
4.77
0.53
Types of tourism destinations sought by the accessible tourism market
4.21
0.88
4.58
0.70
Motivations to travel of the accessible tourism market
4.15
0.89
4.72
0.59
Employer needs
Information about employers’ needs related to the accessible tourism market
4.07
0.86
4.65
0.61
Training opportunities
Training related to 4.27 the treatment, communication and interaction with the accessible tourism market
0.85
4.72
0.59
Training related to the safety in the accessible tourism market
4.24
0.83
4.63
0.62
Training in tourism animation for the accessible tourism market (e.g. sport, cultural, and environmental)
4.20
0.88
4.44
0.80
(continued)
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Table 4. (continued) Information to retrieve from the platform
Education/ research
Complementary information
Directors (N = 42)
Mean
Std. D
Mean
Std. D
4.15
0.89
4.65
0.61
Training areas most 4.06 valued by the employers related to the accessible tourism market
0.87
4.49
0.67
Training in handling specific equipment related to the accessible tourism market
4.05
0.91
4.44
0.85
Job offers in accessible tourism
4.22
0.89
4.65
0.61
Internship offers in accessible tourism
4.15
0.99
4.60
0,66
Funding programmes in accessible tourism
4.09
0.91
4.65
0.53
Higher education tourism study programmes in Portugal with curricular units in accessible tourism
4.07
0.93
4.35
0.81
Bibliography in accessible tourism
3.64
1.06
4.51
0.63
Projects and networks in accessible tourism
Na
Na
4.56
0.63
Legislation and practical guides in accessible tourism
3.92
0.96
4.53
0.67
Other types of information
1.77
1.36
4.19
1.22
Training courses in accessible tourism
Job opportunities
Students (N = 508)
Note: scale from 1 – Not important to 5 – Very important; Na – Not applicable
Concerning the different types of information, both directors and students attach greater importance to the characteristics of the accessible tourism market, followed by information on employment and training opportunities in this area. Regarding the characteristics of the accessible tourism market, while students reveal more interest in information about the needs of this market, directors reveal more interest in obtaining
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information on travel constraints of this market. In terms of employment opportunities, both the students and directors consider it relevant to obtain information on jobs and internship opportunities from this platform. Concerning training opportunities to increase competences of tourism human resources in accessible tourism, both students and directors reveal great interest in all training opportunities mentioned in Table 4. However, the greatest interest is on training opportunities on the treatment, communication and interaction with the accessible tourism market. These results demonstrate the awareness of interaction with accessible tourism groups, which is aligned with the recommendation for research in this area to focus on training in these matters [3, 21]. While training in interaction is valued, technical knowledge like how to handle equipment is considered less relevant for the corresponding groups. Regarding relevant information for education/research tasks, directors once again assign more importance to obtaining relevant information from the Access@Tour to these tasks. In that sense, information about funding programmes, projects and networks in accessible tourism are of especial interest for them. This interest also indicates sensibility to accessible tourism issues and a predisposition to develop research in this area. Concerning complementary information, both groups recognized the importance of obtaining information about legislation and practical guides related to accessible tourism from this platform, which may indicate concerns about assured the rights of tourists with disabilities.
5 Conclusion Information is a crucial element for developing accessible tourism, which justifies the importance of building specialized information-sharing platforms. For a successful conceptualization of these systems, diverse stakeholders (e.g. visitors with disabilities, tourism supply organizations and institutions responsible for training in tourism) need to be involved. This study provides relevant insights for conceptualizing a specialized information-sharing platform on accessible tourism, taking different views into account. Thus, this study presented a view on how HEI tourism study programmes could be part of the creation of an information system for accessible tourism, as its success is dependent on the integration of different stakeholders. In addition, the absence of accessible tourism platforms that include the perspective of HEI make this study original and of great relevance in developing accessible tourism. Questionnaires were applied to directors and students of PHETSP. The results of the questionnaires allowed their interest on a potential accessible tourism platform to be evaluated and a depiction of what type of information these users sought and what kind of information would they insert on the platform. Despite some differences between students and directors of PHETSP, both groups consider the building of the Access@Tour platform important and also show interest in its use. Generally speaking way, directors showed more availability to use the Access@Tour platform than the students. Regarding the data inserted on the platform, this was divided into five groups: market characteristics, employer needs, training opportunities, job opportunities, education/research and complementary information. Information related to market characteristics is the most relevant for both students and directors, which demonstrated the need for a better understanding of the needs and requirements of the
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accessible tourism market. Students showed a moderate availability to be active participants and share their information (as the means indicated), which is coherent with the responses concerning attributed relevance and probability of use. Regardless, students consider inserting inputs related to testimonials about training and labour experience as feasible, recognizing the importance of sharing experiences to expand knowledge about the accessible tourism market. In relation to directors, they are willing to share all types of information; however, academic and research networks in accessible tourism are the areas where they view information sharing as most feasible. Despite the originality and relevant contributions of this study, some limitations may be identified. Only the information requirements needed were approached, and thus the way to deliver this information also needs to be addressed. Future research should collect information requirements, taking into account whether the students or directors had disabilities or not. Access@Tour platform will be a major help for PwD and all stakeholders of the accessible tourism market, highlighting the fact that HEI that have a very important role in managing the accessible tourism ecosystem. Acknowledgments. This work was developed in the scope of the research project ACTION - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030376 - funded by FEDER, through COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI), and by national funds (OE), through FCT/MCTES.
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Towards a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Approach for an Object-Oriented Programming Course Leandro Flórez-Aristizábal1
, Clara L. Burbano1
, and Fernando Moreira2(B)
1 Institución Universitaria Antonio José Camacho, Cali, Colombia
{learistizabal,clburbano}@admon.uniajc.edu.co 2 REMIT, IJP, Universidade Portucalense & IEETA, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
[email protected]
Abstract. A Collaborative Learning (CL) process from an inclusive point of view allows the integration of educational didactics, as a process of mediation of knowledge with students. When using a didactic resource, it considers that motivation is important in learning, it facilitates the predisposition of students to participate and get involved, considerably increasing the acquisition and mastery of knowledge. It is important to note that students should be encouraged to be active in nature, understanding skills, creativity, curiosity, and an interest in learning. In this sense, it is necessary to use more active environments, which include the adequate use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), where it is articulated as a set of technological and digital means, resources or tools that contribute to the communication and transmission of information, allowing the development of cognitive skills to understand the collaborative learning process in the classroom and identify the use of Information and Communication Resources (RIC), that integrate the communication process synchronously and asynchronously [1]. In this way, digital tools should be considered as part of the learning process in the teacher’s methodology. For this study, a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) approach was designed for the Systems Seminar course of the Systems Engineering program at University Antonio José Camacho (UNIAJC) in Cali (Colombia). The purpose is to make Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) learning not an individual process but a collective one where students play different roles to solve a software-based problem (from requirements specification to software development). This proposal was evaluated though an experts’ review and results show that this approach may be good starting point to implement CL activities in other engineering fields of computer science. Keywords: Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning · Object-Oriented Programming
1 Introduction Achieving shared understanding among a group of learners has been demonstrated not to be easy [2]. Collaborative Learning (CL) is a strategy where a group of people learn © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 163–172, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_16
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together by interacting with each other and taking advantage of one another’s skills and knowledge [3, 4]. Making groups of people to work on a given goal does not assure collaboration, these kinds of activities must be carefully designed in order to achieve the desired results which are the construction of knowledge of all team members around a common task [5]. CL relies on Positive Interdependences which are considered the ‘heart’ of collaboration [6] and they basically provide the elements to assure collaboration among learners as a team. Some of these interdependences are defining goals (group and individual), dividing the group work by roles, sharing resources among team members, giving rewards for work done as a team, creating identity for the team. This study is oriented towards generating a collaborative learning process with the students of the Systems Engineering program of the University Antonio José Camacho (UNIAJC) in a programming course, through interactive collaborative tools supported by computers. The paper is structured as follows: Sect. 2 shows related work on collaborative learning for programming courses. In Sect. 3, the CSCL proposal is presented. Sections 4 and 5 show the results and discussion of an experts’ review of the proposal and finally Sect. 6 concludes the study.
2 Background and Related Work This study is integrated into globally framed development proposals where programming learning and teaching is not considered an easy task. Studies carried out in [7–12] raise concerns about whether beginning programming courses achieve expected results. Furthermore, Uolevi et al. in [13] state that students lack intrinsic motivation due to the natural difficulties associated with programming. The following studies show how CL can be integrated in programming courses and are a starting point for our research. Kaila et al. [14] worked on the redesign of an Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Course. Knowledge mediation was carried out through the information and communication resource (CIR) called ViLLE, a web-based collaborative education tool that supports a variety of different exercise types. Most of the exercises are automatically assessed and give immediate feedback when submitted. The redesign of the course included enhancing active learning, encouraging collaboration, facilitating Student-Teacher communication and remodeling evaluation methodology. As a strategy it is highlighted that the ViLLE resource allowed integrating surveys in an educommunicative way that allowed students to identify auditory, visual and communicative variables in relation to the process of OOP, in the same way the resource was accompanied in the realization of tutorials as didactic material where the student expressed their concerns about the progress with the resource. The results obtained through this resource were the implementation of the evaluations through learning environments where the ViLLE resource favored communication, integrating writing skills in order to be able to compile the code and test it to identify mistakes, through the error messages that appear on the screen. The main objective was to encourage students to work collaboratively by using learning environments that allow cognitive, communicative and technological development in the learning process related to OOP. The main component of the study is that it supports the development of collaborative learning as
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a process of educational innovation where it is proposed to generate a change in the traditional teaching and learning methodology, in addition to proposing the “acquisition of knowledge and skills through work dynamics in group and interaction”. The course redesign proved to be successful. The pass rate increased by more than 20% in both instances of the redesigned course according to the authors of the study. This study gives valuable information on how a typical programming course may be redesigned making good use of available technology to promote collaboration. Beck and Chizhik [15], worked on a study that focuses on understanding the concept of collaborative/cooperative learning from a multimedia perspective in the use of technologies in the classroom to help with learning, by identifying that cooperative learning (from the perspective of the authors Torrego and Negro [16]), is not only a methodological and potentially effective alternative to teach, but a didactic structure with the capacity to articulate the procedures, attitudes and values of a democratic society that wants to recognize and respect human diversity. Where it specifically adopts, how group learning meets five criteria such as: a) face-to-face interaction, b) positive interdependence, c) individual accountability, d) group heterogeneity and, e) equality of status. The strategy in Beck’s study was to select students of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs, organizing them into groups, which allows integrating the different solutions from the positions that students have from their learning, by exchanging their answers, identifying errors and understanding in a more didactic way what the solution was to the problem proposed. It is important to highlight that the study was very careful with the design and delivery of the evaluations to the groups so that each of the students was selected and integrated into the group to carry out a participation in the development of the proposal, which had a period of three months to understand the skills and abilities in the subject of programming. The study was based on the use of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) of a factor, which served to compare the different groups in a quantitative variable. The results were oriented to the benefits of cooperative collaborative work that come mainly from explanations and promptly obtaining answers to questions, observing that the heterogeneous groups of students with a high level (better comprehension of the matter) were more likely to provide explanations while low-level students (those who have difficulties understanding the matter) were more likely to receive prompt responses from high-level students, since they build solutions to complex problems, through argumentation processes. This study gives outstanding examples of how students can collaboratively help others understand the process of software development and this was taken into account for our proposal.
3 Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Proposal for OOP Teaching The CSCL proposal of this study is aimed at students from the Systems Engineering program at university Antonio José Camacho in Cali (Colombia). The course is Systems Seminar where students learn the basics of software engineering (algorithms, system requirements, class diagrams and object-oriented programming). In this course, the students must follow a series of steps to give possible solutions to common problems.
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The current methodology used in the university for students to solve problems goes as follows: • • • •
Students are given a statement with the problem to solve Then, they must define the requirements of the system A class diagram must be designed according to the requirements. Based on the methods defined in the class diagram, the algorithms to implement those methods have to be designed. • The classes are implemented in Java language and the solution is tested with a Main class and objects of the classes that were proposed in the class diagram (Fig. 1).
Statement
Programming
Algorithms
System Requirements
Class Diagram
Fig. 1. Methodology currently used at the university
This methodology is currently used with students working individually. To make this work collaborative, Positive Interdependencies (PI) were taken into account to assure collaboration among students. The PI that were chosen for this approach are: Roles, Resources, Identity, Goal, Tasks and Reward (This is actually the grade for the activity). Some strategies proposed by Kaila et al. (2016) were also considered in the design of this approach. 3.1 Defining Roles First, students are split into groups of 4 people and all of them must choose a name that identifies them as a team. Each team member is given a role and their correspondent responsibilities/resources. The roles are explained in detail in the following section. • Role 1: Requirements Specifier (RS) This student is in charge of defining the requirements of the system. The client (teacher) gives the information needed for this work. The student is allowed to ask as many questions as necessary to gather and specify the requirements of the system.
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• Role 2: Class Diagrammer (CD) This student receives the requirements and analyzes them with the rest of the group to make the necessary changes (add/remove/modify the requirements proposed by the RS). Then the CD designs the class diagram of the solution. • Role 3: Algorithm Designer (AD) This student analyzes the class diagram along with the rest of the group to make the necessary changes to it (add/remove/modify the classes proposed by the CD). Then, the AD designs the algorithms of the methods defined in the class diagram. • Role 4: Solution Developer (SD) This student analyzes the algorithms along with the rest of the group to make the necessary changes to the algorithms. Then, SD develops the solution in Java programming language. 3.2 The Proposed Activity This process guarantees individual accountability and support from peers in every stage of the process. This process should be repeated interchanging roles to ensure that all students develop or strengthen different skills. This proposal is based on a 3-h class, and the software to be used for the virtual class is ZOOM due to the ability it provides for breakout rooms to separate students in isolated virtual spaces and thus ensure that they do their work individually. Teams of 4 students are created, each student with a role. Then, the requirement specifiers (1 per team) are isolated in a virtual classroom and only the teacher is allowed to talk to them and answer the questions they ask. This first stage (system requirements) lasts 15 min (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. Requirements specification stage
Once each RS has defined the requirements for his/her team, they come back to the main virtual classroom. Virtual spaces are created (one for each team). The four members of each team are invited to join their virtual space to discuss the requirements for 10 min (Fig. 3).
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Fig. 3. Requirements analysis
After that, the RS, AD (algorithm designer) and SD (solution developer) leave the room and only the CD has the task to design the class diagram of the solution (20 min are given to do it). If the CD needs help (with conceptual elements of the diagram), only the teacher may provide it (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4. Class diagram stage
When the CD’s of each team have finished their diagrams, the rest of the team members join the separated virtual space to discuss the diagram for a period of 10 min. After that time, only the AD stays in the room to design the algorithms (40 min) while the rest of the team members return to the main classroom. If the AD needs help (with conceptual elements of the algorithm), only the teacher may provide it (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5. Algorithm design stage
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Finally, all team members join the AD in the team’s virtual space to discuss the algorithms for a period of 15 min. When the discussion ends, only the SD stays in the team’s virtual room to develop the software solution according to the class diagram and the algorithms designed in previous stages (Fig. 6).
Fig. 6. Software development stage
In this stage, the SD has the possibility to ask for help. All members of the team can join the SD for a maximum of 3 min to solve issues with the software development, then, the RS, CD and AD must leave the room. If the problem is not solved, the SD can ask for help from the teacher. Help from team members can be requested 3 times maximum (3 min per request). The development of the software should not last more than 1 h. The remaining 25 min of the class are invested in analyzing the solutions of each team and discussing the problems faced in the design process.
4 Experts’ Review An experts’ review was carried out to evaluate this proposal through a questionnaire. 5 experts with experience in programming teaching and collaborative learning research analyzed all the stages and answered a series of YES/NO questions to rate each stage and give feedback to them. The first question was about the number of people (4 students) proposed for the collaborative work, where 4 of the experts think it is a good idea and only 1 thinks that it depends on the complexity of the problem to solve. Subsequent questions were about the structuring of each stage. When asked about the first stage (system requirements), 4 experts think that 15 min for requirements (1 student per team and teacher) and 10 min for analysis/discussion (all team members) is an appropriate time for this stage. 1 expert thinks it is not enough and this stage could start with a brainstorming, then a categorization and finally achieve a consensus and prioritization. For the second stage (class diagram), all 5 experts think that 20 min for class diagram (1 student per team and help from the teacher when needed) and 10 min for analysis/discussion (all team members) is an appropriate time for this stage. Although, 1 of the experts thinks that there is a problem with this stage since a common problem, when OOP is introduced, is to start using a class diagram. He says it is a “dangerous” idea
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because OOP degenerates to a data model (or close to it). Instead, an interaction diagram (sequence or collaboration diagram) fits better with the OOP paradigm (objects working cooperatively to achieve a functionality objective). Objects respond to messages through their methods and preserve their state according to their constraints. Here, invariants, co-variants and contra-variants are key aspects, moreover when safe types must be introduced (Liskov principle). With safe types, the messages give polymorphism defining the requirements for interfaces and abstract classes. It helps to define well-formed heritage, composite or association structures when the class diagram is modeled. He thinks it is a more natural way for modeling an object-oriented solution, think first in objects and then in the classes (and hierarchies) required for supporting the object behavior in the concert of a cooperative structure among these. For the third stage (algorithm design), 4 experts think that it is well structured and that 40 min for algorithm design (1 student) and 15 min for analysis/discussion is appropriate for this stage. The remaining expert suggests that algorithms are not always needed in the OOP world and that the paradigm requires a mental shift from algorithms to cooperative objects. Finally, for the fourth stage (software development), all 5 experts think it is well structured and the time assigned for this stage is appropriate (60 min for one student developing the software). Also, the resolution of problems with software development is well designed (3 min with all team members, no more than 3 times) and help from the teacher when needed. Experts evaluated the overall collaborative learning proposal using a 5-Likert scale (where 1 is bad and 5 is very good). Three of them rated it with 4, one of them rated it with 3 and the last one with 5 for an average evaluation of 4 which is a good result taking into account that it is just the first evaluation.
5 Discussion The feedback obtained from the experts’ review shows that even though the proposal was well designed, it could be improved. First of all, the time assigned to each stage is adequate as long as the complexity of the problem to be solved is appropriate for it. We believe that as the course progresses, the complexity of the problems may increase without modifying the time assigned in each stage (according to the skills developed by students). Although, the suggestion given by one of the experts in the second stage (class diagram) led us to redesign our proposal and add an interaction diagram stage after the requirements specification and before the class diagram stage. This change forces us to make the following changes: • Requirements Specification stage (from 25 min to 20 min) – Requirements (from 15 min to 12 min) – Requirements analysis (from 10 min to 8 min)
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• Interaction Diagram (15 min - all team members) • Class Diagram stage (from 30 min to 25 min) – Class diagram design (from 20 min to 17 min) – Class diagram analysis (from 10 min to 8 min) • Class Diagram stage (from 30 min to 25 min) • Algorithm Design (from 55 min to 50 min) – Algorithm design (from 40 min to 35 min) – Algorithm analysis (15 min) • Software Development (60 min). About the use of algorithms in OOP teaching, the suggestion given by one of the experts is absolutely valid and it is important to clarify that the algorithm design stage proposed in this study is exclusively for the implementation of methods and not for the overall software. For instance, if one of the classes was designed with the method newUser(int id) and the requirements specify that the ID of the user cannot be the same of other existing users, the algorithm for this method will include the validation of data and probably a loop to assign a valid ID. These kinds of algorithms lead students to implement better solutions with fewer errors according to our own experience in OOP teaching.
6 Conclusions and Future Work This study was proposed due to the difficulties found at the university when teaching OOP as an individual process of knowledge construction. The transition from traditional place-based classroom methods to virtual online classes due to COVID-19 was seen as an opportunity to promote collaborative learning through computers. Based on the activities carried out on the Systems Seminar course in the first period of 2020 (February–June), a new CSCL approach is proposed in order to promote active learning and a collective construction of knowledge among students. An experts’ review helped us improve our proposal through the feedback received. The evaluation of this proposal shows that it was well accepted, and the modifications made will be implemented in the Systems Seminar course of the university in the first period of 2021 (January–June). With the results of this implementation, we expect to use this approach to subsequent programming courses and other areas of the Systems Engineer career like databases, mobile/web programming, software engineering, and others. Funding. This work was supported by the FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. [Project UIDB/05105/2020].
References 1. Rivero, A.D.S.L., Tobar, M.L.B., Granados, C.C.V.: Perspectiva del aprendizaje tradicional y del aprendizaje con comunicación bidireccional en actividades educativas. Revista De Investigaciones UNAD 14(1), 253–262 (2015)
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BIM Education Experience in Social Project Resolution with User Evaluation International Architecture Workshop ETSAB-UPC, UAM-Azc, ETSALS-URL Miguel Ángel Pérez Sandoval1(B) , Isidro Navarro Delgado2 , Alia Besné Yanguas3 , Georgina Sandoval1 , Fernando Rafael Minaya Hernández1 , Ernesto Redondo Dominguez2 Joaquim N. Moya2 , and David Fonseca Escudero3
,
1 Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City, Mexico
{maps,rsg,mhfr}@azc.uam.mx 2 Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain
{isidro.navarro,ernesto.redondo,joaquim.narcis.moya}@upc.edu 3 Universidad Ramón Llull, La Salle, Barcelona, Spain {alia.besne,david.fonseca}@salle.url.edu
Abstract. This article is the continuation of the research published in WorldCist 2020 under the topic “L) Information technologies in education”, which describes the educational results of the implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems in an inter-university workshop. The purpose consists in a real case study in which experiences are observed and evaluated. The main objective is to encourage and improve the preparation of students in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and BIM methodologies. These skills that must be developed to face the transformations of the construction sector. The participants were 27 students from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Azcapotzalco (UAM-Azc), the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSAB) and the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura La Salle (URL). These students participated in the “1st International BIM Workshop on the Resolution of Social Projects 2020”, to carry out a preliminary project of urban equipment in Mexico City (CDMX). The activity was focused into exploring the use of virtual environments, applying the BIM methodology and bringing students closer to scenarios committed to social reality. The evaluation of the user experience was performed with a quantitative survey. The results showed a favorable adoption of BIM systems. The main contribution of the article is the validation of educational methodologies through enhanced learning with technology. This study also aims to be the first stage of academic interoperability between the universities ETSAB-UPC, La Salle URL and UAM Azc. Keywords: Building Information Modeling · User experience · BIM education · Virtual collaboration · Architecture workshop · Project Based Learning
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 173–182, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_17
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1 Introduction The importance of BIM, as a research topic, lies in the gradual incorporation of this methodology into the university curriculum. This will allow it to recognize its educational and didactic benefits and to find mechanisms that favor the labor opportunities of the graduates. There are several empirical researches in BIM education with favorable results in terms of student motivation and satisfaction (Ferrandiz et al. 2016) (Bernal and Rodriguez 2018) (León and Pérez 2018) (Shults 2019) (Besné et al. 2020). In addition, students affirm the usefulness of BIM to develop their projects faster and in a better way (Ferrandiz et al. 2018). Another study (Jin et al. 2019) reveals that students have the perception that BIM will allow them to be better prepared when they graduate. The fragmentation of the construction sector is obvious and the introduction of BIM has further challenged these systems (Shafiq et al. 2013). Thus, from the academy, models must be promoted that extend the current disciplinary collaboration towards the multidisciplinary one. Training future architects in collaborative skills is critical to their professional success. BIM education should not be limited to the application of tools, it should also focus on the benefits of collaboration. According to previous research (Ferrandiz et al. 2017) BIM, is a fully collaborative environment that easily allows universal access to information. In this regard, other studies on BIM implementation have shown that collaborative work facilitated by ICT enriches learning (Marcos 2017) (Suwal and Singh 2018) (Jin et al. 2019). The experiential learning with content committed to social realities is a relevant aspect in the training of students in higher education. Research results shows that the implementation of methods of Project Based Learning (PBL) motivates users and helps them understand the challenges of the industry (Navarro et al. 2012) (Sánchez et al. 2014) (Fonseca et al. 2017) (Zhang et al. 2018) (Fonseca et al. 2020). PBL effectively influences students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills (Tsai et al. 2019). Integrating BIM education and PBL pedagogy provides a solid foundation for teaching architecture because it can provide a planning framework for teaching. The implementation of BIM in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) must also be a strategic decision to improve institutional competitiveness and the validity of the degree. Therefore, BIM requires up-to-date teaching. Academic institutions cannot be unaware of the digitalization of the profession, this adaptation has to minimize efforts and learn to collaborate, not only with the academic community, but with industry, government and society. Therefore, this Workshop sought to create a digital space that would arouse the interest of teachers and enhance student learning, but also, to encourage rapprochement and exchange between society and academia, in a shared learning process. Assessing participants’ experiences, especially perceptions and motivations, will help to promote BIM and its benefits for teaching, on a path to inclusion in the university curriculum. 1.1 Study Case The School of Architecture of Barcelona (ETSAB-UPC, Spain), the School of Architecture of La Salle (ETSALS-URL, Spain) and the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Azcapotzalco (UAM Azcapotzalco, Mexico), in early 2020, collaborated to promote new forms of interaction in virtual environments and highlight the benefits of BIM education
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with real projects. In this way, with the First International BIM Workshop, students, teachers and professionals from the three institutions joined forces to resolve in two weeks the preliminary design of a public healthcare equipment in a community with little access to these services. The workshop was held in the facilities of the Architectural Representation Center of the Department of Architectural Representation (ETSAB-UPC) and in the Department of Research and Knowledge of the Division of Sciences and Arts for Design (UAM). The online interaction between the three higher education institutions sought to enhance learning through reflection, collaboration, awareness and dialogue. Teachers focused on the observation, analysis, and interpretation of the virtual interaction. Students participated in creative processes with parametric modeling programs such as Revit. They also had different resources and the guidance of BIM professionals to make proposals in response to the needs of the community Santa Isabel Tola, Gustavo A. Madero, CDMX. Students, teachers and industry professionals exchanged information in online video meetings. The 40 participants had essential documentation and resources that were hosted in the cloud. Throughout the day, the specialists offered an overview of the digital transformation of the sector and provided critical reflection on the profession and its involvement in the social context. Students also attended free training seminars previously to the workshop given by Dr. Isidro Navarro. The dynamic consisted of forming interuniversity teams and assigning job profiles to each member according to their skills in advanced technological tools. Roles were established so that everyone could face the complexities of the digital information management process and experience the basic principles, procedures and tools of BIM. Although difficulties arose due to the physical-temporal separation and cultural differences, the students generated 4 architectural proposals. According to the diagnostic pre-test (Sandoval et al. 2020), only 20% knew some BIM concepts or tools previously. So, they were not required to have a high level of project development, but they did need to demonstrate basic technological and collaborative skills. In addition, the social purpose of the workshop had to be met, to give architectural answers in favor of local development.
2 Methodology The survey was applied at the UAM - Azcapotzalco to two groups of 7th and 9th term (3rd year of bachelor’s degree) in the subjects of Architectural Design Workshop IA and II-A, during week 7 of the 19-O quarter (autumn 2019). Fourth-year students from ETSAB-UPC and La Salle ETSALS-URL also participated. A total of 27 students from the three architecture schools performed the post-test. It should be clarified that for this first experience a series of logistical difficulties arose. The main one, to reconcile dates of implementation between institutions with different academic periods (quarterly and semester) and time zones. The user experience was evaluated with a quantitative post-test. The aim of the test is to record the perception of the participants of the First BIM International Workshop on the experiences, motivation, satisfaction and learning obtained. The specific objectives were to evaluate: a) the explanatory method of the workshop, b) the difficulties of organization and teamwork, c) the level of motivation
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to learn BIM methodology, d) the perception of the benefits that BIM represents for the student, e) the perception at the level of BIM knowledge and skills. To achieve the objectives, a series of questions were designed divided into 4 blocks: 1) workshop assessment, 2) BIM comprehension, 3) acquired knowledge and 4) development and use of BIM. The first block of the survey focused on the competencies achieved in the training course, the second presents the concept of BIM from the student, the third assessed the knowledge bases and the fourth focused on knowing the experiences of participants with the application of BIM.
3 Results The questionnaire is not integrated into the article due to its length limits, however, some of the questions are included and developed in this section. The following are the most significant results of the survey, starting with the description of the system for data collection, structure and population: • Data collection system: Anonymous questionnaire distributed via institutional mail through the Google Forms tool. • Description of the structure: The questionnaire consisted of 21 questions divided into 4 blocks. The first of them contained 6 closed questions; a dichotomous or exclusive, 4 on the Likert scale of 5 categories, where students had to indicate the degree of concordance with the proposed statements, being 1 “low” and 5 “high” and an enunciative question. The second block presents an open-ended question for the purpose of registering the participant’s BIM definition. It also consists of 5 statements in which participants assess the BIM knowledge achieved on the Likert scale. The third block presents 6 questions with the same scale, which deepen the level of knowledge achieved depending on the content. Finally, block 4 presents 3 closed questions, where participants express their assessment of BIM based on the experiences lived in the workshop. • Population: The profile of the assistant is between 21 and 31 years, being more than 60% students between 21 and 24 years. 71% are male and 29% female. It was a heterogeneous group in terms of nationalities. 24 students from Mexico participated, 2 from Spain, 1 from Mauritania and 1 from Iran. 62.5% conducted the workshop in its eighth quarter, compared to 37.5% in tenth. Most attendees say this is their first time attending a BIM workshop. Only 12.5% say it is not the first time. Block 1: Evaluation of the workshop. The first section of the survey sought to know the participants’ assessment of the explanatory method and the difficulties of working as a team. This section consisted of 4 reagents with forced response option (only one possible). Each answer was assigned a score based on the Likert method, on a rating of 1 to 5, where 1 is ‘low’ and 5 is ‘high’. • Attendees evaluated the workshop’s explanatory method with a 4, followed by a 3, highlighting a lower percentage on a 5. • Something similar happens in terms of the difficulty of organization and teamwork. With the same score and emphasizing on the rest their ratings are 3 or 4.
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• As for the role they played, there are various answers, including the most repeated ones such as the design, rendering and organization of data or tasks. • 62.5% responded with the highest score to the degree of attractiveness of the Revit software. The same number of attendees opted for the same score in terms of their degree of motivation to delve into the BIM methodology. Block 2: Comprehension BIM. (Fig. 1) Evaluating the various answers in terms of understanding the acronym ‘BIM’, the words methodology, method or system, software set and interdisciplinary stand out by repetition. Regarding this point, a series of questions on BIM comprehension are also asked, where the answers range from 1 to 5, where 1 is ‘disagree’ and 5 is ‘agree’. • 58.3% say they completely disagree with the claim that BIM is the same as Revit. The rest of the answers are disaggregated to a much lesser extent among the other options. • 87.5% say they agree, rating between 4 and 5, with the statement ‘BIM improves my understanding of buildings’ and 70.8% say they completely agree with their desire to use BIM more often. They also state, 83.3% and, valuing between 4 and 5, that the results obtained with BIM are greater than those obtained in the traditional way. • 91.7% of respondents say they see BIM as an opportunity and not as a threat.
14 12 12 10 8 8 6 4 2 2
1
1
0 1
2
3
4
5
Fig. 1. The table shows the students response to the affirmation: The results are higher than those obtained in a traditional way. On a rate scale where 5 is ‘agree’ and 1 is ‘disagree’.
Block 3: Knowledge Acquired. (Fig. 2) Regarding the knowledge acquired, the answers remain clear, but stand out somewhat less than the previous observations due to the greater dispersion of the results. In an assessment from 1 to 5, where 1 is ‘low’ and 5 ‘high’, the participants are asked the level of knowledge acquired in the workshop regarding the contents taught: 1) introduction and modeling, 2) advanced modeling and
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presentation, 3) tables and management, 4) collaboration and sustainability. They were also asked about their knowledge and skills in Revit and BIM. • 75% of students respond in a grade between 3 and 4 in terms of introduction and modeling. Slightly less, 70.9% respond in a grade between 3 and 4 to advanced modeling and presentation. And in terms of collaboration and sustainability, 66.7% also respond to a grade between 3 and 4. They acknowledge having acquired less knowledge and in a more differentiated way than those mentioned above, in tables and management, since 70.8% respond to a grade between 2 and 3. • In terms of knowledge and skills, none of the respondents considered having high knowledge and skills in both Revit and BIM. In both questions, approximately 70% of those surveyed consider that they have a medium or medium-high level. However, in the case of Revit, most of the respondents consider it to be medium-high and in the case of BIM, the majority are in the medium level.
10 9 9 8 8 7 6 5 4 4 3 3 2 1 0 0 1
2
3
4
5
Fig. 2. The table shows the students response to the question: How would you define your knowledge and skills in BIM? On a rate scale where 5 is ‘high’ and 1 is ‘low’.
Block 4: Development and use of BIM. (Fig. 3). Most respondents say that BIM can be a useful tool in their learning and that it can lead to an improvement in project development. 95.8% would like BIM to be included in their college curriculum. Teaching observations. According to the teachers in front of the group Georgina Sandoval and Fernando Minaya Hernandez, the students enjoyed a project that was deeply involved with real scenarios. Previous work outside the classroom made them aware of the problems of the community. With their selfless and active participation, their civic commitment was observed. As for the required deliverables, these were of satisfactory quality, considering that most students had little or no prior knowledge of BIM and Revit, and that the duration of the workshop was very short.
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20
15
10
5 1
0
0
0
2
3
4
0 1
5
Fig. 3. The table shows the students response to the question: Would you like BIM to be included in your CV? On a rate scale where 5 is ‘agree’ and 1 is ‘disagree’.
4 Discussion A workshop based on new technologies shows a greater involvement of young students, in particular the male gender. From the positive assessment of the explanatory method of the workshop, together with the fact that most of the participants found Revit an user friendly software, it can be said that the knowledge and understanding of it, motivated the students to learn more the BIM methodologies. The concepts that participants repeatedly mention about the definition of BIM are correct, so it can be deduced that they have understood its operation and basic concepts. However, 41.7% say they see Revit and BIM as synonymous, confusing software with methodology. This may be due to the short duration of the workshop. This fact is deducible from the results in which they consider to have a lower level in BIM than in Revit, being the section of tables and information management where they say to have acquired less knowledge. Even with the least voted section, the results are clearly very positive in terms of the level of knowledge acquired in the workshop. Participants state that BIM improves the understanding of the architectural project and that the results are greater than those obtained in the traditional way. It is not surprising, since a virtual model improves the visualization and therefore improves the conception of the architectural project. It also helps with other aspects of the construction process, as it adds all kinds of necessary information. We must not forget the complexity that this entails, as mentioned by the participants, the process is complicated exponentially. The transition from pencil to CAD was a change of tool and the transition from CAD to BIM systems is a methodological change (Besné et al. 2020). As the figures show conclusively, the current generation of students claims to see the BIM methodology as an opportunity. In addition, they want to use it more often, because as mentioned, it is useful in their learning and represents an improvement in the development of their projects. The results show great interest in the change, corroborated by the
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most significant data that shows that 95.8% of respondents want BIM to be included in the curriculum. Being the first coordinated workshop between the universities UPC, UAM and La Salle, there are some obvious limitations with its evaluation due to the lack of historicalstatistical data, especially because students from different and geographically distant schools were involved in solving a project with a real context in the application of BIM. Therefore, it is hoped to continue collaborating between academic institutions in building a project-based BIM learning framework in order to obtain more conclusive results in this type of practice.
5 Conclusions The 1st International BIM Workshop was conducted as a case study to investigate BIM training, especially students’ perceptions and motivations. The main perception on the use of the methodology is that it was an enriching experience. The main results observed were: increased motivation, development of technological skills, communicative and modeling skills, social commitment and collaboration. But the interest of teachers in assessing the need for such methodologies is not enough for their integration into academic curricula, extensive research needs to be conducted. It is opportune at this point, to clarify that the Workshop was carried out in an extracurricular way and, as shown by the most outstanding figure of the research, the students appreciate that in the future the methodology will be included in the curriculum. The workshop was proposed as a training complement and one of the objectives will be to evaluate in a future publication the impact it has had on the motivation and learning of the students. To promote BIM and its advantages, it is also necessary to consider related technologies for proper understanding building and management as a whole. These technologies are augmented reality (AR), cloud computing, Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), use of sensors on site (3D scanner), etc. The agents involved in the building process are increasingly a multi-tool profile, however, they receive virtually the same training as with traditional systems. Which leads, not only to integrate BIM in the academic curriculum, but also, to rethink the complete teaching guides to evaluate their impact throughout the academic course and in a transversal way in different subjects. There have been few professional BIM implementation studies for some years, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about academic results. This study aims to serve as a reference point to continue strengthening the connection between BIM training and the demands of the professional sector. BIM allows teachers to show how the components of a building are related, a fact that is both practical and didactic. As this research and many others demonstrate, not imparting these teachings today or in the near future in academia leads to the obsolescence of a potentially motivated and prepared generation in the use of these methodologies. Finally, the PBL provided the basic guidelines for improving BIM educational instruction and allowed students to actively participate in their learning process, cooperating with other students and instances, reflecting, making decisions, and creating joint knowledge. It was also an effective method to motivate them and involve them in real problems.
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Acknowledgments. The participation of the teachers to carry out the BIM workshop is appreciated, in particular to Mtra. Isaura Elisa López Vivero (UAM Azc.) and PhD. Lluís Giménez Mateu (ETSAB-UPC). A special thanks to the BIM expert advisors from México: Arch. Abelardo Fernández, Arch. Arturo García and Arch. Rubén Rivas. This work is supported by the Research Group N-012 “Learning in Community Habitat”, which belongs to the Department of Research and Design Knowledge of the Division of Science and Arts for Design at UAM Azc. It belongs to the research project N-514 entitled “The BIM and its benefits for teaching and construction”.
References Bernal, A., Rodríguez, Á.: Plan Estratégico de Expresión Gráfica para implementar BIM en un Grado en Arquitectura Técnica. En la Cuarta Conferencia Internacional sobre Avances en la Educación Superior (2018) Besné, A., Fonseca, D., Navarro, I.: Why building information modelling and why now: literacy study of BIM implementation in architecture. In: 2020 15th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), pp. 1–6. IEEE (June 2020) Ferrandiz, J., Banawi, A., Peña, E.: Evaluating the benefits of introducing “BIM” based on Revit in construction courses, without changing the course schedule. Univ. Access Inf. Soc. 17(3), 491–501 (2018) Ferrandiz, J., Fonseca, D., Banawi, A.: Mixed method assessment for BIM implementation in the AEC curriculum. In: International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies, pp. 213–222. Springer, Cham (July 2016) Fonseca, D., Sánchez-Sepúlveda, M., Besné, A., Redondo, E., Zapata, H., Navarro, I., Pla, J., Sánchez, J., Solà, C.: Combining BIM systems and video-games engines in educational ephemeral urban and architectural proposals. In: García-Peñalvo, F.J. (ed.) Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality (TEEM 2020), Salamanca, Spain, October 21–23 2020 (2020) Fonseca, D., Villagrasa, S., Navarro, I., Redondo, E., Valls, F., Llorca, J., Gómez-Zevallos, M., Ferrer, A., Calvo, X.: Student motivation assessment using and learning virtual and gamified urban environments. In: Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality, pp. 1–7 (October 2017) Jin, R., Zou, P.X., Li, B., Piroozfar, P., Painting, N.: Comparisons of students’ perceptions on BIM practice among Australia, China and UK. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management (2019) León Cascante, Í., Pérez Martínez, J.J.: Docencia colaborativa en BIM. Desde la tradición y dirigida por la expresión gráfica arquitectónica. EGA. Revista de Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica 23(32), 76–87 (2018) Marcos Alba, C.L.: BIM implications in the design process and project-based learning: comprehensive integration of BIM in architecture. WIT Trans. Built Environ. 169, 113–125 (2017) Navarro, I., Redondo, E., Sánchez, A., Fonseca, D., Martí, N., Simón, D.: Teaching evaluation using augmented reality in architecture: methodological proposal. In: 7th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI 2012). IEEE (June 2012) Sánchez, A., Redondo, E., Fonseca, D., Navarro, I.: Evaluación del desempeño académico mediante realidad aumentada en la carrera de ingeniería. In: 2014 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings Conferencia anual sobre fronteras en la educación, pp. 1527–1533. Instituto de Ingenieros Eléctricos y Electrónicos (IEEE), Madrid (2014)
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Sandoval, M.Á.P., Delgado, I.N., Sandoval, G.: Building information modeling academic assessment. In: World Conference on Information Systems and Technologies, pp. 231–237. Springer, Cham (April 2020) Shafiq, M.T., Matthews, J., Lockley, S.: A study of BIM collaboration requirements and available features in existing model collaboration systems. J. Inf. Technol. Constr. (ITcon) 18, 148–161 (2013) Shults, R.: Development and implementation of innovative educational modules on architectural photogrammetry for bachelor’s degree curricula in architecture. Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spat. Inf. Sci. 42, 115–120 (2019) Suwal, S., Singh, V.: Assessing students’ sentiments towards the use of a building information modelling (BIM) learning platform in a construction project management course. Eur. J. Eng. Educ. 43(4), 492–506 (2018) Tsai, M.H., Chen, K.L., Chang, Y.L.: Development of a project-based online course for BIM learning. Sustainability 11(20), 5772 (2019) Zhang, J., Xie, H., Li, H.: Aprendizaje basado en proyectos con planificación de implementación para la participación de los estudiantes en las clases BIM. En t. J. Eng. Educ. 35, 310–322 (2018)
Instrumentation, Implementation and Tools in STEM - STEAM Education: A Systematic Literature Review Marcelo Juca-Aulestia1(B) , Fanny Zúñiga-Tinizaray1 , Mónica Pozo-Vinueza2 , Franklin Malla-Alvarado3 , Mayra Cáceres-Mena4 , Pablo Almendariz-Pozo5 , Andres Cáceres-Mena6 , and Daniel Román-Robalino7 1 Grupo de Investigación en STEAM, Loja, Ecuador
[email protected], [email protected] 2 Vicerrectora Académica UNL, Loja, Ecuador [email protected] 3 Carrera de Contabilidad y Auditoría, UNL, Loja, Ecuador [email protected] 4 Carrera de Matemáticas, Riobamba, Ecuador [email protected] 5 Hospital General de Macas, Macas, Ecuador [email protected] 6 Coordinación Zonal 3, Riobamba, Ecuador [email protected] 7 Carrera de Ingeniería Forestal, Riobamba, Ecuador [email protected]
Abstract. The purpose of this research is to provide knowledge about the implementation of tools and useful elements in STEM-STEAM education, in a universal way, through a systematic review of the literature. The methodology SLR used is applied to engineering and education. 92 articles were selected from the Scopus database. The results allow identifying that STEM-STEAM education is implemented based on educational policies and reforms to improve teaching and learning, with the purpose of developing skills for problem-solving, fostering creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, data management, and analysis, as well as the use of learning environments with the implementation of curricula that integrate the subjects of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and art in an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary manner. In conclusion, this type of education allows for quality education in the educational institutions, through the use of different tools that allow active, localized, goal-oriented, collaborative, and meaningful learning. Keywords: Educational technology · Computational thinking · Educational innovation
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 183–194, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_18
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1 Introduction Today’s society demands individuals who possess certain skills that allow them to solve problems related to different areas of knowledge; That is why 21st-century education must provide the necessary tools that allow the integration of the knowledge acquired in a creative way, promoting STEM - STEAM education that develops in individuals the scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical part in the acronym includes A for the arts, “here, Arts enables the convergent STEAM education by linking scholars, and also serves as a medium to enhance creativity and character” [26], on whether this type of” education should equip them with useful skills and competencies, allowing them to actively and effectively take part in a globalized society” [15]. It is important in the context of innovation in education that educational institutions choose to implementation of STEAM within their curriculum as support for science and technology. This research allows to explore STEM - STEAM education and answer questions about how it is implemented, the elements that allow implementation, types of tools that are used. The study was carried out using the Torres-Carrión [85] methodology, proposing a conceptual mindset, the searches were carried out in the Scopus scientific database.
2 Literature Review The work has been carried out in three phases: planning, production and, presentation of the proposed report in [85] that applies to engineering and education: 2.1 Planning Research Questions STEAM education is seen globally as a fundamental pillar of the fourth industrial revolution, the one that changes the way we work and how we learn, which has led different states to create a legal framework where effective implementation is implemented and conducive is why the following research questions have been taken into account: • RQ1: How is STEAM implemented? • RQ2: What elements allow the implementation of STEAM education? • RQ3: What types of tools are used in STEAM education? Conceptual Mindset The conceptual mindset of Fig. 1, allows to guide the systematic review regarding STEMSTEAM education, defined on the left side are the characteristics linked to this type of education, on the right we find the concepts that are excluded from the research, and at the bottom are the words that were searched in the database. Semantic Search Structure A script with six layers was created for the search, the first one refers to STEAM
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Fig. 1. Conceptual mindset according to [85].
education, the second defined concerning the instrumentation in STEAM education, the third defined concerning the implementation of STEAM education; in the fourth, you can see the different tools that are in this type of education and finally the fifth research questions to guide the semantic search (Table 1). Table 1. Review structure. L1
Education
(“stem education” OR “steam education” OR “science, technology, engineering, mathematics” OR s.t.e.m. OR s.t.e.a.m)
L2
Instrumentation
(models OR methodology OR skills OR evaluation OR inquire OR framework)
L3
Implementation
(learning OR teaching OR curriculum)
L4
Tools
(TIC OR learning environments OR digital tools)
L5
Questions
Q1: How is STEM - STEAM implemented? Q2: What elements allow the implementation of STEM - STEAM education? Q3: What types of tools are used in STEM - STEAM education?
2.2 Conducting the Review Selection of Journal and Databases The selection of journals was organized according to the Scopus database, the relevant journals are presented where the papers are indexed, which are in Table 2. Systematic Related Reviews During the research, high-importance literature was examined, which have a high impact and originality in the study, the systematic search carried out was carried out in the
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Journal Name
JCR
SJR
IF
IF
Q
Electronics (Switzerland)
1,764
0,46
Q1
International Journal of Engineering Education
0,611
0,43
Q1
Studies in Higher Education
2,854
1,89
Q1
Journal of Education for Teaching
1,373
0,82
Q1
Journal of Science Education
1,255
0,92
Q1
Man in India
0,078
0,14
Q2
Journal of Science Education and Technology
1,785
1,04
Q1
Egitim ve Bilim
0,607
0,29
Q3
Education and Information Technologies
2,01
0,6
Q1
Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 13 (Special Issue on ICITE 2018)
2,01
0,16
Q3
Hacettepe Egitim Dergisi
0,308
0,22
Q3
International Journal of Science Education
1,255
0,92
Q2
International Journal of Technology and Design Education
1,319
0,56
Q1
Journal of Science Teacher Education
1,67
0,96
Q1
Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education
0,903
0,33
Q3
Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 2015
0,956
0,13
Q4
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
1,027
0,7
Q1
SCOPUS database, one of the difficulties encountered was that the review adapted to the research questions raised in the proposal, below is presented the findings of the review found. Definition of Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria The research envisages different selection criteria that allow them to answer the research questions raised and meet the objective. Specific Criteria • Studies that include how STEM - STEAM education is implemented. • Studies that enable the implementation of STEM - STEAM education. • Studies presenting the different tools used in STEM - STEAM education.
Exclusion Parameters • Industrial robotics studies. • Studies in specific areas (Medicine, Neurology, Nursing, Psychology).
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2.3 Review Report Table 3 shows the papers according to RQ1: ¿How is STEAM implemented? Table 3. Papers to RQ1 Variable
Reference
ƒ
Models
[9, 52, 71, 95]
4
Methodology
[32, 52]
2
Skills
[3, 28, 29, 53, 59, 66, 89, 92]
8
Evaluation
[4, 33, 35, 39, 46, 55, 62, 66, 77, 94]
Inquire
[3, 70]
Framework
[10, 14, 18, 31, 41, 56, 57, 67, 69, 74, 76, 82, 84, 88, 91]
10 2 15
The STEM -STEAM implementation framework in schools from different countries has been based on the needs to create skills especially for sustainable development, many of these implementations are given in the teaching of robotics at various levels of education from elementary up to pre-university levels, the application of simulations, gamification; likewise, other institutions work within the framework of scientific education participating in collaborative programs. It is important to mention that the framework for learning is based on a change in the educational reform and the integration of STEM -STEAM education in the curriculum by mapping the basic and interdisciplinary standards, integrating science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and art to achieve the development of student´s skills to face the challenges of today’s world. Table 4 shows the papers according to RQ2: ¿What elements allow the implementation of STEAM education? Table 4. Papers to RQ2 Variable
Reference
ƒ
Learning
[1, 2, 5, 11–13, 21, 25, 27, 30, 34, 36, 37, 45, 48, 51, 57, 68, 72, 78, 81, 86, 93] 23
Teaching
[7, 20, 22, 30, 32, 35, 42, 52, 53, 57, 58, 60, 64, 70, 79, 87]
16
Curriculum [6, 8, 9, 16, 23–25, 28, 31, 36, 38, 40, 42, 43, 51, 53, 58, 73, 77, 83, 88, 93, 95] 23
The elements that allow the implementation of STEM - STEAM education is related to the quality of teaching and the learning through immersive experiences, scientific research processes, educational challenges, problem-solving, collaborative, and group learning. Likewise, active learning becomes the basis for implementation, the relationship among different educational environments, and the increase in disruptive technologies. Through dialogic pedagogy, teachers are able to train students by reinforcing their creativity.
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Another important element is the curricular plan or road map, which presents various teaching approaches and details the standards, competencies, guidelines, and skills that will be promoted as well as the didactic strategies that will be used such as problems, projects or challenges to sort out. Table 5 shows the papers according to RQ3: ¿What types of tools are used in STEAM education? Table 5. Papers to RQ3 Variable
Reference
TIC
[44, 47, 54, 63, 73, 86]
Learning environments
[17, 19, 46, 49, 50, 61, 62, 65, 75, 80, 90]
Digital tools
[46, 68]
ƒ 6 11 2
Regarding the learning environment in STEM -STEAM education, it should be taught with the approach of integrative subjects, improving knowledge and teaching practices, allowing 3D simulations to be immersed and oriented to support teachers in their classes. This type of immersion allows students to improve their creativity thanks to the use of these devices and augmented reality due to the interaction with images and objects. It is important to create this type of learning environment in STEM -STEAM education and implements them in the curricula of the Ministry of Education with the pedagogical design, in order to relate science, engineering, and mathematics, so collaborations among different fields and the academic community can be made. Likewise, the implementation of practical laboratory environments for science where students can carry out their activities within the STEM -STEAM context, by incorporating mobile technology as a learning environment to break geographic boundaries thanks to technological support. Innovation and creativity are the basis for educational practice in the educational robotics environment to promote computational thinking with the help of instruments such as Raspberry Pi to improve learning outcomes on open platforms. It is important to mention that, currently they are making use of applications for educational robotics, scratch, applications for security, and privacy cryptography tools that make use of open source technologies.
3 Conclusions From the bibliographic review through the network, 92 investigations were taken into consideration that are significant for our research, and that answer the three proposed questions of enquiry related to STEAM - STEM education: (Q1) The framework in which education is developed is based on the development of skills within learning, for which a change in educational reform and integration into the curriculum is necessary, involving science, technology, engineering, mathematics and art; likewise, work must be done on new educational practices and instructional strategies based on research,
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which will make it possible to achieve technological literacy in teachers and students in order to increase the number of people qualified in this type of education, integrating the different areas of study into the educational process; (Q2) Implementation is based on the quality of teaching and learning through immersive experiences, scientific research processes, educational challenges, problem solving, collaborative and group learning; also, to raise elements in the curriculum plan or roadmap, which presents various teaching approaches and where the standards, competencies and guidelines are detailed. (Q3) Learning environments should be created and implemented in curricula, immersive 3D spaces with the help of tools such as Raspberry Pi in robotic environments, making use of 2D and 3D models and environments, using programming, computing; The incorporation of educational robotics to promote STEM-STEAM education, so it is important to mention that gender equity is a factor that is gradually gaining ground in this type of education in both students and teachers, as is the case of special needs for students with disabilities.
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Analysis and Evaluation of Distance Schooling and Learning with Respect to ICT Usage During COVID-19 Period in Bulgaria Ognyan Nakov, Valeri Mladenov, Elizabet Mihaylova(B) , and Plamen Nakov Technical University, 8 Kl. Ohridski Blvd, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Abstract. The article presents a national platform for sharing educational resources under a project of the Ministry of Education and Science in Bulgaria within the measures taken to support the educational process during the pandemic of the new coronavirus. As part of the team for development, implementation and business analysis of the above platform, the authors examine the country’s readiness to move from present to distance learning, analyze the context in which information technology is used in the educational process and the effectiveness and impact of the national electronic library for shared educational resources. Keywords: COVID-19 · Distance learning · Educational resources
1 Introduction On March 13, 2020, due to the pandemic of the novel coronavirus, the schools in Bulgaria closed their doors in accordance with the emergency anti-epidemiological measures. All students switched to e-learning and other forms of virtual learning. For the reorganization of the learning process, the schools were given considerable freedom in the choice of conducting, structuring, monitoring and controlling distance learning. Teachers chose at their discretion the methods, tools, forms of teaching in accordance with the specific school context and the needs of students. The Ministry of Education has taken measures to support the educational process by providing a library with free access to materials developed by teachers and subject matter experts for all stages of school education. In this article, the authors, as part of the development and consulting team of the aforementioned software platform, investigate and analyze the effectiveness of the use of information systems during distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research seeks to answer the question to what extent the educational process in the electronic environment is provided with an appropriate virtual environment and educational resources for teachers and students. This issue can also include the provision of a stable Internet connection and the availability of appropriate electronic devices. The professional training and the competencies of the teachers for conducting an effective distance learning process are also related to the posed question. The sudden closure of schools has brought challenging sectors of the education process to the fore. Critical © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 195–201, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_19
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factors for the successful conduct of classes in an electronic environment are the connection of teachers and students to the Internet, the availability of appropriate devices, competencies of students and teachers to work and study in an electronic environment, the availability of sufficient learning material suitable for the environment of distance learning [1–3]. In order to meet these challenges and support the virtual learning both in terms of resource provision and to achieve the closest possible results to the results of the present training, a national library for shared educational resources has been developed under a project of the Ministry of Education and Science in Bulgaria. The report analyzes the usefulness, effectiveness and impact of the developed platform for shared educational resources, covering most areas of teaching from the general education and specialized curricula in which Bulgarian schools work.
2 Background and Related Research In a 1985 study, Gressard and Loyd [4] suggested a direct relationship between teachers’ confidence and experience in the use of ICT tools in education and the effective application of ICT during the learning process. Despite the distance of time, some of the barriers to teachers valid then are still valid today, such as lack of access, lack of resources, lack of expertise, lack of support [5, 6]. Studies on the topic show that worldwide the biggest obstacles to distance learning are: lack of internet connection, lack of digital devices, insufficient educational materials applicable to e-learning, insufficient qualification of teachers how to conduct distance learning training [3, 7]. In Bulgaria, as of May 2020, no surveys have been conducted at the national level to reflect the degree of readiness for training in an electronic environment. An analysis of the Institute for the Study of Education is available, which refers to legitimate, international databases such as PISA 2018, PISA 2015, TALIS 2018, The Survey of Schools: ICT in Education conducted by the European Commission [8–15]. According to the EC Study on ICT in Education, it identified several groups of barriers. The first are related to the insufficient number of computers, laptops, tablets and other devices in the school, as well as a good internet connection. The second group of obstacles is related to the insufficient qualification and skills of teachers for effective use of ICT in the learning process, as well as the lack of adequate electronic educational resources. The third group of obstacles is related to teachers’ attitudes towards the use of ICT in school, which in some places leads to clear resistance and even denial of the benefits of using technology in school. • Connectivity - Data from the National Statistical Institute in Bulgaria show that 74.9% of households have access to and use broadband internet, and 90% of households with children use high-speed internet. This gives confidence that 90% of students have access to the Internet [16]. • Access to electronic devices - According to a study by the European Commission on the use of ICT in schools [12], an average of 92% of students in the European Union in primary and 97% of those in high school have a digital device at home - laptop, phone, computer, tablet. For Bulgaria these values are 84% and 91% respectively.
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• Teachers’ Digital Skills - TALIS 2018 data show that 31% of teachers do not feel prepared to use ICT, and 23% believe that training in this area would be useful. The high confidence of Bulgarian teachers in their skills for creating digital content is the basis of the developed national library. By sharing educational resources, it aims to reduce the gap in teachers’ skills and competencies in creating e-content and facilitate the educational process for about 1/3 of teachers who feel they cannot cope with ICT on their own (Fig. 1).
Other (please specify) Do not know Open source plaƞorm (Moodle, Canvas, etc.) Commercial for free (Blackboard, Google Class, etc.) Commercial plaƞorm not for free (MicrosoŌ Teams, etc.) Plaƞorm created by the Ministry of EducaƟon or educaƟon authoriƟes 0
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Fig. 1. Type of online learning platforms SOURCE: Database and Codebook, UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank (2020). Survey on National Education Responses to COVID-19 School Closures, round 2. Paris, New York, Washington D.C.: UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank.
3 National Library for Educational Resources The National Electronic Library was established in order to accumulate pedagogical material, shared experience and innovative practices, which will be both in support of teachers and for the development of pedagogical science. The materials can also be used by the students of pedagogy, who have yet to enter the Bulgarian school, as well as for the education in the higher schools in the country. Teachers can publish in the repository and use materials of their colleagues - didactic and methodical, video lessons, innovative methods, tests, films, exercises, presentations, entertaining pedagogy and projects that include research student work. Already 6264 educational materials and 12 249 files to them have been uploaded to the National Electronic Library of Teachers. 155,000 users have visited the platform. The number of educational resources downloaded exceeds 380,000.
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Fig. 2. https://e-learn.mon.bg - home screen
Figure 2 shows the distribution of educational materials uploaded to national electronic library by thematic fields (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3. Distribution of educational resources by learning domain
The e-content repository provides an opportunity to create and share author’s teaching materials from over 80,000 teachers in the country, 236 experts in various subjects from the Regional Departments of Education and pedagogues from over 2,000 municipal schools, 237 public schools, 93 private schools, 3 theological schools and 355 Bulgarian Sunday schools from 52 countries in the world on 6 continents.
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The library covers materials divided into 16 subject areas of the compulsory program and free elective training. For these 16 scientific fields in the library are shared materials for 112 subjects and more than 6264 resources in three categories - for self-preparation, for exam, for training (Figs. 4 and 5).
Fig. 4. Users reached the platform compared to the resources’ files downloaded distributed by months
Fig. 5. Cumulative educational resources uploaded distributed by months
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4 Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic and related emergency measures to curb the spread of the virus have put the challenges of effective distance learning on the agenda. The resource provision of the educational process through the provision of electronic devices, internet connection, access to virtual platforms and adequate educational resources is considered as a basic prerequisite for the integration of information technologies in the learning process. In implementation of the policies to support virtual learning, the platform for shared educational resources presented in the report was developed. Given the high attendance and commitment of users to such a platform at the national level was a prerequisite for the implementation of other 2 ICT projects: Interactive map tracking the spread of the virus - sick and quarantined students differentiated by region, which aims to facilitate decision-making when the epidemiological situation requires training in an electronic environment; National program “No classes missed”, which aims to help find substitute teachers. The impact of the above-mentioned platforms is the subject of further research. Acknowledgements. The author/s would like to thank the Research and Development Sector at the Technical University of Sofia for the financial support.
References 1. Borthwick, A.C., Hansen, R.: Digital literacy in teacher education: are teacher educators competent? J. Digit. Learn. Teach. Educ. 33(2), 46–48 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1080/215 32974.2017.1291249 2. OECD: A brave new world: Technology and education. Trends Shaping Education Spotlights, No. 15. OECD Publishing, Paris (2018). https://doi.org/10.1787/9b181d3c-en 3. UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank: Survey on National Education Responses to COVID-19 School Closures, round 2. UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank, Paris, New York, Washington D.C. (2020) 4. Loyd, B.H., Loyd, D.E.: The reliability and validity of an instrument for the assessment of computer attitudes. Educ. Psychol. Measur. 45(4), 903–908 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1177/ 0013164485454021 5. Raja, R., Nagasubramani, P.: Impact of modern technology in education. J. Appl. Adv. Res. 3, 33–35 (2018). https://doi.org/10.21839/jaar.2018.v3iS1.165 6. Mumtaz, S.: Factors affecting teachers’ use of information and communications technology: a review of the literature. J. Inf. Technol. Teach. Educ. 9(3), 319–342 (2000). https://doi.org/ 10.1080/14759390000200096 7. Schleicher, A: The impact of COVID-19 on education - insights from education at a glance 2020 @OECD 2020 (2020) 8. PISA 2018 Results. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results.htm. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 9. PISA 2015 Results. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdf. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 10. OECD: TALIS 2018 Results (Volume I): Teachers and School Leaders as Lifelong Learners. TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris (2019). https://doi.org/10.1787/1d0bc92a-en
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11. OECD: TALIS 2018 Results (Volume II): Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals. TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris (2020). https://doi.org/10.1787/19cf08df-en 12. 2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in Education. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/ 2nd-survey-schools-ict-education. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 13. Distance learning strategies in response to COVID-19 school closures. https://unesdoc.une sco.org/home. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 14. Ocenka na vzdectvieto na obyqenieto ot pazctonie. https://ire-bg.org/analysis/. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 15. Obpazovanie ot pazctonie: gotovnoct na yqiliwata i cemectvata za yqene v onlan cpeda. https://ire-bg.org/analysis/. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 16. Doctp na domakinctvata do Intepnet. https://www.nsi.bg/bg/. Accessed 22 Nov 2020
Designing a Competence-Based Learning Course with Digital Tools in Higher Education Pencho Mihnev(B)
, Albena Antonova , Atanas Georgiev , Krassen Stefanov , Eliza Stefanova , and Nikolina Nikolova
Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria {pmihnev,a_antonova,atanas,krassen,eliza, nnikolova}@fmi.uni-sofia.bg
Abstract. The educational community is increasingly recognising the benefits of applying competence-based learning (CBL) in formal and informal training. Both learner-oriented and goals-oriented, competence-based learning encourages flexibility, adaptation and customisation of the learning process to specific learning context and individual preferences. At the same time, various digital environments and ICT tools emerge, successfully supporting the design, implementation and evaluation of CBL educational activities. However, competence-based learning approaches in Higher education (HE) are still underdeveloped, demonstrating the need to share and accumulate more academic experiences. This article aims to outline how the use of digital tools can promote and facilitate the design and implementation of competence-based courses in the context of higher education. It emphasizes the potential of the learning management systems to track the progress and to be used in the assessment of achievement of different levels of competence development, applied in the 21st Century Skills course design in a digital environment. In particular, we present such a course, developed as part of the Erasmus project Catch21, which will be multiplied in number of universities and HE institutions across EU. The paper focuses on the practical steps for design and implementation of learning activities with digital tools. Finally, the practical recommendations and lessons’ learned for adopting technological tools for the design and implementation of CBL course activities in higher education are identified and explained. Keywords: Competence development · Digital tools · Higher education
1 Competence-Based Learning in Higher Education Universities and Higher Education institutions (HEI) continuously explore digital tools to design more efficient and learner-oriented hybrid learning experiences. At the same time, applying digital tools to support the design and implementation of competencebased learning (CBL) activities and courses is still underdeveloped in HEI. In general, CBL is a type of education methodology that creates competencies, needed for improving productivity and focusing both on the outcomes and on the learners’ real-world performance. Making an overview of key sources, such as [1–4], competence-based © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 202–211, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_20
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learning can be defined as follows: it is oriented towards the acquisition of certain competencies; theoretical knowledge is achieved by completing learning activities to acquire key skills, the training is planned and conducted according to the learner’s abilities, it uses more flexible approaches, along with a wide range of alternative learning activities and materials, including not only standard printed or Internet-based materials, but also multimedia and audio-visual resources and especially dynamic models and simulations. This type of training is most often applied as training in the form of Competence Development Programs (CDPs). There, every program is individualised, based on the needs of the learner (what competencies they have set as a goal), his current level (what competencies he currently has), as well as his preferences (preferred way of learning, learning style, method of obtaining information, preferred method of solving problems) and others. Each competency acquisition program consists of training units such as a course, module, lecture and the others. In order for learners to set their goals clearly and unambiguously, as well as for learners to design their programs for these same possible goals, there is a clear need to set a generally accepted standard for describing competencies and how to determine (assess) whether a learner has acquired a competence [5]. More recently, authors [6] point out how competence-based learning adds level of personalisation, supporting students with diverse knowledge backgrounds, literacy levels, and other related aptitudes. This is also a challenge to the educators and learners, because the success of the methods’ implementation depends on the correct identification and agreement upon the most important competencies, how to best assess them, and how to support learners [7], as well as how to recognize competence acquisition [8]. The study aims to present how advanced digital tools can support implementation of competence-based learning in HEI. More specifically, the paper will investigate which digital tools can support the processes of finding/development of a competence framework and individual learning plans, using digital tools for their representation/tracking and implementation. To identify the appropriate tools, the authors rely also on their experience in various European projects (TenCompetence [9], ShareTEC [10], OpenScout [11], SocialEnergy [12]) for the design, development and implementation of ICT tools for competence development in different contexts. The paper first discovers the context of the study and the aims of 21st Century Skills course. The course is developed as part of the Outputs of the Erasmus project Catch21 and has to be multiplied in number of universities and HE institutions across EU. Next, the study analyses the practical steps for design and implementation of learning activities with digital tools. It focuses on the potential of the modern learning management systems (LMS) to track the progress and to be used in the assessment of achievement of different levels of competence development. The last part provides discussion of the practical recommendations for adopting appropriate digital tools for design and implementation of CBL course activities in higher education.
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2 Overview of the Context and Background 2.1 Overview of the Erasmus Project CATCH 21 The current research is designed and implemented as part of the project “CATCH 21–21st Century Skills for changing the approach to university teaching” [13]. It explores the model of 21st century skills, defined for OECD countries by Ananiadou and Claro [14]. Defined as “abilities that today’s students need to succeed in their careers during the Information Age”, OECD determines the following 21st century skills: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and innovation, self-direction, making global and local connection and using ICT for learning [15]. In this context, the main aim of the project CATCH 21st is to increase the quality of higher education institutions (HEI) in teaching 21st century skills, to support a better understanding of qualifications and to make better use of all available skills in the European labor market. Its main objectives are as follows: 1. To create concrete and innovative teaching materials and pedagogical model concerning the teaching of 21st century skills for HE teaching staff. 2. To foster cooperation between the labor market and HE organisations. 3. To create an online learning platform in order to help the development of 21st century skills for higher education organisations staff and students at the EU level. The project partners are higher education institutions from Turkey, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Based on the analysis of the needs, the project partners developed common University course syllabus, curriculum and online learning platform for the course “21st Century Skills” in higher education institutions in Europe”. 2.2 Overview of the Course Syllabus “21st Century Skills” The course “21st Century Skills” is designed as an interdisciplinary course on BSc level. It covers 6 ECST credits (equivalent of 180 learning hours). The in-class work consist of 45 h lectures and 45 h of seminars and practical assignments. The general objective of the course is to develop 21st Century Skills of HE students. The course includes 7 interlinked modules, covering key 21st century skills. The interactive lectures and seminars will use modern information technologies and didactic techniques. Online communication is conducted through LMS Moodle (practical work with online tools). The concrete didactic methods are verbal dialogue methods such as explanation, case description, face-to-face or online discussion on the cases, cognitive apprenticeship, anchored instruction, self-reflection questionnaire and activating methods such as role-play, problem-based learning, project-based learning, cooperative learning and group-work. 2.3 Overview of the Key Terms EU Council Recommendation from 22 of May, 2017, on the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning [15] serves as the key reference document for definition of ‘knowledge’, ‘skills’ and ‘competence’ in this paper. The European Qualifications
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Framework for lifelong learning (EQF) [16] is an overarching educational construction for EU that not only makes compatible all levels of education in all the EU educational systems, but also is used as a common cohesion structure and framework when describing in detail the different levels and descriptors of any of the 21st century competences, developed in the respective EU documents and publications. A key point in the EQF is that the eight reference levels of the Framework are described in terms of learning outcomes, thus assuring the opportunity to make possible comparisons between the educational systems of the EU countries, which otherwise are quite different and diverse (e.g. at least by the duration of study of one and the same educational levels). More specifically, each learning outcome in the EQF is defined as a statement of what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process. The EQF therefore emphasises the results of learning rather than focusing on inputs such as length of study. Furthermore, learning outcomes are specified in three categories – as knowledge, skills, and ‘responsibility and autonomy’, forming personal or professional competence. A short summary is provided in Table 1 of the main terms’ definitions, as provided in EQF. Table 1. Main terms in EQF (Council of the European Union, 2017, p. 20). Term
Definition
Knowledge
Knowledge means the outcome of the assimilation of information through learning. Knowledge is the body of facts, principles, theories and practices that is related to a field of work or study. In the context of EQF, knowledge is described as theoretical and/or factual
Skills
Skills mean the ability to apply knowledge and use know-how to complete tasks and solve problems. In the context of the EQF, skills are described as cognitive (involving the use of logical, intuitive and creative thinking) or practical (involving manual dexterity and the use of methods, materials, tools and instruments)
Responsibility and autonomy Responsibility and autonomy means the ability of the learner to apply knowledge and skills autonomously and with responsibility Competence
Competence means the proven ability to use knowledge, skills and personal, social and/or methodological abilities, in work or study situations and in professional and personal development
Learning outcomes
Learning outcomes means statements regarding what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process, which are defined in terms of knowledge, skills and responsibility and autonomy
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The learning goals form the core of the CBL approach. They describe what a learner will know, possess as skills, and develop as attitudes and/or competences at the end of their learning. Thus, the learning goals might be defined in a form of learning outcomes – statements regarding what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process. In this form of learning outcomes, the learning goals exist also in the description of the different competencies, so it will be easier a learner to take out of a competence description the respective learning outcome that s/he wants to acquire/master and to place them as their own learning goals.
3 Applying Digital Tools in Competence-Based Learning Process First of all, our understanding for CATCH21 course digital development is that it should not be just digitalization of the content in some online learning environment, but to have real digital transformation [17] putting together competence-based learning concepts and their implementation in digital environment in the teaching practice at Higher Education. That is why it was necessary, as a starting point of digital course development, to design a competence-based learning framework, which to be adopted by CATCH21 project partners. Next, reflecting on their experience, to design and implement the online course activities, linked to the CATCH21 competence-based framework, choosing appropriate digital environment and tools. The next section makes an overview of the main steps for designing competence-based learning process, outlining the used main digital tools at each phase. 3.1 Design and Implementation of Competence Framework The digital development of competences is usually done when a given set of related domain competences are grouped within a framework, named competence framework. Their digital realisation within the Learning Management Systems is usually done at the highest system level by users with managerial or administrative roles. This is so, since the competence frameworks and individual competences are high top level learning outcomes that are defined for a whole domain, and cannot be changed at the levels of curriculum or instructions. The systems of learning standards, which are usually defined at the high top level of an educational system, have also similar structures. In the formal educational settings (schools, higher education institutions) then, the learning plans for individual users or group of users are defined with the purpose to achieve given set of competencies (or standards). Group learning plans (or Learning plan templates), for given students’ cohorts are then also defined at a top system level, since they are uniform for a given group of students. The individual learning plans in an LMS, however, can be defined by an individual student through a selection of particular competences (or standards) that have to be pursued and achieved by the student for a given period of time. Particular competence (or standard) can be linked to different study courses, and within such course – to particular course resources and activities. A competence can be eventually achieved by studying different courses, if it is linked and covered by one or another of these courses. In this way, a student, following their individual learning plan, can select one or another course, covering the same competence,
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and thus, can follow different learning paths on their choice, when achieving particular competence. In order to develop a competence-oriented course the LMS Moodle or any other digital platform that supports competence-based learning could be used. CATCH21 course uses LMS Moodle, where the competence framework is deployed (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Competence framework creation in LMS Moodle
3.2 Identification of one’s Own Learning Needs and Capacities on the Base of Professional Competence Profiles To identify his own personal learning needs, an individual should take in consideration his capacity, motivation, and interests. Publicly available professional competence profiles or competence frameworks can be a good first step for orienting learners in the required competences and skills. Stating the appropriate learning goals lies on a given competence framework, reflecting individual’s performance, needs and gaps. The CATCH21 course uses LMS Moodle through its tools supporting two approaches for identification of learning needs: self-evaluation and observations of university professors based on preliminary completed by concrete student course. 3.3 Design and Evaluation of Individual Learning Plan A learning plan represents an individual action plan developed to help students to establish, achieve, and evaluate their own learning goals. It should be based on their established learning needs, and should make use of the digital learning opportunities searched and identified by them. Digital tools, supporting design and evaluation of individual learning plans, are: LMS Moodle – through its functionalities learner to create Individual Learning Plan and to monitor its completion; DojoIBL (https://dojo-ibl.appspot.com/) “Individual Learning Plan”; other digital planning tool – paid or free (e.g. Airtable - https://airtable. com/, ClickUp – https://clickup.com, etc.). The CATCH21 course implements individual learning plans in LMS Moodle, as it is illustrated on Fig. 2 below.
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Fig. 2. Individual learning plan in LMS Moodle
3.4 Identify Learning Paths (Planned Interventions) The Learning Paths or planned interventions may include different learning events that head towards achieving individual learning goal (e.g. attending conferences, workshops, educational events; completing courses; consultations with experts; self-study; etc.). Most of the interventions might be attended and conducted digitally, on the base of the identified digital learning opportunities. Digital tools which could be used for drawing learning paths are the same as these for creating learning plans. In CATCH21 course the LMS Moodle functions are used. 3.5 Keeping Record for Completed Interventions Collecting evidences of the successfully passed through learning events – diplomas, certificates, acquired competences, badges, rating scores. When done digitally, learner can collect a range of digital evidences of completion and performance (e.g. certificates, acquired competences, badges, rating scores). Keeping records for completing competences could be done by digital tools like LMS Moodle, DojoIBL, e-Portfolio. CATCH21 course uses available Moodle options. 3.6 Evaluation of Learning It might not be a rigor evaluation, but rather a personal evaluation of the overall sense of the learning experience. This may help to identify and plan additional learning activities for a following period.
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Digital tools like e-Portfolios; Quizzes; Rubrics (holistic, and/or analytical); Software for performance, monitoring, and tracking learning process could be used. Such tools, integrated in LMS Moodle, are the CATCH21 course choice. 3.7 Impact on Practice The next step on the learning plan is to describe the impact on practice of the newly acquired Learning Outcomes (Competences). In order to precisely reflect the resulting Impact on the personal practice or study, the following self-assessment questions have to be asked: What did you learn that you did not know before? In what ways has the learned contributed to your competence profile? Digital tools could be just digitally created forms; DojoIBL; e-Portfolios or any other digital planning tool, already mentioned above.
4 Discussion and Lessons Learned The present research and investigation show that various digital tools can support the design and implementation of CBL. However, in the context of HEI, the authors recommend the LMS Moodle as an appropriate digital environment, having necessary digital tools for development of competence-based learning courses for higher education. The authors identified the following list of reasons, supporting this finding: • Moodle is widely used at HEI as LMS environment supporting the teaching process and because of that, the features of competence-based learning approaches can be easily adopted and used by university professors and students. • It is not necessary to install/use many separate, different tools in order to complete the goals. • Moodle is an open source platform, which is continuously improved by new features and modules which are in-line with contemporary teaching and learning trends. • Currently, the competence development model is naturally integrated across all activities. • The system provides mechanism as badges for recognition of acquired competences. • All generated competence-based learning features of Moodle such as competence frameworks, individual competence profiles and others can be used in interoperable way. • If some needed functions for competence-based learning are not available in the system, they could be added through plugin in the system when they are available as separate tool, or developed, which is the experience of the authors from previous projects. The appropriate features of the digital tools and LMS help to improve the understanding of the CBL process on the practice and to raise the motivation for adopting it. Moreover, CBL approaches can be widely implemented in HEI only when they are closely integrated in the daily practice of the learning. Therefore, exploiting digital tools for enhancing the CBL approaches in HEI courses will play crucial role for designing future hybrid-based learning experiences.
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5 Conclusion and Future Work This article demonstrates how competence-based learning course could be designed in higher education by the means of appropriate digital tools. The authors successfully designed and implemented a competence framework and linked with it competencesoriented course for higher education in the LMS Moodle. Based on their experience, they formulated a list of recommendations and lessons’ learned that can be useful for other higher education institutions. The designed competence-based learning course has to be launched this academic year with the students at five CATCH21 project partners’ universities. In order to prepare the university professors for that, first the course will be introduced to them as train-the-trainers course, organized in framework of the project activities. Finally, the digitally supported competence-based learning approaches proved their efficiency, but further work is needed to promote its adoption in higher education so to have not just digitalization but competence-based digital transformation. The mass implementation of the competence-based learning approach in the university and in the school education, can contribute to real innovations and reforms in the educational system, making it more student’ and goals’-oriented. Acknowledgment. The research is supported by the “CATCH 21st Century Skills for changing the approach to university teaching” project 2019-1-TR01-KA203-074482, Erasmus+, KA2; the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” Research Science Fund project N80-10-18/18.03.2020 “Use of high-tech tools for development of competency models in training” and the National Scientific Program “Information and Communication Technologies in Science, Education and Security”, financed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science.
References 1. Sullivan, R.: The competency-based approach to training. JHPIEGO Strategy Paper, September, 1995 2. Foyster, J.: Getting to Grips with Competency-Based Training and Assessment. TAFE National Centre for Research and Development: Leabrook, Australia. ERIC: ED 317849 (1990) 3. Delker, P.: Basic Skills Education in Business and Industry: Factors for Success or Failure, Contractor Report, Office of Technology Assessment, United States Congress (1990) 4. Norton, R.: Competency-based education and training: a humanistic and realistic approach to technical and vocational instruction. In: Regional Workshop on Technical/Vocational Teacher Training in Chiba City, Japan. ERIC: ED 279910 (1987) 5. Prins, F., Nadolski, J., Berlanga, R.J., Drachsler, A.J., Hummel, H., Koper, R.: Competence description for personal recommendations: the importance of identifying the complexity of learning and performance situations. J. Educ. Technol. Soc. 11, 141–152 (2008) 6. Twyman, J.S.: Competency-Based Education: Supporting Personalized Learning. Connect: Making Learning Personal. Center on Innovations in Learning, Temple University (2014) 7. Mulder, M.: Competence-Based Vocational and Professional Education: Bridging the Worlds of Work and Education. Springer, Dordrecht (2017)
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8. Fanshawe, M., Delaney, N., Powell A.: Utilizing instantaneous feedback to promote selfregulated learning in online higher education courses: the case for digital badges. In: Technology-Enhanced Formative Assessment Practices in Higher Education. IGI Global (2020) 9. Stefanov, K., Nikolova, N., Ilieva, M., Stefanova, E.: Turning university professors into competent learners. iJET 3(S1), 46–52 (2008) 10. Stefanov, K., Nikolov, R., Boytchev, P., Stefanova, E., Georgiev, A., Koychev, I., Nikolova, N., Grigorov A.: Emerging models and e-infrastructures for teacher education. In: Proceedings of the ITHET 2011. IEEE (2011) 11. Georgiev, A.: OpenScout Personal Development Planner - PDP, Tutorial (2010). https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=cTYFhhG4YOM. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 12. Makris, P., Efthymiopoulos, N., Nikolopoulos, V., Pomazanskyi, A., Irmscher, B., Stefanov, K., Pancheva, K., Varvarigos, E.: Digitization era for electric utilities: a novel business model through an inter-disciplinary S/W platform and open research challenges. IEEE Access 6(1), 22452–22463 (2018) 13. CATCH 21 - 21st Century Skills for changing the approach to university teaching. https:// www.catch21st.org/. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 14. Ananiadou, K., Claro, M.: 21st Century Skills and Competences for New Millennium Learners in OECD Countries. OECD Education Working Papers No. 41. OECD (2019). https://dx.doi. org/https://doi.org/10.1787/218525261154 15. Council of the European Union. Council Recommendation of 22 May 2017 on the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning and repealing the recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning, Official Journal of the European Union, (2017/C 189/03) (2017) 16. European Parliament and Council of the European Union. Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning, Official Journal of the European Union, (2008/C 111/01) (2008) 17. Verhoef, P.C., Broekhuizen, T., Bart, Y., Bhattacharya, A., Dong, J.Q., Fabian, N., Haenlein, M.: Digital transformation: a multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda. J. Bus. Res. 122, 889–901 (2019)
Pair Programming and the Level of Knowledge in the Formation of Pairs Sónia Rolland Sobral(B) REMIT, Universidade Portucalense, Porto, Portugal [email protected]
Abstract. The pandemic situation COVID-19 requires teachers to rethink some of the activities proposed to students since even though they are physically in the same room at the university, they cannot join and must maintain a social distance. The curricular unit of introduction to programming in the first year of computer courses requires several activities: students only learn by doing. One of the activities that has been used a lot in the academic community is pair programming: a single computer for two students working together. In the case that this article reports the pair works sharing a ZOOM room and alternates the position of driver (writes the code) with navigator (one that comments on the code). This article uses the technique of pair programming for writing top-down, algorithm and traces to verify the behavior of variables along the algorithm. If the pair programming technique has had very interesting results in terms of task speed and code quality far superior to programmers alone, there are some doubts about the problem of the constitution pf the groups. In this article we use two opposite strategies: group students with opposite knowledge or group students with similar knowledge. We found that students who prefer this activity are the worst ones (in both strategies) and the best students when grouped with colleagues with similar knowledge. Keyword: Pair programming · COVID-19 · CS1 · Work group · Algorithms
1 Pair Work Pair programming is a strategy that has been widely described: is a practice in which two programmers work collaboratively at one computer, on the same design, algorithm, or code [1–3]. It started being used in industry and became a pedagogical strategy widely used in curricular units as introduction to programming [4–6]. There are reports that reveal that this is an excellent way to improve teaching-learning [7–9] [10, 11]. In this technique there is a computer for a driver (writes code) and a navigator (one that comments on the code written by the colleague) [12]. Reports say that the code is written much faster and more effectively than if both programmers were working alone [13–15]. Using the technique for academic experiences, the way groups are formed can be done in different ways as it can be a very important factor [9]: randomly [16], chosen by students [17], by level of knowledge [7] or by other characteristics [2, 18, 19]. In the case of this article, groups made up of two students were grouped by prior assessment: © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 212–221, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_21
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in a first case with the best students working with the worst ranked, in the second case with groups to be made up of students with similar knowledge. The experience reported in this article uses the structure of peer programming: physically the students are in the same room, but because they are in a pandemic situation COVID-19, they have to maintain social distance and cannot move elsewhere within classroom. Very similar to the Distributed pair programming form [20] with the two elements at a distance from each other. Each student is on their own computer and they communicate through the ZOOM application [21]: One of the elements is in the driver situation (the one who shares the screen and writes), while the navigator comments on what the colleague writes. The positions alternate during the activity. The activity in question is not a program in a programming language, but a document in a text processing with the top-down, the algorithm and the table with exploratory data. In this document we detail the experience, list student responses, analyze responses and make a conclusion.
2 The Experience: Two Different Designs This experiment was carried out as part of an initial programming unit in the first year of two computer courses at the fourth and fifth week of classes, during the pandemic situation of COVID-19. Classes are divided into two hours of lectures on the ZOOM platform and two blocks of two hours, laboratory. At the beginning of the lectures, an assessment is made in MOODLE lasting 15 min and mostly consisting of true and false questions, multiple choice, or space filling. In the second block of laboratory practical classes it starts with an exercise (sometimes on paper and sometimes in digital form and submitted in MOODLE) with a duration of 40 min, the rest being for the resolution of the same exercise (in a more detailed version) in activity in pairs. Both the MOODLE assessment and the written exercise of the practical class are corrected and correspond to a score from 0 to 20 and are published on the page of the course unit in MOODLE. The average of these assessments (excluding the worst grade of each student from the average) is placed in a list ordered by class and classification. Each student is also assigned a type: A (grades from 16), B (grades [12, 16 [), C ([8, 12 [), D ([4, 12 [) and E (more grades lower than 4). This course tends to have very high dropout rates. This document reports and compares two different ways of constituting pairs: the first (N = 54) with inverse pairs (A with E, B with D and C together), the second (N = 52) with pairs of the same type. The number of students by type in each of the two experiences is shown by the next table (Table 1). Each of the pairs was asked that the student with the best rating create a ZOOM room and send an email to their peer. The objective would be for the second to write a top-down, the first the algorithm and again the first to write a table with the execution data provided by the second. The goal is that the driver is the one who writes and the navigator the one who comments on what is being written. In the case of the first experience, there were five female students, while in the second, only three. The number of students in the Computer Engineering course was 37 and 36, respectively, while the computer students were 17 and 16. In both cases there
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S. R. Sobral Table 1. Number of students by type in each of the two experiences. Type
Inverse N = 54
Equal N = 52
A
4
4
B
20
19
C
15
20
D
6
7
E
9
2
were 44 students aged 18 to 20 years. In the first experience there were 10 students between 21 and 26 years old, this number being 8 students in the case of activity with pairs of the same type. The features described are shown in the following table (Table 2). Table 2. Gender, course, and ages of students in each of the activities. Gender Feminine
Inverse N = 54 Equal N = 52 5
3
49
49
Computer Engineering 37
36
Computer Science
17
16
[18, 20]
44
44
[21, 26]
10
8
Male Course
Ages
3 Student Responses The question “What did you think of the Pairs experience?” was answered from 1 (terrible) to 5 (excellent). The average of the two experiences was similar (3.91 and 4.27), however if we analyze the responses by type of student it appears that they are quite different. In the case of the activity with constitution of groups by inverse type, the average rises as the type of student worsens. In the case of activities with the same type of group, all the best students rated the experience as excellent, with the worst evaluations being for students with intermediate knowledge level. The most complete numbers are shown in the following table (Table 3). To the question “How was the experience of creating the ZOOM room or entering the room created by the colleague?” in the first case the best average is again increasing in relation to the type of student, while in the second case either the best or the worst
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Table 3. Averages, answers, question “What did you think of the Pairs experience?” by type. Type
Inverse Equal
A
3,50
5,00
B
3,60
4,58
C
3,73
3,65
D
4,33
4,71
E
4,78
4,50
Average 3,91
4,27
students rated the ZOOM room experience as excellent and again it was the students with intermediate knowledge (type C) who evaluated the experience worse (3.75). The numbers by type are shown in the following table (Table 4). Table 4. Averages, answers, question “How was the experience of creating the ZOOM room or entering the room created by the colleague?” by type. Type
Inverse Equal
A
2,50
5,00
B
3,65
4,42
C
4,20
3,75
D
4,50
4,71
E
4,89
5,00
Average 4,02
4,27
Table 5. Question “How was the communication with the colleague in the ZOOM room” by students Type. Type
Inverse Equal
A
3,50
4,75
B
4,10
4,21
C
3,93
3,60
D
4,50
4,71
E
4,89
5,00
Average 4,19
4,12
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To the question “How was the communication with the colleague in the ZOOM room?” in the first case the best average is again increasing in relation to the type of student, while in the second case the best assessment is of the worst students, followed by the best students (A). The numbers by type of student are shown in the next table (Table 5). To the question “Do you feel you have more knowledge than your partner?” students classified as type A answered an average of 4.5 in the first experiment and 3 in the second. Interestingly, type E students responded, on average 3.11, to quantify whether the partner has more knowledge than the respondent himself - which is strange since E students have previous evaluation scores below 4 and the partners have grades evaluations from 16 values, as we can see in the table below (Table 6). Table 6. Question “Do you feel you have more knowledge than your partner?” by students Type. Type
Inverse Equal
A
4,50
3,00
B
3,30
3,21
C
3,47
2,90
D
2,50
3,57
E
3,11
3,00
Average 3,31
3,12
To the question “Did the Partner help you with the exercises?” in the first case, type D and E students answered 5 (maximum), and type A and average students responded less favorably (3.75). In the second case, it was students of type A and D who evaluated at most, and again those of intermediate knowledge were those who rated the experience worst (3.85). However, both averages were clearly positive (4.57 and 4.44), as shown in the next table (Table 7). Table 7. Question “Did the Partner help you with the exercises?” by students’ type. Type
Inverse Equal
A
3,75
5,00
B
4,45
4,74
C
4,53
3,85
D
5,00
5,00
E
5,00
4,50
Average 4,57
4,44
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To the question “Did you help your colleague with the exercises?” type A students responded excellent (5) and, interestingly, type E students also responded with excellent (5) in the experience with similar knowledge pairs. Once again, it is Type C students who worst assess the issue, as shown in the next table (Table 8). Table 8. Question “Did you help your colleague with the exercises?” by student type. Type
Inverse Equal
A
5,00
5,00
B
4,55
4,63
C
4,27
3,75
D
4,50
4,57
E
4,11
5,00
Average 4,43
4,33
To the question “Did you feel that the activity was beneficial for your learning?”, In the first case, the assessment goes up as the grade of previous assessments goes down. In the case of experience with pairs of similar knowledge, the answers vary between 5 of type D and 3.35 of type C. The numbers are presented below (Table 9). Table 9. Question “Did you feel that the activity was beneficial for your learning?” by student type. Type
Inverse Equal
A
3,3
4,5
B
3,5
4,42
C
3,5
3,35
D
4,8
5
E
4,9
4
Average 3,9
4,08
To the question “Would you like to repeat the experience?” 83% answered yes in both cases, 11.1% answered no in the first case and 9.6% in the second. The remaining answers were in the sense of repeating the experience, but with another partner (5.6 and 7.7%). In the case of A Type students, 25% of students answered yes, but with another partner, while all the others answered yes. All students with the lowest level of knowledge considered the experience to be advantageous and to repeat. As we can see in the next table, the most critical students who apparently did not like the activity were type B (15% and 5%) and C (21% and 20%) students in the case of the first activity and the second (Table 10).
218
S. R. Sobral Table 10. Question “Would you like to repeat the experience?” by student type (%). Type
Inverse No
A
Equal Yes
Yes, but
0,75
0,25 0,05
B
0,15
0,8
C
0,20
0,80
D
0,83
E
1
Total
0,11
0,83
No
Yes
Yes, but
1 0,05
0,84
0,11
0,20
0,70
0,10
0,17
1 1
0,06
0,10
0,83
0,08
4 Discussion of Results Both experiences were based on the previous constitution of the working group formed by two students. In the first experiment, the groups had two elements with a previous inverse assessment, while in the second case the previous assessment of the students was similar. The two experiences were developed by a similar number of students (54 and 52 respectively) and with similar characteristics (gender, age, course, and level of knowledge of the students). It was found that when there is inverse knowledge, students with the worst level of knowledge evaluate the experience close to excellent (5) and that this evaluation of students is inversely proportional to their knowledge, with the best students evaluating, on average, the experience with 3.5. In the case of constitution, the similar level, the best students were the ones who enjoyed the experience, as we can see in the following figure (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Evaluation of the two experiences by type of student.
Likewise, peer-to-peer communication is much better for students with lower knowledge when they belong to a group with a better student, but it is also better for some with better knowledge who pair with students with similar knowledge and the worst students. Grouped with another of the worst students. As in the question analyzed in the previous figure, intermediate knowledge students who worst classify the communication experience, as can be seen in the following figure (Fig. 2).
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Equal
5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 A
B
C
D
E
Fig. 2. Communication by students type and experience.
When students are asked how they evaluate the help they gave to their partner and if they feel they were helped by a colleague: the worst students and the best students in the second situation say that they helped a lot and were helped a lot, just like the worst students in the first experience. As we can see in the following figure (left Inverse, right Equal knowledge), once again it is the intermediate students who worst rate the item help and be helped (Fig. 3).
helped by
help
5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1
helped by
help
5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 A
B
C
D
E
A
B
C
D
E
Fig. 3. Help and Help by partner (left Inverse, right Equal knowledge).
It is concluded that the worst students are also the ones that better classify the interest of the activity, either in a group situation or in the other. The same is true for better students who work with better students. And the same conclusion is visible for the students’ interest to repeat experience with partners again: the worst are unanimous (100%) in wanting to do the activity again, while the best students (and in large part) want to do the activity with someone colleague of the same level of knowledge. Once again, it is the intermediate knowledge students who worst evaluate the experiences, with 20% not enjoying the experience.
220
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5 Conclusions The pandemic situation COVID-19 requires that several pedagogical strategies be rethought. If a large part of the time, students are physically apart from each other, even when they are in the same classroom, they cannot be physically close groups because there is a need to maintain physical distance. Pair work seems to be an excellent strategy for introductory programming classes, whether in the phase of using programming languages or in the phase of algorithm design and use of other tools. In this experience, the pairs used the ZOOM to communicate even if they were in the same room with the mandatory social distance. There have been many experiences related to pair programming and it has been widely described. There is an attempt to make pairs compatible in some situations, in others the groups are randomly constituted. Many of the experiences use characteristics of the students, others their previous evaluation. In the experiences described in this article, the classifications of the two weekly activities in the course were used: in the first case the students were grouped by inverse knowledge, and in the second case by similar knowledge. The most visible conclusion of this article is that students with the worst knowledge enjoy working in groups with students who have more knowledge than they do; and that both (students with more knowledge and students with less knowledge) appreciate pair work in groups made up of pairs at the same level as theirs. Intermediate level students are those who enjoy the experience less, and in both cases studied, their group was formed with another intermediate level colleague. In a next experiment we will try to divide students into four or six levels (or an even number of levels) so that intermediate students do not always stay with intermediate students. The work strategy (or programming) by pairs seems to us to be an excellent alternative to activity in units of introduction to programming, and it tends to appear that the ideal is to form groups of two students with a similar level of knowledge.
References 1. Nagappan, N., Williams, L., Ferzli, M., Miller, C., Balik, S.: Improving the CS1 experience with pair programming. ACM SIGCSE Bull. 35(1), 359–362 (2003) 2. Berenson, S., Slaten, K., Williams, L., Ho, C.-W.: Voices of women in a software engineering course: reflections on collaboration. J. Educ. Resour. Comput. 4(1), 3-es (2004) 3. Choi, K., Deek, F., Im, I.: Exploring the underlying aspects of pair programming: the impact of personality. Inf. Softw. Technol. 50(11), 1114–1126 (2008) 4. Sobral, S.R.: Is pair programing in higher education a good strategy? Int. J. Inf. Educ. Technol. 10(12), 911–916 (2020) 5. Muller, M., Tichy, W.: Case study: extreme programming in a university environment. In: International Conference on Software Engineering (2001) 6. Beck, K.: Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change. Addison-Wesley, Boston (1999) 7. Katira, N., Williams, L., Wiebe, E., Balik, S., Gehringer, E.: On understanding compatibility of student pair programmers. In: SIGCSE (2004) 8. Muller, M.: Two controlled experiments concerning the comparison of pair programming to peer review. J. Syst. Softw. 78(2), 166–179 (2005)
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9. Bevan, J., Werner, L., McDowell, C.: Guidelines for the use of pair programming in a freshman programming class. In: Software Engineering Education Conference (2002) 10. Williams, L., McDowell, C., Nagappan, N., Fernald, J., Werner, L.: Building pair programming knowledge through a family of experiments. In: International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering (2003) 11. Nosek, J.: The case for collaborative programming. Commun. ACM 41(3), 105–108 (1998) 12. Nawrocki, J., Wojciechowski, A.: Experimental evaluation of pair programming. In: European Software Control and Metrics (2001) 13. Williams, L.: Integrating pair programming into a software development process. In: Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training. In Search of a Software Engineering Profession, Charlotte (2001) 14. Hulkko, H., Abrahamsson, P.: A multiple case study on the impact of pair programming on product quality. In: International Conference on Software Engineering (2005) 15. Williams, L., Kessler, R., Cunningham, W., Jeffries, R.: Strengthening the case for pair programming. IEEE Softw. 17, 19–25 (2000) 16. Carver, J., Henderson, L., He, L., Hodges, J., Reese, D.: Increased retention of early computer science and software engineering students using pair programming. In: Software Engineering Education Conference (2007) 17. Thomas, L., Ratcliffe, M., Robertson, A.: Code warriors and code-a-phobes: a study in attitude and pair programming. In: SIGCSE (2003) 18. Williams, L., Layman, L., Osborne, J., Katira, N.: Examining the compatibility of student pair programmers. In: AGILE Conference (2006) 19. Werner, L., McDowell, C., Hanks, B.: Pair-programming helps female computer science students. ACM J. Educ. Resour. Comput. 11(4), 4 (2004) 20. Baheti, P., Gehringer, E., Stotts, D.: Exploring the efficacy of distributed pair programming. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp. 208–220 (2002) 21. Zoom Video Communications, Inc., “ZOOM” (2020). https://zoom.us/
Virtual Learning Environments and Learning Change in Modern Higher Education During the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic: Attitudes of University Teachers Edita Butrime(B) Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, A. Mickevicius st. 9, 44307 Kaunas, Lithuania [email protected]
Abstract. Today’s situation in the universities of the world is virtual learning during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Mass distance teaching and learning practices were not before the pandemic. Therefore, it can be argued that the scientific sources that analyze distance teaching and learning were intended to discuss the experiences and attitudes of technology enthusiasts and visionaries. The aim of this article is to discuss forced innovation in virtual learning models and to reveal the attitudes of students and teachers towards distance learning and teaching. Teachers’ approaches to distance learning will help to identify aspects of distance teaching/learning that are important, acceptable or unacceptable to them. This can serve in the future for the development of the qualitatively new learning environments for students. Keywords: Virtual learning environment · Virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic · Virtual learning environment of university
1 Introduction Business world is rapidly implementing and applying constantly developing information and communication technologies (ICT); however, according to Davidson and Waddington [1], Jonson [2], universities are ‘technology resistant institutions’; sometimes universities are forced to accept new paradigms by the society. Innovation acceptance policy at universities plays a significant role, i.e. it may slow down the growth and development; or it may facilitate its development with an increased pace. One of the key obstacles related to a successful implementation of ICT in some universities is the fact that the management sometimes does not support or determine relevant priorities for ICT. Such a situation might have been caused – presumably - by historical traditions; university management did not emphasise ICT and e-learning issues, as that was not considered being the basic field of activities [3, 4]. Today’s situation in the universities of the world is virtual learning during the COVID19 coronavirus pandemic. The rapid spread of new COVID-19 coronaviruses throughout China and the world in 2019–2020 has had a great impact on world economic and social © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 222–231, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_22
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development. The pandemic has radically changed people’s lives and activities. It is a temporary emergency, but experts in various fields of science are already predicting significant changes in various areas of people’s lives. Mass distance teaching and learning practices were not before the pandemic. Ten month ago, most teachers knew how to teach and understood how their students think and learn. Now teachers have to change the nature of their work and learn new skills themselves. And most importantly, you have to answer the questions yourself when faced with the challenge of teaching without eye contact and body language. The aim of this article is to discuss forced innovation in virtual learning models and to reveal the attitudes of teachers towards distance learning and teaching. The research question addressed in the study: In what way do teachers reflect on using virtual learning environment (VLE) for the studies? What is the attitude of university teachers, who have worked in a VLE in extreme conditions, to distance learning? The study involved 40 lecturers who shared their work experience in the fall semester of 2019 and the spring semester of 2020 (i.e., when they had to work in the conditions of forced innovation). Teachers’ approaches to distance learning will help to identify aspects of distance teaching/learning that are important, acceptable or unacceptable to them. In this article e-learning is analyzed as a socio-cultural system [5–8]. Such an approach towards e-learning enabled presentation of ‘a multi-dimensionality’ in the concept. The analysis of e-learning as a socio-cultural system enabled the formulation of interdisciplinary problem, for the solutions of which it is necessary to invoke theories and outcomes of computer Science, culture and education. The analysis allowed the enumeration of the forms and contents related to educational support for the participants (lecturers) of the system.
2 Virtual Learning: Yesterday and Today University studies, under the influence by contemporary information and communication technologies (ICT) are changing from the educational paradigm to the learning paradigm. What are the characteristics of e-learning (and teaching) in university academic community, and what comprises the phenomenon of e-learning as socio-cultural system? Socio-cultural system of e-learning is a system where for the increase of efficiency in teaching and learning information and communication technologies (ICT) are applied; ICT have been artificially designed by a human being; however, ICT, as a consequence, now influence the development and structure of this system [8]. Key elements of each e-learning episode are: • • • • •
Participants (teachers, students, IT profesionals); Technologies (ICT); Processes; Relationship/connections/interaction; Material/contents (information).
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Modern ICT are identified as one of the factors in this system. An individual is identified as a key element of socio-cultural system – he or she is the creator of knowledge seeking to respond to the needs of knowledge society. The socio-cultural system of e - learning is disclosed as a contemporary phenomenon, as earlier classic pedagogical systems [8–11] did not identify ICT as the element of the system. The analysis of contemporary context in which universities operate revealed that today the same state of society changes faster than ever before [12]. The so called “knowledge society” is only a symbol which denotes the fact that the structure of the society that we used to know has collapsed. Society becomes a multi - social society in which different models of a society operate at the same time, starting from the agrarian, industrial, information and ending, of course, with knowledge and many other models. Shiva [13] notes that a function of science is to investigate and to find out, whereas a function of technologies is to act on what has been found out. Today these processes are inseparable. Therefore researchers today only in very few and special cases are not required to provide informed calculations about the period when a specific research task, a specific study will generate applicable results. Any representative of any given profession in almost all spheres are under continuous and ever increasing pressure to produce applicable results that consequently will lead to positive economical outcome. In this article autor at least try to conceptualise ICT in higher education, as a system, emphasising the importance of all comprising elements involved. Decision on whether applications of ICT are invading or starting to dominate, whether they are productive or counterproductive for practices in higher education depends on perspective and is highly subjective. Traditional education system (primary, secondary, higher education, vocational training and informal education) remains essentially unchanged in its structure, management and the concept despite the changing conditions of life and is basically not adjusted to new social needs [14]. The change of ICT to Web 2.0 that are substantially different from Web 1.0, used previously, is emphasized. The breakthrough of Web 2.0 sometimes brings confusion to the already well-established life of university (and other organizations), to its activities, communication, information movement and processing. Tools and means based on Web 2.0 are spontaneous, informal, horizontal, heterogeneous, volatile and unstable. The institutions which develop plans, strategies, promote innovation, are converse - thought-out, formal, vertical, hierarchical, static and permanent. Therefore a contradiction between the quickly spreading Web 2.0 and institutions (or, rathers, their community members) that sometimes refused (or were afraid) to use these technologies [1, 4, 15, 16]. Over the past 20 years, various scholars have studied distance teaching/learning in detail and highlighted its advantages (studying anywhere at any time, flexibility in learning, improving teaching pedagogy, instruction methods and curriculum design). However, distance learning has not been a mass phenomenon so far. During the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions have been forced to employ virtual learning environments, i.e. changed traditional teaching to distance teaching/learning. Many researchers have been analyzing this extreme situation. [17–19]. Mass distance teaching and learning practices were not before the pandemic. Therefore, it can be argued that the scientific sources that analyze distance teaching and learning were intended to discuss the experiences and attitudes of technology enthusiasts and
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visionaries (according to qualitative diffusion model of E. Rogers [20] and G. A. Moore [21]. In this case, it was possible to analyze the experiences of technology enthusiasts, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards (according to qualitative diffusion model of E. Rogers [20] and G. A. Moore [21]) in distance teaching and learning. The sudden shift from face-to-face to online teaching triggered many challenges for the lecturers in university. “For many universities, these methods considered as new platform and the ability of using such tools for online teaching created many challenges among the lecturers. The familiarity with new digital platforms and tools in short period of time as well as the pedagogical demands of online learning that they never had to think of in conventional delivery become one of the challenging factor among lecturers in higher education. Furthermore, they need to ensure to retain the program and modulelearning objective even after adjustment of the teaching style” [22]. Change has not been easy there are both positive [22, 24–26] and negative experiences [23, 25].
3 Virtual Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic For the past two decades universities are eagerly trying to employ opportunities presented by information communication technologies (further on – ICT). A contemporary university employs all the forms that define a functioning university for communication. Any organisation is an entity with structural parts and people, also teams, who have to work in systemic collaboration in order to ensure the systemic functioning of an organisation itself. People and teams have to exchange communication, and, moreover, to perform the task in a certain way, according to certain rules. Though certain principles are the same, e.g., the information is being produced and shared, each organisation is a unique entity, however. Each organisation has its own structure, also the traditions will be different, as will be the style of management. Nevertheless, in each organisation we will find people, structures, technologies [26, 27]. University, as an organisation, employs ICT for its functioning, the same way any other contemporary organisation does. Communication is mostly ensured due to internet, intranet and extranet. Intranet – is an internal net, that is used to send information using the intranet protocols; also intranet may have (in most cases: is does) a connection with internet. In most cases intranet is being created by a specific organisation for the specific needs of that particular organisation [28]. Intranet relies on a network of computers that belongs to a certain organisation; the technology is universal, but the access to data is not; it is limited and complies to strict rules; that is, access to intranet is limited. The very idea of introducing intranet decades ago was in order to ensure safety and security of data and the functioning of an organisation at large. It was suggested to divide internet into segments: intranets [29]. Extranet includes all the employees of an organisation. It functions similarly to intranet. A user has to know an address of a website. The difference from internet is that a user on extranet has to log on using his or her login ID and password. Administrator provides different users the different levels of rights: the different level of rights to access data and supply data [27, 30, 31]. These technologies are used for creating academic information systems. Today most higher education institutions in Lithuania employ academic information systems. Some
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of them use intranet and content management system or synchronic or asynchronic virtual learning environments (Moodle, MS Teams, Google Meet, Zoom). Today’s situation in the universities of the world is (distance) virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Covid-19 has urged universities around the globe to relocate traditional classes to online classes. The COVID-19 health crisis has resulted in school and university closures affecting over 90% of the world’s students [32]. From the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic the International Association of Universities (IAU), has been closely monitoring the impacts on higher education around the world. IAU with partners from around the world has developed two Global surveys, one has been held in the beginning of pandemic, the second global survey will be held in the fall 2020. Based on the first survey the major challenges have been already listed and possible solutions provided [33]. Although ICT is being used by universities around the world as part of study process, the traditional paper-based learning approaches are still the most commonly utilized, as opposed to web-based and electronic learning methods. Covid-19 urged the university to adopt distance learning as a necessary option to keep education going on. Therefore, the university charged of planning and setting the following guidelines surrounding distance learning: • The course must be ensured even in the case of technical difficulties. • The process and methodology of distance learning can be openly chosen in the light of the above recommendations, but technological and logistical assistance for the university’s application can only be given in the Moodle, Big Blue Button, MS Office 365, MS Teams. The university provided an opportunity for teachers to prepare for work online. Teachers had 2 weeks to upload the study content into a virtual learning environment.
4 Teacher’s Approach to Distance Teaching in an Emergency Situation The study involved 40 lecturers who shared their work experience in the fall semester of 2019 and the spring semester of 2020 (i.e., when they had to work in the conditions of forced innovation). The participants of the study were medical teachers from Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. The study was conducted in May 2020, when the teachers participated in the virtual seminar “Organization of students’ independent work”. 30 women and 10 men participated in the study. A larger number of experienced teachers participated in the study - 25 (Table 1). Teachers were asked an open question: ‘write down what differences you have noticed between the organization of students’ independent work in traditional (semester of 2019) and distance learning (semester of spring 2020). Consider the following aspects: time consumption; feedback; knowledge test; teacher preparation; communication with students; lectures or consultations in real time; prerecorded lectures. Write about how you organize your work with students remotely based on the aspects listed.’ An open-ended question was asked to highlight not the standard (pre-defined) aspects described in distance learning research scientific sources,
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Table 1. Partisipants of the study Women
Men
In all
Full time teachers
25
8
33
Part time teachers
5
2
7
Professor
5
4
9
Associated Professor
7
1
8
Lecturer
14
3
17
Assistant
4
2
6
24
8
32
12
3
15
>=5 year and =10 year and 15 year
7
5
12
PhD Work experience . Accessed on October 10, 2020. 9 Abraham Weintraub. PORTARIA Nº 473, DE 12 DE MAIO DE 2020. Available in < https:// abmes.org.br/arquivos/legislacoes/Portaria-mec-473-2020-05-12.pdf >. Accessed on October 10, 2020.
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4.2 Risk Identification Initially, elements of systems dynamics were used to identify the risk factors linked to the system in which the educational institution is inserted to identify the risks in the inserted environment. The understanding of these factors was carried out under a multidisciplinary approach, considering the information technology, academic, financial, and communication & marketing teams. At the beginning the main variables that could be impacted in the prolonged maintenance of social isolation measures were identified. The links between the variables, their interactions, cause-effect relationships were generated using the Vensim software. Figure 1 represents the modeling of the system in which the institution is inserted.
Fig. 1. Model of relationship of variables in face of the migration from the classroom model to distance learning
Based on Fig. 1, it is possible to observe that the variable “Revenue” (Receita) is a point of convergence, establishing the cause-effect relationship with several variables. When understanding the system’s relationships, it is plausible to identify that the Revenue suffers negative impacts if students enrolled in presential courses present a negative rate of acceptance to distance education. However, the Revenue can be balanced by the increase in the offer of distance learning, since this educational business model is the only one allowed in 2020, in addition to the maintenance authorization until the end of 2021 and the growth of this market in recent years. For this opportunity to be exploited, it is necessary for the institution to check the elements of its infrastructure, making necessary adjustments and investments. This reflection generated other insights focused on risk analysis. Understanding the risks raised, the organization’s first action was towards the item “Communication and consultation”, from ISO 31,000, in which each program coordinator recorded a short video presenting the institution’s planning, as well as the commitment
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to maintaining the academic quality of the institution. Additionally, new academic calendars were formalized in addition to the opening of a direct communication channel with the coordination. 4.3 Risk Analysis and Assessment Based on additional reflections, the identification of risks was consolidated, listing them, and submitting them to the application of the Mosler Method to understand the qualitative and quantitative aspects of this environment. Considering the relationship model, observed in Fig. 1, the list of risks was distributed into many categories including performance, quality, teaching methodology, system storage, infrastructure, ERP, and others. For each area at least one risk was identified, analyzed, and assessed. This list considered concerns related to the acceptance of students in migrate from presential to remote mode of study, the storage capacity and performance of the virtual educational environment and even the occurrence of disasters, for example. Moving forward, after the analysis, classification, and assessment of risks, the main risks identified were: i. Student does not accept to take class in distance education - High. ii. Virtual learning environment does not support 6000 students – Medium. iii. Presential student accepting to take distance education class, but not accepting that the monthly fee is the same, thus requesting to pay distance education monthly fee - Low. Based on the evaluation carried out, it was understood that these should be the risks to be prioritized by the organization, considering that they represent interdisciplinary impacts, involving business, academic, technology and information and financial teams. 4.4 Risk Treatment Once the risks were understood, these surveys were presented and communicated to the management of the educational institution, who understood the importance of necessary adjustments in the organization’s structure aiming to mitigate risks that could impact the organization’s revenue and future. To address these risks, the improvements made were structured on (i) communication and enhancement, (ii) training and qualification and (iii) improvements in the virtual educational environment. Regarding “Communication and valorization”, the institution approached a robust communication process with students aiming at valuing them in this educational process, reflecting that these are the reason for the existence and maintenance of the organization. This communication addressed since official communiqués, aiming to reassure the students when presenting that the organization was preparing for this new period of changes, but also passing videos recorded by coordinators, teachers, social media posts, to keep the institution and students close. An “exchange” was established in which the organization made a request for trust to the students, indicating that they would not let any student be harmed due to the interruption of classes, thus establishing a “social contract”.
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The second approach was the training and qualification of teachers and administrative staff for the new class regime. It was necessary to train teachers on the use of virtual teaching platforms and on active methodologies, in addition to the reassessment of teaching plans and course menus, updating the classroom formats, assessment and the relationship between students-teachers and students-students. For the administrative staff, training was essential so that the service and support given to both teachers and students was not paralyzed. Since attending students is one of the main means of dialogue between student-institutions, even partial support in this activity could make students believe that the institution’s activities were paralyzed, which could impact the cancellation of enrollments, dropouts, defaults etc. Thus, it was sought elements that would make this service close, trying to simulate the presential service environment. Concluding this action plan, the improvement in the virtual educational environment sought to ensure that all the improvements thought and executed in the previous structures were not in vain due to poor provision of distance learning services. This improvement considered hiring a new virtual educational environment which besides being more friendly for users has additional tools, including plugins for sending in-class activities, mark grades, forum and other. At this moment, the concern was to guarantee an environment with the capacity to support several users connected simultaneously, with recurring interactions, whether they are sending activities, viewing live classes, accessing recorded classes, participation in the doubt’s forums, etc. To ensure academic-administrative support, internal improvements were also necessary, aiming to provide educational services to students, including improving servers, hiring technology and information management services, and hiring more capacity in the cloud. 4.5 Critical Monitoring and Analysis Finally, as the last stage of the ISO 31,000 risk management process and seeking to understand and verify whether the actions carried out were effective and whether the main risks were properly treated, data collection was carried out, using a structured questionnaire, to assess the opinion of students of the institution’s master’s and doctoral programs. A structured questionnaire with closed questions was used, on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5, which was divided into three stages, being them (i) understanding the respondent profile, (ii) migration to the remote regime and (iii) adaptation to new digital platforms. The form was sent by email to the 487 enrolled students, where 130 returns were obtained, representing a response rate of 26%, which allowed a set of analyzes. Regarding the profile of the respondents, the students of the professional master’s in public administration represent the largest share of participation (42%), followed by the students of the professional master’s in law (20%), academic master’s in law (17%), academic doctorate. in law (11%) and professional master’s in economics (10%). To delimit the profile, the students were asked about the stage they were at the time of migration. The available options, as well as their analysis are:
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• “I took courses in the presential and remote regime” (46%), represents the maintenance of the student body, as well as the confidence in the educational services that would be provided in the new study model. • “I entered the program already in the remote regime” (33%), which indicates that even in a remote regime the institution was able to arouse the interest of candidates who participated in the selection process and were approved. • “I took courses in the presential regime and completed my studies without taking courses in the remote regime” (17%), represent students who did not take classes in the remote regime but who completed at least one stage to conclude the program (qualification and/or defense dissertation or thesis) in the remote regime and. • “I took courses in the presential regime and did not migrate to the remote regime” (4%), represent the students who entered before March 2020 and who chose to wait for the return of the presential regime because they considered that they would have academic and professional losses when choosing for studying remotely. Considering the new teaching regime, 5 questions were presented to students that involved personal perceptions and indication of the degree of agreement regarding their adaptation, motivation, productivity, and satisfaction. Regarding adaptation to the remote study regime, 80% students indicate agreement and have managed to adapt to the new regime. When asked about motivation and productivity, there is a predominance of “indifferent” agreement. In this sense, it is understood that the perception of motivation and productivity are variables of a more personal character and that, depending on the profile and style of the student, different definitions for these words can be considered. However, in contrast to motivation and productivity questions, the following question indicates a slightly tendency towards agreement (51%) when students were questioned about the possibility of advancing studies. Here, it is possible to list this possibility as both a motivating factor and productivity. Conducting this questioning separately was relevant to understanding adherence to the remote regime. Since traveling to the institution is not necessary, which saves several resources such as time and money in addition to physical and mental exhaustion, this time earned can be invested in effort to study more disciplines and advance research in dissertations and theses, for example. Closing the “Remote regime” category, the last check was for general satisfaction with the new regime, which showed a 65% agreement return, representing positive feedback with the model that was implemented and made available to students. As for the platforms used, in which the Canvas Student was implemented in the remote regime, as a Virtual Learning Environment and Zoom, to conduct videoconferences, the students were asked about the experience, difficulty of use and general satisfaction of the platforms. Regarding the positive experience of Canvas and Zoom, the students indicated agreement of 70% and 85%, respectively. When asked about difficulties in using the platforms, 67% and 84% of the students indicated that they did not observe any difficulty with Canvas and Zoom, respectively. Finally, the overall satisfaction index for the new platforms introduced was positive, with 82% because of this questioning.
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5 Conclusion This work presented a practical view of the application of risk management in the educational environment. It was used the risk management process proposed by ISO 31,000, showing how each step of the process was carried out, ranging from contextualization to monitoring and critical analysis. Among the most severe risks raised, it was possible to notice that institution was able to present satisfactory actions to them, since the percentage of cancellations and lockouts was below 10%, in addition to the opening of new classes for the programs. The organization studied, despite not having the risk management process disseminated internally, understood the need for adaptation and rapid action, understandings that were not restricted to resuming the provision of services but also to the partial implementation of this process. It should also be noted that the decisions were made after the risk assessment, analysis, and evaluation, so that this process can support the decision-making by the institution’s top management. Although the fact the organization have not this process disseminated, it is relevant to mention that flexibility to adapt into needed changes and the fast answer during the beginning of the pandemic were crucial for the organization’s success, including the students’ satisfaction. From an academic point of view, the conclusion is that the institution has never had so many projects and activities happening in parallel as it is currently doing. As an example, the excellent adaptation of students and the academic community to this scenario was the launch of three podcasts, the realization of more than 700 online events, including panels, free courses, and study groups, which involved directly more than 10,000 students and academic community in virtual actions. Additionally, it is relevant to detach the participation of more than 1,300 public figures in webinars and exhibitions held as ex-presidents of the republic Fernando Collor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Dilma Rousseff, and Michel Temer, Dr. Dráuzio Varella, and the former health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta, which provided interdisciplinary debates and content. In a complementary way, the improvements held in order to face the main challenges due Covid-19 provided complementary gains to institution including the calling of entrance exams entirely virtual, improving in digital and media communications and the approval of two more bachelor courses, four MBAs and the creation of the “Management school” and “Communication School”, leading the hiring of 95 new employees. Finally, along this study it was possible to highlight the relevance of using a structured risk management process. In addition, the process proposed in ISO 31,000 provided important tools and path to comprehend the whole scenario and risks evaluation, analysis, and treatment. Even though this process is not disseminated in organization, its application was able due to the organization’s flexibility, mainly as result as board of directors’ desire and orientations once the scenario observed requires urgent and precise actions and answers. The flexibility to change, including the effort of the whole company were the main factor of success in the results presented. Considering organizations with bureaucratic relations, where changes run slowly, it is essential to implement as soon as possible any elements for risk management, aiming to avoid any similar unexpected events as observed in 2020. Considering further studies, it is recommended to disseminate the risk management process into the whole company, aiming to protect the main areas from arising and unexpected events.
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References 1. ABNT: ABNT NBR ISO 31000: Gestão de Riscos - Princípios e Diretrizes. Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas. Rio de Janeiro, p. 32 (2009) 2. ABNT: ABNT NBR ISO/IEC 31010: Gestão de riscos - Técnicas para o processo de avaliação de riscos. Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas. Rio de Janeiro, p. 126 (2009) 3. Choo, B.S.-Y., Goh, J.C.-L.: Pragmatic adaptation of the ISO 31000:2009 enterprise risk management framework in a high-tech organization using Six Sigma. Int. J. Account. Inf. Manage. 364–382 (2015) 4. Morecroft, J.D.W.: Strategic modelling and business dynamics: a feedback systems approach. 1. ed. Wiley, Chichester (2015) 5. Peixoto, M.C.P.: Engenharia social & Segurança da informação na gestão corporativa. Rio de Janeiro: Brasport (2006) 6. Purdy, G.: ISO 31000:2009—Setting a New Standard. Risk Analysis, pp. 881–886 (2010) 7. Rodríguez, J.V.G., et al.: Análisis - Evaluación de riesgos, aplicando la metodología Mosler en las pymes de Tlaxcala, México 10, 27–34 (2013) 8. Sterman, J.D.: Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World. 1. ed. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2000. 9. Venezia, A.P.P.G.: Avaliação de risco de incêndio para edificações hospitalares de grande porte: uma proposta de método qualitativo para análise de projeto, São Paulo, pp. 384, 28 Fevereiro (2012)
UDL Ontology An Ontology for Education in the Diversity María Viola Deambrosis1(B)
, Regina Motz1(B)
, and María Amelia Eliseo2(B)
1 Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
[email protected] 2 Faculdade de Computação e Informática, Universidade Presbiteriana
Mackenzie, São Paulo, Brazil
Abstract. An education that values and enhances the skills and strengths of each student incorporates important advantages for learners and educators. However, the teacher is not always prepared to create educational resources that consider such a diversity of skills, especially when including disabled learners. In this context, this paper presents UDLOntology, an ontology in the domain of Education based on Universal Design for Learning principles. Its goal is to infer recommendations of educational materials that best facilitate and stimulate student learning according to their individual learning skills and strengths. UDLOntology together with the SELI course authoring platform (Smart Ecosystem for Learning and Inclusion) will guide and assist teachers and educators in building didactic resources to support and empower people with disabilities. In order to verify the adequacy of the ontology, still under development, in the inference of specific educational materials for each skill, some properties necessary for attending students with Down syndrome were specified. The main UDLOntology goal is to highlight learning skills and strengths rather than disabilities. Keywords: Ontology · Universal design for learning · Down syndrome
1 Introduction Education, information, and autonomy are essential elements in and for people’s freedom. Thinking and believing in the universality of education and betting on individual learning skills and strengths rather than disabilities, implies a paradigm shift and therefore a great challenge. This shift allows for talking of “education in the diversity” rather than “inclusive education”, and incorporates as well important advantages for learners and educators. From the learner’s side one advantage is to highlight and work on positive aspects by identifying learners with characteristics that empower the human being like skills and strengths. Another advantage is preserving the students’ privacy by avoiding the need to ask them to select their disabilities to determine their learning profile. From the educators’ view, the main advantage is that it comes to professionalized curriculum design, content design, and assessment, specifically for intellectually disabled learners. As mentioned by [11] strengths and skills addressing individual differences has been shown to have a positive impact on students’ commitment, hope, and self-perceived © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 244–254, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_24
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academic performance. With the intention to reinforce the education in the diversity we have built the SELI Platform in the context of the Smart Ecosystem for Learning and Inclusion - SELI Project [15, 17], a course authoring tool that guides the teacher to comply with the UDL (Universal Design for Learning) principles in the creation of educational resources. To verify that an educational resource conforms to the principles of UDL, it is necessary to have a formal specification of UDL, on which one can construct a sastifactible model. Furthermore, this specification should help to classify educational resources according to their adherence to UDL principles. Below, we present our ongoing work on the development of a UDL ontology named UDLOntology as a formal specification of this model to be integrated in the future with the SELI Platform to help teachers build courses based on UDL principles. UDLOntology allows for the inference of recommendations of educational materials that best facilitate and stimulate student learning according to their individual learning skills and strengths. Our work contributes towards building an inclusive education, especially with the goal of supporting and empowering people with learning disabilities, by focusing on using ontologies that enable us to highlight learning skills and strengths rather than disabilities. To illustrate UDLOntology and its contribution to education in the diversity, in this paper we focus on the properties needed for the appropriate educational resources for students with Down syndrome.Although the strengths of people with Down syndrome can vary greatly from person to person, as with other diagnoses of intellectual problems, one of the advantages of using ontologies as a formal model is the possibility that they can be developed in a specialized way, assisting the teacher in choice of appropriate learning resources for these students. Currently UDLOntology is under development. This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 shows the concepts and guidelines of Universal Design for Learning. Section 3 shows some related work in ontologies in the domain of disability and education. Section 4 describes the proposed UDLOntology Framework, and Section 5 presents the conclusions and future work.
2 Universal Design for Learning (UDL) UDL framework, developed by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), is a set of principles for designing learning elements that provides equal learning to all people regardless of their disabilities, age, gender, or cultural and linguistic background [2]. It is based on the neuroscience research which has identified three primary neurological networks that have a successful impact on the learning: the affective network that impacts the why of learning, the recognition network that impacts the what of learning, and the strategic network that impacts on the how of learning. Based on the three neurological networks, UDL is grounded on three principles: engagement, representation, and action and expression, as shown in Fig. 1. In addition, each principle has three guidelines that give recommendations on how to access, build and internalize educational resources, together with 31 UDL checkpoints. The “access” row presents recommendations to increase access to the learning goal offering options for perception and physical action. The “build” row presents recommendations to improve the language, expression, and communication. Lastly, the “internalize” row presents recommendations to empower learners through comprehension and self-monitoring. The ultimate goal of UDL is: “to develop expert learners who
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are, each in their own way, resourceful and knowledgeable, strategic and goal-directed, purposeful and motivated”, as shown in the 4th row of Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. UDL Guidelines (from https://www.deaccessproject.org/universal-design-for-learning/ udl-guidelines-2-2-2/).
3 Related Work In this section we present some related work on ontologies in the domain of disabilities and education. Ontologies in the domin of disability are presented in [10] and [19]. They can be used to describe different types of disabilities, to specify user capabilities and needs, and to map user preferences to assistive. Ontologies in education were developed and used for different purposes. OntoEdu, presented in [5], is based on education grid system for e-learning. This ontology is divided in two parts: activity ontology that describes the activities and operations of education and relations and material ontology that describes the educational content organization. There are others that describe students’ characteristics with the intention of adapting content or activities that best suit the student when interacting with virtual learning environments. The work proposed in [13], models students’ characteristics such as behavior, objective learning preferences, the learning style and the academic performance. However, the model proposed by this author aims at the student’s profile to be used in Intelligent Tutoring System. In [4] the authors present an ontology designed for accessible OpenCourseWare and built
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on the accessibility concepts of IMS Learning Global Consortium and the vocabulary structure of the ACCESSIBLE ontology [1]. It was developed with the purpose to map learners´ needs and preferences to digital resources characteristics and adaptations to support learners disabilities. As mentioned in [12] work, ontologies are flexible tools and contribute to the modeling of UDL guides by means of mapping multiple means of representation for educational resources. In addition, [12] states “AccessibleOCW is an ontology that can be taken as a starting point to be extended, reused, or combined with other ontologies to achieve a complete UDL”. However there is no work up to now that models UDL guidelines allowing the inference of recommendations based on learners learning skills and strength, allowing for tailoring of educational resource content, a key point especially for people with intellectual difficulties.
4 DL Ontology To delimit the scope of this work, we decided to analyze the representation UDL’ principle for learners with Down syndrome, within the learning disabilities group according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) [10]. The next subsection presents Down syndrome learning characteristics, abilities, and strength as a starting point to identify how UDL guidelines provide options for addressing representation of learning elements. 4.1 Down Syndrome Learning Abilities and Strengths People with Down syndrome share some areas of strength and learning cognitive characteristics. Some of their areas of strength are strong visual awareness and visual learning skills, ability to learn and use sign, gesture and visual support, ability to learn and use the written word, ability to learn from pictorial, concrete and practical materials, and routine. As for cognitive learning aspects perception, attention, memory, and reading are the ones we mentioned in this work. From the perception aspect, they have better ability to capture information through visual perception. Consequently, it is recommended to provide alternative visual options such as images, videos, and pictures for better comprehension. From an attentional perspective, they have difficulty fixing attention and focusing it. They also are easily distracted interfering with the learning process. Some of learning recommendations are to keep the working framework and digital resources simple, and to avoid as many distracting stimuli as possible. Another important recommendation is to provide clear and precise instructions, that require short attention time. Regarding memory, they have difficulties to effectively retain, evoke, connect, and transmit different information. As mentioned in perception, it is important to rely on alternative input channels to improve memory. When referring to literacy they have difficulty handling various information, complex vocabulary, and concepts [16, 18]. They literally understand what they read, making it difficult for them to understand metaphors and double meaning sentences. They also have difficulties in abstraction and conceptualization, making it difficult for them to access complex knowledge. The following communications resources are recommended: Easy Read stands out, as a tool for reading comprehension that facilitates access to information, and Augmentative and
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Alternative Communication Systems (AAC) to facilitate the understanding of texts and environments [18]. 4.2 How UDL Addresses Learning Abilities To identify which UDL guidelines can better address people with Down Syndrome abilities we consider the following questions: 1) For perception perspective: What are the sense through which the learners in study can better process or perceive the information?, 2) For attentional perspective: How is the context that better stimulates their attention at the time of learning? , 3) For memory perspective: Which techniques are better suited to improve memory? , 4) For literacy perspective: What are the characteristics of the contents for a better abstraction and conceptualization of concepts and ideas for learners in study? To answer the above questions, we refer to the UDL Guidelines Graphic Organizer as presented in Fig. 1 and Down syndrome learning characteristics, abilities, and strengths presented in Sub-sect. 4.1. To answer the first question What are the sense through which the learners in study can better process or perceive the information?, we see from subsection 4.1 that their strength is on capturing the information through visual perception. As stated in [3], “to ensure access to learning it is important that key information is equally perceptible to all learners by providing the same information through different modalities”. Such multiple representations ensure that information is easier to access and comprehend for many ways of perceptions. As per the learners in study they have better ability to capture information through visual perception as mentioned before. Therefore, alternative options such as images, videos, and pictures are recommended for a better comprehension. See Table 1 for recommendations as Checkpoints. Checkpoint 1.3 is an adequate recommendation. As per the first question, to answer the second question How is the context that better stimulates their attention at the time of learning? visual alternatives for sound is recommended. In this case, checkpoint 1.2 is the adequate recommendation. For the third question Which techniques better suit to improve memory? information transmitted solely through sound is not recommended for learners who need more time to process information, or who have memory difficulties. So as per the first question, it is also recommended to provide visual alternatives whenever feasible. Lastly, to answer the fourth question What are the characteristics of the contents for a better abstraction and conceptualization of concepts and ideas?, educators can address it by applying UDL Guideline [2], more specifically the recommendation: “Clarify syntax, instructions and vocabulary, and Illustrate through multiple media”. Checkpoint 2.1, 2.2 and 2.5 are adequate alternatives. 4.3 DLOntology for Down Syndrome In this section we present the process we went through to design UDLOntology. We first identified a potential group of important concepts. To prepare this first group of terms, we applied the “brainstorming” technique, the consultation of documentary sources on learning skills for people with intellectual disabilities, and the study of the UDL Guidelines. Once this first group of terms was obtained, a short natural language description was added to each term to clarify concepts, identify possible synonyms and verify for
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equivalent terms in other ontologies. We then went through a conceptualization process where we improved the list by adding and removing some terms, we identified the main concepts of the model, and we organized them in groups. We identified the following main concepts: UDLLearner, LearningAbility, UDLGuideline, UDLCheckPoint, AccessMode, ContentAdaptation, and EducationalResource. LearningAbility represents the learning abilities a learner can have. UDLGuideline models the UDL guidelines as explained in Sect. 2. Table 1. Relation between Down syndrome learning abilities and UDL Guidelines. Learning Strength & Abilites aspects Perception They have better ability to capture information through visual perception
Attention
They better work within simple framework and minimum stimuli.
Learning abilites Visual Multimedia media ilustrations
Clear syntax instructions and vocabulary
They are strong at clear and consice instructions
UDL Guideline 1: Perception Offer visual means of representation to sound and voice. 1: same as perception
UDL Guideline checkpoint 1.2: Share information in more ways than sound and voice alone 1.2: same as perception
2: Language & Symbols Clarify vocabulary and symbols
2.1 : Construct meaning from words, symbols, and numbers using different representations
Memory
They have better ability to capture information through visual perception
Visual Multimedia media ilustrations
1:
Same as perception
1.2 same as perception
Literacy
Provide alternative representations that clarify the syntactic or structural relationships between elements of meaning.
Clear syntax instructions and vocabulary
2: Language & Symbols Clarify syntax and structure Ilustrate through multiple medias
2.1 : Same as memory
Recommended communications resources : Easy Read and AAC
2.2 : Make the patterns and properties of systems like grammar, musical notation, taxonomies, and equations explicit. 2.5 : Make learning come alive with simulations, graphics, activities, and videos
Checkpoint defines UDL guidelines recommendations for learning abilities. AccessMode is the sense through witch a resource can be percived. Once the main concepts were identified, we identified and defined binary relations among the main concepts. We came up with the following object properties: hasLearningAbility links UDLLearner to LearningAbility, matchUDLGuideline links LearningAbility to UDLGuideline, has_UDLGuideline links UDLGuideline to UDLCheckPoint, UDLCP_hasContentAdapt links UDLCheckPoint to ContentAdaptation, and UDLCP_hasAccessMode links UDLCheckPoint to AccessMode as depicted in Fig. 2. Once we had a UDLOntology conceptualization we selected those concepts from IMS AfA [6] that best fit the conceptual model. As mentioned in the introduction, the IMS AfA promotes inclusion by enabling the matching of the characteristics of resources to the needs and preferences of individuals. IMS AfA standard v3.0 [7] has two parts: the “Personal Needs Preferences” (PNP) [8], that describes the learner’s needs and preferences, and the “Digital Resources Description” (DRD) [9], that describes the resources´ characteristics. The potential and benefits in the use of IMS AfA DRD are in the capability to use Open Educational Resources, and the concept of equivalent resources as suggested by the UDL. IMS considers that primary digital resources can have several equivalent resources with different access modes. Primary and equivalent resources will have different access mode but within the same domain. We selected two attributes from IMS
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Fig. 2. Ontology – conceptual model in protégé.
AfA v3.0 specification for educational elements (DRD): the access mode (AccessMode) and the educational complexity of the resource (EducationalComplexityOfAdaptation). For the design of UDLOntology we first unified from Table 1 those learning abilities that share the same UDL Guidelines and checkpoint. Next, we mapped UDL checkpoints with the IMS DRD selected above and defined values Visual, EasyRead, and Pictogram 1.2, 2.1 and 2.2 checkpoints respectively as shown in Table 2. Based on [14], we then integrate the result of the above process to AccessibleOCW ontology. We extended UDLLearner form Learner, and EducationalResource from DigitalResource. 4.4 Reasoning Process To evaluate the model we define the instance Learner_DownSyndrom for UDLearner class, and EducationalResource1, EducationalResource2 and EducationalResource3 instances for EducationalResource class. EducationalResource2 and EducationalResource3 are adaptation from EducationalResource1. Since UDLLearner extendes Learner class form AccessibleOCW as stated above, we link Learner_DownSyndrom to Down_Syndrom as defined by ACCCESIBLE. We also link two learning strength to Learner_DownSyndrom: ClearSyntaxInstruccionVocabulary and MultiMediaIustrations as presented in Fig. 3. To evaluate the ontology, we use the simplified learner profile and resources representation only with the properties that make to our objective, hasAccessMode, hasReqAccessMode and hasAdaptedAccesMode, as depicted in Fig. 1. The learner is a Learner_lowVision and has a colour_blindness disability (according to ACCESIBLE ontology). It requests for an auditory alternative for visual digital resources. DigitalResource1 is visual digital resource and has two adapted digital resources: digitalResource2 and digitalResource3. DigitalResource2 is an adaptation resource of digitalResource1 with textual alternative and digitalResource3 is an adaptation resource of digitalResource1 with audio alternative. To semantically answer the research question, the rule used to map learner with appropriate digital resource is depicted in Fig. 4.
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Table 2. Learning abilities & UDL Guidelines checkpoint & DRD mapping. Learning abilities Visual Multimedia media ilustrations
Clear syntax instructions and vocabulary
UDL Guideline DRD Value recommendation 1.2: Share information in AccessMode visual more ways than sound and voice alone 2.1 : Construct meaning from words, symbols, and numbers using different representations
EducationalC EsayRead omplexityOfA AAC daptation Pictogram
2.2 : Make the patterns and properties of systems like grammar, musical notation, taxonomies, and equations explicit.
Fig. 3. Simplified learner profile and educational resources.
All the properties constraints on the rules are asserted except for hasAccess that is inferred. The reasoning process is the following: 1 - hasReqAccessMode (Learner_lowVision, visual_auditory) auditory is the access mode a learner with low vision disability seeks, either in an adaptation or an original resource, as a replacement for visual access mode. 2 - accessMode_existingAccessMode (visual_auditory, visual) maps for the existence of the original access mode visual given a requested access mode (visual_auditory). 3 - accessMode_adaptionRequest (visual_auditory, auditory) maps for the alternative access mode auditory given a requested access mode (visual_auditory). 4 a – hasAccessMode (x, auditory) maps for a digital resource with
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access mode auditory. In the scenario that there is no map, 4 b - hasAdaptedAccessMode (x, auditory) maps for access mode equal to auditory, of the digital resource that is being adapted.
Fig. 4. Simplified Learner profile and educational resources
5 Conclusions and Future Work In this work we present an ontology in the Education domain based on UDL principles and IMS AfA named UDLOntology, that extends some clases of AccessibleOCW Ontology. UDLOntology focused on individual learning skills and strengths rather than disabilities. It models learning abilities based on UDL Guidelines and checkpoints resulting in a flexible ontology, and presents advantages for both, learners and teachers. For learners’ side, the UDLOntology avoids the need to ask for their disabilities to determine the learning profile preserving their privacy. As per the teacher´s, it is a reference for inclusive curriculum design, content design, and assessment, based on learning abilities and strengths. Our work contributes towards building an inclusive education, especially with the goal of supporting and empowering people with learning disabilities, by focusing on using ontologies that enables to highlight learning skills and strengths rather than disabilities. As future work, we will insert new educational resources, complementing UDLOntology, and mapping the learning and strength skills of all students with intellectual disabilities to the three principles of the UDL Guidelines: Commitment, Representation and Action and Expression, contributing to the development of expert learners in accordance with UDL objectives. We will also add ULDOntology to the SELI course authoring platform to guide teachers in creating educational resources that adapt to the learning skills of each student during their course design.
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Acknowledgment. The research presented in this publication received funds from the National Agency for Research and Innovation of Uruguay (ANII) with the code ERANET_R & I_2018_1_1008465.
References 1. ACCESSIBLE Project. https://www.accessible-eu.org/index.php/ontology.html. Accessed 17 Apr 2020 2. CAST: UDL. https://www.cast.org/. Accessed 17 Apr 2020 3. CAST, UDL Guidelines. https://udlguidelines.cast.org/representation/perception/. Accessed 20 July 2020 4. Elias, M., Lohmann, S., Auer, S.: Ontology-based representation for accessible OpenCourseWare systems. Information 9, 302 (2018) 5. Guangzuo, C., Fei, C., Hu, C., Shufang, L.: OntoEdu: a case study of ontology-based education grid system for e-learning. In: GCCCE2004 International Conference, Hong Kong, pp. 1–9 (2004) 6. IMS Global Access for All (AfA). https://www.imsglobal.org. Accessed 17 Apr 2020 7. IMS Global Access for All (AfA) First Version 3.0 Specification Public Draft 1.0 (2012) 8. IMS AFA PNP. https://www.imsglobal.org/accessibility/afav3p0pd/AfA3p0_PNPinfoMo del_v1p0pd.html. Accessed 17 Apr 2020 9. IMS AFA DRD. https://www.imsglobal.org/accessibility/afav3p0pd/afav3p0_drdBinding_ v1p0pd/afav3p0_drdBinding_v1p0pd.html. Access 17 Apr 2020 10. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). https://www.who. int/. Accessed 17 Apr 2020 11. Madden, W., Green, S., Grant, A.M.: A pilot study evaluating strengths-based coaching for primary school students: enhancing engagement and hope. Int. Coach. Psychol. Rev. 6(1), 71–83 (2011) 12. Deambrosis, M.V., Motz, R., Eliseo, M. A.: Why the Universal Design Learning needs an Ontology? In: 15th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (2020) 13. Panagiotopoulos, I., Kalou, A., Pierrakeas, C., Kameas, A: An ontology-based model for student representation in intelligent tutoring systems for distance learning. In: IFIP International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Applications and Innovations, pp. 296–305. Springer, Heidelberg (2012) 14. Eliseo, M.A., Silveira, I.F., Amato, C.H., Oyelere, S.S., Tomczyk, Ł., Akyar, Ö.Y., Silva, C.A., Hercovici, M., Martins, V.F. : Framework to creation of inclusive and didactic digital material for elderly. In: 15th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI). IEEE (2020) 15. Martins, V., Oyelere, S.S., Tomczyk, L., Barros, G., Akyar, O., Eliseo, M. A., Silveira, I. F.: A blockchain microsites-based ecosystem for learning and inclusion. In: Brazilian Symposium on Computers in Education (Simpósio Brasileiro de Informática na Educação-SBIE), vol. 30, No. 1, p. 229 (2019) 16. Saldaña, O., Escartín, J., Torres, L., Varela-Rey, A., Martin-Peña, J., Carballeira, A., Jiménez, Y., Vidal, T.: University students’ strengths associated with an optimal academic and professional performance. Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci. 141, 30–34 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j. sbspro.2014.05.008 17. Tomczyk, L., Oyelere, S.S., Amato, C., Martins, V.F., Motz, R., Barros, G., Muñoz, D.: Smart Ecosystem for Learning and Inclusion-assumptions, actions and challenges in the implementation of an international educational project. In: Adult Education 2019-in the Context of Professional Development and Social Capital. Proceedings of the 9th International Adult Education Conference. Czech Andragogy Society (2020)
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Organizational Models and Information Systems
A Roadmap for Implementing the General Data Protection Regulation in Higher Education Institutions Using Kotter’s Organizational Change Model José Fernandes1(B) , Carolina Machado2 , and Luís Amaral3 1 School of Economics and Management, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
[email protected] 2 School of Economics and Management, Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences
(CICS.NOVA.UMinho), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal [email protected] 3 School of Engineering, ALGORITMI Research Center, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal [email protected]
Abstract. The compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is mandatory since May 25, 2018 for any organization dealing with personal data of European citizens. For the success of the GDPR implementation to be a reality, it is important to guarantee the existence with an adequate level of performance, of a set of Critical Success Factors (CSF). This article is based on a work in progress, but with final results already available, that determined a set of 16 CSFs related to the implementation of the GDPR in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). One of these 16 CSFs highlights the importance of correctly managing change, being one of the most used models in this context including in HEIs, the 8-step organizational change model by Kotter [1]. The Kotter’s organizational change model is proposed in this study as a roadmap, to systematically carry out the change management related to the implementation of GDPR HEIs. Keywords: GDPR · Critical Success Factors · Organizational change management · Kotter 8 step model · Higher Education Institutions
1 Introduction On May 25, 2018, the GDPR entered into force in all member states of the European Union, making any organization that deals with personal data of European citizens, regardless of having its headquarters located in the European space, or anywhere else, forced to adapt their personal data processing operations to the GDPR [2]. However, the implementation of the GDPR implies the need for technological adaptation, the need for a greater investment in the training of workers, the necessary adaptation to the transition to a model of self-regulation, where it is up to organizations to demonstrate compliance with © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 257–270, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_25
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the GDPR [3]. All these needs and requirements, pressure organizations to change, and makes it necessary to guarantee the existence, prior to the GDPR implementation, of a set of CSFs that guarantee that the organizations are in a position to start the implementation process with the minimum conditions necessary for its successful completion. For Rockart [4], the CSF “(…) are the few key areas where things must go right for the business to flourish. The critical success factors are areas of activity that should receive constant and careful attention from management”. It is therefore important to ensure that, prior to the implementation of the GDPR, the organizations ensure the existence of the CSFs necessary for its implementation. Thus, this article is based on research work, in which it was sought to determine a set of 16 CSF related to the implementation of the GDPR in national public HEIs. This research work, whose results are already available, allowed us to verify that one of the determined CSFs is related to the importance of managing change in the process of implementing the GDPR. Being the 8-step model for organizational change management by Kotter [1], one of the most used models in this area, this article proposes the use of this model as a roadmap to systematically carry out the organizational change management related to the implementation of GDPR in national public HEIs. This paper focuses one of the results of the research work carried out under a PhD in Business Administration. The motivation for the development of this study is related to the interest in the subject of data protection in HEIs, as well as the fact that change management was identified in the study carried out by the authors as being one of the most important CSF to have in consideration in the GDPR implementation process. On the other hand, the main contribution of this study is the development of a GDPR implementation roadmap, supported by Kotter’s change management model, with instantiation from generic implementation roadmaps already developed by other authors. Thus, the novelty of this study relates to the use of the Kotter change management model in the process of implementing the GDPR. In the next section, an introduction to the ‘change management’ subject will be presented. Section 3, highlights the research methodology adopted, at the same time that Sect. 4, presents the proposal roadmap for applying the Kotter change management model to the implementation of the GDPR. Conclusions and final considerations will be discussed in Sect. 5.
2 Managing Organizational Change As Elving [5] says “The only thing constant within organizations is the continual change of these organizations”. In fact, organizations are constantly under enormous pressure from different dimensions of society where they are integrated, such as the political, social, economic and technological dimension [6, 7], which impels them to change, in the sense of reinventing themselves and adapting to new times [8, 9]. However, as Wentworth, Behson, and Kelley [10] refer, “One of the most difficult issues for any organization, no matter how large or small, public or private, profit or non-profit, is implementing and adapting to change”. In this sense, it is critical to effectively manage all factors that can contribute to the success of change processes [11]. Thus, for Moran
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and Brightman [12] “Change management is the process of continually renewing the organization’s direction, structure, and capabilities to serve the ever-changing needs of the marketplace, customers and employees”. HEIs, and in particular public universities, are no exception to this frenzy of change, as increasing public scrutiny, financial and technological pressure, changes in demographics, competition for funding, students and projects [13], as well as a constant new legislative production, sometimes contradictory and often inadequate for the pursuit of the HEI’s mission, makes them have to start urgent change processes. However, it is not always easy to make HEIs change, because it is necessary that the organizational culture has a clear orientation for change [13, 14]. According to Coman and Bonciu [15], universities are institutions that can be considered similar to other private organizations, because they have many characteristics in common, such as objectives, strategies, processes, structures and a mission. However, according to Sporn [16], “Universities are complex social organizations with distinctive cultures”, causing enormous difficulty in applying change processes due to “(…) complexity, high degree of differentiation, multiplicity of units and standards, autonomy of professor, control and management philosophies and mechanisms, which increasingly do not operate effectively even in business organizations (…)” [17]. Universities have many and varied stakeholders, often with conflicting interests, namely those who research and teach and those who manage the institution. Universities are especially vulnerable to the external environment in which they operate from an economic, political and social point of view [15]. It is therefore even more imperative that there is a robust process of change management in Universities, through the selection and application of an appropriate model, as Galli [18] states, “Before a project team or organization can construct a viable change management plan, they should understand the available change models (…)”. There are, a reasonable number of change management models, that can be found in the literature, many of them even somewhat contradictory [19]. However, the 8-step model for organizational change, by Kotter [1], is one of the most well-known and applied change management models [10], and a reference in the management processes of change, being also one of the most referenced models in scientific works [20]. Kotter [1] model is easy to understand, due to its great clarity and simplicity [10], and has multiple applications, with a strong orientation towards the business world. However, it can be applied in HEIs [21] because it is an adequate model “(…) in organizations that may be slow to embrace change (…)” [10]. In fact, there are many examples of the application of the Kotter’s model in HEIs [10, 13, 21–25]. It is considered that this model, in addition to being able to be applied in any process of change in an HEI, goes much further than that, as stated by Calegari et al. [25] that Kotter’s model [1], “Unlike other models, it explicitly focuses on both tangible behavioral aspects of change as well as the critical emotional factors that are inevitably engendered by change efforts”. The steps of the Kotter’s model [1] are: • • • •
Step 1 - Establish a sense of urgency; Step 2 - Form a powerful guiding coalition; Step 3 - Create a vision; Step 4 - Communicate the vision;
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Step 5 - Empower others to act on the vision; Step 6 - Plan and create short-term wins; Step 7 - Consolidate improvements and produce even more change; Step 8 - Institutionalization of new approaches.
In the following section, the Kotter’s model [1] applied to the management of the change process related to the implementation of the GDPR will be explained.
3 Research Methodology The methodology used to obtain the different 16 CSFs was based, with regard to the research philosophy, on the subjectivist ontological paradigm, and the interpretative epistemological paradigm. An inductive approach to research was carried out as this is an exploratory study, with a new theme that needs further studies to develop. The research strategy used was a holistic multiple case study with a focus on Portuguese National Public Universities. The research methods are of the mixed multimethod type with qualitative predominance, with the time horizon focused on the current moment and therefore in the form of a cross-section. Regarding the procedures used for data collection and analysis, these are briefly described below. 3.1 Literature Review The literature review carried out considered the following principles [26]: • Need to analyze quality literature as a solid basis for the field of research and selection of the research methodology; • Demonstrate that ongoing research contributes something new to existing knowledge or that the knowledge base is advanced in the field in which research is being carried out. A detailed analysis of a large set of articles from different sources took place. The work mainly focused on obtaining themes supported by different authors that could become a reference base for the script of the interviews carried out to determine the 16 CSFs. 3.2 The Critical Success Factor Method The method of Caralli et al. [27] was applied to determine the CSFs. This method is primarily based on interviews to obtain information that allows the extraction of the CSFs. In this sense, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Data Protection Officers (DPO) from 8 of the 14 Portuguese National Public Universities. The interviews conducted between May and July 2019, were transcribed according to the steps defined by Azevedo et al. [28], in a naturalistic way. A total of 10 h and 30 min and 20 s of recording was collected; it took more than 130 h of transcription and 407 pages and 100,588 words of data were obtained. After analyzing the transcription content, a first set of 30 CSF were derived, related to the implementation of the GDPR in Portuguese National Public Universities.
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3.3 The Delphi Method Having determined the first set of 30 CSF, it was important to prioritize them by creating an CSF ranking. According to Okoli and Pawlowski [29], the identification as well as the prioritization of items using the consensus of a panel of experts, is a possible type of application for the Delphi method. For applying the Delphi method, were selected as panel experts, the DPOs of the 8 Universities. The use of the same group of experts who were interviewed in the identification phase of the CSF and now in the creation of a ranking for these same factors, seems appropriate, insofar as it guarantees a greater involvement and interest of the participants and, in this sense, according to Keeney [30], may generate a higher rate of responses. To obtain consensus among experts, two rounds were executed between December and January 2020. Ending the process in the second round, it was obtained a Kendall W coefficient of agreement of 0.788, and a stability coefficient between rounds measured by Spearman’s Rho coefficient of 0.977 and a Kendall tau b of 0.899. According to Schmidt [31], when in the second round, the level of consensus among panel members is high, as well as stability between rounds, and for this reason the Delphi study can be completed. 3.4 The Hierarchical Cluster Analysis Having determined a global ranking for the 30 CSF, it was then important, through statistical procedures, to assess whether there was a homogeneous subset of CSF, that the DPOs that participated in the study considered more important. In this way, the hierarchical cluster analysis technique was applied, as a way of detecting homogeneous groups in the data [32], based on the differences presented by the variables average of votes and respective standard deviation that statistically characterize each of the CSF obtained as a result of the application of the Delphi method. In this way, a cluster of 16 CSFs was obtained with the 16 CSFs that have statistical homogeneity among themselves according to the variables initially defined. Among these 16 CSFs, there was one CSF that reinforces the need to implement a change management process around the GDPR: CSF - Implement a change management process around the GDPR. It is this specific CSF that will be analyzed in the following sections of this article, while justifying the adoption and application of Kotter’s organizational change model as a roadmap, to systematically carry out the change management related to the implementation of GDPR in Portuguese National Public Universities.
4 Proposed Roadmap for Applying the Kotter’s Change Management Model to the Implementation of the GDPR Figure 1 and Fig. 2, shows the Kotter’s organizational change model applied to GDPR implementation. Fig. 1, illustrates the developed framework that integrates the 8-step model by Kotter [1], with the implementation phases of the Metacompliance [33] and Kent and Kay [34] models. Outside the circle, we have the 3 major phases that map the different steps of the Kotter’s model [1], which in turn are interrelated with the different stages of implementing the GDPR and which are broken down into multiple activities portrayed in Fig. 2.
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Fig. 1. Framework with the mapping of Kotter [1] model in the GDPR implementation
Figure 2, shows the roadmap for implementing the GDPR in HEIs using Kotter’s organizational change model, based on different existing models [2, 33, 35–42] detailing the implementation of the framework activities described in Fig. 1. This roadmap is divided into 3 major phases. The process starts by creating the necessary conditions for the change to happen allowing the implementation of the GDPR, and therefore, steps 1 and 2 of the Kotter model [1] are carried out, by establishing the sense of urgency and the formation of a powerful coalition for change. The GDPR implementation phase follows, with the execution of steps 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Kotter’s model [1], creating and communicating the vision, with the training of workers to act in accordance with the defined vision, planning and obtaining short-term victories, as a way to keep the organization focused, motivated for the implementation process. The framework ends with the institutionalization phase of change, applying steps 7 and 8 of the Kotter’s model, consolidating the improvements already made and developing more changes, and continuously seeking to institutionalize the change already made in the organization’s culture. Phase 1 - Create an environment suitable for change (Steps 1 and 2) The first step of the Kotter [1] model - Establish a sense of urgency, is related to the need to help workers realize that there is a real need for change [43], related to the introduction of the GDPR. In the specific case of the implementation of the GDPR, there are at least two possible approaches that can be followed by the responsible for the process. The first approach, more oriented towards what Kotter [1] defends in this first step, in the sense of creating an emergency situation, a crisis, invoking the fact that the non-compliance with the GDPR can make the University be subject to fines and even civil lawsuits that can affect those responsible, but also workers who deal directly with personal data. The second approach, a clearly more positive approach, we can state that compliance with the GDPR will increase the reputation and external image of the University, becoming a differentiating element in this area in relation to the competition. The use of good
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Fig. 2. Roadmap for implementing GDPR with Kotter [1] organizational change model.
practices from other Universities, the use of testimonies from people with influence in the organization, can help in the process and, above all, “If many people start talking about the change you propose, the urgency can be built and feed on itself” [44]. The second step of the Kotter [1] model - Forming a powerful coalition of change, implies creating a team with different workers who represent the University as a whole, and who has the capacity during the process of change necessary for the implementation of the GDPR, through its credibility and composition, to influence the remaining workers [10]. Universities, in addition to being complex organizations, and with their own culture, have a very decentralized functioning with Schools, Colleges, Research Centers, Services, where personal data are potentially processed. Thus, it is important that in addition to elements of the central structure – Administration and Rectorate, the team has elements from all Units, as local representatives with the capacity to assist the
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DPO in the process of implementation of the GDPR. For Kotter [1], this group must be constituted with “(…) titles, information and expertise, reputations and relationships”, and must also share a common objective and commitment, related to the implementation of the GDPR. In fact, this change coalition should function as “(…) change leaders, and (…) is involved in setting direction for the change, identifying options and making decisions about where energy should be focused, as well as mustering support and resources from other parts from the organization” [43]. Phase 2 - Commit and involve the entire organization in change (Seps 3, 4, 5 and 6) The third step of the Kotter [1] model - Creating the vision - is linked with the effective change in the way workers treat personal data in work context. The change will only be possible when everyone realizes, through a common and clear vision, of what they are being asked to do [44]. To do this, it is necessary that the change agent will be able to create a sufficiently aggregating vision that, according to Kotter [1], must be intelligent, attractive, it must also be viable and of quick communication. On the other hand, according to the University of Queensland [43], “When communicating your vision, ensure you convey to your audience that is underpinned by a strong, credible strategy; this will help them see the vision as achievable and relevant”. This strategy, that supports the vision for change, should clearly indicate where the change related to the implementation of the GDPR will impact and according to the University of Queensland [43], should exist clear concerns and mitigation measures for workers that will be more affected by the process. It is therefore important to incorporate the contributions of key stakeholders for the implementation of the GDPR, so that they feel involved in the process. The fourth step of the Kotter [1] model - Communicating the vision - it is now important to communicate the vision and strategy defined for the implementation of the GDPR. The way we do it will determine the success or failure of the implementation process. HEIs, with their great complexity and dimension, with dozens of Units and Services and hundreds of workers and students, it is important that the message of change, reaches all, quickly and effectively. In this process, it is very important to involve those responsible for these processes at the University where, at different times and locations, they communicate with enthusiasm and commitment the necessary strategy and vision [45] to operationalize the change that leads to implementation of the GDPR. It will also be important at this stage, to adapt the communication made to the different groups of stakeholders that make up the University, so that they respond and contribute adequately to the necessary effort to change [43]. The communication process can be optimized with a wide variety of methods, such as: • • • •
face-to-face and distance meetings; webinars; dissemination of material that promotes the need for privacy and data protection; the construction of a website constantly updated that aggregates all the necessary information to the different stakeholders [10]; • and, whenever possible, the existence of facilitated contact with the DPO and its team for more specific issues.
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The fifth step of the Kotter’s [1] model - Enable others to act according to the vision - aims to remove the different obstacles to change that may exist. Thus, as we have already seen, in complex institutions with decentralized functioning such as Universities, the creation of a group of pivots for data protection, in Units and Services that can quickly and effectively remove doubts and boost the progress of the process appears to be absolutely essential. These data protection pivots are basically local extensions of the DPO in the Units and Services. Their role is to transmit and lead people towards the vision defined above, thus, allowing the strategy for change to be implemented and decrease the resistance to change that may exist. It will not be possible to imagine that an isolated DPO can reach effectively all of those who in the University perform data processing operations. Thus, it is critical to identify these pivots for data protection as agents of change with the responsibility for making change happen locally in their Units and Services. It’s also important, the creation of incentives that promote the recognition of workers who actively contribute to change, as well as the identification of workers who are resistant to change so that in a close relationship with the DPO it is possible to invert their position [44], training them, clarifying them and helping them to overcome the difficulties. At this stage, it is now important to collect personal data that will allow the assessment of the state of conformity related to the GDPR. Universities, have personal data disseminated by different Units and Services, in multiple equipment, with different levels of security and interoperability [46]. The best way to survey all personal data that is in the responsibility of the institution is to carry out an initial audit. This audit aims to answer a set of questions related to [33, 35, 41]: • • • • • • • •
the need to know what personal data is being collected; whose personal data is being collected; how personal data is being collected; the rights of personal data holders; the legal basis for each data processing operation; where and how long the information is stored; the information security; where and whom data is transferred.
A risk analysis of the audit results must be performed, and the non-compliances must be categorized by risk level and in terms of technical and organizational matters. The university must determine a remediation strategy for existing non-compliances applying security/privacy controls to all the non-compliances. To finish this phase, it is important that privacy is guaranteed by design and by default. The contracts of all workers and suppliers must also be reviewed, and global security policies must be created. The last activity of this phase is to guarantee the creation of a central registration system with all data processing operations carried out by the institution, allowing the demonstration that the organization complies with the GDPR. In carrying out the audit, there must be clear support from the institution’s top management, in order to facilitate resources and access to all the Institution’s Units, Services and stakeholders. The sixth step of the model of Kotter [1] - Planning and creating short-term victories - the process of implementing the GDPR, as mentioned above, needs to be incorporated
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into the culture of HEIs, and for that reason, it is not a process of rapid implementation and, as such, according to Edinburgh Napier University [44], “Nothing motivates more than success. Give your team a taste of victory early in the change process”. Thus, for Kotter [1], in order to keep people motivated, it is necessary to create small shortterm victories. Throughout the GDPR implementation strategy should give rise to small victories that must be communicated to the University in order to increase the motivation of all, maintaining a sense of urgency in the implementation [47], and ensuring that the Controller and DPO regularly assess progress in implementation and make necessary adjustments to the previously defined strategy. The University must select small victories, in the form of GDPR implementation activities already completed, which cannot be meaningless, which must have visibility, and which were completed within the deadlines, and being relevant to the different stakeholders [43]. Phase 3 - Institutionalize change (Kotter steps 7 and 8) The seventh step of the Kotter [1] model - Consolidating improvements and producing even more changes - successful changes invite more change [1] and, in this sense, according to Wentworth et al. [10], “Once some degree of change has been implemented and has been proven successful, further change should snowball across the organization”. As already mentioned, the size and complexity of the Universities is likely to prevent a uniform and simultaneous application of the change strategy. We may have different rates of application of GDPR in different Units and Services. In this way, it is important that, as the objectives outlined in the GDPR implementation strategy are achieved, progress is gradually made towards the achievement of new objectives, so that the implementation process will be carried out safely. For that, “(…) you need to continue to create urgency, engage and revitalize your guiding coalition, review your strategy, and ensure actions are being completed and celebrated” [43]. This phase implements, in a cycle of continuous improvement, the consolidation of activities previously carried out related to the implementation of the GDPR, while simultaneously making more changes. New data processing operations that prove to be of high risk should be subject to an impact assessment. On the other hand, it must be ensured that there are security procedures in place to detect and monitor the response to personal data breaches. Security audits should continue to be carried out as a way of ensuring compliance with the GDPR, applying, whenever necessary, the most appropriate remediation strategies. The central registration system with all data processing operations must be constantly updated. Investment in the training and qualification of workers in data protection must remain a priority for top management, who must continue committed to the process of implementing the GDPR. The eighth step of the Kotter [1] model - Institutionalization of new approaches It is very important to institutionalize new approaches to data protection, in order to avoid setbacks in the way personal data are treated at Universities. For this, according to Appelbaum et al. [20], it is important to ensure that the changes introduced become part of the organization’s culture. At this stage, it is very important to proceed with the institutionalization and monitoring of the changes already made, in the way the organization treats the privacy and the personal data of all its stakeholders. Whenever necessary, the Controller and the DPO
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must adjust the vision as well as the implementation strategy of the GDPR, to new realities, which, in a University, is never static, but very dynamic due to the constant renewal of teachers, researchers, students and staff. The treatment of personal data according to what is recommended in the GDPR is, therefore, an activity that will continue over time, and for that, top management must continue committed to change, providing the DPO with permanent human resources with the technical capacity to audit, whether the institution operates in accordance with the provisions of the GDPR or whether it has regressed to old and outdated ways of proceeding.
5 Conclusion The application of Kotter’s [1] 8-step model can be especially useful in the early stages of the GDPR implementation process, and it can prove to be particularly useful in organizations that take time to internalize change processes [10]. It is a model that can be used in situations where it becomes necessary to carry out a systematic management of change processes [23]. As difficulties in using the Kotter’s [1] model, several authors refer that, in large and complex organizations such as Universities, where change can happen at different speeds, there may be a need to introduce, in simultaneous execution, several implementation cycles, potentially in different states [45]. Also, there may be a need to at some point, return to a previous phase in the cycle of change [25, 45]. These issues therefore need to be better studied and further developed in future research. As the main contribution of this study, we highlight the practical application of the Kotter model to a current theme, with special emphasis on the role of change management in the process of implementing the GDPR. In this way, an effective link was made between change management and the more practical and technical issues related to the implementation of GDPR. As future work, we highlight the development of a tool that implements the model and that allows the assessment of the adequacy of the Kotter’s model to the GDPR implementation process, particularly in the prescribed sequence of steps. Acknowledgements. The co-author (3 ) affiliated at ALGORITMI Research Center, recognizes the support by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020.
References 1. Kotter, J.P. (1995), “Leading change: why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Rev. 59-67 (1995) 2. Ayala-Rivera, V., Pasquale, L.: The grace period has ended: An approach to operationalize GDPR requirements. In: 2018 IEEE 26th International Requirements Engineering Conference (RE), pp. 136–146). IEEE, August 2018 3. Tikkinen-Piri, C., Rohunen, A., Markkula, J.: UE General Data Protection Regulation: Changes and implications for personal data collecting companies. Comput. Law Secur. Rev. 34(1), 134–153 (2017)
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4. Rockart, J.F.: Chief executives define their own data needs. Harv. Bus. Rev. 57(2), 81–93 (1979) 5. Elving, W.J.: The role of communication in organisational change. Corp. Commun. Int. J. 10(2), 129–138 (2005) 6. Oden, H.W.: Transforming the Organization: A Social-Technical Approach. Quorum Books, Westport (1999) 7. Talmaciu, I. (2014). Comparative Analysis of Different Models of Organizational Change. Valahian Journal of Economic Studies, 5(4). 8. Chiavenato, I. (2003). Introdução à Teoria Geral da Administração. 7ª Edição Atualizada. Rio de Janeiro. Elsevier 9. Beer, M. (2008) Transforming organizations. Embracing the paradox of E and O, in: T.G. Cummings (ed.), Handbook of Organization Development, pp. 405–428 (London: SAGE). 10. Wentworth, D.K., Behson, S.J., Kelley, C.L.: Implementing a new student evaluation of teaching system using the Kotter change model. Stud. High. Educ. 45(3), 511–523 (2020) 11. Todnem By, R.: Organisational change management: A critical review. J. Chang. Manag. 5(4), 369–380 (2005) 12. Moran, J.W., Brightman, B.K.: Leading organizational change. Career development international 6(2), 111–119 (2001) 13. Kezar, A., Eckel, P.: Examining the institutional transformation process: the importance of sensemaking, interrelated strategies, and balance. Res. High. Educ. 43(3), 295–328 (2002) 14. Klarner, P., By, R.T., Diefenbach, T.: Employee emotions during organizational change— Towards a new research agenda. Scand. J. Manag. 27(3), 332–340 (2011) 15. Coman, A., Bonciu, C.: Organizational culture in higher education: Learning from the best. Eur. J. Soc. Sci. Education and Research 3(1), 135–145 (2016) 16. Sporn, B.: Managing university culture: An analysis of the relationship between institutional culture and management approaches. High. Educ. 32(1), 41–61 (1996) 17. Bartell, M.: Internationalization of universities: a university culture-based framework. High. Educ. 45(1), 43–70 (2003) 18. Galli, B.J.: Change management models: A comparative analysis and concerns. IEEE Eng. Manage. Rev. 46(3), 124–132 (2018) 19. Sarayreh, B.H., Khudair, H., Barakat, E.A.: Comparative study: the Kurt Lewin of change management. Int. J. Comput. Inf. Technol. 2(4), 626–629 (2013) 20. Appelbaum, S.H., Habashy, S., Malo, J.L., Shafiq, H.: Back to the future: revisiting Kotter’s 1996 change model. J. Manage. Dev. 31(8), 764 (2012) 21. Grayson, D.: The quality enhancement project: A systematic intervention for improving teaching and learning. Paper presented at the ICED Conference Educational Development in a Changing World, Stockholm, Sweden. 16–18 June, June 2014 22. Hackman, T.A.: Leading change in action: Reorganizing an academic library department using Kotter’s eight stage change model. Library Leadership Manage. 31(2), 1–27 (2017) 23. Ossiannilsson, E.: Visionary Leadership for digital transformation: in a time when learners take ownership of their learning. Asian J. Dist. Educ. 13(1), 128–148 (2018) 24. Belliard, J.C., Dyjack, D.T.: Applying Kotter’s model of change to sustaining communityengaged scholarship within a school of public health and its parent university. Metropolitan Universities 20(2), 119–138 (2009) 25. Calegari, M.F., Sibley, R.E., Turner, M.E.: A roadmap for using Kotter’s organizational change model to build faculty engagement in accreditation. Acad. Educ. Leadership J. 19(3), 31–43 (2015) 26. Levy, Y., & Ellis, T. J. (2006). A systems approach to conduct an effective literature review in support of information systems research. Informing Science, 9.
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How to Staff Software Engineering Team Roles Using the Concept of Personality? – An Exploratory Study Erica Weilemann(B) and Philipp Brune Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences, Neu-Ulm, Germany [email protected], [email protected] https://www.hnu.de/en/home/
Abstract. Nowadays, software is developed in teams. But how should software development teams be staffed in order to build a high performing team? This study investigates how the different roles in a software development team derived from the software lifecycle – project leader, requirements engineer, architect/designer, and developer/tester/maintainer – should be staffed with respect to HEXACO personality traits in order to form a high performing team. We conduct a qualitative analysis by leading 12 semistructured interviews with experts from the software engineering sector and with working experience of at least 2 years. We follow a Grounded Theory approach to derive personality traits and link them to software engineering roles. Our study shows that different personality profiles are beneficial for different roles and that corresponding staffing decisions can be beneficial for team performance. Our results support the composition of software engineering teams with the aim to successfully build high performing teams. Further studies can build on our findings, e.g. by measuring certain software quality aspects and connecting them to the personality profile of the developing team. Keywords: Software development team management · HEXACO
1
· Project roles · Project
Introduction
Software development projects are in most cases based on teamwork [31][p. 83]. Despite other factors, the quality of the developed software artifacts strongly depends on the appropriate composition of the development team [1]. There are different approaches for the composition of a software development team. One possible approach is the composition based on personality traits of team members [35]. Personality traits are a common and effective method for assembling successful teams [34]. c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 271–284, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_26
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Therefore, this research adresses the following research question: RQ: How should software teams be staffed in accordance with personality traits of team members? To answer this research question, we analyze which personality traits are demanded from different software engineering roles for building high performing software development teams from the point of view of experts working in the IT sector. The interviewed experts cover a wide range of application areas of IT: finance, automotive, telecommunication, security, business management, municipal facilities, IT service provider, and the event sector. One part of the enterprises operates only in Germany or Europe and another part is acting worldwide. Also the number of employees of the involved enterprises ranges between 50 on the one side and more than 500 on the other side and therefore cover small enterprises as well as large corporations. Our interview partners cover all mentioned software engineering roles. Thus our results should be applicable for a broad range of software developing companies. Results and Use in Practice: This research proposes how different roles in a software development team – project leader, requirements engineer, architect, and developer/tester/maintainer – should be assigned with respect to their personality traits using the HEXACO personality model [6]. The aim is to form a successful high performing software development team. Our results are applicable for a broad range of software developing companies. The reminder of this paper is organized as follows. After shortly motivating our research in Sect. 1, Sect. 2 presents a more detailed motivation and the state of the art in form of a literature review, Sect. 3 describes our study design and execution, Sect. 4 presents the analysis and results, Sect. 5 contains the interpretation and limitations of our study and in Sect. 6 you will find our lessons learned and the future work.
2
Literature Review
Many researchers have tried to find relations between personality traits and job performance [2]. A review on literature can be found in [29]. Karimi et al. used the Five Factor Model for the synthesis of their data and “concluded that there is an indication that personality affects programming but this relation is not clear and more studies are needed to clarify the influence of personality on programming” [29]. With our study we make a contribution to open up this field. Barrick et al. related personality to team effectiveness [11]. They “used the Personal Characteristics Inventory to asses the Five Factor Model of personality” [11]. They found that teams with certain “team” personality traits and also single team members with certain personality traits form higher performing teams [11]. We also assume - and our initial investigations support our assumptions - that if the different software development team roles are staffed with people who have a certain personality trait profile, this increases effectiveness in the sense that higher-quality software is produced. Unlike Barrick et al., we use a six factor
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model. Both - the five and six factor models - are well-known, well-established theories with corresponding tests whose reliability has been proven [7,15,32]. We chose HEXACO because with this theory and the corresponding test an additional trait (honesty/humility) can be recorded separately [8], which is not the case with a five factor model. “the HEXACO model showed considerable predictive validity advantages over the FFM” (five factor model) [8]. This is another reason why we chose the HEXACO model. Da Silva et al. investigated which criteria are used in industry to staff software development teams and to look for relationships to (among others) project success [16]. They found that “the consistent use team building criteria correlated significantly with project success, and the criteria related to human factors, such as personality and behavior, presented the strongest correlations” [16], which motivates our study. Just like Karimi et al. [29], Ashton claims that “in general, it is the Conscientiousness factor of the Big Five that is the best predictor, across occupations, of overall job performance” [6][p. 215]. In contrast to this, our findings indicate that high scores on the Conscientiousness domain level are not beneficial for every role in a software development team. For software development teams there has already been a proposal how the different roles in a team should be assigned - amongst others - with respect to personality [4]. Andr´e et al. used the Myers-Briggs-Type-Indicator (MBTI) for assigning roles in a software development team. In our study, we did not use the MBTI because its validity is questionable [13,21,25]. Other authors analyzed which further factors, such as workplace design, affect job performance [18]. We do not take into account these factors but are aware that they also might influence effectiveness. As we interviewed experts from very different enterprises and sectores we assume that this factor will be somewhat offset by the great diversity of the interviewees. Models have been built which should help to staff software development teams “at the level of software skills” [36]. Our study shows that software skills are one important factor for optimal staffing but not the only one. Personality and team factors play a role that is at least as important, if not even more important. As far as we know there do not exist studies which use a qualitative method approach covering a broad range of application areas of IT and which investigate how the roles in a software development team should be staffed using the HEXACO personality theory.
3
Study Design and Execution
Our aim was to find out with which personalities the different software engineering roles have to be staffed in order to obtain a high performing team. We assumed that for a successful software development team the different roles demand different personality traits or different personality profiles. Parameters in this research are the personality traits of the team members. “a personality trait refers to differences among individuals in a typical tendency to behave,
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think, or feel in some conceptually related ways, across a variety of relevant situations and across some fairly long period of time.” [6][p. 29]. Personality traits are stable for a “fairly long period of time”, “it can probably be considered as a period of at least a few years” [6][p. 31]. This shows that personality is a rather long lasting concept. Tasks which suit better to people with certain prevalent personality traits do not necessarily have to be done by those people, also other people are suitable for these tasks – they might just have to train longer because the tasks do not come naturally to them. Above that, “it is possible that even the rather stable, long-run tendencies of an individual might change considerably during the course of a lifetime” [6][p. 31]. Therefore the measurement of personality has to be repeated from time to time. Deeper insights into the change of personality across lifetime can be found in [6][p. 85ff]. Personality models which emerged from the beginning of the 60s and spread from the beginning of the 80s are the Big Five theory or the Five Factor Model. These theories roughly summarize the human psyche in five areas Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability (vs. Neuroticism), and Intellect or Imagination/Openness to Experience [6]. From the beginning of the 2000s the HEXACO personality type theory emerged. This theory expands the Big Five theory and divides the human psyche into six dimensions - Honesty/Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience. These “scales have increasingly been widely used in personality research” [6][p. 49]. As the Big Five theory, the HEXACO theory also emerged from a lexical study. HEXACO adds another dimension, Honesty/Humility, which could be a significant factor in our study. Therefore in our study we use the HEXACO personality model.1 The variables of our study were the roles in the software development team, derived from the software lifecycle, with their associated personality traits. The specifications of these roles were variable – depending on the interview findings. Our study was of inductive interpretivist character. We oriented our methodology towards the Grounded Theory approach [14,23]. Therefore experts of the IT sector were interviewed in order to learn which attributes constitute “high quality” members of a software development team. We conducted semistructured interviews which means that we prepared a questionnaire which guided us through the interview, but if any new aspects were mentioned this form of interview is open to incorporate new questions or change questions, depending on the new insights which are gained. Therefore a “classical” validation of the reliability and consistency of the questionnaire is obsolete because the questionnaire may change from one interview to the next [20]. In sum, we interviewed 12 experts from praxis. Theoretical saturation [12] was already gained after 11 interviews and we also gained data saturation. After coding 10 documents the codings of all documents compared to the total number of codings was 99,1%. After coding the first three documents this coverage was 89,9%. 1
The corresponding HEXACO personality inventory as well as the scoring key are freely available at http://hexaco.org/hexaco-inventory.
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We constructed a questionnaire to guide the interviews. Participants who were not able to answer the questions in an interview, had the possibility to fill out the questionnaire. It consisted of 29 questions, 6 of them were personal questions like age, gender, description of the tasks at work etc. Some questions concerned their entry into professional life, and the question which was important for this work is: On which points would you judge the “quality” of a software engineer? Why? This question was preceded by questions about successful and failed projects in order to have already initiated the thought process in the desired direction. The questionnaire was also scrutinized by social science experts. For the composition of the set of our interview partners we used criterion sampling [12][p. 409] with experts of IT application areas which had at least 2 years of working experience in the IT sector. We contacted them personally and asked for their participation. We granted them full anonymity and participation was voluntary. Our aim was to increase the likelihood that the questions will be answered honestly and freely. One of the interviewees answered the questions in written form by answering the questionnaire which was used as guideline for the other interviews. 9 interviews were led via Skype2 or telephone and 2 interviews were conducted face-to-face. We recorded the interviews with a dictaphone. The group of interviewed people was composed of 10 male people and 2 female people. The age ranged between 29 and 41 years with 2 to 15 years of experience in the IT sector. Table 1 gives an overview of information about the interview partners: which application area of software industry, age, gender, size of the enterprise (number of employees), years of working experience in the IT sector as well as a code which links the interviewpartner to quotes in the following text.
4
Analysis and Results
The duration of the interviews varied between 30 min and more than 3 h depending on the personality of the interview partner – some were talkative, others “just” answered in short sentences. After transcribing the interviews3 , they were coded open and axial according to Corbin and Strauss [14]. In the following we describe this process. As the questions did not explicitely mention one specific role in the software development process but one general software engineer, the interviewees had the possibility to bring in their experience as much as possible. We interpreted from their description which role they were speaking of and coded it that way. Some interviewees explicitely picked one role and only described desired skills for this particular role. 2 3
https://www.skype.com/de/. The transcripts of the interviews are in German.
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Code1 Sector2
Age Gen3 Role4
Emp5
Exp6 10
[BC]
Finance
30
m
pl
250500
[TA]
Business management
29
m
arch + dev
>500
2
[CT]
Municipal facilities
32
f
apm
>500
5
[AC]
Finance
35
m
dev
250–500 10
[AL]
Event sector
30
m
dev
>500
5
[CE]
IT service provider (broad field) 41
m
pl
>500
15
[FO]
Security
m
dev + pl
50–250
[JA]
Automotive
36
m
dev
>500
2
[NC]
Telecommunication
30
m
tes
>500
4
[JE]
Business management
33
m
pl + req + arch >500
8
[SA]
Finance
36
m
req
7
28
250–500
2
[ME] Finance 32 f dev 250–500 10 1: code for the interview partner; 2: sector of software industry/application area; 3: gen = gender; 4: role in the software development process: apm = assistant to the project management, pl = project leader/project manager, req = requirements engineer, arch = architect/designer, dev = developer, tes = tester/maintainer; 5: emp = number of employees; 6: exp = years of working experience in IT sector.
For open coding the tool MaxQDA version 104 was used. For axial coding, we exported the generated codes of open coding from MaxQDA and imported them in Mindjet MindManager 20165 because MaxQDA 10 did not provide the possibility of creating a mindmap. This tool supports generating mindmaps and thus for our purposes organizing codes and portray relations. The so evolved codes formed the basis for the mapping to certain personality scales of the HEXACO personality factors. At this stage a change of the language took place. We generated the codes in German and used the English version of the scale description for the mapping. We used the facet-level scale description [30] because the finer structure enabled us a more exact mapping. We also used the adjective lists given in [9] and [10]. The axial coding revealed that the mentioned attributes can also be clustered in competencies. We noticed that when we built clusters with attributes of similar contexts. We then found these contexts to match competence categories. We structured the competencies following [33] and [27]. The questions of the interviewees concerned the role or tasks of the software engineer. After talking about that, some interviewees went through the software development process in their head and some picked one role of the software development process and described which qualities the person or people in the 4 5
https://www.maxqda.de/. https://www.mindjet.com/de/.
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respective role(s) should have. No one distinguished between developer, tester and maintainer. Thus we aggregated these roles. We used the facet level scales of the HEXACO personality inventory and their descriptions [30] to match the adjectives or attributes we found through the analysis of the interviews to personality traits. With this lexical approach we took a similar way as the researchers who constructed e.g. the HEXACO personality inventory [6][p. 67ff]. The following Fig. 1, 2, 3, 4 show our results - the desired personality traits for each role of a software development team. ++ indicates high scores on this facet, + higher scores, - lower scores and - - low scores on the facet. Here we portray the results from our coding and mapping activities. You will find a discussion of these results in Sect. 5.
Fig. 1. Desired HEXACO personality profile of a project manager.
Fig. 2. Desired HEXACO personality profile of a requirements engineer.
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Fig. 3. Desired HEXACO personality profile of an architect.
Fig. 4. Desired HEXACO personality profile of a developer/tester/maintainer.
5
Interpretation
As we see in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 we found out that the roles in a software development process should be filled by different HEXACO personality profiles. Other than expected, we did not find adjectives which matched to the Honesty/Humility domain. In the following we describe noticeable weightings, which represent a selection of the results. Please keep in mind that the demanded skills or traits describe the perfect staffing of a software development team which in real life can only be approximated. Project Leader. As we can see in Fig. 1, the project leader should have high scores on the Agreeableness domain. The interviewees mentioned qualities which could be mapped to all four facet scales of the Agreeableness domain. The social component as well as methodological skills occupied the interviewees more than professional skills. Interviewees demanded error friendliness, a climate where errors can happen and it is possible to admit them and talk about them without being afraid that ‘life will be made a living hell’ [FO]. Such a climate helps to find solutions together and to avoid similar mistakes in the future. The opposite would be to remain silent and risk the project to fail. Interviewees also demanded trust in team members. The Conscientousness domain is apportioned very differently. On the one hand, high scores on the organization and prudence scale are demanded, they
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should be helpful in leading the project in a forward-thinking and structured way. On the other hand, low scores on the perfectionism scale are demanded which should also help to successfully complete the project. Software which has to be produced in time and budget can never be perfect, thus the project leader has to make decisions that consciously accept mistakes. Here also low scores on the anxiety scale are helpful. Many of the interviewees mentioned that a team is only as good as its team leader or project leader, if the team has to follow her/his instructions. This also implies expert knowledge, and maybe that is the reason why only one interviewee explicitely mentioned this [CT]. This interviewee demanded expert knowledge because if in meetings the members find out that the project leader does not own expert knowledge, she/he will lose her/his authority. That very authority was demanded also by other interviewees. Requirements Engineer. As a requirements engineer has to communicate in very different directions, high levels on the Extraversion domain are demanded [BC, CT, JE, ME, NC, SA] (see Fig. 2). The requirements engineer has to be open to the customer as well as to the development team and perceive the needs of both sides. She/he has to communicate with both sides and thus speak the language of both sides which also implies expert knowledge - on the one hand of the domain of the customer and on the other hand of the questions or problems which developers might have [AC, AL, BC, CT, CE, JE, ME, NC]. The requirements engineer has to be a socializer and keep contact to customers and the development team. She/he has to be able to verbalize her/his thoughts and opinions and to take the opinion. For finding best solutions for the customer (and the programmer) the requirements engineer might have to consider unusual solutions or think outside the box. Thus high scores on the creativity and unconventionality facet scales are demanded. On the Conscientiousness domain, high levels on the organization and prudence facet scale are demanded. Circumspection and forward-thinking are requested, because the requirements engineer is the “place” where serious decisions are made for the developers [AC]. If the requirements engineer misunderstands something the customer said or only meant and maybe did not express, this might have a negative impact on the following development process and lead to increases of time or money which has to be spent for the project. Here also higher scores on the perfectionism scale are helpful. Architect. For the architect role the destilled personality facets are broad in scope but not deep (see Fig. 3). Higher scores in the Extraversion domain level are beneficial, but compared to the requirements engineer they do not have to be as pronounced. Low scores on the anxiety facet scale and high scores on the prudence facet scale were demanded because if difficulties occur, the architect has to stay calm and rationally think of possible solutions. Beneficial are low scores on the perfectionism facet scale. Just as the project leader, the
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architect has to make decisions which might accept imperfect software if the project should be finished in time and in budget. One interviewee said, this role is the most demanding role in the software development process because the architect combines the skills of every other role in the software development process, not in the same depth but in any case in width [CE]. Developer/Tester/Maintainer. As we see in Fig. 4, great emphasis is placed on the Conscientiousness domain level for this role. High scores on the organization, perfectionism and prudence facet scale were demanded by the interviewees. Kanij et al. found that “software testers are significantly higher on the conscientiousness factor than other software development practitioners” [28]. Our results support this partly, as Kanij et al. state this only for software testers whereas software developers have different specifications of personality traits. Concerning social skills we found a clash of demands. For developers, the sociability scale is a certain contradiction. Some interview partners mentioned, communication skills are of importance [FO, CT, BC] which would mean higher scores on the sociability scale. Other interview partners said, communication skills are not important, which means that low levels on the sociability scale are not disadvantageous. A developer should not be a “babbler” [JA]. The majority of the interviewees demanded that the developer should be able to express her/his needs, to address problems openly, and to be open to criticism - as giver as well as receiver. One interviewee mentioned that a developer should have social manners which enable successful teamwork. Also the opinions on the ability for teamwork varied. Some said this is essential [FO, CE], others do not think it’s so important [BC]. We had the impression these demands strongly depended on the software development method - whether the team uses agile methods or some kind of a waterfall model. In any case, a developer should not feel the urge to deliver a one-man show [FO]. These demands we tried to mirror in the personality profile in Fig. 4. And - unlike the other roles - there was a demand for self motivation. Unfortunately, this skill cannot be matched to a personality facet. We identified creativity and unconventionality as desired facets which supports the research results of e.g. Amin et al. [3] and Graziotin [17]. Many of the interviewees demanded from developers to have a feeling for the needs of the customer because in the end, the customer - and not the developer has to like the product. Many interviewees mentioned that the developer should make sure that the interface is appealing to the customer. 5.1
Limitations of the Study
Our study might have cultural limitations. All interviewpartners were german. Some of them worked in internationally active companies, nevertheless the perspective might be limited. One interviewpartner mentioned that in some anglophone countries the background of people who are employed in software development projects is completely different from the german style. There humanists
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are part of a software development team, too. In Germany, such a constellation is very rare. The mapping of the skills to the roles was in some cases our interpretation. Nevertheless we assume that the context has made the correct allocation possible. The execution and evaluation of the study was carried out by one single researcher. Each individual step of this research is documented, the interested reader can contact the author, who will make the documentation accessible so the reader can check the individual conclusions for himself. The interviewees might have oversubscribed stereotypes. We have tried to compensate for this effect by choosing interview partners with different roles in a software development process. In addition, we have chosen interview partners from a wide range of very different companies. The judgement of “quality” might be subjective. But in every qualitative study where interviews are conducted, subjective impressions are caught - and this is wanted. People report from their own subjective experiences. Interviewing several different people - and not only one single person - helps to receive an overall picture and to compensate this effect. We interviewed as many people as were needed to obtain theoretical saturation. The qualitative approach of this study fits best to the research subjects because people working in a team will “judge” their team members also in a subjective way.
6
Lessons Learned and Future Work
During the analysis phase it was not always simple to link personality facets to demanded skills or traits. In some cases it was hard because there was a demand for high values in some sub facets of a trait but at the same time low values for the trait. Additionaly, the same demands, e.g. communication skills, were differently mapped to personality scales, depending on the role. Some of the scales had to have a larger expression for one role than for another. It is important to evaluate the facet scale, because people demand different values on the facet scales. The evaluation of the domain scales does not testify enough. We found that not every demanded skill could be mapped to a personality trait. Interviewees demanded skills which are assigned to mental abilities, e.g. analytical thinking, having an imagination or distinguishing the essential from the insignificant. Regarding mental abilities “There does appear to be a high level of consistency across the life course in relative levels of mental ability, at least after late childhood”[6][p. 243]. Therefore this concept should also be considered in future investigations. Further work has to be done in the area of group theory. Our study investigated team factors but we did not yet apply a group theory. There are already studies which include this (e.g. [2]) but they do not combine it with the HEXACO model. A combination of personality using HEXACO, mental ability, and group theory as basis for the research for investigating the optimal staffing of software development teams is a field of research that we believe should be pursued.
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Also gender aspects should be taken into account. Many researchers explored the optimal distribution of male and female team members in order to increase the team performance (e.g. [5,19,22,24,26]).
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Management Model and Strategic Management in Higher Education, Continuous Improvement, and Impact in Rankings Claudio Ruff , Marcelo Ruiz , Tomas Flores , Cristián Cornejo , Roberto Cortés , and Alexis Matheu(B) Centro de Investigación Institucional, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Avenida Viel 1497, Santiago, Chile [email protected]
Abstract. The role of universities is crucial in creating knowledge that allows the development and improvement of societies. These days, higher education institutions are experiencing a complicated time. In this sense, problems as environmental insecurities, persisting war conflicts, child poverty, among others, are issues that affect contemporary societies and that have emerged around all the globe. Additionally, they have increased the levels of uncertainty regarding the future of societies. Considering this context, contemporary University has been challenged to generate holistic and efficient management, regarding, on the one hand, the problems and matters that face the society today, and on the other hand, the incorporation of advanced quality standards that are necessary to approach future challenges. Thus, the paper aims to describe the institutional development achieved by Bernardo O’Higgins University (UBO, by its initials in Spanish) during the last decade and its academic management scope. To this purpose, different variables of the corporate performance of the University were analyzed and correlated, through the HJ-Biplot method, to show the relation between the various variables studied and the institutional mission of UBO. Hence, based on the analysis of a series of corporate indicators, the research seeks to verify that efficient management can improve the development indexes. As a hypothesis, we propose that the administrative features of UBO impacted positively quality, teaching, and research, which is demonstrated by the University’s position in national and international rankings in the last ten years. Keywords: Higher education · Rankings · Continuos improvement · HJ-Biplot method
1 Introduction The role of universities in contemporary societies is of most importance when talking about human capital and creating useful knowledge for social development. Thereby, if an institution performs effective management on a national and international level, it © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 285–294, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_27
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must enjoy both a good administrative “health” and an autonomous and efficient governability. As a matter of fact, several studies demonstrate that economic and financial resources are strongly related to quality levels and also to the results obtained by an institution of university education [1]. Likewise, research carried out in 2008 concluded that the European universities that enjoyed more significant levels of autonomy in the administration were better ranked. Furthermore, the investigation showed that the combination of economic resources and good governance strongly influenced University performance because they achieved an efficient expenditure and increased research productivity [2]. In the recent history of Latin America, at least in the last decades, it has emerged an international trend to expand university education by extending a model of education financed by private or hybrid funding. This model has been characterized both by its strong levels of autonomy in university governance and its link to business management principles [3]. Due to the expanding phenomenon of university education in the region, as a consequence of the civil society development, gross enrollment rates of tertiary education incremented from 17% in the early 90s to nearly 32% in 2008 [4]. These percentages show that the introduction of private or mixed-funded university model has deepened the universalization of higher education in Latin America [5]. Regarding the autonomy of the institutions, the autonomous government’s paradigm and not co-opted by the States’ political arm has its historical antecedents in the model established by the University of Cordova in 1918 [6]. Along with the autonomous government ideal, the University has incremented the resources of economic and financial endowments, which has significantly impacted the spending efficiency when combined with an adequate autonomy of the institutional budget [7]. Nevertheless, in some countries of the American region, the autonomy weakly linked with the State has permitted the emergence of risks inherent to the lack of protection. Also, the lack of legal regulation has allowed the institution’s excesses and abuses towards the students. Moreover, the lack of state support has diminished universities’ eventual contribution to the scientific development of the country [8]. Consequently, it is proposed that the States of the region should ensure minimum quality standards [5]. Despite this, universities of the region excessively related to the state policy have seen their governability undermined because of the ups and downs and the overwhelming energy of political contingency (an example is the University of San Cristóbal of Huamanga, and the born of the Shining Path (in Spanish, Sendero Luminoso) in Peru) [9]. In the European case, according to Aghion et al. [10] in their report entitled “Agenda to reform the European universities,” due to its disappointing performance measured by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranking in the earlies 2000, the text makes three recommendations to the universities: better distribution of economic resources, the increment of the university autonomy and the increase of the mobility and competences of their graduates. Rodríguez and Pedraja have proposed that the strategic management direction towards the institutional values and principles is an essential part of any organization. Thus, to achieve the best results, the higher education institutions must define
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and develop a process in which it can be designed the institutional strategies that preserve strategic instances, i.e., corporative, competitive, and functional [11]. Once this is accomplished, it must be implemented through two dimensions: the academic management that entails undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and the research linked to the social environment [12]. Therefore, we propose that the holistic development of the administrative and financial dimension carries the attainment of the University’s strategic mission and values. Regarding this, university rankings [2] have used different criteria to categorize the management at a community level that is more complex and challenging every day. Generally, the rankings analyze the aspects of the University focused on the creation of knowledge, the merit and talent of its students, its study programs, the endowment and credentials of its scholars, the institution prestige, the endowment of resources, and the performance of its graduates, among other attributes and indicators.
2 Strategic Management in the UBO and Institutional Antecedents The Chilean and Latin American society is moving towards the so-called knowledge societies; meanwhile, the political and social contingency demands the knowledge creation and dissemination linked to the social needs of the country and the institutions. Consequently, this paper aims to research in an exploratory manner the characteristics of the management in Bernardo O’Higgins University, using both classic [13] and leading-edge tools of administration, regarding the institutional strategic direction or strategic plan, the academic management, and the economic resource management [11]. As a hypothesis, we propose that the University’s management characteristics positively impacted the quality, teaching, and research, which is observed in the University’s position in national and international rankings of the last decade. The University was constituted as a nonprofit private law foundation. Its statute reflected a strong commitment to the fulfillment and development of the three University missions, as well as the generation of public goods addressed to society and the complete accomplishment of institutional philosophical purposes. Since its beginning, the institution enjoyed a higher level of autonomy and self-reliance in its Board, its top-management, and its executive line. In 2007, the institution consolidated its commitment to quality when accredited through the criteria of mandatory dimension (law 20.129 of Higher Education) and the basic dimensions that the law requires. The law is focused on those higher education institutions interested, and that wanted to take this new challenge of accreditation in front of the National Accreditation Commission (NAC). Thus, the accreditation certificate allowed UBO to access new funding resources from scholarships and Credit with State Guarantee or CAE, for its Spanish initials (Law 20.027). In particular, in Chile, this situation promoted social mobility, and it gave access to Higher Education to a significant number of students economically disadvantaged, especially from the first and second quintiles. Since then, the university institution has developed its Institutional Strategic Plan, according to its methodology and actualization periods. Regarding the institutional academic management and economic resource management, the institution has a Management Model that operationalizes the university action and searches for quality and
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efficiency. In accordance with the institutional vision, the management team has the informatics tools to permanently monitor goals and indicators, following and analyzing them through the KPI’s derived from the specific objectives. This information is quarterly reported to the Board, and then the corrective measures are evaluated and applied. The functioning of the UBO is organized based on an organic structure flexible and dynamic over time. This has allowed the horizontal interaction between the different units, housed in various vice-rectories, such as Faculties, Schools, Directorates, Departments, and Research Centers. Consequently, the academic management is centrally planned in the Academic Council, and it is implemented decentralized on the different academic units. The distribution of economic resources depends on the budgetary planning and execution, considering each unit and its respective cost centers. The institution allocates the resources regarding its costs and financial policy. To do so, the University evaluates, as if they were real projects, its undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programs, its research, and community engagement. Thus, it is applied the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) discount rate as an opportunity cost assessment criterion: P B + kb (1) WACC = k o = kp (1 − T ) P+B P+B Furthermore, the institution has a leverage policy limited to a maximum of 0.3 and, at the same time, it reinvests 100% of its surplus on the university educative project. From a financial management perspective, in 2008, the University calculated and determined a 10.5% WACC rate with which the projects have been evaluated and stabled in the last decade, despite the exogenous variation in the higher Chilean education. Regarding academic management, the University identified as a critical variable in its institutional value chain [15] its undergraduate students’ “academic progression.” That is why the institution designed and implemented a predictive risk model [16]. Moreover, the institution created an institutional support program addressed to students aiming to reduce the attrition rates and increment the retention. The objective has been fulfilled since 2015, considering other private competitors, and achieved since 2016 considering the national average (see Table 1). Table 1. Evolution of student retetion at Univerty. Retention on the First Year
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Bernardo O’Higgins University
66,8% 79,1% 82,6% 82,0% 82,1% 82,0%
Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities 81,3% 81,3% 81,3% 81,3% 82,9% 82,5% (in Spanish, CRUCH) Private Universities
68,8% 70,5% 71,7% 70,6% 70,8% 74,0%
Total of Universities
74,0% 75,1% 75,8% 75,2% 76,4% 78,6%
Additionally, the University identified and generated other value drivers on its own [17], such as have qualified staff, a dynamic and flexible matrix organic, a light human
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resources structure that is complemented with technological development and innovation, and basic scientific research, which is housed in Research Centers outside the faculties and schools. All these factors have become a real corporative intelligence that has allowed UBO to achieve a competitive advantage [18].
3 Method To measure and analyze the different indicators of the University’s corporate functioning, we will use the Biplot method (HJ-Biplot) and its multivariate generalization model of a scatter diagram. As a matter of fact, we will use the rows of the generated matrices, represented as points, and the columns in vectors. Likewise, in this work, the data is contained in a matrix, where the rows (points) are the years analyzed, and the columns (vectors or lines) are the university quality indicators worked on, as well as the positions in the university quality rankings. A Biplot analysis allows us to plot row I of the data matrices with Pi markers and column j with the LJ vectors. Consequently, when the point Pi is projected onto the vector LJ, such projection coincides with the value it has had in that indicator, that is, a geometric representation of the scalar product. These representations are of great practical interest since each point in the rows can be projected towards all the column variables, allowing them to locate their position in each indicator variable. Of the various ways to represent a Biplot, in this study, the one suggested by Galindo [18] is used: HJ-Biplot, since this representation allows both markers (rows and columns) to be represented with the highest quality in the same reference. The variables (vectors) that will be represented from 2012 to 2019 (individuals, points) are the economic and financial heritage of the institution (1), Quality Factor (2), General Quality Ranking (3), Academic Factor Ranking ( 4), América Economía Ranking (5), Retention to the first year (6), Retention Traditional Universities (CRUCH) (7), Retention private universities (8), Total retention Universities (9), publications in high impact magazines (10), awarded research projects (11), collaborative programs to link with the environment (12), beneficiaries of these programs (13), years of institutional accreditation (14), Internationalization of students (In-Out) (15), and percentage of agreements with universities among the best 500 according to the Shanghai ranking (16). The multivariate dispersion analysis provides a global view of the study, with accumulated inertia of the first two main component axes (88% variance), which is optimal to give significance to the results that are interpreted as follows.
4 Results UBO has made great efforts to accredit 93% of its undergraduate programs from the perspective of quality and continuous improvement, where the national average was around 30%. As for institutional accreditation, in 2018, UBO was examined by the country’s National Accreditation Commission and reached the level of “Advanced” in the dimensions of Undergraduate Teaching, Institutional Management, and Media Relations. On the financial side, the systematic application of a WACC in the evaluation of the different programs and projects during the 2008–2019 period allowed it to reach
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significant levels of return, which impacted on a growth rate of 21.3% of the institutional patrimony (kp) as can be seen in Fig. 1.
Financial Results, Bernardo O’Higgins University 2008-2019, in CPL (Chilean Pesos - M$) 2,50,00,000
Total Asse
2,00,00,000 1,50,00,000 1,00,00,000 50,00,000 0 2008
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TOTAL PATRIMONIO
Fig. 1. Own elaboration, audited financial statements Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins as of December 31 of each year.
From the perspective of world rankings, the most comprehensive and complex evaluations are those made by Times Higher Education (THES) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). At a Latin American level, the university ranking with the highest connotation is the magazine América Economía, and at a national level is that of Universitas (published in collaboration with El Mercurio). The incorporation and participation of UBO in the rankings was reflected in 2012, reaching a poor initial performance. However, in the space of six years, there was a paradigm shift that had a positive impact, positioning UBO, at a general level, within the first third of Chilean Universities, as shown in Fig. 2. In 2020, the International Ranking of Institutions SCImago (SIR), which evaluates and classifies research-related academic institutions, in correlation with the analysis of indicators based on research performance, innovation, and social impact measured by institutional visibility, positioned and published UBO according to its merit at number 13 of 33 Chilean universities, included in the ranking, which in turn represent approximately only 50% of the total number of universities in the country. Likewise, it was placed 708th worldwide out of a total of 7,026 institutions that carry out research, and within the first 72 in Latin America, a result that is particularly relevant if we consider that the development of research in the University is not ten years old yet. From the analysis of Fig. 3, the following interpretations can be inferred: – The growth in the University quality indicators has been persistent from 2012 (observe the movement from right to left of the years) until 2019. Only in 2013, there is a decline influenced by the lack of transitional accreditation of the institution. – There is a high correlation of all institutional quality variables (vectors). Given their proximity, the variables that form 180 degrees are interpreted as inversely correlated. In this case, they are direct correlations since, in the rankings’ positions, the lower the
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Evolution in positions Bernado O'Higgins University General Quality Ranking, Academic Factor Ranking (Universitas Group), América Economía Ranking and Scimago Institutions Rankings 2012 - 2019 2012
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15 15 20
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32 35 40 45 50
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48 Ranking General Calidad
Ranking Factor Académicos
Academic Factor Ranking América Economía Ranking General Quality RankingAmérica Economía Ranking Scimago InsƟtuƟons Rankings
Fig. 2. Own elaboration, with data obtained from each ranking.
value, the better the position of the variable. Thus, the tendency of the University has been from lower values in quality indicators (variables on the left side of the graph) and higher values of the variables of positions in the rankings (variables on the right side of the graph) to higher positions of the indicators in the rankings. – The position of the wealth variable as a correlating variable with the quality indicators stands out, besides being the best variable representing the model’s first principal component, given its proximity to the horizontal axis. This confirms the importance of the growth of wealth as a key factor in the use of resources for the creation of institutional policies that significantly impact quality from various areas of the university, such as academia, research, internationalization and links with the environment, and finally, this positions the institutions in better positions in the national and international quality university rankings. – Although not correlated with the institutional quality variables, the national retention variables reflect the position of UBO in the period analyzed, placing the University in 2019 above the national, private University, and CRUCH averages. The control of this variable is of vital importance for the institutional income, and consequently, in the patrimony, that is why it is important to include its analysis within the model.
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Fig. 3. HJ. Biplot Representation of study of variables and individuals. Own elaboration, with institutional data and bases of the National University Information System (SIES)
5 Discussion and Conclusion The results obtained are based on the fact that, at a strategic planning level, the senior management of Bernardo O’Higgins University has determined and rigorously applied the Corporate, Competitive, and Functional strategy. In terms of administration, the institution has high levels of autonomy at all levels, from the Board with the Rector and in turn from the Rector with his Vice-Rectors, applying a collaborative leadership style with a high degree of autonomy in academic management and economic and financial resources, without neglecting the mechanisms of control and monitoring. The combination of a classical style institutional structure with a rectory, four vicerectories, and four faculties that house different schools and a set of directorates, departments, and centers that depend on the vice-rectories and faculties, combined with a flexible and dynamic type of functionality, has allowed us to conclude that the structure and the administration system facilitates university development and progression within the framework of the established institutional purposes and goals, positively impacting the results and institutional quality, all of which is reflected in the national and international rankings.
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In recent years the rankings have multiplied both nationally and internationally to respond to the growing interests, on the one hand, of students and their families in selecting higher education institutions and their respective programs, and on the other, of governments that are always in search of objective criteria for allocating public and private resources. Appearing and occupying good positions in the rankings has a positive impact on the competitive advantage and institutional prestige since this affects the attraction of more and better students and the strengthening of relations with stakeholders. Finally, the strategic challenges to be met must deal with the budgetary restrictions imposed by the environment, constituting a challenge with which the universities’ management and administration teams must struggle. This represents a challenge to increase the effectiveness in using resources, and given that this panorama is seen as permanent, the dilemma is posed. The discussion is opened concerning looking at and measuring the universities for the effort and effectiveness they display in the use of resources, that is, what they can do with each dollar or euro that they receive, whatever the source of income (public or private). In this way, it will be possible to measure the universities’ true effectiveness, impacting new rankings of quality or performance.
References 1. Brooks, R.L.: Measuring university quality. Rev. High. Educ. 29, 1–21 (2005) 2. Salmi, J.: The Challenge of Establishing World Class Universities. The World Bank (2009) 3. Bernasconi, A.: La Educación Superior de Chile: Transformación. Desarrollo y Crisis, Udiciones UC (2015) 4. Lopez, F.: Tendencias de la educación superior en el mundo y en América Latina y el Caribe. Avaliacao 13, 267–291 (2008) 5. Brunner, J.J.: Globalización Y El Futuro De La Educación: Tendencias, Desafíos, Estrategias al 25 de agosto del 2000 **. Santiago (2000) 6. Vera de Flash, M., Borja, F.: Reformas universitarias y movimientos estudiantiles en América y Europa. Báez ediciones, Córdoba (2006) 7. The World Bank (2021) World Development Indicators. https://datatopics.worldbank.org/ world-development-indicators/. Accessed 28 Jan 2021 8. Orellana, M., Moreno, K., Gil, F.: Inclusión a la universidad de estudiantes meritorios en situación de vulnerabilidad social. UNESCO, Santiago (2015) 9. Hermoza, P., Hermoza, L.P.: Universidad peruana: Tendencias, tensiones y resultados. Innovación Educ 11, 99–111 (2011) 10. Aghion, P., Dewatripont, M., Hoxby, C.: Higher aspirations: An agenda for reforming European universities. Bruegel Blueprint, Brussels (2008) 11. Rodríguez-Ponce E, Pedraja-Rejas L (2009) Dirección estratégica en universidades: Un estudio empírico en instituciones de iberoamérica. Interciencia 34: 12. (2018) Ley-21091 . Congreso Nacional de Chile , Valparaíso 13. Fayol, H.: Administration industrielle et générale . Dunod et. Pinat, Paris (1917) 14. Modigliani, F., Miller, M.: Corporate Income Taxes and the Cost of Capital: A Correction. Am Econ Rev 53, 433–443 (1963). https://doi.org/10.2307/1809167 15. Kaplan, R., Norton, D.: Strategy Maps: Converting Intangible Assets Into Tangible Outcomes. Harvard Business School Press, Boston (2004)
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16. Matheu Pérez, A., Ruff Escobar, C., Ruiz Toledo, M., et al.: Modelo de predicción de la deserción estudiantil de primer año en la Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins SECCIÓN: ARTÍCULOS This content is licensed under a Creative Commons attribution-type BY-NC. Educ e Pesqui Rev da Fac Educ da Univ São Paulo 44(0), 1–23 (2018). ISSN-e 1678–4634, https:// doi.org/10.1590/S1678-4634201844172094 17. Melnick, S., Barraza, J., Guiraldes, R., Galindo, D.: Modelo Drivers de Valor para los Negocios y Organizaciones Modernas. Anticipa SA, Santiago (2010) 18. Escobar, C.R., Toledo, M.R., Pérez, A.M., Martínez, P.J.: Analysis of mixed financing policies in higher education and their effects on social mobility and research, the case of Chile. Gest y Polit Publica 29, 413–445 (2020)
A Typology of Relational Attitude in IT Outsourcing: An Analysis on the Contractor’s Perspective Thiago Poleto1(B) , Thyago Celso Cavalcante Nepomuceno2 , Victor Diogho Heuer de Carvalho3 , and Ana Paula Cabral Seixas Costa2 1 Universidade Federal Do Pará, Pará, Brazil
[email protected] 2 Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil 3 Universidade Federal Alagoas, Alagoas, Brazil
Abstract. This paper explores attitude relational towards information technology outsourcing an exploratory study focused on the client’s perspective. The data are collected from the companies that outsource IT activities. The results show that outsourced activities can be traditional or customized and depending on the interaction relational governance with the active participation or passive participation. A customer is classified as a result of the different attitudes outsourcing IT (a) conservative attitudes, (b) collaborative attitudes, (c) opportunistic attitudes (d) transformational attitudes. This paper present are two dimensions knowledge acquisition and governance relational to this interaction that can help contracting or IT managers identify your attitude relational towards relational TI outsourcing and dynamics of human relationships and developing attitudes that will support promotes integrated strategies in the organization processes. Keywords: Information technology · Outsourcing IT · Knowledge acquisition · Relational governance · Typology relational attitude
1 Introduction IT outsourcing can be seen as advantageous strategy for the IT sector, with increment of new knowledge and cultural aggregation for organizations [1, 2]. In addition, enables companies to knowledge acquire and to expand their ability to develop their own services or products. However, the difficulties in outsourcing IT are related to the attitude adopted by IT contractors, especially with respect to the capacity of relational governance regarding IT activities [3]. In part, this complexity lies in the difficulty that most IT contractors have commitment and coordination [4, 5]. In general, IT outsourced activities are handled in the same way, that is, the IT contractor’s behavior is the same for all outsourced activities [6]. However, about each outsourced activity can provide an efficient level of knowledge acquisition for contracting company, and therefore, might have the need to develop an attitude different for each type of IT project. Therefore, it is considered that contractor © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 295–304, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_28
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can actively or passive participate in IT outsourcing. Previous studies has led to several models and theories about outsourcing relationship. The exchange relationship is key factor of process integration outsourcing [7]. In addition, a trust e knowledge sharing may influence on IT outsourcing success [8]. Other studies have highlighted transfer processes for explicit knowledge in an outsourcing context [9]. [10], framework provides promising results for ITO decisions. In this context, knowledge management can be effective clientvendor relationships [11], management of integration in the outsourcing relationship [12]. A recent study illuminated the opportunistic behavior in outsourcing relationships [13]. ITO conflict is analyzed using the GMCR, considering both perspectives of the outsourcing process (vendors and clients) [14]. To sum, although these studies had key factors are important in the context outsourcing relationship, some limitations do not consider attitude towards the necessary balance relational in IT outsourcing. This paper is to develop a typology for relational attitude in outsourcing. The main purpose of assist IT managers in the identification and analysis of relational actions, evaluating the opportunities and challenges, determining the most suitable relational attitude for the company in relation to outsourcing. In this way, the study adds a focus on development of typology of strategic relational attitude provides the basis for a better understanding of relational governance and partisan attitude in IT outsourcing. The remainder of the paper is organized into five sections. Section 2 presents a literature review about knowledge acquisition, relational governance. The Sect. 3 proposed research methodology Sect. 4 presents the exploratory analysis, Finally, Sect. 5 conclusion.
2 Literature Review 2.1 Knowledge Acquisition Knowledge acquisition in the context of outsourcing IT refers to the ability of a contracting company to gain knowledge and develop skills from the relationship with external partners [15]. In the outsourcing process, suppliers can provide support needed to help contractors solve problems or complete an internal activity in the company process [16]. From this perspective, Relationships between clients and suppliers can go beyond negotiating and enforcing contracts. It is assumed that contractors can benefit directly from technical information through visits to the internal organizational environment and through technical specifications of competing products as well as the quality and technical performance of their products [17]. Also considered activities such as documented software code, market knowledge, technical knowledge, shared report or communications. In general, these practices can exemplify actions that can provide knowledge acquisition [18]. Recognizing their importance, the contractor’s strategies provide access to new knowledge to address internal capacity issues that can involve a variety of IT activities, ranging from maintenance service to customized activities involving long-term projects to support strategic objectives [19]. In special analysis, the acquisition of knowledge to develop in the internal activity the organization can be a slow process and susceptible to errors. Therefore, outsourcing can be seen as an indirect impetus to provide such support [20].
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IT outsourcing allows companies to expand their ability to develop their own services or products. In this context, the effectiveness of technical expertise can have a significant impact on contractor use and IT management. In addition, technical skills can influence the knowledge acquisition [21]. 2.2 Relational Governance Due to the risks in outsourcing IT, there is a concern with relational governance, because the success of a relationship depends on the quality of the transactions so that both parties can benefit from their efforts and develop new strategic opportunities [22]. In this way we present the relational governance that aims to establish a partnership between the parties involved in a contract, based on the exchange of benefits, in order to contribute to the strengthening of the relationship and compliance with norms which in turn refer The direction of the efforts to reach collective objectives and to meet the expectations of the contractor and supplier [23]. Although contracts play an important role in the governance of the IT outsourcing project, contracting parties cannot foresee all possible conditions due to the bound rationality of human beings, especially for projects that are unique relational governance has received attention in the relationship of outsourcing over the last two decades [24]. Companies started adopting this approach to help govern relational behavior between partners [25].
3 Methodology The theoretical meaning of the typology proposed to characterize the relational attitude of the IT contractor is discussed in relation to two levels of analysis. The level of knowledge acquisition that deals with the types of outsourced activities being traditional or customized; In addition, the level of relational governance associated with the conservative or active participation of the IT contractor associated with outsourcing. The central argument is that, not all outsourced IT activities should always be managed in the same way, that is, with the same attitude as the IT contractor, thus, the type of traditional or personalized and specialized activity requires a differentiated management approach. Based on the above evidence from the literature was explored questions that describes the relational attitude of IT outsourcing. Companies that contract IT services usually assume a static position in the relationship, that is, IT contractors expect IT suppliers to transform their business [11]. In this sense, it is necessary to consider the role of the IT contractor within the relationship. Consequently, it is important to assume that in every IT outsourced activity there is a need to adopt a dynamic and distinct attitude in each IT project [1]. Therefore, in order to achieve satisfactory levels regarding the relationship between IT contractor and IT supplier, all activities, specialized or traditional techniques must be coordinated and monitored by IT contractors [26, 27]. Proposition 1: If there is a combination of different modes, what are the combination patterns, and how do the different modes interact to form the client’s attitude?
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Data for this study was collected in Brazil as seen Table 1. It was target public companies that outsourcing their communications service/information systems with the propose a typology identify contractors attitude towards IT outsourcing. To validate typology was considered all kinds of IT services relevant impact on conditions of contractors. Table 1. Sample structure. Items
Description
Percentagem
Number of employee
0–100
44.7%
IT Team size
Experience in IT outosourcing (Years)
Tipo de contrato
Contract period (Years)
101–500
47.3%
501–1,000
8.0%
6
58.29%
Standard Contract
44.9%
Custom Contract
28.74%
SLA Informal (without contract)
26.36%
0–1
23.88%
1–3
36.03%
>3
40.09%
Thus we develop a relational typology in IT outsourcing. As such, we contribute significantly to the outsourcing, found that there is Four distinct groups of IT contractors when considered the type of outsourced IT service is custom or traditional and active or passive relational governance in outsourcing. The proposed typology offers the opportunity to holistically characterize the relational attitudes of contractors of IT services. We use the cluster analysis technique to group IT contractors and validate the typology and analyze the relational attitude of the IT contractor. For this, we adopted methods recommended by [28] we used the hierarchical grouping to determine the number of clusters to be formed and the non-hierarchical clustering used to formulate the final clusters. The research used predominantly developed scales and pre-tested in previous research, with adaptations being made as a result of questionnaires and both pre-test and post-test data collection. Were measured by several items in the 7 points (1 =
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strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree), It was presented questionnaire the extremes of the scale.
4 Results The main focus of the research is identify attitude of contracting firm outsourcing IT services. In this regard, we consider the relationship between knowledge acquisition and relational governance. Thus we develop a relational typology in IT outsourcing. As such, we contribute significantly to the outsourcing, found that there is Four distinct groups of IT contractors when considered the type of outsourced IT service is custom or traditional and active or passive relational governance in outsourcing. The proposed typology offers the opportunity to holistically characterize the relational attitudes of contractors of IT services. Table 2 show that the constructions. From the results obtained on the missions it was easier to convince that categories indicate the IT contractors may present dynamics attitudes and behavior in outsourcing. We interpret each category based on the established customer relationship with supplier. As the Fig. 1, first cluster refers to the conservative attitude that reflected how contracting firms view outsourcing, in particular to reduce internal operational expenditure or meet short-term needs which corresponded 95 contractors (38.49% of sample population) which were at the main level for the adoption of the typology for relational attitude. The second cluster was called collaborative attitude and included 72 contractors (29.14%) Considering the contractor’s commitment to outsourcing. The third cluster was named opportunistic attitude, which analyzed contractor agreements in maximizing their own benefits and interests in outsourcing and included 37 contractors (14.97%). The fourth cluster was called transformational attitude and included 43 contractors (17.40%). IT contractors in this pattern view outsourcing as an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and active participation in relational governance. Cluster 1: Conservative attitude. Cluster 1 organizations are characterized, for the most part, by presenting restricted concerns and interests in relation to investment in IT services. Also, emphasis For most businesses that adopt conservative attitudes in the process of outsourcing, the contracting of IT services focuses on the adoption of technological resources to expand the productive capacity of the company, without necessarily having the interest of competing in the market. This restriction inhibits organizations from maintaining an integrated relationship with outsourced service providers, which can lead to challenging organizational development. Cluster 2: Collaborative attitude. This group of businesses is characterized by comprise a relationship in which there are exchanges of knowledge involving technologies, resources and processes among the participating companies. In addition, indicates the interest of the contracting organization in creating and maintaining a consistent relationship with the organization providing IT services. This relationship is formed in an active participation related to the context of exchanges of information and knowledge between the parties. Most organizations that stand out for presenting this attitude point out the importance of developing relational
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Dimension
Items
Conservative attitude
How would you describe the attitude in relations style in IT outsourcing?
Collaborative attitude
Opportunistic attitude
Transformational attitude
Factor loading
T-value
… Outsourcing is adopted to 0.69 reduce internal operating expenses
13.21
… Outsourcing is adopted to increase job performance and focused core-competence
0.75
14.81
… Outsourcing is adopted to meet 0.64 the short term needs
12.10
How would you describe the attitude in relations in view of the dependency of IT outsourcing? … we be seen as partners in developing and improving the relational quality
0.86
19.18
… Planning the activities IT outsourcing together with IT department
0.74
14.02
…. Interact with frequencies to 0.70 strengthen long-term relationships
13.90
How would you describe the attitude links with supplyier towards IT outsourcing? … Avoids routine activities outsource IT to enhance the average daily gain or minimize down time
0.86
19.18
… Omits a lot of interesting data to preserve their own interests
0.73
13.84
… Have been informal arrangements with supplier of IT
0.67
12.72
… IT outsourcing to allow the 0.75 benefits of using to be maximized
14.94
How would you describe the attitude of investments in technology and professional qualification? (continued)
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Table 2. (continued)
Knowledge Acquisition
Dimension
Personalized Service
Traditional Service
Items
Factor loading
T-value
… Looking for trend-setting 0.74 technological solutions in the national and international markets
13.31
… Outsource IT activities to exploring and discovering knew knowledge to the results of its business
0.69
13.08
… Outsource IT activities with excellent opportunity to serve our customers
0.72
13.17
Opportunistic attitude (C3 14.97 %)
Conservative attitude (C1 38.49%)
Passive Participation
Transformational attitude (C4 17.0 %)
Collaborative attitude (C2 29.14%)
Active Participation
Relational Governance Fig. 1. Typology of attitude relational IT outsourcing
management as a contributor to the strategic plan, and highlights the critical factors of this management for organizational development. Cluster 3: Opportunistic attitude. This cluster can be characterized as being, IT outsourcing process when the contracting organization maintains a narrow interest in engaging in and participating in an exchange relationship with the contracted company but ensures the development of its business processes from the opportunity created by the contract Of IT services. This implies that
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the contracting organization inhibits its participation in the process of relationship in the process of outsourcing, leaving the responsibility on the achievement of the goals and deliveries of services only to the contracted company. Cluster 4: Transformational attitude. Out of our four clusters, this group exhibits IT contractors outsourcing to acquire new technologies that directly influence business, providing opportunities to enhance internal capacity, technologies and processes. It is assumed that outsourced IT activities require regular interaction with suppliers by contributing to relational governance. As a consequence of active participation, the contractor is interested in exploring new knowledge, understanding the dynamics of IT activities, developing new ideas for business improvement, and other strategic interests. On this, the contractor is able to align the knowledge obtained from the supplier with the internal knowledge.
5 Conclusion This paper presents a typology for IT outsourcing to identify a attitude in relationship, then have been examined in the light of contracting. Although the companies is continually changing as a result of new technologies and findings, reduce the production costs, this may, not be a good enough reason to vote favorable IT outsourcing. The premise is that by outsourcing portions of information management, IT operations, will be free to improve processes, and company will benefit from the industry knowledge of our professionals as they help you develop opportunities your asset management strategies. We have concentrated our efforts, relational competence of IT outsourcing in particular with the attitude adopted by contractors in relational governance. Due to this situation, the concern to develop research and analysis from the perspective of the contractor is notorious, helping to continuously develop the outsourcing of IT. Considering that outsourced activity can present a different outcome in specific context, thus we are discussing two dimensions knowledge acquisition and relational governance to develop the different categories of these activities characteristics of traditional enterprises contracting of IT. This analysis resulted, is possible all of the company identifies a number of technical and change of attitude relational in IT outsourcing. This study has some limitations and future research suggestions that should be noted. Based on the outsourcing literature, this study identified two dimensions, though conditions are no longer the only factors to identify the relational attitude. Thus, provide reasons for the development of new dimensions. In addition, new directions to study the efficiency and performance of outsourcing from the relational attitude.
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3. Diogho, V., Poleto, T., Costa, A.P.C.S.: Information technology outsourcing relationship integration : a critical success factors study based on ranking problems (P. γ) and correlation analysis. Expert Systems, pp. 1–12 (2017) 4. Chou, S.W., Techatassanasoontorn, A.A., Hung, I.H.: oo process outsourcing relationships. Inf. Manage. 52(1), 30–43 (2015) 5. Yalabik, Z.Y., Rossenberg, V.Y., Kinnie, N., Swart, J.: Engaged and committed? The relationship between work engagement and commitment in professional service firms. Int. J. Hum. Resour. Manage. 26(12), 1602–1621 (2015) 6. Liu, J.Y.C., Yuliani, A.R.: Differences between clients’ and vendors’ perceptions of IT outsourcing risks: project partnering as the mitigation approach. Proj. Manage. J. 47(1), 45–58 (2015) 7. Schoenherr, T., Narayanan, S., Narasimhan, R.: Trust formation in outsourcing relationships: a social exchange theoretic perspective. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 169, 401–412 (2015) 8. Qi, C., Chau, P.Y.K.: Investigating the roles of interpersonal and interorganizational trust in IT outsourcing success. Inf. Technol. People 26(2), 120–145 (2013) 9. Blumenberg, S., Wagner, H.-T., Beimborn, D.: Knowledge transfer processes in IT outsourcing relationships and their impact on shared knowledge and outsourcing performance. Int. J. Inf. Manage. 29(5), 342–352 (2009) 10. Poleto, T., Clemente, T.R.N., de Gusmão, A.P.H., Silva, M.M. Costa, A.P.C.S.: Integrating value-focused thinking and FITradeoff to support information technology outsourcing decisions, Management Decision, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print (2020) 11. Sharma, R.R., Chadee, D., Roxas, B.: Effects of knowledge management on client-vendor relationship quality: the mediating role of global mindset. J. Knowl. Manage. 20(6), 1268– 1281 (2016) 12. Kaipia, R., Turkulainen, V.: Integration in outsourcing relationships — the in fl uence of cost and quality priorities. Ind. Mark. Manage. 61, 114–129 (2017) 13. Bhattacharya, A., Singh, P.J. Nand, A.A.: Antecedents of buyer opportunistic behavior in outsourcing relationships. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 166, 258–268 (2015) 14. Silva, M.M., Poleto, T., de Gusmão, A.P.H. and Costa, A.P.C.S.: A strategic conflict analysis in IT outsourcing using the graph model for conflict resolution. J. Enterp. Inf. Manage., Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print (2020) 15. Ma, R., Huang, Y.: Opportunity-based Strategic orientation, knowledge acquisition, and entrepreneurial alertness: the perspective of the global sourcing suppliers in China. J. Small Bus. Manage. 54(3), 953–972 (2016) 16. McIvor, R.: An analysis of the application of process improvement techniques in business process outsourcing. Int. J. Quality Reliabil. Manage. 33(3) (2016) 17. Suseno, Y., Pinnington, A.H. Gardner, J. Shulman. A. D.: Social capital and knowledge acquisition in professional-client relationships. Int. J. Legal Prof. 13(3), 273–295 (2006) 18. Park, B. Il, Giroud, A., Glaister, K.W.: Acquisition of managerial knowledge from foreign parents: evidence from Korean joint ventures. Asia Pacific Bus. Rev. 15(4), 527–545 (2009) 19. A˘gan, Y., Kuzey, C., Acar, M.F., Açıkgöz. A.: The relationships between corporate social responsibility, environmental supplier development, and firm performance. J. Clean. Prod. 112(3), 1872–1881 (2016) 20. Ruiz-Jiménez, J.M., Fuentes-Fuentes, D.M.: Knowledge combination, innovation, organizational performance in technology firms. Ind. Manage. Data Syst. 113(4), 523–540 (2013) 21. Rusly, F.H., Sun, P.Y.-T., Corner, J.L.: Change readiness: creating understanding and capability for the knowledge acquisition process. J. Knowl. Manage. 19(6), 1204–1223 (2015) 22. Mathrani, A., Mathrani, S.: Relational governance in outsourcing partnerships: a potpourri of transactional, knowledge and social elements. Compet. Rev. 26(4), 435–452 (2016)
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Retail Data Warehousing Notable Development Process Determinants Syed Nasirin1(B) , Esmadi A. A. Seman1 , H. Ismail1 , Jackel C. V. Lung1 , Nooralisa M. Tuah1 , Abdullah M. Tahir2 , and S. Lada3 1 Faculty of Computing and Informatics, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
{snasirin,esmadi,had,jackelchew93,alisa.tuah}@ums.edu.my 2 Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia [email protected] 3 Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia [email protected]
Abstract. For close to 25 years, the retailing industry has devoted a great deal of effort investigating the subject of how adequately to develop Retailing Data Warehousing Systems (RDWS) in their organisations. The advantages are attained when satisfactory capabilities are made within their organisations. Reviews of RDWS research have disclosed that there are enormous amounts of determinants available in the literature; however, the retailers accountable for those drives cannot suppose that the primary development forces of the system in developed nations are opulent in their regions. In response to these lapses, this study aims to assess the favourable and unfavourable effects impacting the development leadership in developing regions. Five stages of RDWS development timeframe were utilised to answer the proposed research questions, “How do these retailers go about developing the warehousing system in their company?” The sampling method employed in choosing the subjects was based on purposive sampling procedure, and the theoretical framework explained here meets the principles of functional ability submitted by previous researchers. Keywords: Retail data · Retail data warehousing · Data warehousing · Data warehousing development · Development process
1 Introduction Retail Data Warehousing Systems (RDWS) development benefits are attained when adequate capabilities are made within an organisation, and the initiative is well-integrated into the organisation’s decision-making systems. While the RDWS is not the cure-all that numerous retailers see them be, they are undoubtedly an asset. The system can offer several advantageous and effective solutions if adequately adopted. For close to 25 years, the retailing industry has contributed so much energies studying the question of how best to develop RDWS in their organisations [1, 2]. It is only through meticulous planning of RDWS that retailers may profit from more efficient operations. Addressing © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 305–313, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_29
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the dilemmas that are part of RDWS development is a full-time job. Significant expansion of the system mainly is a less-developing area depends on a multitude of substantial and inter-connected circumstances. Some of the “received sanity” about these forces forming meaningful RDWS development need to be re-evaluated to suit the development contexts of those in the less-developed regions. Retailers accountable for the development initiative cannot presume that the significant forces of progress in developed nations are equally substantial in their areas. In response to these shortcomings, this study aims to assess the favourable and unfavourable effects influencing the development initiative in less-developed regions such as Borneo. This will assist retailers when developing future RDWS initiatives. Five-time stages of RDWS development activities (plan, build, test, review and deploy) were utilised to answer the proposed research questions, “How do the retailers go about developing the system in their organisation?”.
2 Literature Review There is a large amount of study assessing RDWS [e.g., 3]. It has been among the most actively researched themes in the field of retailing information systems [4]. This review, however, helps as a scheme in penetrating the issues related to significant RDWS development. Few studies have indicated that retail data warehousing development is further towards organisational aspects of development [5]. For instance, they demonstrated the difficulty of encouraging organisation-wide RDWS through state-of-the-art technologies [6]. This form the basis of reviewing the organisational issues involved in RDWS development. Key essential organisational issues have emerged based upon how RDWS development has been described in previous studies, which can be summarised as; • Data issues [7, 8]. • Development Planning and Strategies [9]. • Vendor Assistance [10]. 2.1 Data Issues Conceivably, the “data issues” were the most technological concerns inside the RDWS development [11]. A multipurpose database usually contains a variety of features, because their objectives are to meet the information needs of several departments within the retail organisations. There were numerous issues faced by retailers in administering the data and its databases, e.g., conversion and preservation activities. It is one of the most labor-intensive and time-consuming tasks in the RDWS development process. Most retailers start with a somewhat developed database [12]. 2.2 Development Planning and Strategies Development planning can be defined as the activity of transposing the plan into a series of particular duties. When they are completed, the retailer will have a functioning RDWS.
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Most development planning tasks are non-routine, regularly integrating various roots and types of data. Since effective development planning entails the ability to determine different growth scenarios, retailers have to assure that development planning and goals are clear to all the development team members [13, 14]. Many studies argued that it is indispensable to plan a development process thoroughly, and retailers can adopt a mixture of approaches by which essential changes can be developed [15]. On the other hand, the development strategies can be loosely organised on a platform from the revolutionary to the evolutionary. Two approaches proposed from [10, 16] are; 1) Trial and Dissemination; This approach acknowledges that there will be some “teething troubles” when a new system is familiarized. By operating a necessary test before embarking upon development, this strategy enables preparing for system development ere it is in the throes of significant transformation. Nevertheless, various organisations miss to make good application of the possibilities that the trial offers, 2) Incremental Development; The option to a revolutionary change is a gradual evolution. When retailers are changeable, and their needs are diverse, not to mention peculiar, incremental development may be the only alternative that is pleasant to the organisation. The more incremental the approach, the more time the users have to adjust, but the more probable the momentum of the project is to be lost [17]. 2.3 Vendor Assistance The principal target of having a real bond with the vendor is to produce proper assistance for the RDWS development. Collaboration should be set-out with suppliers, e.g., in contracting the applications during the early stage of the RDWS development. Duplicated levels of exercise can also be set out by working collectively with these suppliers [10, 18]. In short, based on these reviews, it can be concluded that there are too many circumstances which can be considered as determinants influencing RDWS. To develop RDWS meaningfully, retailers, particularly in the less-developed regions, must have the lessons and tools with which to address their specific local requirements competently. This study identifies the issues that retailers in less-developed areas such as Borneo faced when attempting to develop an RDWS in their organisations [19].
3 Proposed Conceptual Model RDWS development has been a topic of interest to researchers. It remains a high preference research topic since both organisational investments on the systems have significantly grown [20]. Such systems have been used for competitive advantage and reducing the cost of operations. The knowledge of which RDWS development is, consequently, most significant for the success of a particular initiative can be determined within the constraints faced in the organisation Based on the review, and it can be assumed that there are immense amounts of development determinants accessible in the literature. In the attempt to recognize and better understand the exercises that transpire during development, both the Kanter Model [21] and the Agile System Development Life-Cycle (ASDLC) have been consolidated to create the recommended research framework (see Fig. 1).
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Fig. 1. Proposed theoretical model with Agile SDLC development stages.
This review provides insights into methodological issues that are useful for directing the next data collection stage (probing the related questions). This has led to the selection of the case study research approach as a primary methodology. The “knowledge” offered by the literature was more than sufficient to prepare for the list of “basic topics” of RDWS development issues in which both the Kanter model and Agile SDLC were chosen as it provided a structure that could set limits for problems to address, out of the comprehensive array of concerns that affect upon the development [21, 23] The Kanter model can be defined as an expression of reservation which generally arises as a response or reaction to change [22]. Each stage was composed of many issues requiring resolution, and the reasonable decision of one of the problems did not necessarily imply excellent judgment of the others. At the same time, the agile SDLC emerged out of a necessity to present structure to the development of comprehensive systems. Some studies [23] further argued that a meaningful RDWS initiative continues through three stagings of development; • Adoption of the vision that retail data warehousing can improve the organisation • Development of the practice following retailer needs and • Use of RDWS once it has been developed.
4 Research Methodology and Case Description The sampling approach employed in choosing the subjects was based on purposive sampling procedure [25] instead of using a quantitative sampling approach. Many attempts had been made to approach the permissible informants, before the selection of this purposive sampling approach was made to maximize the quality of the data collected, such as
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by following a quantitative sampling process like randomization, explaining the population and classifying the sampling frame. Still, perversely, due to the fundamental nature of the questioning, quantitative approaches were proven insurmountable. The unit of analysis is a range of RDWS judgments occurring throughout the initiative, which is the whole RDWS development process. In this instance, when the system being developed is problematic, the initiative events were divided into sub-processes. They became the critical analytical element for the “case” being studied. A key challenge in constructing a pleasing case study research design approach is to assure that the vital questions of the study are suitable to the selected unit of analysis. Before the interview, a set of questions was sent to the informant, preferably than having to answer in an ad-hoc fashion. Indepth discussions were the most vital source of data in this case study. Group discussions were used because of the two prime advantages; • They conceded “control” over the questions, • They allowed informants time to reflect and thus to furnish the historical data needed. As a result, affinity could be built with the informant (an exceptional level of empathy was developed). The informants were asked about open facts and their inferences on several topics while the interview was tape-recorded. The formation of data analysis is reaped from the data. It followed three main principles as proposed by [24] in that the analysis should 1) makes use of all of the pertinent evidence, 2) considers all of the vital interpretations and explores each of them. At first, the strategy was to develop a structure for arranging the factors (see Fig. 1). The structure assisted in focusing attention on specific data and in disregarding other data. These data were most apparent in tape recordings of the in-depth interview. These tape recordings were deciphered thoughtfully, and constant readings of the source materials allowed informants’ insights to be seized.
5 Case Description G Superstore is a significant retailer serving Brunei, East Malaysia (Sabah & Sarawak) and Indonesia (Kalimantan). The RDWS was first started to unify the internal retail data of the organisation.
6 Data Analyses and Discussion In terms of data issues, at G Superstore, many sources and types of data sets were one of the critical circumstances that resulted in poor employment of the system. Most of the data sets were in meaningless formats that caused relentless data predicaments. Data were gathered regularly and fed into the system and was available to be distributed so that each retailer which had fast access to it. Besides relying on data vendors, internal data were transformed inwardly. Additional sustenance of the data was handled internally on a day-to-day basis. Data control was an essential tool for active RDWS development. Without it, fast access to internal and external data out of a vast amount of operational data collection was challenging to realize.
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S. Nasirin et al. Table 1. Notable Development Determinants of the RDWS development.
Informants
Data issues
Development Planning & Strategies
Vendor Support
Phases of Agile SDLC (Plan, Build, Test, Review & Deploy) the interviewees are involved
Interviewee A (System User)
Disorderly managed and increasing amount of both internal and external data sets
She was not properly told about the development goals and plans
All the data were Plan & Build not saved in mainframes (in one common place), resulting in maximum obstacles of data transformation. The external data were bought from data vendors and were also stored in mainframe
Interviewee B Continuous (Retail Manager) internal pressure to lead the market. Mushrooming amount of data and vendors (which had facilitated the evolution of RDWS)
Managers provided various styles of exercise as part of the development of the system. They paid meticulous attention to the practice of recruits in the department. This was because RDWS was now recognised as one of the company core functions
The benefits could also be seen not just from the cost decrease but also as an essential way to overcome the department’s dependence on external data. The scheme also increased the quality of internal data
Vendor
Several introductory applications were set-up
Multiple sources and types of data sets were stored in mainframes, resulting in insignificant problems of data conversion
Plan, Build, Test, Review & Deploy
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Development planning and strategies: It was explained in the discussions with the informants that the prime purpose was to determine the problems that those nonintegrated databases have jeopardized the organisation’s overall data mining capability. The plan was to manipulate all the separate datasets under one rule. In extending the development plans, the managers had handled a few discussions with RDWS specialists from non-competing organisations. Vendor assistance: This case revealed that RDWS development process started with a procurement review without any proper structure of development planning. However, the vendor tirelessly pursues the goal of RDWS development and its advantages by “hardly” marketing the idea to administration and potential retailers in the organisation (see Table 1 for more details). At G Superstore, they initiated the project and communicated the needs of RDWS development activities upfront. They make likely retailers satisfied and prolific when they realised what was demanded of them more. Many outside datasets were bought without any promise on congeniality. The in-house data transformation processes proved to be expensive, and so labour intensive. The behaviour encountered was a clear example of marginal development of the system. The adoption failed on both organisational and individual levels. When forced to learn and developed RDWS with little assistance, most retailers found out a few things that they could accomplish and venture no further. Effective development planning requires the ability to forecast different growth situations that would result from alternative regulatory strategies. This process can be classified into many moderately distinct, sequential stages. Our observations, both in the field and literature, infer that the presence of a vendor is indeed a vital determinant in determining a notable RDWS development manner. In addition, the introduction of a new system (an innovation) was assumed to bring improvements in organisational performance. The retail data warehousing was expected to benefit retailers’ activities at operational and strategic levels of the organisation. The framework generated (see Fig. 2) is also able to facilitate the accomplishment of the main study objectives, by distinguishing favourable and unfavourable forces that influenced the retail data warehousing development at G Superstore.
Fig. 2. The RDWS development framework for less-developed regions.
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In summary, these determinants range from organisational to personal determinants. This showed that it is crucial to identify disputes at an early stage and take immediate steps to manage them. Conflicts that are left to rot become challenging to resolve. Above all, it is crucial to seek a resolution that has a positive impact on the retail business.
7 Conclusion Reviews of RDWS development research have exposed that there are enormous amounts of determinants available in the literature. These determinants are subject to how RDWS initiative was developed, and it diversifies according to the nature of an organisation. The literature has also provided some insights into methodological issues that are useful for building future enquiry in the field. This has led to the selection of a case study approach as the primary research methodology. While all research methodologies have their depths and weaknesses, the use of a case study research approach here is unusually relevant, producing a set of concepts that address the RDWS key development issues to date, for the less developing regions such as Borneo. A broad theoretical framework (Kanter Resistance to Change Model) was thus proposed to encapsulate the phenomena of the development process. Through the employment of the proposed conceptual framework, the in-depth case study has been able to elucidate the main research question that has been set earlier. The theoretical framework explained here meets the principles of functional ability introduced by [26]. The outcomes are within the retailing sector in a less-develop region; thus, replications of these upshots are sought-after. Retailing judgments are made in a manner where most of the decisions are based on the intuition of retail managers. They recognize that they need a better approach to support their retail choices due to the intensification of competition brought by retailers from abroad. They are also aware of the technological developments that can aid retail decisions and are prepared to adopt such systems. Unfortunately, the knowledge that they need to develop such systems successfully is not readily available.
References 1. Breslin, M.: Data warehousing battle of the giants. Bus. Intell. J. 7, 6–20 (2004) 2. Audzeyeva, A., Hudson, R.: How to get the most from a business intelligence application during the post implementation phase? Deep structure transformation at a UK retail bank. Eur. J. Inf. Syst. 25(1), 29–46 (2016) 3. Dhingra, S., Chaudhry, K.: A study of the impact of data warehousing and data mining implementation on marketing effort. Int. J, Adv. Stud. Comput. Sci. Eng. 7(1), 13–20 (2018) 4. Costa, C., Santos, M.Y.: Evaluating several design patterns and trends in big data warehousing systems. In: International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering, pp. 459–473. Springer, Cham (2018) 5. Kaipia, R., Tanskanen, K.: Vendor managed category management—an outsourcing solution in retail. J. Purchas. Supply Manage. 9(4), 165–175 (2003) 6. Watson, H.J., Goodhue, D.L., Wixom, B.H.: The benefits of data warehousing: why some organizations realize exceptional payoffs. Inf. Manage. 39(6), 491–502 (2002) 7. Kohavi, R., Mason, L., Parekh, R., Zheng, Z.: Lessons and challenges from mining retail e-commerce data. Mach. Learn. 57(1–2), 83–113 (2004)
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8. Reinartz, W., Dellaert, B., Krafft, M., Kumar, V., Varadarajan, R.: Retailing innovations in a globalizing retail market environment. J. Retail. 87, S53–S66 (2011) 9. Kourouthanassis, P., Roussos, G.: Developing consumer-friendly pervasive retail systems. IEEE Pervasive Comput. 2, 32–39 (2003) 10. Park, C.: Exploring a new determinant of task-technology fit: Content characteristics. J. Int. Technol. Inf. Manage. 27(3), 100–118 (2019) 11. Yang, Q., Ge.M., Helfert, M.: Data quality problems in TPC-DI based data integration processes. In: International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, pp. 57–73. Springer, Cham (2017) 12. Rahman, N.: An empirical study of data warehouse implementation effectiveness. Int. J. Manage. Sci. Eng. Manage. 12(1), 55–63 (2017) 13. Watson, H.J.: Revisiting Ralph Sprague’s framework for developing decision support systems. Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 42(1), 13 (2018) 14. Rogers, W.P., Kahraman, M.M., Dessureault, S.: Exploring the value of using data: a case study of continuous improvement through data warehousing. Int. J. Min. Reclam. Environ. 33(4), 286–296 (2019) 15. Mukherjee, D., D’Souza, D.: Think phased implementation for successful data warehousing. Inf. Syst. Manag. 20(2), 82–90 (2003) 16. Lyytinen, K., Robey, D.: Learning failure in information systems development. Inf. Syst. J. 9(2), 85–101 (1999) 17. McLeod, L., MacDonell, S.G.: Factors that affect software systems development project outcomes: a survey of research. ACM Comput. Surv. (CSUR) 43(4), 1–56 (2011) 18. Arunachalam, S., Page, T., Thorsteinsson, G.: Healthcare Data Warehousing. i-Manager’s J. Comput. Sci. 4(4), 1 (2016) 19. Dedi´c, N., Stanier, C.: Measuring the success of changes to Business Intelligence solutions to improve Business Intelligence reporting. J. Manage. Analyt. 4(2), 130–144 (2017) 20. Ponniah, P.: Data Warehousing Fundamentals: A Comprehensive Guide for IT Professionals. Wiley (2004) 21. Kanter, R.: Supporting innovation and venture development in established companies. J. Bus. Ventur. 1(1), 47–60 (1985) 22. Lord, R.G., Maher, K.J.: Leadership and Information Processing: Linking Perceptions and Performance. Routledge (2002) 23. Bindra, S., Parameswar, N., Dhir, S.: Strategic management: the evolution of the field. Strateg. Chang. 28(6), 469–478 (2019) 24. Hanna, S., Rowley, J.: An analysis of terminology use in place branding. Place Brand. Public Diplomacy 4(1), 61–75 (2008) 25. Etikan, I., Musa, S.A., Alkassim, R.S.: Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. Am. J. Theoret. Appl. Stat. 5(1), 1–4 (2016) 26. Yazan, B.: Three approaches to case study methods in education: Yin, Merriam, and Stake. Qualitat. Rep. 20(2), 134–152 (2015)
The Present State of System Analysis and Design in East Malaysia Syed Nasirin1(B) , Esmadi A. A. Seman1 , H. Ismail1 , Iza A. A. Bahar1 , Jackel C. V. Lung1 , Nooralisa M. Tuah1 , Abdullah M. Tahir2 , and S. Lada3 1 Faculty of Computing and Informatics, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
{snasirin,esmadi,had,iza,jackelchew93,alisa.tuah}@ums.edu.my 2 Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia [email protected] 3 Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia [email protected]
Abstract. Many government agencies everywhere in the globe, including those in the developing regions, are intimately involved in developing their Information Systems (IS) projects. To favourably develop these IS projects, those agencies have spent lots of funding, forces and time to assure that they are amply equipped with the latest system design and analysis methods. However, the literature is scarce with the published evidence showing that these government agencies are claiming that they have successfully used these cultivated analysis and design techniques. The intricate system analysis and design techniques may only remain theoretical with limited use. Many of these system analysis and design techniques had never succeeded the claimed benefits made when they were acquired, which begs the principal research question of what is the present deployment state of system analysis and design in these government institutions, particularly in the developing regions? The article thus discusses the exploratory case studies on the present state of system analysis and design methods deployed by the public institutions in East Malaysia, a developing region within South-East Asia. Keywords: Developing regions · Government agencies · System analysis · System design · Analysis and design
1 Introduction Throughout the world, many government agencies are employing advanced system analysis and design methods in developing their information systems (IS) projects such as web or mobile system applications [1]. To avoid IS marginal development projects or project development failure, these agencies have spent lots of funding, efforts and time to warrant that they are amply equipped themselves with the latest system design and analysis tools and techniques [2]. The need for sophisticated methods to develop there are projects is thus felt to be necessary. Various system design and analysis techniques are around, ranging from the conventional waterfall approach to some advanced techniques © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 314–318, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_30
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such as the agile methodologies which can be employed to materialise the development of these IS projects [7]. It appears that the primary focus has been just on ensuring rapid development of the IS projects as many more system and design techniques are introduced to these organisations. The focus upon the development pace does also draw considerable attention from system developers from the regions (though it has not always been the case) with an inadequate concern for the techniques itself. Many techniques had never accomplished the claimed benefits made when they were acquired, which begs the primary research question of what happened in the period from its conception to full employment. The complex system analysis and design techniques may only remain theoretical with limited use. Another significant question would be what exact techniques that have been deployed by these government agencies are? Nobody can be sure of the answers to these questions since this area of knowledge is relatively untouched in prior research work. The main objective of the paper is thus to understand the present deployment state of the system analysis and design approaches amongst public agencies within the region.
2 Review of the Literature When developing IS projects, most organisations practice a model of measures called the systems development lifecycle (SDLC) as the common systems development methodologies [3, 8]. The SDLC involves aspects such as outlining, analysis, design, implementation, and post-implementation or review. When a breakthrough has been seized, a report is produced to be approved by the system developer before progressing to the next step. This structured approach (and can sometimes be semi-structured) looks at the system from top-down. System analysis and design phases lie at the heart of SDLC, forming the critical phases of the development initiative. The analysis phase usually requires a thorough study of the current system, which extends from the requirements engineering studies. On the other hand, the agile methodologies focus on self-adaptive processes [4, 10]. Unlike the formalised methods, agile methods forgo some of the documentation. Development improvements are made through a discussion process connected with a few rounds of iterations. Besides, the object-oriented approach centres on combining data and processes into objects and shares the iterative development approach. These approaches all have several benefits and limitations in a way that they could be used to satisfy various kinds of IS projects [5, 9]. The conclusion of the review from the system analysis and design techniques literature have shown that government agencies are employing at least some basic methods of system analysis and design techniques [4, 5]. The focus upon the development pace does draw considerable attention from system developers with an inadequate concern for the techniques itself. Many studies also pointed out the scarcity of published evidence available about government agencies claiming that they have successfully used these cultivated techniques [6, 11].
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3 Research Methodology Exploratory in-depth case study fieldwork was conducted to investigate how the government agencies in Labuan go about employing system and design approaches. Fifteen government agencies based in the Federal Territory of Labuan interviewed. As a result of the difficulties faced not just in defining the population, but also in getting those who were willing to share their experience in using any system analysis and design methods in their organisations, the sampling approach chosen was purposive. In-depth interviews were the most significant source of data in this case study (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Is about here – The purposive sampling process.
Following the agreement with the informants, a set of interview guide required for the interview was developed, focusing on the analysis and design approaches used by their organisations. The in-depth interviews were more than sufficient in terms of developing a means to understand the issues in question. At the end of the session, reference was made by the interviewees to other analysts in other government agencies. These agencies were approached through the same process used to approach the initial informants. Choices of informants were too limited but were also driven by the intention to expose any of the similarities and dissimilarities, providing the opportunity for understanding key concepts on what are the approaches used in analysing and designing their IS projects. The questions were open-ended, and each unexpected answer was incorporated into a new problem for the next interview. Thus it became an on-going process. This type of work is equivalent to an incremental framework construction. It is valuable in the early stages of research on a topic or when a new prospect is wanted [12]. In addition, the arrangement for data examination is most apparent in tape recordings of the conversations. The discussions transcribing process also permits incremental framework construction.
4 Data Analyses and Discussions Table 1 was constructed based on the data found from the exploratory fieldwork with the government agencies in East Malaysia. Despite the undeniable significance, system analysis and design employment appear, until comparatively recently, to have been taken based on obscure rules of thumb or intuition. Indeed, the type of organisation one might reasonably expect to employ the most
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Table 1. The present state of system analysis and design amongst the government agencies in East Malaysia. Agency
Domain
Informant
Analysis method used
Design method used
Universiti Malaysia Sabah (Labuan Branch Campus)
Education
System Developer
Conventional Waterfall
Conventional Waterfall
Fire & Rescue Labuan
Fire and Rescue
System Developer
Conventional Waterfall
Conventional Waterfall
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Labuan
Housing
System Developer
Conventional Waterfall
Conventional Waterfall
Immigration Department Labuan
Immigration
System Developer
Conventional Waterfall
Conventional Waterfall
Matriculation College Labuan
Education
System Developer
Conventional Waterfall
Conventional Waterfall
Radio TV Malaysia, Broadcasting Labuan
System Developer
Conventional Waterfall
Conventional Waterfall
Hospital Labuan
System Developer
RAD
RAD
Health
rigorous system, and design approaches such as those government agencies concluded not only was there a considerable scope for improvement but also that the sophistication of the methods used was somewhat less than state-of-the-art. The lesson learned is that the types of organisations, one might reasonably expect to employ the most rigorous system analysis and design techniques, still have room for improvement.
5 Conclusions The results of this study provide some of the most compelling evidence about the present deployment state of system analysis and design in East Malaysia. Most of the organisations are still employing the traditional waterfall approach in developing their IS projects. The lesson learned is that the types of organisations, one might reasonably expect to employ the most rigorous system analysis and design techniques, still have room for improvement. Many techniques had never accomplished the claimed benefits made when they were acquired, which begs the primary research question of what happened in the period from its conception to full employment. The complex system analysis and design techniques may only remain theoretical with limited use.
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References 1. Chun, S., Shulman, S., Sandoval, R., Hovy, E.: Government 2.0: making connections between citizens, data and government. Inf. Polity 15(1, 2), 1–9 (2010) 2. Dawes, S.S., Vidiasova, L., Parkhimovich, O.: Planning and designing open government data programs: an ecosystem approach. Gov. Inf. Q. 33(1), 15–27 (2016) 3. Dennis, A., Wixom, B.H., Roth, R.M.: Systems Analysis and Design. Wiley, New York (2018) 4. Mkude, C.G., Wimmer, M.A.: E-government systems design and implementation in developed and developing countries: results from a qualitative analysis. In: Tambouris, E., et al. (eds.) Electronic Government. EGOV 2015, LNCS, vol. 9248, pp. 44–58. Springer, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22479-4_4 5. Thiga, H.K., Makau, G.: Factors influencing adoption of electronic procurement in Kenyan public sector: a survey of selected government agencies. Int. J. Sci. Res. Publ. 1–7 (2016) 6. Wang, H.J., Lo, J.: Adoption of open government data among government agencies. Gov. Inf. Quart. 33(1), 80–88 (2016) 7. Siau, K., Rossi, M.: Evaluation techniques for systems analysis and design modelling methods–a review and comparative analysis. Inf. Syst. J. 21(3), 249–268 (2011) 8. Baxter, G., Sommerville, I.: Socio-technical systems: From design methods to systems engineering. Interact. Comput. 23(1), 4–17 (2011) 9. Kamilaris, A., Kartakoullis, A., Prenafeta-Boldú, F.X.: A review on the practice of big data analysis in agriculture. Comput. Electron. Agric. 143, 23–37 (2017) 10. Hoda, R., Salleh, N., Grundy, J.: The rise and evolution of agile software develop-ment. IEEE Softw. 35(5), 58–63 (2018) 11. Eicker, U., Pietruschka, D., Haag, M., Schmitt, A.: Systematic design and analysis of solar thermal cooling systems in different climates. Renewable Energy 80, 827–836 (2015) 12. Aha, D.W.: Generalizing from case studies: a case study. In: Machine Learning Proceedings, p. 10. Morgan Kaufmann (1992)
The Process of Validating Public Information Systems Framework Iza A. A. Bahar1 , S. Nasirin1(B) , H. Ismail1 , Nona M. Nistah1 , T. Amboala1 , Esmadi A. A. Seman1 , and S. Lada2 1 Faculty of Computing and Informatics, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
{izabahar,snasirin,had,nona,tamrin,esmadi}@ums.edu.my 2 Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah,
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia [email protected]
Abstract. This paper presents the process of creating and validating public sector information systems (PSIS) development framework. Three development methodologies were put together to increase the validity of the proposed framework, i.e., 1) methodologies for data gathering, 2) procedures for framework development and 3) methodologies for validating the framework created. Exploratory investigations with UK local councils were organised, reflecting several approaches to PSIS development. Based on the findings, a PSIS development framework is presented. Keywords: Public sector · Public sector information systems · Information systems framework · Framework validity
1 Introduction Many recent studies in the public sector thus far have presented many information systems (IS) development frameworks [1, 2, 28]. These frameworks are essential as they will guide the stakeholders (such as system developers) involved to organising the publicsector information systems (PSIS) development initiatives in their organisations. A welldeveloped framework will also evade marginal PSIS project development. Nonetheless, not many studies have studied the validating steps in developing these PSIS frameworks. The purpose of this article is thus to present the process of forming a PSIS development framework [10]. It discusses the methods employed in strengthening the validity of the structure created. The outcomes of these studies also postulate useful insights into further PSIS framework development research. As no single approach to defining a meaningful PSIS development framework currently exists in the literature, the core of the proposed PSIS development framework proposed in this article is guided by the system development life cycle [3]. System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) was preferred as it provides a backbone that could set limits for relevant topics to undertake, out of the many issues that influence the IS development process. Most development tasks are multifunctional, often combining several © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 319–328, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_31
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types and sources of data. Active development requires the capability to forecast different growth scenarios. The SDLC is also much more developed and stable. However, some might argue that it is not rapid enough for system development initiative nowadays. Further, in terms of implementation planning framework, [13] in their studies reported that the development framework is a necessary factor which held the department together in realising the project on time and within budget. There are two critical environments characterised by the life cycle; 1) external and 2) intimate surroundings. External is referring to the different setting of the dynamism outside a government agency that may mould a PSIS (e.g., competitive forces, the velocity of development, and the obtainability of data sets). Meanwhile, intimate surroundings are the internal setting consists of managerial issues that may silhouette the development of the IS. A look at some of these studies may help to induce parallels and to recognise that will assist in understanding the significant issues in PSIS development framework. This article thus presents the process of verifying PSIS development framework and considers whether the lessons learned can be applied to other domains. Three development methodologies were put together to reinforce the validity of the proposed framework, i.e., 1) approaches for data collection and analyses, 2) procedures for framework generation and 3) methodologies for validating the framework built.
2 Review of the Literature There has been much research assessing the process of forming an IS development framework in the public sector [6]. The phenomena have been among the actively researched themes in the field of IS development [7, 22]. A closer look at some of the studies into the PSIS development framework may assist in understanding the significant issues in an IS development in the public sector. Given the impact of IS development failure, a considerable amount of studies has also investigated the difficulty of design and development with a view of providing a framework for progress, e.g., to define the inherent problems [8], to characterise some determinants that influence development achievement and to submit substitute strategies for development. These studies had also shown why PSIS development framework only succeeded when developers were able to structure its framework and not just to overlay the new PSIS on the existing PSIS [11]. Moreover, a large body of PSIS development framework studies has provided consistent evidence of the significant relationship between user-related variables and the realisation of the design and development effort [ref]. These relationships are believed to be influenced by several contextual variables consisting of organisational and technological variables [12]. In [12], they further argued that the PSIS development process could be seen as a change process. Many of the conflicting results of these research might be explained by the overwhelming impact of the interpersonal and organisational dynamics of the change process on other particular situational factors. Romeo, Loncarski, Paolanti, Bocchini, Mancini and Frontoni pointed out that most change strategies for system development place the developers in a problem solving mode [21]. Their tasks are to obtain information about the manager and the problem set [25]. Besides, many valuable PSIS development initiatives have changed the role behaviours of public as well as those in the government agencies. In support of this belief,
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[16] found a high congruence between perceived PSIS achievement and the amount of organisational change. The changing approach to PSIS development strives to create a situation in which change will be accepted through the involvement of the public. The purpose of the framework was to develop a shared appreciation of the general PSIS once it was operational. As with PSIS framework development studies, most efforts reported in the research were concentrated towards understanding the essential factors which these factors may be utilised as building blocks to the framework. While this approach is nevertheless valuable in providing a course for design and development practitioners on what are the factors to ponder upon, this approach is incapable of offering the complete “picture” of the development route needed by them. This review also provides insights into methodological issues that are useful for directing and building future enquiry in the field.
3 Research Methodology There are three types of development methodologies involved in constructing and validating the IS development framework; 1) Methodology for data collection and analyses, 2) Methodology for developing the PSIS framework, and 3) Methodology for validating the framework developed. 3.1 Methodology for Data Gathering and Analyses Various methodological procedures of social interactions were tried, and the variations and trade-offs of these trial procedures were acknowledged. As a result, an appropriate method was developed for the primary data collection stage. An in-depth case study research design was employed to enable the encapsulation of IS development framework. A pilot case was generated with system developers from a local government agency in Bath before the primary data collection stage to illuminate the knowledge learned during the process of reviewing the literature. Another local government authority in Bristol was requested for the primary data collection. The data collected from the in-depth interviews were then compiled in the form of case studies. In this article, our framework development work utilises theoretical sampling. Works of literature on local authorities or other developed areas of PSIS development framework (most of them are originated from a single case study) and the pilot studies which had been conducted are two precise pieces of evidence towards this issue. As [26, 27] have noted, external generalisability is based not on a specific sampling of a population to which the outcomes can be prolonged but on the formation of a framework to which the results can be extended to other cases. Below is a list of features that lend plausibility to generalisation from qualitative case studies; • • • •
Informants own assessments of generalisability The similarity of dynamics and constraints to other settings The presumed depth of the phenomena studied Corroboration from other studies
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These features provide credibility to generalisation from the case studies. However, none permit the precise extrapolation of results to a defined population that probability sampling allows. One approach used in validating this study externally was to test the ideas of PSIS framework gained from one local government with another. 3.2 Pilot and Primary Cases A set of problems was forwarded to a local government in Bath in advance, proffering the PSIS developer time to equip for the interview. This occasion warranted an experiment of methods of eliciting data which had been pre-specified to a remarkable degree. At the end of the gathering in Bath, a recommendation was made to another PSIS expert in Bristol. This recommendation was quickly followed up, and a set of questions was sent to Bristol in advance to allow the IS developer plan for the interview. Researchers throughout the discussions experienced many acumens. 3.3 Methodology for Developing the Framework The process of generating a PSIS development framework for the public sector can be categorised into four main stages.
Fig. 1. Framework building starting point
Stage 1: Post Literature Review: Several core and sub-categories have emerged from the review of the literature. These categories were employed as guidelines the first draft of the framework, establishing the ‘boundary of the enquiries’. Figure 1 presents a broad framework that could be the “starting point” to generate a framework of PSIS development in the public sector. Stage 2: Pilot Studies: The pilot studies have taken the framework further. While helping to improve the research experience, pilot studies helped the framework building process
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in other ways. Pilot studies support the “pre mature” facts discovered during the literature review. It allows an investigation of the conflicting opinions in the literature. It also develops and strengthens the interview “skills” on the part of the researcher. Pilot interviews with two key informants from the local governments and a brief period of observation assisted the framework development process in several ways; First, the pilot studies helped from refining the data collection plans to the overall structure of the research design. Also, developing the content of the questions as well as the techniques to be tailgated. Second, it helped in clarifying the framework of the study by allowing a focus on several key issues that may have been unclear previously, e.g., to uncover several vital issues which already was not apparent. By seeing the pilot process as being exploratory, these pilot cases rendered perspicacity into the central concerns being studied. This evidence was adopted in resemblance to the continuing examination of PSIS development research so that the ultimate framework was acquainted both by preponderating conjectures and by a pristine set of practical observations. Third, the pilot studies act as “laboratory”, allowing observations of different phenomena from different angles (testing of knowledge) and to try different approaches on a trial basis, covering both methodological and substantive issues through the employment of an open-ended approach or through “less structured” interviews. Fourth, the meetings allowed the development of rapport with the informants that helped to build confidence, to identify new leads and established useful communication patterns. Figure 2 presents a broad framework generated after the pilot studies exercise.
Fig. 2. PSIS framework post the pilot studies (i.e., generated after the pilot studies exercise)
Stage 3: Primary Fieldwork: Many new issues contributing to IS framework development were discussed in both interviews. In broad terms, this article categorises these issues into four initial vital categories;
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Database Management Systems (DBMS) issues Organisational related issues User-related issues Other issues
Regardless of the magnitude of each issue (factors and processes), they are significant towards meaningful IS development framework. The significance of understanding these issues lies in which development stage an organisation is in. A general agreement was found among the informants that the SDLC was an accurate description of the development tasks that must be accomplished. Stage 4: Post Data Analysis and Final Validation: More categories have appeared from the cross-case analyses through the employment of the “constant comparative analysis method”. Finally, the structure encouraged to focus attention on specific data. The PSIS framework developed here satisfies the principles of reasonable ability proposed by [26, 27]. While all research methodologies have their benefits and faults, the use of an indepth case study research design in this article was especially appropriate, producing a set of insights that discuss the PSIS development framework, which had been largely overlooked in the PSIS development literature. The methodology applied offered prime situations for the “surfacing” the critical elements in the PSIS development, i.e., in surmising user involvement along with organisational concerns. The proposed framework was based mostly on informants’ experiences. It built on the broad understanding which already exists about how to construct a PSIS framework in such a way that is taken up and employed productively to good effect. Figure 3 presents a broad framework generated after the primary fieldwork. The conceptual framework for the case study follows the system “life cycle” in which system developers sequentially go through the following phases in developing PSIS. It soon became visible; though, that the initial thoughts produced by the first site (Bath) did not hold some of the judgments emerging from the other place. Containing the experience of the informants from the other site led to meaningful interpretation and elaboration in that an emerging framework demanded a reconsideration of any of the first site notions. 3.4 Methodology for Validating the Framework Developed Two substantial threats to the validity of framework conclusions are the choice of data that fit researcher’s extant theory and preconceptions and the range of data that “stand out” to the researcher [4]. Verification of the PSIS development framework was achieved by cross-checking the data collected from the informants. All the data collected was validated by re-interviewing other informants using the information that had been gathered from focus-group interviews conducted earlier in the same organisation. In this case, the critical contents of earlier discussions were observed by re-asking the related subjects. For example, the first conversation was carried with the PSIS System Developer, and his data were reproduced, creating a “sketch” that toiled as a section of the structure. Moreover, soliciting feedback from both the case studies and the individuals was the strategy used to identify the threats of the researcher’s biases, conjectures, and flaws in
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thought. This feedback is consistent with the underlying philosophy of triangulation. The process of feeding findings back to informants as a source of “phenomenological validity” [17, 18]. At the same time [23] built it into his repertoire of devices for assuring the “confirmability” of findings. This strategy is in line with the approach proposed by [26] in increasing case studies construct validity (through the establishment of multiple sources of evidence). This strategy of multiple sources of data and methods increased the robustness of the proposed framework.
Fig. 3. The PSIS post primary fieldwork framework
The fundamental process in all of these feeding findings back exercise is trying to find evidence that challenges conclusions or that make the potential threat implausible. The significant of the framework development process is to understand how the researcher influences what the respondent says and how the influences affect the validity of the inferences that can be drawn from the interview. Although methods do not warrant the validity, they are nonetheless necessary to the process of ruling out validity threats and enhancing the credibility of conclusions. Surfacing concepts were reviewed for representativeness by examining them across informants and with triangulation of ways. Triangulation across sites and data collection methods further assisted in encouraging emerging thoughts. The validity of the frameworks all depends on their internal generalisability to the case as a whole. Internal generalisability [14] had been given the most exceptional attention in developing the proposed frameworks. To respect the work as valid, the feedback approach was applied by feeding back findings to informants is recognised as “phenomenological validity” [24]. It expects the informant to discuss the findings or the case as a whole. Nevertheless, the precarious issue is that introducing prejudice (researcher’s preference). Feeding back findings in the course of research may alter informants’ behaviour. As a result, it was decided to lessen the hazard by conducting the feeding back by talking to other informants. Soliciting feedback from both the organisations and the individuals was the strategy used to identify the threats of researcher’s biases, assumptions, and flaws in logic or methods. This feedback is consistent with the underlying philosophy of triangulation.
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The insight gained from this process is to learn how the researcher controls what the informant says and how this transforms the validity of the judgments that can be pulled from the interview. Although methods do not assure the validity, they are anyway fundamental to the process of ruling out validity threats and increasing the trustworthiness of conclusions. The underlying process in all of these tests is trying to find proof that challenges conclusions or that make the potential danger implausible.
4 Discussions The framework is closely related to the actual PSIS development process (because they are derived from the data). It covered the PSIS development process, and both researchers and practitioners alike should find the framework beneficial. It infers that before the development of PSIS, relevant stakeholders (e.g., system developers and users) should enunciate their plans to the PSIS development context. Having verbalised these critical concerns, they can initiate the design of the PSIS development project. The plausibility of a PSIS having the desired impact depends upon the belief of how to operate the PSIS development process over time. A framework of the PSIS development is presented in Fig. 3, based on the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and three development time frames. It is developed based on the four rounds of iterations that emerged from the cross-case interpretations. The development methodology deviates from the traditional SDLC in several fundamental ways, i.e., the process itself is profoundly iterative, and it is by no means the only one that could be updated. Whatever the type of framework proposed, however, it has to be specific enough to head to the development. Although there are many varieties of research design available, the case study research was seen to be the most relevant design in completing the research aims. Many attempts had been made to approach the potential informants, prior to the selection of this approach to maximise the amount and quality of the data collected, such as by following a quantitative sampling process like randomisation, defining the population and identifying the sampling frame but unfortunately, due to the essential nature of the inquiries, quantitative approaches seemed to be unrealistic and were proven impossible. The combined design suits the kind of this research due to its flexibility in its design, allowing the generation of the theories and sampling decisions on an on-going basis.
5 Conclusions A framework of PSIS development had then been developed based on these emerging categories through the employment of a grounded theory approach to theoretical building with a phenomenological viewpoint. The advantage of this view is that it not only explains an organisational situation, but it shows where the solution lies practically. PSIS development framework entails bringing an IS into practice and turning it over to the end-user by examining user’s features to ascertain the actual felt need for the system. User’s suggestions have been studied for applicability, and they were given grounds for refusal if their view was not developed. Still, once the system is established, it should be permissible for users to make a better evaluation of the system. The pilot research
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has been in context to give some ideas of what the thoughts and attitudes are to PSIS (conducted before the primary interviews for building common themes). Comparisons were then are made with existing studies available in the literature to strengthen the framework-building process. Although the framework development of PSIS may be regarded as a leading-edge exercise of the public sector, we can presume the technology to become a standard component of modern local governments. The early framework development effort has been burdened with obstacles faced by system developers. The developers went through trial and error processes that ended in a valuable experience that can be studied. It is hoped that system developers in the public sector forearmed with this knowledge will better able to investigate their own department/organisation in managing the development process or not as the case may be.
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The Digital Transformation of the Grocery Business - Driven by Consumers, Powered by Technology, and Accelerated by the COVID-19 Pandemic Haroon R. Abbu1(B) , David Fleischmann2 , and Pradeep Gopalakrishna2 1 Patterns of Digitization Lab, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27713, USA
[email protected] 2 Department of Marketing, Lubin School of Business, Pace University,
New York, NY 10038, USA
Abstract. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to understand and profitably leverage digital transformation with a vast amount of new communications and computing technologies. Despite the potential for digital transformation to generate substantial economic benefits, very few businesses have undergone successful digital transformations. However, evolving consumer attitudes and behaviors, technological advances, new competitive pressures, and laser thin margins, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, are driving digital transformation in the grocery business. Brick and mortar, e-commerce companies, as well as new startups, are making major investments in all aspects of the digital grocery ecosystem— the online shopping experience, automated picking, delivery, and the digital supply chain. Retailers are connecting their investments to enhanced customer loyalty, revenue, and ultimately profit. This research—based on inductive methods—aims to discuss key drivers and technologies utilized in digital grocery business and contributes by introducing a model of digital grocery ecosystem to better understand digital transformation of the grocery business. Keywords: Digital transformation · Digital grocery · Retail · Consumer preferences · Online shopping · COVID-19
1 Introduction The topic of digital transformation has gained attention in recent years. More and more companies are looking for ways to understand this phenomenon. Companies are also trying to figure out how to profitably leverage the explosion in communications and computing technologies. Although transformation of the US retail landscape from brick and mortar to omnichannel started a couple of decades ago, disruption of the grocery business is a recent phenomenon. The consumer preferences and attitudes toward choosing their own groceries, especially meat, produce, and other perishable goods have dramatically changed due to changes in the grocery business landscape. Technological advances and © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 329–339, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_32
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grocers’ ability to invest in online shopping, picking, and delivery infrastructure have increased speed and convenience for digital consumers. The unprecedented innovation and investments happening in the grocery ecosystem will define the future direction of this $700B US business sector. In Sect. 2, we present digital transformation literature and assess its relevance to grocery business. In Sect. 3, we discuss key drivers, specifically, changing consumer behaviors and the pandemic. In Sect. 4, we discuss key technologies utilized in digital transformation of grocery business and introduce a model of digital grocery ecosystem. In Sect. 5, we present successful cases of digital transformation in five grocery retailers.
2 Digital Transformation and Its Importance to the Grocery Business In this section, we will briefly review the digital transformation of businesses and its relevance to the grocery sector. 2.1 Digital Transformation Digital transformation is “the creation of, and consequent change in, market offerings, business processes, or models that result from the use of digital technology” [1]. It has forced companies to rethink the role and value data has in their business models [2]. However, digital transformation is much more than technology deployment. In most instances, it represents a fundamental change in the organization’s underlying mindset, systems, and tools, needed to reposition parts of, or the entire, business design [3]. A focus only on selecting and implementing the right digital technologies is not likely to lead to success. Digital transformation involves changes to organizational dynamics and how work is done. It involves leadership, talent development, culture, organization, and strategy [4]. Digital transformation is a significant change in the basic pattern of how organizations create value [5]. Data-driven companies are on average 5% more productive and 6% more profitable than other competitors in the market. The so-called digital masters— that are characterized by visionary management and digital capabilities— are 26% more profitable compared to their competitors [6]. Furthermore, digitally mature companies generate 9% higher revenue from their physical assets [7]. Despite the potential for digital transformation to generate substantial economic benefits, very few businesses have undergone successful digital transformations. A 2017 global study of digital transformation found that only 25% of organizations had transformed into digital businesses, 41% were on transformative journeys, and 34% invested more time talking about the trend than they did acting on it [8]. It is noteworthy that 85% of executives stated that attaining digital maturity is critical to organizational success. The discrepancy between recognizing digitalization as a competitive necessity and successfully implementing a transformative strategy suggests that many leaders are unsure how to harness the opportunities that a digital transformation brings to people, processes, and technology.
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Digital maturity is achieved through commitment, investment, and leadership [9]. The character and competency motivate digital leaders to build trust and credibility; to take differentiated actions that set apart digitally mature organizations from digitally developing organizations [10]. Furthermore, in the context of companies undergoing digital transformation, high levels of internalization (i.e., organization-wide commitment) has shown to complement and strengthen the relationship between implementation of the practice and its success [11]. 2.2 The Grocery Business Landscape Grocery store growth and profits in developed markets have been steadily sliding downward, due to higher costs, reduced productivity, and price competition from discount chains and dollar stores. Over the past 10 years, sales grew by only 2% in North America and Western Europe. Many grocery brands have consequently shut down or consolidated. Traditional discounters offer a smaller variety of products on a large scale, creating efficiencies and enhancing profitability [12]. Online competitors, most notably Amazon, have been able to increase product assortment, invest in advanced data analytics to personalize the shopping experience, and achieve massive economies of scale that lower cost, increase profitability, and offer lower prices to end consumers. Moreover, consumers can easily compare prices using online tools. These competitive pressures have forced full-service grocery retailers to cut prices even when faced with rising costs. Grocers have also started to belatedly embrace expensive investments in digitalization and automation in response to changing consumer preferences and to remain profitable. 2.3 Digital Transformation at the Grocery Store: The Rise of Online Grocery E-commerce has altered customer shopping behaviors and transformed the retail landscape—primarily for the non-perishable general merchandise (GM) category—from brick and mortar to omnichannel. However, grocery businesses have remained largely immune to digital disruption—until recently. Traditional brick-and-mortar stores continue to dominate the grocery shopping experience, but online grocery (also referred as eGrocery or digital grocery) is growing in popularity. While online sales accounted for anywhere from 3–4% of the US grocery market in 2019, the share could be greater than 10% by 2025 [13]. According to a study from Brick Meets Click and ShopperKit, 31% of U.S. households, or roughly 40 million, have used online grocery services like home delivery and pickup in March 2020 alone. 43% of those surveyed reporting they were “extremely likely” or “very likely” to keep online grocery shopping [14]. Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Market in 2017 gave the e-commerce giant new credibility in fresh grocery and allowed the expansion of immediate Amazon Fresh service to new markets [13]. Instacart and other third-party delivery providers have further increased the footprint of traditional brick and mortar grocery stores to reach a large portion of US households. Major grocers like Walmart, Kroger, and Whole Foods now offer two-hour, same day curbside pickup or home delivery.
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3 Key Drivers for Digital Transformation in Grocery Evolving consumer attitudes and behaviors, technological advances, new competitive pressures, and laser thin margins are the key drivers of digital transformation in the grocery business. 3.1 Changing Consumer Behaviors For much of American history, retail and suburban sprawl expanded at the same time [15]. Large department stores and shopping mall parking lots catered to customers returning home from long commutes and looking forward to evenings spent with family. Customers would drive themselves to the store, load up the car trunk with bulky items, share them with family, and store the remainder in multiple closets in their spacious homes. However, within the past 15–20 years or so, people gravitated towards urbanization, smaller households, short commutes, and overloaded work schedules [15]. Customers increasingly moved into small apartments. These tended to come with minimal storage space. They were located in high-density neighborhoods, with many homes, stores, and offices in walking distance. Owning and parking a car there was unnecessary, and an expensive liability. Customers thus became more interested in buying smaller quantities, which they could more easily carry and store at home, even if it meant shopping more often. The density of competing stores nearby also fueled an expectation of being able to buy anything, anywhere, at any time, for a low price [12]. There were also trends in consumer food tastes. On one end, consumers were more eager to eat outside the home, for the restaurant and social experience. Other consumers were becoming more health-conscious, interested in cooking for themselves, and eating at home. Many of these consumers expect manufacturers and retailers to explain their offerings, include sustainable sourcing pedigrees, and help consumers reach their dietary goals. To better service these new urban consumers, budding food connoisseurs in a hurry with minimal storage space, stores began to offer packages of ready-to-go prepared meals, and meal kits. With so many new grocery options, consumer loyalty has been decreasing. 43% of 2020 survey respondents had shopped online in the past 6 months, but just 26% at their preferred grocery retailers [16]. This was because competition was increasing, notably in inventory availability, the online shopping experience, pickup and delivery options, and promotions. These changes coincided with the rapid growth of the Internet, e-commerce, and related technology, meaning customers no longer were required to come into a physical store [15]. 3.2 Acceleration by the Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sudden change in customer behavior. Most notably was a large influx of new online orders [16]. Online grocery sales tripled in the early part of the pandemic as food retailers ramped up an already growing e-commerce business. To meet the demand crush, 83% of retailers surveyed by the Food Industry Association FMI said they added more staff to handle online fulfillment, 37% earmarked more workers to handle delivery of online orders, and more than half of retailers (51%) urged customers
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to order online [17]. The pandemic collapsed into three months, a process of adopting e-commerce that otherwise would have taken 10 years in the U.S., the survey concluded [17]. In turn, to meet changing shoppers’ needs and desires, 24% of food retailers reported offering more SKUs online. Some retailers also added new delivery methods, including store pickup (19%) and third-party delivery (16%). These large changes were due to customer fears of getting coronavirus in a store, and sudden loss of employment restricting what and where customers could afford to buy. Retailers scrambled to catch up. This required quickly instituting new procedures and purchasing new technology, with impact on profitability as an afterthought [16]. In a way, the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation and ushered in the next phase of grocery shopping. “The tech-based approaches that promote safety and speed are becoming table stakes for grocers. Customers of all ages have been more willing than before to download apps, try out services like curbside pickup and seek out ways to avoid interactions with cashiers or other customers” [18].
4 Key Enablers: Digital Transformation of the Grocery Ecosystem While changing consumer behaviors—cost, convenience, and speed—are driving online grocery [19], we observe that technology, cloud computing, mobility systems, and big data analytics are key enablers of digital transformation. In Fig. 1, we show a comprehensive model of digital transformation across the grocery ecosystem, key processes involved, and factors that enable digital transformation in the grocery business. Next, we discuss the key components of the ecosystem.
Fig. 1. Model of grocery ecosystem showing key processes and enablers of Digital Transformation
4.1 Digital Consumer: Online Grocery Shopping Any mission to digitally transform the grocery ecosystem begins with the digital consumer, who is at the center of the grocery universe [20]. The primary result of transforming to a digital business is the ability to engage and delight the shopper to drive
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loyalty, revenue, and profit. A key component of customer satisfaction is a seamless, userfriendly mobile shopping app that provides accurate online ordering across all categories, the ability to save and reuse shopping lists, and schedule deliveries in advance. Real-time inventory availability would ensure that customers are informed in advance when their favorite items are out of stock, and would allow customers to set their expectations for delivery accordingly. Major grocers have deployed smart grocery carts, where customers scan a QR code on their smartphone, log into the app, fill the shopping cart with groceries, and pay for the order on their way out the store. The app could serve a wayfinding function within the store. It could provide information on product reviews, ethical sourcing, demonstration videos, and complementary goods, upon scanning a QR code of the item. The app could then attempt to upsell the customer to items with a higher profit margin. The app could offer a brief customer satisfaction survey after checkout, a repository for receipts and warranty information, a button to initiate a product return, as well as an alert section in the event of recalls [21]. 4.2 Digital Store Operations Digital store operations encompass technology and infrastructure necessary for the efficient processing of digital consumers’ online grocery orders. In a digital world, supplier, distribution, store, and the consumer are all connected. The digitally connected supply chain can identify the appropriate inventory necessary to support customer demand, define the cost to serve, and make real-time decisions that will focus on the outcomes [20]. This will require reengineering of the supply chain and category management processes to focus more on the shopper. Grocers have employed a number of ways to pick grocery items to fulfill online orders and to decrease cycle time. Some have simply added more people to pick items from shelves and bring them to the checkout desk in a shopping cart. A few have converted certain stores to process online orders (known as dark stores) and have redesigned parking lots to handle more curbside pickups. Others have added micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs). These are small, in-store warehouses, that assist and speed up the order picking and packing processes, using robotics and software. An MFC allows for a number of fulfillment options, including pickup directly from the MFC, in-store pickup, curbside pickup, home delivery via third parties, or autonomous vehicles [22]. 4.3 Last Mile: Pickup and Delivery New business models necessitated by online grocery shopping have disrupted the grocery pickup and last mile delivery paradigms. Customers often demand faster, same day, or even instant, delivery. This has spurred innovation in new technologies such as automated grocery pickup, curbside pickup, third party delivery services, and even drones and autonomous vehicles. Automated grocery pickup in store technology allows consumers to place grocery orders online and pickup from an automated, temperature-controlled, kiosk at the store. Curbside pickup lets store employees place groceries in a customer’s trunk, thereby avoiding face-to-face interaction with the customer.
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Popular third-party delivery services such as Instacart, Shipt, and FreshDirect have launched new features to help consumers get fresh groceries delivered to their doorsteps safely, including a new contactless delivery option to promote social distancing. Grocers are also experimenting with drone and autonomous vehicle technologies to significantly shorten delivery times [13]. 4.4 All Things Digital: Big Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Marketing Big data analytics is at the foundation of successful digital businesses. In 2020, 83% of retailers were experimenting with new technologies to improve the customer experience [18]. Data analytics already plays a major role in food retail, with the majority employing it for pricing, promotion, and replenishment. Machine learning, artificial intelligence, and digital tools are gaining in adoption. They include automated chat for customer support, machine-learning algorithms to predict customer arrival for a smoother experience, augmented reality and digital twin technologies to approximate the in-store experience, digital billboards to explain the nutritional content, electronic shelf labels for dynamic pricing, and machine vision to identify and remedy issues at self-service checkout. All can offer a differentiated omnichannel customer experience [18, 21, 23]. The digital marketing department takes advantage of the digital pulse across the ecosystem [20]. Using customer intelligence, marketers can create relevant messages, product recommendations, and product information, to show the right offer to the right customer, at the right place, at the right time, for a price the customer is willing to pay [24].
5 Successful Online Grocery Experiences Through Digital Transformation As shown in Table 1, major US grocers have deployed a number of digital transformation initiatives, which we briefly review next. Walmart has deployed automated pickup towers and lockers for buy online pickup in store (BOPIS) customers for a seamless in-store pickup experience [25]. In January 2020, Walmart unveiled its grocery-picking robot called Alphabot, which operates in a 20,000 square-foot facility that Walmart built onto one of its stores in Salem, New Hampshire. Alphabots are estimated to pick and pack orders as much as 10 times faster than a human [26]. Walmart has been experimenting with flying drone delivery. The company launched a pilot program with end-to-end drone delivery company Flytrex in September 2020, to implement automated drone delivery of select grocery and household items to customers in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Walmart is also collaborating with a second drone company, Zipline, that will be launched in early 2021, from a store in Northwest Arkansas, to deliver within a 50-mile radius [27–29]. Walmart rolled out the Walmart Plus subscription service, which provides same-day delivery, and a streamlined checkout process that lets customers skip the line at stores.
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Grocer Headquarters Year Founded # of Stores 2019 Grocery Revenue 2019 US Food Market Share1 # of Stores offering in-store Grocery Pickup2 Digital Store Innovaons
Walmart Bentonville, AR 1962 5,259 $288B 21.30% 3,450 as of Aug '20 Automated grocery picking robot, Alphabot
Grocery Pickup Opons
Automated pickup towers, lockers, and Curbside pickup
Home Delivery Opons
Third party delivery via Postmates. Instacart in select stores. Express Delivery/unlimited delivery through Walmart+ subscripon.
Last Mile Delivery Innovaons
Drone technology partnerships, Autonomous vehicles
1
Kroger Cincinna, OH 1883 3,007 121B 9.90% 2,100 as of Aug '20
Albertsons Boise, ID 1939 2,228 61B 4.90% 950 as of Oct '20
Building 20 fully automated AI technology, conveyors, MicroCustomer Fulfillment Centers fulfillment Centers (MFC) with (CFC) in partnership with Ocado Takeoff Technologies
Target Minneapolis, MN 1902 1,886 16B 2.70% 1,500 as of Aug '20
Amazon Whole Foods Ausn, TX 1980 533 16B 2.20% 487 as of Oct '20
Dark Stores/MFCs
Robocs, Dark Stores/MFCs
Curbside Pickup
Drive Up & Go services, Curbside, Drive-Up Lockers, Pickup counter, Automated pickup kiosks in and Curbside. select stores Third party delivery via Instacart Third party delivery via Instacart Delivery through Shipt Delivery through Prime (a company Target Now, Instacart acquired in 2017).
Unmanned grocery delivery service through Nuro
Real me status of grocery deliveries and pickup order using App
"Batched delivery" plaorm (Deliv) for last mile delivery
Drone technology, Autonomous vehicles
Food Industry. (2019). hps://www.foodindustry.com/arcles/top-10-grocers-in-the-united-states-2019/
2
Wells, J. (2020). How 6 chains expanded pickup during the pandemic. Grocery Dive. hps://www.grocerydive.com/news/how-6-chains-expanded-pickup-during-thepandemic/589054/
In addition, Walmart updated store signs inside and outside to match the font style in the Walmart app, coded aisles with letters and numbers to match directions in the app, and installed displays to encourage customers to download and use the Walmart app to help them navigate the store. Walmart rolled out self-checkout kiosks, and contactless solutions such as Walmart Pay to strengthen customers’ associations across traditional and digital channels [19]. Amazon has rapidly expanded its physical grocery footprint, to include dozens of cashier-less Amazon Go stores, Amazon Fresh grocery stores, and hundreds of Whole Foods locations. The company opened its first Whole Foods dark store during the pandemic to quickly pick and pack online orders. The company can deliver groceries to shoppers’ cars (Amazon Fresh Pickup) and provides automatic tracking of a customer’s order (Dash Carts). Albertsons, in October 2020, rolled out a contactless fulfillment option, with a pilot of e-commerce pickup lockers at selected Jewel-Osco and Safeway supermarkets [30]. In 2017, Kroger invested in fully robotic warehouses, customer analytics, and university partnerships around digital innovation labs [31]. Kroger, in partnership with Ocado, is building robotics-driven customer fulfillment centers (CFCs). CFCs will fill online grocery orders in their respective regions, and provide customers “anytime, anywhere” ability to place online orders [32]. The company also announced a partnership with selfdriving startup Nuro, which uses driverless technology to deliver products and groceries to customers [33].
6 Conclusions In this paper, we analyzed how the grocery business is going through an unprecedented digital transformation – driven by consumers, powered by technology, and accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic. We put forth a model to explain the digital transformation of the grocery ecosystem and the processes involved in online grocery retail. We
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summarized the digital transformation of five major grocers and provided examples of transformation in action. We believe the paper does move the needle in terms of adding value to the digital grocery ecosystem. Digital transformation presents significant challenges and opportunities in the highly competitive, low-margin world of the grocery industry. Established brick and mortar and e-commerce companies, as well as new start-ups, are making major investments in all facets of the digital grocery ecosystem— the online shopping experience, automated picking, delivery, and the digital supply chain. Retailers are connecting these investments to customer loyalty, and ultimately to revenue and profit. This will result in the true transformation of business models that will define what the grocery industry becomes going forward.
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14. Thakker, K.: Nearly one third of U.S. households shopped for groceries online in the past month, report says. Grocery Dive (2020). https://www.grocerydive.com/news/nearly-onethird-of-us-households-shopped-for-groceries-online-in-the-pas/575038/ 15. Morely, C.: What’s happening in the U.S. grocery landscape? Forbes (2017). https://www. forbes.com/sites/chrismorley/2017/05/03/whats-happening-in-the-u-s-grocery-landscape/# 56730e872dbb 16. Incisiv. Grocery digital maturity benchmark, 2020 (2020) 17. Redman, R.: FMI: online grocery sales jumped 300% early in pandemic. Supermarket News (2020). https://www.supermarketnews.com/issues-trends/fmi-online-grocery-sales-jumped300-early-pandemic 18. Palmer, A., Repko, M.: How the coronavirus pandemic helped convince grocery chains to experiment with new tech. CNBC (2020). https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/06/how-cor onavirus-convinced-grocery-chains-to-experiment-with-new-tech-.html?__source=iosapp share%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.Mail 19. Abbu, H.: Changing needs of online customers. Triangle Bus. J. (2017). https://www.resear chgate.net/publication/334572863_Changing_Needs_of_Online_Customers 20. Evins, R.: 7 key areas for digital transformation in grocery. Grocery Dive (2017). https://www. grocerydive.com/news/grocery--7-key-areas-for-digital-transformation-in-grocery/534746/ 21. High, D., McHale, B.: Omnichannel physical store integrated with digital IoT (2020). https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/omnichannel-physical-store-integrated-digital-iotdonald-high/?trackingId=Hm3S%2B2XIArJu%2FauX5VIG1Q%3D%3D 22. Ladd, B.: Retail stores should become large vending machines by installing microfulfillment centers (2020). https://brittainladd.com/retail-stores-are-about-to-become-largevending-machines/ 23. Grimaldi, M.: 3 Key trends retailers have embraced during the pandemic. Am. Mark. Assoc. (2020). https://www.ama.org/marketing-news/3-key-trends-retailers-have-embraced-duringthe-pandemic/ 24. IRI Insights. Changing the e-commerce experience. Retail Leader (IRI) (2020). https://retail leader.com/IRI-insights-changing-ecommerce-experience?utm_source=omeda&utm_med ium=email&utm_campaign=NL_Retail+Leader+Essentials&utm_keyword=Advertising& oly_enc_id=1461D2006834I1V 25. Peterson, H.: Walmart is unleashing 2 key weapons against Amazon in 700 store. Business Insider (2018). https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-online-pickup-tower-review2017-8 26. Peterson, H.: Walmart unveils a grocery-picking robot to take on Amazon and Kroger. Business Insider (2020). https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-unveils-alphabot-to-bat tle-amazon-and-kroger-2020-1 27. Repko, M.: Walmart signs trio of drone deals as it races to play catch-up with Amazon. CNBC (2020). https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/05/walmart-signs-drone-deals-as-it-races-toplay-catch-up-with-amazon.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.Mail 28. Kleckler, A.: Walmart accelerates drone deliveries. Retail Leader (IRI) (2020). https://ret ailleader.com/walmart-accelerates-drone-deliveries?utm_source=omeda&utm_medium= email&utm_campaign=NL_Retail+Leader+Essentials&utm_keyword=&oly_enc_id=146 1D2006834I1V 29. Ward, T.: Walmart and Zipline team up to bring first-of-Its kind drone delivery service to the United States (2020). https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2020/09/14/walmart-and-zip line-team-up-to-bring-first-of-its-kind-drone-delivery-service-to-the-united-states 30. Redman, R.: Albertsons Cos. to test online grocery pickup lockers. Supermarket News (2020). https://www.supermarketnews.com/online-retail/albertsons-cos-test-online-grocerypickup-lockers
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31. Skorupa, J.: Kroger tech investments deliver impressive ROI (2020). https://risnews.com/kro ger-tech-investments-deliver-impressive-roi 32. Redman, R.: Kroger plans three more Ocado automated warehouses. Supermarket News (2020). https://www.supermarketnews.com/online-retail/kroger-plans-three-more-ocado-aut omated-warehouses 33. Willig, C.: The next evolution of our seamless grocery experience has arrived (2020). https:// www.krogerstories.com/nuro/
Route Planning in Large-Scale Transport Networks: A Multi-criteria Approach Using Prefractal Graphs with Optimization of Transportation Costs João Paulo Pereira1(B)
and Dmitriy Pavlov2
1 Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
[email protected] 2 Kuban State Agrarian University, 350089 Krasnodar, Russia
Abstract. The paper investigates the problem of planning transport routes in large-scale transport networks, taking into account multi-criteria optimization. We propose a new way to reduce the computational complexity of algorithms for finding optimal transport routes using prefractal graphs. Prefractal graphs allow one to naturally model the structure of the hierarchy of territorial ties and take into account the structural dynamics of systems. The paper constructs a multicriteria mathematical formulation of the problem of covering a prefractal graph with simple intersecting chains, to which the investigated problem of organizing routes in large-scale transport networks is reduced. The main social and economic requirements for the transport system are formulated and included in the model in the form of criteria. To solve the problem posed, polynomial algorithms have been constructed and proven, which have several times lower computational complexity compared to a similar problem on graphs. The optimality of the found solution according to the selected criterion is proved and estimates are given according to the remaining criteria. Keywords: Prefractal graphs · Large-scale transport networks · Multi-criteria discrete optimization
1 Introduction One of the important and significant tasks in practice is the problem of organizing passenger or freight transport routes. The solution to this problem allows reducing transportation costs affecting the final price of a product or service [1]. Graphs are often used as a model of road maps [2, 3]. Here, the vertices of this graph correspond, for example, to road intersections, industrial objects, or stops in residential neighborhoods. The edges correspond to the lengths of roads connecting the given vertices of the transport system. Most transport route planning tasks [3] are reduced to discrete optimization tasks on graphs in a multi-criteria setting [4], where it is near impossible to find a single solution that meets all the criteria. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 340–349, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_33
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Section 2 is devoted to the basic definitions and concepts of the theory of fractal and prefractal graphs. Prefractal graphs [5–7] are a symbiosis of a graph and a fractal, with the inherent properties of fractals – self-similarity, fractional fractal dimension, scale invariance [5–9]. The process of constructing prefractal graphs allows one to describe permanent changes in the structure of a system, called structural dynamics [5]. Section 3 proposes a new way to use prefractal graphs as a model of a large-scale transport network. The construction of a prefractal graph (rank 2) is considered on the example of a road map of Russia, where the edges of the first rank correspond to the roads between federal districts, and the edges of rank 2 correspond to the roads of the subjects of the federation. For the first time, a mathematical formulation of the problem of planning routes in a large-scale transport network is formulated, which is reduced to the problem of covering a prefractal graph with simple chains in a multicriteria formulation. Section 4 provides a rigorous substantiation of the results of the presented algorithm, proves the optimality by the criterion responsible for reducing transport costs, and gives upper and lower estimates for the remaining criteria. Note 1 gives the advantage of using this approach using prefractal graphs over the classical approach using graphs [2]. The main advantage of the above approach is the reduction of the computational complexity [10] of implementing algorithms on prefractal graphs.
2 Basic Concepts in Fractal and Prefractal Graphs We use the term seed to describe any connected graph H = (W , Q). To define a fractal (prefractal) graph, we will need an operation called vertex replacement by seed (VRS). The essence of VRS operation is that the split vertex is replaced not with an edge but with a seed H . For any finite or infinite graph, we use the notation G = (V , E). Let’s look at this ∼ procedure. In this graph G = (V , E), for vertex v∈ ∼V designated for replacement, ∼ ∼ ∼ the adjacent vertex set V = { v j } ⊆ V , j = 1, 2, ..., V is selected. Then the vertex v ∼
∼
and all its incident edges are removed from graph G. After that, each vertex v j ∈V , ∼ j = 1, 2, ..., V , is connected by an edge to one of the vertices of seed H = (W , Q). The vertices are joined arbitrarily (randomly) or based on a certain rule, if necessary. The prefractal graph will be denoted as GL = (VL , EL ), where VL is the set of vertices of the graph, and EL is the set of its edges. We define it recurrently, replacing each vertex with seed H = (W , Q) in graph Gl = (Vl , El ) constructed at the previous stage l = 1, 2, ..., L − 1. At stage l = 1, seed G1 = H corresponds to the prefractal graph. The process described shows that prefractal graph GL = (VL , EL )is generated by seed H = (W , Q). The process of generating prefractal graph GL essentially involves the process of constructing a sequence of prefractal graphs G1 , G2 , ..., Gl , ..., GL , called a trajectory (see Fig. 1). The edges of each of these substitute seeds are called new edges; they can be represented as El+1 \El . Here, the edges of this set are called old edges in current graphs Gl+2 , Gl+3 , ..., GL . The number of stages involved in generating a prefractal graph is called the rank of the prefractal graph. The use of the VRS operation in the process of generating prefractal graph GL for elements Gl = (Vl , El ), l ∈ {1, 2, ..., L − 1} of its trajectory allows you to map.
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Fig. 1. The trajectory G1 , G2 , G3 of the prefractal graph G3 generated by the seed-triangle where the adjacency of the old edges is chosen arbitrarily.
φ : Vl → Vl+1 or φ(Vl ) = Vl+1 , and in general form. φ t (Vl ) = V(l+t) , t = 1, 2, . . . , L − l
(1)
In expression (1), set Vl+t is the image of set Vl , while set Vl is the preimage (or inverse image) of set Vl+t . Fractal graph G = (V , E) is defined by an infinite trajectory. A generalization of the process of generating prefractal graph GL is the case where, instead of a single substitute seed H , seeds from set H = {H1 , H2 , ..., Ht , ..., HT }, T ≥ 2 are selected. The essence of this generalization is that when transiting from graph Gl−1 to graph Gl , each vertex is replaced by some seed Ht ∈ H chosen randomly or according to a rule, depending on the features of the problem being modelled. If, in the course of generating a prefractal graph in current graph Gl−1 = (Vl−1 , El−1 ), each vertex is replaced by seed v ∈ Vl−1 at each stage l = 2, ..., L, then the prefractal graph is called a canonical graph. In the general case, a non-canonical prefractal graph is generated by a set of seeds H, |H| ≥ 1, where when transiting from graph Gl−1 to Gl , not every vertex v ∈ Vl−1 is replaced by a seed from H in the trajectory, ∗ ⊂V but only the subset Vl−1 l−1 determined depending on the specifics of the problem. A prefractal graph generated by one or a set of seed multigraph is called a prefractal multigraph. If all old edges (edges of rank l, l = 1, 2, ..., L − 1) are successively removed from prefractal graph GL , generated by n-vertex seed H , the original graph will break down into a set of connected components {BL(1) }, each of which is isomorphic to seed H . Let (1) the set of components {BL } be called blocks of rank 1. Similarly, when removing all the old edges of ranks l = 1, 2, ..., L − 2 from prefractal graph GL , we get set of blocks (2) {BL } of rank 2. Generalizing, say, when all the edges of ranks l = 1, 2, ..., L − r are (r) removed from prefractal graph GL , we get set {BL,i }, r ∈ {1, 2, ..., L−1} of rank r block, (1)
where i = 1, 2, ..., nL−r is the serial number of the block. Blocks BL ⊆ GL of rank 1 will also be called seed subgraphs H of prefractal graph GL . Obviously, every block
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BL(r) = (UL(r) , ML(r) ), r ∈ {1, 2, ..., L − 1}, is a prefractal graph Br = (Ur , Mr ) generated by seed H . We clarify a number of details in the function φ in formula (1). For any vertex vj ∈ Vl , j ∈ {1, 2, ..., nl }, of prefractal graph GL = (VL , EL ), l ∈ {1, 2, ..., L − 1}, from the trajectory of graph GL , the following holds. (r)
(t)
φ t (vj ) = U(l+t,j) , φ t (vj ) = B(l+t,j) (t)
(t)
(2)
(t)
where Bl+t,j = (Ul+t,j , Ml+t,j ) ⊆ Gl+t , t = 1, 2, ..., L − l. Similarly, (r)
(r+t)
φ t (B(l,i) ) = B(l+t,i) , r ∈ 1, 2, . . . , L − t, i ∈ 1, 2, . . . , n(l−r)
(3)
Two blocks of a prefractal graph are called adjacent blocks, if there exists an edge whose vertices belong to different blocks. It does not require proof that the blocks of a prefractal graph are adjacent if and only if their inverse images from (2) are adjacent. (1) We call block Bl,s , s = 1, nl−1 , of the first rank of prefractal graph Gl , l = 1, L (l)
(l)
from the trajectory as seed subgraph zs . Successive selection of seed subgraph zs on graphs G1 , G2 , ..., GL from the trajectory of prefractal graph GL splits set of edges EL (l) into disjoint subsets of seed subgraphs Z(GL ) = {zs }, where l = 1, L, is the rank of l−1 the seed subgraph, and s = 1, n is its serial number. Such splitting into subsets will allow to preserve information about the adjacency of old edges at the time they appear in the prefractal graph. Transition from graph Gl−1 to Gl in the trajectory is done through |Vl−1 | = nl−1 VRS operations. Therefore, the total number of seeds used in generating L −1 prefractal graph GL is 1 + n + n2 + ... + nL−1 = nn−1 . Then the cardinality of set Z(GL )
−1 . of all seed subgraphs from the trajectory of graph GL is also |Z(GL )| = nn−1 (l) Prefractal graph GL = (VL , EL ) is called weighted if for each edge e ∈ EL there is a real number w(e(l) ) ∈ (θ l−1 a, θ l−1 b), where l = 1, L is the rank of the edge, a > 0, and θ < ab . L
3 Model At the core of a large-scale transport network model is the principle of a hierarchical organization of territories. We will show an example of a transport network on a map of Russian roads (see Fig. 1). We look at the map of the road network in the following order, starting with a larger scale, for example, on a national scale, and ending with a smaller scale, for example, a city or settlement. In the study of a large-scale transport network across the country, we will consider, at the first stage, roads linking federal districts. At this stage, highways and federal roads are considered as motorways. At the second stage, on the scale of districts, we consider the roads connecting the constituent entities (oblasts, republics, territories) of districts. Further, at the third stage, when zooming out, the roads connecting certain areas of a selected district are considered sequentially. Similarly, when considering a transportation network on a district scale, we are only interested in roads connecting the settlements of this region. At the last stage, roads are considered at the scale of settlements.
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The process of considering a transport network structure in this order is reminiscent of the trajectory of constructing a prefractal graph generated by a seed set H = {H1 , H2 , ..., Ht , ..., HT } (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. An example of a road map represented by a prefractal graph G2 of rank L = 2. Bold edges are edges of rank L = 1 (federal highways), the remaining edges belong to rank L = 2 (roads of federal subjects).
In studying a transport network across a country, a graph or, in the general case, a multigraph, whose vertices correspond to large territorial units (regions, federal districts) is selected as a seed. Roads connecting the selected territorial units serve as edges. 3.1 Multiple Objective Functions Let weighted prefractal graph GL = (VL , EL ) generated by seed H = (W , Q) be given. On feasible solution set (FSS) X = X (GL ) = {x}, x = (V , Ex ), Ex ⊆ EL consisting of all kinds of coverings of weighted prefractal graph GL by simple intersecting chains, a vector-valued objective function (VVOF) is defined as follows: F(X ) = {F(x) = (F1 (x), F2 (x), F3 (x), F4 (x), F5 (x)), x ∈ X } F1 (x) = where
e∈Ex
e∈Ex
w(e) → min
(4) (5)
w(e) is sum of all edges included in covering x; F2 (x) = min w(Ck ) → max,
(6)
k=1,K
where w(Ck ) is length of the maximal chain from covering x ∈ {C1 , C2 , ..., Ck , ..., CK }. F3 (x) = N (x) → min,
(7)
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where N (x) is number of all maximal chains in covering x; F4 (x) = i → min, for any mixed chain C i from covering x. F5 (x) = ρx (u, v) − ρGL (u, v) → min,
(8)
(9)
where ρx (u, v) is the distance (between any vertices u, v ∈ VL ) passing through the edges belonging to covering x, while ρGL (u, v) is the distance between any vertices u, v ∈ VL in graph GL . The result of solving problems of multicriteria discrete optimization is the selection of a set of incomparable alternatives, which can be reduced by methods of decision theory. This identification can be reduced through decision-making theory methods. The set of alternatives include: FSS X; sets of incomparable alternatives called Pareto sets X˜ ; full set of alternatives X 0 , X 0 ⊆ X˜ , which is minimal in terms of cardinality, i.e. 0 0 X : F X = F X˜ . Inclusion X 0 ⊆ X˜ ⊆ X is true for them. The main problem in solving multicriteria discrete optimization problems lies with finding effective search algorithms for a set of alternatives. Each of criteria (5)−(9) is a formal parameter that has strict interpretation as applied to transport systems. Criterion (5) factors in the costs incurred by passengers and the authorities that are managing the transport system. During operation, costs should be minimal. Criterion (6) reflects the location of passenger transport routes with the largest number of nodes in its chain. A covering containing maximal chains is optimal for this criterion. To get to the desired node of the transport system with the least number of transfers, the total number of routes in the system needs to be reduced. Criterion (7) is aimed at this. Important features of the transport system are the locality and differentiation of its routes. Intra-regional (city, intra-district) transport routes should be shorter in length and smaller in weight in order to ensure locality. This simplifies the process of administering a transport system at a certain level (district, city, etc.). Interregional routes are longer and has more weight. Differentiation is understood as the separation of routes (based on their functions) into inter-regional and intra-regional. At the intersection of intra-regionality and inter-regionality, differentiation may be violated, i.e. the functionality of the route may deteriorate. Criterion (8) in vector-valued target function (4) is responsible for preventing such situations in the operation of the transport system. Mixed chain Ck is a route model combining both functions – intra-regional and inter-regional – since its old edges connect the blocks and seed subgraphs of prefractal graph GL , which correspond to the maps of the roads of districts, cities, etc. When operating a transport system, it is often required that the final destination will be reached with the least number of stops. Criterion (9) reflects these requirements on construction of such routes. Certain costs and restrictions for vehicles moving along the nodes of the transport system may correspond to the weights of the edges of prefractal graph GL . 3.2 Algorithm Let’s consider a weighted prefractal graph GL = (VL ,EL ), generated by seed H = (W , Q) for which |W | = n.
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The β1 algorithm constructs minimum spanning tree (MST) T = (VL , ET ) on graph GL .
(l)
The essence of this algorithm is as follows. Each seed subgraph zs , l= 1, L, s = (l) (l) l−1 1, n , from set Z(GL ) is considered as a separate graph. Its MST Ts = Vs , ET (l) s
nL −1 n−1
seed subgraphs independent of each other. is located successively on each of the The search for the MST of a single seed subgraph is done through Prim’s algorithm [11]. Generally speaking, any algorithm can be used to search for MST. Prim’s algorithm is (l) used in the β1 algorithm as a procedure. Finding the MST of all seed subgraphs zs allows to construct the MST of prefractal graph GL . Each edge of the prefractal graph has its own unique number, which uniquely identifies the edge in the entire trajectory. If necessary, this number can be used to determine which of the seed subgraphs the selected edge belongs to and which blocks of the prefractal graph this selected edge belongs to. Thus, constructing the MST of seed subgraph (l) zs will correspond to selecting the set of edges on prefractal graph GL . ALGORITHM β1 Input: weighted prefractal graph GL = (VL , EL ). Output: MST T = (VL , ET ).
(l) Step 1. Construct a set of seed subgraphs Z(GL ) = zs , l = 1, L, s = 1, nl−1 for prefractal graph GL . In accordance with constructed set Z(GL ), number all the edges of prefractal graph GL . (l) l−1 Step 2. Alternately on all seeds zs ,l = 1, L, s = 1, n , select minimum spanning (l) (l) trees Ts = Vs , ET (l) , l = 1, L, s = 1, nl−1 from set Z(GL ) using Prim’s algorithm. s L −1 (l) (l) MSTs consisting of Ts = Vs , ET (l) , Step 3. At the output of step 2, a set of nn−1 s
l = 1, L, s = 1, nl−1 , which in combination make up MST T = (VL , ET ) is obtaned.
4 Theoretical Results Theorem 1. The computational complexity of algorithm β1 that constructs MST T = (VL , ET ) on prefractal graph GL = (VL , EL) generated by seed H = (W , Q) where |W | = n, |VL | = N = nL , is equal to O Nn2 . represents multiple execution of step 2. Step 2 Proof. The β1 algorithm essentially will require performing O n2 operations on each seed subgraph – the computational L −1 complexity of Prim’s algorithm). In total, k · O n2 operations, k = nn−1 , will be performed. L −1 · n2 = O nL · n2 = O Nn2 . Then, O k · n2 = O nn−1 Hence the computational complexity of the β1 algorithm is equal to O Nn2 . N OTE 1. By comparing the computational complexity of Prim’s algorithm with the computational complexity of the β1 algorithm on prefractal graph GL , we get. O N 2 < O Nn2 . The computational complexity of the β1 algorithm is less than the computational complexity of Prim’s algorithm by nL−2 times.
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Theorem 2. The β1 algorithm constructs MST T = (VL , ET ) on prefractal graph GL = (VL , EL ) generated by seed H = (W , Q), where |W | = n, |VL | = N = nL .
(l) (l) Proof. The β1 algorithm finds a set of minimum spanning trees Ts = Vs , ET (l) , s
(l) l−1 l = 1, L, s = 1, n on prefractal graph GL . Let’s prove that the set Ts forms MST T = (VL , ET ) of prefractal graph GL . (L) (L) Spanning trees (STs) Ts , s = 1, nL−1 selected on seed subgraphs zs form a components. spanning forest on prefractal graph GL , which consists of nL−1 connected
(1) In this case, connected components are STs selected on blocks BL . (L−1)
(L−1)
Further, STs Ts , s = 1, nL−2 selected on seed subgraphs zs form nL−2 connected components. More specifically, each in conjunction with previously
component, (1) (2) selected edges (STs selected on blocks BL ), will be the STs of blocks BL , and they are nL−2 in number. Strictly following in the reasoning behind the drawn line, we obtain that STs selected (2) on seed subgraphs zs together with the previously found STs,
form n connected compo(L−1) . And, finally, the ST of seed nents. Each component will represent STs of block BL (1)
subgraph z1 binds n covering components of prefractal graph GL into one connected component – spanning tree T = (VL , ET ) of prefractal graph GL . On the other hand, according to the weighting rule for the prefractal graph, the weight of any edge of rank (l − 1), l = 2, L, is less than the weight of any edge of (L) rank l. Therefore, selecting the MSTs on seed subgraphs zs is enough for obtaining the MST of prefractal graph GL , which is what the β1 algorithm does. Indeed, if in spanning subgraph = (VL , ET ), any lower-rank edge is replaced by a higher-rank edge, then the resulting spanning covering will «weigh» more. Thus, connected spanning subgraph T = (VL , ET ) obtainedfrom the β1 algorithm, (l) (l) by virtue of construction (by the algorithm) of MST Ts = Vs , ET (l) , l = 1, L, s
s = 1, nl−1 , is MST T = (VL , ET ) of prefractal graph GL . Obviously, for any weighted graph, prefractal graph including, among all spanning subgraphs, the spanning tree of minimum weight, will be the smallest in weight. Therefore, MST T = (VL , ET ) constructed on a prefractal graph by the β1 algorithm is a feasible solution x1 = T = (VL , ET ) ∈ X optimizing criterion (5), F1 (x1 ) = min, VVOF (4)–(9). For the remaining criteria (6)–(9), the optimality of the x1 covering is not obvious. Therefore, it is reasonable to give estimates for some of these criteria. Criterion (9) is a topological criterion. Without loss of generality, we give the upper bound of the estimate of the values of function F5 (x1 ) by max max ρx1 (u, v) – the largest {x1 } u,v∈x1
chain among all possible coverings {x1 }. For any n-vertex graph G = (V , E), the ST with the longest length (i.e., the number of edges in the chain) – among all its STs {T = (V , ET )} – is a Hamiltonian chain [12], and it is n − 1 in length. In turn, for prefractal graph GL , generated by n-vertex seed H , its Hamiltonian chain is nL − 1 in length. Consequently, the length of Hamiltonian chain
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of the prefractal graph minus one (the ends of the Hamiltonian chain may turn out to be adjacent vertices) is the upper bound of the estimate, by the fifth VVOF criterion. max max ρx1 (u, v) − 1 = nL − 2, {x1 } u,v∈x1
N OTE 2. Generally speaking, the found upper bound of the estimate by criterion (6) for the x1 covering is attainable, obviously on a Hamiltonian prefractal graph, that is, on a prefractal graph that has a Hamiltonian cycle [12]. It is a Hamiltonian prefractal graph, if it satisfies the following two conditions: first, the seed by which the prefractal graph is generated is Hamiltonian-connected; secondly, the old edges in the prefractal graph do not intersect in the trajectory [6]. If prefractal graph GL is generated by seed H – a tree, then it is itself a tree (a prefractal tree). Therefore, between any pair of its vertices, there is a single chain. Then the β1 algorithm on prefractal tree GL will find the entire prefractal graph GL as covering x1 . In this case, the lower bound of the estimate, according to the fifth VVOF criterion (4)–(9), will be zero. Earlier, when searching for the upper bound of the estimate by criterion F5 (x) for the x1 covering of prefractal graph GL , it was shown how the Hamiltonian chain of this prefractal graph is constructed, and under what conditions does it exist. Any tree x1 = T = (VL , ET ) with two terminal vertices [2], which is a Hamiltonian chain, has only one simple chain that is not contained in any other simple chain. Then, if covering x1 of prefractal graph GL coincides with its Hamiltonian chain, then N (x1 ) = 1. Hence, N (x1 ) ≥ 1 is the lower attainable bound for the estimate by the third criterion (6). This reasoning is summarized below. Lemma 1. If MST x1 = T = (VL , ET ) constructed by the β1 algorithm on prefractal graph GL = (VL , EL ) coincides with the Hamiltonian chain of this prefractal graph then the x1 covering is optimal simultaneously by criteria F1 (x) and F3 (x): F10 (x1 ) = min F1 (x), F30 (x1 ) = min F3 (x). x∈X
x∈X
For any tree D, the number of its maximal chains N (D) depends on the number of its terminal vertices N (D) = Cm2 = m(m−1) , where m is the number of terminal vertices 2 of tree D. Among all the trees, star K1,n , has the largest number of terminal vertices. 2 = (n−1)(n−2) . Similarly, The number of its maximal chains is equal to N K1,n = Cn−1 2 the number of maximal chains N (x1 ) of cover x1 = T = (VL , ET ) of prefractal graph GL = (VL , EL ) (generated by n-vertex seed star H = K1,n ) cannot be greater than N (x1 ) ≤ nL−1 (n − 1). This boundary is achievable on a seed star-generated prefractal graph for which the adjacency of its old edges in the trajectory is not violated. Such a prefractal graph has nL−1 seed subgraphs, and n − 1 terminal vertices in each of them. So, N (x1 ) ≤ nL−1 (n − 1) is the upper bound under the F3 (x) criterion for covering x1 . A generalization of all the studies carried out to find estimates for the criteria from VVOF (4)−(9), which are not optimized by the covering selected by the β1 algorithm, underlies the proof of the following theorem. Theorem 3. The β1 algorithm selects covering x1 = T = (VL , ET ) on prefractal graph GL = (VL , EL ), generated by n-vertex seed H = (W , Q), optimal by first criterion
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F10 (x1 ) = min F1 (x), and evaluated by the following two F3 (x1 ) ∈ 1; nL−1 (n − 1) , x∈X and F5 (x1 ) ∈ 0; nL − 2 .
5 Conclusion The task of route planning in a large-scale transport network can be reduced to the problem of prefractal graph covering with simple intersecting chains in a multi-criteria setting. The advantage of using prefractal graphs when modeling a large-scale transport network is that applying algorithms on them can significantly reduce computational complexity. The algorithm that was constructed in this paper was built on canonical prefractal graphs that were generated by a single seed. However, these algorithms can also, in the same way, be implemented for noncanonical graphs on which real applied problems are modeled. Another important feature of prefractal graphs is that algorithms are easily parallelized on them [13].
References 1. Comtois, C., Slack, B., Rodrigue, J.-P.: The geography of transport systems, 3rd edn. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, London (2013) 2. Bast, H., Delling, D., Goldberg, A., Muller-Hannemann, M., Pajor, T., Sanders, P., Wagner, D., Werneck, R.F.: Route planning in transportation networks. arXiv:1504.05140v1 [cs.DS] (2015) 3. Gross, J.L., Yellen, J.: Handbook of graph theory. CRC (2003) 4. Emelichev, V.A., Perepelitza, V.A.: Complex of vector optimization problems on graphs. Optimization 22(6), 903–918 (1991) 5. Kochkarov, A.A., Kochkarov, R.A., Malinetskii, G.G.: Issues of dynamic graph theory. Comput. Math. Math. Phys. 55(9), 1590–1596 (2015) 6. Kochkarov, A., Perepelitsa V.: Fractal graphs and their properties. In: International Congress of Mathematicians, Berlin, p. 347 (1998) 7. Perepelitsa, V.A., Sergienko, I.V., Kochkarov, A.M.: Recognition of fractal graphs. Cybern Syst Anal 35(4), 572–585 (1999) 8. Skums, P., Bunimovich L.: Graph fractal dimension and structure of fractal networks: a combinatorial perspective. arXiv:1912.11385 [math.CO] (2019) 9. Dorogovtsev, S.N., Mendes, J.F.F.: Evolution of Networks: From Biological Nets to the Internet and WWW. Oxford U. Press, New York (2003) 10. Sanjeev, A., Boaz, B.: Computational Complexity: A Modern Approach. Cambridge University Press (2009) 11. Kenneth, R.: Discrete mathematics and its applications. (7th ed.) McGraw-Hill Science, p. 798 (2011) 12. Swamy, M.N.S., Thulasiraman, K.: Graphs, networks, and algorithms. Wiley (1981) 13. Kochkarov, A.A., Kochkarov, R.A.: A parallel algorithm for searching for the shortest path on prefractal graphs. Comput. Math. Math. Phys. 44(6), 1088–1092 (2004)
Applying an Adaptation of the Prado Project Management Maturity Model in an Academic Context Ana Araújo(B) and Pedro Ribeiro Department of Information Systems, Centre ALGORITMI, University of Minho, 4804-533 Guimarães, Portugal [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract. The organization’s strategy of a company is determinant in its performance. The need to develop methodologies to evaluate the performance of projects in organizations has a strong contribution to the development of maturity models. The lack of knowledge of these maturity models causes organizations to experience problems in the development and improvement of their project management processes. The main objective of this article is to adapt and apply a maturity model to assess the evolution of the maturity of project management practices in development teams in an academic environment. The Prado Project Management Maturity Model was applied to the project teams of the curricular subjects Development of Computer Applications of the second academic year and Information Systems and Technologies Project of the fourth academic year of the Integrated Masters in Engineering and Management of Information Systems course at the University of Minho. Through the application of the model, it was possible to compare the maturity between the two curricular units and to verify the effectiveness of the learning methods and strategies, and results in project management competencies throughout the course. Keywords: Project management · Maturity models · Project management maturity models
1 Introduction Project management delivers success and can bring additional value. The lack of it exposes teams to chaotic management, unclear objectives, poor quality deliverables, noncompliance of deadline times, and over budget targets. Prince 2 defines project management as “planning, delegating, monitoring and controlling of all aspects of the project, and motivation of those involved, to achieve the project objectives within the performance targets, time, cost, quality, scope, benefits, and risks” [1]. Every organization wants to achieve excellence in projects. The basis for achieving excellence in project management is best described by Maturity Models in Project Management, which are composed of stages that describe different levels of maturity on project management [2]. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 350–359, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_34
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Maturity models are being increasingly applied within the field of Information Systems, as an informed approach for continuous improvement. In IT management, maturity models have proved to be an important instrument because they allow for better positioning of the organization and help find better solutions [3]. In this sense, this article is motivated to provide a simplification about Maturity in IT Project Management teams based on specific studied models such as CMMI and Prado Project Management Model. This article starts with the presentation of the importance of maturity in project management. In section two, we present a literature review on relevant concepts to the research such as project management, CMMI, and Prado Project Management Model, including some implementation cases. Then we describe our research methodology. Next, we describe our proposal of applying an adaptation of the Prado Project Management Maturity Model in an academic context. Finally, we discuss the paper’s contribution.
2 Literature Review 2.1 Project Management Project Management is a necessary discipline within corporations, which involves planning, organizing, tracking, and controlling company resources to complete specific goals and objectives. These goals could be the development or production of unique products, services, or some metrics improvements, all of which are expected to deliver additional value. Through project management, activities, and processes are conducted using various tools, skills, knowledge, methodologies, and techniques to meet the requirements of the project. The main goal of project management is to ensure that the objectives of the project are achieved within specific constraints [4]. The basic project management terms are defined not only by the project management theory but also by the international project management standards. The basic project management standards include PMI, Prince2, and IPMA. Similarly, all these standards particularly point out the temporariness of a project and uniqueness of the outcome project implementation brings [5]. Since there are still projects that fail due to poor management, including the applicability of project management tools and techniques, project management provides better development of their projects to ensure better management of the resources, within time, cost, and quality constraints. It is therefore imperative that the project team and especially the project manager have not only the necessary skills but also the best tools to help them get it right the first time [6]. Project manager and their teams face increasing challenges as projects become more complex, due to, for example, increasing technological evolution, multidisciplinary and globalization, along with increasing competitiveness. A successful project needs people with the skills and knowledge of working together. A well-managed team with clear roles, responsibilities will carry a project to its conclusion without compromising on time, cost, and quality [7].
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2.2 CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is a model for integrating capacity maturity establishing a guide to be used in the development of the processes’ organizations. CMMI was developed to integrate the various Capability Maturity Models (CMM) into a single improvement framework. The purpose of CMMI is to provide improvements for organizations’ processes and the ability to manage the development, acquisition, and maintenance of products and services. CMMI was created for two basic objectives, which are to guide process improvement efforts in software development organizations, and to help identify skilled and qualified organizations to perform software work. CMMI Institute released CMMI V2.0, as an evolution of the CMMI, and this upgrade has impact changes in four main areas: focus on performance; integrated agile with scrum, safety, and security; value-added appraisal; and easier to use and access [8]. To decide which CMMI model best fits each organization, it must be selected a representation, either continuous or staged. A staged representation provides a sequence of improvements, each serving as a foundation to the next. It permits comparisons across and among organizations by using different maturity levels, providing better appraisal results. A staged representation provides a strategy for the organization, a structured path towards continuous improvement, indicating one-step at a time, which are the maturity levels. While in a continuous representation, it is expected that the model allows selecting the order of improvement that best meets the organization’s business objectives. The continuous representation consists of the same process areas as the staged representation; however, no process area is assigned to a certain maturity level. Instead, they are assigned to a capacity level [8, 9]. CMMI is constituted by five maturity levels: initial; managed; defined; quantitatively managed; optimized. The first level is the level where the processes are unpredictable and poorly controlled. It represents the absence of defined and stable processes for the development and maintenance of software. The second level assures that the basic project management processes are established and documented, allowing to monitor variables such as time, cost, and effort. In the third level of maturity, the software processes are standardized and documented, following an organizational standard. Therefore, every project follows an approved and adapted version of the organization’s standard software development process. This improves the organization’s productivity. The fourth level is monitored by detailed and consistent measures. The processes’ quality and performance are managed and understood in statistical terms. At this level, the process is measured, and these measures provide input to feed their processes. The optimized level focus on continuous process and technology improvement. Process and technology improvements are already planned and managed, and its purpose is to optimize the organization’s overall activity [10]. 2.3 Prado Project Management Maturity Model The Prado Project Management Maturity Model (Prado-PMMM) was developed in 2002 by Darci Prado in partnership with Russel Archibald. The Prado-PMMM was based on the CMMI model and has the objective to evaluate the maturity of an organization’s
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department, such as engineering, information technology, product development, and many more. The maturity levels of the model are initial, known, developed, standardized, managed, and optimized. The Initial level demonstrates a total misalignment between the project’s stakeholders and project management practices. The Known level represents the awakening of project management. It involves an introduction in project management and the use of necessary tools. The Standardized level represents a situation where project management has been implemented. It involves the existence of project management practices and consequently an evolution in skills. The Managed level represents the situation where project management is an incorporated tool for every activity and runs naturally in the department/organization/team. At the Optimized level, there is a total alignment between the project’s stakeholders and project management practices. This level provides the practice of continuous improvement, and technological and process innovation [11] (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Prado Project Management Maturity Levels [12].
Prado PMMM dimensions, or fundamental aspects, together with the maturity levels, provide a better maturity assessment. The progression through the five levels is based on seven dimensions. The first dimension, Project Management Competence, represents the basic knowledge in project management applied throughout the organization. The Technical and Contextual Competence dimension, people involved in this area must be competent in technical aspects of the product/service as well as on aspects of the organization. The Behavioral Competence dimension aims to provide the improvement of interpersonal relationships, minimizing the daily conflicts between the project’s stakeholders. People must be competent in behavioral aspects such as leadership, organization, motivation, and negotiation.
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At the Methodology dimension, it is presented a definition of a unique methodology for the organization, as well as the use of methods, techniques, and tools, for example, the PMBoK Guide. At the Computerization dimension, relevant aspects of the methodology must be computerized, and the process must be easy to follow. A computerized system is the repository of the planning and monitoring data of each project. At the Strategic Alignment dimension, the alignment of the organization’s current and future projects, along with its strategic objectives, are the main focus of this dimension. It is necessary a strategic alignment because it defines functions, rules, and regulate relationships between project managers and the various areas of the organization involved with projects. The Organizational Structure consists of structuring an appropriate organizational system that focuses on maximizing results and minimizing conflicts. It consists of an appropriate structure for project management simultaneously with the structure of the organization [13]. Through the application of a forty-question questionnaire, Prado-PMMM quantifies a value for the maturity of the organization’s project management, as well as obtaining a perception of the development in each of the five levels of maturity. The model relates the results obtained with the dimensions of the model, assigning a percentage value to each dimension. This model is not restricted to the resulting data provided by the assessment. Such results are the basis for a growth plan. In parallel with the model, the author provides studied information on the Brazilian scenario in project management, which is updated annually and includes various business areas. This fact makes it possible for organizations to orient themselves and set goals for their future growth [14].
3 Research Methodology The methodology presented in this work is the Case Study. The purpose of a Case Study is to gather detailed and systematic information about a phenomenon, focusing on understanding the dynamics of the real context that allows broad and detailed knowledge. To discuss the Case Study strategy three aspects must be considered: the nature of the experience, the knowledge that intends to achieve and the possibility of generalizing studies using the method [15]. Each stage of the methodology consists of procedures recommended in the literature. For this work, the objectives and purpose of the study were to verify the project teams’ maturity growth, to compare the maturity in project management between the Development of Computer Application project teams and Information Systems and Technologies Project teams, and to verify the effectiveness of the learning methods and results in project management competencies throughout the course. The data was collected by the distribution of questionnaires through the project managers. After that, the data was analyzed, and it was possible to deliver conclusions and recommendations bases on the evidence [16]. This case study is predominantly qualitative, despite the use of quantitative techniques. The quantitative approach supplies statistical treatment for the data obtained, thus providing greater knowledge of details. The quantitative method is the most adequate
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for the proposed work since it is primarily concerned with increasing the understanding of an area, rather than producing an explanation for it [17]. This work is a Descriptive study. The descriptive research aims to describe the characteristics of a population or phenomenon or the establishment of a relationship between variables, such as situations, events, attitudes, or opinions. This type of research is used to achieve the objective of the work since it identifies the characteristics of a researched population based on the practices in project management [15].
4 Description of the Case Study The present work carried out a project management maturity assessment of the two course subjects of Integrated Master’s in Engineering and Management of Information Systems, and the respective comparison between them. The course subjects are Development of Computer Applications (DCA) and Information Systems and Technologies Project (ISTP). This project used as the main data collection tool an adapted questionnaire from the model of the Prado Project Management Maturity Model. The original maturity questionnaire consists of forty questions and is divided into four groups, ten questions per level. Each group is related to each level of maturity. The questionnaire consists of twenty-four questions that were adapted to the context of this project. According to Prado, level 1 is not in the questionnaire because it is the initial stage of maturity, it represents a very bad performance scenario. Level 5 of maturity is also not considered in this present study because it is the excellence in project management performance. The study sample is academic context IT projects, so the students do not have experience enough to achieve such level, therefore the fifth level was irrelevant and not appropriate for this case study. The project had the participation of twenty-nine project manager students who answered the questionnaire on maturity in project management. According to Prado, the adherence to maturity levels is measured through points. The adherence should be interpreted as: until 20 points- very low; until 40 points- low; until 75- regular; until 90- good; until 100- great. According to Prado, the Final Assessment Maturity vary from 1 to 5. The adherence for the questionnaire maturity levels of DCA are 62.375 points for Level 2, 69.375 points for Level 3, and 0 points for Level 4. Therefore, according to the following equation of Prado, the Final Maturity Assessment is 2.318, being at Level 2 of overall maturity. Final Maturity Assessment =
(100 + Total of Points Obtained ) 100
Being at Level 2 of maturity represents the awakening to the subject project management. The main characteristic of this effort was to introduce a common language of project management through training. This training involves introductory knowledge of project management and software tools, isolated initiatives for planning and monitoring projects, and the awareness of the importance of implementing and follow a standard methodology. At this stage, it can be concluded that the students have started to invest in knowledge in project management and its respective competencies, to lead to the creation
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of a new culture in project management. However, there is no sustainability of constant results due to these initiatives are dispersed and not a standardized methodology. The adherence points of maturity levels of ISTP are 79 for Level 2, 87.105 for Level 3, and 72.829 for Level 4. Therefore, the Final Maturity Assessment is 3.389, being at level 3 of maturity according to the equation above. Being at Level 3 represents a scenario in which a standardized methodology for project management is implemented and in use. For a team to be at a level 3 of maturity it means that along with the methodology being implemented, the computerization is also implemented; it is measured the performance of closed and previous projects; and there is an advance in the consolidation of project, technical, and contextual competencies. Perhaps, the major benefit of this level is the greater predictability of the project’s teams in terms of achieving their goals. At this stage of maturity, it is notable the existence of a developed, implemented, tested and in use methodology. In addition to the maturity level assessment, it is calculated the index of adherence to organizational dimensions. According to Prado, the maturity dimensions follows the same numerical patterns as maturity levels, but it is measured through percentages instead of points. The following figure shows an analysis of the adherence for each dimension in the Prado Project Management Maturity Model (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. Results of the general Adherence of Maturity Dimensions
From the data analysed it is possible to observe the expected growth between the second-year curricular unit DCA and the fourth-year curricular unit ISTP. Through the individual analysis of each dimension, it is possible a better interpretation of the results. The Project Management shows a good diffusion between knowledge and standardized practices of project management (common language). The values represent good capacity, by the project management team members, related to the knowledge areas and processes, such as PMBoK. Their capacities are much more developed in ISTP, showing
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that the teams know the concepts and properly apply the practices of project management. While DCA teams need to make more efforts to improve these skills, but despite the lower average maturity, it shows good results about its maturity level. The Technical and Contextual Competence of ISTP presents a good percentage of adherence to all levels. The lower results from DCA represent the teams are training in technical and contextual competencies, yet these competencies are not properly applied in the project development and the initiatives are isolated. The ISTP results represent the teams invested in training and evolved their knowledge and experience in technical aspects related to the project being developed, such as technologies and information systems, as well as related to contextual aspects, such as methodologies and organizational processes. The impact of low adherence to the Behavioral Competence dimension is a critical factor that needs improvement since the interpersonal relations have a great impact on maturity growth. ISTP behavioral competence shows that project managers and their teams are aware of the importance of behavioral competence. The results demonstrate a concern around the ability of the team to communicate, to lead, to motivate and, to solve daily conflicts. This improvement reflects greater results than DCA results. The Methodology percentage of ISTP is noticeably superior to DCA. Currently, the methodology practically used by ISTP is PMBoK. The use of a methodology is very important for the maturity growth and the project’s success, and it is evident when comparing the two curricular units, one with isolated initiatives towards a methodology understanding and implementation, and the other with an implemented and in use methodology. Through this comparison, it is possible to see an increased maturity, since teams are better prepared to be involved in the entire cycle of development, implementing, and monitoring project activities. The Computerization dimension is directly related to the methodology. Together with the methodology, the computerization represents an added value. Thus, the management of project activities and information through computerizations needs an implemented methodology. For this reason, the results obtained from DCA are lower than ISTP because the initiatives for computerization are dispersed and isolated. While in ISTP, the relevant aspects of the methodology are computerized, the system is friendly to users, and supports decision-making. Both DCA and ITSP show good adherence to Strategic Alignment, according to the level of maturity they are. The projects are strategically aligned with the course and the university because of the academic environment they are in, being necessarily aligned with the objectives. The project management teams and monitored and influenced by the professors, guaranteeing good strategic alignment of the projects. To increase maturity in Strategic Alignment, the projects must have the methodology computerized and the current organizational structure must be adequate. This is the main difference between DCA and ISTP results. The Organizational Structure dimension shows regular adherence percentages to DCA and good adherence to ISTP. The stakeholders involved in this case study are the project managers, the team members of the project, the curricular unit professors, the director of the course, and other entities of the University of Minho. Both course units’ projects are organizational structured since the projects are developed in an academic
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environment and the curricular unit professors are monitoring the projects, providing guidance and support. According to the answers of the questionnaire, in DCA the variance of the values of Organizational Structure dimension corresponds to the questions directly related to the project teams, such as the lack of an organizational structure autonomy by the project manager; and the lack of correct team roles defined for each member inside the project teams.
5 Conclusions In this paper, through the application of an adapted version of the Prado Project Management Maturity Model, it was possible to compare the maturity of project management teams in an educational context. The application of the questionnaire is relevant not only to identify the maturity levels, but also to identify the maturity dimensions in project management, which contributes to a growth plan to achieve excellence in project management. The main goal of this work was to provide as assessment of maturity between the Development of Computer Applications from the second year of the course and the Information Systems and Technologies Project of the fourth year of the Integrated Masters in Engineering and Management of Information Systems of the University of Minho. It was possible to conclude the results were the expected, showing and increase maturity for ISTP rather than DCA. DCA is at Level 2 of maturity with an overall assessment of 2.318 and ISTP is at Level 3 with an overall assessment of 3.389. The dimensions with less adherence indicate the weakest aspects in project management university teams, which prioritize attention to maturity growth. These weaknesses are presented to the professors as a suggestion do re-design the course. About future work, based on the lessons learned in this research it is suggested to develop improvement plans and growth strategies. Another suggestion is to assess the maturity of projects from other courses in university which do not have project management subjects in the course, because they have no knowledge of project management practices. Acknowledgement. This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020.
References 1. Kerzner, H.: Strategic planning for a project office. https://doi.org/10.1177/875697280303 400203 2. de Souza, T.F., Gomes, C.F.S.: Assessment of maturity in project management: a bibliometric study of main models. Procedia Comput. Sci. 55, 92–101 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j. procs.2015.07.012 3. Becker, J., Knackstedt, R.: Becker2009_Article_DevelopingMaturityModelsForITM.pdf. (2009) file:///C:/Users/Utilizador/Downloads/Becker2009_Article_DevelopingMaturity ModelsForITM.pdf
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4. Beukers, M.W.: Project management of life-science research projects: project characteristics, challenges and training needs. Drug Discovery Today 16(3–4), 93–98 (2011). https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.drudis.2010.11.015 5. Wideman, R.M.: First principles of project management (2009). file:///C:/Users/Utilizador/Downloads/first_principles2.pdf 6. Tereso, A., Ribeiro, P., Fernandes, G., Loureiro, I., Ferreira, M.: Project management practices in private organizations. Proj. Manag. J. 50(1), 1–17 (2019) 7. Murray-Webster, R., Dalcher, D.: Association for project management. APM body of knowledge (2019) 8. Team, CMMI Product: Capability maturity model® integration (CMMI), version 1.1-continuous representation. Carnegie Mellon University. Journal Contribution (2018). https:// doi.org/10.1184/R1/6572141.v1 9. Huang, S.-J., Han, W.-M.: Selection priority of PA based on CMMI continuous representation. Inf. Manag. 43(3), 297–307 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2005.08.003 10. Amorim, C., Cardoso, C., Massa, M.: O impacto do CMM / CMMI na qualidade do S/w: um estudo sobre a perceção dos profissionais de TIC. 119 (2009) 11. Prado, D., Archibald, R.D.: Introduction of maturity in project management. PM World J. 3(1), 1–14 (2014). https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/pmwj18-jan201 4Archibald-Prado-Introduction-MaturitySeriesArticle1.pdf 12. Prado, D., Archibald, R.D.: Foundations of prado (2014). https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-con tent/uploads/2014/03/pmwj20-Mar2014-Archibald-Prado-Foundations-Prado-PMMM-Mat uritySeriesArticle3.pdf 13. Prado, D.: Foundations of prado PM maturity model. 12 (2014) 14. Prado, D., Archibald, R.: Pesquisa sobre maturidade em gerenciamento de projetos (2006) 15. Freitas, W.R.S.: Utilizando estudo de caso(s) como estratégia de pesquisa qualitativa: boas práticas e sugestões. 18(2), 16 (2011) 16. Tellis, W.M.: Application of a case study methodology. Qual. Report 3(3), 1–9 (1997) 17. Castro, N.M., Coimbra, T., Martins, A.M., Martins, O.: Case studying educational research: a way of looking at reality. Am. J. Educ. Res. 1, 391–395 (2013). https://doi.org/10.12691/ education-1-9-7
A Blockchain-Based Loyalty Program for a Smart City Zorica Bogdanovi´c1(B) , Aleksandra Labus1 , Miloš Radenkovi´c2 , Snežana Popovi´c2 , Svetlana Mitrovi´c3 , and Marijana Despotovi´c-Zraki´c1 1 Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
{zorica,aleksandra,maja}@elab.rs 2 School of Computing, Union University, Belgrade, Serbia
{mradenkovic,spopovic}@raf.rs 3 Project Management College, Belgrade, Serbia
[email protected]
Abstract. The subject of this paper is the development of a loyalty program based on blockchain, tailored for the application in smart cities. The goal is to propose a collaborative loyalty scheme that would enable consumers to collect loyalty points across a smart city, through traditional buying of products and services from partners, but also through participating in different collaborative activities, such as crowdsourcing, crowdsensing or crowdvoting. Additionally, the points can be spent across the smart city with any of the partners. In the paper, we give details on the business model for the proposed loyalty scheme and present a prototype of the implementation on the Hyperledger Fabric platform. We discuss the advantages of the proposed loyalty program and give implications for different stakeholders. Keywords: Loyalty program · Blockchain · Smart contracts · Smart city · Crowdsensing
1 Introduction Loyalty programs are structural marketing methods used by companies in order to improve user collaboration and gather additional user data. This improvement in collaboration and customization fueled by user data is instrumental in ensuring the loyalty of returning customers [1, 2]. Today, loyalty programs as a marketing tool are becoming more and more widespread and diverse in their purpose. The main premise of the loyalty programs is to offer enrollment in the program in return for user data. Through enrollment the users are often issued a card, which they can use to achieve certain benefits in online or offline shopping, these benefits often come in the form of points which can be redeemed for rewards, frequently in the form of product discounts. The main appeal, apart from being awarded for spending, is the fact that enrollment in these programs is free for the users. Loyalty programs can be collaborative, in the sense that multiple companies can pool their separate loyalty programs into a single larger loyalty program. By using this collaborative program, high-quality service can be supplemented with additional compatible © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 360–370, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_35
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products or services from other companies [1]. For this reason, collaborative programs have proven to be more effective when compared to conventional programs when it comes to maintaining consumer loyalty. Another benefit of collaborative programs is the larger user base, which results in more consumer data and ultimately higher quality of further marketing activities due to highly detailed consumer analytics. Despite these benefits, collaborative loyalty programs have proven to be hard to maintain due to the collaboration difficulties of too many companies, and limited profitability margins [3]. In addition, some programs are too strict regarding the use of points [4], while others are restrictive in the sense of benefits [5]. For these reasons, collaborative programs are usually dominated by a few successful large loyalty programs per country [2]. There are two ways to fix the issues that these collaborative loyalty systems face. One more traditional way requires the change in the business procedures, while the other is more focused on new technologies. In recent years the use of blockchain has seen a sharp increase and with it loyalty programs based on blockchain have emerged [6–8]. This new technology not only brings the ease of use, but it also brings overarching changes to the business procedures of loyalty programs. The goal of this paper is to design a collaborative loyalty program based on blockchain technology that is uniquely suited for smart cities. The program allows for all standard loyalty program functionalities, but in addition, it allows and awards participation in crowdsourcing programs and city-wide ecological initiatives. The accumulated points can be spent in all the standard ways, like discounts in partner shops, but in addition to this, the points can be spent to support any of the smart city functionalities. These functionalities can range from green initiatives such as smart ecological transport, but also towards obtaining benefits such as parking privileges. These benefits are not only restricted to the residents, tourists are also encouraged to participate in these programs. By visiting the local points of interest, tourists can earn points that can be used in city shops. By opening up such a program, citizens of a smart city are promoted to act in a socially responsible manner [9], but unlike similar programs, the collaboration between citizens and the city is on equal grounds and is dictated by the customizable smart contracts.
2 Theoretical Background 2.1 Blockchain for Loyalty Programs In blockchain networks, every node can directly communicate with any other node in the network. This capability makes any transaction happening on one node available to every node in the network. Blockchain as a technology is ideally suited for partnership networks, where data is exchanged between network participants [6]. As a relatively new technology, it still has high initial investment costs, but when paired with smart contracts and transparent transactions it has the potential to reduce all operating costs due to the elimination of intermediaries and human errors. The ability to make smart contracts as well as the capability to see all events in the network in each node makes blockchain networks ideally suited for collaborative loyalty programs [8]. Blockchain makes collaboration between partner companies easier; and it
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contributes to solving problems such as high maintenance costs, low retention rate, low point utilization, data privacy and security. By using a single blockchain wallet the consumers can in near-real-time utilize their loyalty points in different companies through a single platform [6]. Loyalty points in such a network can act in a manner similar to cryptocurrencies; they can be obtained and shared in accordance with the network rules. By treating loyalty points as a cryptocurrency, loyalty programs can become more flexible when it comes to collaboration between companies within the loyalty platform. Likewise their easier collaboration enables more flexibility for consumer spending of their loyalty points [8]. Each transaction has its timestamp, and each block, consisting of multiple transactions, is approved through a transparent consensus. After approval it is encrypted and stored in the chain on all nodes. This process, coupled with transparency of smart contracts, yields a system that relies on a consensus to ensure the authenticity, security and availability of loyalty points within a network. The use of blockchain in loyalty programs is not new, and there are a few companies that offer loyalty programs based on blockchain [10], such as Qiibee, Loyyal or DigitalBits. Taking from the example of the companies that offer loyalty programs based on blockchain, it is clear that there are many benefits, particularly if the partner company is not overly interested in the further development of its own program. 2.2 Smart City Loyalty Programs Blockchain technologies have already been identified as a factor that is expected to have a huge impact on smart city services development. Numerous areas of application of blockchain in smart cities have emerged. Using blockchain as an integrated identity management network, smart cities could implement loyalty programs in the fields such as tourism, shared vehicle services, payments, etc. [7]. Loyalty points, or tokens, can be awarded to travelers, and then spent for different tourist activities or even converted to other cryptocurrencies, or even cash [11]. In [12] authors propose a platform that offers different incentives, such as rewards or recognition, to citizens who accept to adjust their mobility schemes in the city with respect to the defined transportation objectives, with the goal to achieve more sustainable transportation in the city. Other approaches propose blockchain-based systems where the municipalities motivate citizens to participate in crowdsensing projects by paying them a certain amount, depending on the spent time or the amount of collected data [13]. Finally, some authors propose blockchain frameworks that integrate the entire production and exploitation lifecycle of a product in a smart city. For example, in the case of the automotive industry, this means that regulators, manufacturers, dealers, leasing companies, users, and scrap merchants all participate in the blockchain, where loyalty schemes are only a small part within the ecosystem [14]. Although many researchers have pointed out the possible benefits of developing blockchain infrastructure for smart cities, there have not yet been many implementations. One of the leading implementations is in Dubai, where the Dubai Blockchain Strategy has been developed in 2016, and many projects have been implemented until 2020. Although the blockchain-based loyalty programs have been proposed, the implementations have been focused on single companies, mainly airlines [15].
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3 Business Model In this paper, we propose a concept of a smart city loyalty platform based on blockchain. The platform implements a collaborative loyalty program that connects companies, smart city organizations and government, and consumers into a single network. In addition, the network can offer an alternative to the traditional point-based loyalty program with the added concepts of social responsibility, crowdsourcing, and participation, enabling the consumers not only to obtain loyalty points by shopping but also by doing. Figure 1 shows the main stakeholders in the proposed model. Although collaborative, the platform is managed by the city government. Companies in the city can join this platform even if they already have their loyalty programs; they can integrate them or provide different schemes. As loyalty points act as currency in the system, and can be exchanged for goods or services of actual value, they have inherent value and must be treated as a crytptocurrency of sorts. The emission of these points is done by the smart city, but the process of their creation is public and transparent to the consumers, as it is done through the blockchain. Each company within the blockchain can bid for certain amount of points before they are created in exchange for actual money. Once the bidding process is over, the smart city creates this new currency and holds onto it. As consumers act in a socially responsible manner, the city transfers these loyalty points to them, which in turn can be “sold” to either the smart city or partner companies in exchange for goods or services. Partner companies can never hold more points than they have bid for in their lifetime. If a partner company reaches its limit of points it can hold, it can either stop being a part of the loyalty program and sell them to other companies (to increase the other companies upper limit) or donate them back to the city in order to remain in the loyalty program. In this way, the initial investment of buying of loyalty points by partner companies can be considered as a donation towards the upkeep of the system and the environmental conservation efforts of the platform. As consumer data is of critical importance in loyalty programs, consumers can opt to give their personal information, in exchange for bonus loyalty points each month. Additionally, partner companies can offer special goods or services for consumers who are willing to disclose their personal information. Consumers use the platform through a mobile application. The mobile application enables monitoring the number of loyalty points, spending them in different ways, and collecting points by performing different types of activities. In addition it allows for seamless transfer of any amount of points between consumers, as they can themselves use them as currency. Some of the scenarios for obtaining the non-shopping points would include: • City officials want to measure traffic noise at different locations at a specific hour; citizens who participate in crowdsensing will be awarded loyalty points; • A city wants to promote a healthy lifestyle and sports; they can offer integration with wellness and training apps, and reward citizens for reaching milestones and maintaining a healthy lifestyle; • Tourists who visit a specific city attraction during the promotion are awarded loyalty points;
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Fig. 1. Stakeholders in the smart city loyalty platform.
• Citizens who use their electric vehicles responsibly and in accordance with the stability of the city grid earn loyalty points; On the other hand, consumers will be able to spend their points not only for buying goods or services in partner companies but also for the realization of a specific cause: • Loyalty points can be given to charity; • Special treatment in city-owned premises, such as parking spaces; • Additional votes in crowdvoting city initiatives. Additionally, companies who give and take loyalty points can have additional benefits, such as tax reduction, subventions, etc. The business canvas model for the proposed platform is given in Table 1. Companies that wish to join the loyalty network can do so by signing a contract with the city. This contract defines the rights of the partners and the rules that must be followed within the collaborative loyalty program, such as support programs and membership rules. Any further business with network partners is usually done in an automated manner. The only non-automated interaction is done with potential users of the loyalty points, where they can look at the information on the website regarding the use of points, rules, etc. All the information is also available over the mobile app.
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Table 1. Business canvas model for the proposed platform Key partners: - companies - utility companies - city government
Key activities: - platform development - smart contract creation - point schemes development
Value proposition: - the infrastructure of a collaborative loyalty system for a smart city - a platform for incentivizing e-participation and social responsibility
Key resources: - developers - the platform - the mobile app - integration APIs Cost structure: - platform maintenance - salaries - subventions
Customer relationships: - mobile app - web platform
Customer segments: - citizens’ segments - tourists
Distribution channels: - mobile app - social media - partner marketing Revenue streams: - emission of new loyalty points - in-app marketing - reduced costs in other related activities
The main goal of the presented platform is not to increase city profits, but if funds are needed for the upkeep of the platform, it can be obtained via subscriptions from partners, donations, and city investments. Additional revenue can also be achieved by mobile ads on the user app. The main advantages of the proposed platform for different stakeholder groups are shown in Table 2. Table 2. Advantages for stakeholder groups Stakeholder group
Advantages
Companies
- easy to implement, no costs for loyalty program development - low marketing costs and high exposure to new consumers - higher security and flexibility - easy participation in socially responsible activities - better cooperation with the government, possible additional benefits, such as subventions
City government
- support to citizens’ participation - recruiting crowdsourcing participants - good surveying capacities - better cooperation with companies, support to small businesses - tourism development - promoting charities
Consumers
- flexible loyalty program - access through a single application - numerous possibilities to use loyalty points - participation in socially responsible activities - support to charities - high security
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4 Implementation The proposed loyalty platform includes partners such as companies, utilities, local government, event organizers, etc., as well as different types of consumers. On the platform, partners can make smart contracts and write rules for obtaining and redeeming loyalty points. Figure 2 shows an example of a smart contract for obtaining and using loyalty points. The proposed scenario includes the following: 1. Partner Company A wants to conduct a crowdsensing project, such as collecting data on the traffic noise on different microlocations in the city. The partner company A can be a government agency in charge of noise monitoring, or a research institute collecting data for a research project, or a residential community who wants to get data on the noise in their neighborhood. 2. Partner Company B wants to support ecology-related projects as a part of their social responsibility strategy. The company awards consumers who participate in the ecology-related projects a coupon. The terms of using the coupon, expiration dates, etc. are defined within the smart contract. 3. The participants in the crowdsensing project are provided with instructions on how to obtain the loyalty points. When they complete the required actions, the terms of the contract are fulfilled, and they are awarded loyalty points. 4. The consumer spends loyalty points for shopping at Partner Company B. The platform itself takes care of the membership services, identity management of the participants [16]. When a participant (partner or consumer) performs an action, the platform identifies them and matches the performed action with the corresponding smart contract. Depending on the scenario, there may be one or more contracts that are activated for the performed action.
Fig. 2. Smart contracts within the smart city loyalty platform.
The software architecture and the communication workflow for obtaining the loyalty points in the example of participation in noise measuring crowdsensing project is shown in Fig. 3 [17]. Citizens use a mobile app to register on the web platform and join the program. When they join the crowdsensing project, the collected data is sent to the
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server of the Partner Company A, and the loyalty points are awarded. The transaction is registered on the blockchain.
Fig. 3. The software architecture and communication workflow
Figure 4 shows examples of the user mobile app for noise measuring and partner app for data analysis.
Fig. 4. The user mobile app for noise measuring and partner app for data analysis [18]
The implementation of the blockchain part of the system was done in Hyperledger Fabric. The blockchain acts like a decentralized and transparent record of all transactions that also acts as a validation engine. Hyperledger Fabric also ensures that all transactions are conducted safely and confidentially, in addition to maintaining high trust. A decentralized application is used for signing in of individual users into the loyalty engine. The registration within the app can be done personally inside the app, by partner API, or by admin [19]. All the information about the consumer, partners and loyalty points are kept within the Hyperledger Fabric, where through proper application of technologies and communication channels a high level of privacy can be achieved [20, 21]. For the purpose of the prototype, several modules based on Hyperledger Fabric smart contracts were created. The use of these contracts allows us to manipulate the data kept in the blockchain. In addition, partners can also be granted access to the blockchain via
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an API, where they can see their smart contracts, dashboards and account information. Figure 5 shows an example of a list of performed transactions.
Fig. 5. An example of a list of transactions.
5 Discussion and Conclusion In this paper, a blockchain-based loyalty program specifically suited to the needs of a smart city is proposed. The loyalty program is designed to provide a collaborative environment between the smart city and the partner companies doing business on its premises. Additionally, as the platform is based on blockchain, it is designed to utilize smart contracts in order to further formalize and automate the flow of loyalty points between citizens, smart cities, and partners themselves. A prototype implementation of the proposed loyalty platform was presented. The implementation is based on Hyperledger Fabric and serves as a validation and storage mechanism for all loyalty point transactions. By using a consensus to approve all transactions, and treating loyalty points as a currency, the standard blockchain functionalities can be leveraged to maintain trust between all partners, the city, and the users themselves [16]. In addition to standard functionalities, the model was designed with a distinct focus on crowd-activities, such as crowdsensing and crowdvoting capabilities. For testing purposes, data gathered during a pilot crowdsensing campaign was used, with a small group of students taking part in crowdsensing noise at microlocations in the city. All the crowdsensing activities logged by the users were recorded, and loyalty points were distributed over the blockchain. In future work, the activities will be directed toward a full evaluation of the system with a larger number of participants. The benefits of the proposed platform are numerous. For companies, the implementation costs are kept to a minimum, with open source technologies being used as a backbone of the blockchain. In addition, it allows the companies to manage their
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social responsibility in a very straightforward manner, by simply exploring all available programs within the chain, and choosing which program to support with their loyalty points. The benefit for the cities is mostly in the increase of citizen participation in the day-to-day activities of a smart city, and higher surveying capabilities. In addition, tourism benefits for a smart city can be considerable if such programs are well thought out. Lastly, the consumers can gain the most from the implementation, from security, and transparency of data, more ways to spend their loyalty points and rewards for their social responsibility. While the prototype has shown itself to be adequate for a smart city based collaborative loyalty program, it is still to be tested in a commercial environment against possibly hundreds of thousands of user transactions taking place within the smart city. Due to the nature of the prototype, privacy of consumer data was not a priority, and future iterations must implement robust privacy guarantees, in order to be viable for future exploitation. The blockchain technology holds much promise, and as a technology is still actively developed. The future direction of research will be to incorporate more advanced blockchain capabilities as they become available. Additionally, simulation models for crowd-based activities will be done, and the platform will be subjected to stress testing to make sure it can deliver acceptable transaction speeds. The choice of the best-suited consensus algorithm is yet to be determined.
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Transportation and Infrastructures’ Sustainability in Ultra-peripheral Territories: Studies Over the Azores Region Gualter Couto1 , Rui Alexandre Castanho1,2,3,4(B) , Pedro Pimentel1 , Célia Carvalho5,6 , Áurea Sousa7 , Maria da Graça Batista1 , Ana Vulevic4,8 and José Manuel Naranjo Gómez3,4,9
,
1 School of Business and Economics and CEEAplA, University of Azores,
9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal 2 Faculty of Applied Sciences, WSB University, 41-300 D˛abrowa Górnicza, Poland
[email protected] 3 CITUR - Madeira - Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation,
9000-082 Funchal-Madeira, Portugal 4 VALORIZA - Research Centre for Endogenous Resource Valorization, Polytechnic Institute
of Portalegre (IPP), 7300 Portalegre, Portugal 5 Faculty of Social and Human Sciences and CEEAplA, University of Azores,
9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal 6 Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra,
3000-115 Coimbra, Portugal 7 Faculty of Sciences and Technologies and CEEAplA, University of Azores,
9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal 8 Department of Urban Planning and Architecture, Institute of Transportation—CIP,
11000 Belgrade, Serbia 9 Agricultural School, University of Extremadura, 06007 Badajoz, Spain
Abstract. Transportation and infrastructures’ Sustainability in insular territories is pivotal for regional success. Moreover, it is a fact these issues have clear impacts on the regional economy, including consequences on resource efficiency, population density, internal market dynamics, and the necessity to have multiple structural infrastructures, such as ports, airports, health units, among several other public services. In this regard, throughout testing tools, the present investigation used accessibility and connectivity indicators over four Azorean Islands to evaluate the impacts over the social-economic sphere that the local transportation and infrastructures may have over the regional residents. Accordingly, it was observed that the Island of São Miguel has more satisfying accessibility patterns within the four studied Islands of Azores Archipelago. Keywords: Azores region · Regional studies · Strategic infrastructure · Sustainable development
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 371–379, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_36
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1 Introduction In today’s context, transportation infrastructure is more critical in the concept of sustainable development and growth [1–5]. In fact, transport infrastructure can promote sustainable development’s socioeconomic dimension by logistics potential planning and multimodality, hinter-land accessibility to transport interchange centers grants to different economic characters and social interplays [6]. Besides, accessibility operates a pivotal position in ultraperipheral territories and allows infrastructure performance when linked with public transport’s multimodality [7]. For example, with the modern development of the TENT (Trans-European Transport Network), the EU established sustainable transportation infrastructure guidelines by providing accessibility assessment, socio-economic impacts, and regional cohesion in ultra-peripheral regions [8]. The concept of ‘insularity’ contains not only a geographic contingency that concerns a multitude of islands. However, it also reveals a set of additional characteristics - i.e., the economic, social, and demographic dynamics that arise from this geographic specificity. Those features are connected with economic and social isolation, lack of resources, land limitation, and substantial operational costs [9–12]. Also, insularity describes the general ‘atmosphere’ that defines the experiential uniqueness of the ‘is-lander’ and the different conditions and aims conceived in those geographic areas [13]. Usually, experimental studies review the consequences of infrastructure accessibility analysis based on accessibility modules linked with land use allocation, transport infrastructure, temporary elements, and unique features and trends [6]. Thereby, a precise measurement should ideally understand the connection between these elements and accessibility components into consideration [14]. From a broader perspective, some indicators have been used often to prove quantifiable or non-quantifiable infrastructure accessibility and assert its positive and negative characters depending on the stakeholder’s viewpoint [6]. So, isolation can hinder the regional resident’s movement. The analysis associated with the accessibility estimation and logistical infrastructures of ultra-peripheral areas would be based on a dataset of indicators or models obtained from the islands’ social, economic, and transport infrastructure features. Based on those properties, transport accessibility in ultra-peripheral territories can be pointed to as a purpose of a succession of repeated indicators [15]. In this regard, a destination’s remoteness seeks to amplify its dependency on transport bonds, and transport services are crucial for the regional population’s sustainability in the ultra-peripheral territories. Moreover, the difficulties exposed by these insular areas threaten accessibility to the mainland. The barrier created by the sea limits the use of individual transports, and inter-island transport is restricted [16]. Consequently, it is necessary to recognize the indicators that would be as comparable as conceivable to compare the resulting accessibility tendencies. Based on the exposed, the current preliminary study aims to assess transportation and infrastructures’ sustainability in four Islands of the Azores Region.
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2 The Azores Region in Brief The Azores is a Portuguese autonomous region and one of the European Union’s Outermost Regions (OR) (EU). It includes nine islands located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately midway within Europe and the United States of America. The archipelago is strategically positioned, and it has been considered a sustainable nature-based destination. Recently, due to its remoteness and breath-taking nature, it has been increasingly identified with adventure tourism by international references like Bloomberg, Departures, BBC, Forbes, GeekyExplorer, and Lonely Planet, among many others. Its natural and cultural heritage and its generalized rural environment make it the perfect place for slow adventures [17–19]. According to Pimentel et al. [18] “The main challenges of the Azores result from this distance to the main decision centers, beyond the fragmentation and geographic dispersion of its internal market. The archipelago has natural constraints that demand constant attention. The heterogeneous territory’s fragmentation resulted in very different islands in terms of area and natural resources, with significant land dispersion”. In this regard, five islands (Santa Maria, Graciosa, São Jorge, Flores, and Corvo) have been classified as the “Cohesion Islands” (once they are the smallest islands or the ones with more significant challenges to their development) and profit from positive differentiation in the regional economic policies. The remaining four islands (São Miguel, Terceira, Pico, and Faial) are the most developed, although significant differences exist amongst them [18, 19]. In fact, this issue has clear impacts on the regional economy, including consequences on resource efficiency, population density, internal market dynamics, and the necessity to have multiple structural infrastructures, such as ports, airports, health units, among several other public services. Notwithstanding the multiple challenges above-mentioned, the islands’ geographical location has also granted exciting opportunities for regional development. Also, a new potential for space research and exploration; in fact, several transatlantic routes have crossed through the Azores, delivering the islands critical in logistics support to sea and air navigation, both in military and commercial activities. Subsequently, it should also be highlighted that the large size (almost 1 million km2 ) of the European Economic Zone concedes to the Azores unparalleled opportunities concerning the Blue Economy, logistics, fisheries, nautical tourism, scientific research, and investigation of marine resources [18].
3 Materials and Methods In the first stage, data has been obtained for the Azores islands’ official administrative delimitation corresponding to São Jorge, Faial, São Miguel, and Terceira, through the Portuguese National Geographic Information System. After obtaining the information, we could obtain the roads’ arc-node topology to use spatial network analysis applying GIS software. This step was crucial to determining the Origin-Destination matrix that consisted of interpreting the minimum time to reach from each urban settlement all the urban settlements existing on each of the four islands studied.
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Moreover, the population was used once it is an expected value of an urban settlement’s relevance. Consequently, defining each urban settlement’s influence regarding the rest of the urban settlements was possible. Thus, it is possible to understand how strong the network is, regarding each settlement’s position to the rest of the settlements, as well as to calculate the amount of population in each settlement on each of the analyzed islands. Moreover, an equal interval of 5 classes was used to obtain a specific classification of each studied island’s territory. So, it was plausible to characterize the territory into five classes: very high, high, medium, low, and very low within the index of absolute accessibility.
4 Outcomes The following section exhibits the results acquired from the four of nine Islands of Azores Archipelago under study. The outcomes are presented in the following Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4. Also, a thematic map regarding the capital Island of the Archipelago (S. Miguel) is shown in Fig. 1. In Table 1, it is possible to prove several levels of accessibility of potential destinations (for population) in towns and settlements on the Island of Faial. The Accessibility values are steadily growing from the inner parts of the island to the north and northeast. The north parts of the island have the highest accessibility values. Another half of the island and the north-western part of the island have the lowest accessibility values. Also, nearly 82% of the population lives in 73% of settlements of the island’s total number of towns. Table 1. Obtained results regarding the demographic dynamics and urban agglomerations classified according to the accessibility levels in the Island of Faial. Faial island
Very low
Low
Medium
High
Very high
Number of settlements
24
6
0
2
1
Number of settlements (%)
72,73%
18,18%
0,00%
6,06%
3,03%
Population (%)
81,70%
9,41%
0,00%
3,10%
5,79%
The Island of S. Miguel has nearly 72% of its population with a medium level of accessibility in 42% of settlements (Table 2). Through the analysis of Figure, it is possible to understand that in this Island exists a very good principal road network along the northern coastal zone of the Island with the main road (motorway). The Island’s center is sparsely populated with one main road in longitudinal and transversal and few villages.
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Table 2. Obtained results regarding the demographic dynamics and urban agglomerations classified according to the accessibility levels in the Island of São Miguel. São Miguel island
Very low
Low
Medium
High
Very high
Number of settlements
7
10
23
7
8
Number of settlements (%)
12,73%
18,18%
41,82%
12,73%
14,55%
Population (%)
4,78%
7,13%
72,09%
10,12%
5,89%
In Fig. 1, it possible to verify that the most vital part of Terceira Island has a very low level of accessibility. In fact, solely six towns with less than 20% of the population with high accessibility levels. Moreover, accessibility is monotonically diffused along a corridor of a principal road. Still, it presents discontinuities with the other part of the island. Nevertheless, a good density network of main roads with secondary networks satisfies the northern and northeast part of the island, where accessibility values range from medium to very high. Regarding São Jorge Island (Table 4), we can identify a very low level of accessibility in ten towns, with 53% of the population - which represents more than half the total Island demography. Still, there is a very high accessibility level in six towns with a 20% population in 22% of the settlements. In fact, the same number of towns shows a 21,44% population with a low level of accessibility.
São Miguel Island
Fig. 1. Thematic cartography about the accessibility levels in the Island of São Miguel (Source: authors)
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Table 3. Obtained results regarding the demographic dynamics and urban agglomerations classified according to the accessibility levels in the Island of Terceira. Terceira island
Very low
Low
Medium
High
Very high
Number of settlements
13
5
2
6
1
Number of settlements (%)
48,15%
18,52%
7,41%
22,22%
3,70%
Population (%)
64,99%
13,99%
0,33%
19,82%
0,86%
Table 4. Results regarding the demographic dynamics and urban agglomerations classified according to the accessibility levels in the Island of São Jorge. São Jorge island
Very low
Low
Medium
High
Very high
Number of settlements
10
6
2
3
6
Number of settlements (%)
37,04%
22,22%
7,41%
11,11%
22,22%
Population (%)
52,85%
21,44%
4,69%
0,77%
20,25%
5 Discussion and Conclusions When Portugal joined the European Union, the Azores’ Autonomous Region was marked as the least developed in the country. In addition to a low standard of living, the intense emigration and low qualification of the population prevented the mobilization of conditions suitable for its development. This paradigm was aggravated by the limitation of technical, human, and financial resources that would enhance the progress of the Region and its approximation to the national reality. There were several gaps in several key areas, including Health, Education, and Transport, where there was a lack of infrastructure, equipment, and specialized human resources. Besides, the insular and fragmented character of the territory, aggravated by poor accessibility, intensified the isolation of the Region, which, despite having potential for the development of tourist activity, was inconsequential in the face of its limitations. In the Azores, along with the considerable gaps in socio-economic development, it is notable that the natural conditions of the Region (fragmented into nine small islands of a very heterogeneous dimension and with great dispersion among themselves) presented (and continue to present) severe challenges to future of the Azores and the convergence with the country and the European Union. In fact, the Region’s insular and peripheral situation is recognized as a significant obstacle to regional development in the various documents that materialize the Community Support Frameworks for Portugal. The central role is connected with transport and communications infrastructures to enhance the socio-economic development of the Azores, establishing the need to support programs for the construction of infrastructures for external and internal accessibility - i.e., including the construction of airports, ports, roads, acquisition of planes, among several others. Also, the reinforcement of telecommunication and energy infrastructures, all of them adapted to the specific needs of the reality of the islands treated here. Simultaneously, a
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program for the tourism sector was also designed and approved, recognizing the great potential to leverage the regional economy and the numerous limitations imposed by these gaps in accessibility and essential services. In the Azores, the paradigm at the outset was, therefore, quite challenging. Several structural and development problems covered society, economy, health, education, tourism, transport, and several other areas, which lacked a deep intervention and which could be enhanced by the Funds European Structural and Investment Funds (FEEI). Undoubtedly, additional policies - regional and community - were needed to keep the tourism sector on the path to competitiveness and sustainability. Throughout the value chain, the proper application of FEEI Funds, from primary production to industrial production and the exploration of distribution channels, was crucial for this aim. After the significant investments made in improving accessibility to the Azores, especially in infrastructure, the major constraint pointed to some difficulties in tourism and economic development was air transport costs and conditions. For a long time, only the regional air carrier (SATA) and, to a certain extent, TAP provided travel to the Region, in a regime prohibited from competition. In 2015, this model was restructured, with the liberalization of some regional airspace routes, but maintained well-defined public service obligations. Given the Azores’ tourism potential and the attractiveness of the new model, new players in commercial aviation quickly appeared, with the novelty of low-cost business models. These operations are currently mainly focused on routes to or from Ponta Delgada airport, São Miguel island. However, it is expected that they will also take place at Lajes airport, Terceira island, or even at Ilha airport. Peak. This new reality’s impacts were quickly felt, with a very substantial increase in the number of passengers in transit at regional airports (especially Ponta Delgada). Nevertheless, if we look to the past, there was also a railway in São Miguel Island until 1973 [20]. Moreover, an increase in the number of guests in accommodation establishments and customers in restaurants, entertainment tourism, and some local commerce made 2015 a landmark in tourism in the Azores (registering an increase above 20%). These numbers have intensified in recent years, providing new opportunities but also critical challenges. Thereby, it is essential to capitalize on all this involvement and this new dynamic to invest in the qualification of the destination, in the preparation of professionals and services, in the adequacy of the offer, and in the consolidation of a proposal differentiating valuing the value of the destination. In this regard, FEEI funds play a pivotal role in boosting the tourism sector in taking advantage of the new paradigm - just as they were essential to building the existing accessibility models in the Region. In fact, it enables to reduce the distance caused by the Archipelago fragmentation, making the fragile economy of the islands more sustainable and promising while significantly improving the quality of life of the populations. Funding. This paper is financed by Portuguese national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., project number UIDB/ECO/00685/2020 and also by the project GREAT - Genuine Rural Experiences in the Azores Tourism with the code: ACORES-01–0145FEDER-000089.
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A Cloud-Based IoT Approach to Support Infrastructure Monitoring Needs by Public Civil Protection Organizations João Pedro Gomes1(B) , Carlos R. Cunha2 and Arlindo Santos1
, Gabriel Noira1
,
1 Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
{jpgomes,acsantos}@ipb.pt, [email protected] 2 UNIAG, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia,
5300-253 Bragança, Portugal [email protected]
Abstract. The evolution of technology in the last decade predicts a future where technology is disseminated in the environment in order to merge with the environment itself, being omnipresent. This world paradigm has been associated with the Internet of Things concept or, according to several authors, with the Internet of Everything concept. The potential massive dispersion of technology, which, with the progress of nanotechnology, will be increasingly miniaturized, combined with high-performance and universal communication networks, will revolutionize the concept of monitoring, resulting in profound changes in various sectors of activity and knowledge. In this context, this article presents a cloud-based Internet of Things architecture in order to respond to the growing needs of monitoring by the Civil Protection Public Organizations, who are responsible for monitoring several parameters and produce multiple information and reports in the context of the security of populations and territories. Finally, it is presented a prototype implemented according to the proposed architecture capable of monitoring monoliths dispersed in the territory, as a way of acting preventively, avoiding merely reactive actions after disaster situations. Keywords: IoT · PCPO · Architecture · Monitoring · Prototype · Monolith · Disaster prevention · Disaster management · Early warning system · WSN · LoRa
1 Introduction The Internet of Thing (IoT) has flourished in recent years envisions a near future where technology will be embedded in practically everything that exists and where everything will be interconnected by communication infrastructures - an omnipresent technology vision. According to Zimmermann et al. [1], the emerging paradigm of IoT has dominated the digital transformation. IoT makes it possible for people and objects to be connected anytime and anywhere, with anyone and anything. The primary function of a system like this is to detect and © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 380–389, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_37
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collect data from our surrounding environment and then share the data over the Internet, where they can be processed for different purposes [2]. As the world becomes increasingly information-intensive, and for that decisions of multiple levels and purposes can be made, the need to obtain data on almost everything possible has become a very desirable imperative. The application of IoT-based solutions can be found in almost all areas of society and business. Several of these solutions are wireless sensing and monitoring platforms for physical infrastructures (e.g. buildings or bridges). In this context, Public Civil Protection Organizations (PCPOs), which are responsible for monitoring public infrastructures, need to monitor a wide range of objects whose state of conservation is crucial for ensuring the safety of citizens. Among the infrastructures that fall within the competence of PCPOs, are the Monoliths. Monoliths are geological features consisting of a single massive stone or rock and it can be found in open spaces in the form of ancestral buildings (e.g. Stonehenge in England) or simply in the form of massive exposed rocks that populate many mountainous territories around the world. The recent advances in wireless sensor networks and IoT technologies have created a new era in environmental monitoring [3–5]. Spreading low-cost wireless sensors connected to an IoT-based support infrastructure across the environment is an approach that brings major benefits, providing real-time environmental data [5–7], that can be very useful for many decision-making processes. The need to determine the level of structural safety for buildings and civil engineering infrastructure is a growing concern worldwide [8]. Nature is populated by giant infrastructures that we can find when we travel across territories. Many of these infrastructures are located in places that, from the point of view of the PCPOs, offer dangers for the populations and/or for other man-made infrastructures. It is in this context that we find monoliths (although some may be interested in monitoring simply because they are of public interest and not really for security reasons). These natural or ancient manmade structures are an important represent an effective concern to PCPOs and are an interesting field for develop monitoring solutions based on IoT. This work presents a technological cloud-based IoT architecture capable of monitoring multiple important parameters to support the decision of PCPOs and the consequent taking of appropriate safety actions in a timely manner, as well as, to enable public alert, concerning to incident prevention. The proposed architecture is communicationtechnology independent, however, we discuss the potential of LoRa technology to support the communication among IoT devices in a context of the PCPOs monitoring needs. Finally, it is presented a prototype, under development, to be applied in monolith monitoring, capable of collecting various parameters and aggregate the data collected on a platform that provides services for PCPOs and to the general public.
2 A Review of IoT State of the Art in the Monitoring Field Internet of Things represents a potential for transformation of the most diverse aspects of society, from healthcare to culture, from sports to mobility. Many researchers have working worldwide bringing new ideas and advances like, to point out just a few illustrative examples, in healthcare, Mdhaffar et al. [9] present an IoT-based medical signals
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monitoring system for patients living in rural areas where Internet access is difficult or inexistent, by using a LoRaWAN network infrastructure to provide low-cost, low-power and secure communication links; in culture, Alsuhly and Khattab [10] proposed an IoT based system for museum content conservation by monitoring in real time the artifacts’ environment and their safety conditions, and adjusting the environmental parameters depending on the presence of visitors in each section, bringing a balance between visitors comfort and the optimal parameters for artifacts preservation; in sport, a framework was introduced to prevent sports injury by using IoT sensor data, combined with analytics approaches, for objective estimation of an athlete level of injury risk [11]; and, in mobility, a cloud based smart parking system was proposed to help drivers to find an available parking spot, by using IoT to monitor each single parking space, allowing the user not only to find a free one but also to book it [12]. In fact, the research carried out is transversal to most areas and disaster management is not an exception. Disaster management is not a single task, or a series of tasks clearly delimited in time, but rather a continuum of interlinked activities, specifically: development, prevention, mitigation, preparedness, disaster impact, response and recovery, and closing the cycle after that [13]. In this work in progress we focus our attention in the phases prior to disaster impact, aiming a disaster management system that monitors and analyses potential risk scenarios to predict natural disaster events, allowing PCPOs to take actions before their occurrence. Some typical scenarios easily identified as candidates to be monitored may involve various infrastructures (such as bridges, skyscrapers, dams or power plants) or natural elements (such as forests, rivers or monoliths). Early Warning Systems (EWSs) using emerging technologies and novel solutions to detect and mitigate disasters has been the subject of several studies. Khan et al. [14] presents a critical analysis of the existing methods and technologies that are relevant to a disaster scenario, including some useful ones to predict or decrease the consequence of disasters like landslides, earthquakes, forest fires or floods. Among them are reported IoT, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Neural Networks (NN). One of the main components of a disaster management system is the communication network infrastructure. Given the characteristics of the problem under study, time is decisive to allow a quick and effective response in the event of a disaster or being on the verge of such a happening. And, depending on the context, there will be different requirements for the appropriate communication network to use, like the packet delivery ratio, packet delay, energy consumption, average throughput, and range. Some types of networks that can be used for these scenarios are WSN, Ad hoc, IoT based, UAV based, and Remote Sensing and Satellite-based networks. Structural integrity monitoring (SHM) has a fundamental role in the integrity of civilian infrastructure and, consequently, in the safety of the population. This area has also evolved, as a result of the use of new data acquisition and communication systems, combined with new data interpretation and forecasting models. A complete IoT platform for SHM is proposed using piezoelectric sensors for monitoring structures, and a Raspberry Pi for local data processing and damage determination; later, a Wi-Fi module pushes data to the cloud for visualization [15]. A wireless sensor network was designed, with a clustered and hierarchical architecture, for monitoring the structural health of a football
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stadium and to verify the influence of crowd behaviour on the structural excitation [16]; The vibration data from the structure are acquired by accelerometers on sensor nodes and sent to an access point over IEEE 802.15.4/Zigbee protocol and then to a server, over a wireless backhaul via a TV whitespace link, for storage and processing. For the monitoring of bridge displacement, has been designed a low-cost IoT-based wireless sensor [17], where data is collected by the displacement of resistance type sensors, and the signal amplified and send to a cloud server, over low-power NB-IoT wireless, for data storage, processing, and visualization via a web browser. As already mentioned, the monitoring of natural elements is also relevant for disaster prevention. One of the potential hazards is related to landslides, which also includes the falling stones. Intrieri et al. [18] describes the design and implementation of a landslide early warning system for a rock wedge threatening two roads; the monitoring is done by multiple sources (wire extensometers, a thermometer, a rain gauge, and cameras) with an additional insight given by two short-term ground-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar (GB-InSAR) monitoring campaigns; Extensometers acquired data every minute and then a 5 min mean is sent over wireless radio to a data-logger after which it is sent via GPRS to a server; Data is automatically and manually checked and the system has three warning levels of severity. And a rapid monitoring system of geological disaster based on LoRa is proposed by Chenhui and Qingjia [19] featuring low weight and volume, low power consumption, long distance transmission, and stable and reliable communication; A set of small acquisition nodes can be quickly deployed in the field, to collect the appropriate data (displacement, rain or tilt, for example) and send it to an aggregation node over a LoRa network; The aggregation node then uploads the data to a cloud server, via GPRS or satellite, to be analysed and monitored. An AI-based wireless sensor network was proposed for flood disaster detection [20]; Data is collected by endpoints, consisting of an Arduino with sensors (air pressure, wind speed, water level, temperature, humidity and precipitation), and transmitted over a LoRaWan network to a coordinator, consisting of an Arduino receiver connected with a Raspberry Pi for additional processing, which includes requests to Google Weather API to obtain sea level air pressure and rainfall, a data pre-processing and the use of support vector machine to predict the occurrence of flood; The flood status decision is then sent to a cloud server from where a flood disaster response could be activated.
3 Proposed Cloud-Based IoT Architecture for PCPOs Infrastructures Monitoring Needs In order to respond to the monitoring needs of the POCs, a conceptual architecture based on IoT is presented in Fig. 1. Next, the main aspects of the architecture are presented, and some important issues are pointed out to support its structure and allow reflection on its potential. Taking a simplified, high-level view of this architecture, we could divide it into three main domains, sensing, communication, and application. The sensing domain consists of sensor nodes that will monitor the infrastructures, the network domain will support the communication between sensors and servers with focus on the wireless connection
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Fig. 1. Generic high-level cloud-computing architecture for monoliths remote monitoring
between the sensors and the Internet gateway, and the application domain will make available a set of services and applications provided by a cloud-based server system. The infrastructure monitoring will be done through sensor nodes placed in strategic locations. Each sensor node should be able to monitor several physical quantities (e.g., acceleration, motion, vibrations, force, pressure, humidity, moisture, temperature), and the choice will be dependent on the specific needs of the infrastructure to be monitored. From an architectural point of view, each sensor node consists of several subsystems to handle the data, concretely, a sensing, a storage, a processing, and a communication subsystem (Fig. 2, on the left). Other subsystems not related to data, like the power subsystem, have been deliberately omitted in this architecture. It is intended that each node can have decision making capability and the necessary flexibility to adapt to the conditions of each moment and the existing restrictions, like energy consumption. For example, in a situation of stability, the acquisition of physical parameters can be done only sporadically to reduce energy consumption. And, if the signals received indicate a change in this situation, the frequency of the acquisition may be increased to achieve a greater granularity of the data and, consequently, a better perception of the changes that occurred. The same principle can be applied to the communication subsystem, by varying the frequency of transmission of data according to their importance, that is, sending the data in real time in the presence of a critical situation or delaying it and sending it aggregated and sporadically in case of a stable situation (Fig. 2, on the right). In addition, the possibility of pre-processing the data will allow for a quicker data analysis and response time and a reduction of the data volume sended to servers optimizing the network connection and the battery life, since signal
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transmission is a major cause of energy consumption. The choice of the hardware core will depend, among other factors, on the necessary processing capacity, and may be based on a microcontroller or a more powerful processor to promote edge computing.
Fig. 2. Sensor node: architecture and functional data flow
The possibility of bidirectionality of communications will allow remote management of the nodes, checking their status, changing operating parameters, either manually or automatically according to the data history, or updating the existing programming. The edge network is intended to be technologically agnostic, allowing the use of sensor nodes with different types of transmission (e.g., Wi-Fi, LR-WPAN, Mobile communication, Bluetooth), depending on the requirements and on the possibilities, if necessary by placing a compatible gateway within the range to connect to the IP network. However, we are particularly interested in exploring the potential of LoRa, given its low energy consumption and significant transmission range, combined with the use of a free frequency range and the low recurring costs. A star topology edge network will simplify and reduce costs of the sensor nodes deployment and used in a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) can enable a vast coverage. The named “Cloud-based Server System” is a cloud-based platform capable of providing an API with operations to support the network of IoT devices present in the architecture. In this way, it’s assumed to be a platform of Web services and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), whose services will be consumed either by IoT devices or by internal and/or external applications. This approach, intend to enable for technical users and the general public a set of services that allow them to obtain information about, for example: parameters monitored by the IoT network, aggregated information, charts and reports, information about disaster forecasting systems or alerts of a public nature, for the populations. This platform should have a set of features that, in a context of cloud computing, can use the development of Software as a Service (SaaS) based applications. However, it should also have an API that allows data to be consulted (e.g. for research purposes) and for integration into application development processes by third parties.
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The implementation of this platform with flexible access will contribute to the use, by the scientific community, of the richness of the obtained data and to infer about them; and, on the other hand, will allow software companies to develop applications based on the existing data for civil protection purposes or for other complementary purposes (e.g. tourism related services). The fact that this platform is supported by cloud computing, allows a more sustainable approach with regard to growth, diversification and compatibility with what will be developed in the context of PCPOs or external entities. Such a view, however, does not mean that this cloud must be public, but it can be a private or even a hybrid cloud. This platform will represent an important data repository, information from which knowledge can be extracted to support all a set of inspection and maintenance routines for public infrastructures, as well as promoting a better understanding and future planning for PCPOs. As some public structures have interest and tourist potential, some of the data collected may be used for tourism purposes or for the promotion of territories. This should make us reflect about the multipurpose of data collected by IoT infrastructures that, even built with a specific purpose, can be used in a completely different contexts, helping in the financial sustainability of IoT infrastructures.
4 A Prototype to Monitoring Monoliths As a test environment for this multipurpose architecture it was considered a specific problem, a mountain scenario with the presence of monoliths that could put populations at risk. The objective will be to monitor the monoliths movement to allow measuring its stability and, in case of significant oscillation, to issue an alert that can trigger a timely intervention, whether for the stabilization of the monolith or to safeguard the threatened population (Fig. 3). A simple and low-cost prototype was implemented in the laboratory (Fig. 4) with some requirements: to be able to detect small vibrations and acceleration of a surface; to transmit the data collected by the sensors through a wireless connection of relevant range and low energy consumption; to allow the long-term storage of data, its analysis and visualization; and to be possible to trigger an alert message when certain threshold values are reached. For the sensor it was used a digital accelerometer, more specifically the ADXL345, a low power 3-axis accelerometer with high resolution measurement, capable of measure static acceleration of gravity as well as dynamic acceleration resulting from motion. It also has activity and inactivity sensing and low power modes enabling intelligent motion-based power management. Data was transmitted through a LoRa link, by a low-power ESP32 SoC microcontroller with a LoRa transceiver. Given the limitations imposed, by both LoRaWAN and ThingSpeak, on the number and frequency of packages, the sensor data was temporarily stored and pre-processed to allow a sporadic and summarized data sending. The gateway is also implemented by an ESP32 SoC microcontroller with a LoRa transceiver, taking advantage of the fact that this module has integrated Wi-Fi, thus allowing a direct connection to the Internet.
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Fig. 3. Cloud-based monoliths remote monitoring prototype architecture
Fig. 4. Prototype implementation
For the cloud-based server system it was used ThingSpeak, an IoT analytics platform service that allows to collect, analyse and visualize data, as well as to setup triggered reactions, like sending a message when a certain condition is reached. This prototype was the basis for several preliminary experiments with different approaches and will still be subject to modifications to implement new features, namely the simultaneous use of several sensors, the use of a Raspberry Pi to allow the implementation of a more robust edge computing, a self-adaptation behaviour according to the physical quantities sensed, as well as the development of the Cloud-based Server System. This first prototype is intended to serve as a proof of concept. The final version to be implemented will need additional studies, namely the adequacy of the sensor specifications to the nature of the quantities to be monitored in these type of scenarios,
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the measurement of the actual energy consumption of each sensor node and the careful choice of components that minimize it.
5 Conclusion and Final Remarks PCPOs typically have, among other functions, the mission of planning, coordinating and implementing emergency and civil protection policies. Being common to operate in the prevention and response to serious accidents and catastrophes, for the protection and relief of populations [21]. In this context, it is very important to provide PCPOs with tools that allow them to streamline and make decision making more efficient and accurate. The most recent ICTs have allowed the technology to be easily and cheaply dispersed by the surrounding environment. In this evolution, the IoT concept emerged, which revolutionized a whole new set of possibilities in the scope of monitoring. Knowing how to take advantage of the potential of IoT, together with the evolution of communication networks, will allow to obtain a much wider set of data that, ultimately, will enable the generation of vital information and knowledge to feed Decision Support Systems (DSS). It will also allow to reduce the time between the perception of a potential event and the taking of preventive or warning measures. Ultimately, it will allow for a proactive management of infrastructure and a faster availability of information to populations and public agents. In pursuit of the above, this article presents a cloud-based IoT architecture that contributes to the design of technological architectures to support the monitoring of infrastructures by collecting data and integrating that data in platforms that allow the development and availability of useful services for support the needs of PCPOs for monitoring infrastructure. Finally, it presents a prototype, still in the laboratory phase, designed and implemented for the monitoring of monoliths. This prototype is still in early development and has yet to be validated and subsequently tested in real-world scenario. Acknowledgments. UNIAG, R&D unit funded by the FCT – Portuguese Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. UIDB/04752/2020.
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The Role of Customers and Their Privacy in an IoT Business Context Carlos R. Cunha1(B) , João Pedro Gomes2 , Arlindo Santos2 and Elisabete Paulo Morais1
,
1 UNIAG, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia,
5300-253 Bragança, Portugal {crc,beta}@ipb.pt 2 Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal {jpgomes,acsantos}@ipb.pt
Abstract. The Internet of Things has revolutionized the way we can think about sales and customer relationship management strategies. In this context, a view of the world where technology is embedded in practically all objects and physical spaces will be an expectable reality. This reality opens up unprecedented opportunities with regard to the levels of customization in the sales process, whether in virtual spaces or in physical spaces. However, IoT also poses enormous challenges in the field of security and in particular in the field of user privacy. In this context, this article, after analyzing some of the main challenges for IoT in the privacy domain and what impact the IoT may have in the business domain and in particular in the subdomains of sales and advertising, presents a conceptual model to support customer empowerment while citizen with regard to the definition and management of privacy policies concerns a context that may go beyond the boundaries of citizenship and be applied in scenarios without borders, whenever there is the possibility of defining policies and legislation above Country. Keywords: IoT · Costumer · Business · Privacy · Models
1 Introduction People live increasingly surrounded by technology, either because they actively use them (e.g. smartphones), or because they passively use them (e.g. traffic control cameras) or simply because much of what surrounds people today has some type of technology built in (e.g. refrigerator, radio-frequency label on a given object for personal use). The world reality shows that the Internet of Things (IoT) has flourished in recent years envisions a near future where technology will be embedded in practically everything that exists and where everything will be interconnected by communication infrastructures – an omnipresent technology vision. According to Zimmermann et al. [1], the emerging paradigm of IoT has dominated the digital transformation. With regard to the business world and especially in the relationship between business and customer, the constant collection of data that allows to characterize customers and © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 390–400, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_38
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anticipate their present and future shopping desires is a growing reality. Customer data was and will increasingly be money. In this quest for gathering data, companies have created multiple mechanisms to obtain customers data – user registration forms on companies’ digital platforms (e.g. websites and e-commerce platforms); mobile applications for customers; loyalty and discount cards that are used for each interaction/purchase; among many others examples. This multiplicity of mechanisms that collect customer data, ultimately, results in redundancy, overlap and lack of control for the customer and/or defined each time you installed an application, or registered on a given website, or when you subscribed to a given service; in essence, “when the customer chooses to say Yes. I accept”. The context of privacy in a digital world is fundamental for users but also to organizations that want to be ethically responsible. According to Okazaki et al. [2], in this domain, researchers around the world have actively studied privacy concerns across multiple subjects, including: marketing, information systems, communication, psychology, sociology, law, and economics. According to Schneider et al. [3], for organizations, data sharing is marketingstrategically important. However, this requires that organizations reveal their customer data to other organizations facing privacy risks which may result in losses in brand value, customer trust, or even legal penalties if not conforming to mandatory regulation. On the other hand, the collection and sharing of information that companies carry out is a potential to improve the customer relationship experience; making the act of buying or simply being informed about new products a more personalized and intimate experience for the customer. The process of collecting, disseminating and using customer data must be a symbiotic process between the need for organizations to improve their understanding of their customers’ needs and the guarantee that personalizing an entire shopping experience will not result in a breach of privacy. Also, that data or mechanisms that could go against the privacy convictions and desires of the customer, who must necessarily be guaranteed their rights as a citizen, will never be used. In the context of what has been said, it becomes extremely pertinent to think, design and implement solutions that can accommodate the wishes of companies and customers in the business world, in a sustainable way. We believe that centralizing the customer’s privacy support mechanisms as a citizen and not just as a customer will be an approach that will increase the user’s power to define and enforce respect for their privacy policies, in a sustainable way; continuing to allow companies to take advantage of data about their customers and develop increasingly personalized and intimate sales strategies. After reviewing the state of the art of computer privacy, this article presents and discusses a proposed privacy model capable of empowering customers when they shop in physical spaces, when they buy through e-commerce systems and when they travel physical advertising spaces in order to create sales experiences personalized and intimate, boost marketing strategies and at the same time, respecting the privacy policies of each customer. Finally, some considerations are made on how the model presented can be applied in several countries that share common legislation and strategies - such as the European Union.
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2 Privacy Challenges and Trends in a World of IoT The IoT refers to a concept of connected objects and devices of all types over the Internet, wired or wireless [4]. IoT globally focus on to a future life of effective ubiquitous computing providing advanced connectivity of devices and services for a variety of applications [5]. According to Gupta et al. [6], the IoT has a wide coverage area that includes different types of sensors that generate multiple and different types of data allowing to create a continuous connection among people, objects, sensors or services. In this context, the privacy of users and personal information are one of the key challenges [7]. Privacy has been a research topic that sparked a lot of interest in different areas of technology and applications that are important enablers of IoT vision such as radio frequency identification (RFID), wireless sensor networks (WSN), web customization and applications and mobile platforms [8]. Neglecting the development and implementation of adequate security and privacy models will create serious problems for people and businesses. According to Lee & Kim [9], we are facing a new set of security and privacy challenges in IoT environments and the world of IoT is likely to be a playground for hackers. In order to counter this dark future, multiple solutions are been developed to respond to the challenge of security and privacy in the context of an IoT world. Mohanty et al. [10], present a BlockChain (BC) based solution that helps to resolve IoT limitations such as data protection and privacy. Also, Fremantle et al. [11], propose an architecture for IoT security and privacy based on BC that addresses security, privacy and manageability of IoT devices and networks. Ling et al. [12], present an end-to-end view of an IoT system that can guide risk assessment and design of an IoT system. Abomhara & Køien [13] studies the fact that IoT generates large volumes of information that are easily available through remote access mechanisms making privacy protection increasingly challenging. They also emphasize that privacy in data collection, as well as data sharing and management are topics that still require a lot of research. Zhou et al. [14], carry out a survey to better understand the essential reasons for the new IoT threats and the challenges of current research, proposing the concept of “IoT resources”. They also discuss the security and privacy effects of various IoT features, including the threats they cause, the existing solutions to threats and the research challenges yet to be resolved. With regard to IoT-based positioning systems, a number of threats related to security and privacy remain that have not been sufficiently addressed [15]. In addition, in the context of IoT positioning, Yang et al. [16] refer to the so-called “perception layer”, which includes technologies such as RSSF, RFID or Global Positioning System (GPS) and the perception network that communicates with the transport network, noting that, in this context, there are concerns with the privacy of IoT users. Smart Cities, which are fertile ground in IoT, have also raised concerns in the field of security and privacy. Al-Turjman et al. [17] present an overview of security and privacy in smart city IoT communications, highlighting that it is a challenging task to develop security and privacy mechanisms in smart cities to strike a balance between privacy and efficiency. However, in another survey carried out by Latif & Zafar [18] on IoT
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security and privacy issues for smart cities, it’s noted that security and privacy are not fully addressed in many of the existing work on IoT applications in smart cities. IoT brings numerous technological and social advantages and enormous economic potential. However, it is widely recognized that security and privacy have become a major concern in the future development and deployment of IoT infrastructures, services and applications [19, 20]. Among the multiple subdomains that security has in the world of technology, in this article, we focus on models that can guarantee customer privacy in the business context, at the same time that companies take advantage of a whole new potential for personalizing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in their business activities, especially in the sales and personalized marketing sectors.
3 Impact of IoT on Customers Privacy in the Context of Business People when accessing digital platforms have to accept and/or define their privacy policies. This process is repeated for each platform, each service and/or each system with which people perform some type of registration or, often, a simple use of the system. The growing dependence on the use of digital services in people’s daily lives has led them to have today a trail of privacy policies that in a very, little or no conscious way, they have defined or agreed to subscribe. This process means that many users no longer have real control over their privacy policies, that populate the different digital services they have subscribed to, in a digital context or when registering at physical stores. Thus, according to Bujari et al. [21], it is necessary to find new solutions to privacy issues by creating new policies that clarify the use of data, how long that data is stored and who has access to it. In addition, it is vital that customers can manage their privacy policies effectively, easily and in an integrated manner, knowing that their policies will be mandatory. In an IoT world, the way shopping will take place online and in physical spaces will tend to change radically. The world of sensors and actuators embedded in physical spaces that the IoT advocates, combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), will allow not only an extreme customization of the approach to the customer, but will also tend to anticipate the customer’s wishes, when not even induce buying behavior. In the field of advertising, we will also tend to have highly customizable spaces, which will be able to adapt to the client, advertising and promoting products and services that fit the interests of costumers who are in that physical space. This view, although it can be perceived as something extremely positive; insofar as it can increase the level of satisfaction of a given customer profile, it can, in contrast, be perceived as a highly intrusive approach to the privacy or be considered unacceptable by another profile of customers. We may have two extremes - customers who want anonymity and those who want to take full advantage of the personalization and expertise that a sales system supported by IoT, AI and ML can provide. This paper is not intended to discuss the merits of anonymity or the view of a costumer’s public profile. Above all we defend, only, that the client’s privacy rules should prevail and be reflected in all the systems that he uses. This scenario will give companies the ability to manage their CRM systems in a more appropriate way, maximizing the degree of satisfaction of their customers. Finally, in our opinion, it seems inevitable that regulating privacy is a process that should be initiated through legislation and not by definition and business rules. In this
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context, Caron et al. [22] states that there should be a deeper exploration of design privacy principles as a best practice to protect individual privacy as society is shifting to an increasingly interconnected world, requiring that legislation itself must follow the same path, not just of a singular form – by country, but in a more universal form, since privacy is a human right that is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and must be protected without borders. In order to attend to what has already been exposed, it is essential to design and implement privacy models that support a vision of taking advantage of an IoT-based business world, while empowering the customer to effectively and consciously manage their privacy - like what rules does he want to be used in an IoT world, as a citizen.
4 A Conceptual Privacy Model for a Multi-scenario Perspective of Business In consequence, and in an attempt to contribute to give back control of privacy to citizens, we present a conceptual model to be used whenever there is a need for a business to use customer’s data. In this vision, citizens could store their privacy preferences in a national-centralized repository (Fig. 1) with the aim of helping businesses to know how they could interact with them, without running the risk of being intrusive.
Fig. 1. Citizen privacy DB
Consulting these preferences would allow a business to answer some questions that it may have about how to legitimately use a citizen’s personal data, without incurring in an invasion of privacy or without going against their will. Like, what kind of data does the citizen accept to be used (e.g. face image, purchase history, location, e-mail address)? For what purpose (e.g., product promotion, surveys, cross-selling, store presence recognition)? At what time (e.g., only during the purchase process, within three months after providing a service)? How can contact data be used (e.g., to send an e-mail, sms and/or letter, to make a voice call)? Can customer data be shared with partners? If so, which data? Can the company use some kind of data or was it blacklisted by the citizen? The following images exemplify some scenarios, either physical or online, where this model could be applied, to illustrate how interactions between a business and its customers could be mediated by privacy rules. The recent approval of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) has changed the way organizations
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Fig. 2. E-commerce buying experience
and businesses deal with data privacy. A visible impact of GDPR, together with the ePrivacy Directive (EPD), was in the use of the Internet, particularly accessing to websites including those of e-commerce. In fact, whenever a website is accessed for the first time, a user must explicitly consent to the type of cookies they accept to be used, with some websites offering the possibility of deactivating all unnecessary cookies with just one click while others require a lot of additional work to do so, often beating users by tiredness and leading them to accept everything without restrictions in order to move forward. The use of Citizen Privacy Database Access by the e-commerce sites would increase the fulfilment of citizens’ wishes regarding their privacy preferences (Fig. 2), since questions such as the ones presented above would be answered directly by the database, avoiding more frivolous responses by the user and free up that task, sometimes tedious, from the user. A recurring situation would be when registering on a website, in which questions related to privacy, such as accepting to receive newsletters, or accepting to share data with partners, could also be answered more accurately by the Citizen Privacy DB, avoiding hasty responses by the customer. Another possibility would be that the website stays with the indication that after three years, for example, if no new purchase was made, then the personal data retained should be deleted. The Privacy Sell System (PSS) would have the task of checking what information could be used in this interaction with the customer, what type of interaction could be made, and how the new data obtained could be saved on the Business Database, whether associated with the customer record or just anonymously. For this purpose, the PSS would verify the customer’s privacy profile in the company’s Customers Privacy Database which, in turn, reflected the existing Citizen Privacy Database profile, that could be specific to that company, related to the type of business or, if none of these exist, a generic profile. In the context of visiting a physical store, a customer could benefit from an enriched and differentiated shopping experience with the help of sensors, whether belonging to him/her or to the physical space itself (Fig. 3). For example, using the Bluetooth of the customer’s mobile phone or an image recognition system, it would be possible to identify the customer, the route taken inside the store or in which sections it took the longest. This data could be used to identify the customer and to feed the CRM software with the learned behavior and, at the same time, giving guidance to the frontline seller
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for a more successful interaction and enabling real-time decision making and support. In line with the scenario described previously, the PSS will have a central role assuring ensuring the citizen’s privacy compliance and will behave in a similar way.
Fig. 3. Physical buying experience
Now let’s look how privacy options are important in an IoT advertising experience (Fig. 4). Suppose the case of a clothing store. Upon entering, a regular customer was identified by the facial recognition system. Although, by default, this citizen does not allow facial recognition by companies, he chose to make an exception for this particular store because he trusts its data processing terms and because of the additional services that it could provide. RFID sensors on the shelves detect when the customer takes a shirt and the advertising system wants to show a picture of him with the shirt and also with matching pants. Since his privacy profile does not agree with the disclosure of his image to the public, the photo cannot be shown on a nearby monitor. But as the customer accepts the company’s contact via e-mail, a message will automatically be sent with that photo and, at the same time, an SMS is sent offering an extra discount of 10% on the next 30 min. Enthusiastic, the customer goes to a fitting room and, when his presence is detected through the Bluetooth signal of his smartphone, the ambient audio system adapts to his musical preferences, known due to the partnership that the store made with a streaming platform and since his privacy profile was not opposed to that. The temperature in the dressing room is slightly lowered as the customer in a past visit complained that it was too hot, and he didn’t care that this store kept a record of its interactions with employees. As we have seen, in such scenario it is possible to harmonize advertising personalization and respect for privacy. The Privacy Advertising System (PAS) will make the integration of data collected by the IoT detection and/or identification technologies with the existing information on the Business Database to create an intelligent environment adapted to the customer, but always ensuring that before that it goes through the sieve of their privacy preferences, retained in the privacy databases. The Citizen Privacy Database that we have been talking about would be under the authority of government entities in the citizen’s country of origin. To allow a global
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Fig. 4. IoT Advertising experience with privacy in a physical space
Fig. 5. Shop experience in a European context
dimension of this service, not only online but also physically, an international roaming platform could be implemented to guarantee simplified access to the Citizen Privacy Database of any country member, which makes perfect sense in a common economic space such as the European Union (Fig. 5), not being limited to it but rather being worldwide. To achieve this, the interaction with a Citizen’s Privacy Database made from a country other than the country of origin would be done through that country local privacy database, which would serve as an intermediary.
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5 Conclusion The IoT has been shaping the way users interact with the surrounding environment. In the business domain, new possibilities open up that could lead to a reengineering in CRM and how we structure a whole sales and marketing process. However, this path has and will continue to be a huge challenge in the field of security and in particular in the field of privacy. The dichotomy between providing a personalized service to the point of being individualized and the ability to not be intrusive is a very complex challenge. Accordingly, it is necessary to ensure that the user’s data will always be safe (in all phases and processes) and that they will only be used when and how the user allows and defines it. The multiplicity and transversality of services with which users interact has envisioned a very dispersed privacy control process, where the user has no real control (if not a true notion) over who has their data, what that data is and how that data is being used. In order to contribute to solving this problem, this work presents a conceptual model where the central figure is the citizen. This view that, before being a customer, a user is a citizen, should, in our opinion, lead to the definition of privacy policies being defined, by the user, as a citizen, on a platform regulated by his country of origin; being articulated with the platforms of the companies with which the citizen interacts as a customer. This approach is based on the premise of citizen empowerment, with regard to their ability to define, control and monitor the privacy policies that will be used to control business experiences and how the IoT world will interact with that citizen. Acknowledgements. UNIAG, R&D unit funded by the FCT – Portuguese Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education UIDB/04752/2020.
References 1. Zimmermann, A., Schmidt, R., Sandkuhl, K., Wißotzki, M., Jugel, D., Möhring, M.: Digital enterprise architecture-transformation for the internet of things. In: IEEE 19th International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Workshop. IEEE (2015) 2. Okazaki, S., Eisend, M., Plangger, K., Ruyter, K., Grewal, D.: Understanding the strategic consequences of customer privacy concerns: a meta-analytic review. J. Retail. (2020). ISSN 0022-4359 3. Schneider, M.J., Jagpal, S., Gupta, S., Li, S., Yu, Y.: Protecting customer privacy when marketing with second-party data. Int. J. Res. Mark. 34(3), 593–603 (2017). ISSN 0167-8116 4. Tawalbeh, L., Muheidat, F., Tawalbeh, M., Quwaider, M.: IoT privacy and security: challenges and solutions. Appl. Sci. 10, 4102 (2020) 5. Virat, M.S., Bindu, S.M., Aishwarya, B., Dhanush, B.N., Kounte, M.R.: Security and privacy challenges in internet of things. In: 2018 2nd International Conference on Trends in Electronics and Informatics (ICOEI), Tirunelveli, pp. 454–460 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICOEI. 2018.8553919
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6. Gupta, S.S., Khan, M.S., Sethi, T.: Latest trends in security, privacy and trust in IOT. In: 3rd International conference on Electronics, Communication and Aerospace Technology (ICECA), Coimbatore, India, pp. 382–385 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICECA.2019.882 2178 7. Kraijak, S., Tuwanut, P.: A survey on internet of things architecture, protocols, possible applications, security, privacy, real-world implementation and future trends. In: 2015 IEEE 16th International Conference on Communication Technology (ICCT), Hangzhou, pp. 26–31 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCT.2015.7399787 8. Ziegeldorf, J.H., Morchon, O.G., Wehrle, K.: Privacy in the internet of things: threats and challenges, security comm. Networks 7, 2728–2742 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1002/sec.795 9. Lee, J., Kim, H.: Security and privacy challenges in the internet of things security and privacy matters. IEEE Consum. Electron. Mag. 6(3), 134–136 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1109/MCE. 2017.2685019 10. Mohanty, S.N., Ramya, K.C., Rani, S.S., Gupta, D., Shankar, K., Lakshmanaprabu, S.K., Khanna, A.: An efficient lightweight integrated blockchain (ELIB) model for IoT security and privacy. Future Gener. Comput. Syst. 102, 1027–1037 (2020). ISSN 0167-739X 11. Fremantle, P., Aziz, B., Kirkham, T.: Enhancing IoT Security and privacy with distributed ledgers - a position paper. In: Ramachandran, M., Méndez Muñoz, V., Kantere, V., Wills, G., Walters, R., Chang, V. (eds.) Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on the Internet of Things, Big Data and Security, pp. 344–349. SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications (2020). https://doi.org/10.5220/0006353903440349 12. Ling, Z., Liu, K., Xu, Y., Jin, Y., Fu, X.: An end-to-end view of IoT security and privacy. In: GLOBECOM 2017 - 2017 IEEE Global Communications Conference, Singapore, pp. 1– 7https://doi.org/10.1109/GLOCOM.2017.8254011 13. Abomhara, M., Køien, G.M.: Security and privacy in the Internet of Things: current status and open issues. In: International Conference on Privacy and Security in Mobile Systems (PRISMS), Aalborg, pp. 1–8 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1109/PRISMS.2014.6970594 14. Zhou, W., Jia, Y., Peng, A., Zhang, Y., Liu, P.: The effect of IoT new features on security and privacy: new threats, existing solutions, and challenges yet to be solved. IEEE Internet of Things J. 6(2), 1606–1616 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1109/JIOT.2018.2847733 15. Chen, L., Thombre S., Järvinen, K., Lohan. E.S., Alén-Savikko, A., Leppäkoski, H., Bhuiyan and, M. Z. H., Bu-Pasha, S., Ferrara, G. N., Honkala, S., Lindqvist, J., Ruotsalainen, L., Korpisaari, P., Kuusniemi, H.: Robustness, security and privacy in location-based services for future IoT: a survey. IEEE Access 5, 8956–8977 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS. 2017.2695525 16. Yang, Y., Wu, L., Yin, G., Li, L. Zhao, H.: A survey on security and privacy issues in internetof-things. IEEE Internet of Things J. 4(5), 1250–1258 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1109/JIOT. 2017.2694844 17. Al-Turjman, F., Zahmatkesh, H., Shahroze, R.: An overview of security and privacy in smart cities’ IoT communications. Trans Emerging Tel Tech (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/ett. 3677 18. Latif, S., Zafar, N. A. (2017). A survey of security and privacy issues in IoT for smart cities, Fifth International Conference on Aerospace Science & Engineering (ICASE), Islamabad, 2017, pp. 1–5, doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICASE.2017.8374288. 19. Wang, H., Jiang, X. Kambourakis, G. (2015). Special issue on Security, Privacy and Trust in network-based Big Data. Inf. Sci. Int. J. 318(C), 48–50. 20. Wang, H., Zhang, Z. & Taleb, T. (2018). Editorial: Special Issue on Security and Privacy of IoT. World Wide Web 21, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11280-017-0490-9
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Use of Bots to Support Management Software Development and Streamline Client/Producer Communication in the 5.0 Industry Gustavo Caiza1
, Fernando Ibarra-Torres2(B) , Marcelo V. Garcia2 and Valeria Barona-Pico2
,
1 Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, UPS, 170146 Quito, Ecuador
[email protected] 2 Universidad Técnica de Ambato, UTA, 180103 Ambato, Ecuador
{of.ibarra,mv.garcia,va.barona}@uta.edu.ec
Abstract. Bots built on management software platforms are a new tool to improve daily communication between users of the same application. Its use shows advantages thanks to the possibility of automating the process of communication, production and distribution of products in general, and even to follow live events or news information that is published through the respective modules of the management systems. Gradually, companies are adapting their strategies to the use of these tools and process automation. This research presents the results of a discussion group with forty-six professionals in the software developer, which aims to analyze the bot phenomenon in Ecuador. The initial results reveal that software development and the industry are in a stage of adoption of this technology, although the first success stories can already be seen. The discussion group was formed taking into account the experience in the area of software development and the practice in the implementation of bots. Keywords: Bots · Management software · Industry · Artificial intelligence · Software development
1 Introduction Bots are basically software with artificial intelligence to be used in multiple processes [1], they gain strength as software developers get involved in artificial intelligence, and they improve certain human activities [2]. The adoption of this technology, although relatively new, by the 5.0 industry and software developers has led to the creation of new tools such as chatbots: a program that interacts with users using natural language to simulate a human conversation [3]. [3] Chatbots usually establish the conversation through text, although there are also models that have a multimedia user interface. Every day new uses of this type of software arise depending on the objectives of each organization, and efforts are being intensified so that most of it is adopted by business software [5]. The industry 5.0 seeks precisely to return the protagonist role to the user, so we can talk about what means or channels that streamline communication is necessary [6], in © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 401–410, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_39
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general the information management bots come to become these means [7]. Chatbots were born with a therapist approach, perhaps in the beginning it started as a little valued element, but today they are very widespread [8]. As for the programming language used for development, practically every high-level language helps in the creation of bots [2]. With this background we can find chatbots oriented to communication, such is the case of Quakebot, an automatic message generator based on algorithms [9]. This phenomenon brought about a professional revolution in communication, Quakebot allows writing and programming messages based on custom algorithms and filters to provide automatic content adapted to the interests of users [9]. To contribute to this introduction, and complementing the previous paragraph, the discussion group has identified PHP with 27% as the first language for creating bots, secondly, with 24% they point to Javascript and with 14% to Python. Among the reasons they valued for choosing a decision they mention the simplicity of using functions or methods specific to each language and the ease of learning them. In the study [9], it is pointed out that mechanized work serves to communicate and speed up the communication process between different sectors. In spite of the benefits of the different software tools to help client - producer communication, the study identifies the low quality of communication that information systems currently provide and the little interest that exists on the part of software project managers who seek to improve the different aspects involved in the communication process. At the moment, the study also points out that process automation cannot yet carry out a communication process similar to that of humans. This leaves a wide field for research. With the previous precedent, the interest in improving the use of chatbots has grown, and among the new features that have been implemented is already the possibility of maintaining a logical and pseudo-intelligent conversation in a given language [10]. Currently, Facebook has enabled its conversational interface, where 30,000 bots have been created, in addition to those from platforms such as Kik, Skype, Telegram, WeChat, Slack or Line, and others [11]. Other business areas such as journalism have also begun to use the chatbot phenomenon. Worldwide, organizations are betting on the creation of their own bots. This is the case of the European industry, which with the revolution in the beginning of the industry 4.0, started to automate as many processes as possible; now with the arrival of the industry 5.0 they see the need to standardize those automated processes and feed them with information from the client [13, 6]. Industry 5.0 focuses on an improved future with the use of machines; in fact, it is estimated that 85% of user interactions will occur without human intervention [14]. That is to say, we will have more conversations with bots than with people. Moreover, according to the study [14], the way of communication will be, increasingly, through chatbots, ratifying the importance of them. However, some expert software developers consider that the phenomenon of bots responds to another form of communication experimentation and on a temporary basis, although they do not rule out the possibility that the use of this technology through software would help improve the use of information systems [17]. Therefore, the more experimentation with bot, the more knowledge and contribution to science can be delivered, especially when this experimentation is combined in the
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industry and software development sectors [18]. Now, among the main types of bots that have been developed are: dampeners bots (they silence certain messages, channels or voices); amplifiers bots (they intentionally seek to increase the number of voices or focus attention on particular voices and messages); transparency bots (automated operators that use social media to draw attention to the behavior of particular actors, especially politicians); server bots or butlers (help simplify data analysis and monitor government websites and report any updates or changes); updates bots (publish content from feeds); suggestion bots (publish information in response to user searches); answers bots (provide information to users in response to their requests). In Fig. 1, 50% of the software developers in the discussion group believe that if there is an upsurge in misuse of bots in different forms, 46% believe that no misuse of bots has occurred, and 4% remain neutral. However, it is important to note that, although with a small margin, software developers are inclined to identify misuse of these tools that were originally born to favor the automation of certain processes.
Analysis on the consideraƟon that a misuse for the bot has been propagated. 17%
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26% 4% COMPLETE AGREEMENT
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Fig. 1. Consideration of misuse of bot.
2 Bots in the Software The client’s possibilities for obtaining or generating information have multiplied and, despite the fact that the software industry is generating tools and computer applications, new utilities are continually appearing for combining them with bots [19]. The reuse of the bot adds to these useful tools by constantly giving them new functionalities, so software developers are faced with new challenges, the challenge of using bot in their applications. Software companies, considered to be large in the world of technology, manage their own chatbots, especially for mobile instant messaging (MIM) such as Facebook Messenger, Telegram or Slack, among others [18]. The way software developers of these bots use them, they are framed within the conversational genres, that is, through direct interaction with end users. The main objective of these types of bots is to achieve a greater connection with the end user and thus
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establish a software client relationship in order to better respond to their needs and requirements [17]. To reinforce what was said in the previous paragraph, the group of software developers that make up the discussion group agree that 89% of chatbots do favor communication between users within an application, while 11% consider that communication has not improved. The effectiveness of these bots depends on the ability of software developers to overcome to adopt and adapt this technology to their applications, but it must be borne in mind that the use of the application with this type of complement is conditioned by the interaction with the user, ie, to measure the level of success of the implementation of these components will depend on the use and benefits they provide [17]. The discussion group formed in this research also agrees with the studies taken into account in the previous paragraph, since 35% consider the use of bots to help, improve and speed up communication between users of the information system to be the most important point. The remaining percentage shares the automation of production processes. It should be noted that the production and dissemination of information is where the software industry has concentrated most [15]. An example of this is the application being developed by the Technical University of Ambato in agreement with the footwear sector in Tungurahua, which was born in 2018 as a project to manage the sector’s information through a management system, taking advantage of the ephemeral nature that this technology allows and which is currently consolidated. In the study [2], it is pointed out that the importance of computer platforms that involve the use of bots in their development is undoubtedly to give them an additional plus, software developers become the architects of customer-producer communication. And bots will be part of the new techno production scenario.
3 Objectives and Methodology The present research work is based on the technique of focus groups, to respond to the objective of the research: to analyze the use of bots and chatbots as tools of interaction between the client and producer in management software. To this end, we have formulated the following research questions: PQ1: How complex is it to implement bot technology in management software? PQ2: What is the most suitable programming language for developing bots? The selection of the sample of software developers was straightforward; it was formed: 10 software development specialists, 9 software development analysts, 18 independent software developers, 5 project managers and 3 IT directors or managers were used. Of which 16 professionals belong to the Technology Department of the Technical University of Ambato, the remaining 30 professionals belong to private software development companies in the region. These professionals answered a series of planned questions previously elaborated. The public and private software development companies selected to participate in the focus group were chosen to gather the most criteria and also because of their importance
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in the local software industry. An additional aspect is the previous use of chatbot in some of their applications offered in the software development market. For ease of mobilization the meeting was held virtually in the city of Ambato Tungurahua, in June 2019. In order to choose the software developers, we took into account their professional experience, their knowledge of programming languages and their experience in the area of application development with bots. In addition, we chose to limit the number of similar socio-demographic characteristics, such as age, job position and years of experience. Once the information was collected, the results were analyzed using deductive reasoning, grouping the responses by topic and content of the responses to the objective posed during the focus group [15]. In order to visualize the responses at the request of the participants, it was decided to keep their anonymity and proceeded to code them with a capital R (for experienced software developer response) followed by a script and the initials of the company to which they belonged.
SoŌware favored by implemenƟng bots 2% 7% 20%
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ERP
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TransacƟon Processing System
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Fig. 2. Software favored by implementing bots.
4 Results Analyzing the responses of the software developers selected for the focus group we can say that in terms of the development of bots, we have the following characteristics: – Development of bots to enhance play, especially has been used to develop software user loyalty with respect to a computer application, such applications are of various uses and purposes, for example software focused on sales and automation of logistics
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processes, thanks to the use of bots focused on this issue have been able to demonstrate the increase of new customers who purchase the product, especially SMEs, software development companies are currently focusing on entering and large industries with this type of technology and meet the demands of the Industry 5.0. – As it is visualized in Fig. 2, to criterion of the discussion group, the software of management information is seen but favored by the implementation of bots, in view that it grants a greater possibility of combining an application with artificial intelligence, arriving to simulate with great realism quite complex conversations. In addition to speeding up and economizing processes where more than one person is involved, such as buying and selling processes, with bots you get user feedback to identify market trends and consequently generate more satisfied customers. – Most software developers agree that before using this technology, it is necessary to make a previous implementation strategy and define very well the objectives of the software and the contents of the bot, another aspect is to make the bot with the appropriate technical tools, among the tools preferred by software developers highlights Microsoft Bot, Amazon lex, Dialogflow, also training software developers in the new programming paradigm that is natural language or machine learning is an important point. – There is a small group of software developers who are skeptical of the use of bots and their functionality. Two software development professionals said that they see bots as a bit complex to understand for users and test engineers in their applications. Therefore, they consider it important that before implementing a bot in an application, they first plan a training on its use and approach. Besides making the respective documentation on the bot code, this especially so that the test engineer can evaluate it and verify its operation or not. 4.1 Advantages and Problems of Using Bots The software developers who are voluntary members of this research identify the following disadvantages for the development of a bot; one group of them considers that it would be preferable to reuse some of the existing bots in the applications to avoid lengthening the development times of a project and another group points out that even in the current software development market this technology is not exploited. Taking as reference the second disadvantage raised in the previous paragraph, it is deduced that precisely the software industry in Ecuador is not taking advantage of the use of bots, and in several of its applications they prefer in a simple way only to reuse certain bots available by social networks. In spite of what was mentioned in the two previous paragraphs, independent software developers believe that the use of bots will make a difference in the software industry in the not too distant future, given that multinational software companies are beginning to implement chatbots in their products. Mostly because, as we have reviewed in this study, for manufacturing it is not necessary to learn a new programming language but basically to perform them in the best known ones. An important group of software developers, say that there is a major challenge in preparing especially new software developers on building these add-ons from scratch.
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In view of the fact that at the educational level they mention there is currently a deficit in the teaching of this technology. As for the positive points of this bot technology, most software developers agree that a bot fully supports the customer-producer interaction in a software application. Several of them even mention to have already success stories especially with the combination with app. In Fig. 3, we can visualize that even 81% of people who request an information system to be developed, indirectly point out at least one requirement that is directly involved with the implementation of a bot.
Need to integrate a bot by requirement 17%
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81% Yes
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Possibly
Fig. 3. Need to integrate a bot by requirement
As for the learning time for software developers who do not know how to produce this type of components, it is considered that due to the programming language to be used and the simple techniques of analysis, the learning time is not very long. The price of the technology is also a great advantage for the software developers because they can use already existing applications without any cost for the use. 4.2 Bots and Artificial Intelligence Without a doubt the use of artificial intelligence is an important point to be assimilated by software developers. Most of the software industry already handles or is in the process of implementing the different techniques or tools to manipulate machine learning. The learning of these techniques by software developers is highly agile and useful to manipulate through natural language and simulate human conversations and favor the interaction with the user - producer. Although it is a relatively new technology to be implemented in the software of the region, the objectives must be correctly defined in relation to the bots, specifically to verify if it is useful for the final user of the application and if it helps or not to respond or anticipate their needs. In this sense, the great advantage of artificial intelligence with the business environment is based on the creation of commercial and production applications, including automation, language processing and productive data analysis. This produces that it
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is allowed at general level the optimization as much of its processes of manufacture, operations as improvement in its internal efficiency [2]. Artificial Intelligence through different computer programming rules, will allow the machine to behave like a human and solve problems [18]; the interest of companies to implement artificial intelligence techniques in their processes lies then in the sales that it brings above all in the empowerment of creative tasks and in the reduction of time for data analysis, the latter already being able to be combined with the use of intelligent bots [13]. In terms of data extraction by end users, and based on the opinions of the software developers who are members of this research, several successful experiences are already being considered. From applications that help to build user loyalty to the combination of user movements [15]. In each of these applications appropriate information is revealed, confirming the use and proper functioning of the bots by the user, a practical example at the international level are the bots used by Facebook to generate information based on certain events. An important aspect that is considered by software developers is how to help the user to exchange information [16]. Finally, the use of natural language is most valued by software developers in the sample consulted. It was identified as a strong point in terms of competitiveness by software organizations, and also as an important addition to applications that already make use of bots among their functionalities. 4.3 Bots, and Their Impact on Software Developers The impact generated by the bots will be differentiated in two ways: firstly, by the novice software developers, who have been identified by the expert developers as the most agile in understanding the use and implementation of this technology, and then also the users between 18 and 37 years old are the ones who better understand the use of the bots without the need of a previous explanation in several cases. In Fig. 4, we can confirm this, 80% of the developers in the discussion group identify precisely the novice or inexperienced developers as the most suitable to get involved in the world of bot development.
Easy to learn how to use or program a bot 20%
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Fig. 4. Easy to learn how to use or program a bot
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5 Discussion and Conclusions This research responds to the main objective of analyzing the impact of the use of bots as tools to speed up client - producer communication through a management system, based on the opinion of expert software developers in Ecuador. With the analysis of the results, two important factors become evident, first the internal impact within the software industry that constantly seeks to renew its products, and the way in which the communication between the client and the producer is made more agile and flexible through the use of bots implemented in computer applications. About 80% of software developers participating in this research agree on the potential of bots in combination with software applications, in our case with management systems. However, this study was also an opportunity to expose or evidence that a certain type of resistance to the use and implementation of bots in the systems can be generated in spite of the positive results in most cases. In the study [2], it is identified that the next decade will make the use of bots primordial to guarantee the success of a software application, given that it is estimated that the greatest amount of interaction between the client and the producer in the 5.0 Industry will be generated with this technology. Due to the impact that first comprises the bot and followed by the increasingly constant automation of different processes in the industry in general. The bet on data analysis, combined with the functionalities that by default have the computer applications give a new plus to the software market, a market where the end user is no longer satisfied with just sending data, but looks forward to receiving information in real time. Another important result obtained with the study is the definition that the use of bots is already in different areas, each of which seeks to adapt the use of bots to their specific needs. In the case of the software development industry, we show how they are adapting or creating bots to facilitate interaction with existing applications. In addition to defining that for the creation and subsequent implementation is not a big problem in view of the breadth of programming languages that allow this process. On the other hand, the construction is much less expensive and the implementation can be a pleasant experience for both the user of the application and the software developer. In the current market we already have several bots available that make management systems a much more powerful tool in terms of information management, for example, we already have bots like Crisp that seeks interaction with web users to improve the customer experience, we can also mention Chatfuel that as an additional plus you do not need to add source code, but simply add content with links and edit responses. And to help the software developer when creating applications, we recommend the use of CSSRooster that for web management systems already allows the creation of css classes for html with deep learning techniques.
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Model for Dynamics Credit Risk Characterization and Profit Inference in Credit Card Fintechs João Paulo Vieira Costa(B) , Cleber Mitchell de Lima(B) , Newton Franklin Almeida(B) , Ricardo Matos Chaim(B) , and João Carlos Félix Souza(B) University of Brasília, Brasilia, Brazil {190135042,190132311,190133031}@aluno.unb.br, {ricardoc,jocafs}@unb.br
Abstract. Fintechs have gained strong momentum in recent years showing high growth rates and very significant turnover. Agile, differentiated and technological services, including credit cards, are successfully facing traditional banking services. In this article, a case study in the Brazilian financial market, System Dynamics simulates the adoption of technology and products of these new banking services. The modeling adopts regulatory parameters of the Central Bank of Brazil, regarding customer portfolio, credit portfolio of the revolving revenue, credit loss provisioning, and default rate. The focus is mapping credit risk dynamics in Brazilian markets to support decision of managers and investors. The results, obtained from the simulations, showed positive and growing profits when we use variables with similar values to those of the current scenario. Additionally, action on interest rates on revolving credit rates affects the profitability of these projects. The presented system can be used to support investment evaluation and or managers decision in this area. Keywords: Fintech · System dynamics · Credit card · Credit risk
1 Introduction The credit market represents the financial market segment where institutions raise funds from sectors that have resources available and offer loans to sectors or customers in need. Hence, they are remunerated by the difference between what is lent and what is received (spread) [1]. Usually, these are operations with a limited and short term, for emergency actions and have the characteristic of having a legal order and contractual formalization. Understanding its dynamics is essential for the smooth functioning of the gears of any country’s economy and its interaction with others. Understanding the difficulties in calculating risks inherent to this dynamic is a major factor, according to Wenzler [2], for which it is possible to price them accurately, provided that the appropriate structural model is adopted. With the use of a correct modeling it is possible to reduce risks and uncertainties, which is a necessary fact to be taken into © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 411–421, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_40
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account in all analysis about this complex dynamic. In view of the advantages and risks inherent in the credit market, its knowledge is of vital importance for entrepreneurs who wish to succeed in entering into this market. In terms of new entrants to the market, Fintechs stand out, which have been gaining strong momentum in recent years [3]. Fintech is a term coined, according to Gomber [4], from the idea of merging technology and finance in the same institution, which resulted in a new service sector, which emerged in the early 21st century. Cortina [5] notes that data on fintechs are still a little obscure and scarce, but sufficient to understand that they have a strong growth trend. Several emerging countries are investing in financial technology, as Kim [6] explains, as a way to establish business strategies based on cost leadership. From lower costs, greater benefits are obtained, as well as in differentiation of products and services, as a mechanism to obtain greater customer acquisition. In this context, Brazil, according to Mattos [7] is undergoing an evolution, since, with the technological revolution of the 21st century, consumers have become more aware and demanding of their rights, due to the great offer of available services. All these recent movements in the financial market, namely new technologies and fintechs, contribute to constant changes in this environment. In view of this scenario, this work aims to provide greater clarity on the profitability dynamics of fintechs, considering the particularities of credit risk management in the Brazilian market. In addition to this introduction, we divided this article into four more sections. In the second section, we present concepts on systems dynamics, functioning of credit risk protection in Brazil, as well as a presentation of the scenario of recent studies related to the topic, with a state of the art view in terms of identifying credit risks and the influence of profitability in managing risk appetite for fintechs that operate credit cards. In the third, we establish methodological steps adopted in the elaboration of the, while in the fourth section we show the main results obtained. Finally, in the fifth part, the conclusion, we discuss the scope and limitations of the study, the interpretation of the results and suggestions for the advancement of this research in new studies.
2 Theoretical Reference 2.1 System Dynamics Created by Jay Forrester, System Dynamics (DS) had as its ground zero the 1961 publication of the work “Industrial Dynamics”, Forrester [8]. SD is a modeling and simulation tool that implements a systemic view on scenarios and complex case studies. With software tools, the knowledge about a study object is registered in a model and, from this, multiple evolution developments of the system can be created that greatly facilitate the understanding of possible future behaviors. As a result, elements that support the decision-making processes linked to it are obtained. According to Sterman [9], to capture the reality in search of the solution of specific problems, the modeling embedded in Systems Dynamics (SD) involves a constant iteration between cycles of experiments and learning, both in the real world and in the virtual world, using software tools.
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2.2 Provisioning Dynamics for Credit Risk in Brazil Regarding the structure for credit risk management, Resolution No. 2682, of December 21, 1999, from the National Monetary Council [10], establishes rules for financial institutions to classify their credit operations in levels and risks. This classification must take into account information about the debtor, guarantees and the operation and, based on this categorization, the Provision for Doubtful Debts (PDD) is set up. Still under this Resolution, criteria for monthly review of risk ratings are set, due to delays in credit operations. In these criteria, nine risk levels for credit operations are established, being that: up to 14 days of delay in payment of operations can be classified in levels AA and A; 15 to 30 days late, operations must be classified at least at level B; with 31 days late, operations must have at least risk C; and after this level, at every 30 days of delay there is an increase in the minimum level of risk classification, up to risk level H, when there is more than 180 days of delay. For all the value of the portfolio classified with the level of risk, an PDD must be constituted with the percentage presented. Resolution No. 2682 further stipulates that, after 180 days classified at risk level H, credit operations can be accounted for loss. 2.3 Related Works Several studies carried out using simulation techniques to assess the risks associated with the credit market can be found in the literature. Schwab [11] presents a case study, applied to Swiss companies, to explore the impact of the financial sector on the growth of medium and small companies. Based on the combination of system dynamics and agentbased models, to, respectively, describe the system behavior and individual agents, the authors conclude that the limits granted by banks and bank regulations in the relationship between these companies and banks. On understanding the factors associated with bank profitability, Dietrich [12] analyzes the results of 372 commercial banks in Sweden for comprehension. The authors highlight the importance of the ratio between provision for credit risk coverage and total loan balance as an indicator of credit quality and highlight that, during the 2007–2009 crisis, the increase in this indicator had a negative effect on profitability of banks. Still on the issue of bank profitability, Shahabi [13] uses SD to investigate the effect of expanding fintechs on bank profitability. In this study, based on system modeling, the authors consider that the growing investment in electronic banks can increase the profitability of banks, based on the popularization of online services. In the same work, the adequacy of the use of SD is highlighted, with bank expansion as a process that occurs over time and considering the effects of the model constructs on cost reduction. Systems Dynamics (SD) is a well-established discipline and has been used with great success in modeling and simulating problems in a wide variety of areas. These are studies that pervade the pioneering sector of their employment - industrial, oil - Morecroft [14], passing through the health sector - Atkinson [15] and Cavana [16], control of laboratory experiments - Aramburo [17], actuarial market - Chaim [18] and, among others, as the sector of this study, the financial-technological, as more recently, the case of Fintechs Lee [19] and Milian [20].
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Similar to Shalabi’s study [13], this work considers the process resulting from the management of credit risk and the effect of associated variables on profitability, subsidizing SD adequacy for this purpose. The following section describes the methodology used to apply this approach.
3 Methodology To simulate a credit card system, involving its use, credit risk and main expenses and revenues, this research uses the Vensim tool [21]. The system was simulated so that each step represents a monthly position of the variables included. The system description can be split in three parts, which are: (a) simulation of acquisition, customer maintenance and their associated costs; (b) system simulation of delays and recoveries in customer operations; and (c) accounting in which the results are considered for the calculation of main revenues and expenses. This work is characterized as a case study, using SD to evaluate the profitability dynamics of Fintechs, considering the credit risk management applied to the Brazilian context in the credit card market. To define the model variables and evaluate their outputs, data from the annual results of a Brazilian Fintech were used. 3.1 System Variables The system’s variables involve the cost of capturing operations, revenue from the revolving share, total new customers, values from the credit portfolio, churn rate, in addition to default and recovery rates. It is noteworthy that this work presents a simulation system for the evaluation of investment projects in the card sector with particularities in the Brazilian market, meaning that project managers and investors in market research can raise the figures in more detail. The applied method takes into account the following factors: (a) the number of new customers was obtained from a Poisson distribution, similar to the new contract simulation in the study carried out by Annibal [22]; (b) the average of new monthly customers used was 18,900, based on the historical monthly average of new credit cards issued by a Brazilian fintech from January 2017 to June 2020; (c) the monthly Churn rate was based on a sample of credit card customers described in Kaya’s work [23]; (d) The decline in recovery rates was also inspired by the simulation of this work. However, with the objective of obtaining one after a 90-day default, similar to that calculated for unsecured working capital in Silva’s work [24]. That is, in this work the loss after 90 days default was 89.7%; (e) the recovery rates applied for each default range were: 70%, between 31 and 60 days; 40%, between 61 and 90 days; 6%, between 91 and 120 days; 2%, between 121 and 150 days; 0.7% between 151 and 180 days; 0.5% for the three monthly ranges between 181 and 270 days; 0.3% between 271 and 300 days; 0.1% between 301 and 330 days; 0.05% between 331 and 360 days; and 100% of the balance with default over 360 days was considered a loss; (f) The rate of current customers who entered the range from 31 to 60 days was defined as a normal distribution with an average of 6% and standard deviation of 0.3%; (g) the cost of borrowing the loan portfolio was calculated as the average monthly Interbank Deposit Certificate (CDI) rate in Brazil
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[25] from January 2017 to June 2020. The revolving rate considered values close to those practiced in Brazil today (around 300% per year); (h) customer acquisition costs and operating expenses for maintaining them were calculated as the average monthly acquisition costs and operating expenses per customer declared by a Brazilian fintech in financial statements from January 2017 to June 2020. The figures of the current and overdue portfolios were based on the cash credit card portfolio divided by the total credit cards declared by a Brazilian fintech from July 2018 to June 2020. Based on these data, the values were calculated as from a normal distribution, with an average of 984 Brazilian Reais (BRL) and a standard deviation of 82 BRL applied to customer quantities. Through these values, it was possible to calculate credit provisions, using the percentages of Resolution No. 2,682 [10] and interchange revenues, which were calculated as 1.5% of the cash portfolio. As collection of taxes on revenues, 11% was applied to exchange revenues and 4.65% to revolving credit revenues. Monthly income and expenses were calculated as the sum of income from interchange, fines and revolving credit, less customer acquisition and maintenance expenses, tax expenses, credit provisions and funding costs. In order to present an investment view, the results were corrected by a risk-free rate. For this correction, SUSEP’s risk-free term interest rate (ETTJ) structure was used [26] with the Brazilian Reference Rate (TR), calculated using the Svensson model. The Social Contribution on Net Income (CSLL) of 20% was discounted on the annual results.
4 Results and Analysis 4.1 Simulation of Customer Acquisition and Maintenance The work considers a simulation system based on a structure for acquiring new customers and churn rate (turnover). From the acquisition and the churn, a total of the company’s customers is obtained, the churn rate is applied to the total of customers. For that reason, there is a balancing loop. Figure 1 shows the customer acquisition and maintenance simulation system. In addition to simulating the entry of new customers and churn, there are costs associated with customers, which are the cost of acquiring customers (CAC) and operating expenses for serving the institution’s customers.
Fig. 1. Simulation of customer acquisition
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From the total number of customers in the company’s portfolio, there is a possibility of delays in credit card bills and, consequently, in credit provisions and revolving revenue. Hence, a system for simulating these delays has been structured, described in the following section. 4.2 Simulation of Default and Recovery For the simulation of delays, variables that represent the number of customers in each situation were considered. In general, the variables are default situations updated monthly. Of the delinquent customers, a portion goes to the next category of delay and another instalment settles the outstanding debts. Of the total number of customers, current ones are considered to be customers who did not default, in addition to those recovered from each delayed situation. Of these current customers, a portion ends up in default. Thus, there are 11 balancing loops, one for each recovery variable, linked to the total number of customers up to date. Figure 2 illustrates the operation of the default and recovery simulation system. Based on the number of customers in each customer variable, it is possible to project, on a monthly basis, figures from the credit portfolio, the total transacted, the revolving revenue, the PDD, the default rate, among others. The next section shows the form used to define the values involved in the system. By virtue of the model presented, simulations were performed with the figures taken. The simulation was carried out with the credit portfolio at a company that started with zero customers, acquired new ones and is monitoring their credit risk evolution. Simulations performed in 120 steps, with a simulation since the creation and in the following 10 years of the company, monitored monthly.
Fig. 2. Simulation of delay dynamics
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4.3 System Outputs Some model outputs were used to evaluate the values to the data observed in the market and to calculate the average figures of the system output. The first 24 months were taken into account as the system stabilization period and the remaining 96 months were also considered. As a benchmark, the following were used: the ratio between the total, revolving and total credit card portfolios, based on information from a Brazilian fintech; and the 90-day default rate (INAD 90) for credit cards in Brazil, made available by the BCB [27]. Both averages were calculated from January 2017 to June 2020. Table 1 compares the benchmark results to the data obtained in the system. In addition to this comparison, there is a balance between the level of provisioning and default, considering that the coverage index, described as how many times the provision is higher than the balance in default [28], averaged 1.11 in the simulation period. Table 1. Comparison between variables Indicator INAD 90
Benchmark System 6,40%
6,75%
% Revolving 16,32%
13,25%
Due to the unavailability of information on the specific credit card default rate in the same institution where the information was obtained, it was necessary to use the general market rate. It is noteworthy that the percentages of delay and recoveries before 90 days were calibrated, in order to balance the benchmark figures with the system values. It is understood that the default rate observed in the series generated by the system is aligned with values observed in the Brazilian market. 4.4 Applications There are several ways to apply the simulation system presented in decision making in companies or by investors. Two possibilities are: the projection of future scenarios and impacts of variables on the system and the use of profitability projections to aid the visualization of investors in projects of this type. Investment Assessment A possible application for using the system resides in the perspective of investors in fintech projects in the Brazilian market. Thus, with the system variables kept constant, it is possible to evaluate the profitability of projects, considering the dynamics of a credit card portfolio. Figure 3 presents the annual profits of a project with the variables in the values presented in the methodology of this work.
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Fig. 3. System-simulated annual profits
The results presented include operating expenses, customer acquisition costs, expenses with PDD, in addition to tax and social contribution discounts. The losses observed in the first two years stand out, with higher costs for obtaining customers in relation to the existing customer portfolio, followed by better performances in the following years with the change in this situation. From an investment perspective, updating income to present value, considering a risk-free rate, provides a better case view of a simulated project. The update by the risk-free ETTJ resulted in a present value of the 68.7 million BRL project. This way, an investor could evaluate adequate values to assemble the necessary infrastructure for the operation of a new business, or even a financial institution could evaluate the creation of a new credit portfolio, with the particularities of the market. Scenario Projections Several uncertainties have an influence on the credit environment. Having a better perception of the sensitivity of the business to the external environment is a necessity in these cases. Many situations can interfere in the behavior of the variables included in this system and, consequently, in the success and risks of the business. Funding costs and fees for revolving credit in the market are variables that may be beyond the control of credit portfolio managers. As an example of using the system to assess the sensitivity of the results to these variables, Fig. 4 shows the present value of the results considering a reduction in the revolving credit rate. As can be seen, once the other variables constant are kept, the revolving rate, for example, has an influence on the return on investment in a fintech project. It is worth noting that in the simulations carried out, even with the highest interest rate of the revolving share, the largest share of revenues comes from exchanges (above 60% of the
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Fig. 4. Present value of results by revolving rate practiced
total in its lowest importance). However, a reduction in these revenues has an impact on the result as a whole.
5 Conclusions The profitability dynamics of financial institutions in general has particularities when compared to other sectors. Because financial intermediation is the source of revenue, these companies need to operate in situations of high assets and liabilities in relation to their equity. This situation exposes these institutions to important risks, including credit, which is the possibility of non-compliance with debtors’ obligations. The form of credit risk management requires provisioning the results obtained to ensure compliance with the obligations of financial institutions to their creditors. System simulations for assessment and better understanding of sectors have been used in several sectors, including banking, with positive results for the diagnoses received by managers in these areas. This work proposed a model to simulate the results dynamics of a financial institution with a credit card portfolio. As a result, the system outputs maintained similarity with those observed in a Brazilian fintech and with the Brazilian credit market, supporting the adequacy of the method used. We also infer that the Brazilian credit risk management mechanisms ensured a measure of quality in the credit portfolio, considering the coverage indexes resulting from the model exit. For evaluations on the profitability of investments in fintechs, information on the initial capital required for operation is necessary, but it is noteworthy that positive results were obtained from the simulations in the analyzed period and that actions on interest on revolving credit can influence the profitability of these projects.
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The system presented in this study can assist investors in making decisions about investments in this market and, furthermore, managers of institutions in their market perception in which they operate and anticipate future uncertainties and risks. For this, we recommend research on specific markets and on the relationships between variables. This work contains some simplifications, incurring limitations. In general, the values were included in a situation of growth stability and a certain independence between them, a different situation from reality. For example, the increase in customers with constant numbers of customer entries is unusual. In addition, relationships between variables are expected. For instance, the reduction of the revolving rate usually comes with changes in default rates or the cost of funding. However, these situations can be parameterized in the system. Combined use or comparison with other simulation techniques can be included in future studies. The system was presented with the particularities of the Brazilian market and can be expanded to other situations. As future studies, it is possible to establish a system based on the accounting of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS 9), bringing a more global view and enabling the comparison between other markets. The study and weighting of different scenarios and the result values associated with them, using real options or other techniques, can assist in the quantification of uncertainties.
References 1. CVM: O mercado de valores mobiliários brasileiro. 3rd edn. Comissão de Valores Mobiliários, Rio de Janeiro (2014) 2. Wenzler, J.S.: Dynamics of Global Credit Markets. SSRN Electron. J. (2019).https://doi.org/ 10.2139/ssrn.3402601 3. KPMG: Pulse of Fintech H2 (2019). https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/campaigns/2020/02/ pulse-of-fintech-h2-2019.html. Accessed 19 Oct 2020 4. Gomber, P., Kauffman, R.J., Parker, C., Weber, B.W.: On the fintech revolution: interpreting the forces of innovation, disruption, and transformation in financial services. J. Manag. Inf. Syst. 35(1), 220–265 (2018) 5. Cortina, J.J., Schmukler, S.L.: The Fintech Revolution: A Threat to Global Banking? World Bank Research and Policy Briefs, 125038 (2018) 6. Kim, E., Nam, D.I., Stimpert, J.L.: The applicability of Porter’s generic strategies in the digital age: assumptions, conjectures, and suggestions. J. Manag. 30(5), 569–589 (2004) 7. Mattos, C.A., Guedes, J.V.: Análise de uma fintech a partir da taxonomia de serviços. Brazilian J. Bus. 1(2), 356–369 (2019) 8. Forrester, J.W.: The Beginning of System Dynamics. Banquet Talk at the international meeting of the System Dynamics Society Stuttgart, Germany (1989). https://web.mit.edu/sysdyn/sdintro/D-4165-1.pdf. Accessed 21 October 2020 9. Sterman, J.D.: Business Dynamics Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World. McGraw-Hill Ed., London (2000) 10. Conselho Monetário Nacional. RESOLUÇÃO No 2682. 24(3), 1–8 (1999). https://www.bcb. gov.br/pre/normativos/res/1999/pdf/res_2682_v2_L.pdf 11. Schwab, L., Gold, S., Reiner, G.: Exploring financial sustainability of SMEs during periods of production growth: a simulation study. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 212, 8–18 (2019) 12. Dietrich, A., Wanzenried, G.: Determinants of bank profitability before and during the crisis: evidence from Switzerland. J. Int. Financ. Mark. Inst. Money 21(3), 307–327 (2011)
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13. Shahabi, V., Faezy Razi, F.: Modeling the effect of electronic banking expansion on profitability using neural networks and system dynamics approach. Qual. Res. Financ. Mark. 11(2), 197–210 (2019) 14. Morecroft, J.D.W.: Strategic Modelling and Business Dynamics A Feedback Systems Approach, 2nd edn., Wiley, Hoboken (2015) 15. Atkinson, J.M., Wells, R., Page, A., Dominello, A., Haines, M., Wilson, A.: Applications of system dynamics modelling to support health policy (2015) 16. Cavana, R.Y., Clifford, L.V.: Demonstrating the utility of system dynamics for public policy analysis in New Zealand: the case of excise tax policy on tobacco. Syst. Dyn. Rev. 22(4), 321–348 (2006) 17. Aramburo, S.A.; Acevedo, J.A.C., Morales, Y.O.: Laboratory experiments in the system dynamics field. Syst. Dyn. Rev. 28(1), 94–106 (2012) 18. Chaim, R. M.: Pension Fund Risk Management: Financial and Actuarial Modeling, Chapter 6, pp. 129–155. Chapman & Hall/CRC Press, New York (2010) 19. Lee, I.; Shin, Y J.: Fintech: Ecosystem, business models, investiment decisions, and challenges (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2019.09.003 20. Milian, E.Z.; Spinola, M.M; Carvalho, M.M.: Fintechs: a literature review and research agenda. Eletron. Commer. Res. Appl. J. 34 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2019. 100833 21. Ventana Systems, 60 Jacob Gates Rd., Harvard, MA 01451. https://vensim.com 22. Annibal, C.A.: Inadimplência do Seto Bancário Brasileiro: Uma avaliação de suas medidas. Trabalhos Para Discussão (BCB) 192, 1–36 (2009) 23. Kaya, E., Dong, X., Suhara, Y., Balcisoy, S., Bozkaya, B., Pentland, A.S.: Behavioral attributes and financial churn prediction. EPJ Data Sci. 7(1), 2009 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds/ s13688-018-0165-5 24. Silva, A.C.M., Marins, J.T.M., Neves, M.B.E.: Loss Given Default: Um estudo sobre as perdas em operações prefixadas no mercado brasileiro. Trabalhos Para Discussão (BCB) 193, 1–46 (2009) 25. Banco Central do Brasil (n.d.). Calculadora do Cidadão. https://www3.bcb.gov.br/CAL CIDADAO/publico/exibirFormCorrecaoValores.do?method=exibirFormCorrecaoValores& aba=5. Accessed 06 Jan 2021 26. SUSEP – Superintendência de Seguros Rivados (Private Insurance Oversight Agency). https://www.susep.gov.br/setores-susep/cgsoa/coris/requerimentos-de-capital/risco-das-cob erturas-de-risco-durante-o-periodo-de-cobertura-para-planos-em-regime-financeiro-de-cap italizacao. Accessed 11 Nov 2020 27. Banco Central do Brasil (n.d.). Sistema Gerenciador de Séries Temporais. https://www3. bcb.gov.br/sgspub/localizarseries/localizarSeries.do?method=prepararTelaLocalizarSeries. Accessed 06 Jan 2021 28. Yanaka, G.M.: Ensaios em gestão de risco e regulação bancária [Fundação Getulio Vargas] (2014). https://bibliotecadigital.fgv.br/dspace/handle/10438/13133. Accessed 06 Jan 2021
Software Systems, Architectures, Applications and Tools
Monitoring and Prevention: How Technical Debt is Managed by Software Practitioners Boris P´erez1,2(B) , Camilo Castellanos1 , and Dar´ıo Correal1 1
Universidad de los Andes, Bogot´ a, Colombia {br.perez41,cc.castellano87,dcorreal}@uniandes.edu.co 2 Universidad Francisco de Paula Stder, C´ ucuta, Colombia [email protected]
Abstract. Technical Debt is a concept to describe the gap between current solutions and optimal solutions, which could hurt system quality. The presence of technical debt is inevitable, becoming more realistic to deal with it than try to avoid it. Therefore, it is relevant to understand how software development teams are dealing with technical debt. This study aims to characterize the practices used to monitor and prevent technical debt by software practitioners. A corpus of responses from a survey of 226 software practitioners from Chile and Colombia is used to collect and analyze these practices. Results were mostly based on the point of view of developers (87; 38.5%), project managers (49; 21.7%), and software architects (48; 21.2%) and showed that weekly/daily team meetings was the most cited practice to monitor TD items. Adoption of good practices and well-defined architecture were selected as the best practices to avoid the presence of TD in software projects. Keywords: Technical debt monitoring Insightd · Software practitioners
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· Technical debt prevention ·
Introduction
In the software development context, Technical debt (TD) is a metaphor used to describe technical decisions that can be either beneficial in the short term (higher productivity, for example) or harmful in the long term (for instance, hindering system evolution). This kind of decisions are consequences of software companies working under tight schedules and deadlines to release software in faster cycles [21]. Conscious decisions could be made to promote certain quality attributes over others or because they are the best decisions to take for some specific situation/resources. Also, unconscious decisions could be made due to a lack of knowledge in some technology, a lack of field experience, or even because of some kind of error by misunderstanding the requirements [1]. Kruchten et al. [4] stated that TD can be understood as a gap between current solution and c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 425–434, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_41
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optimal solution, which could cause a negative impact on system quality. TD management is composed of activities to allow the identification, monitoring, prevention, and payment of debt items. Despite its importance, empirical evidence about how TD is managed in real-life development teams is missing [5,15], especially, monitoring and prevention. Therefore, the goal of this study is to investigate the practices that have been used for TD monitoring, and, the practices they proposed to prevent the presence of TD in future software projects. We performed an industrial survey with 226 software practitioners from Chile and Colombia. Data collection and analysis were done following the protocol developed inside the InsighTD project [16]. The contributions of this work are two-fold. First, an analysis of the top practices on TD monitoring (team weekly/daily meetings being the most cited) and, second, an analysis of the top practices focused on preventing the injection of TD (adoption of good practices being the most cited). The rest of the paper is organized as follows: in Sect. 2 we present a description of the InsighTD project together with a comparison of similar studies. In Sect. 3, we present the survey design and data analysis. Section 4 presents the results. A discussion of the results are presented in Sect. 5, along with useful implications for researchers and practitioners. Finally, in Sect. 6, we present threats to validity, and in Sect. 7 we conclude the paper.
2
InsighTD Project
The InsighTD project is a family of industrial surveys aims to organize an empirical dataset on the state of practice in the TD area. It was initiated in 2017 and planned cooperatively among TD researchers from around the world. To date, a lot of research is already done leveraging this data. Table 1 presents the current list (14) of studies done using the InsighTD data. The study presented by Freire et al. [2] is the most similar to our study. However, they focused only on TD prevention practices described by practitioners in Brazil and US. Thus, although significant analysis has already been conducted, the data has yet to be analyzed with regards to TD monitoring and TD prevention, and for our case, in a different set of countries: Colombia and Chile.
3
Methodology
This section first presents the research questions (RQ) derived from the paper’s goal, then the data collection procedure is presented, and finally, the data analysis procedure. 3.1
Research Questions
This research was designed to understand the current state of practices of TD monitoring and TD prevention used and proposed by software development teams in Chile and Colombia. From our research goal, the following research questions were derived:
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Table 1. Papers published within InsighTD project Author(s)
Focus
Rios et al. [17]
Causes and effects of TD described by software practitioners from Brazil
Rios et al. [13]
Documentation debt as perceived by software practitioners from Brazil, Chile, Colombia and the US
Ramac et al. [12] Causes and effects of TD described by software practitioners from Serbia P´erez et al. [11]
TD payment practices and its relationship to TD causes described by software practitioners from Brazil, Chile, Colombia and the US
P´erez et al. [9]
TD causes described by software architects from Colombia
Mandic et al. [6] Understanding and use of the TD concept described by software practitioners from Serbia Freire et al. [2]
TD preventive actions and the impediments that hamper their use as described by software practitioners from Brazil and the US
Freire et al. [3]
TD payment practices and the reasons that hamper their implementation as described by software practitioners from Brazil, Chile, Colombia and the US
Rios et al. [18]
Representation of TD causes and effects through a cross-company probabilistic cause-effect diagrams as described by software practitioners from Brazil
Rios et al. [14]
TD causes and effects in agile software development from Brazil
P´erez et al. [10]
TD perception, causes and payment practices described by software practitioners from Chile
Pacheco et al. [8] Familiarity with TD concept and team reactions to TD presence as described by software practitioners from Costa Rica Rios et al. [16]
TD causes and effects, and description of the design of InsighTD
RQ1: What are the main practices used to TD monitoring by software practitioners? RQ2: What are the main actions proposed to prevent TD occurrence by software practitioners? 3.2
Data Collection
An online questionnaire designed in Google Forms was used for data gathering. The social media platform LinkedIn was used as invitation channel to reach target population (software practitioners). This social media platform allowed us to connect with a large number of professionals with whom we did not have previous contact. The survey was anonymous and its execution was similar in both replications.
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The survey was defined within the InsighTD replication package and it is composed of 28 questions [16]. Table 2 presents only the subset of the questions related to this study. Table 2. Survey questions RQ
No. ptQuestion
RQ2 Q7
Type
ptHow do you rate your experience in this role?
–
Q13 ptPlease give an example of TD that had a significant impact Open on the project that you have chosen to tell us about:
–
Q15 ptAbout this example, how representative it is?
Closed
RQ1 Q24 ptOnce identified, was the debt item monitored?
Closed
RQ1 Q25 ptIf yes, how? If not, why?
Open
RQ2 Q28 ptConsidering your personal experience with TD management, what actions have you performed to prevent its occurrence?
Open
3.3
Data Analysis
The survey is composed of open and closed questions. Descriptive statistics were used for closed-ended questions to get a better understanding of the data. Openended questions were codified using a code schema provided with the InsighTD replication package. A code was extracted from each answer. This process was done by two reviewers. At the end of the analysis, we obtained a stable list of codes along with their citation frequency. For Q25, set of codes only correspond to positive answers to Q24.
4
Results
After the data gathering stage, we got 226 answers from respondents from Chile (92; 41%) and Colombia (134; 59%). Developer role was the most selected one by respondents (87; 38.5%). Project manager (49; 21.7%), software architect (48; 21.2%), tester (18; 8%), and process analyst (8; 3.5%) are also common. Respondents mostly worked in small-sized (32.7%), medium-sized (37.2%), and large-sized (30.1%) companies. Most participants tend to work in teams of 5–9 people (35.4%), followed by teams of 10–20 people (21.7%). The system age was typically between 2 and 5 years old (33.6%), but we found systems with 1 to 2 years of age (22.1%), less than 1-year-old (17.7%), 5 to 10 years old (15.9%), and more than ten years old (10.6%).
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What are the Main Practices Used to TD Monitoring by Software Practitioners? (RQ1)
To answer RQ1, survey’s responses to Q24 were analyzed. We selected only the cases where the TD item described by the participant (Q13) was monitored. In total, 44.2% (100) of the participants indicated that the TD item was not monitored. This is a worrying scenario considering that 89.8% of the participants indicated in Q15 that their example represents a situation that occurs very often or happens from time to time in the project. From Q25, we identified 25 practices cited by practitioners to support monitoring of TD items. Table 3 summarizes the 5 most common ones, representing 65% of the overall frequency of citations. The table reports the practice name, the total number (i.e., count) of practices (#CP) cited in Q25, and its percentage (%FP) in relation to the total of all cited practices. Table 3. Top 5 cited practices for TD monitoring Practice for TD monitoring
#CP %FP
Team weekly/daily meetings 26
22.0%
Use of external tools
20
16.9%
TD stories/Backlog item
14
11.8%
Code review/coverage
9
7.6%
Responsible person assigned
7
5.9%
Team weekly/daily meetings (26 citations; 22%) and use of external tools (20 citations; 16.9%) are the most cited practices for TD monitoring, totaling 38.9% of the cited practices. However, we realize that some practices do not seem to be appropriate for TD monitoring. For instance, practices such as use of external tools or code review/coverage seems to be more related for TD identification. Tools such as SonarQube provides guidance for developers to identify, understand and fix issues in their codebases. Team weekly/daily meetings is also the most cited practice for software teams following a hybrid development model. This activity could be more expected in agile development models where a daily meeting is often a common practice. TD items can be stored as a backlog items (3rd practice) and reviewed during these meetings. Also, it is a common practice to have a responsible person assigned (5th practice) keeping track not only of current TD items but also of past TD items and its current states. 4.2
What are the Main Actions Proposed to Prevent TD Occurrence by Software Practitioners? (RQ2)
In total, as informed by Q28, we found 33 recommended preventative actions cited by software practitioners based on their own experience. The 6 most com-
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monly cited actions are presented in Table 4. In total, this list of practices correspond to 50.6% of the overall frequency of citations. The table reports the action name, the total number (i.e., count) of actions (#CR) cited in Q28, and its percentage (%FR) in relation to the total of all cited actions. Table 4. Top 6 cited actions for TD prevention Action for TD prevention
#CR %FR
Adoption of good practices
53
12.3%
Well-defined architecture/design
36
11.0%
TD awareness/management
29
8.9%
Well-defined scope/requirements
26
8.0%
Well-defined effort estimat. methods 23
7.1%
Good communication on team
6.1%
20
Adoption of good practices is the most cited action with 53 citations (12.3%). Good practices could be done at different levels of abstraction, encompassing activities such as following well-defined development standards, adoption of pair programming, using continuous integration, and tools for checking good practices of design and code. Well-defined architecture/design is the second most frequently cited action. An architecture designed with complete knowledge of the requirements, and of the domain of the problem, will be able to cover the most relevant needs of the business. However, this not always the case, and sometimes software practitioners need to work under uncertainty about requirements and scope of the project. A well-defined architecture or design could also be a consequence of the fourth most cited action: Well-defined scope/requirements. It is known that a good architecture requires a clear definition of the requirements and scope at the beginning of the project. TD awareness/management (29 citations; 8.9%) implies that it is required to better spread the TD concept to development teams. This could suggest that knowing the concept would allow the software practitioners to be more cautious about whether or not to allow the debt to be injected. This action could be related to good communication on team action (20 citations; 6.1%). Improving the communication channels, and also how the information spread within the software team, can help the awareness of TD concept. As part of this study, we decided to explore how these actions are cited by software practitioners according to their level of experience (Table 5). The Expert group consists of 54 software practitioners (23.9%), Proficient group consists of 67 software practitioners (29.6%), Competent group consists of 80 software practitioners (35.4%) and Beginner group consists of 23 software practitioners (10.2%). Novice group was omitted because there are only 2 practitioners (0.9%). The first thing to note here is the differences among all levels of experiences, each one having a different most cited preventative action. For example, the
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Table 5. Most cited actions for TD prevention by level of experience Experience Action for TD prevention Expert
Well-defined scope/requirements Adoption of good practices Well-defined architecture/design Well-defined effort estimat. methods
Proficient
Adoption of good practices Well-defined effort estimat. methods Tools for checking good practices of design and code
#CR %CR 9 8 7 6
11.3% 10.0% 8.8% 7.5%
15 7 6
13.8% 6.4% 5.5%
Competent Well-defined architecture/design Well-defined scope/requirements Well-defined documentation TD awareness/management
8 8 6 6
7.7% 7.7% 5.8% 5.8%
Beginner
3 3 3
9.7% 9.7% 9.7%
Good communication on team TD awareness/management Better project management
action with the highest percentage of citation is adoption of good practices in the Proficient group. This practice is also the most cited one in Table 4. So, this group of experts had a big influence on the general consensus about preventive practices. It is possible to see how the role affects the list of preventive practices. Expert and Competent groups have the highest number of software developers, and yet both groups have different priorities. The Competent group has well-defined architecture/design as the most cited practice, and this is to be expected, considering that they have the highest number of software architects.
5
Discussion
There are several practices to support TD monitoring, and TD prevention that have been used/proposed by software development teams in Chile and Colombia. However, these practices by themselves are not enough to be used by other software groups. It is necessary to analyze the differences among them to understand the nature of the required changes (improves) and the resources needed. Another aspect that needs to be considered about these practices is the cost related to the debt. How much would it cost, in time or team’s capacity, to include a new activity in the development process to monitor, or prevent a TD item? In the case of monitoring, how much time will require to have daily meetings to talk about current TD items? Maybe this could be done by applying dailies (agile short meetings). Software teams should be interested, at least, in having some monitoring strategy. In the software development life cycle, maintainability and evolution will require more than 50% of the time.
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Adoption of good practices and well-defined architecture/design were the most cited TD preventive actions. However, the adoption of good practices could be difficult to implement by young software teams, not only by the time to define which good practices should be used but also, by the time required for implementing them into the project. Which development standards should the team use? What tools could better fit for checking good practices? How much documentation could be good in the code? These questions will require some time for getting an answer. Also, having a well-defined architecture and design could be challenging. Good architecture requires a clear definition of the requirements and scope of the project, and not all projects can have this information complete enough from the very beginning. Architecture decisions are at times made under conditions of time pressure, high stakes, uncertainty, and with too little information. 5.1
Implications for Practitioners and Researchers
The list of monitoring practices, and preventive actions have implications for practitioners and researchers. These lists could support professionals interested in manage TD but without the knowledge on how to do it. All of these practices, presented in Table 3 and Table 4, can be used as a starting point since they provide a ranking of the most commonly used practices in industry. This information is not limited to Chile and Colombia, and could be used for software teams from other countries. For researchers, these results could open new paths on TD monitoring and TD prevention. Deeper analysis are required to have a better understanding of how these practices and actions can actually support TD management.
6
Threats to Validity
The main threats we attempt to mitigate and remove, regarding this work are [19]: external validity, internal validity, construct validity and reliability. External Validity. This threat was reduced by having a diversity of participants answering the survey. Diversity was achieve by including a broad spectrum of participants based on their skills, software project participation, and company size. The Hawthorne effect, which is related to changes in the behavior of participants in response to their awareness of being observed, was mitigated by both the online and anonymous basis of the survey. Internal Validity. A threat related to the internal validity of the survey is the time required to answer the survey. Participants can react differently if the survey is too long [20]. All participants answered the whole survey. Therefore, this threat was not raised. Another threat is the one related to the selection process. Social media platform LinkedIn was used to include a large variety of respondents, including different roles and different cities within a country.
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Construct Validity. Two strategies were used to prevent hypothesis guessing and evaluation apprehension [20]. First, the invitation to the survey include an explanation of the goal of the study and request to respondents to reply to questions by relying on their experience. And second, to avoid a inaccurate interpretation of what TD is, we include the definition of TD according to McConnell [7]. Reliability. This threat was mitigate by performing the coding process by two independent researchers, and then, results were discussed until an agreement was reached. A referee was included in the process in the cases of disagreements.
7
Conclusions
This study discussed the most commonly cited practices for TD monitoring and TD prevention. We found that weekly/daily team meetings was the most cited practice to keep an eye on TD items. Also, adoption of good practices and welldefined architecture were selected as the best practices to avoid the presence of TD in software projects. These preventive actions were cited based on the personal experience of software practitioners. There are several steps that could be done to improve these results: (i) include data from other InsighTD replications to improve the general understanding of these practices, (ii) include personal interviews with representatives of the different roles studied in this paper, and (iii) include more project variables and a joining of them to identify possible patterns of TD management practices.
References 1. Falessi, D., Cantone, G., Kazman, R., Kruchten, P.: Decision-making techniques for software architecture design: a comparative survey. ACM Comput. Surv. (CSUR) 43(4), 33 (2011) 2. Freire, S., Mendon¸ca, M., Falessi, D., Seaman, C., Izurieta, C., Sp´ınola, R.O.: Actions and impediments for technical debt prevention: Results from a global family of industrial surveys. In: To appear in the Proceedings of the 35th ACM/SIGAPP Symposium On Applied Computing. ACM (2020) 3. Freire, S., Rios, N., Gutierrez, B., Torres, D., Mendon¸ca, M., Izurieta, C., Seaman, C., Sp´ınola, R.O.: Surveying software practitioners on technical debt payment practices and reasons for not paying off debt items. In: Proceedings of the Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering, EASE 2020, pp. 210–219. Association for Computing Machinery, New York (2020). https://doi.org/10.1145/ 3383219.3383241 4. Kruchten, P., Nord, R.L., Ozkaya, I.: Technical debt: from metaphor to theory and practice. IEEE Softw. 29(6), 18–21 (2012) 5. Li, Z., Avgeriou, P., Liang, P.: A systematic mapping study on technical debt and its management. J. Syst. Softw. 101, 193–220 (2015) 6. Mandic, V., Tauˇsan, N., Ramac, R.: The prevalence of the technical debt concept in serbian it industry: results of a national-wide survey. In: Proceedings of the IEEE/ACM International Conference on Technical Debt (TechDebt) (2020)
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Use of Mobile Applications in the Tourism Sector in Portugal - Intention to Visit the Algarve Region Catarina Vasconcelos1 , José Luís Reis1,2(B) , and Sandrina Francisca Teixeira1 1 ISCAP, Porto Superior Institute of Accounting and Administration, reasearch unit
CEOS.PP/ISCAP/P.PORTO, Matosinhos, Portugal [email protected], [email protected] 2 ISMAI, Maia Institute University, reasearch unit UNICES, Maia, Portugal
Abstract. The tourism is one of the most complex social phenomena and is assumed as a crucial economic activity, being considered fundamental for countries with tourism potential, such as Portugal. The aim of this research was to understand how often tourist mobile applications are used and whether their use is relevant to the intention of visiting the Algarve region, considering the users’ intention of using and accepting technologies. A model based on the TAM - Technology Acceptance Model was developed, and through a survey, with a non-probabilistic sample for convenience, factors influencing users’ behaviour on the perception of ease of use and usefulness were analysed, and factors contributing and influencing the consumer’s attitude towards mobile marketing, such as: perceived risk, perceived value and credibility. The results of the survey revealed that the usage rate of tourist applications is high contributing to the intention to visit the Algarve, indicating as main reasons, the access to feedback from other users, the easy access to this type of applications and their speed. Keywords: Tourism consumers · Mobile technologies · Mobile applications · TAM - Technology Acceptance Model
1 Introduction The tourism sector is a complex social phenomenon, and at the same time, it is assumed as a crucial economic activity at world level, being considered fundamental for countries with tourism potential, as is the case of Portugal. In Portugal, the tourism sector, before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019 was the country’s largest economic export activity, responsible for 54.8% of services exports, revenues with a 13.7% contribution to the Portuguese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and represented 9.4% of jobs in the national economy [1]. Tourism is an economic sector of great importance in the national context and decisive for the competitiveness of the regions. It becomes necessary to pay due attention to the new tourist user, creating strategies that improve products developed on the technological side to improve access to information. Thus, in this work, interaction and experience in terms of content with the tourist user will be studied, using mobile © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 435–449, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_42
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applications, seen as a complement in their tourist experience. Indeed, reading about mobile applications confirms that they are transforming the travel experience, providing users with access to the information they are looking for, in a fast way and in real time [2]. In the first part of the work the contextualization about mobile applications for tourism in the Algarve region is done, then the objectives are presented. This is followed by the presentation of the research model and the conceptual model that supported the study, as well as the hypotheses of the research. In this work the research method and the survey results are also presented. Finally, the main conclusions of the research are presented, analysing the results obtained.
2 Background Research Mobile applications have become an aid tool for tourism consumers, serving their needs and creating numerous opportunities for businesses and destinations [3] by providing users with access to information quickly and in real time [2]. Countries and their tourist regions need to be able to manage the appropriate strategies in planning and implementing solutions appropriate to their tourist needs, those related to the provision of mobile applications to support tourism. 2.1 Mobile Tourism Applications The technological innovation generated a greater proximity and interconnection of the tourist with the destination and its community. Nowadays, the tourist uses the computer applications during the period in which he plans the trip, but when he starts and arrives at the destination, it is through the mobile applications that he seeks information [2]. According to Filho, et al. (2017, p. 184) “the relationship between tourism and technology directly affects the way the tourist relates to the destination, enabling the use of smartphones for greater interaction with the tourist’s destination” and that “making use of mobile technologies in tourism makes the experience deeper”. The evolution of mobile applications has contributed to improve travel and is essential to propel new attractions. Mobile applications should not be the main user focus in tourism activity, but rather a complement. The interaction must be fluid and understandable to use, fostering the benefits of mobility and network connectivity [4]. Thus, mobile applications should focus on increasing connectivity and improving the tourist’s sense of connection with the location, making their journey more authentic. The types of mobile applications can be characterised as follows [5]: – Leisure applications: use augmented reality as a resource, allowing users to enjoy an interactive experience, through the camera of their mobile phone, when they point it to a pre-defined location, which shows additional information about an artefact or place; – Business-specific applications: allows the user to view and manage information about his journey. Applications such as these are extremely useful for creating a relationship between business and consumer;
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– Tourist assistance applications: provide tourist support services, including translation services, simply by using the camera function to facilitate the tourist experience and allow new types of interaction; – Social networking applications: they allow users to share information, photos and experiences about the places they visit with their friends. Table 1 identifies some functionalities which, when integrated in a tourist application, make it easier for the user to experience the experience, by having access to a lot of information [6, 7]. Table 1. Features of mobile tourism applications - adapted from [6, 7]. Function
Objective
Route generator
Allows you to place the desired destination and create a route to follow
Geo-location
Allows you to find points near your current location
Meteorological service
Allows you to know in advance the weather conditions of your destination
Translator
Facilitates communication during the journey
Currency converter
Allows you to be informed about the change of currency
Time converter
Allows quick consultation of the time of the place where you are
Emergency services
Allows consultation of contacts and location of local emergency services
Taxi/UBER service
Allows the request of transport to be facilitated
Bathroom search
Increasingly used by tourists. Examples: SitOrSquat or ToiletFinder
Social dining
It allows you to enjoy a different experience during your meal (dinner with the chef, while listening to local stories). Example: EatWith
Integration of social networks
Allows fast content sharing
Consultation or writing of opinions Allows the quick consultation and writing of opinions about your experience Use in offline mode
Possibility for tourists who do not have access to the Internet or a WIFI network, to use the application in offline mode
Audiovisual content
Content such as images, audio and video, generating positive effects on the user
Among the existing mobile applications, we can find those directed to tourism that are directly executed for the tourist/traveller (Airbnb, TripAdvisor, etc.) and those used by
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the tourist in a travel context or during the tourist experience (Google Maps, Instagram, etc.) [8]. It is important to highlight that the main motivation for users to enjoy mobile tourist applications is related to the functionalities they offer during the whole trip cycle [2]. Most mobile applications allow the tourist user to consult timetables, buy tickets, secure reservations, access location-based or context-sensitive services and payment options [9]. However, the main function is to provide information at various levels and immediately [10]. 2.2 The Algarve Region Tourism is a sector of activity of great relevance for Portugal, making it important to know its cycles in the main markets, improving its monitoring and evolution. The issue of the tourism sector being vulnerable to economic fluctuations to which it is susceptible [11], is very important for Portugal, which has been a prominent target in world rankings [12], and it is imperative that the country maintains the quality, loyalty and differentiation of its tourism products and services [11]. Nowadays, we are faced with a more complex and competitive tourism sector, composed of a fragmented set of industries such as hotels, restaurants, travel, camping and leisure activities [13]. Where the new tourist consumer is more aware of the value of his time and money [14], organizations are forced to create strategies and organizational practices that would enhance their competitiveness in the market [15]. The Algarve Region is in the far west of Europe, south of Portugal. This region has an area of 4 997 km2 [16] and a resident population of about 450 000 inhabitants. The Algarve is characterised by a temperate climate with Mediterranean influences and is a privileged place for its natural conditions, such as the amenity of its climate and beaches, it has come to enhance the development of the tourist activity of sun and sea. Thus, it is evident that this type of tourism continues to be the core-business of the Algarve region, originating currents at world level [14]. The Algarve Tourism Region has launched two mobile tourism applications: the Omídia Route in the Algarve and the Algarve Events. Both allow immediate access to tourist information in real time, using interactive maps and in augmented reality of the region [17]. However, there are other applications such as the Access Algarve, Algarve: Travel Guide Beaches and Algarve Global.
3 Objectives The reflection developed throughout the literature review led to the definition of the problem under study, identifying the following starting question, which guided the thread of this work: - How, the development of technological innovation, which resulted in the emergence of smartphones and new digital tools such as mobile applications, has transformed the tourism sector by intervening in the intention of visiting the Algarve region? Thus, this research work has as a general objective to relate the situation of Portuguese tourism with the new opportunities that mobile devices can create, analysing the factors that influence the adoption of mobile applications related to the Algarve Region. The specific objectives defined were the following:
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1) To characterize the level of knowledge of users of mobile applications regarding the tourist activity in the Algarve Region; 2) Verify the level of usefulness of mobile tourism applications and what functionalities are most valued by consumers when using them; Determine the degree of comfort in relation to the use of mobile tourist applications; 3) To know what value is perceived in relation to tourist mobile applications; 4) Understand the perceived risk in relation to tourist mobile applications; 5) Analyse the level of credibility in relation to tourist mobile applications; 6) Verify if the socio-demographic factors influence the adhesion and the intention of use of tourist mobile applications. The methodology used was the quantitative method and an online questionnaire survey was applied.
4 Research and Conceptual Models In order to obtain the research constructs, a theoretical basis was used which allowed the conceptual model which served as the support for the study to be elaborated, and the theoretical schematisation for the research and the consequent formulation of hypotheses was constructed. The model used was based on the Technological Acceptance Model Theory of [18], where the specific objectives included the analysis of the reliability of the scales of Perceived Utility and Ease of Perceived Use, having been identified the factors that play a fundamental role in the acceptance of mobile marketing and consequently in mobile tourism applications - see Table 2. Table 2. Dimensions and factors applied to the conceptual model Dimensions
Factors
Authors
Theory of the technological acceptance model
Perceived usefulness
[18]
Perceived ease of use Intention of Use Acceptance factors for mobile applications
Perceived value
[19–22]
Perceived risk Credibility Demographic
Perceived usefulness
Exploratory
Once the four dimensions and the seven factors to be used were identified, the hypotheses were formulated, which according to [23] “are a prior response to the proposed problem and are usually developed on the basis of studies previously carried out according to the chosen theme”, so the “hypothesis should justify the work of the
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Hypotheses
Authors
H1 - Perceived utility has a positive effect on perceived ease of use
[18, 25]
H2 - The perceived utility has a positive effect on the intention of use
[18, 25]
H3 - The perceived ease of use has a positive effect on intention of use
[19, 25]
H4 - The perceived value has a positive effect on the intention of use
[19–22]
H5 - Perceived risk has a positive effect on intended use
[19–22]
H6 - Perceived credibility has a positive effect on the intention of use
[19–22]
H7a - Intention of use relates positively to educational qualifications
[25]
H7b - Intended use relates positively to the age group
[25]
empirical part of the research” [24] - see Table 3 for the hypotheses defined for this research. The proposed evaluation model reflects the constructs taken from the abovementioned models. Therefore, it is intended to verify the existence of a positive relationship between the intention of use and the following factors: literary skills and age group. It is also intended to verify the positive correlation between the perceived utility in relation to the intention to use and the perceived ease of use in the perceived utility see Fig. 1.
H4
Perceived utility H1
H5
Perceived ease of use H2
H3
H6
Perceived value
Perceived risk
Perceived credibility
Intention of use H7a
H7b
Literary qualifications
Age group
Fig. 1. Research model for mobile tourism applications.
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5 Research Methods and Survey This research method of this study is an exploratory nature, which is commonly used in this type of research, during research in the area of leisure and tourism [26]. In this study, the quantitative method was used, and an online questionnaire survey was applied, as quantitative research provides a better view and understanding of the context of the problem [27]. For this study, the population defined is all Portuguese with Internet access, travelling within the country, owning a smartphone and using mobile applications. Since it was not feasible to send the questionnaire to all Portuguese citizens, it became appropriate to use a sample of the non-probabilistic type and for convenience. The use of online platforms for sending and collecting the data allowed the selection of a sample made up of 642 individuals, Portuguese and of different age groups. The questionnaire was prepared based on the literature review, as can be seen in Table 4 where the questions introduced in the questionnaire are justified by the sources. Table 4. Guide to the questionnaire questions Dimensions
Objectives
Questions
Filter question
Filter respondents for analysis
1.1 How often have you [28, 29] visited the Algarve Region in the last 2 years?
Sources
Importance attributed to the tourism sector in the Algarve Region Filter question Importance attributed to the tourism sector in the Algarve Region
Contextualize the respondent about the subject to be investigated: to understand their level of literacy about the Algarve Region and to understand their interest in it
2.1 From 1 (No importance) to 5 (Extreme importance), classify the importance of tourism for the Algarve Region
[30, 31]
2.2 Based on the specificity of the Algarve Region, as it characterises its type of tourism
[14, 32]
2.3 There are three natural [16, 33] regions in the Algarve, which are distinguished by their geographical, social and economic characteristics, being the Litoral, the Barrocal and the Serra. From 1 (No knowledge) to 5 (Extreme knowledge), what is your level of knowledge about each of them? 2.4 From 1 (No interest) to 5 (Extreme interest), what is your level of interest in knowing each of the natural regions of the Algarve?
(continued)
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Dimensions
Objectives
Questions
Theory of the Technological Acceptance Model
Check the level of usefulness of mobile tourism applications and what features consumers value most when using them; Determine the degree of comfort when using mobile tourism applications;
3.1 From 1 (Low usability) to [34, 35] 5 (Extreme usability), what is your level of usability in relation to mobile applications? 3.2 Do you know any tourist mobile applications?
Sources
[2, 4, 5, 8]
3.3 If yes, which one?
[5, 8]
3.4 Do you use any of the mobile applications mentioned above to obtain information about the main tourist spots in a place?
[3, 4, 8]
3.5 If so, which?
[5, 8]
3.6. Please indicate the [7, 8, 10] reasons why you would use a mobile application to share information about the tourist offer of a place? 3.7 What type of information do you prefer in this type of mobile application? 3.8. From 1 (No importance) to 5 (Extreme importance), what is for you, the level of importance of the following features in a mobile tourist application 3.9 Indicate the degree of agreement with each of the following statements regarding the perceived usefulness of mobile tourism applications
[34, 35]
4.1 Do you consider existing tourist mobile applications to be user-friendly?
[35]
4.2 Please indicate the degree [35] of agreement with each of the following statements regarding the perceived ease of tourist mobile applications
(continued)
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Table 4. (continued) Dimensions
Objectives
Questions
Sources
Acceptance factors for mobile applications
To know what value is perceived in relation to tourist mobile applications; Understand what the perceived risk in relation to tourist mobile applications; Verify what is the level of credibility in relation to tourist mobile applications;
5.1 From 1 (No valorisation) to 5 (Extreme valorisation), what is for you the level of valorisation of mobile applications in regional tourism promotion and positioning?
[2, 3, 5, 8]
5.2 Do you think it would be important to have a mobile application as a tool for integrating the tourism offer in the Algarve Region?
[36, 37]
5.3 If yes, what kind of [32] information do you value in a mobile application? 5.4 From 1 (No valorisation) to 5 (Extreme valorisation), how could the existence of a mobile application valorise the tourism offer of the Algarve region?
[36, 37]
5.5 Regarding the Algarve Region, do you know any of these mobile applications?
[17]
5.6 Please indicate the degree [7, 16] of agreement with each of the following statements regarding the perceived value of mobile tourism applications 6.1 Please indicate the degree [38, 39] of agreement with each of the following statements in relation to the perceived risk related to the use of tourist mobile applications 7.1 Please indicate the degree [40, 41] of agreement with each of the following statements concerning the credibility related to the use of tourist mobile applications
(continued)
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Dimensions
Objectives
Theory of the Technological Acceptance Model
Demographic
Know the profile of the respondent
Questions
Sources
8.1 Indicate the degree of agreement with each of the following statements concerning the intended use related to the use of mobile tourist applications
[18]
9.1 Gender
Exploratory
9.2 Age Group
Exploratory
9.3 Academic qualifications
Exploratory
9.4 District of Residence
Exploratory
6 Results Analysis Replies were collected from 643 respondents by questionnaire disseminated on social networks from August 1 to August 15, 2020. Regarding the demographic characteristics of the respondents, the data collected reveal that 159 (24.7%) of the respondents are male and 484 (75.3%) female. Regarding the age of the respondents, the age group with the most evidence is 45 to 54 years (30.9%), followed by 35 to 44 years (19.9%) and 55–64 years (18.8%). As regards educational qualifications, 52.6% of those surveyed said they had a degree, 25.2% had completed secondary education and 12.3% had a master’s degree. A filter question was included at the beginning of the questionnaire, which wanted to know how often respondents visited the Algarve Region in the last two years. Of the 643 respondents, only 513 were considered valid, as 130 did not visit the Algarve at any time during that period. Of the 513 respondents who were validated, 254 were resident in the Algarve, representing 39.6% of the sample. Those who visited the Algarve 2–3 times and those who visited more than 6 times were also represented with 12.4%. Continuously, 58 said they went to the Algarve only once (9%) and 41 of those surveyed said they went between 4 and 6 times (6.3%). Considering the total sample of 513 respondents, it was possible to understand that for 88.5% of the respondents, the tourism sector is extremely important for the Algarve region and for 9.8% it is very important. As for the level of usability by the respondents in relation to mobile applications, the majority of the respondents give extreme usability to them (44.4%) or very usability (33.3%), only 12 respondents said they give little usability (2.3%) and 14 no usability (2.7%). While remaining neutral 88 respondents (17.2%). The tourist mobile application best known to the respondents was Booking, with 409 affirmative answers, followed by Trivago (394 answers), TripAdvisor (377 answers) and Momondo (233 answers). The tourist applications least known by the respondents were Zomato with only 69 answers in the affirmative and Expedia with only 59 answers in the affirmative. Among all the respondents, 19 also said that they knew more than those mentioned. When asked if they used any of the above-mentioned mobile tourism applications, 428 answered yes (83.4%) and 85 answered no (16.6%). The tourism
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mobile application most used by the respondents was Booking again, with 321 yes answers, followed by TripAdvisor (276 answers) and Trivago (221 answers). The tourism applications least used by the respondents were Momondo with only 79 affirmative answers, Zomato (34 answers) and Expedia (15 answers). Among all the respondents, 11 also said that they used others than those mentioned. For the respondents, mobile applications are useful, due essentially to three factors: - saving time (463 answers between agreeing and fully agreeing), providing real-time and relevant information (444 answers between agreeing and fully agreeing) and providing greater interaction with the destination (409 answers between agreeing and fully agreeing). In the questionnaire seven statements were made to the respondents concerning the perceived ease of tourist mobile applications, considering that the three functionalities that lead them to say that this type of applications are easy are: “tourist applications avoid unexpected effects after updating”, counting with 470 positive answers; “tourist applications present tutorials or other learning methods”, counting with 410 positive answers and “tourist applications have the ability to enable the user to understand how they can be used in certain tasks”, counting with 382 positive answers. 6.1 Adherence to Mobile Tourism Applications Over the Algarve Regarding the value of mobile applications in the promotion and positioning of tourism in the Algarve Region, where respondents were asked to indicate whether it would be important for them to have a mobile application as a tool for integrating the tourism offer in the Algarve, most answered yes (500 respondents), with only 13 respondents saying no. In this mobile application, respondents would like to have access mainly to four types of information, such as: the location/map of places to visit (430 answers), information on the most emblematic and visited monuments (354 answers), to know about the location of tourist offices and their contacts (333 answers) and to obtain information related to the history of the region (330 answers). Although there are some mobile tourist applications about the Algarve Region, to the question if they knew any, the answer given by most of the respondents was “I don’t know any”, counting with 330 answers (48%). The best known application was the Algarve Events, marked by 119 respondents (17%), followed by the Roteiro Cultural do Algarve application, known by 86 respondents (13%), all other less than 10% of respondents do not know them (Algarve Global 8%, Algarve: Travel Guide Beaches 8%, Rota Omídia no Algarve 3%, Access Algarve 3%). In the questionnaire, eight statements were made to the respondents regarding the perceived value of tourism applications, considering that the three factors that lead them to state that this type of application has value are: “this type of application is simple and practical”, with 438 positive answers; “this type of application allows to know the arrival times and transport schedules”, with 364 positive answers and “this type of application gives me access to discounts and vouchers”, with 365 positive answers. Regarding the intention to use tourism applications, the results obtained were quite positive, since the answers given by the respondents were practically all between “I agree” and “I totally agree”. Respondents stated, with more positive answers, that they recommended to others the use of tourism applications before and during their trips (432 answers).
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6.2 Hypotheses Validation Regarding the validation of the hypotheses under analysis, Table 5 presents the results obtained from the analysis of the replies to the questionnaire. Table 5. Summary of analysis results - *Significance - ANOVA ** Pearson correlation Hypotheses
Value
Results
H1 - Perceived utility has a positive effect on perceived ease of use
0,767**
Valid
H2 - The perceived utility has a positive effect on the intention of use
0,768**
Valid
H3 - The perceived ease of use has a positive effect on intention of us
0,605**
Valid
H4 - The perceived value has a positive effect on the intention of use
0,133**
Valid
H5 - Perceived risk has a positive effect on intended use
0,192**
Valid
H6 - Perceived credibility has a positive effect on the intention of use
0,012**
Rejected
H7a - Intention of use relates positively to educational qualifications
0,094*
Rejected
H7b - Intended use relates positively to the age group
0,268*
Rejected
Hypotheses 1 and 2 were constructed with the objective of verifying if the “perceived utility” has a positive effect on the “perceived ease of use” and “perceived utility” has a positive effect on the “intention of use”, respectively. Both hypotheses are valid, it was possible to verify that there is a positive influence between the two variables related in each hypothesis, with the highest correlations of the study (0.767 and 0.768). Hypotheses 3, 4, 5 and 6 intended to understand whether the factors “perceived ease of use”, “perceived value”, “perceived risk” and “perceived credibility” had a positive effect on the “intention to use”. By validating these hypotheses, all were confirmed as valid, except hypothesis 6. Thus, we can state that the factors “perceived ease of use”, “perceived value” and “perceived risk” have an influence on the intended use of tourism applications and that the factor “perceived credibility” has no influence. Finally, when analysing whether the socio-demographic factors “educational attainment” and “age group” influenced the adhesion and “intention to use” of tourist mobile applications, it was possible to verify through Hypotheses H7a and H7b, that this situation does not occur, and no significant differences between the factors were found.
7 Conclusions There is a significant increase in the use of mobile applications by individuals, and this research shows that most of the sample gives much or extreme usability to mobile applications in general. Tourist sites have started to make mobile applications available to their visitors, fostering a fluid interaction, improving the tourist’s connection with the site. When asked about the degree of usability of tourist applications, most of the respondents mentioned using this type of applications, justifying their use with three reasons: “feedback from other users”, “easy access” and “speed”. As to the functionalities
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which they consider most useful in this type of application, the respondents identified the “georeferenced lists of useful points” and the “information about the services available on the tourist site”. Regarding the perceived value of this type of applications for the promotion and positioning of the Algarve Region, in general individuals considered important to have a mobile application as a tool to integrate the tourism offer of the region, indicating how the three types of information they would like to have access to “location/map of places to visit”, the “most emblematic and visited monuments” and the “location of tourist offices and contacts”. Regarding the intention to use the tourist applications, the results obtained were quite positive, since the answers given by the respondents were practically all between “I agree” and “I totally agree”. Most of the respondents said that they recommended to others the use of tourist applications before and during their trips, and that they planned to use tourist applications when they wanted to know more about a tourist site. Analysing the correlations of constructs, based on the TAM model, the factor that presented the greatest influence on the “intention of use” of tourism applications was the “perceived utility”. In other words, there is the perception that tourism applications save time, provide relevant real-time information and provide greater interaction with the destination, factors that contribute to growing adherence.
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Carvers Suite – Smart Application for Data Recovery in SSD Geovanni Ninahualpa1,3,6 , Michael Yugcha1 , Cristhian Gálvez1 , Teresa Guarda2,3,4,5(B) , Javier Díaz6 , and Darío Piccirilli6 1 Departamento de Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE,
Sangolquí, Ecuador {gninahualpa,mgyugcha,cogalvez}@espe.edu.ec 2 Departamento de Seguridad y Defensa, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Sangolquí, Ecuador [email protected] 3 Grupo de Investigación de Ciberseguridad, IoT e Inteligencia Artificial, Sangolquí, Ecuador 4 Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena – UPSE, Santa Elena, Ecuador 5 Faculty of Systems and Telecommunications, CIST Research and Innovation Center, UPSE, Santa Elena, Ecuador 6 Centro de Posgrados de la Facultad de Informática, Universidad Nacional de la Plata, La Plata, Argentina [email protected]
Abstract. This paper proposes the automation of the information retrieval process in solid-state storage devices - SSD, through an application that has been named as Carvers Suite, which is supported by recovery techniques and methodologies (File Carving); by the affectation factors, whether physical, human or environmental, and developed in the most common scenarios as causes of this loss, impact, dampening, electrocution and magnetization. The methodological proposal was outlined according to the experimentation, based on the work done in SSD and with the use of File Carving forensic recovery techniques. This proposal tries to become the norm that guides the analysis, design, and implementation of software products, whose purpose is the recovery of information in SSD. Keywords: Carvers suite · File carving · Impact · Dampening · Electrocution · Magnetization
1 Introduction In response to the need to improve information retrieval processes, related companies have created several tools that are based on different methodologies for the total or partial recovery of information stored in SSD media. However, it is necessary to raise awareness that the success of the information retrieval process depends largely on the state and conditions of such media [6]. Currently the File Carving forensic techniques implemented in applications called Carvers, have responded too many of the information retrieval needs efficiently. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 450–460, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_43
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This work intends to put into consideration a research work on: factors and scenarios of affectation, as well as methodology and specific protocol for SSD implemented in an application suite, called Carvers Suite.
2 Data Restoration and File Carving With regard to Data Restoration and File Carving, this section covers Data Restoration in Storage Media, Data Recovery Techniques, and File Carving Techniques. 2.1 Data Restoration in Storage Media The extraction of data in storage means is the procedure that directs specific actions through methodology and specialized techniques on storage devices that, due to the malfunction, have lost the data that are hosted [7]. The objective of the data recovery process is the restoration of total information or its majority, establishing processes, methodologies and techniques that contribute to this task [2]. In this sense it is necessary to raise awareness of the link between the factors that produced the loss [7]: type of failure or malfunction; type of file to restore; and Human motivation. In addition to the methodologies, processes and recovery techniques, the characteristics of the devices and files hosted in them are also necessary. In this regard proposed methodologies based on logical damages; physical damage; and Logical-physical damage [8]. 2.2 Data Recovery Techniques There are several aspects that contribute to the success of the Data Recovery process, in that sense they are proposed [8]: – Methodology based on the type of damage: – guide the creation of applications taking as a starting point the damage factor; – File Fragmentation in the Storage Device: it will guide the creation of applications taking into account the level of fragmentation of the file; – File System Integrity Level: will guide the creation of applications by taking the file system. 2.3 File Carving Techniques This proposal analyzes independent methodologies of the operating system and file system. That at the same time be guided by the characteristics of the data-file to be restored. The described scenario proposes as a data recovery methodology, the one based on carving and the file carving techniques, for the information retrieval process.
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The Forensic Computing Laboratory of the Department of Defense of the United States of America (USA) in 1999 and under requirement to recover data whose metadata is not due to partial or total damage of the file system of the storage device proposes data restoration techniques in the framework of the development of the CarvThis program [1]. Subsequently, the exposed methodologies, as well as the incidence factors, are grouped in an organized manner, classified into: File Carving techniques based on file characteristics without file system information; and File Carving techniques based on file fragmentation without file system information [3]. The File Carving techniques based on file characteristics without file system information are: – Header File Techniques; Header-Footer File techniques; – File Structure and Block Content techniques. In the case of Header-Footer File techniques, with the header the rest of the file is detected through its structure. In turn, with the Header-Footer File techniques with the header and footer the useful blocks of the file are known. In File Structure and Block Content techniques, with the structure and useful blocks of the file, it can be accessed. File Carving techniques based on file fragmentation without file system are: – Fragmentation Issue techniques; – Predictive File techniques. In the case of Fragmentation Issue techniques, it does not have identifiers, and guide the work in recovering files that are fragmented in the storage device. The Predictive File Techniques, uses a virtual File System as a way to predict and access the file. From the File Carving techniques described, it should be noted that some are implemented in tools, but others are not yet.
3 Recovery Protocol in SSD Through File Carving Techniques In the development of the information recovery protocol on solid hard drives using forensic techniques File Carving, reference was made to similar methodology but in electromechanical devices [4], so that the identification of factors and level of affectation, as well as the most efficient file carving technique contribute substantially to the efficiency level of the proposed protocol.
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3.1 Methodology The methodological proposal tries to become the norm that guides the analysis, design, and implementation of software products, whose purpose is the recovery of information in SSD. In Fig. 1, each of the phases of the information retrieval methodology is presented using File Carving techniques [6].
Fig. 1. Information retrieval methodology using File Carving techniques (Source: Ninahualpa et al. [6]).
3.2 Scenarios In the SSD affectation scenarios, affectation factors have been considered, such as: – type of failure or malfunction;
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– type of file to restore; – and human motivation. In the same way and in addition they have been considered: – – – –
the File Carving techniques used; force conditions; file recovery percentages; and grouping of files (office automation or multimedia) [6]. Five scenarios will be considered:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Fall Damage; Crush Damage by Impact; Moisture Damage; Electrocution Damage; and Magnetization Damage.
In the case of Fall Damage scenario, incidence factors are considered, such as: human motivation, (intentional or unintentional); and height measurements in the fall, from less than one meter, to more than 2 m. In Crush Damage by Impact scenario, this takes into account incidence factors as: human motivation (intentional or unintentional); and crushing pressure levels. In Moisture Damage scenario, the incidence factors are: human motivation (intentional or unintentional); and duration of wetting of the SSD at temperatures between 190–2100 C. Electrocution Damage presenting as incidence factors: human motivation, (intentional or unintentional); and electric charge and current levels. Depending on the level of involvement SSD have intervals of loss of connection to the computer system, making access to information in the SSD difficult. And in the case of Magnetization Damage scenario, the incidence factors san: human motivation (intentional or unintentional); and the levels of electromagnetism, taking into account that each volt amp is equivalent to one watt. 3.3 The Protocol The proposed protocol for information retrieval in SSD, through forensic techniques, takes into account: processes; factors; and characteristics of the SSD, detailed in Fig. 2 [6].
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Fig. 2. Information retrieval protocol in SSD using File Carving techniques (Source: Ninahualpa et al. [6]).
4 Carvers Suite Implementation With the objective of implementing an Intelligent Application that selects data recovery tools on SSD storage devices, the development of Carvers Suite is born from the need for a friendly user interface through which it can interact with traditional carver’s applications, which manipulate using command line. Since application recovery is a process that requires several stages, Carvers Suite has divided them into the four processes: (A) identify the carver to use; (B) File Recovery; and (C) file classification; and (D) report generation.
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4.1 Identify the Carver to Use Based on the research carried out on data recovery in SSD devices, a graph of a Bayesian network is created for the selection of the best Carver that will recover the greatest amount of information possible. For the construction of the Bayesian network, the dependent and independent variables are identified. The dependent variables or output variables (Foremost, Scalpel). These variables are the carvers to select depending on the data entered into the application. In the case of the independent variables or input variables (Scenarios) ate the factors to which the SSD device has been subjected: impact (damage from falling or crushing); humidity; electrocution; magnetization. Once the variables have been identified, the Bayesian Network Graph is carried out. As can be seen in Fig. 3, there is the main node (Carver) which selects the best tool that will give greater probability of information retrieval, and the input variables
Fig. 3. Bayesian Network Graph.
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these nodes are: falls, crushing, dampening, electrocution, magnetization and the links on which the node (Carver) depends. The Bayesian network only accepts one probability value for each input variable and for each output variable, so an arithmetic mean is made between the recovered office and multimedia files, obtaining the following results [5] (Tables 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). Table 1. Input variables: scenario by fall (probability of recovery %). Heights Carver
Office 0,75 m
Library 2 floor 2,0 m 4,9 m
3 floor 8,1 m
4 floor 11,3 m
Foremost 99.14% 95.32% 98.92% 97.94% 97.93% Scalpel
21.43% 25.53% 25.36% 20.79% 22.05%
Table 2. Variables: scenario by crushing (probability of recovery %). Force Carver
Light 4,0KN
Medium Heavy 4,75KN 11,62KN
Foremost 99.04% 98.84%
93%
Scalpel
0.24%
20.58%
4.49%
Table 3. Input variables: humidity scenario (probability of recovery %). Time Carver
Short 10 s
Medium Large 30 s 65 s
Foremost 98,57% 98,08%
98,08%
Scalpel
20,38%
20,58% 20,53%
Table 4. Input variables: electrocution scenario (probability of recovery %). Voltages Carver
6V
7V
8V
9V
12 V
Foremost 100% 90% 80% 32% 0% Scalpel
100% 97% 96% 95% 0%
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10 s 15 s
20 s
Foremost 50% 50%
10%
Scalpel
98% 99,7% 63%
A Bayesian network admits percentages between 0 and 100%, so the data obtained by each output variable must add up to 100%. At the end of the data collection stage, the percentages of information retrieval through the carvers (scalpel and foresmost) (Table 6). Table 6. Probability of recovery% for every carver Carver
Probability of Recovery
Foremost 63,60% Scalpel
36,40%
With all the data obtained, they are entered into the formula that allows obtaining the result of a Bayesian network as in (1) [9], where: • P(Ai ) are the probabilities of the output variables; • P(B|Ai ) is the probability of the input variable in the output variable Ai ; • P(Ai |B) are the probabilities that occur, happening an event of B that is to say of the variables of exit with each one of the raised scenarios.
P(Ai |B) =
P(B|Ai )P(Ai ) P(B)
(1)
This data is entered into a software that interprets the data and automates all possible combinations of scenarios to which an SSD may be subjected in order to have the probability of recovery for each carver. 4.2 File Recovery Once the carver to be used is identified, it is executed through the graphic interface provided by Carvers Suite. We must enter parameters such as selecting the input device and the output folder where the recovered files will be located. Carvers Suite can execute how to cancel the recovery process.
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4.3 File Classification As a result of the previous step, depending on the capacity of the device to which the recovery has been applied, a large number of files can be obtained, many of these valid files, others corrupt and others simply junk files. Given this result, a method is necessary by which to identify which files have been correctly recovered and can be delivered to the user; this is in charge of the file classification process, which aims to identify: – Positive: Files recovered successfully; – False positives: Files that were recovered, but have integrity flaws; – Unclassified: Files that must be manually classified by the user. To identify the validity of the files, Carvers Suite identifies the type of each one by means of its file signature or magic number. Then through a library specialized in treating each type of file identifies its integrity. The libraries used are represented in the Table 7. Table 7. Specialized libraries and file extensions Libraries
Extension
unoconv
doc, docx, odt, xls, xlsx, ods, ppt, pptx, odp
pdf-parse
pdf
imagemagick
jpg, png, gif, bmp, jpeg
ffmpeg
mp3, m4a, acc, wma, avi, wmv, 3gp, ogg, mp4, mov, webm
4.4 Report Generation report is created in Microsoft Word format that has input data such as device information, owner, capacity, defects and what is intended to be recovered, and the output data generated as the percentage of successful recovery. This document can be used as the starting point for an audit report.
5 Conclusions This paper proposes the conceptualization and implementation of information restoration tools, which work in direct relation to incidence factors and applied techniques. The methodological proposal was outlined according to experimentation, according to work done in SSD and through the use of forensic File Carving recovery techniques. The protocol for information retrieval in SSD, exposed and disseminated in previous congresses, guided the development of the experimentation carried out in this work. The recovery process, as well as the classification of recovered files into positive, false positive, and unclassified; contributed substantially to the Carver Suite application, allowing you to identify the integrity of each of the files processed.
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References 1. Alherbawi, N., Shukur, Z., Sulaiman, R.: A survey on data carving in digital forensic. Asian J. Inf. Technol. 15(24), 5137–5144 (2016) 2. Alshammary, E., Hadi, A.: Reviewing and evaluating existing file carving techniques for JPEG files. Proceedings - 2016 Cybersecurity and Cyberforensics Conference CCC 2016, 55–59 (2016) 3. Constanzo, B., Waimann, J.: El estado actual de las técnicas de file carving y la necesidad de nuevas tecnologías que implementen carving inteligente. Recuperación de la información, pp. 1–9 (2019). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324058989_El_Estado_Actual_ de_las_Tecnicas_de_File_Carving_y_la_Necesidad_de_Nuevas_Tecnologias_que_Implem enten_Carving_Inteligente 4. Pérez García, M.: Recuperación De Información En Discos Duros Electromecánicos a Nivel Físico Y Lógico Para Su Análisis Forense Informático (2011) 5. Ninahualpa, G., Perez, C., Yoo, S.G., Guarda, T., Diaz, J., Piccirilli, D.: Restoring data in solid state devices damaged by crushing and falling, using file carving technique. In: Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies, CISTI, June, 2018, pp 1–4 (2018) 6. Ninahualpa, G., Yoo, S., Guarda, T., Díaz, J., Piccirilli, D.: Protocol of information recovery in solid hard drives - SSD using file carving techniques. In: Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies, CISTI, 2019 June (2019) 7. Quina, G.N., Diaz, J., Yoo, S.G., Piccirilli, D.: Restauración de datos y el File Carving. In: Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies, CISTI (2017) 8. Quiña, G.N., Yoo, S.G., Guarda, T.: Recuperación de Datos en Dispositivos de Almacenamiento SSD Utilizando File Carving. RISTI - Revista Iberica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informacao, pp. 490–499 (2019) 9. Roberts, M.E., Stewart, B.M., Dustin, P., Harvard, T.: STM: R package for structural topic models. J. Stat. Softw. 10(2), 1–40 (2014)
Gamification Strategies for Eliciting Software Requirements Gloria Piedad Gasca-Hurtado1(B) , Vianca Vega-Zepeda2(B) , and Liliana Machuca-Villegas1,3 1 Universidad de Medellín, Cra.87 no. 30-65, Medellín, Colombia
[email protected] 2 Universidad Católica del Norte, Avenida Angamos, 0610 Antofagasta, Chile
[email protected] 3 Universidad del Valle, Calle 13 # 100-00, 760032 Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
[email protected]
Abstract. Requirements elicitation is an important process for software product development. This process involves detecting and understanding clients’ and users’ needs. From this process is possible to provide clarity about the definition of the requirements to be used in the next stages of the software development. Although important, stakeholders’ collaboration in the elicitation process is scarce. In this regard, providing supporting strategies to foster collaboration in this type of process has become a motivating and challenging study area for researchers. This paper intends to define a set of gamification strategies characterized according to their contribution to stakeholders’ collaboration, communication, and participation in the requirements elicitation process. These strategies were collected via a systematic literature review process. In this process, a selection of strategies was made. Such strategies were analyzed and characterized. Results showed that software tools are one of the strategies being the most frequently used. Future work may include descriptive statistics to improve the analysis and characterization of the strategies. Keywords: Software engineering · Software requirements elicitation · Gamification · Gamification strategies
1 Introduction Requirements elicitation is an important process for software product development. Stakeholders in the software project must actively participate so that they can understand clients’ and users’ needs and, in this way, determine the software product functionalities [1]. However, difficulties arise during the process. The needs for good communication, participation, commitment, and collaboration among stakeholders are identified, along with clients’ and users’ participation [2, 3]. These needs are related to social and human factors affecting the success of the requirements elicitation process [4]. To meet the needs abovementioned, improvements must be made. In this regard, gamification is seen as a supporting alternative to foster participation, communication, and © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 461–472, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_44
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motivation among stakeholders in the software requirements elicitation process. Gamification promotes stakeholders’ commitment, motivation [5], leadership, and effective communication among software development team members [6]. Using gamification as a supporting strategy leads us to think about the type of gamification strategies and elements to be utilized in the context of requirements elicitation. In this sense, this study aims to identify gamification strategies used in requirements elicitation, analyzing their scope as expected results, and the use of gamification elements. This can provide a set of gamification strategies for consolidating a proposal to meet the needs identified during the requirements elicitation process, thus influencing the success of the software engineering process proposals. The gamification strategies identified here were collected from a sample of 49 studies selected via a systematic literature review [7]. The study is organized as follows: Sect. 1 deals with related papers; Sect. 2 describes the methodology for identifying and classifying strategies; Sect. 3 includes the results and discussion; Sect. 4 refers to the conclusions, and Sect. 5 deals with future work.
2 Related Work Gamification is a strategy that has consolidated as a novel opportunity to increase the commitment of those interested in the software requirements elicitation process [8]. Particularly, gamification is characterized by fostering commitment, motivation, and collaboration among people in a non-ludic context [5, 9]. Pedreira’s systematic mapping [5] shows a relationship of gamification-related experiences in the area of software engineering, along with the need of addressing other areas and fostering validation mechanisms in this context. Other papers report that gamification is an alternative for improving software processes [10, 11]; in software work teams [12, 13]; software project management [7]; and requirements engineering [14]. Gamification is increasing in the area of software engineering. Particularly, the literature reports several proposals for teaching software engineering [15–18] and others whose focus is proposing a strategy to design gamification experiences for software development projects [19, 20]. In requirements engineering (RE), Yasin et al. [21] put forward a proposal focused on requirements associated with cybersecurity. By using gamification, they look for improving stakeholders’ awareness of issues connected with security. So, the use of gamification does show positive results for players, enabling them to understand security attacks and vulnerabilities. Also, Cursino et al. [14] report the state of the art of gamification in the RE area. RE subprocesses such as elicitation, negotiation validation, and requirements specification are found in different papers. Most studies classified in the elicitation subprocesses are part of the sample of studies conducted. The point system and Leaderboards are the gamification elements most frequently used. Likewise, Cursino et al. show positive RE gamification results in factors such as commitment, collaboration, motivation, and communication. A study similar to the one here is found in [22], which also identifies gamification techniques, though it is associate with software development, without a particular approach to requirements elicitation, which is the central focus of this study.
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The proposals analyzed from the related work above focus on the generic identification of strategies and support researchers’ motivation for gamification. However, it is necessary to identify and define the particular gamification strategies focused on requirements elicitation to achieve a concrete characterization. In this regard, analyzing the strategies related to gamification experiences in requirements elicitation becomes the main motivation of this study. Therefore, the objective here is to identify gamification strategies and the elements used in these strategies, together with the results obtained by applying them.
3 Methodology The sample consists of 49 studies found during a systematic literature review (SLR) previously made [7]. The details of the protocol followed to make the SLR are shown in [7]. This SLR describes digital libraries or sources, the search string, and date, among other details [7]. These studies were selected according to the following criteria: i) requirements elicitation orientation; ii) gamification strategy application. These criteria address the main objective of this study. Seven related studies were selected for identifying the gamification strategies implemented. These studies coincide with those identified in the SLR about gamification in requirements engineering [14]. Figure 1 shows the selection process. To collect data, the papers were read throughout and the content analysis technique was used [23] to create a program and a codification manual to be changed into important attributes or aspects (codes) that must be collected from the studies. This analytical technique allows for decreasing the number of errors during data collection.
Fig. 1. Gamification strategies analysis and identification
The methodology includes identifying gamification strategies for which it was necessary to define them. Such a definition is based on [24], which states that a gamification strategy is a way in which gamification is implemented to improve a process. The strategies were classified as: a) software tool; b) games; c) models; d) frameworks; e) methods; f) prototype, and g) others. This classification facilitated the identification of gamification strategies.
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4 Results and Discussion Table 1 shows the relationship between the studies selected and the needs identified, gamification strategies, and expected results. Data were collected from each study to analyze the strategies used. Table 1. Data from studies selected ID
Referential study
Identified need
Gamification strategy
Expected result
EP1
[2]
Increasing participation, commitment, and collaboration
Software tool
Improving participation and collaboration
EP2
[25]
Increasing communication and collaboration in the process
Software tool
Improving stakeholders’ collaboration and communication
EP3
[26]
Improving collaboration and shared knowledge among analysts, developers, and clients
Software tool
Fostering collaboration and shared knowledge among programmers to stimulate and improve requirements engineering
EP4
[27]
Involving Software tool stakeholders in the elicitation process
Improving participation and collaboration
EP5
[28]
Improving Software tool model participation in the process
Influencing stakeholders’ commitment, participation, and performance to improve the quality of the requirements identified
EP6
[29]
Increasing users’ participation, client’s involvement, and communication mechanisms
Method
Improving users’ participation and motivation
EP7
[30]
Increasing users’ involvement
Method
Improving motivation for participation
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Among the strategies most often used in the studies selected is the software tool. Five out of the seven studies report the use of some kind of software tool to implement gamification in the software requirements elicitation process. Methods and gamification models are also remarkable. Below is a characterization of the strategies shown in Table 1. 4.1 Characterization of Strategies Selected One way of characterizing the strategies selected is defining both the most relevant benefits of each proposal and their least favoring features. Table 2 shows the main characteristics of those strategies. Table 2. Selected strategy characterization Name
Main characteristic
Relevant benefits
Weaknesses
iThink [2]
A collaborative game-based tool to improve participation in a requirements elicitation process
Support for collecting new requirements and feedback about the existing ones; help the requirements elicitation process as a collaborative game
The weakest points are the amusement factor, which may be related to an interface unappealing for the user, and the results of case studies because are scarce
Collaborative tool [25]
A collaborative tool was developed by using gamification and the Six Thinking Hats method
Successful results in promoting stakeholders’ discussion about requirements and evidence of improved users’ involvement in requirements elicitation
There is a dependency on a web-based collaboration tool to facilitate participation
REVISE [26]
Tool designed to motivate collaboration and shared knowledge among programmers to improve tasks associated with requirements engineering
Gamified environment for managing the requirements of software products designed according to principles such as Create, Ask for review, Review, and Extend (CARE)
Proposal results are limited to a validation and creation plan and there is no functional solution
Refine [27]
An online gamified platform for requirements elicitation and refinement
Evidence of the effectiveness of refine in supporting elicitation and refinement
Limitations in the validation of the proposal and the questionnaires used (continued)
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Name
Main characteristic
Relevant benefits
Weaknesses
Platform based on GREM [28]
An online gamified platform for eliciting requirements through users’ stories and acceptance tests
The online gamified platform was designed and developed according to a sound conceptual model to explain the gamification effect on stakeholders’ engagement
Game mechanics and elements should be tested in isolation and partial combinations to measure their influence on motivation and behavior
No name [29]
A methodology combining gamification and AUCD for requirements elicitation and analysis
The participants can find the requirement in different stages with different perspectives using a game
Limitations to implementing the proposal related to the sample of active users and case studies
CCRE [30]
A proposal based on crowdsourcing to support greater user’s involvement and gamification to motivate voluntary involvement
Involve the crowd of Crowd involvement is users in developing not guaranteed and requirements and requires motivation verifying and evolving these requirements. It goes beyond elicitation and enables co-creation and co-design
4.2 Discussion The analysis is based on the strategies characterized in Table 2. The papers analyzed report common needs related to the requirements elicitation process, such as greater participation, commitment, and collaboration from stakeholders, as well as clients’ communication and participation. The studies analyzed present proposals to meet these needs based on gamification. These proposals are focused on designing solutions and promote commitment, participation, and collaboration in the process. The gamification strategies are designed according to gamification elements that allow developing tactics to improve the skills required for software requirements elicitation. The gamification elements proposed are shown in Table 3. Moreover, some gamification elements may be used in two strategies, as shown in the study EP5, which includes a model and a tool. A total of 25 gamification elements were identified, 10 of which are the most commonly used (the first 10 in Table 3). The software tool strategy includes all the gamification elements, showing that every type of gamification element
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can be implemented in this type of strategy. It can also be observed that the point system is the element most frequently used. Table 3. Classification of elements and gamification strategies Gamification element
Gamification strategy Software tool
Method
Model
Point system
4
1
1
Progress bar
3
Badges
2
Leaderboard
2
Ranking
2
Scores
2
Reward
1
Challenges
1
1
Levels
1
1
Avatar
1
1
1 1
1
1
Roles
1
Resources
1
Group forming
1
Exploration
1
Endorsements
1
Activity feed
1
1
Onboarding
1
1
Video animation
1
1
Facial animation
1
1
Storyline
1
1
Game master
1
1
Quiz
1
1
Timer
1
1
Liking
1
1
Prize
1
1
The gamification elements were also classified according to expected results, as shown in Table 4. In turn, expected results were identified according to data in Table 1, classifying them as follows: i) Collaboration; ii) Motivation; iii) Participation; iv) Communication; v) Shared knowledge; vi) Performance; and vii) Commitment.
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Table 4. Classification of gamification elements and their relationship with expected results Gamification element
Expected result 1
2
3
Point system
3
2
4
Progress bar
2
1
2
Badges
1
1
Leaderboard
1
Ranking
2
4
2
Total studies
5
6
7
1
1
1
EP1, EP3, EP4, EP5, EP6
5
1
1
EP1, EP2, EP5
3
1 1
2
Related study ID
1
1
EP3, EP5, EP7
3
1
1
EP4, EP5
2
1
1
1
EP1, EP2
2
1
EP1, EP2
2
EP1, EP7
2
Scores
2
1
1
Reward
1
2
2
Challenges
1
1
1
EP5
1
Levels
1
1
1
EP5
1
Avatar
1
1
1
EP5
1
EP4
1
Roles
1
1
Resources
1
1
EP4
1
Group forming
1
1
EP4
1
Exploration
1
1
EP4
1
Endorsements
1
1
EP4
1
EP5
1
Activity feed
1
1
1
Onboarding
1
1
1
EP5
1
Video animation
1
1
1
EP5
1
Facial animation
1
1
1
EP5
1
Storyline
1
1
1
EP5
1
Game master
1
1
1
EP5
1
Quiz
1
1
1
EP5
1
Timer
1
1
1
EP5
1
Liking
1
1
1
EP5
1
Prize
1
1
1
EP5
1
1. Collaboration; 2. Motivation; 3. Participation; 4. Communication; 5. Shared knowledge; 6. Performance; 7. Commitment
Table 4 shows that participation is an important factor for the software requirements elicitation process since all the gamification elements used in the study aim to its development. All the studies indicate that participation is the main expected result that needs to be worked on. To foster collaboration and motivation, the point system, progress bar, badges, leaderboard, ranking, scores, and reward are both useful elements
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to develop these skills and also the gamification elements most frequently used in the area of software engineering [5, 12]. On the other hand, studies EP4 and EP5 include gamification elements that improve strategies and provide various alternatives for working with stakeholders. However, some of them are not included in the gamification elements most commonly used. This classification confirms that the point system is the element most often used since it appears in five of the referential studies, is also observed in most of the expected results elicited. Therefore, the point system is a gamification element that can be used to promote collaboration and participation skills for software development processes. According to the studies analyzed, the needs identified during the elicitation are factors of success for the process [2, 26–28]. The needs become expected results to be attained via gamification strategies. Furthermore, collaboration, motivation, participation, communication, shared knowledge, performance, and commitment may be considered as social and human factors influencing the requirements elicitation process. These factors, in turn, influence software development productivity [31–36]. Finally, Fig. 2 shows the results obtained from the analysis of studies.
Fig. 2. Summary of studies analyzed
5 Conclusions Gamification is used for improving software engineering processes such as requirements elicitation. In this context, this paper deals with gamification strategies used in software requirements elicitation. The strategies identified here were obtained by analyzing a sample of studies selected from a systematic literature review [7]. The gamification elements used for applying these strategies were also identified, as well as the expected results obtained by applying the gamification strategies. Three types of strategies used in the studies analyzed were identified: software tools, method, and model, the first one being the most frequently used because it facilitates the implementation of all types of gamification elements.
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The point system was identified as the most remarkable gamification element used in most studies and strategies, along with its support for attaining the expected results (collaboration, motivation, participation, communication, sharing knowledge, performance, and commitment) in most studies. An analysis of the gamification elements most used in the studies included in this paper could be relevant to identify the influence of these elements in different domains related to RE. Stakeholders’ participation in the elicitation process is worth noting, prevailing in all the studies analyzed and the use of gamification elements.
6 Future Work Concerning the literature review, the characterization of the proposal can be improved by defining comparison criteria and analyzing technical aspects such as software tools, software product application environment, and type of tool distribution. Also, research criteria can be included, such as the type of industry involved in strategy implementation, type of model – either descriptive or prescriptive – reported by the study, and gamification strategy measurement data, among others [14]. The process to analyze the data found in the studies selected may include descriptive statistics to improve their analysis and characterization. This improvement may facilitate the development of research associated with the skills required for the software development project, together with those identified during requirements elicitation. In this way, the study may support research related to software development team productivity. Finally, the use of dendrograms and matrixes to organize the data obtained in this study may be a different way of organizing data and analyzing the group relationships among data and their groups, considering closeness between resulting categories.
References 1. Sandhu, R.K., Weistroffer, H.R.: A review of fundamental tasks in requirements elicitation. In: Wrycza, S., Ma´slankowski, J. (eds.) Information Systems: Research, Development, Applications, Education. SIGSAND/PLAIS 2018. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, pp 31–44. Springer, Cham (2018) 2. Fernandes, J., Duarte, D., Ribeiro, C., et al.: IThink: a game-based approach towards improving collaboration and participation in requirement elicitation. Procedia Comput. Sci. 15, 66–77 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2012.10.059 3. Pasanen, J.: Enhancing Requirements Elicitation and Validation with Gamification. University of Gothenburg (2016) 4. Donoso Barraza, Í., Vega Zepeda, V.: Factores sociales y humanos que afectan el proceso de educción de requerimientos: una revisión sistemática. RISTI - Rev Iber Sist e Tecnol. Inf. 69, 69–83 (2017). https://doi.org/10.17013/risti.n.69-83 5. Pedreira, O., García, F., Brisaboa, N., Piattini, M.: Gamification in software engineering - a systematic mapping. Inf. Softw. Technol. 57, 157–168 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inf sof.2014.08.007 6. Manrique-Losada, B., Gasca-Hurtado, G.P., Gomez Álvarez, M.C.: Assessment proposal of teaching and learning strategies in software process. Rev. Fac. Ing. 105–114, 114 (2015). https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.redin.n77a13
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7. Machuca-Villegas, L., Gasca-Hurtado, G.P.: Gamification for improving software project management processes: a systematic literature review. In: Mejia, J., Muñoz, M., Rocha, Á., et al (eds.) Trends and Applications in Software Engineering. CIMPS 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, pp 41–54. Springer, Cham (2019) 8. Dalpiaz, F., Snijders, R., Brinkkemper, S., et al.: Engaging the crowd of stakeholders in requirements engineering via gamification. In: Stieglitz, S., Lattemann, C., Robra-Bissantz, S., et al. (eds.) Gamification, pp. 123–135. Springer, Switzerland (2017) 9. Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., Nacke, L.: From game design elements to gamefulness. Schriften zur soziotechnischen Integr 3(15), 2797 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1081/E-ELIS3120043942 10. Herranz, E., Colomo-palacios, R., Seco A de, A., Sánchez-Gordón, M.-L.: Towards a gamification framework for software process improvement initiatives. Construct. Validat. 22, 1509–1532 (2016) 11. Herranz, E., Colomo-Palacios, R., de Seco, A.: Gamiware: A Gamification Platform For Software Process Improvement. Commun. Comput. Inf. Sci. 425, 13–24 (2014). https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-662-43896-1 12. Muñoz, M., Hernández, L., Mejia, J., et al.: State of the use of gamification elements in software development teams. In: European Conference on Software Process Improvement, pp 249–258 (2017) 13. Hernandez, L., Munoz, M., Mejia, J., et al.: Application of gamification elements in software engineering teamwork [Aplicación de elementos de gamificación en equipos de trabajo en la ingeniería de software]. Iber Conf. Inf. Syst. Technol. Cist. (2017). https://doi.org/10.23919/ CISTI.2017.7975916 14. Cursino, R., Ferreira, D., Lencastre, M., et al.: Gamification in requirements engineering: a systematic review. In: Proceedings 2018 International Conference Quality Information Communication Technology, QUATIC 2018, pp. 119–125 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1109/quatic. 2018.00025 15. Calderón, A., Ruiz, M., O’Connor, R.V.: A serious game to support the ISO 21500 standard education in the context of software project management. Comput. Stand. Interfaces 60, 80–92 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csi.2018.04.012 16. Calderón, A., Ruiz, M., O’Connor, R.V.: A multivocal literature review on serious games for software process standards education. Comput. Stand Interfaces 57, 36–48 (2018). https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.csi.2017.11.003 17. Souza, M.R., Veado, L., Moreira, R.T., et al.: A systematic mapping study on game-related methods for software engineering education. Inf. Softw. Technol. 95, 201–218 (2018). https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2017.09.014 18. Alhammad, M.M., Moreno, A.M.: Gamification in software engineering education: a systematic mapping. J. Syst. Softw. 141, 131–150 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2018. 03.065 19. Dal Sasso, T., Mocci, A., Lanza, M., Mastrodicasa, E.: How to gamify software engineering. In: SANER 2017 - 24th IEEE International Conference Software Analystics Evolution Reengineering, pp. 261–271 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1109/saner.2017.7884627 20. Morschheuser, B., Hassan, L., Werder, K., Hamari, J.: How to design gamification? A method for engineering gamified software. Inf. Softw. Technol. 95, 219–237 (2018). https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.infsof.2017.10.015 21. Yasin, A., Liu, L., Li, T., et al.: Design and preliminary evaluation of a cyber Security Requirements Education Game (SREG). Inf. Softw. Technol. 95, 179–200 (2018). https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.infsof.2017.12.002 22. Platonova, V., B¯erziša, S.: Gamification in software development projects. Inf. Technol. Manag. Sci. 20, 58–63 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1515/itms-2017-0010
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System for Monitoring and Controlling Industrial Lighting with Amazon Alexa Manuel Ayala-Chauvin1(B) , Fernando Saá1 , Fernando Villarroel-Córdova2 and Albert de la Fuente-Morato3
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1 SISAu Research Group, Facultad de Ingeniería y Tecnologías de la Información y
Comunicación, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Ambato, Ecuador {mayala,fernandosaa}@uti.edu.ec 2 Carrera de Electromecánica, Instituto Superior Tecnológico Baños, Baños, Ecuador [email protected] 3 Centre de Disseny D’Equips Industrials, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-Barcelona Tech, 08034 Barcelona, Spain [email protected]
Abstract. Intelligent devices, used along with sensors, are becoming more commonplace in industrial contexts. One such device, Amazon Echo (which runs Amazon Alexa), can be used to interact with other industrial systems via voice commands. Taking advantage of this, a skill to control the illumination system of a company has been developed, while also being able to measure power consumption in real time. Besides Echo, the system employs easily obtainable electronic components such as NodeMCU4 and Sonoff Pow, while running open-source software like IDE Arduino and Amazon Developer. Besides the voice commands, the system can be controlled via a cell phone touch app and a manual system. Tests show the skill successfully controls the illumination system and provides accurate power consumption data in real time. This skill can also be replicated in other industrial contexts. Keywords: Internet of Things · Amazon Alexa · IoT sensors · Smart industry
1 Introduction 1.1 Background During the last years, technologies related to the Internet of Things (IoT) have progressed at rapid speed, and many companies have become interested in implementing this technology to their environments [1]. This points to a direction where the internet will become more immersive and omnipresent, allowing easier interactions between devices and fostering the development of applications to provide new services to people and entities [2]. Organizations have started to promote the use of IoT for advanced data analysis and Intelligent Industry implementation, allowing the interconnection of machines, devices and users [3]. Sensors, actuators, computers, mobile devices and wireless connections © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 473–482, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_45
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can form synergies that can automatize different processes or industrial contexts for better data gathering in real time [4]. The ability to respond at any time and from any place can avoid costly damages and accidents [5], while the decision-making processes, adequate maintenance and the generation of production databases can interconnect different technologies and facilitate the workers’ tasks. IoT can form virtual connections which can be applied to household appliances, automobiles, healthcare, transport networks and intelligent cities, making them more efficient in terms of time and resource optimization [6]. A clear example of this are the companies John Deere and UPS, where IoT is used to monitor their fleets and transport assignments, and to reduce costs. All of this helps improve their efficiency and competitively [7]. A study from Automotive News claims there were 23 million automobiles connected in 2013, with a prognostic of 152 million by 2020, while another study from Cisco revealed that 50 billion objects and devices would be connected to the internet by 2020. All of this demonstrates IoT will become the technological axis of modern societies [8]. Currently, IoT is implemented along with artificial intelligence (AI) to conform integrated systems. Most of these systems are designed to gather data about human behaviour (movements, voice, etc.) with sensors, and react accordingly [9]. In the residential area, intelligent technologies such as the IoT can promote a more ecologic and sustainable way of life [10–12]. The idea behind an intelligent home consists in optimizing the performance of the electrical system by managing things such as demand spikes, auxiliary services, and microgeneration. The system can also take into consideration the actions of every family member and control lights and household appliances accordingly [13, 14]. During the last decades, IoT has also been implemented in industrial buildings [15]. These buildings are capable of associating owners, users, and the environment in very beneficial synergies, even though this interrelationship needs to be refined with better controllers [16]. The development of intelligent industrial buildings is, however, hindered by the elevated installation and maintenance costs, as well as by the complexity of the adaptation of existing infrastructure to ensure a safe and economical operation [17–19]. 1.2 Related Works At present, most illumination systems in buildings are controlled by manual switch systems, which account for 61% of the total energy consumption of a company. In the area of intelligent industry, architectures implementing physical and cybernetic technologies concurrently are progressively being adopted in order to optimize production processes via their intelligent measurement and [20]. By using LED technology or applying automatized saving techniques, this consumption can be lowered [21]. Some of these saving techniques employ IoT in order to monitor the processes in real time, integrating different technologies within a wireless network [22].
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This paper focusses on a low cost system for controlling industrial lighting with Amazon Alexa. The LED-based system was built with components that were readily available in Ecuador and features an integrated control system that can monitor consumption in real time. The user can interact with the system via voice commands directed at an Amazon Alexa device, which contains a preprogramed skill created with Amazon Developer. The rest of this contribution is organized as follows: Sect. 2 will present the methods used in this investigation, Sect. 3 will describe the results, and Sect. 4 will present the conclusions of the study.
2 Method The applied method is based in an integrated approach that solves the client’s expectations, interrelating implementation and support. Figure 1 shows the flowchart method.
Fig. 1. Flowchart method
With this method, the specifications have been determined, and the components have been selected in accordance to their availability in the local market. Subsequently, the electric and electronic diagrams have been generated, and the whole system has been implemented. Furthermore, a cell phone application has been created to enable the monitoring of the power consumption in real time and the storage of such data in a database. 2.1 Architecture The developed multiplatform system can be run on any computer as long as it has an Ethernet port and a standard Modbus TCP/IP protocol. The illumination control system proposed in this article consists of the following elements: router, NodeMCU4 module and Amazon Echo, as seen in Fig. 2. The system’s components control illumination easily, are readily available in the local market and are affordable.
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Fig. 2. Diagram of a processing a request with a custom Alexa skill
Figure 3 shows the electronic circuit, consisting of a NodeMCU module (based on an ESP8266 chip that uses a programming language compatible with Arduino) and a 4-channel relay that can control several devices at high and low voltages. The maximum outputs are AC 250 V and DC 30 V and in both cases, at 10 A.
Fig. 3. Electronic circuit.
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Figure 4 shows the initial prototype. Several preliminary tests have been performed, ensuring the correct functioning of the skill.
Fig. 4. Voice command test.
The illumination system is controlled by relays, which can withstand up to 250 V at 10 A. Every relay module is electrically insulated with an opto capacitor and has a LED to indicate its state (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5. Illumination circuit test.
A Sonoff Pow device has been used to measure the energy consumption in real time. It consists of a 16-A intelligent Wi-Fi switch integrated in an ESP8266 chip. This device can measure energy consumption in real time via a voltage and intensity sensor. The illumination system is controlled via a BH1750 sensor connected to a NodeMCU module, both conforming a luxmeter capable of measuring intensities from 0.11 lx to 100000 lx. This wide range of operation makes it capable of characterizing almost any situation. The EN 12464-1_2011 regulation specifies an intensity of 1000 lx–1500 lx for comfortable working conditions inside a building [23, 24]. The BH1750 module was programmed to perform measurements constantly, activating the low-consumption mode
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when the intensity of natural light goes above 1000 lx, and providing just the necessary extra illumination when the intensity is below this threshold. 2.2 Operation The system’s operation is simple and intuitive. After switching the control panel on, the user orders Amazon Alexa to detect the devices via voice command. Then, the user can switch the illumination system on and off. Furthermore, the device can be configured with on-off routines, temporizers, alarms, and can deliver real-time power consumption data. Figure 6 shows the flowchart of the operation modes (voice, touch, and manual).
Fig. 6. Flowchart of operating modes.
Figure 7 shows the operation diagram in voice command mode. The user formulates a petition to the Alexa device, and the developed skill sends a signal to the NodeMCU module. This device was programmed with the Arduino IDE, it sends the signal to the relay and the action of turning on the lighting is executed. The illumination system is activated at the preprogrammed time after receiving a voice command. The voice commands are specific to each circuit and can only be activated with certain keywords. In order to avoid misunderstandings due to ambient noise, the speaker must enunciate the commands in a relatively insulated area.
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Fig. 7. Voice command mode
Figure 8 shows the interface of the cell phone application (touch mode). The system also features an application to visualize power consumption.
Fig. 8. Cell phone app for the touch mode.
3 Results Tests have been performed to ensure the correct operation of both circuits. Tests to ensure the Alexa skill runs smoothly via the speaker and microphone of an Amazon Echo device have also been performed. Finally, the real time consumption has been measured with a Sonoff Pow device. The system’s response is considerably quick, which lets the user interact with it in a natural way, like a conversation between two people. Figure 9 shows the selected components for the illumination system.
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Fig. 9. Electrical components of the system
Figure 10 shows the power consumption for October 2020. This adaptation has decreased the monthly electrical consumption by 10%. The technology has been implemented in a preexisting illumination system consisting of two circuits: principal and auxiliary.
Fig. 10. Electrical consumption and cost.
4 Conclusions The present system can integrate the control of the illumination of a company with voice commands via Amazon Alexa, remotely via a cell phone application, or manually with a standard control panel with buttons. On-off routines, temporizers, alarms, and light intensity changes can be programmed, and energy consumption reports can be generated in real time. The interface is designed as an Amazon Alexa skill, whose wide availability makes it possible to implement easily in contexts with similar characteristics.
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Communication between the NodeMCU module and the Sonoff Pow device happens automatically at predefined intervals, without any human intervention, and the results are stored in a database that can be consulted via an Amazon Echo device. The designed electrical panel allows for the validation of the system in a simple but realistic way, with which the interactions of all the elements, and inputs and outputs of the NodeMCU module can be controlled in real time. The adopted approach of this article is a contribution to the development of skills for Amazon Alexa in industrial contexts. However, it can also be applied to more complex processes like machine control, which is something that will be implemented in future developments.
References 1. Wortmann, F., Flüchter, K.: Internet of things. Bus. Inf. Syst. Eng. 57, 221–224 (2015). https:// doi.org/10.1007/s12599-015-0383-3 2. Zanella, A., Member, S., Bui, N., Castellani, A., Vangelista, L., Member, S., Zorzi, M.: Internet of things for smart cities. IEEE Internet Things J. 1, 22–32 (2014) 3. Breivold, H.P.: Internet-of-things and cloud computing for smart industry: a systematic mapping study (2017). https://doi.org/10.1109/ES.2017.56 4. Kaur, N., Sood, S.K.: Cognitive decision making in smart industry. Comput. Ind. (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2015.06.006 5. Condry, B.M.W., Nelson, C.B.: Using smart edge IoT devices for safer, rapid response with industry IoT control operations. Proc. IEEE 104(5), 938–946 (2016) 6. Swain, K.B.: Smart industry pollution monitoring and controlling using LabVIEW based IoT, pp. 74–78 (2017) 7. Lee, I., Lee, K.: The Internet of things (IoT): applications, investments, and challenges for enterprises. Bus. Horiz. 58, 431–440 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2015.03.008 8. Ahmed, E., Yaqoob, I.: Internet-of-things-based smart environments: state of the art, taxonomy, and open research challenges. IEEE Wirel. Commun. 23(5), 10–16 (2016) 9. Park, M., Oh, H., Lee, K.: Security risk measurement for information leakage in IoT-based smart homes from a situational awareness perspective. Sensors 19 (2019). https://doi.org/10. 3390/s19092148 10. Darby, S.J.: Smart technology in the home: time for more clarity. Build. Res. Inf. 46, 140–147 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2017.1301707 11. Lee, E.J., Park, S.J.: A framework of smart-home service for elderly’s biophilic experience. Sustainability 12 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208572 12. Mori, G.N., Swaminarayan, P.R.: Measuring IoT security issues and control home lighting system by android application using Arduino Uno and HC-05 bluetooth module. Presented at the data science and intelligent applications, pp. 375–382 (2021) 13. Winnicka, A., K˛esik, K., Połap, D., Wo´zniak, M., Marszałek, Z.: A multi-agent gamification system for managing smart homes. Sensors 19 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3390/s19051249 14. Wilson, C., Hargreaves, T., Hauxwell-Baldwin, R.: Benefits and risks of smart home technologies. Energy Policy 103, 72–83 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.12.047 15. Praveen Kumar, R., Smys, S., Raj, J.S.: Ingenious Lighting System (ILS) for smart cities using IoT. In: International Conference on Mobile Computing and Sustainable Informatics (2021) 16. Froufe, M.M., Chinelli, C.K., Guedes, A.L.A., Haddad, A.N., Hammad, A.W.A., Soares, C.A.P.: Smart buildings: systems and drivers. Buildings 10 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3390/ buildings10090153
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17. Xu, W., Zhang, J., Kim, J.Y., Huang, W., Kanhere, S.S., Jha, S.K., Hu, W.: The design, implementation, and deployment of a smart lighting system for smart buildings. IEEE Internet Things J. 6, 7266–7281 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1109/JIOT.2019.2915952 18. Lobaccaro, G., Carlucci, S., Löfström, E.: A review of systems and technologies for smart homes and smart grids. Energies 9 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3390/en9050348 19. Shin, S., Kwon, T.: A lightweight three-factor authentication and key agreement scheme in wireless sensor networks for smart homes. Sensors 19 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3390/s19 092012 20. Chen, B., Wan, J., Shu, L., Li, P., Mukherjee, M., Yin, B.: Smart factory of industry 4.0: key technologies, application case, and challenges. IEEE Access 6, 6505–6519 (2018). https:// doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2017.2783682 21. Zhang, D., Xia, X.: Distributed illumination control of LED networked systems via local occupancy information, pp. 4141–4146 (2017) 22. Shinde, K.S., Bhagat, P.H.: Industrial process monitoring using IoT, pp. 38–42 (2017) 23. Staff, B.S.I., Institution, B.S., for Standardization, E.C., British Standards Institution. Technical Committee CPL/34/10, Lamps and related equipment - light, lighting: Light and Lighting - Lighting of Work Places: Indoor work places. Part 1. BSI (2011) 24. van Bommel, W.: Interior Lighting: Fundamentals. Springer (2019)
Mobile System for Personal Support to Psoriatic Patients Rui S. Moreira1,2,3(B) , Paulo Carvalho1 , Rui Catarino1 , Toni Lopes1 , Christophe Soares1,2 , Jos´e M. Torres1,2 , Pedro Sobral1,2 , Ana Teixeira4,5 , Isabel F. Almeida5 , and Vera Almeida4,5 1
ISUS Unit, FCT - University Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal {rmoreira,paulo.carvalho,rui.catarino, toni.lopes,csoares,jtorres,pmsobral}@ufp.edu.pt 2 LIACC, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal 3 INESC-TEC, FEUP - University of Porto, Porto, Portugal 4 CESPU, Institute of Research and Advanced Training in Health Sciences and Technologies, Gandra PRD, Porto, Portugal {ana.teixeira,vera.almeida}@iucs.cespu.pt 5 UCIBIO/REQUIMTE, MedTech-Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Drug Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal [email protected] http://isus.ufp.pt Abstract. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with a high worldwide incidence that in worst cases reaches 4.6%. This dermatosis can be associated with other comorbidities and has a significant negative impact on labor productivity and the quality of life of affected people. During day-to-day lives, psoriasis patients come across several practical clinical difficulties, e.g. to i) easily register a time evolution of affected skin areas (for later analysis by health carers); ii) daily evaluate the size of each affected skin area, to be able to iii) calculate the amount of medication to be applied on those affected body areas. In such a context, this paper proposes the Follow-App mobile system aiming to support people with psoriasis, by alleviating and managing their daily life with the disease. More precisely, the goals of the system are: to allow individual photographic registration of body parts affected by psoriasis; in addition, cataloging each image according to its body segment location and sampling date; then, on those photos, automatically detect and segment the affected skin surface, to posteriorly be able to calculate the area of the lesions; finally, based on the area and prescribed medicine, dynamically accounting the amount of topical medicine to use. These were the requirements addressed by the proposed system prototype. The evaluation tests on the ability to detect and quantify the area of the skin lesions were performed on a data-set with 22 images. The proposed segmentation algorithm for detecting the area of redness lesions reached an IoU rate over 81%. Therefore, the proposed Follow-App mobile system may become an important asset for people with psoriasis since the extent and redness of affected areas are major evaluation factors for the disease severity. c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 483–493, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_46
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Introduction
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with high worldwide prevalence [1]. The disease results from the interaction of a complex set of factors, such as genetic, immunological and environmental (cf. trauma and climate). Psoriasis is typically characterized by well-demarcated skin lesions and includes unpredictable periods of exacerbation and remission and requires prolonged treatment. The severity of the disease can vary according to the characteristics of the lesions (cf. redness, scaliness and thickness) and the extent of the affected areas. The choice of treatment will depend on the type of psoriasis, severity, and location of skin lesions, as well as the effect that the disease has on the patient’s quality of life [2–4]. Usually, the consequences of the disease for the patients are related with the characteristics of the lesions and their location, most patients with mild or moderate psoriasis can be treated safety and efficiently with topical medicines, but this treatment not always produce the expected clinical success due to nonadherence to treatment. One of the factors responsible for non-adherence is the difficulty do determine the dose of medicine to be applied [4–7]. Therefore, any help that patients may receive will be important for increasing the adherence to treatment and control of the disease. The continuous evaluation of the skin lesions areas is a major assessment parameter for the severity and progress of the disease. In addition, the estimation of affected skin areas is also crucial to determinate the amount of medicine (dose) to be applied in case of cutaneous applications. Moreover, the follow-up of the clinical effectiveness of the treatment can be based on direct analysis over the skin photos timeline. Such analysis may undoubtedly help determining the extent of the skin lesions increase or decrease over time and in the determination of the dose of medicine to be applied. In this paper we propose a system composed by an Android application, named Psoriasis Follow-App, and an associated web service which, together, aim to be an important asset for any user diagnosed with psoriasis. The application allows a personal and personalized registration and monitoring of the actual areas of affected skin lesions. This app provides the means for periodically taking pictures of each affected skin area and cataloguing those images according to the body part and sampling date. The collected images maybe uploaded to an associated web service which processes them to segment the affected skin lesions and estimate each area. The photos may also be visualized over a timeline depicting the evolution of any skin lesions catalogued according to specific parts of the body affected by psoriasis (cf. head, back, chest, arms, hands, legs, feet). This visualization provides the necessary monitoring means to evaluate the size of skin lesions over time. Moreover, allowing to evaluate if those skin lesions have increased or decreased in size over time and thus determining if the patient is
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accomplishing with treatment adherence [4,7]. Finally, for any given photo, the segmentation allows to identify the skin lesions and estimate their areas. Based on this, a simple rule may be applied to calculate the amount of topical medicine to apply. This increases the fitting of topical medicine to apply according to the affected skin areas and needs of each patient, which is a major factor in treatment control and adherence. The remaining sections of this paper focuses: on related work with respect to systems using computer vision for supporting personal psoriasis monitoring and treatment; afterwards, detailing the Psoriasis Follow-App system requirements, architecture and implementation; then, presenting the evaluation of the system, particularly focusing on the computer vision mechanisms used for image processing, segmentation and area estimation; finally, presenting the conclusions and possible future work directions.
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Related Work on Computer Vision Use in Psoriasis
Gomez et al. present an image-based system to automatically score the degree of redness and scaling in psoriasis lesions [8]. This approach uses skin images to segment different lesion regions and scores some properties. However, this research does not present an estimation in centimeters of lesions area. Juan et al. propose an automatic segmentation of scaliness based on 2D skin images [9]. This approach analyzes skin texture to detect the lesion’s location. Afterward, extracts also the pixels corresponding to red inflamed skin (erythema) and collects training samples for a classification process. This work though does not provide an automatic estimation of the evolution of the lesions. Dani et al. address skin lesion area assessment for Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scoring [10]. This approach can detect lesions based on their color dissimilarity from healthy skin. Such an approach, however, also does not provide an estimated area of the lesion in centimeters. Cl´ audio et al. propose a novel method for enhancing the local contrast of dermatological images in the wavelet domain [11]. Their approach improves image quality by removing blur caused by low-cost cameras. Wavelet transforms prevent the unwanted enhancement of noise for color images. Intra and inter-scales are used to directionally smooth noisy pixels, sharpen edges, and adaptively select an adequate number of scales. Their work nevertheless does not present a way to follow the evolution of the lesions. Taur et al. review a method for the segmentation of color images using a multiresolution-based signature subspace classifier (MSSC) with application to psoriasis images [12]. This approach can divide an image into different homogeneous regions regarding some given characteristics. This approach applies also picture segmentation techniques, although it does not present an estimation in centimeters of lesions area. Oana et al. describe skin imaging methods to obtain bidirectional measurements and two texture modeling methods which they employ for texture recognition in two contexts: classification of skin disorders (e.g. psoriasis vs. acne), and
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classification of facial regions (e.g. forehead vs. chin) [13]. This work, non less, focus on photos of small skin areas taken with professional cameras and does not address pictures, from large body areas, taken with smartphone cameras. Vimal et al. present the performance of the pCAD system using different feature sets, i.e., higher-order spectra (HOS), texture, color, and combinations [14]. A Machine learning approach is presented to identify psoriasis, still, this work lacks a mobile system to assist patients in monitoring lesions area evolution and supporting daily life coping with treatment adherence. The reviewed projects address the segmentation of skin lesions though, each using specific techniques and purposes. None of the projects, however, seems to focus on calculating the area of psoriatic skin lesions, thus not providing the means to depict and assess the time evolution of the disease. Moreover, these projects do not address the calculation of topical medicine to apply to each skin lesion. These features are considered extremely important to support patients’ treatment adherence, and both are addressed in the Follow-App system.
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Psoriasis Follow-App System
We proposed a mobile Follow-App system that supports psoriatic patients monitoring their clinical evolution and coping with adherence (see Fig. 1). This system proposes the use of the smartphone camera to take and catalogue pictures of skin lesions and upload them to a web service for affected area estimation. The app together with the web service allows also posterior evolution analysis of lesions areas. The web service provides computer vision algorithms to determine the size in centimeters of each existing lesion in a photo. The following sub-sections will present the implementation and technical details of the system.
Fig. 1. Psoriasis follow-app system architecture
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Psoriasis Follow-App Web Server The server was developed in Python using the Flask framework [15]. It is a REST API that allows us to store the photos captured by the mobile device. Upon receiving these images, our computer vision algorithm will segment them to identify the location of the psoriasis wound. It will also estimate the size of the stain in centimeters. This processing uses the OpenCV [16] library and NumPy. This server is currently hosted on AWS (Amazon Web Services) to allow the mobile application to store new photos. The database was developed in Postgres [17] using the SQLAlchemy [17] framework. Image processing uses the OpenCV library. If a currency is detected, it stores the photograph. Image processing may be delayed for a variety of reasons when we receive multiple images in a short amount of time, or our approach faces difficulties in detecting the currency. When this processing is complete, we will trigger a notification using Firebase [18] for the user’s mobile application. It is an asynchronous process, allowing users to continue performing their daily activities while the photograph is analyzed. After processing, the same image results in two new. An image with the contours [19] of the coin and the wound. Another one with the wound pixels in white and all the others in black. Psoriasis Follow-App Android Application The mobile Follow-App was developed in Kotlin for android equipments. It uses Volley to handle the communication between the application and the server API. Notifications alerts make use of Firebase. The application interacts with the web service to: i) register new users; ii) authenticate users; iii) upload captured images and associated meta-data about body areas affected by psoriasis; iv) preview photos previously uploaded; and v) receive temporal information about the evolution of skin lesions. With respect to the workflow of the application, it is possible to access the camera [20] to register and catalog any body part with psoriasis lesions. Our experiments showed that photos taken without flash provide better segmentation results. Therefore, the limits the camera’s resources, removing the use of flash, zoom, and front camera to improve the quality of the pictures. The app disables also access to gallery, allowing only real-time photos. After capture, the app allows also associating meta-data (e.g. body part, date). The photo is stored and asynchronously sent to the server for processing. The photo must include a coin nearby the lesion location, to allow calibration (please refer to Sect. 4 for details). The user receives a push notification, when the image is processed by the server, signaling the lesion and coin outlines, respectively with green and blue. The historic evolution of a skin lesion area can be requested and visualized by the user. All the relevant information stands in a summary table (see right screenshot on Fig. 2). Each table line represents a skin lesion entry, containing: date, area in centimeters, and percentage of evolution in relation to a previous photo. This info is not device persistent, hence, different patients may use the same equipment without mingle mistakes or privacy concerns.
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Fig. 2. Segmentation contour results (left) and lesions area evolution (right)
Psoriasis Lesions Image Processing Algorithms The computer vision approach is divided into two parts: i) estimate the size of the image resolution based on an object of known size (cf. 50 cents coin), and ii) identification of the lesion area. The workflow is presented in Fig. 3. Firstly, detect the coin, by making use of the OpenCV library to identify existing circular shapes in the photo. If there are more than one circle, the algorithm systematically resizes the photo, until it identifies a single circle. When the resize image contains a width or height lower than 50 pixels, the algorithm assumes that the coin has not been discovered. This value was estimated after carrying out several experiments. Afterwards, by knowing the number of pixels occupied by the fifty-cent coin, i.e., the pixel area of the coin, the algorithm then uses it as the conversion to be applied to our image to obtain real photo dimensions. We will then try to find lesion areas in the photograph. We will convert the original photo in RGB to HSV [21]. All colors in the photograph are represented by their saturation. This conversion is performed because the main colors of psoriasis disease in HSV format are easier to be identified. Detection is performed using two bands of colors, so it is possible to estimate the number of pixels, that is, the area occupied by the lesion.
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Fig. 3. Skin lesion image processing algorithms
Knowing the estimated area of pixels in the photograph of the fifty-cent coin, its real area, and the area of pixels of the lesion, we can estimate the real area of the lesion.
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Evaluation of Computer Vision Modules
In patients affected by psoriasis, two assessment factors considered to evaluate the severity of the lesions are redness and the extent of the skin lesion area. Therefore, this section focuses on the evaluation of the proposed computer vision algorithms with respect to these two factors, i.e., the ability to determine the area of redness affected by skin lesions. As previously mentioned, the algorithms use a pipeline for sequentially detecting i) the coin used as scale factor, then ii) calibrate the ratio between image pixels and real measures, afterward iii) proceed with the segmentation of redness lesions, and finally iv) calculate the area of lesions (see Fig. 4). Firstly, to detect the coin, the algorithm searches all circles in the photo. When processing large images, this process can become slow, so we pre-process the image and resize it to a lower resolution. This does not interfere with the result and reduces the process of time efficiency. The accuracy and the amount of the circles detected was also a critical aspect. Therefore, after some extensive tests, we came out with an algorithm that applies a blur and a gray effect on the images to avoid erroneous circle identification. The algorithm produces polished images, avoiding color interference, and reaching better results. The next step comprises lesion detection based on computer vision analysis. Since the two major factors used in the evaluation of psoriasis severity are redness and the extent of skin lesion areas, we decided to explore the image’s color property. To be able to explore redness detection, we conducted several experiments to determine the most appropriate range of colors to use. Initial test outcomes, with different color ranges, provided numerous false positives, mainly due to color interferences. Thus, we decided to convert RGB (Red, Green, and
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Blue) images into HSV (Hue, Saturation Value). Then, based on the predominant psoriasis red color, the algorithm uses two different ranges avoiding the previously identified color interference. The following step considers the coin used as a scale factor to calibrate the algorithm for the real size of the image. More precisely, knowing the real size of the coin in centimeters and the associated padding pixels of it in the photo, we define a scale factor. Finally, given the redness segmented pixels and the previous pixel scale factor it is possible to estimate the area of the lesion in centimeters.
Fig. 4. The stages of three image processing pipelines samples
The image samples shown in Fig. 4 correspond to three distinct body parts containing psoriatic lesions, where redness is clearly a visible feature. The fiftycent coin was placed into those images (cf. left pictures) for the algorithms to use in the calibration process and posterior estimation of lesion areas. The algorithms process each image to detect and identify the lesions outlines and coin contour, with green and blue colors, respectively (cf. central pictures). Finally, the estimated set of lesion pixels, pictured with white (cf. right pictures), are used to calculate the corresponding area of associated skin lesions. In Table 1 it is possible to view the evaluation of the segmentation algorithm expressed in Intersection over Union (IoU) rates, for different types of pictures use-case scenarios [22]. The IoU is a standard metric for evaluating image segmentation models. In practice, this rate indicates the overlap between two regions, i.e., the pixels selected by the segmentation algorithm against the pixels identified in the ground-truth. The latter being obtained by a trained human expert that manually annotates each pixel lesion in all data set images.
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Table 1. Image segmentation IoU rates for generic scenario use-cases Use-case scenarios
Average IoU rate (%) Sample images
Pictures w/Redness Skin Lesions
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Pictures w/Whiteness Scaliness Lesions 56.19
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The IoU corresponds to the rate between the common pixels versus the joint pixels of the two regions. Therefore, the bigger is the IoU value, the better is the relationship between the segmentation algorithm against the ground-truth. Whenever the IoU value is 1 (100%), it indicates a perfect match between the segmentation achieved by the algorithm and the current patient lesions. To be able to better understand and perceive the quality of the segmentation algorithm, the data-set was divided into different picture use-case scenarios, each characterized by specific features of the pictures. For example, the Pictures w/Redness Skin Lesions scenarios correspond to pictures taken with natural light, without flash, and with well-visible reddish lesions. In such conditions, the obtained IoU is 81.64%. The Pictures w/Whiteness Scaliness Lesions include pictures of lesion areas with scaliness white or near white. The segmentation algorithm is less accurate (56.19%). In this latter scenario, the whiteness does not fit well enough in the red range color model used for redness psoriasis detection. During our experiments, it was clear that pictures taken with flash become lighter and whitish affecting natural skin colors. This impacts negatively on the results of the algorithm. Hence, we opt to deactivate the flash by default in the Follow-App. We noticed also that with pictures containing both Inflamed Skin and Pinkish Skin the segmentation is harder because those colors interfere with the redness color range used by the algorithm and may potentially lead to increase false positives.
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Conclusion and Future Work
Psoriasis, like other chronic diseases, poses several difficulties to cope with daily life demands and treatment adherence. This paper proposes a simple to use mobile Follow-App Android application that with a supporting web service provides the means for helping people coping with psoriasis life effects. The FollowApp system is characterized by mechanisms for periodically register and review psoriasis lesions. Since the redness and extent of affected skin areas are two of the major features used to evaluate psoriasis severity, the proposed system focuses on undertaking an automatic segmentation process for identifying each psoriasis lesion and calculating the associated area. The segmentation process based on a redness range color scheme allows us to detect affected pixels and estimating their areas. Given this area, a calculus may then be undertaken to determine the exact amount of topic medicine to apply in each skin region. This fact is fundamental to assist patients in supporting their treatment adherence. The personal registration and cataloging of the affected skin areas allow the system to present
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a time evolution of the segmented lesions. This feature provides a powerful tool for patients and even health carers to evaluate the course of the disease based on the temporal variation of the areas of skin lesions. The redness segmentation algorithm was evaluated on a data-set of 22 images. It proved to be efficient (over 81%) on pictures taken with an appropriate natural light condition and for reddish psoriasis skin lesions. The number of false positives increases when pictures with worse light conditions and/or psoriasis lesions are comprised of whiter colors. However, to reduce segmentation errors, it is possible to undertake some precautions when taking pictures, such as not using flash and making sure to use natural light conditions. Future will seek to improve the segmentation process for handling scaliness of skin lesions. This feature, together with redness and lesion area extent, are crucial for psoriasis severity evaluation indexes. There is a grounded expectation that machine learning algorithms may serve to identify and distinguishing psoriasis lesions from other physically similar skin inflammatory diseases. Besides, we expect to conduct additional experiences, to cover a higher data-set of images that may give us feedback to improve the effectiveness of the segmentation algorithm. In particular, the undertaken tests were based on a data-set with caucasian skin complexes, hence the need for evaluation with other skin complexes. Acknowledgements. This project was funded by Funda¸ca ˜o Ensino e Cultura Fernando Pessoa (FECFP), represented here by its R&D group Intelligent Sensing and Ubiquitous Systems (ISUS: http://isus.ufp.pt).
References 1. Parisi, R., Iskandar, I.Y.K., Kontopantelis, E., Augustin, M., Griffiths, C.E.M., Ashcroft, D.M.: National, regional, and worldwide epidemiology of psoriasis: systematic analysis and modelling study. BMJ 369 (2020) ˆ Constante, D., Correia, R., Almeida, I.F., Teixeira, M., 2. Almeida, V., Leite, A., Vidal, D.G., e Sousa, H.F.P., Dinis, M.A.P., Teixeira, A.: The mediator role of body image-related cognitive fusion in the relationship between disease severity perception, acceptance and psoriasis disability. Behav. Sci. 10(9), 142 (2020) 3. Almeida, V., Constante, D., Leite, A., Almeida, I.F., Rocha, J.C., S´ a, R., Teixeira, M., Teixeira, A.: Influence of disease phase on embitterment and emotional dysregulation in psoriatic patients. Psychol. Health Med. 0(0), 1–18 (2020). PMID: 32216602 4. Teixeira, A., Teixeira, M., Almeida, V., Torres, T., Lobo, J..M.S., Almeida, I.F.: Methodologies for medication adherence evaluation: focus on psoriasis topical treatment. J. Dermatol. Sci. 82(2), 63–68, May 2016 5. Teixeira, A., Vasconcelos, V., Teixeira, M., Almeida, V., Azevedo, R., Torres, T., Sousa Lobo, J.M., Costa, P.C., Almeida, I.F.: Mechanical properties of topical antipsoriatic medicines: implications for patient satisfaction with treatment. AAPS PharmSciTech 20(1), 36, January 2019 6. Vasconcelos, V., Teixeira, A., Almeida, V., Teixeira, M., Ramos, S., Torres, T., Sousa Lobo, J.M., Almeida, I.F.: Patient preferences for attributes of topical antipsoriatic medicines. J. Dermatol. Treat. 30(7), 659–663 (2019)
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7. Teixeira, A., Oliveira, C., Teixeira, M., Rita Gaio, A., Lobo, J.M.S., Filipa, I., de Almeida, M., Almeida, V.: Development and validation of a novel questionnaire for adherence with topical treatments in psoriasis (QATOP). Am. J. Clin. Dermatol. 18(4), 571–581 (2017) 8. Gomez, D.D., Ersbøll, B.K., Carstensen, J.M.: An image based system to automatically and objectivelly score the degreeof redness and scaling in psoriasi lesions. In: Proceedings of the 13. Danish Conference in Pattern Recognition and Image Analysis (2004) 9. Lu, J., Kazmierczak, E., Manton, J.H., Sinclair, R.: Automatic segmentation of scaling in 2-D psoriasis skin images. IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging 32(4), 719–730 (2013) 10. Ihtatho, D., Fadzil, M., Affandi, A., Hussein, S.H.: Area assessment of psoriasis lesion for pasi scoring. In: 2007 29th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, pp. 3446–3449 (2007) ´ 11. Jung, C.A.R., Scharcanski, J.: Sharpening dermatological color images in the wavelet domain. IEEE J. Sel. Topics Signal Process. 3(1), 4–13 (2009) 12. Taur, J.S. , Lee, G.H., Tao, C.W., Chen, C.C., Yang, C.W.: Segmentation of psoriasis vulgaris images using multiresolution-based orthogonal subspace techniques. IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. Part B (Cybernetics), 36(2), 390–402 (2006) 13. Cula, O.G., Dana, K.J., Murphy, F.P., Rao, B.K.: Bidirectional imaging and modeling of skin texture. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 51(12), 2148–2159 (2004) 14. Shrivastava, V.K., Londhe, N.D., Sonawane, R.S., Suri, J.S.: Computer-aided diagnosis of psoriasis skin images with HOS, texture and color features: a first comparative study of its kind. Comput. Methods Programs Biomed. 126, 98–109 (2016) 15. Burke, K.: Flask-RESTful 0.3.8 documentation (2020). Accessed Feb 2020 16. Rosebrock, A.: Measuring size of objects in an image with OpenCV (2016). Accessed Feb 2020 17. SQLAlchemy. SQLAlchemy 1.3 Documentation (2020). Accessed Feb 2020 18. Google. AndroidDev (2020). Accessed May 2020 19. Abid, K., Mordvintsev, A.: Contours in OpenCV (2013). Accessed Apr 2020 20. Tanner, G.: Create an Android Camera App using Kotlin. Accessed Apr 2020 21. Canu, S.: Detecting colors (Hsv Color Space) – Opencv with Python (2019). Accessed May 2020 22. Sheremet, O.: Intersection over union (IoU) calculation for evaluating an image segmentation model (2020). Accessed Nov 2020
NetAC, An Automatic Classifier of Online Hate Speech Comments Constan¸ca Elias, Jorge Brand˜ ao Gon¸calves, Maria Ara´ ujo, Pedro Pinheiro, Cristiana Ara´ ujo(B) , and Pedro Rangel Henriques Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal [email protected] Abstract. Nowadays in many linguistic and social areas researchers collect the reaction of people to someone’s statements (newspaper articles or social network posts) with the intention of analyzing the speech style. From that analysis different conclusions can be inferred giving rise to a large number of social impact attitudes. However it is not enough to create a huge corpus of texts. It is necessary to process the collected statements and comments and resort to appropriate tools to extract the relevant terms from the texts and analyze their occurrences. This paper is about a statistical framework, NetAC, built in the context of NetLang Project to study prejudice discourse aiming at individual or group discrimination. Given a categorization table the tools included in NetAC search for frequency of occurrence of the keywords in each category and, based on the greatest frequency, propose a classification for each comment and for the overall text. Besides the main classifier, other features will be presented.
Keywords: Linguistic analysis support tools speech · Aggressive language · Social media
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Introduction
Every day we realize that people often use social networks, online newspaper sites, online platforms such as YouTube, forums, among others [10,14]... On these platforms, millions of people express their opinions, beliefs, lifestyles, etc., through comments (in the comment sections) on someone else’s statements. In many cases, in these comments people often resort to the use of Aggressive Language and even Hate Speech [3,7,15]. Aggressive language is often characterized by personal attacks and uncivil language, such as provocative, sarcastic, insulting, cynical or negative comments [1,2,8,10,13,15]. Hate Speech is defined as “Hatred or disqualification of an individual or a group based on their race, skin colour, ethnicity, sex, disability, religion or sexual orientation” [12]; “A mechanism of subordination for generating an atmosphere of fear, intimidation, harassment and discrimination” [11]. Fortuna and Nunes c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 494–505, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_47
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define Hate Speech as being “Language that attacks or diminishes, that incites violence or hate against groups, based on specific characteristics such as physical appearance, religion, descent, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or other, and it can occur with different linguistic styles, even in subtle forms or when humour is used” [5]. Although the definitions of Hate Speech are slightly different, they often include hate speech or violence towards an individual or group based on characteristics such as: nationality or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, physical appearance, among others... Both, Hate Speech and Aggressive Language, are subclasses of Socially Inappropriate Discourse (SID). SID “covers all forms of aggressive, confrontational, offensive and obscene language, as well as discourse in which hate takes on a more militant nature and is directed at specific groups” [4]. 1.1
NetLang Project
This problem served as motivation for the NetLang project, which targets the analysis of the comments present in online newspaper sites and online social platforms, aiming at identifying words, idioms, recurring constructions, pragmatic interaction patterns, among others, that can serve as the basis for detecting hate speech and aggressive language. The project aims at building and annotate a comparable corpus of online texts on a variety of similar topics in Portuguese and English [6]. In a first phase of the project, a table of keywords was built that includes the following elements: different types of prejudice; the corresponding sociolinguistic variables for which they are intended (specifying Hyperonym and Hyponym); and the various keywords and expressions (in English and Portuguese) that are considered typical lexical signs of expression of prejudice. This table aims at assisting in the search for texts to be analyzed by Linguists or other Experts in social science areas; it also will assist in the classification of those same texts by sociolinguistic variable [6]. In Fig. 1 a fragment of the keywords table is displayed. To see the full table of keywords please access: https://bit.ly/netlang-keywordstable.
Fig. 1. Keywords table (a fragment)
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These keywords are used as key concepts in the search for each online platform to find publications that contain these keywords. After finding them, we start the extraction. Figure 21 shows the NetLang Architecture.
Fig. 2. NetLang architecture
Figure 2 presents, in a simplified way, all the processes from extraction to searching the NetLang platform. The Extractors will scrape web pages (Newspaper, YouTube, etc.) and as a result we obtain a file, which can be in a variety of formats, such as HTML, JSON, CSV, etc., depending on each extractor. Subsequently, the extracted files will be converted into a standard format using the File Converters. In this case, we choose JSON as the standard format. After the extracted files are converted to the standard format, they are analyzed by the NetAC tool. The NetAC’s main objective is to search for the frequency of occurrence of keywords in each category (based on the Keywords Table – Dictionary). Based on the highest frequency, it classifies each comment and the text in general. As a result of this analysis, a document is generated that presents the classification per comment and per input text (Results of Statistical Analysis); the original JSON document is also classified with the Sociolinguistic Variables and keywords found in the comments are annotated. These JSON documents 1
All the icons of Figs. 2, 3 and 4 were taken from the website: “The Noun Project” (https://thenounproject.com/). Accessed: 2020-11-10.
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are stored in a Repository of Classified Comments – Corpus2 and can be searched, on the NetLang Search Engine, by Type of Prejudice and Sociolinguistic Variable, in Portuguese or English, as shortly stated above. According to the project proposal, the extracted corpus should be stored on to the NetLang Server and made accessible to the international researchers community through an Web Interface linked to the project homepage. In this context, this paper aims at presenting and discussing the NetAC (NetLang Analyzer and Classifier). In the following sections, we will explain all of these processes in more detail. 1.2
Paper Organization
Section 2 discusses the core of the NetAC for comments classification. Section 3 presents complementary features provided by the NetAC, such as: adding or removing keywords; Dictionary lookup; upload files to analyze, etc. Section 4 presents a case study that illustrates the functionalities offered by the NetAC. Finally, Sect. 5 summarizes the paper and its contributions and presents suggestions for future work.
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NetAC
As previously mentioned, NetAC – NetLang Analyzer and Classifier has as main objective to analyze and classify files with comments (Analyzer and Classifier). A variant of the main module (Analyzer and Classifier) is to search the text for a specific sociolinguistic variables (Analyzer by Sociolinguistic Variable). This feature does not classify the JSON file, it only generates the results of the statistical analysis. However, in addition to this functionality, it also has other complementary features such as: add or remove keywords to the dictionary (Update Dictionary), consult the dictionary by language (Consult the Dictionary), upload JSON files for analysis (Upload JSON Files), add new languages in addition to Portuguese and English (Add Language). Figure 3 shows the general architecture of NetAC. In the next section, the Analyzer and Classifier will be presented and discussed in detail. Complementary features will be presented in more detail in Sect. 3. 2.1
Analyzer and Classifier – Main Module
The Analyzer and Classifier, discussed along this section, is a chief component inside the NetAC introduced in the previous section as one of the main blocks belonging to the NetLang Architecture (Fig. 2). This component receives a list of comments (pre-processed after extraction and converted into JSON format) and 2
Corpus is a set of linguistic data pertaining to the oral or written use of the language (example of speeches: debates in digital media, historical texts, etc.) and which can be processed by computer [9].
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Fig. 3. NetAC architecture
receives the NetLang Keywords Table also introduced above and produces a list of comments classified in a Sociolinguistic category according to the frequency of occurrence of the keywords in the comments. For the classification purpose, the Keywords Table is split into different tables (one for each language) which will be called Dictionaries in the sequel. The Analyzer and Classifier module is responsible for detecting the presence of keywords in the comment texts; there after the frequency of the keywords will be used to propose a classification taking into account the Sociolinguistic variable (Addiction Shaming, Racism, Sexism, and so on) to which each keyword found belongs (of course the type of prejudice can also be deducted from the Sociolinguistic variable).
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Let’s now take a closer look inside the engineering behind this sociolinguistic Analyzer and Classifier. Figure 4 details the architecture of that component. As it is shown, there are two different inputs, and two components that produce the result. This tool receives: the working language identifier to get the appropriate Dictionary; and a set of JSON files (or just a single one) to analyze. At the end of the analysis, a PDF file is created with the results obtained (Results of Statistical Analysis). This PDF file becomes then available to the user.
Fig. 4. Analyzer and Classifier Architecture
The core of the Analyzer and Classifier tool is the JSON file reading function (named as leitura ficheiro json.py in the architecture); that function is responsible for uploading the dictionary to be used, and the JSON file to classify. First of all, the comments from the JSON file are selected and then a pattern matching algorithm is used to find the occurrence of the dictionary words. For this, the Python module goes through the keywords in the dictionary to check, for each one, if they are present in the file. When a keyword is found, the relevant information (as the number of occurrences and the sociolinguistic variable to which it belongs) is saved to enable later the production of the results. This function is also responsible for calling another python script, the second component of this tool named as freq to table.py, which generates a PDF document with the following structure: a table containing the analysis made by comment; and another table with the analysis by sociolinguistic variable. In Sect. 4, this working process will be illustrated. Another variant of the Analyzer and Classifier is to search for hate speech words associated with a specific sociolinguistic variable (Analyzer by Sociolinguistic Variable). This feature differs from the previous one because it receives a sociolinguistic variable as an input. This will define the keywords
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that will be searched for throughout the text. At the end we obtain a list of the keywords found and an analysis of their frequency. In this variant the JSON file is not classified. 2.2
Dictionaries
As previously mentioned, dictionaries play a role of uttermost importance in that system. There is one for each language. The dictionary keys are tuples (“type”, “sociolinguistic variable”). A sociolinguistic variable corresponds to a hyperonym - hyponym pair. Each key is associated to a list of keywords, as illustrated by the following example: (Ageism, Age − General) → [Age, Ageing, Ageism, Ageist] To guarantee the correct performance of the Analyzer and Classifier tool at every moment, the dictionaries are dynamic and can be updated at any time by the project management team. So, when a new keyword is added, there is a script responsible for generating, in LATEX, a table with the Dictionary new version. This table is accessible at any time on the web page and facilitates the visualization of keywords. Figure 5 shows a fragment of this table.
Fig. 5. Dictionary used by the analyzer and classifier for the English version (a fragment)
The next section presents some features, already referred, that were added to the project in order to make it more proactive and versatile.
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Complementary Features
After the description of the Analyzer and Classifier main module, the present section is devoted to introduce the complementary modules that provide features to maintain the information system updated and flexible. 3.1
Adding/Removing New Keywords
In order to facilitate the utilization of our tool, we decided to implement the possibility of adding and removing new Keywords in already existing dictionaries by accessing an area reserved for administrators that requires a password. Taking this into account, we created a module that receives the action intended (be it adding or removing a keyword), data about the keyword (Type of Prejudice and Sociolinguistic Variable), and lastly the module adds the keyword in the intended place in the dictionary, or removes it entirely. 3.2
Dictionary Consulting
With the goal of facilitating the data analysis, it was implemented the possibility of consulting every dictionary available. This functionality, despite its easy implementation, will greatly help the users with the analysis of the data that our tool generated. This feature lets everyone consult the keywords registered as hate speech and also lets everyone verify, for example, if there are any words wrongfully added with the help of the previous spoken feature. 3.3
Adding New Languages
Taking into account the implementation of the previous feature, the next step is to allow more languages to be added to the tool, since originally it was only supposed to work with the Portuguese and English languages. In order to do so, a function which its input is a string that represents the language the user wants to add, was created. But before adding this new language, the function checks to see if the language is already registered on the platform. If it isn’t, we create another dictionary, respective to that language. But if it is already on the platform, there’s no need to create a dictionary, because there already is one, so the function stops and doesn’t do anything else. This new dictionary can be filled with new keywords using the Adding New Keywords feature, previously talked about. 3.4
Uploading Files
With the intent of, once again, facilitating the usage of this tool, we implemented a feature that helps the user analyze the JSON files he wants. For this, we created a module that lets the user upload files, directly from their computer, to the server, since the tool can only analyze files that are in a certain directory in the server.
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A Case Study
Consider a case in which the End-user wants to study the hate speech emanating from a set of short sentences (comments) collected from some social network. The purpose of such study is to understand what kind of hate speech is the most prominent in that conversation aiming at fighting against that overwhelming problem. Our tool helps dealing with this problem by analyzing the referred document (although it must be converted firstly into a JSON file). To analyze that file3 it is only necessary to access the tool at: http://netlangcorpus.ilch.uminho.pt:10100/. The Application homepage shown in Fig. 6 exhibits the menu with the features available.
Fig. 6. NetAC – homepage
First of all the user needs to select the appropriate menu option to upload the desired file. Then the user can either choose to do a full analysis, computing the occurrences of all the keywords in a kind non-oriented approach, or a specific one, oriented to a sociolinguistic variable. After process the file, a brief summary of the analysis (see Fig. 7) and a PDF file (see Figs. 8 and 9) are generated and can be downloaded for further studies. Moreover, it is also possible to download the original JSON file with the comment fields enriched with annotations derived from keywords found during the analysis. At the end of the document, a detailed summary of the analysis performed is presented, as shown in (Fig. 7). This summary contains the total number of 3
Notice that the User can process more than one JSON files at the same time if he wishes to.
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Fig. 7. System output: analysis summary for a given file
Fig. 8. System output: the PDF document – a summary of the results per comment
offensive words detected, the percentage of hate speech present in the document, the sociolinguistic variables associated with the keywords found and the identification of the predominant variable.
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Fig. 9. System output: the PDF document – a summary of the results per sociolinguistic variable
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Conclusion
Along the paper, we introduced a Web application called NetAC that works on a set of short texts, extracted from online social networks or online newspapers, that comments on toxic posts or news articles and analyzes the hate speech springing out from those comments. The tool’s purpose is to classify each comment and the overall document into a predefined category of Socially Inappropriate Discourse (Hate or Aggressive speech) according to the most used set of keywords. The system is accessible at http://netlang-corpus.ilch.uminho.pt:10100/ and is being tested successfully with the NetLang Corpus extracted from Youtube and popular English and Portuguese Newspapers. After the analysis, the results can be consulted in the PDF documents output or searched by Sociolinguistic Variables using the NetLang Search Engine, also accessible via the same Web interface. It is worthwhile to emphasize that the source language can be easily adapted to other languages (as long as they are based on the our alphabet). For that is enough to create a new dictionary for that languages keywords, and than set it up as the working one. At present we are designing an experiment to be conducted with a Team of Linguists and Social Science Researches for validating the automatic classification proposed by our tool. In terms of future work, a significant tool improvement can be done. Using artificial intelligence approaches to refine the linguistic analysis of the comments, some flaws of the present implementation, like the problem of false positive identification, can be overcome. Acknowledgment. This work has been supported by FCT - Funda¸ca ˜o para a Ciˆencia e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: PTDC/LLT-LIN/29304/2017.
References 1. Anderson, A.A., Huntington, H.E.: Social media, science, and attack discourse: how twitter discussions of climate change use sarcasm and incivility. Sci. Commun. 39(5), 598–620 (2017)
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2. Blom, R., Carpenter, S., Bowe, B.J., Lange, R.: Frequent contributors within U.S. newspaper comment forums: an examination of their civility and information value. Am. Behav. Sci. 58(10), 1314–1328 (2014) 3. D’Errico, F., Poggi, I., Corriero, R.: Aggressive language and insults in digital political participation. WBC 2014, 105–114 (2014) 4. Ermida, I.: (Re)Defining Hate Speech. Among other Forms of “Socially Inappropriate Discourse”. Unpublished Presentation (2020) 5. Fortuna, P., Nunes, S.: A Survey on Automatic Detection of Hate Speech in Text 6. Henriques, P.R., Ara´ ujo, C., Ermida, I., Dias, I.: Scraping news sites and social networks for prejudice term analysis. In: Weghorn, H., Rodrigues, L. (eds.) Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on APPLIED COMPUTING 2019, Cagliari, Italy, pp. 179–189, November 2019 7. K¨ onig, L., Jucks, R.: Hot topics in science communication: aggressive language decreases trustworthiness and credibility in scientific debates. Public Underst. Sci. 28(4), 401–416 (2019) 8. Lapidot-Lefler, N., Barak, A.: Effects of anonymity, invisibility, and lack of eyecontact on toxic online disinhibition. Comput. Hum. Behav. 28(2), 434–443 (2012) 9. Mendes, A.: Lingu´ıstica de corpus e outros usos dos corpora em lingu´ıstica. Manual de lingu´ıstica portuguesa 16, 224 (2016) 10. Moor, P.J., Heuvelman, A., Verleur, R.: Flaming on YouTube. Comput. Hum. Behav. 26(6), 1536–1546 (2010) 11. Nielsen, L.B.: Subtle, pervasive, harmful: racist and sexist remarks in public as hate speech. J. Soc. Issues 58(2), 265–280 (2002) 12. Nockleby, J.T.: Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, 2nd edn. Macmillan Reference, New York (2000). ch. Hate Speech 13. Pfeffer, J., Zorbach, T., Carley, K.M.: Understanding online firestorms: negative word-of-mouth dynamics in social media networks. J. Market. Commun. 20(1–2), 117–128 (2014) 14. Rowe, I.: Civility 2.0: a comparative analysis of incivility in online political discussion. Inform. Commun. Soc. 18(2), 121–138 (2015) ¨ 15. R¨ osner, L., KrAmer, N.C.: Verbal venting in the social web: effects of anonymity and group norms on aggressive language use in online comments. Soc. Media Society 2(3), 1–13 (2016)
A Web Platform to Integrate Bioinformatics Tools. A Case of Study Federico Agostini1 , Pilar Hernández2 , Gabriel Dorado3 , and Sergio Gálvez4(B) 1 Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste (IBONE), Universidad Nacional del Nordeste,
3402BKG Corrientes, Argentina [email protected] 2 Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible (IAS-CSIC), Alameda del Obispo s/n, 14080 Córdoba, Spain [email protected] 3 Dep. Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus Rabanales C6-1-E17, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario (ceiA3), Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain [email protected] 4 Dep. Lenguajes y Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain [email protected]
Abstract. Bioinformatics has evolved considerably over the past few decades, due to the huge amount of data generated in the omics fields, such as genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics. Biologists face new software applications and tools, published at an increasing rate. Yet, it may be cumbersome to deal with their installation, execution and integration. To address this problem, many web applications have emerged focused in particular domains, including gene ontology and phylogenetics, integrating the widespread used bioinformatics tools. Following this approach, we present a service oriented web platform to analyze gene families in plants. This is particularly important in food security, as specific genes may be involved in the plant’s tolerance responses to stresses and diseases. The platform integrates in a single site several bioinformatics tools and public databases, providing a clear workflow to resolve common problems in the analyses of genes. This allows, for instance, generating customizable phylogenetic trees, Circos diagrams, interactive charts and 3D prediction of proteins. Its backend architecture makes easy to integrate new tools and functionalities, by means of SOAP web services. Security is also a key point in the platform, because some tools may require whole access to computing resources: multithreading in R, deep learning in GPGPU, etc. Keywords: Software architecture · Workflow · Online services
1 Introduction Bioinformatics has emerged as a need to manage complex, large and/or heterogeneous amounts of biological information stored in computers. Nowadays, bioinformaticians must be up-to-date with a plethora of cutting-edge programs, methods, databases and © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 506–515, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_48
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tools publicly available over the Internet. Due to specific hardware requirements, bioinformatics analyses are increasingly provided as services through web interfaces. That allows transparent complex and powerful executions in a backend. To save time in their research, many integration platforms have been created to deal with several desktop tools and online services. Usually, these are service-oriented platforms (in this case, SOAP and WSDL based SOA), supporting the implementation of user-defined workflows [1]. Services provided may be generic, or focused on a particular topic. Generic services are supported by research institutes like EMBL-EBI, commercial companies like Illumina, and research projects like Galaxy [2]. In addition, generic services are usually part of scientific workflow suites, and can be customized. For example, META-pipe web service [3] provides integration with identity provider services, distributed storage, computation on HPC systems, Galaxy workflows and interactive data visualizations. PathwayExplorer [4] is a platform to map the genes’ expressions profiles against the regulatory, metabolic and cellular pathways, available at KEGG [5] and other databases. The abovementioned Galaxy is also an open platform to design workflows for data-intensive bioinformatics analyses that includes a wide range of tools ready to use. Taverna [6] is an open-source scientific workflow manager, combining and integrating a set of distributed web services and tools to automate multi-step processes. Finally, the framework Omega-Brigid [7] was designed to collect and reuse bioinformatics resources, by means of workflows. Specific platforms are specialized on narrower topics. For instance, ShinyGO [8] is a graphic web application that makes easy to obtain data associated to gene lists, and to graphically display them. It allows accessing a large database of Gene Ontology (GO) annotations, providing functional annotations of genes from more than 4,700 species at the time of writing, and gives access to its API. Additionally, PhyloSuite [9] is an user-friendly desktop workflow-platform for molecular sequence data management and evolutionary phylogenetic-studies. Also, the EDGE Bioinformatics workflow allows working with pre-configured workflows in a web-based environment; it uses a wide range of integrated bioinformatics tools and applications for microbial research [10]. Finally, Kumar and Shanker describe several bioinformatics resources that play an important role in plant-stress studies, such as biological databases, bioinformatics tools and techniques, as well as protein-structure prediction [11]. Our current work focuses on the analysis of genes in plants, in particular, the study of families of genes of interest, including transcription factors. The recent developments in nucleic-acid sequencing, sometimes known with the ambiguous name of “Next”Generation Sequencing (NGS) [12], have allowed to sequence and annotate de novo genomes. In turn, their availability has increased the interest for such bioinformatics works. That has been also favored by developments on the hardware and software fronts [13]. It is the case of the analyses of: i) AQuaPorins (AQP) in apple (Malus domestica) [14]; ii) the GRAS (acronym of the first three proteins identified in this family: GAI, RGA And SCR) gene family in barley (Hordeum vulgare) [15]; iii) Squamosa promoter Binding-Protein-like (SBP) transcription factors in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) [16]; iv) genome-wide analyses of DeHydriNs (DHN) in rice (Oryza sativa) [17]; and v) serpin gene family in stiff brome (Brachypodium distachyon) and barley [18].
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We present here a robust web platform, named EasyBio, with integrated tools, specifically oriented to carry out this sort of analyses of gene families. One of the main contributions of this platform is that it allows accessing publicly available databases, further displaying phylogenetic trees, gene structures, short DNA sequences found nearby genes that regulate their expression (cis-regulatory elements) and orthology relationships between species and protein-folding predictions. The next sections show the background architecture that favours its extensibility, as well as a case of study illustrating the results that can be obtained from a biologist’s point of view. The conclusion, as well as and a brief prospect of future works are included at the end.
2 Bioinformatics Web Platform The web platform relies on a HP Proliant 585 G6 with 24 AMD cores, and 256 GiB of RAM. This server has installed Centos 7 and two web servers: i) an Apache HTTP server (PHP) to give access to external users; and ii) an internal Tomcat server (Java) that provides SOAP web services to the former. All services are supported by another internal server, with full access to the hardware and operating system capabilities: Bioserver. Hence, the Tomcat server gives services not only to the Apache front-end, but also to any other client that understands SOAP. In addition, Bioserver introduces another level of security, because it is not directly accessible from any other computer. Local software includes: Oracle client, R support, Perl, Python and a large set of libraries and packages that support the underlying functionalities available to the web user. Every operation executed in the platform is preceded by the selection of the genes to work with. Users may upload their own data (genes) or import them from a BioMart database (either from Ensembl Plants [19] or Phytozome [20]) in a transparent way, by means of a genes cart. Internally, this uses the «biomaRt» R library. Once a set of genes has been retrieved, it can be used as input to many operations: • Multiple Sequence Alignment (MSA) and bootstrapping. The «msa» v1.18.0 [21], «ape» v5.3 [22] and «phangorn» v2.5.5 [23] R libraries are used to hierarchically group genes, displaying the result as a dendrogram decorated with confidence values, obtained by bootstrapping. • Ortholog and paralog diagrams. The Circos v0.69-9 [24] application (written in Perl) is used to display chromosomes circularly, connecting genes by arcs. Genes connected may be orthologs and/or paralogs (orthology relates homologous genes among different species with a common ancestor; in contrast, paralogy relates genes of the same species that diverged as a result of a gene duplication). Data are obtained from BioMart. • Genes structures and cis-regulatory elements. The amCharts v4 JavaScript library is used to create interactive diagrams with the structure of genes (introns, exons and untranslated regions) and cis elements contained in their upstream (the non-coding region of the chromosome just before the gene). Cis sources may be PlantCARE [25], PLACE [26] or user-defined. • Protein folding prediction. The RaptorX v4.0 Python standalone application is used to predict the structure of proteins by deep learning using GPU resources [27]. Results
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are displayed interactively through a customized version of the NCBI’s iCn3D (“I see in 3D”) structure viewer [28]. 2.1 Backend Architecture The web platform has an internal architecture that enables the IT team to add new functionalities easily, though it requires new web service deployments. Figure 1 shows how a user request is processed, step by step. The flow is described as follows: 1. 2. 3.
4. 5.
6. 7. 8.
9. 10.
11. 12. 13.
The user performs requests to the HTTP server, by means of a web page. The HTTP server stores user data in an Oracle database (personal data, cart of genes and transcripts, etc.). The HTTP server cannot execute by itself any internal bioinformatics operation due to security reasons. Hence, it stores the necessary data into local folders and begins a request of execution. The request of execution is carried out, by means of SOAP web services. The web services are managed by the Tomcat server that, in turn, may give services to outer systems. Requests are redirected to an inner server with full access to OS capabilities: executables, Internet, R scripts, Perl scripts, etc. The inner server (Bioserver) assigns any request to its corresponding executor. A script executor may straightforwardly execute any script previously generated by the HTTP server. An R executor runs the R applications (multiple alignment, generation of phylogenetic trees, accesses to BioMart databases, etc.), using non-reentrant Java objects of type REngine , being a general Java interface to R with JRI (Java/R Interface, ). Therefore, a pool is needed to give concurrent access to several users. A model converter between generic BioMart and particular implementations (like Ensembl Plants and Phytozome), gives support to the R executor. Internet executor. The rest of applications are programmed in Java inside Bioserver; this is the case of cis search that, in the case of PlantCARE, requires online access to the web form located at . Retrieve the results of PlantCARE via eMail. GPU-enabled programs, like RaptorX, and PLACE database access. In most cases, the BioServer executors return results as data files. They must be loaded by the HTTP server, to show them to the user, either directly (images), or preprocessing them (tabulated data to be shown as graphics).
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Fig. 1. Backend schema. The steps that a request may follow are sequentially numbered.
3 Case Study This section focuses on the study of the dehydrins (DHN) [29] and aquaporins (AQP) [14] gene families, in Triticum aestivum (bread wheat). Dehydrins are Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) genes that play an important role in the formation of plants’ protective reactions to cold, salt and drought stress. Unfortunately, the function of these genes has not been clearly understood, in contrast to aquaporins, another family of genes related to tolerance to drought and salt stresses. This study covers the structure of dehydrins (coding and non-coding regions), upstream cis-regulatory elements (1,000 nucleotides previous to the 3 (left) UnTranslated Region, UTR), and a phylogenetic tree that quantifies the differences among dehydrins, by means of branch lengths. The Circos diagram is illustrated with aquaporins of additional species. This is particularly important in T. aestivum, an hexaploid organism whose genome is the result of two consecutive hybridizations: i) Triticum urartu with a relative of goatgrass Aegilops speltoides; and ii) the previous result with Aegilops tauschii [30]. Finally, predictions of the molecular structures of three homoeologous aquaporins are also covered. 3.1 Phylogenetic Tree and Gene Structure of Dehydrins 51 genes of T. aestivum were selected, using their PFAM code PF00257, from Ensembl Plants. Two of these genes may generate a couple of proteins resulting in 53 transcripts. Cis sequences were previously published [17] (Table 1): i) exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) involved in defense mechanisms against a wide variety of insect and microbial pests [31]; and ii) Box-W1, a fungal elicitor responsive element that plays important role in transcriptional activation by auxin, salicylic acid and light [32]. Figure 2 shows the structures of transcripts and cis-regulatory elements as displayed by amCharts. Cis are shown as thin colored vertical lines at the left of their corresponding gene/transcript
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structures. Users can customize the appearance, by selecting the colors and thickness of 5’-UTR, 3’-UTR, exons and introns. Transparently, the phylogenetic tree has been generated by executing R instructions through JRI (Fig. 2, left). The sequence of transcripts’ structures has been arranged to match the order given by the tree. Table 1. Cis-regulatory elements. Name
Sequence (5’ –> 3’)
Function
MeJA-RE
CGTCA
MeJA responsiveness
Box-W1
TTGACC
Fungal elicitor
Fig. 2. Dendrogram, cis-regulatory elements and transcript structures of DHN in T. aestivum. The phylogenetic tree hierarchically groups the transcripts, using branches with a length proportional to their similarity. MeJA-RE cis elements are shown in red and Box-W1 ones in blue color.
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3.2 Circos Diagram of Aquaporins To illustrate Circos usage, a larger gene family has been used, aquaporins, also involved in water manipulation. Ensembl Plants reports 133 aquaporins (code PF00230) in T. aestivum. A Circos diagram can be used to show the orthology between pairs of genes of different species, as well as paralogy between genes of the same species. To study the orthology of bread-wheat aquaporins, several cereals have been selected from the Poaceae family of plants, including Aegilops tauschii that is the donor of the D subgenome in the hexaploid (bread) wheat. The other species are Brachypodium distachyon, barley, rice, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and maize (Zea mays). The diagram has been generated using Circos, a Perl based program that produces attractive results, but requires complex parameterization and many libraries whose installation may be difficult. In a Circos diagram, chromosomes are shown as circular bands, with orthologs and paralogs linked through arcs. The user may manipulate the text representation of the Circos to assign customized colors to arcs and bands. It is possible to add any decorations to help better explain the diagram. In the is shown the result of the Circos after highlighting manually the arcs between A. tauschii and T. aestivum: donor genes in blue (connections to the D subgenome in T. aestivum) and other orthologs in red. In addition, the names of the species have been added. Along the Circos diagram, a circular tree containing all the T. aestivum genes is shown in. The main advantage of this type of tree is that it uses intensively the available space. Hence, it is more efficient to display huge amounts of genes. The root is located at the center of the graphics, and branches are distributed as sections of rings around the center, grouping closer sequences as they appear outer the circle. Many customizations are available: show or hide labels, colors, sizes, spacing, layout, etc (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3. Circos diagram and circular dendrogram. The former (left) shows orthologs and paralogs of T. aestivum aquaporins, when compared to other cereals. The latter (right) shows the similarities among T. aestivum aquaporins. Orthologs related to A. tauschii (in red) and, in particular, to D subgenome (in blue) are highlighted. Genes in boldface are further analyzed in Sect. 3.3.
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3.3 Aquaporin Structure Prediction by Deep Learning Three-dimensional atomic models of proteins are important to better ascertain their biological roles. For example, these models can be used to predict the interaction between two proteins and between a protein and a set of molecules. This is the case of aquaporins, a major intrinsic protein that create a pore in the membrane of the cell to facilitate water transport. The web platform allows users executing RaptorX. Indeed, such open-source tool is based on GPGPU and deep learning, allowing to simulate distance-based protein folding. It can be easily integrated in the platform, due to a very good community support. RaptorX produces Protein Data Bank (PDB) files. They can be manipulated online by the iCn3D JavaScript viewer. At the top of Fig. 4 are shown the shapes of three homologous aquaporins of T. aestivum (shown in bold in) as predicted by RaptorX. At the bottom can be seen the possible secondary structure, automatically inferred by iCn3D.
Fig. 4. 3D structure of aquaporins predicted through RaptorX. The structure can be viewed using different models, secondary structure (top), spheres (bottom), etc. Different parts can be distinguished with different colors (e.g., aspartic and glutamic acids are shown in red).
4 Conclusions This work introduces a new bioinformatics web platform to study plant gene families. Researchers may use this platform as a starting point to analyze sets of genes involved in different molecular functions, cellular components or biological processes. Its backend architecture allows integrating tools and databases, making transparent to the user complex local installations and heterogeneous accesses to different data sources. The main difference compared to other platforms is its intuitive and easy to use interface. That way, biologists can easily obtain structural diagrams of genes, detect the locations of cis-regulatory elements, draw phylogenetic trees of different types, customize Circos
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diagrams that connect ortholog and paralog genes of selected species, and predict tertiary structures of proteins. This is achieved through a transparent use of many R packages –including accesses to BioMart-enabled public databases–, Perl and Python programs, JavaScript modules, GPU-based applications and automatic filling of web forms and polling results. This way, geneticists may focus on the results of the analyses, instead of applying any effort on the installation and configuration of the underlying software. This approach is illustrated with a general study of two families of genes of plants related to drought stresses (dehydrins and aquaporins). Future work is underway, including the addition of new functionalities to the web platform: search and comparison of motives, calculation of gene co-expression networks through Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) and protein structure prediction through Phyre2. In addition, RNA-seq will be an important part of the platform, due to its importance in the study of plants (a)biotic stresses. In this sense, and due to the relevance of wheat in food security, the public database available at will be integrated with the rest of tools. This will give the user the ability to discover the set of genes involved in particular conditions (stress and disease) and to generate heatmaps that highlight their behaviour. Acknowledgements. This work was supported by «Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación» (MINECO grants BIO2015–64737-R and PID2019-108195GB-I00) and «Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria» (MINECO and INIA RF2012–00002-C02– 02); «Consejería de Agricultura y Pesca» (041/C/2007, 75/C/2009 and 56/C/2010) and «Consejería de Economía, Innovación y Ciencia» (P18-RT-992 and P11-AGR-7322), and «Grupo PAI» (AGR-248) of «Junta de Andalucía»; and «Universidad de Córdoba» («Ayuda a Grupos»), Spain.
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10. Li, P.E., et al.: Enabling the democratization of the genomics revolution with a fully integrated web-based bioinformatics platform. Nucleic Acids Res. 45(1) (2017) 11. Kumar, S., Shanker, A.: Bioinformatics resources for the stress biology of plants. In: Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants (2018) 12. Dorado, G., Gálvez, S., Budak, H., Unver, T., Hernández, P.: Nucleic-acid sequencing. In: Encyclopedia of Biomedical Engineering, vol. 1–3 (2019) 13. Gálvez, S., Díaz, D., Hernández, P., Esteban, F.J., Caballero, J.A., Dorado, G.: Next-generation bioinformatics: using many-core processor architecture to develop a web service for sequence alignment. Bioinformatics 26(5), 683–686 (2010) 14. Liu, H., Yang, L., Xin, M., Ma, F., Liu, J.: Gene-wide analysis of aquaporin gene family in Malus domestica and heterologous expression of the gene MpPIP2;1 confers drought and salinity tolerance in Arabidposis thaliana, Int. J. Mol. Sci. (2019) 15. To, V.T., et al.: Genome-wide analysis of the GRAS gene family in barley (Hordeum vulgare l.), Genes (Basel) (2020) 16. Song, J., et al.: Genome-wide characterization and expression profiling of Squamosa Promoter Binding Protein-like (SBP) transcription factors in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), Agronomy (2019) 17. Verma, G., et al.: Genome-wide analysis of rice dehydrin gene family: its evolutionary conservedness and expression pattern in response to PEG induced dehydration stress. PLoS One 12(5) (2017) 18. Rehman, S., Jørgensen, B., Aziz, E., Batool, R., Naseer, S., Rasmussen, S.K.: Genome wide identification and comparative analysis of the serpin gene family in brachypodium and barley. Plants 9(11) (2020) 19. Kinsella, R.J., et al.: Ensembl BioMarts: a hub for data retrieval across taxonomic space. Database 2011 (2011) 20. Goodstein, D.M., et al.: Phytozome: a comparative platform for green plant genomics, Nucleic Acids Res. 40(D1) (2012) 21. Bodenhofer, U., Bonatesta, E., Horejš-Kainrath, C., Hochreiter, S.: MSA: an R package for multiple sequence alignment. Bioinformatics 31(24) (2015) 22. Paradis, E., Schliep, K.: Ape 5.0: an environment for modern phylogenetics and evolutionary analyses in R. Bioinformatics 35(3) (2019) 23. Schliep, K.P.: phangorn: phylogenetic analysis in R. Bioinformatics 27(4) (2011) 24. Krzywinski, M., et al.: Circos: an information aesthetic for comparative genomics. Genome Res. (2009) 25. Lescot, M., et al.: PlantCARE, a database of plant cis-acting regulatory elements and a portal to tools for in silico analysis of promoter sequences. Nucleic Acids Res. 30(1) (2002) 26. Higo, K., Ugawa, Y., Iwamoto, M., Korenaga, T.: Plant cis-acting regulatory DNA elements (PLACE) database: 1999. Nucleic Acids Res. 27(1) (1999) 27. Xu, J., Mcpartlon, M., Li, J.: Improved protein structure prediction by deep learning irrespective of co-evolution information. bioRxiv (2020) 28. Wang, J., et al.: ICn3D, a web-based 3D viewer for sharing 1D/2D/3D representations of biomolecular structures. Bioinformatics 36(1) (2020) 29. Liu, Y., Song, Q., Li, D., Yang, X., Li, D.: Multifunctional roles of plant dehydrins in response to environmental stresses. Front. Plant Sci. 8 (2017) 30. El Baidouri, M., et al.: Reconciling the evolutionary origin of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), New Phytol. 213(3) (2017) 31. Zhang, Y., Pennerman, K. K., Yang, F., Yin, G.: Maize MeJA-responsive proteins identified by high-resolution 2-DE PAGE, Data Br., vol. 5 (2015) 32. Pandey, S.: Insilico Analysis of cis acting Regulatory Elements CAREs in Upstream Regions of Ascorbate Glutathione Pathway Genes from Oryza sativa. Biochem. Physiol. Open Access 04(02) (2015)
Usability Evaluation on Mobile Devices, Practical Case Danilo Martinez1(B) , Mireya Zapata2 , Renan Garcia1 , Andr´es Zambrano1 , Jhony Naranjo1 , and Kevin Zurita1 1
Universidad De Las Fuerzas Armadas, Av. General Rumi˜ nahui, 171103 Sangolqui, Ecuador {mdmartinez,ragarcia10,wazambrano1, janaranjo11,kmzurita1}@espe.edu.ec 2 Research Center of Mechatronics and Interactive Systems - MIST, Universidad Tecnol´ ogica Indoam´erica, Machala y Sabanilla, Quito, Ecuador [email protected]
Abstract. Usability is an attribute of software quality that needs special attention in app development. In the present document, we analyze aspects like visual clarity and error prevention in a massive consumer app for passenger transport. With the purpose of knowing the influence of these aspects in the success or failure of an app we submit a survey to 3 developers and 40 users inquiring about these aspects. The results reflect the vitality of the usability principles by both users and developers. We hope the obtained results will help future developers, researchers and/or students. Keywords: Mobile applications system
1
· Usability · Evaluation · Transport
Introduction
When a mobile application is launched into the market, it is expected to have a degree of acceptance among the users, this degree will depend on the particular characteristics that each user considers important. Nowadays, the testing field on mobile applications is heavily studied because of the rising use of mobile devices and the development of mobile applications with different purposes, like multimedia, games, information and others [1]. Years ago, it was considered that the methods and metrics used at present to measure usability were created for desktop applications, however, those may not be directly adequate or appropriate for mobile environments [2]. Due to the fact that in recent years mobile devices usage has increased drastically, it is important to have methodologies and tools which allow us to perform specific usability studies for developed applications for this type of devices. From a Software Engineering (SE) point of view, the quality of a product is one of the principal characteristics needed in an application to be successful [3]. c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 516–526, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_49
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The software quality is the degree that the software possesses a desired combination of attributes that should be clearly specified [4]. Among these attributes one of the most important is the usability, which indicates the ease a user interacts with the software application. Current applications are very complex and very sophisticated software products, whose usability can largely determine its success or failure. Defining methods to guarantee usability is one Web Engineering (WE) current objective. Paying a lot of attention to the usability is very appreciated by the industries, which acknowledge the significance of adapting the method for evaluating the usability before and after the development of an application, which can allow the app to be accessed by a larger spectrum of users [5]. A mobile application is a computer application designed to be executed on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. This type of applications allows the users to realize a varied set of tasks, whether professional, entertainment, educative, access to services, etc. Facilitating the procedures or activities to develop. The mobile phones passed from being simple communication tools to become true management centers for daily tasks. A lot of the success that mobile applications have achieved depend in some way on the usability they offer. An application needs to be effective and efficient, for which it must offer to the user what they are looking for quickly and easily, it has to satisfy necessities in the shortest time possible and without the need for the user to have great knowledge of its use or requiring a long learning process. In this document we focus on considering the usability aspects that lead a mobile application to have success in the market. For which the analysis of the methods and metrics used in the app will be carried out.
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Background
According to Matera et al. [6], app design requires very specific guides, allowing them to be as usable as possible, and usability experts study these applications to determine the level of compliance in them, these being subjective and the results depending on the examiner judgement. This created the need for the existence of standards or standardized methods to be able to evaluate in a general way the level of usability of an application. For this, different evaluations methods were created, depending on the purpose and objective to evaluate. The ISO 25010 [7] reviews the general standards in a finished software product with parameters such as functional adequacy, performance efficiency, compatibility, reliability, portability, among others. The Nielsen heuristics [8] introduce a direct look at how to evaluate the usability of a website, plus several pieces of advice to improve these failures. GerhardtPowals Principles of Cognitive Engineering [9] show a more holistic approach than Nielsen, focusing on improving the human-machine performance. Shneiderman’s 8 Golden Rules of Interface Design [10] seek a better interface design, more useful and practical for the user, among several more, all having certain
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common evaluation points applicable to all types of software, among these the usability. The ISO 9241-11:2018 “Guidance on usability” [11], defines the usability as: “The extent to which a product can be used by specific users to achieve specific objectives with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specific context of use”, making it clear that the goal of the usability is to facilitate the use of an application, based on principles and metrics since the defined metrics and attributes are mostly universal within what is known as software product. As Borys et al. [12] denote in their paper “Mobile Application Usability Testing in Quasi-Real Conditions - the Synergy of Using Different Methods” the practical value of an application is determined by its performance and usability, and in turn this can be evaluated automatically or experimentally. This is why we seek to evaluate the usability aspects of a mobile transport application based on Nielsen heuristics and using an experimental method such as a survey, thus looking for how this affects its value, since although it does not represent the everything of the application, it carries great importance to the success or failure of it.
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Study Design
To carry out the present research we will use the case study methodology, which for Runeson et al. [13] is an adequate research methodology for IS research, since it studies contemporary phenomena in their natural context. In recent years, with the increase in the use of mobile devices, the usage of apps has become something common, among the most popular we can find apps for mobilizing people. Therefore, we have decided to study one of these apps which has a massive consumption and is one of the most prominent in this area, the same one that works in a simple way, the destination location is placed in order to connect customers and drivers previously registered and that through algorithms calculates the price to be paid for the service. So the objective of our study is to recognize and describe the usability implemented in a well-known mobile passenger transport application and to publicize the positive aspects offered by the usability in this type of application, in order to identify how these have contributed to the application to become a reference within what is mobility worldwide. As new members of the software development community, we want to identify how usability influences an app and how it contributes to its success or failure, in order to describe the results obtained and serve future developers, researchers and/or students. 3.1
Analysis Units
For our research we have chosen a holistic study since we have in mind a single case study with two contexts as shown in Fig. 1. Since we will analyze usability aspects in a well-known mobile passenger transport application with the help of users of the application in this case university students and another with people with experience in usability issues.
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Fig. 1. Analysis unit
3.2
Research Question
For the present study we have posed the following research question. ¿What aspects of usability does a passenger transport mass consumption mobile application use so that it has managed to position itself as one of the most used applications in Ecuador? 3.3
Data Collect
To perform our study we have used the survey technique which has been chosen since it is a technique for collecting information in a specific population. It fits our study case since we need people who use the passenger transport application to reply to various questions that will help us answer our research question and meet the objectives that we have set. For this we have developed a survey of two contexts, one comprising 10 questions and which has been applied to normal users (see Appendix A), in this case university students who use the passenger transport application have been chosen, mainly to know what they think and how has your user experience in the application been. On the other hand, a survey comprised of 6 questions has also been developed for experts in usability issues (see Appendix B), to find out opinions about the application from people who are specialists in usability attributes, principles, or standards. In the summer of 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, we have applied these surveys online thanks to the Zoho Survey tool, thus we have obtained several replications to our survey, in specific we have obtained 40 responses from university students, that is, normal users who they use the studied application. Moreover, we have obtained 3 responses of the experts surveys.
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Results
In this section, the results of the case study are presented after having applied the survey, it should be noted that two types of questions were asked to two different targets, one from users and the other from usability experts. 4.1
Users Survey
User Experience Level in the Passenger Transport App. Figure 2 shows that the majority of people have responded that their experience has been Normal, considering that this is a standard experience, that it does not stand out nor is bad.
Fig. 2. Users survey tabulation
Alternative Passenger Transport Apps. The 50% of those surveyed know an application with a better service than the app studied, while the remaining 50% think that as far as their knowledge goes, the app studied has the best service they have received. This case is very particular since there is an equality in the number of opinions, giving us to understand that there is the same number of people who think that the analyzed app has the best service as people who think that it does not. Facility of Usage for the First Time of the Chosen App. The 47.5% of those surveyed responded that using the app studied for the first time was easy, 47.5% responded that using the app was normal and 2 people equivalent to 5% responded that when using the app for the first time it was difficult. It is observed that two options are distributed most of the answers that are easy and normal. Recognize Before Remembering in the Chosen App. The 72.5% of the respondents answered that using the transport application for the second time was easy, then 25% responded that using the transport application for the second time was normal and 2.5% responded that using the transport application for the second time was difficult as It can be seen in Fig. 3. It is observed that most of the users have responded with the easy option, which gives us to understand that the app reduces memorization in users.
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Fig. 3. Users survey tabulation
Time Required to Learn the App. The 47.5% of those surveyed answered that the time it took them to place their first order was less than 5 min, then 47.5% answered that the time it took them to place their first order was between 5 and 10 min and 5% responded that the time it took them to place their first order was more than 10 min. It is observed that two options share most responses that are less than 5 min and between 5–10 min (see Fig. 4).
Fig. 4. Users survey tabulation
Recommendation of the App to Other Users. The 92.50% of the respondents answered that they would recommend using the transport application to another person. On the other hand, only 7.50% of the respondents answered that they would not recommend the application to another person. It is observed that most people would recommend the use of said transport application. Trust and Security in the App. The 30% of those surveyed answered that for them their data is very safe within the application, 60% answered that for them their data was protected in a normal way and 10% answered that for them their data was in danger within this transport app. It is observed that most users have responded with the normal option, which suggests that the user feels in a neutral state as regards security. Satisfaction of the Passenger Transport App. The 27.50% of respondents say that their trips using the app have been excellent, 57.50% of respondents consider that their trips using the app were good, 12.50% of respondents indicate that their experience when traveling with the app was regular and only 2.50% say they had a bad experience when using the transport application as shown in Fig. 5.
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Fig. 5. Users survey tabulation
Efficiency in the Performance of the App. The 22.50% of people have always found a trip at the time requested, 55% have almost always found a trip at the time of requesting it, 20% of people have sometimes found a trip at the time of requesting it and only 2.50% of people have not found a trip at the time of requesting it (see Fig. 6).
Fig. 6. Users survey tabulation
Meet User Expectations. Finally, 60% of those surveyed answered that the transport application managed to meet the user’s expectations at a high level, 35% at a medium level and 5% at a low level. Clearly for most users if it met the expectations raised. 4.2
Experts Survey
General Structure of the Passenger Transport App. The 66.67% of those surveyed answered that they do consider that the transport application has a general user-oriented structure, while 33.33% think that it does not have such elements Visibility of the Navigation Status in the App. The 66.67% think that the transport application has navigation elements that help the user while using it, while 33.33% think that it does not have such elements. Most experts indicate that the transport application has the appropriate navigation elements to know the user’s position instantly and how to return to a previous point, having an aesthetic and minimalist design, as well as consistency and standards.
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Visual Clarity in the Passenger Transport App. The 66.67% of those surveyed answered that the transportation application is at an intermediate level in reference to taking advantage of visual space, while 33.33% responded that it was at a high level. Most have responded that they are at an intermediate level. Consistency and Standards Present in the App. In the question, 100% of the respondents consider that consistency and standards are present in it. Prevention and Recovery of Errors in the App. In the question, 66.7% of respondents answered that if they recognize some type of error recovery in the design principles and mention an example such as reversion and 10% do not recognize any principle.
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Discussion
The survey conducted with end users reveals that there is a favorable opinion regarding the evaluated transport application, with a certainty of 92.50% based on the results of the survey, we can affirm that the majority of users would recommend the application. We emphasize that the majority of people evaluated as “common users” are in an age range of 19 to 27 years, so this could explain the large number of positive opinions, giving way to a bias within the research. The results obtained in the survey of experts show us that the application also has their approval, as regards their opinions about the elements and principles of usability in the app, which would affirm the positive reviews obtained from users and would have agreement with the research of Borys et al. [12] where the value of usability for any app is highlighted. Only 3 experts participated in the survey, so the results cannot be generalized, and further research is required. In the results obtained, it has not been possible to analyze all the principles of usability, metrics, application of standards among other existing characteristics, due to the long extension of content, which makes it impossible to carry out a single investigation. According to Enriquez et al. [14] To measure usability in mobile applications and obtain real results, it is necessary to consider the context as an integral part of the application. If the environment is not taken into account, a biased analysis of usability is being performed compared to what happens when a user uses the application in the real world. In order to fully understand how a user interacts with an application, the evaluator must analyze both the user’s direct interactions with the device and the application, as well as the external context that the user perceives during their interaction.
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Conclusions
The usability standards used within a mobile transport app facilitate its use and allow it to generate a better acceptance by its users, increasing its reach and preference. This shows how vital it is to perform a usability assessment before and after the application launch to have the best chance of success. Efficiency and effectiveness play a very important role when using a mobile application,
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because depending on the facilities it provides, it can be said that there is a proportional relationship between usability and user acceptance, which gives us to understand that usability is an extremely important factor when evaluating an application. According to the responses obtained from the application of a survey for experts in the usability area, it can be deduced that most of them agree that the evaluated application does present a high level of usability, within the evaluated fields and this validates the large amount of positive feedback obtained during the user survey, demonstrating that the particular application used as an example has achieved the usability goals.
Appendixes Appendix A Survey for End Users How would you rate your experience with the ****** app? – Excellent – Normal – Regular – Bad Do you know of any other app of the same type that provides a better service than the ***** app? – Yes, which one – No How easy was it to use the ***** app the first time I used it? – Easy – Normal – Hard How easy was it to use the ***** app the second time I use it? – Easy – Normal – Hard How long did it take you to place your first order for a trip? – Less than 5 min – Between 5 and 10 min – More than 10 min Would you recommend using the ****** app to someone else? – Yes – No How safe do you think your data (Name, # phone, # credit card) are within the ***** app? – Very Safe – Normal – Endangered How would you rate most of your trips made using the app? – Excellent – Good – Bad ¿When you have used the ***** application, have you been able to find a ride at the requested time? – Always – Almost always – Sometimes o Never ¿At what level has the ***** application managed to meet your expectations when using it? – High – Medium – Low
Appendix B ¿Do you consider that the ****** application has a general user-oriented structure? – Yes – No
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¿Do you consider that there are navigation elements that guide the user about where they are and how to undo their navigation? – Yes – No ¿At what level do you consider the ****** application to take advantage of the visual space that your application comprises? – Bad – Regular – Good ¿Do you consider that the ***** application presents a simple and clear search system? – Yes – No In the **** application, ¿do you recognize any usability principle on “Consistency and standards”? – Yes – No In the application ****, ¿do you recognize any of the 4 types of error recovery in the design principles? – Yes – No.
References 1. Sanchez Martinez, H., Hernandez Rodriguez, M.d.L., L´ opez Dom´Inguez, E.: T´ uum: test model for native mobile applications. IEEE Latin Am. Trans. 15(5), 994–1000 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1109/TLA.2017.7912598 2. Zhang, D., Adipat, B.: Challenges, methodologies, and issues in the usability testing of mobile applications. Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Interac. 18(3), 293–308 (2005) 3. Nayebi, F., Desharnais, J., Abran, A.: An expert-based framework for evaluating iOS application usability. In: 2013 Joint Conference of the 23rd International Workshop on Software Measurement and the 8th International Conference on Software Process and Product Measurement, Ankara, pp. 147–155 (2013). https://doi.org/ 10.1109/IWSM-Mensura.2013.30 ´ 4. Enriquez, J., Casas, S.: USABILIDAD EN APLICACIONES MOVILES. Argentina (2013) 5. IEEE Standards Association: IEEE Standard for a Software Quality Metrics Methodology. IEEE Std 1061–1998 (R2009) (1998) 6. Matera, M., Rizzo, F., Carughi, G.: Web Usability: Principles and Evaluation Methods (2006) https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-28218-1 7. Normas ISO 25010, (s.f.). en Portal ISO 25000. Consultada el 22 de agosto de 2020 de https://iso25000.com/index.php/normas-iso-25000/iso-25010 8. Nielsen, J., Mack, R.L. (eds.) M´etodos de inspecci´ on de usabilidad (1994) 9. Gerhardt-Powals, J.: Principios de ingenier´ıa cognitiva para mejorar el rendimiento humano-computadora. Revista Internacional de Interacci´ın Hombre-Computadora 8(2), 189–21 (1996) 10. Shneiderman, B., Plaisant, C.: Dise˜ no de interfaces de usuario. Estrategias para una interacci´ on persona-computadora efectiva (2006) 11. Normas ISO 9241-11: en ISO - International Organization of Standardization. Consultada el 22 de agosto de 2020 de (2018). https://www.iso.org/standard/63500. html 12. Borys, M., Milosz, M.: Mobile application usability testing in quasi-real conditions - the synergy of using different methods. In: 2018 11th International Conference on Human System Interaction (HSI), Gdansk, pp. 362–368 (2018). https://doi.org/ 10.1109/HSI.2018.8431342.
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13. Runeson, P., H¨ ost, M.L.: Guidelines for conducting and reporting case study research in software engineering. Empir. Soft. Eng. 14(2), 131–164 (2009). https:// doi.org/10.1007/s10664-008-9102-8 14. Enriquez, J.G., Casas, S.I.: Usabilidad en aplicaciones m´ oviles. Informes Cient´ıficos T´ecnicos - UNPA 5(2), 25–47 (2014). https://doi.org/10.22305/ict-unpa.v5i2.71
Big Data Stream Discretization Using ChiMerge Algorithm Abderraouf Safsaf(B) , Naima Lounes(B) , Walid-Khaled Hidouci(B) , and Rachid Chalal(B) Ecole nationale Supérieure d’Informatique, 16309 Algiers, Algeria {fa_safsaf,n_lounes,w_hidouci,r_chalal}@esi.dz
Abstract. In this paper, we propose a new approach of the ChiMerge algorithm. We have added a new layer to remediate the threshold limitation issue and process the incoming data in real-time with a minimal latency. Our empirical results show that ChiMerge stream discretization helps to improve the subsequent pre-processing and algorithm execution time by 3.5× compared to batch processing, with a slightly different accuracy rate. Keywords: Big data · Velocity · Discretization Batch processing · Apache spark
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· Stream processing ·
Introduction
The increasing rate at which Big Data flows has followed a similar pattern to its volume. Problems previously restricted to segments of industry are now presenting themselves in a much broader setting; therefore, this increase in data velocity requires processing it as streams instead of batches. Data pre-processing is a part of the KDD [1] process (Knowledge Discovery in Databases) that allows extracting knowledge from large databases. Many ongoing research studies are working on adapting this process for Big Data as it is mainly used for Data Mining [2] by adding new layers. The discretization [3] process is one of the methods used for data pre-processing along with other methods such as variable reduction and dimension reduction [4]. Discretization has proved its efficiency and reliability as it processes the data with a low loss rate [5]. ChiMerge [6] is a robust discretization method that uses a statistical evaluation measure; one of its most noticeable properties is the low inconsistency rate, which guarantees that if two intervals have similar values, they are from the same class. Nevertheless, this method does not support data streams due to its χ2 threshold limitation issues [7], which prevents processing the coming data in real-time and updating the previously computed intervals. In Sect. 2, we present the ChiMerge algorithm, while in Sect. 3, data processing using ChiMerge is deeply detailed. Implementation using Apache Spark is discussed in Sect. 4. c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 527–534, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_50
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ChiMerge Algorithm
ChiMerge algorithm is a supervised, bottom-up discretiztaion method that uses the Chi-Square statistic to discretize numeric attributes. It processes the data in a univariate manner by taking into account the values of one attribute at a time and compute the Chi Square value of each pair of adjacent intervals and tests two hypotheses: – H0 : The pair of intervals are from the same distribution – H1 : The pair of intervals are from different distributions By testing those two hypotheses we seek to either accept or reject one of them using the statistical threshold (e.g. 9%) that defines the value above which the H0 is rejected. Thus, if the hypothesis H0 is confirmed the intervals are merged into a single interval, otherwise, they remain separated. The adapted Chi Square formula used as a evaluation measures is as follows: χ2 =
m k (Aij − Eij )2 Eij i=1 j=1
(1)
ChiMerge looks for the best candidate interval pair, the ones with the lowest Chi Square value and are merged unless the predefined stopping condition is met.
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ChiMerge Data Processing
The original ChiMerge algorithm processes the data only by batches. In other words, it only takes into account the static data sets that are loaded in a data storage and processed in-place. This process includes many steps such as sorting, evaluation and merge/split phases. Batch processing is used in a variety of scenarios, from simple data transformations to a more complete ETL (Extract-Transform-Load) pipeline. In a Big Data context, batch processing may operate over very large data sets, where the computation takes significant time. One of the big challenges of stream processing solutions is to ingest, process, and store messages in real time, especially at high volumes. Processing must be done in such a way that it does not block the ingestion pipeline. The data store must support high-volume writes. Another challenge is being able to act on the data quickly, such as generating alerts in real time or presenting the data in a real-time (or near-real-time). ChiMerge algorithm is not capable of such operations as it uses the Chi Square statistical measure as a threshold, which impedes the processing of the coming data in real-time, as a pair of intervals might have a Chi Square value that exceeds the predefined threshold.
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Threshold Readjusting
The threshold used in ChiMerge algorithm is the value of the statistical measure χ2 in each iteration. When the minimum value of χ2 in a given iteration is less than the predefined threshold, the intervals with this value are merged, otherwise, the discretization process is completed. However, to process the coming data streams in real-time, one of the issues which could prevent this processing is having a pair of intervals that cannot be merged with the existing data. This is a possible case if the χ2 value of this intervals pairs exceeds the defined threshold, thus, finding a new threshold that preserve the data accuracy is required. We introduce a new layer to ChiMerge algorithm that allows the Threshold Readjustment. The following algorithm illustrates the approach followed by this new strategy:
Algorithm 1. Threshold Readjustmement operation Require: χ2 Table, threshold while dataStreams ← ReadStraeams() do isM erged ← f alse while isM erged = f alse do isM erged ← M erge(dataStreams, threshold) if isM erged = f alse then threshold ← T hresholdReadjustement() end if end while end while
This new strategy involves adding a new operation to the merge phase that will iterate through the χ2 probabilities table with the given degree of freedom and find a new value (new threshold) that insures the processing of the new coming streams.
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Implementation in Apache Spark and Spark Streaming
Apache Spark is an open source distributed platform for general data processing. Spark provides the Spark Streaming API, which we used to write our implementation of the new layer added to ChiMerge algorithm. It introduces the Spark Structured Streaming API, which provides a simpler and more consistent programming model for data stream processing. 4.1
Data Streams Collection in Real-Time
In this phase, the data streams are collected in real-time. Spark Streaming allows to listen to the coming data over many sources such as a dedicated server, file systems and socket connections.
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val streamingContext = new StreamingContext(conf, Seconds(1)) val dataStream = ssc.socketTextStream("localhost", 9999, StorageLevel.MEMORY_AND_DISK_SER) dataStream.foreachRDD(dataStreamsRDD => { if (rdd.count > 0) { mergeDataStreams(dataStreamsRDD, initialIntervals, initialThreshold) } }) We will use socket connections for collecting the coming data as it is faster than reading from a dedicated server and has a straight forward implementation in Spark. 4.2
Merging and Threshold Readjustment
After receiving the data streams, the instances are sorted, parsed and arranged in intervals and the discretization process starts. def mergeDataStreams() = { while (globalMin < newThreshold) { dataStreamsIntervals = data.mapPartitions( partition => { val dataLineParser = new DataLineParser(attributePosition, classPosition) partition.map(d => { dataLineParser.parseDataline(d) new DataParsedLine(dataLineParser .dataLineValue,getClassLabelValue( dataLineParser.dataLineClassLabel), selectedAttribute) }) }).cache() isMerged = merge(dataStreamsIntervals, initialIntervals) if (isMerged == false) { val nextThreshold = Chi2Calculator .getNextThreshold(newThreshold) newThreshold = Chi2Calculator.getChi2Threshold( numberOfClasses - 1, nextThreshold) } } }
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The use of the cache() function is important as it prevents Spark from computing again the same data by storing it locally in a serialized RDDs which could leads to unexpected behaviors in a parallel execution in a cluster.
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A Comparative Evaluation
We will compare the results obtained by executing the discretization of a data set in both batch processing and stream processing as follows: 1. A data stream of new intervals processed in real-time by ChiMerge 2. A batch of new data, merged first with all the data sets in a single data set and than processed by ChiMerge In the first section, we will use the ECBDL14 data set [8] which has 2 million instances, 631 attributes, 2 classes, 98% of negative examples, and occupies about 56 GB of disk space when uncompressed. Table 1. ECBDL 14 data set characteristics Instances count 2, 897, 917 631 Attributes
Attributes Classes
2 classes
Disk space
56 Go
From this test, we aim to see the difference of the execution time when we process the data as a whole, versus processing the new data streams separately. As in the original ChiMerge algorithm, the latter type of processing is not supported. The following result have been obtained (Table 2): Table 2. Stream vs. Batch discretization of ECBDL 14 data set Evaluation measure
Stream processing Batch processing
Pre-processing time
6828 ms
Algorithm execution time 482.828 ms
129 ms 128.912 ms
Instances
76.138
76.138
Iterations count
36
31
Result intervals
128
122
Table 2 shows the experimental results after executing ChiMerge with the two different approaches (batch processing and stream processing). We observe that
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batch processing has relatively a reduced time compared to stream processing, as a result of having the data already pre-processed when launching the method first, thus, the pre-processing time will be considerably reduced. The execution time is 3.5× faster in batch processing than stream processing, since the algorithm process only the new instances instead of the whole data set. In the number of intervals, the batch processing resulted to a less number of intervals compared to stream processing, thus leading us to study the new approach accuracy in the next section.
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Accuracy
As ChiMerge stream processing using the new approach resulted to a less number of intervals, this means that the final data is different in both approaches. This leads us to study the accuracy rate. By using several data sets, we estimated the discretization accuracy based on the number of correct predictions divided by the total number of prediction samples (Table 3). Table 3. Accuracy measure for ChiMerge batch and stream processing Dataset
Batch processing accuracy Stream processing accuracy
Wbdc
90.20
Pima
68.10
63.83
Yeast
50.02
54.37
Vertbal
88.23
85.94
Glass
72.09
70.27
Pop failure 84.12
86.55
Wine red
62.9
87.89
59.23
The above result allows us to draw the following bar chart: We observe that the accuracy in stream processing differs from the batch processing in a range of [−4.35, 4.27]%, this is due to the new approach of threshold readjustment which takes a new value of the Chi Square test to decide whether to merge or stop the iterations.
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Fig. 1. Batch vs. Stream processing accuracy rate
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Conclusion
Conducting real-time discretization is an open problem in the KDD process. By using this new approach of readjusting the threshold, we solve the threshold limitation of Kerber’s discretization algorithm ChiMerge. Our empirical results show that ChiMerge stream discretization helps to improve the subsequent preprocessing and algorithm execution time by 3.5× compared to batch processing, with a slightly different accuracy rate. The downside of this new approach is its sequential processing of data. It would be interesting to make the data streams collection and threshold readjusting steps completely independent, and therefore, a parallel approach could be introduced to improve further the method’s time complexity.
References 1. Fayyad, U., Piatetsky-Shapiro, G., Smyth, P.: The KDD Process for Extracting Useful Knowledge from Volumes of Data. AI Magazine (1996) 2. Luengo, J., García-Gil, D., Sergio, R.-G., García, S.: Enabling smart data, Francisco Herrera Big Data Preprocessing (2020) 3. García, S., Luengo, J., Herrera, F.: Data Preprocessing in Data Mining, p. 258 (2015) 4. García, S., Luengo, J., Herrera, F.: Data Preprocessing in Data Mining, pp. 147–156. Springer, Germany (2014)
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5. Liu, H., Hussain, F., Tan, C.L., Dash, M.: Discretization: an enabling technique. Data Min. Knowl. Discov. 6(4), 393–423 (2002) 6. Kerber, R.: ChiMerge: discretization of numeric attributes. In: Proceedings ofTenth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, pp. 123–128. AAAI Press, Menlo Park (1992) 7. Miller, R., Siegmund, D.: Maximally selected Chi-square statistics. Biometrics 38, 1101–1106 (1982) 8. Oracle. ROSEFW-RF: The winner algorithm for the ECBDL’14 Big Data competition: An extremely imbalanced Big Data bioinformatics problem. Knowledge-Based Systems (2015)
Flexible Physical Process Control Through Predictor-Corrector Differential Models in Industry 4.0 Scenarios Borja Bordel(B) , Ramón Alcarria, and Tomás Robles Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain [email protected], {ramon.alcarria,tomas.robles}@upm.es
Abstract. Industry 4.0 refers a new era in the human societies characterized by a high efficiency, specialization and the use of innovative technological solutions such as Cyber-Physical Systems. Although high-level services are envisioned to be the main economic activity in the fourth industrial revolution, traditional industrial manufacturing processes will be still essential and strategic. However, in Industry 4.0 scenarios, these processes must be highly efficient, reducing in a relevant way the resource consumption and waste generation. In order to do that, very precise control solutions for physical processes are needed, so the process can be guided across the optimal physical path. Nevertheless, current control solutions cannot perform these actions, as they are not dynamic or flexible enough to adapt to the random evolution of natural phenomena quickly and precisely. Thus, in this paper it is proposed a new and more flexible control mechanism for physical processes in Industry 4.0 scenarios. The proposed solution models physical processes as differential systems where Taylor series are employed to represent the unknown interdependency of physical variables. Besides, variable parameters and adaptative control functions are introduced to make the differential model follow the real process evolution. Using numerical methods, the whole differential model may be solved to predict future states, which are later corrected considering the real process evolution. Finally, in order to evaluate the performance of the proposed technology, an experimental validation based on simulation tools is provided. Keywords: Differential models · Industry 4.0 · Adaptative control · Physical processes · Process models · Industrial process
1 Introduction Industry 4.0 [1] refers a new industrial revolution where innovative paradigms such as circular economy [2], Cyber-Physical Systems [3] and efficient resource consumption are massively employed. In particular, Industry 4.0 refers a new era characterized by high-level and high value digital services [4] as main part of economy. However, even in that future situation, traditional industrial activities will be still essential. Specifically, complex processes such as metallurgical manufacturing or drugstore manipulation are © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 535–545, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_51
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strategic sectors for most countries, which are envisioned to have a relevant presence even in the emerging full digital economy [5]. Those traditional industrial processes have some very peculiar characteristics, being the most remarkable the involvement of long and complex physical procedures and transformations (chemical reactions, alloys, etc.). Furthermore, most of these physical processes are very inefficient, as they require a large amount of resources to take place, while several subproducts and waste are discarded and thrown away. To make compatible Industry 4.0 principles and heavy industrial activities, innovative control solutions to manage physical processes are required. Commonly, control solutions only describe some discrete states the process must reach, and through supervisory mechanisms and some actuation primitives, the energy and/or supply flows are activated, stopped or (sometimes) reversed [6]. This scheme faces two main problems. On the one hand, once a flow is activated (or stopped) the control system can barely define the particular process evolution. It can only enforce the process to cross some intermediate states, but not to follow a specific path [7]. Thus, it is almost impossible for current control mechanisms to guide industrial processes across optimal paths. On the other hand, these control mechanisms cannot be easily integrated with optimization modules, managing an optimal resource consumption and exploitation [8, 9]. As state variables are internal in most common control solutions, this information cannot be shared with algorithms in charge of calculating the optimal path according to Industry 4.0 paradigm. Furthermore, typical control mechanisms for physical processes are closed and application-specific solutions, where control objectives, variables and actuation primitives are embedded and cannot be modified [10]. Much more difficultly in a dynamic manner. On the contrary, Industry 4.0 production systems will be generic infrastructures which could be used “on demand” by different supply chains (belonging to a common or similar sector because of hardware limitations) [11]. Thus, control mechanisms being able to adapt to different types of processes under execution are needed. As a result, more flexible, open, adaptable, and precise control solutions for physical processes in Industry 4.0 scenarios and applications are required. Therefore, in this paper it is proposed a new control solution based on general non-linear dynamics with variable coefficients and adaptative control functions. The proposed mathematical model follows a predictor-corrector scheme, where (initially) the future system states are calculated in order to avoid future undesired situations through the adaptative control functions. Later, after observing the real system state, the variable parameters are modified in order to ensure the model follows the actual system behavior. The proposed model is multivariable, and any type of continuous control variable may be easily integrated. Besides, only simple mathematical operations are considered, so the proposed solution may be embedded in common resource constrained controllers (envisioned to be very common in Industry 4.0). The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Sect. 2 describes the state of the art on Industry 4.0 control solutions; Sect. 3 describes the proposed solution, including the new model and the computational algorithm; Sect. 4 presents an experimental validation; and Sect. 5 concludes the paper.
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2 State of the Art on Industry 4.0 Control Mechanisms Many different control solutions in the context of Industry 4.0 have been reported. Main differences among the different solutions are caused by the type of process they are designed to control. Basically, in Industry 4.0 three main types of processes are envisioned to be implemented: computational processes; physical processes and hybrid processes [7]. Computational processes are workflows where a set of interconnected tasks are defined by managers or prosumers, and later they are executed by hardware devices, production infrastructures, etc. The workflow may be orchestrated by a supervisory engine or choreographed by a set of low-level agents [16]. For computational processes, supervisory schemes [12] are one of the most typical control mechanisms in Industry 4.0. Solutions based on YAWL or BPMN definitions and decomposition and execution engines have been reported [11]. These mechanisms, however, are only feasible over open infrastructures where tasks can be explicitly delegated to hardware devices. Furthermore, tasks must be modeled as digital services, so only computational activities are fully supported [17]. In order to address this problem, some “softer” process definitions have been described. First, control solutions where processes are supervised according to finite state machines and Moore automata may be found [12, 13]. In this approach, low-level events are collected and processed by the orchestrator to evaluate if the planned states are reached and then, the process may continue or some tasks must be run. Or, on the contrary, the execution must be stopped, and an alarm triggered. As a consequence, control policies in these solutions must be weaker as the process definition is less detailed. On the other hand, control solutions supported by logic rules may be also found [6, 8]. In this case, the supervisory control engine evaluates a collection of logic rules and triggers the planned actions when any of these rules is met or broken. Processes are not fully modeled and only some restrictions and expected behaviors are actually considered. Finally, innovate proposals based on deformation metrics and new soft process definitions have been reported [14, 15]. In these schemes complex mathematical models are employed to create a global understanding about the process evolution (through collected low-level information) and determine if the current execution is correct or not. Apart from these generic proposals, some domain-specific mechanisms may be also found in the state of the art. Production control systems are the most common proposal, including centralized [18] and decentralized [19] approaches. Different strategies to replan the production tasks when unexpected events happen have been described [20]. In all these previous works, however, the focus is on the different technological architectures, services and computational models being able to manage computational processes in an agile way. None of these schemes is adequate when processes are not executed by hardware devices, but they are natural transformations or reactions. For this second scenario, different techniques to control physical processes may be also found. Works on this topic are sparser than works on computational processes (as Industry 4.0 era is expected to be mainly digital) and are usually supported by old control theories [21]. Some new strategies have been reported, but most of them are focused on increasing the precision of mathematical models by adding secondary effects and other similar behaviors [22, 23]. Among all these approaches, the most popular nowadays is probably optimal control [24]. But these control mechanisms are not flexible and
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are application-specific, for example focused on robots [25] or holonic architectures [26]. Furthermore, only production-related variables can be considered, and external optimization objectives (energy, waste, etc.) are very difficult to integrate. Contrary to these schemes, the proposed solution in this paper is flexible and generic, as it follows a multivariable scheme where any relevant control, production or state variable may be easily integrated; together with the instruments to control de physical process and the mechanisms to ensure the model precision thank to a predictor-corrector approach. Besides, the proposed solution also considers the possibility to include exogenous optimization functions focused, for example, on reducing the energy consumption. Finally, some hybrid approaches mixing some characteristics of physical and computational processes have been reported [27]. Nevertheless, they are extremely sparse, and they still show some unsolved problems such as the coordination of orchestration components, choreographed devices, and physical transformations. Although some of the previously identified problems have been addressed before [30], thy are still not completely solved especially in the context of future Industry 4.0. This paper aims to fill this gap.
3 New Flexible Control Solution for Physical Processes In industrial scenarios, traditionally two basic types of physical processes are defined: servo problems and regulator problems. Servo problems define situations where physical processes must follow a specific path. Regulator problems define situations where physical processes must reach a specific final point (an remain there) regardless the actual followed trajectory. Commonly, regulator problems are the focus of control solutions for physical processes, as they match the usual functionalities of industrial infrastructures. However, in Industry 4.0, circular economy and high efficiency principles are not compatible with uncontrolled trajectories in regulator problems, so servo problems (where the physical process is constantly under control) turn the basic frame to be considered. Next subsections describe how these servo problems can be modeled using generic differential functions (Sect. 3.1), and how these differential models can be modified to create a flexible predictor-corrector scheme (Sect. 3.2). Finally, in Sect. 3.3, the adaptative control functions are introduced to enable the manipulation of the process evolution. 3.1 Differential Models for Physical Processes and Servo Problems A physical process P can be modeled in a N dimensional phase space as a trajectory φ. This vector trajectory (1) evolves with time, following the state variables xi evolution in the physical process. −−→ P ≡ φ(t) = (x1 (t), . . . , xN (t))
(1)
This trajectory, in the general case, is the solution of an ordinary vector differential equation (2). This equation can be transformed into a differential system with N different equations (3). This system, besides, may be reduced to a system of (m + 1)N first order
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differential equations (4). On the other hand, this system (4) written as a block matrix (5), where the explicit dependency on time is removed for clarity. Hereinafter we are using the Newton notation to represent time derivatives. −−−−→ −−→ −−→ −−→ (2) φ(t) = F t, φ(t), φ(t) , . . . , φ(t)(m)
⎧ (m) ⎪ i = 1, . . . , N ⎪ ⎨ x1 (t) = F1 t, xi (t), xi (t) , . . . , xi (t) ...
⎪ ⎪ ⎩ xN (t) = FN t, xi (t), xi (t) , . . . , xi (t)(m) i = 1, . . . , N
⎧ · · ⎪ ⎪ x1 (t) = G1 t, xi (t), xl (t) i = 1, . . . , N ⎨ ...
⎪ ⎪ ⎩ x·N (t) = GN t, xi (t), x·l (t) i = 1, . . . , N ⎛
· x1
⎞
⎛
·
being Xi = (xi )
(4)
⎞
· t Xi Xl ⎟ −−→ ⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎜... ... ...⎟ φ(t) = ⎝ . . . ⎠ = G ⎠ ⎝ · xN
(3)
·
(5)
t Xi Xl · · Xl = xl i = 1, . . . , N
and Gj are unknown, as they represent a generic process In this model, functions G whose behavior is not initially described. However, we are assuming two characteristics about these functions: • They are continuous and differentiable. Specifically, these functions belong to C ∞ class and Gj are real and take values from the entire set of real numbers R. • Functions G and Gj can be developed as multivariable Taylor In these conditions, functions G series (6) around the origin, resulting a McLaurin series. This expression is greatly j simplified if some coefficients αk are introduced (7). Being ∇ the nabla operator. As functions Gj are unknow, real parameters are also unknown. However, in the resulting expression (8), the unknown function has been replaced by an infinite set of unknown parameters. Gj (t, {xi , x˙ l i = 1, . . . , N }) = Gj (0) ∞ k k ∂ k Gj (0) 1 1 + k2N +1 t k2N k2 k2 k! k · . . . · k2N +1 ∂t 1 ·∂x1 ·∂ x˙ 1 ·...·∂xN ·∂ x˙ N k=0 k1 +···+k2N +1 =k k1 k · x1k2 · x˙ 1k2 · . . . · xNk2N · x˙ N2N +1 j
αk =
k 1 ∇Gj 0 k!
(6)
(7)
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Gj (·) =
∞
· · k j αk · t + x1 + x1 + . . . + xN + xN
(8)
k=0
Assuming an error (depending on the scenario), the number of elements in the Taylor series can be limited to Kmax (9). In that way, function Gj is approximated by a linear function where Kmax unknown parameter must be calculated. However, now, the original differential model (5) may be simplified considering the linearity of Gj (10). Gj (·) ≈
K max
· · k j αk · t + x1 + x1 + . . . + xN + xN
k=0
⎛
⎞ · x1 −−→ ⎜ ⎟ φ(t) = ⎝ . . . ⎠ = A ·X · xN ⎞ ⎛ 1 ⎛ ⎞ · · ⎟ α1 . . . αK1 max ⎜ t + x1 + x1 + . . . + xN + xN ⎟ ⎜ 0 ⎟⎜ ⎟ ⎜ = ⎝ . . . . . . . . . ⎠⎜ ⎟ ... N N ⎠ ⎝ αKmax . . . αKmax · · Kmax t + x1 + x1 + . . . + xN + xN ·
(9)
(10)
could be obtained through different mechanism such as At this point, matrix A Big Data or Artificial Intelligence. However, in order to support a precise, flexible and dynamic control we are defining a predictor-corrector scheme. 3.2 A Predictor-Corrector Method to Ensure the Model Precision and Flexibility To do that, The objective, at this point, is to calculate the unknown parameters in A. we propose a multistep numerical method following a predictor-corrector scheme. We 0 ) the original predicted value of matrix A numerically determined are considering A(t − →∗ calculated after at t0 . While we are considering A (t0 ) the corrected value of matrix A ∗ observing the real values of state variables xi at t0 . Typically, A will be calculated at t1 > t0 , after observing and collecting the necessary information. To perform that calculation, it is enough to solve the linear system deducted from the process model (10) after introducing the real values of variables xi . at a certain future time instant t1 we propose to In order to estimate the value of A use an Adams-Bashforth approach. The Adams-Bashforth formula determines the next value in a differential dynamic, from the previous values (11). Being h the time step (12), R an integer determining the order of the numerical method, and {βr } a set of parameters that can be easily calculated using interpolation techniques and the Lagrange formula (13). 1 ) = A(t 0) + h A(t
−R r=0
r) βr A(t
(11)
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(12)
1 s−1 (−1)p ∫ (u + w) du p = 0, .., s − 1 p!(s − p − 1)! 0 w=0 w = p
(13)
will be available for all At each time instant t0 , nevertheless, corrected values for A past time instants. Therefore, the next predicted value for A is calculated using those corrected values in order to dynamically adjust the model to the real process evolution (14). 0) + h 0 ) + h · β0 · A(t 1 ) = A(t A(t
−R
− → βr A∗ (tr )
(14)
r=−1
are needed. Before running this predictor-corrector algorithm R previous values for A At the initial time, these values will be obtained through any of the other existing solution to estimate those variables, such as the minimization of the mean square error. Now, the proposed process model is flexible to represent any possible process and servo problem, and it adjusts dynamically to the real system evolution. However, the control system cannot actuate on the physical process. To do that we are introducing an adaptative control function. 3.3 Adaptative Control −→ Given an expected physical process evolution or trajectory ξ (t) in the phase space (15) −−→ and the real process behavior φ(t) as described in the model, the first one can be locked to −→ the second one using an active control term v(t); resulting an adaptative and self-regulated control application (16). ·
−→ − → − → ξ (t) = Aξ · Xξ
(15)
−→ − → − → −→ ξ (t) = Aξ · Xξ + v(t)
(16)
·
− → To do that, both trajectories are re-written as the addition of a main contribution Fm − → − → and some external perturbations Fp (17). In this context, besides, parameter matrix Aξ −→ in the actual physical process ξ (t) is unknown.
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· · → −→ − − → ξ ξ ξ ξ (t) = Fp t, xi (t), xi (t) i = 1, . . . , N + Aξ · − → ξ ξ ξ · Fm t, xi (t), xi (t) i = 1, . . . , N (17) ·
−−→ − → φ(t) = Fp t, xi (t), xi (t) , . . . , xi (t)(m) i = 1, . . . , N + A
− → · Fm t, xi (t), xi (t) , . . . , xi (t)(m) i = 1, . . . , N
Then, the second Lyapunov method to determine the convergence of solution in −→ −−→ differential dynamics proves that ξ (t) converges to φ(t) using an active control function −→ −→ where the synchronization error e(t) (18) and the estimation vector λ(t) (19) for the − → unknown parameters Aξ must be included (20) [28]. Where T is a free parameter that may be set to the unit. −−→ −→ Many different factorizations for the dynamics φ(t) and ξ (t) may be proposed, and all of them are adequate and produces the desired control mechanism. In this paper we are proposing the elemental decomposition as previously reported [29]. −→ −→ −−→ e(t) = ξ (t) − φ(t)
(18)
T · · − → −→ −→ ξ ξ ξ λ(t) = − Fm t, xi (t), xl (t) i = 1, . . . , N · e(t)
(19)
· − → −→ ξ ξ ξ v(t) = Fp t, xi (t), xl (t) i = 1, . . . , N + λ(t) · − → ξ ξ ξ · Fm t, xi (t), xl (t) i = 1, . . . , N − − → → − Fp t, xi (t), xi (t) , . . . , xi (t)(m) i = 1, . . . , N + A −→ − → · Fm t, xi (t), xi (t) , . . . , xi (t)(m) i = 1, . . . , N − e(t)
(20)
4 Experimental Validation: Simulation and Results In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed solution, we are providing an initial experiment employing simulation instruments. The objective of this experiment is to determine the synchronization delay and error, generated by the introduced mechanism. In this experiment, we are simulating the physical transformation in a metallurgical industry. Specifically, we are simulating the roasting procedure in the iron industry, where three main variables must be controlled: temperature; pressure and sulfur concentration. To perform these studies, a simulation scenario, described and executed using MATLAB 2017a software, is employed. All simulations were performed using a Linux architecture
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(Ubuntu 20.04 LTS) with the following hardware characteristics: Dell R540 Rack 2U, 96 GB RAM, two processors Intel Xeon Silver 4114 2.2G, HD 2TB SATA 7,2K rpm. Simulation scenarios were created by chaotic processes (so they are erratic but structured) determining the evolution of the real roasting physical process. While the proposed model represented an actual real and efficient roasting processes. The simulation was repeated twelve times to remove exogenous numerical effects. Results are represented as a Montecarlo analysis. Figure 1 represents the synchronization error in that circumstances. As can be seen, the convergence is fast and strong, and the remaining synchronization error is totally negligible (less than 0.01%). As a conclusion, the proposed flexible control solution is valid for Industry 4.0 scenarios.
Fig. 1. Experimental validation: results (synchronization error)
5 Conclusions and Future Works In this paper it is proposed a new and more flexible control mechanism for physical processes in Industry 4.0 scenarios. The proposed solution models physical processes as differential systems where Taylor series are employed to represent the unknown interdependency of physical variables. Besides, variable parameters and adaptative control functions are introduced to make the differential model follow the real process evolution. Using numerical methods, the whole differential model may be solved to predict future states, which are later corrected considering the real process evolution. Provided experiments show the proposed solution generates negligible synchronization delays and errors.
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Future works will evaluate the performance of the proposed solution is real scenarios, including different manufacturing processes and industrial applications. Different external perturbations will also be considered to analyze the resilience of the proposed system. Acknowledgments. The research leading to these results has received funding from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the COGNOS project. (PID2019-105484RB-I00). Research has also been improved by the participation in DEMETER project (DT-ICT-08-2019, project ID: 857202).
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Review of Specific Features and Challenges in the Current Internet of Things Systems Impacting Their Security and Reliability Miroslav Bures1(B) , Matej Klima1 , Vaclav Rechtberger1 , Bestoun S. Ahmed1,2 , Hanan Hindy3 , and Xavier Bellekens4 1
4
Department of Computer Science, FEE, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czechia [email protected] 2 Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden 3 Division of Cyber Security, Abertay University, Dundee, UK Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK http://still.felk.cvut.cz
Abstract. The current development of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology poses significant challenges to researchers and industry practitioners. Among these challenges, security and reliability particularly deserve attention. In this paper, we provide a consolidated analysis of the root causes of these challenges, their relations, and their possible impacts on IoT systems’ general quality characteristics. Further understanding of these challenges is useful for IoT quality engineers when defining testing strategies for their systems and researchers to consider when discussing possible research directions. In this study, twenty specific features of current IoT systems are discussed, divided into five main categories: (1) Economic, managerial and organisational aspects, (2) Infrastructural challenges, (3) Security and privacy challenges, (4) Complexity challenges and (5) Interoperability problems.
Keywords: Internet of Things
1
· IoT · Security · Privacy · Reliability
Introduction
The contemporary growth in the importance of various IoT systems [2], as signaled by the increase in user base and user dependency on such systems, has resulted in the need to address numerous reliability, security and privacy challenges [1,4,9]. Numerous studies discuss these challenges from various perspectives, e.g., testing [1,9], security [6,7,13,16] or privacy [10]. However, these c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 546–556, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_52
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reports vary in their individual viewpoints on the problem, in a rather heterogenic way. Hence, a consolidated view on current IoT specific features and their impact on security and reliability will be useful for researchers as well as for engineers. As previous reports show, IoT systems involve a number of specific features [1,9,12], which have consequences for the effectivity and style of testing and might influence the level of their reliability and security. In this paper, we split these specific features and challenges into five main categories: (1) Economic, managerial and organisational aspects, (2) infrastructural challenges, (3) security and privacy challenges, (4) complexity challenges, and, (5) interoperability problems. In this study, each of these five categories is given a separate section where several specific features or challenges are discussed. Then, we discuss the possible relations between the identified features and challenges, and we analyze the potential impact of these features on general system quality characteristics from ISO/IEC 25010:2011 standard. The overview of the specific features and challenges presented in this paper might not be complete and alternative viewpoints can be taken. However, taking into account this possible limit, the consolidated view presented here will be useful for IoT security and reliability engineers to base their testing strategies on as well as for the researchers in the field.
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Related Work
A number of studies have been recently published discussing various aspects of internet of things security, privacy, reliability and quality assurance. In these studies, numerous specific features and challenges of IoT are discussed. Generally, security [3,7,8,16] is a frequently discussed topic. Several surveys on various security issues [10] and vulnerabilities [13] in IoT systems have been conducted recently. The risks of possible botnet creation [3] are discussed hand-in-hand with known security flaws in various IoT devices [16]. Recent security trends are discussed [15], and several surveys on the topic have been published - there even exists a survey of surveys dedicated to IoT security [5], which underlines the importance of security issues in current IoT systems. General features and challenges in IoT systems are discussed in several reviews published in recent years, for instance, [2,11,14]. However, in this literature, the viewpoints taken are rather heterogenic, and these studies primarily do not focus on a unified summary of IoT specific features and challenges as thoroughly presented in this paper. Specific features and challenges of IoT systems related to their security and reliability are also discussed in studies dedicated to quality assurance and testing methods. These aspects are partially discussed in the quality aspects overview by Ahmed et al. [1] as well as studies on IoT testing by Kiruthika et al. [9] and Marinissen et al. [12]. To summarize, the field of IoT lacks a consolidated view on current IoT specific features and their impact on security and reliability issues. Hence, an updated overview of these issues, which we present in this paper, is required.
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Major Specific Features and Challenges
In this section, we list the consolidated major specific features and challenges facing the current IoT systems, based on the literature review as well as on our experience with IoT projects. Each of the features is assigned its code to allow easy referencing later in further analysis and discussions. 3.1
Economic, Managerial and Organisational Aspects
In economic, managerial and organisational areas, we can identify several challenges that impact the IoT testing process. In this section, we provide a detailed review of each of these issues. E-1: Competitive Environment. In many software and electronic system production areas, the final product is developed in a competitive environment under constant pressure to optimise the costs, reduce the time-to-market, and change the product details during its development to better react to the market demands. IoT systems are not an exception. Although these challenges are routine, it impacts the quality assurance process and the production method of physical devices or software modules. Regarding physical devices, security, or the possibility of updating is sometimes neglected. In broad terms, technical debt can be present in systems generally, increasing maintenance issues in the later phases of the product lifecycle, as well as increasing overall costs to extend the systems later. E-2: Dependency on IoT Solutions. With the growing popularity and usage of IoT systems, people are becoming dependent on these systems to a certain extent. This dependency results in an increased demand for reliability, availability, and accessibility of the IoT services, especially in the mission-critical and life-critical domains. This issue becomes more critical when considering insufficient network coverage in rural or inhabited areas. Those areas can be serviced by various dynamic IoT systems, for instance, healthcare networks, agricultural systems, intelligent transportation, military systems, etc. E-3: Users’ Unrealistic Expectations. Partially because of the popular image of IoT systems depicted in the media and also partially because of the lack of technical knowledge of many users (which, truthfully, is not realistic and reasonable to expect), many users can have na¨ıve expectations in terms of security, privacy and reliability of the IoT solutions. This bias can work in two directions: (1) users feel too sceptical, which might unnecessarily limit the potential usage of IoT systems, or, (2) user expectations are too positive, which increases the potential security risks and might, in extreme cases, increase the impact of severe defects in life-critical or critical IoT systems. E-4: Maintenance and Operational Phase Can be Neglected. When building an integrated IoT solution, a systematic, consolidated integration approach must be taken to ensure that the final IoT system has reasonable maintenance and production costs. In the complex software system, this specialisation
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is usually referred to as “system integration,” and this specialisation also emerges in the IoT systems area. However, the current production and evolution of IoT systems with varying quality and reliability levels seems to be expanding faster than these specialized “system integrator services” can keep up with. 3.2
Infrastructural Challenges
Several issues are related to the deployment model of an IoT system and network configuration (here summarized as “infrastructure”). In this section, we explore these issues in more detail: I-1: Deployment in Locations with Difficult Access. For specific types of IoT systems (i.e., sensor networks or industrial cameras) in different areas (i.e., industrial, agricultural, or smart city management systems, etc.), the devices can be located in places which makes their periodical inspection difficult, e.g. sensors or cameras installed on poles or in a remote terrain. On the other hand, these devices can be easy to access by an attacker, changing the firmware or even hardware of the device. Such modified devices, combined with lightweight security protocols, can serve as an ideal vulnerability for an attacker to compromise the whole network. I-2: Limited Possibility of Updates. Certain types of IoT devices (typically in the sensor networks, for instance) have little to no possibility of receiving updates. This has several causes: (1) demand to lower production costs, (2) power supply by battery or solar power, leading to the use of lightweight algorithms in the device firmware resulting in a limited updating possibility, (3) possible limited network connectivity, when only a proprietary industrial solution is used to transfer the data. This fact can impact security as well as the testing process. From the security viewpoint, particular devices with known security vulnerabilities are an easy target for hackers. Also, when the device has its firmware modified as part of an attack, this change cannot be fixed by an update. I-3: Power Limitations in IoT Devices. Although the problem of power limitation was briefly mentioned in I-2, its specific consequences on security warrant further analysis. When an IoT device is powered by solar energy or battery, the optimisation of energy consumption is an important task that prolongs the device’s effective working time. This optimisation impacts the complexity of the device’s software – to minimize the code base, lightweight authentication or security algorithms are implemented. Consequently, the device is exposed as a natural weak entry point to the network and is vulnerable to a cyberattack. I-4: Unstable Network Connection. In the dynamic IoT systems, i.e., smart logistics, intelligent transportation and also, to a certain extent, smart city (although this depends on the particular type of devices employed) and in the IoT systems operating in rural areas or areas with low population density (i.e., smart farming, various IoT systems supporting ecological data collection, intelligent transportation), moving IoT devices can be subject to limited network connectivity, which might cause temporary loss of network connection. Despite
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these complications, the system should be able to cope with limited connectivity and work correctly and consistently. I-5: Abandoned IoT Devices. A large number of network-connected devices creates a probable possibility that some of the IoT devices will be virtually “forgotten” by the service providers and users and yet will stay connected to the network without maintenance. If those devices become obsolete, in need of updating, and weakly secured, their presence increases the risk of an attack on the network. These devices represent an easy target for hackers, considering that they are unlikely to be maintained and monitored. In the case of security audits, these devices can slip through these audit findings, creating weak entry points to the network, even if the rest of the devices are properly secured. I-6: Unknown Usage of IoT Network. As IoT systems and infrastructure become more and more popular and their usage by individuals and institutions increases, IoT connectivity is likely to be incorporated into a constantly expanding range of devices and appliances used in different application sectors. In some cases, devices may be connected to IoT networks without the knowledge or intention of the user, as a consequence of the standard configuration of the device. Unawareness of such devices could naturally lead to limited updates of the devices and reduce the secure configuration of the infrastructure. 3.3
Security and Privacy Challenges
Not surprisingly, security and privacy are discussed as one of the main challenges for contemporary IoT systems [3,7,8,12,16]. The major underlying factors of these challenges are identified in this subsection: S-1: Weakly Secured Devices can Work as a Network Entry Point. Currently, the number of IoT devices connected to the Internet is rapidly growing and the trend is expected to continue in the following decade. Considering the fundamental rule of security specialists, “the system is as secure as its weakest part”, the current growth in the number of connected devices has significant consequences for the field of security. Power limitations in IoT devices (I-3) or even pressure to cut commercial costs (E-1) can lead to the usage of lightweight security algorithms, meaning that the security of some devices can be neglected. This actually happens frequently, as reported in a number of studies [3,7,16]. These vulnerable devices can serve as an entry point to the whole network. S-2: Low Control over Updates. Compared with PCs and smartphones, where users have a general understanding of usually standardized update mechanisms, this is not the case in a number of IoT devices. Users can have a low insight into a device’s internal mechanism and, therefore, little understanding of how to process their online updates. This results in low control of these updates and opens potential security attack opportunities by installing various malware devices. Combined with GPS, voice recognition and embedded cameras, this can lead to serious security issues related to personal data privacy.
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S-3: Data Privacy. The problem of data privacy in IoT systems is a frequently discussed topic. Current systems have started collecting enormous data from various sources, and a significant part of this data can relate to user behaviour. This data is typically valuable, and personal or commercial information must be protected properly. However, data leaks might be difficult even to detect (before a privacy related incident is exposed publicly), making this a problematic issue to resolve. Also, these difficulties are exacerbated by the inconsistency between the legislation of individual countries involved in IoT global solutions. S-4: Possible Digital Portrait Reconstruction. The problem of data privacy (S-3) increases in its importance with the digital portrait reconstruction technique, where various user data types are combined to gain new information about the user. Individual, relatively uninteresting data streams from various personal devices or home appliances are combined to create a more detailed picture of the user. If this information is misused, this can cause harm to the user or breach his legal rights. S-5: Possible Botnet Creation. Weakly secured devices can be taken over primarily to take control of the IoT system. However, this might not be the only interest of an attacker. Hacked or malware-infected devices can be used further, without knowledge of their legitimate users, to create botnets over the internet [3]. Botnets can be used in DDoS attacks to disrupt other services running on the internet. If the disrupted service is a part of critical infrastructure, such an attack can have severe consequences. Botnets can be organized from various active nodes connected to the global network such as computers or servers; however, an extensive number of hacked or malware-infected IoT devices over the net increases the possible size and power of a botnet. 3.4
Complexity Challenges
The growing complexity of IoT systems is generating new challenges which are having a heavy impact on the test strategy and testing methods which need to be employed to ensure sufficient reliability of an IoT system: C-1: Increased Demand for Testing of Lower System Levels. Testing of lower levels of the system infrastructure is unusual in most cases of software systems that use standard low-level components (hardware, network protocols, operational systems, application servers etc.) – these layers are considered to be already tested by their producers and are therefore reliable. In the IoT systems, where (often not entirely standardised) hardware and software modules are combined, the necessity to also test lower levels of the system emerges. In IoT systems, compared to web-based systems, there is a much more extensive variety of standardised protocols used [2]. Moreover, a number of proprietary protocols are used in the current IoT solutions. C-2: High Number of Possible System Configurations. Variability in versions of individual devices, modules and subsystems composing the whole IoT solution leads to a number of possible configurations in which the system can
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operate. To allow smooth operation and maintenance of the system, backward and forward compatibility has to be maintained - especially when the system is dynamically configurable, and individual devices can be added or removed from the system during its operation. 3.5
Interoperability Problems
We previously touched on the problem of interoperability when discussing the challenges of complexity above. However, interoperability represents a significant issue, so it deserves to be analyzed in more depth. More issues arise here: X-1: Mixture of Used Protocols. In more complex IoT systems, a mixture of protocols can be used [2]. Besides the standard protocols, proprietary protocols from various vendors can also be employed. Moreover, in some cases, other propriety protocols might be developed together with the solution, so variant versions of these protocols might be used, yet their interoperability and compatibility must be ensured. X-2: Incompliance to Industry Standards. Current IoT development is characterised by a number of devices produced by start-up companies, small companies, or even home-made devices connected to the network. These homemade and sometimes even start-up made devices might partially or improperly implement industry standards, and in some cases, may fail to implement them at all. However, these devices can also be integrated with standardised IoT devices, often with user expectations of the system’s safe and flawless functionality. X-3: Low Interoperability of Individual IoT System Parts. Along with the three issues identified above, namely mixture of used protocols (issue X-1), incompliance to industry standards (issue X-2), and a high number of possible system configurations (issue C-2), the complexity of SUT might also create various interoperability and compatibility challenges. This could lead to the SUT’s malfunction, limitation of its future extensions, or an increase in maintenance and further development costs.
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Discussion
The challenges discussed in this paper are often entangled within a more complex situation, and therefore several relations between these specific features can be identified. At this point, we analyze possible consequences among the issues. Our suggestion is depicted in Fig. 1. Features and challenges discussed in Sect. 3 impact the security and reliability of IoT systems in general. However, it is useful to analyze particular quality characteristics that might be impacted by the individual specific features. Despite the fact that it is practically impossible to quantify a relationship between the extent of issues discussed in Sect. 3 and their impact on the individual quality characteristics, some general level of insight can be provided. In
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Fig. 1. Typical consequences among specific features and challenges having an impact on quality characteristics of IoT systems.
Fig. 2. ISO/IEC 25010:2011 quality characteristics potentially impacted by discussed aspects of code quality
Table 1 we link the discussed issues to general system quality characteristics. A cross mark in the table indicates a possible impact or influence. To employ an established standard in this discussion, analyzed quality characteristics are defined in the Product quality model of the ISO/IEC 25010:2011 standard, revised in 20171 . In the analysis provided, we selected a subset of quality characteristics as defined in the ISO/IEC 25010:2011, which are relevant to the discussed specific features and challenges. An overview of these quality char1
https://www.iso.org/standard/35733.html.
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Discussed features
E-1: Competitive environment E-2: Dependency on IoT solutions E-3: Users’ unrealistic expectations E-4: Neglected maintenance I-1: Difficult access locations I-2: Limited possibility of updates I-3: Power limitations in IoT devices I-4: Unstable network connection I-5: Abandoned IoT devices I-6: Unknown usage of IoT network S-1: Weakly secured devices S-2: Low control over updates S-3: Data privacy S-4: Digital portrait reconstruction S-5: Possible botnet creation C-1: Demand for lower levels testing C-2: High number of configurations X-1: Mixture of used protocols X-2: Incompliance to standards X-3: Low interoperability of devices
Appropriateness recognizability Analysability Modifiability Testability Adaptability Functional correctness Functional appropriateness Time behaviour Confidentiality Integrity Interoperability Co-existence Maturity Availability Fault tolerance
Table 1. Potential impact of discussed specific features and challenges to quality characteristics of IoT systems.
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acteristics follow in Fig. 2. An underscore and bold letters mark characteristics that are potentially influenced by the features and challenges discussed in this study.
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Conclusion
In this paper, we provide an updated, consolidated view on the current specific features and challenges influencing IoT systems, divided into five major categories: (1) Economic, managerial and organisational aspects, (2) infrastructural challenges, (3) security and privacy challenges, (4) complexity challenges, and, (5) interoperability problems. We also discussed the possible relations and consequences between the identified issues. Finally, we indicated the potential impact of these issues on general quality characteristics from the ISO/IEC 25010:2011 standard. Even though the list of the identified issues can be extended, awareness of the specific features and challenges discussed in this paper could be helpful in
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the planning and definition of test strategies for IoT projects. Taking this into account, the updated overview presented in this paper will be beneficial for numerous IoT industry experts as well as researchers in the IoT area. Acknowledgements. This research is conducted as a part of the project TACR TH02010296 Quality Assurance System for the Internet of Things Technology. The authors acknowledge the support of the OP VVV funded project CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16 019/0000765 “Research Center for Informatics”. Bestoun S. Ahmed has been supported by the Knowledge Foundation of Sweden (KKS) through the Synergi Project AIDA - A Holistic AI-driven Networking and Processing Framework for Industrial IoT (Rek:20200067).
References 1. Ahmed, B.S., Bures, M., Frajtak, K., Cerny, T.: Aspects of quality in internet of things (IoT) solutions: a systematic mapping study. IEEE Access 7, 13758–13780 (2019) 2. Al-Fuqaha, A., Guizani, M., Mohammadi, M., Aledhari, M., Ayyash, M.: Internet of things: a survey on enabling technologies, protocols, and applications. IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutor. 17(4), 2347–2376 (2015) 3. Bertino, E., Islam, N.: Botnets and internet of things security. Computer 50(2), 76–79 (2017) 4. Bures, M., Cerny, T., Ahmed, B.S.: Internet of things: current challenges in the quality assurance and testing methods. In: International Conference on Information Science and Applications, pp. 625–634. Springer, Cham (2018) 5. Giraldo, J., Sarkar, E., Cardenas, A.A., Maniatakos, M., Kantarcioglu, M.: Security and privacy in cyber-physical systems: a survey of surveys. IEEE Design Test 34(4), 7–17 (2017) 6. Granjal, J., Monteiro, E., Silva, J.S.: Security for the internet of things: a survey of existing protocols and open research issues. IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutor. 17(3), 1294–1312 (2015) 7. Heer, T., Garcia-Morchon, O., Hummen, R., Keoh, S.L., Kumar, S.S., Wehrle, K.: Security challenges in the IP-based internet of things. Wireless Pers. Commun. 61(3), 527–542 (2011) 8. Hossain, M.M., Fotouhi, M., Hasan, R.: Towards an analysis of security issues, challenges, and open problems in the internet of things. In: 2015 IEEE World Congress on Services, pp. 21–28. IEEE (2015) 9. Kiruthika, J., Khaddaj, S.: Software quality issues and challenges of internet of things. In: 2015 14th International Symposium on Distributed Computing and Applications for Business Engineering and Science (DCABES), pp. 176–179. IEEE (2015) 10. Kumar, J.S., Patel, D.R.: A survey on internet of things: security and privacy issues. Int. J. Comput. Appl. 90(11), 20–26 (2014) 11. Madakam, S., Lake, V., Lake, V., Lake, V., et al.: Internet of things (IoT): a literature review. J. Comput. Commun. 3(05), 164 (2015) 12. Marinissen, E.J., Zorian, Y., Konijnenburg, M., Huang, C.T., Hsieh, P.H., Cockburn, P., Delvaux, J., Roˇzi´c, V., Yang, B., Singel´ee, D., et al.: IoT: source of test challenges. In: 2016 21th IEEE European Test Symposium (ETS), pp. 1–10. IEEE (2016)
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13. Neshenko, N., Bou-Harb, E., Crichigno, J., Kaddoum, G., Ghani, N.: Demystifying IoT security: an exhaustive survey on IoT vulnerabilities and a first empirical look on internet-scale IoT exploitations. IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutor. 21(3), 2702–2733 (2019) 14. Ng, I.C., Wakenshaw, S.Y.: The internet-of-things: review and research directions. Int. J. Res. Mark. 34(1), 3–21 (2017) 15. Rom´ an-Castro, R., L´ opez, J., Gritzalis, S.: Evolution and trends in IoT security. Computer 51(7), 16–25 (2018) 16. Yu, T., Sekar, V., Seshan, S., Agarwal, Y., Xu, C.: Handling a trillion (unfixable) flaws on a billion devices: rethinking network security for the internet-of-things. In: Proceedings of the 14th ACM Workshop on Hot Topics in Networks, pp. 1–7 (2015)
Designing a FIWARE-Based Smart Campus with IoT Edge-Enabled Intelligence Pedro Martins1 , Sérgio I. Lopes1,2(B) , and António Curado3 1
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ADiT - Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, 4900-348 Viana do Castelo, Portugal IT - Instituto de Telecomunicações, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal [email protected] 3 Prometheus - Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, 4900-348 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Abstract. Higher education institutions are passing through a fast digital transformation process that has the potential to enable frictionless, touchless, and more intuitive experiences in academia. Moreover, students are now digital natives and demand from higher education institutions new digital services for all academic purposes. In this article, we introduce the design methodology used for the architecture specification of the IPVC Smart & Sustainable Campus (IPVC-S2C), a FIWAREbased platform with edge-enabled intelligence. The current research also surveys and characterizes low-cost IoT edge hardware capable of performing distributed machine learning. Lastly, a proof of concept focus on Indoor Air Quality monitoring on the campus is presented and the forthcoming research is outlined. Keywords: Smart campus
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Introduction
The higher education landscape is passing through a continuous and fast digital transformation process that is enabling frictionless, touchless, and intuitive experiences in academia. Students who are nowadays digital natives push the higher education institutions into the digital transformation and at the same time foster new digital services that will turn into reality a fully and connected digital campus experience. A digital campus also referred to as a smart campus, takes advantage of existing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and state-of-the-art Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to provide automated and intelligent services on the campus. In this article, we introduce the core elements and the ICT infrastructure needed to support the IPVC Smart & Sustainable Campus (IPVC-S2C) implementation and put forward a FIWARE-based architecture that enables full integration with other legacy systems that higher education institutions still have c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 557–569, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_53
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in use, by taking a case study as an example, cf. Sect. 5. Moreover, a set of core criteria for the selection of IoT edge hardware capable of performing distributed machine learning is also included for future edge intelligence integration. The remainder of this document is organized as follows: Sect. 2 presents existent frameworks/platforms used in the development of smart solutions in the context of a smart campus; Sect. 3 introduces the IPVC-S2C ICT infrastructure; Sect. 5 introduces the IPVC-S2C architecture and describes in detail its core elements; lastly, in Sect. 7 the main conclusions of this work are introduced and future work guidelines presented.
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SmartCAMPUS UWB project develops the concept of a reduced scale model of a city that enables the creation of a testbed for smart and IoT technologies. Currently, it involves 9 faculties equipped with LoRaWAN and Sigfox communication infrastructures. Several applications are already in use inside the campus, such as KETCube, which is a prototype and demo platform; Environment, on which it is possible to detect fluctuations in temperature or humidity; Cloud which collects and evaluates information from the implemented systems; Parking which manages car parking with IoT sensors; IoT Lab which is a lab devoted to students developing IoT projects and offers a Data Warehouse with open data captured by several IoT Devices [1]. WiseTown, “Web Information Streams Enhancer for Your Town” is an application that uses FIWARE and collects information from different data sources, making data easy to manage and the information organized, supporting the Public Administration by improving urban planning, modernizing public services, and streamlining city management [2]. SmartMetropolis is a project developed in the Digital Metropole Institute (IMD) in the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. The main goal of this project is the development of methods and techniques to support the implementation of services to be integrated by smart cities by creating applications to support strategic areas, such as security, tourism, public transportation, education, big data, cloud computing, and IoT. IMD current projects include the monitoring of Water and Energy, using sensors that communicate via GPRS; Smart Place, which manages air conditioners and the lightning inside buildings, allowing the management which reduces the average cost of the electricity bill; SIGNatal, an open data application that shares geographical data from Natal city with users; and finally the ROTA-Viatura, a system of dispatching police vehicles and policemen for a faster attending on police emergency occurrences [3]. Bettair is a platform that, as described in [4], works as a service and allows the mapping of air pollution in cities with the help of the Bettair Static Nodes, an autonomous device that is installed in streetlights. With the information recovered from the sensors, urban planners can take action to improve air quality. Before using FIWARE, the platform was developed with a monolithic architecture, which was unable to be scaled and modified as requested by using a
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FIWARE-based architecture, the Context Broker manages air pollution information that is delivered by the sensors, accelerating the development of a Smart Solution, offering a possibility to connect with other existing FIWARE platforms that the city might already have. In [5], the authors present the architecture of the University of Málaga Smart Campus that has been designed to transform its university campuses into a small smart city that can support efficient management of their area as well as innovative educational and research activities. The actions of this initiative follow six main application categories: 1) Emissions, Energy and Water, 2) Nature and Environment, 3) Health and Well-Being, 4) Mobility, 5) ICTs, 6) Research, Teaching, and Innovation. The authors propose an architecture that uses IoT technologies and several existent telecommunications resources to deliver a unified infrastructure that is used in several application domains that can be integrated into learning activities.
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The Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC) is a higher education institution created in 1980, serving the Northwest region of Portugal. The IPVC has six campuses spread through four places in Alto-Minho region (Viana do Castelo, Ponte de Lima, Valença, and Melgaço). To reinforce the links between all IPVC campuses and engage the IPVC community towards sustainable development, it is strategic to put forward the IPVC Smart & Sustainable Campus, also referred to as IPVC-S2C, which will allow not only the engagement of all IPVC community and staff (students, professors, researchers, and employees) in all process but will also secure the commitment and participation of the managerial officers as a whole. The general ICT infrastructure of the IPVC-S2C is shown in Fig. 1, in which the overall digital ecosystem with all included ICT infrastructure elements and their use is properly categorized. Moreover, the relations of the different ICT infrastructure elements and their interactions are also identified. The foundation of the IPVC-S2C ICT infrastructure is based on the IoT Edge Devices, such as sensors and actuators that are being used in three main application categories: 1) Smart Metering, which includes emissions, water distribution, and renewable energy production management, 2) Smart Mobility, including the context information management of a network of electric bicycles (BiRa Project), and 3) Smart Building, which includes Indoor Air Quality assessment in the classroom and access/attendance control. These devices will communicate the acquired data via WiFi, Cellular 3G/4G, or LoRaWAN, which will reach the IoT Agent that creates a standardized interface to all IoT interactions, allowing the data to be managed by the FIWARE Context Broker. After context managing and if some predefined events have been detected, authenticated users, such as Staff, Professors, and/or Students can be notified to take actions, or requests can be made (HTTP, MQTT, etc.) to the IPVC-S2C
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Fig. 1. IPVC-S2C ICT infrastructure.
Application Server or other OAM Servers, so the applications change the behavior (automatically), triggering smart decisions within the context of a Smart and Sustainable Campus. Before using FIWARE, several platforms had been developed by using a monolithic architecture, allowing services to be deployed as a single solution. Given the fact that these are small applications, their development was easier to be achieved. However, being scalability a priority in the current days and since monolithic applications are difficult to modify, a new approach was required. Based on the related works and having in mind the application requirements and the methodology, the proposed architecture is conceptually split into two major building blocks: a) IoT Devices with Edge-enabled Intelligence; b) IPVC-S2C Digital Ecosystem 1. FIWARE Generic Enablers; 2. Short-Term Historic and Real-Time Data; 3. Application Server. The data will be collected and transmitted by several IoT Edge devices that are being used in several monolithic projects inside the campus. Communications using WiFi or LoRaWAN networks are used for Smart Metering and Smart Building applications, and LoRaWAN or Cellular 3G/4G for Smart Mobility applications, as shown in Fig. 1. The following two sections (Sect. 4 and 5) will be used for a detailed description of the two main building blocks previously identified.
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IoT Devices with Edge-Enabled Intelligence
Edge devices can sense, measure, interpret, and transmit data up to the cloud through an internet gateway. In cloud-centered architectures, the raw data is pushed to a centralized server by the end device without any type of processing. However, IoT Edge devices are becoming more efficient, affordable, and powerful, which enables low-latency real-time processing and the distribution of the computational cost between the IoT Edge devices. Recently, the fusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and edge computing is becoming a reality. On one hand, AI intends to implement intelligent human behavior in devices/machines by extracting knowledge and learning from data. On the other hand, edge computing aims at coordinating a multitude of collaborative edge devices and servers to process the generated data in proximity to the source of data. Another relevant requirement that must be taken into account when considering edge-enabled Intelligence is the low-latency, which can be guaranteed by one of the three relevant architectures relies on Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) that are executed at the end device. Alternatively, Edge server–based computation relies on data that is sent by the end devices to edge servers for computation. Lastly, Joint computation includes the possibility of having cloud processing. However, bringing AI to the edge is a challenge due to the limited resources available in common hardware used to design IoT edge devices. One approach that has been implemented with relative success is to reduce the model’s inference time. To run an AI model in an embedded IoT device, the hardware needs to be properly selected to fit the model design and compression [6]. Edge AI is normally based on models with a reduced number of parameters in the Deep Neural Network (DNN) model, which considerably reduces memory needs and execution latency while preserving high accuracy. Model compression, i.e. reduction of the model size, can be achieved using quantization and pruning techniques, individually or working together. Posttraining quantization reduces computing power demand and energy consumption at the expense of a slight loss in accuracy, allowing to run the model on tiny devices. On the other hand, pruning eliminates non-essential connections for the Neural Network (NN) and consequently reduces (1) the number of computations and (2) the demand for memory space for the NN [6]. Hardware selection must be based on the analysis of 4 relevant metrics: 1) Accuracy; 2) Energy efficiency; 3) Throughput; 4) Cost. The accuracy of the machine learning algorithms must be quantified using large data sets to guarantee that the obtained results are valid. Energy efficiency is a metric directly related to the adaptation of the model to the context change, i.e., the model adapts its weights as the scenario changes, which involves recurrent memory access for reading/writing weight values, resulting in increased energy consumption. The throughput metric represents the number of operations required per unit of time and the cost is directly related to the amount of memory required to host the model, because memory is still the critical building block in computational systems and although model compression can be applied, the model
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size can still be in the order of tens or hundreds of megabytes, heavily impacting the overall edge device cost. Table 1 presents a selection of hardware commonly used in the design of IoT devices that can perform edge computing and specifically run Machine Learning (ML) Libraries, such as Tensorflow Lite. Tensorflow Lite is an example of an ML library specifically implemented to be used in microcontroller-based constrained edge devices [7]. Table 1. IoT hardware compatible with TensorFlow Lite. Adapted from [6]. Board
Processor
Power
Connectivity Cost
Arduino Nano 33 ARM Cortex-M4 BLE Sense [8] 32-bit@64 MHz
52 µA/MHz BLE
€27
SparkFun Edge [9]
ARM Cortex-M4F 32-bit@48/96 MHz
6 µA/MHz
€15
Adafruit EdgeBadge [10]
ATSAMD51J19A 32-bit@120 MHz
65 µA/MHz BLE/WiFi
€35
ESP32DevKitC [11]
Xtensa dual-core 32-bit@160/240 MHz
2 mA/MHz
€10
BLE 5
BLE/WiFi
Figure 2 depicts the generic architecture of the IoT Edge device with its core elements identified—sensors and actuators, microprocessor, and communication radios—which have been in use in several application domains, cf. [18–22], within the IPVC S2C Digital Ecosystem.
Sensors and Actuatos
Signal Processing and Analytics
Communications HTTPs Secure Communications
Wi-Fi Radio
ACTUATOR
SENSOR 1
MCU µProcessor AES Encrypted Communications
LoRa Radio
SENSOR 2
Power Management Hardware Security
Fig. 2. IoT Edge generic architecture.
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IPVC-S2C Digital Ecosystem
The blocks that are the base of the IPVC-S2C Digital Ecosystem are illustrated in Fig. 3. This application-oriented architecture was designed using a set of FIWARE Generic Enablers (GEs) that interact with the IoT Edge devices and other third-party systems through a context broker. Short-Term historic and Real-Time pre-processed data will be stored and aggregated in a time-series database (TSDB). TSDB can handle large amounts of data while delivering fast response due to its native optimization for storing and querying time series data, enhancing the data compression rate and the data manipulation speed when real-time analytics over large sets of timestamped data is required [12]. IPVC S2C Digital Ecosystem Short-Term Historic & Real-Time Data
IoT Edge Devices
Grafana TSDB
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InfluxDB
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Fig. 3. Overall System Architecture including the FIWARE Generic Enablers and other third party services and modules.
In the proposed architecture, four FIWARE GEs were used. The Orion Context Broker, allows the register, update, and query operations of the context data and working with publish/subscribe communication patterns, via notifications to the responsible organization. The Keyrock Identity Management module enables identity management and authentication/authorization security to the services and applications. The IoT Agent allows data transfer between the sensors and the Context Broker. The Complex Event Manager (CEP) analyses event data in real-time and enables instant responses to change conditions, such as notifications, emails, tweets, and messages [13].
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The TSDB directly connects to the Context Broker and the IoT agents and can serve data directly to the client App through Grafana as-a-service, enabling the on-the-fly generation of rich and interactive dashboards. Since external services can be deployed independently, and since other already existent database legacy systems are in use on the campus they will also be integrated through external APIs and Webservices, such as RESTful APIs. In Subsects. 5.1 to 5.3, each building block of the IPVC-S2C Digital Ecosystem will be introduced and explained in detail. 5.1
FIWARE App Server
The main core (and only needed) of any FIWARE-based application is the Orion Context Broker. According to [14], Orion Context Broker is the Publish/Subscribe implementation, decoupling consumers data, functioning based on an Open API Next Generation Service Interface (NGSI), on two versions, NGSI-9 and NGSI-10, which defines the data model, context data interface, and availability [15], that allow the registration, updates, queries and notifications of context data. To analyze and process data in real-time, a Complex Event Processing (CEP), also referred to as event stream analysis, or real-time event correlation, will be installed, allowing immediate response to changing conditions, like sending emails, SMS messages, HTTP requests, tweets, etc. The CEP API allows the management of rules, exposing CRUD operations, being triggered by feeding them with NGSI10 notifications [13]. For security measures, the Keyrock Identity Manager will be used, which will be responsible for authentication and providing access to information, offering a Graphic User Interface based (GUI-based) or API-based interaction to administrative users, roles, and permissions enabling the addition of OAuth2-based of users and devices, user profile management, privacy-preserving of personal data, Single Sign-On and Identity Federation across multiple domains, enabling the register of OAuth 2.0 consumers as Service Providers [16]. It is used to create a secure FIWARE application and contains data of Users - any human actor interacting with a FIWARE application and Organizations - An association allowing certain users to administer all rights. The Identity Manager ensures that only the right individuals get access to resources, such as usernames, passwords, and roles, and the access control is the selective restriction of access to resources, with Authorization and Authentication. The Identity Manager is key in the architecture since it reduces the work on account creation and management, using the user profile storage as a Software as a Service, supporting the usage of policies and procedures. The administrators can easily configure access to services and the handling of error notifications. Since it re-uses attribute data, it allows easy and convenient management of profile information [13]. An IoT Agent is the GE that makes it possible for a group of devices to send their data to be managed from a Context Broker. It translates an IoT specific protocol into an NGSI v2, overcoming common problems in the IoT domain, such as mapping the data received in a meaningful manner, abstracting
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communications so users can remain unaware of the device-specific protocols, bringing a standard interface to all IoT interactions at the context information level. The IoT Agent supports a single message format and can be configured to use transports such as HTTP, MQTT, and AMQP [13]. 5.2
Short-Term Historical and Real-Time Data
The Short-Term Historic and Real-Time Data block of the Smart Campus architecture is composed of a single time-series database, InfluxDB, an open-source database designed to handle high write and query loads, which will be used to store the data sent by the IoT Edge Devices. Since the Smart Campus will use multiple sensors, InfluxDB was chosen to store multiple data collected by the sensors, because it is fast and scalable, supporting millions of writes per second, having the ability to handle specific functions to accelerate data processing [17]. Historical context data can be persisted to the InfluxDB, resulting in a series of data points, which are meaningless on their own but combined can be transformed into meaningful statistics, which can be displayed, with an easy user interface and enhanced visual analytics to the User as Dashboards or metrics and KPIs for distinct periods: Real-Time (last hour), Short-Term (last 7 days), using Grafana-as-a-service in the Front End. 5.3
IPVC-S2C App Server
The IPVC-S2C App Server is conceptually a block composed of two main cores that can be described as the external services and the application server, which can be considered as a Back End to the IPVC Management Front End and the AppDB. The App Server will be used as an external API, allowing the connection to the External API Services for the existing Core Applications, such as ICT’s, Nature and Environment, Emissions, Water and Energy, Mobility, Health, and Research and Innovation. The AppDB is a MongoDB open-source database, which is dynamic and object-oriented, having high performance, availability, and automatic scaling, and will be used to the Back End data that already exists from the monolithic approach.
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Preliminary Results
The proof of concept used to test the IPVC S2C digital ecosystem was set up using an IoT Edge device designed for Indoor Air Quality monitoring in the schools, cf. [22]. The device was designed to monitor Indoor Air Quality and collect parameters such as particle matter (PM1.0, PM2.5, and PM10), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), CO2 concentration, and air temperature and relative humidity. Figure 4 depicts the IAQ4Classroom client application, a cartography based web-application platform centered around a map, using Leaflet and Geoserver, two geographic information system (GIS) tools to enhance visual data analytics
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Fig. 4. Map-centered front end with related IoT Edge device dashboard.
that allows high-level building management using native and geo-referenced hierarchies between entities, i.e., school > floor > classroom > sensor, hierarchies defined and obtained using the FIWARE reference data context model (NGSI v2), to perform spatial queries, by entity or entity aggregate. These entities are implemented as GeoJSON vectors and are assigned a specific color that changes in real-time, related to a risk indicator or a legal limit. For an easier user data visualization, Grafana will be used to display Dashboards, KPIs, and Metrics according to the collected data in three time periods: Very Short-Term for periods of 24 h, Short-Term for periods of 1 week to three months, and Long-Term for periods of 3 months plus. With the implementation of FIWARE Orion Context Broker, operations related to the entity state, such as create, query and update are basic for synchronous context producer and consumer applications. However, Orion Context Broker has a strong advantage of letting the user know the information as soon as it arrives since it allows the ability to subscribe to context information so the application gets an asynchronous notification when “something” happens, enabling a faster and better deployment since it removes polling. In addition to the Broker, the CEP analyses data in real-time to generate an instant response, manual or automatic, to changing conditions, such as notifications to the enduser. The IoT Agent is automatically connected to the IAQ4Classroom sensor and the corresponding data with specific content in the Orion Context Broker, storing the devices’ configuration in the AppDB. In our use case scenario, each time the measurement is collected, the data is updated by the Orion Context Broker.
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Conclusions and Future Work
The current research shows the design methodology, which serves as the ground for the specification of a FIWARE-based Smart & Sustainable Campus with
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Edge-enabled Intelligence. At the time of writing, the project is being tested using a LoRa-based IoT Edge device to measure the Indoor Air Quality, within the Smart Building category, as presented in Fig. 1. FIWARE also allows the inclusion of several modules that are not displayed in the proposed architecture, cf. Fig. 3, that may be added if necessary, such as the CKAN extension, an open data publication module that allows the publication of data-sets and assignment of terms, policies, pricing and pay-per-use schemes to data-sets [13]. The use of FIWARE technologies enables simplifies the design of new applications and streamlines its integration with other legacy systems that are already in use on the campus. Moreover, the use of a context broker centralizes and provides context to data that comes from different IoT Edge devices. In this approach, external entities can collect, process, and display information without needing to directly interact with data sources. Future work will include the integration of other existing monolithic applications that are still in use on the campus, mainly concerning the project Refill_H20, which proposes to reduce the sale of plastic water bottles in Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC), a higher education institution, to promote the circular economy, by reducing plastic materials use and waste. By promoting the reduction in disposable waste production, project Refill_H20 will help to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases emission. The ICT infrastructure for the IPVC-S2C is still under development, lacking benchmark tests to the IoT Edge devices for the Smart Metering and the Smart Mobility application categories, however, the application to Project Refill_H20 will help to boost its implementation. Context data notifications will be also implemented to advise the responsible user or organization or to automatically trigger actions in response to certain physical or environmental conditions. New FIWARE Generic Enablers will also be implemented according to the needs of the community. Usability tests should be developed and deployed for the Front End application to evaluate the application flow and improve its user interface. The goal of these tests is the simplification of the user interaction and the perceptibility of the data acquired by the sensors. Acknowledgments. The authors wish to thank especially the Program Environment, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy, created following the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding between Portugal and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, under the EEA and Norway Grants 2014–2021, for the program areas of Environment and Ecosystems (PA11), and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (PA13), for financing the project 10_SGS#1_REFILL_H20.
References 1. SmartCAMPUS UWB, SmartCAMPUS. https://www.smartcampus.cz/. Accessed 04 May 2020 2. WiseTown, Smart City Project. https://wise.town/. Accessed 04 May 2020 3. Smart Metropolis. http://smartmetropolis.imd.ufrn.br/. Accessed 06 May 2020
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4. Leonardo Santiago, Bettair. https://www.fiware.org/2018/08/26/fiware-solutionbettair-on-a-mission-to-map-urban-air-quality-in-high-resolution/. Accessed 14 May 2020 5. Fortes, S., Santoyo-Ramón, J.A., Palacios, D., Baena, E., Mora-García, R., Medina, M., Mora, P., Barco, R.: The campus as a smart city: university of Málaga environmental, learning, and research approaches. Sensors 19, 1349 (2019) 6. Merenda, M., Porcaro, C., Iero, D.: Edge machine learning for AI-enabled IoT devices: a review. Sensors 20, 2533 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3390/s20092533 7. Tensor Flow Light Guide. https://www.tensorflow.org/lite/guide. Accessed 14 July 2020 8. Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense. https://store.arduino.cc/arduino-nano-33-ble-sense. Accessed 14 July 2020 9. SparkFun Edge Development Board - Apollo3. Blue. https://www.sparkfun.com/ products/15170. Accessed 14 July 2020 10. Adafruit EdgeBadge - Tensorflow Lite for microcontrollers. https://www.adafruit. com/product/4400. Accessed 14 July 2020 11. Espressif Systems ESP32 Overview. https://www.espressif.com/en/products/ devkits/esp32-devkitc/overview. Accessed 14 July 2020 12. Jensen, S.K., Pedersen, T.B., Thomsen, C.: Time series management systems: a survey. IEEE Trans. Knowl. Data Eng. 29(11), 2581–2600 (2017). https://doi.org/ 10.1109/TKDE.2017.2740932 13. FIWARE Foundation, Developers Catalogue. https://www.fiware.org/developers/ catalogue. Accessed 15 May 2020 14. Araujo, V., Mitra, K., Saguna, S., Åhlund, C.: Performance evaluation of FIWARE: a cloud-based IoT platform for smart cities. J. Parallel Distrib. Comput. (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpdc.2018.12.010 15. Ivan, T., Lalovic, K., Trikos, M.: FIWARE: a web of things development platform. Military Technical Courier (2018). https://doi.org/10.5937/vojtehg66-17063 16. Alonso, A., Pozo, A., Choque, J., Bueno, G., Salvachúa, J., Diez, L.: An identity framework for providing access to FIWARE OAuth 2.0-based services according to the eIDAS European regulation. IEEE Access 7, 88435–88449 (2019). https:// doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2926556 17. InfluxData Inc, InfluxDB. https://www.influxdata.com/products/influxdboverview/. Accessed 15 June 2020 18. Lopes, S.I., Moreira, P.M., Cruz, A.M., Martins, P., Pereira, F., Curado, A.: RnMonitor: a WebGIS-based platform for expedite in situ deployment of IoT edge devices and effective radon risk management. In: IEEE International Smart Cities Conference (ISC2), Casablanca, Morocco 2019, pp. 451–457 (2019). https://doi. org/10.1109/ISC246665.2019.9071789 19. Lopes, S.I., Pereira, F., Vieira, J.M.N., Carvalho, N.B., Curado, A.: Design of compact LoRa devices for smart building applications. In: Afonso, J., Monteiro, V., Pinto, J. (eds.) Green Energy and Networking. GreeNets 2018. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol. 269, pp. 142–153. Springer, Cham (2019). ISSN 1867-8211. https:// doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12950-7_12 20. Pereira, F., Lopes, S.I., Carvalho, N.B.: Design of a cost-effective multimodal IoT edge device for building occupancy estimation. In: IEEE International Smart Cities Conference (ISC2), Casablanca, Morocco 2019, pp. 122–128 (2019). https://doi. org/10.1109/ISC246665.2019.9071717
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21. Pereira, F., Lopes, S.I., Carvalho, N.B., Curado, A.: RnProbe: a LoRa-enabled IoT edge device for integrated radon risk management. IEEE Access 8, 203488–203502 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3036980 22. Abreu, A., Lopes, S.I., Manso, V., Curado, A.: Low-cost LoRa-based IoT edge device for indoor air quality management in schools. In: EAI Edge-IoT, EAI International Conference on Intelligent Edge Processing in the IoT Era, 2–4 December 2020. N/A, Cyberspace (2020)
A Testing Tool for IoT Systems Operating with Limited Network Connectivity Matej Klima and Miroslav Bures(B) Department of Computer Science, FEE, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czechia [email protected] http://still.felk.cvut.cz Abstract. For Internet of Things (IoT) systems operating in areas with limited network connectivity, reliable and safe functionality must be ensured. This can be done using special test cases which are examining system behavior in cases of network outage and restoration. These test cases have to be optimal when approached from the testing effort viewpoint. When approached from the process viewpoint, in the sense that a business process supported by a tested system might be affected by a network outage and restoration, test cases can be automatically generated using a suitable model-based testing (MBT) technique. This technique is currently available in the open freeware Oxygen MBT tool. In this paper, we explain the principle of the technique, a process model of the tested system that may be affected by limited network connectivity, and support for this specialized MBT technique on the Oxygen platform. Keywords: Internet of Things · Limited network connectivity Model-based testing · Test case generation
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Introduction
The reliability and security Internet of Things (IoT) systems operating in areas with limited network connectivity might be threatened by defects arising from the incorrect handling of network connectivity outages and restorations [8]. This is especially true for dynamic IoT systems, in which the connected devices move spatially. Examples of such systems are intelligent transport systems, smart cities, smart logistics systems, smart farms, dynamic sensor networks, or defense systems operating at sea or in uninhabited areas. Network coverage can be limited for various reasons. The system may operate in uninhabited or rural areas where network coverage is naturally weaker, or in urban areas where network connections can be interrupted (by tunnels, for example). Regardless of these possible network connectivity limits, an IoT system under test (SUT) must run consistently and be free of faults or interruptions owing to weak or broken network connections. In such a situation, the users might accept c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 570–576, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_54
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the deterministic temporary outage in SUT functionality when they are given proper feedback. However, the users are less likely to accept nondeterministic random behaviour of the system caused by network outages, which would lead to inconsistencies in data processing or critical defects, which can cause harm to the businesses supported by the SUT or even to the system operators or users. Hence, when network connectivity in an IoT system is interrupted and restored, this system must be systematically and effectively tested to ensure its functionality. In this paper, we describe a specialized MBT technique to design such test cases for processes in an IoT SUT that might be affected by limited network connectivity. This technique is currently implemented in the open freeware the Oxygen MBT tool, which is also introduced in this paper.
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Principle of the Technique
In testing the SUT functionality in a situation of possible limited network connectivity, we are principally interested in two situations. The first is an interruption of a network connection. In such a situation, we are interested in testing the following questions: (1) Will the system correctly inform the user (where relevant)? (2) If data are collected, are they stored in a cache, or are they lost? If they are stored in a cache, how long the cache can hold the collected data? (3) If a device or module of the system that is affected by a limited network connection accepts signals or commands from other devices or parts of the system, are these parts notified that the device or module is offline? (4) If the data or signals are processed in transactions, does the SUT maintain this transactional behavior when the network connection is interrupted? The second situation is the restoration of the network connection. Here, the following cases might be tested to verify the SUT behavior: (1) If relevant, is the SUT user or operator notified that the connectivity had been restored? (2) If a device or part of the SUT uses caching to overcome network connectivity outages, is the cached content correctly transmitted to the respective SUT parts? (3) Has the consistency of the stored data been maintained? (4) If there are cached transactions, are they finished correctly? Have the logical order or required timing of their steps been maintained? (5) Is the performance of the SUT not (unacceptably) affected by the return of the device or module to online mode? These examples may not be a complete list of situations that require testing in relation to limited network connections; additional situations may be relevant regarding the specific features of particular IoT systems. The principle of the test cases we are generating in the proposed technique is accurately simulating the situation of a network outage and its restoration. These test cases are generated optimally having maximal probability to detect the relevant defects for minimal testing costs. 2.1
Model of the Problem
In the proposed technique and its support in the Oxygen tool, we model the SUT functionality from a process viewpoint. The SUT model based on the
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Unified Modeling Language (UML) activity diagram simplified to a directed graph, which we illustrate in Fig. 1. The nodes of the graph represent actions, functions, or decision points of a process implemented in an SUT. The edges represent transitions in the modeling process. The decision point is a node with an outgoing degree larger than 1, whereas an action or function is a node with outgoing degree of 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the decision points are distinguished by a grey background.
Fig. 1. Model of the problem SUT process affected by limited network connectivity
The actions, functions, or decision points can be implemented in various connected devices of an IoT SUT, and some can be affected by limited network connectivity. To illustrate this fact, we set a network outage probability for each element of the model. As shown in Fig. 1, three subsystems cooperate. Subsystem 1 handles a process flow to subsystems 2 and 3. After the completion of the sub-processes in these subsystems, the process continues in subsystem 1. In the example, subsystem 3 can be affected by limited network connectivity, whereas subsystems 1 and 2 are connected to a stable network. To generate the test cases, we set a network outage probability threshold. The elements of the model having the network outage probability greater than this threshold form the limited connectivity zones (LCZs) in the model. In the example given in Fig. 1, only one LCZ is present, marked by red borderline of nodes; however, more LCZs can exist in the model. Each LCZ has a set of entry and exit nodes. An entry node represents an action, function or decision point in an SUT process in which the network connectivity is disrupted. An exit node represents an action, function, or decision point in an SUT process in which the network connectivity is restored. Through an entry node, the process flow can enter an LCZ; the process flow leaves an LCZ through an exit node. As shown in Fig. 1, the entry nodes are marked by a yellow background and the exit nodes by a blue background.
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Test Case and Test Coverage Criteria
Using the SUT process model described in the previous section, we can generate the test cases. Specifically, a test case is a path in the SUT model from the process start to any of its ends that tours an entry node and is followed later in the path by an exit node (i.e., a test case enters and exits an LCZ). One test case can visit more LCZs if they are present in the SUT model. In Fig. 1, a test case is depicted by the bold arrows and rectangles. The test case generation strategy implemented in the Oxygen module (see Sect. 3) generates a set of such test cases with the goal of minimizing the total number of steps. In this process, two test coverage levels are supported. In Each Border Node Once, each of the entry and exit nodes must be present at least once in the test cases. In All Combinations of Border Nodes, all possible pairs of entry nodes with exit nodes must be toured by the test cases. The latter test coverage level leads to a test set with a higher number of test steps, which also entails a potentially higher probability of detecting a defect.
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Tool Support: Oxygen Module
The presented MBT technique is implemented as a specialized module of the open freeware MBT platform Oxygen1 , developed and issued by our research group. The Oxygen platform was developed in Java and is available to use as an executable JAR file, requiring Java 1.8. The model of the SUT process that may be affected by limited network connectivity can be created in the Oxygen user interface (an example is given in Fig. 2). For each part of the model, the network outage probability can be defined and the LCZs can be visualized for a given network outage probability threshold (subgraph depicted in brown in Fig. 2). The entry and exit nodes of the LCZ are depicted by a light brown background. To generate the test cases, the user selects the test coverage criteria (see Sect. 2.2) from the dialogue, as well as network outage probability threshold, thereby forming the LCZs. To generate the test cases, the portfolio strategy composing of three algorithms is available in the project. These algorithms are: – Shortest Path Composition Algorithm that constructs the test cases, firstly, by searching for the shortest paths from the entry nodes to the exit nodes in the LCZs. Secondly, it constructs the proper test cases by creating the paths from the start node to one of the end nodes, using, if possible, the paths found in the previous step. – Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) Based Algorithm is the implementation of the original ACO algorithm, introduced by Dorigo [6]. Originating in the start node, the ants are exploring the model, preferring the paths made 1
http://still.felk.cvut.cz/download/oxygen-iot.zip.
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Fig. 2. Editor of SUT process in the Oxygen and visualization of LCZs.
of nodes that lead to the undiscovered LCZs. During this traversal, each ant leaves its pheromone behind, which attracts the other ants. The best path found by the ants is considered then as a test case. This process is executed repeatedly until the generated set of test cases doesn’t satisfy the coverage criterion. – Enforced Prime Paths Algorithm, which builds on the previous pathbased testing concepts. This algorithm creates a set of test requirements to satisfy the given test coverage criteria and then employs the matching-based prefix graph algorithm for prime paths search [9] to compose the test cases. The generated test cases appear in the left project tree and are saved with the project. When the user updates the SUT model, the previous test cases may become obsolete, which is illustrated in red in the project tree. The test cases can also be visualized in the SUT model (Fig. 2 shows an example of a pop-up window with the generated test cases in the bottom right corner of the screen and the test cases visualized in the model editor as bold nodes and edges). In addition, the test cases can be exported in open formats based on CSV, XML, and JSON and can be further imported to a test automation framework or to a test management tool, where they can be further elaborated to detailed tests. The Oxygen tool with the support of the technique described in this paper is freeware.
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Related Work and Discussion
The technique proposed in this paper is compared with the current path-based testing techniques. In this field, an SUT model is based on a directed graph [3]
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and several algorithms are available to generate the test cases [1–3,9]. However, no technique directly supports the requirements of our concept of limited network connectivity testing; specifically, that a particular node must be toured, and this node has to be followed by another exactly defined node later in the path [1]. This requirement, together with the goal of minimizing the test set, makes our proposed technique novel in the field. Indirectly, the problem can be solved using the test requirements concept. A test requirement is a path in the SUT model that must be present in the test cases [1,9]. To solve the problem using this approach, we can define a path across the LCZ from its entry node to its exit node as a test requirement. Thus, the algorithm generating the test cases as required in our technique can be built upon an algorithm generating the path-based test cases that accepts an SUT model and a set of test requirements. However, extensions for such an algorithm must be created. From alternative techniques to test the behaviour of an IoT SUT under limited connectivity, the current work is focused mainly on the network level; for instance [11,12]. In addition, such work spans from network reliability testing to quality of service assessments [10,12]. From this viewpoint, most work focuses on the reliability of the network itself, rather the systematic testing of higher levels of an SUT operating under limited network connectivity. From a conceptual viewpoint, the dynamic nature of the problem of possible limited network connectivity during SUT operation might point future research directions towards adding more agility to the approach as well. In this sense, dynamic construction of the SUT model and its subsequent combination with model-based test case generation, as successfully tried with web-based software systems [4,5,7], might be a perspective method as well in the IoT systems. Such an approach has to be examined further.
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In the paper, we present a module of the open freeware MBT platform Oxygen, which facilitates the generation of effective test cases for IoT systems operating with limited network connectivity. In the proposed technique, the SUT processes and models the points that may be affected by network outages, and the test cases are automatically generated. The proposed model is based on a directed graph and employs additional metadata regarding the probability of a network connectivity outage. Two test coverage criteria levels are supported in the current version of the technique, suitable for low-intensity tests and thorough high-intensity tests. High-intensity tests are resulting in a higher number of more prolonged test cases and are suitable for critical parts of SUT or functionality that repeat frequently. The proposed method, which focuses on a process-oriented view, can serve as a complement to the current network layer-focused techniques commonly operating on lower layers of an IoT system.
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Acknowledgements. This research is conducted as a part of the project TACR TH02010296 Quality Assurance System for the Internet of Things Technology. The authors acknowledge the support of the OP VVV funded project CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/ 16 019 /0000765 “Research Center for Informatics”.
References 1. Anand, S., Burke, E.K., Chen, T.Y., Clark, J., Cohen, M.B., Grieskamp, W., Harman, M., Harrold, M.J., Mcminn, P., Bertolino, A., et al.: An orchestrated survey of methodologies for automated software test case generation. J. Syst. Softw. 86(8), 1978–2001 (2013) 2. Arora, V., Bhatia, R., Singh, M.: Synthesizing test scenarios in UML activity diagram using a bio-inspired approach. Comput. Lang. Syst. Struct. 50, 1–19 (2017) 3. Bures, M., Ahmed, B.S.: Employment of multiple algorithms for optimal pathbased test selection strategy. Inf. Softw. Technol. 114, 21–36 (2019) 4. Bures, M., Filipsky, M.: Smartdriver: extension of selenium webdriver to create more efficient automated tests. In: 2016 6th International Conference on IT Convergence and Security (ICITCS), pp. 1–4. IEEE (2016) 5. Bures, M., Frajtak, K., Ahmed, B.S.: Tapir: automation support of exploratory testing using model reconstruction of the system under test. IEEE Trans. Reliab. 67(2), 557–580 (2018) 6. Dorigo, M.: Optimization, learning and natural algorithms. Ph.D. thesis, Politecnico di Milano (1992). https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10000136323/en/ 7. Frajtak, K., Bures, M., Jelinek, I.: Exploratory testing supported by automated reengineering of model of the system under test. Clust. Comput. 20(1), 855–865 (2017) 8. Kiruthika, J., Khaddaj, S.: Software quality issues and challenges of internet of things. In: 2015 14th International Symposium on Distributed Computing and Applications for Business Engineering and Science (DCABES), pp. 176–179. IEEE (2015) 9. Li, N., Li, F., Offutt, J.: Better algorithms to minimize the cost of test paths. In: 2012 IEEE Fifth International Conference on Software Testing, Verification and Validation, pp. 280–289. IEEE (2012) 10. Matz, A.P., Fernandez-Prieto, J.A., Birkel, U., et al.: A systematic analysis of narrowband IoT quality of service. Sensors 20(6), 1636 (2020) ˇ 11. Rudeˇs, H., Kosovi´c, I.N., Perkovi´c, T., Cagalj, M.: Towards reliable IoT: testing lora communication. In: 2018 26th International Conference on Software, Telecommunications and Computer Networks (SoftCOM), pp. 1–3. IEEE (2018) 12. White, G., Nallur, V., Clarke, S.: Quality of service approaches in IoT: a systematic mapping. J. Syst. Softw. 132, 186–203 (2017)
Design of an Interactive Mobile Platform to Assist Communities in Voluntary Cooperation to Counter the COVID-19 Outbreak Francisco L. de Caldas Filho(B) , Nayara Rossi Brito da Silva , Paulo H. F. C. Mendes , Leonardo de Oliveira Almeida , Andr´e Cavalcanti , Fabio Lucio Lopes de Mendon¸ca, and Rafael T. de Sousa Jr. Electrical Engineering Department, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil [email protected]
Abstract. The COVID-19 pandemic brought some challenges to humanity, such as the need to reduce the circulation of people while still meeting basic needs such as food, health care and education. People with commodities or who belong to risk groups needed to isolate themselves and the world saw several new technologies and business models being launched in a short time. This work, in line with the necessary innovations given the health crisis, but also striving for solidarity, proposes and demonstrates the functions of a free platform based on a mobile application that provides essential services for the population of risk groups. In addition, it also uses the moment to launch and encourage the consumption of services by the application that can speed up the orientation work and even increase the public safety of the university campus. This project was implemented at one University. Keywords: IoT
1
· Mobile · Voluntary aid · Panic button
Introduction
The world is currently facing the pandemic of the new coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19 [6]. The virus is capable of causing severe acute respiratory syndrome in humans. The outbreak began in the city of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province in China, on December 29, 2019 [16], followed by neighboring countries, such as Thailand with its first case dated on January 13, and the Japan on 16 January. On January 23, the first lockdown in the primary regions in the spread of the virus was declared, but on March 11, 2020 the WHO (World Health Organization) declared a worldwide pandemic of the virus. According to Johns Hopkins University, as of April 20, 2020 more than 2.4 million infected people and more than 170.000 deaths from the virus had been recorded in more than 205 countries, resulting in a varying mortality rate between 2% and 4% [18]. c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 577–588, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_55
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In South America, still according to [16], COVID-19 was first reported in Brazil, in the city of S˜ ao Paulo, on February 26, 2020. Since then Brazil has been standing out negatively in the proliferation of the virus and became the country in Latin America with the largest number of cases, approximately 43,079 until April 20, 2020. Studies [11] and [12] were made with data collected by the Ministry of Health to estimate how it would be the advance of considering that security and isolation measures were followed, and the conclusion shows that there would be an exponential growth in the infection curve in the country. Technology has played a key role in combating and preventing COVID-19. As shown in [14] and [5], in South Korea the government used its advanced information technologies to enable more assertive monitoring and detection of regions where the disease was most aggravated, preparing the execution of goals and decision making with better statistical support. For the general population, technology enables remote work, shopping, and even online medical consultations [1] which allows social isolation to become feasible, inform authorities if someone is sick, alerting thus responsible people who can offer help. All these conveniences and aids that technology offers are working as a support for thousands of people. In this sense, this work presents Amoris IoT Mobile App which is a mobile application that aims to support people during the effects of a pandemic. This document is divided into five sections, this being the Introduction. Next, Sect. 2 reviews some published concepts and articles that are relevant in the composition of this project, and then, Sect. 3 describes the project with its methodology and the applications developed. Subsequently, Sect. 4 presents the measurements and verification’s made with the execution of the project, and finally Sect. 5 presents our conclusions and future perspectives.
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Related Works
The COVID-19 pandemic has generated significant effects on the economy and collective health. The restrictive measurements of social isolation applied by several governments to reduce contamination of the virus extended the usage and importance of information technology (IT)’s solutions. This transformation is noticeable in business environments, specially in the development of embedded IT applications that provide knowledge about the proliferation of the virus. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic being a recent event, there has not yet been relevant offers of applications related to it. The ones that exist focus on the identification of contaminated people, as seen in [2]. Therefore, to base this study we selected works prior to the pandemic that relate to the features of our application. For example, [10] and [4] disclose the development of panic buttons, one of the features presented in this application. On the other hand, in [13], the team makes an analysis of telemedicine’s applications focused on diabetic patients and [19] presents a study was made about the concept and utility of solidarity networks. On the matter of purposes, [3] analyses data that support the fact social distancing reduces COVID-19 rates, strengthening the goals of this app.
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As mentioned above, most applications being released have similar objective as the one disclosed according to [2]. In the article the team explains the theory used to develop an application to issue a preliminary diagnosis of COVID-19 in an attempt to reduce the costs of the diagnosis and reduce the spread of the disease. Similarly, the present application intends to reduce the contamination by COVID-19, however it has no intention to issue a diagnosis, but to provide the community with resources that will prevent people from leaving their homes, consequently preventing the contamination. In [10], the mentioned emergency button was created using Arduino technology, GSM module and a GPS tracker. The objective of the study was to create an emergency button that was not dependent of a cellphone, therefore avoiding problems as lack of signal, battery, and reducing the time the user needs to trigger the panic function. In contrast to their work, our proposed application presents a panic button directly connected to the app, therefore being dependent of the mobile phone. Comparatively, [4] implemented a panic button as an application that sends an emergency message to a police station when triggered. The objective was to reduce assault against women. To trigger the button the user shakes their phone. The same is done in the present app, the difference being in the context. In our proposal the panic button was implemented to reduce violence in the campus, thus sending a message to the campus security and not the police. On the other hand, [13] analyze a telemedicine app that aids diabetic people. According to them, although the app is greatly accepted by the community and used to monitor the users health, it lacks in providing information about diabetes. Differently, the Amoris IoT Mobile App showcased in this article includes not only the features mentioned before to monitor someone’s health, as the user is able to report their symptoms, but it also has a informational feature, this way covering the education problem. In another article, [19] made a study about solidarity networks, and concluded that the member’s motivations to participate are moved by the reciprocity they experienced inside the network or by their own interests. Other values also influence the commitment of people: social responsibility, social justice and involvement with the public good. Smith’s [19] study was based on a case from twitter: an established social network that was accidentally used to create a solidarity network. Similarly, the Amoris IoT Mobile App aims to create a volunteer network, as one of the main features is the possibility for the user to volunteer services so risk group’s people can continue to quarantine. The difference being the present app is not a popular social network, the mentioned feature was created to unite people to volunteer, differently from Twitter which primal goal is to promote social contact. In [3] the researches analyses the behavior of COVID-19 contamination, concluding it decreased with the implementation of shelter-in-place orders. According to their data, the contamination decreased of 3% from six days of implementation, 4,5% from eleven days and 5,6% from sixteen days. Although the present article has no intention to compare the rates, the app has the intention to reduce contamination by also improving social isolation through the volunteer feature, making this data relevant to the purpose.
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In conclusion, Amoris IoT Mobile App shares features with previous works like the panic button feature [10] and [4], the novelty being the implementation of such features in the context of a global pandemic with a different purpose. Also, it is possible to see that, although there are other applications that monitor people’s health as in [13], our work improves it by presenting informational cards. Furthermore, the information collected by the app will aid the studies of the crisis, differently from them. Moreover, the volunteer feature allow the possible creation of a volunteer network in the community, similarly to what happened in [19], with the difference that it is not simply a consequence of a social contact, but the primary objective of the feature. This is where part of the novelty from the application. For the first time it is possible to use an cellphone app to organize a virtual network with the goal to aid in a global pandemic, reducing the number of the people exposed in the streets, therefore, according to [3] reducing contamination. Then, it is possible to see the difference between Amoris IoT Mobile App and other applications that are COVID-19 related such as [2]’s app because our project’s primary goal is to give to the community options to facilitate their routine during the pandemic.
3
Amoris IoT Mobile App
The Amoris IoT Mobile App platform was developed with the objective of meeting the urgent demands of the population detected during the pandemic, such as reducing the circulation of the elderly and people from risk groups, thus uniting users who need to be isolated with volunteers who can donate its time and specialized services such as medical and psychological assistance at a distance, making life easier for those who need to stay at home or have no means of getting around. The solidarity network can be maintained even after the end of the pandemic, facilitating the actions of people who are interested in continuing to provide voluntary services and when compared to other projects in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the main innovation brought by the Amoris IoT ecosystem is the combination of several services on the same platform and the possibility of its use in other epidemics or pandemics or even in scenarios where need for collaboration between its users. Figure 1 describes the platform components, which will be explained as it follows.
Fig. 1. Software components and architecture Amoris IoT Mobile App
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Amoris IoT Mobile App
The Amoris IoT Mobile App project seeks to offer support to students, teachers and administrative technical assistants at an university, made up of 53.000 people. To achieve that, the application allows users to have access to various services offered by volunteers and the institution and is divided into four main features; voluntary help, medical emergency, call for help and orientation. Each of these features will be described in this section and can be seen in Fig. 3a. For users to use the application they need to register, informing their personal data, agreeing to the terms of use and informing if they have any preexisting disease that characterizes them as being part of the risk group. 3.2
Voluntary Aid
Solidary aid is the space where the user can see the registered volunteers and the activities in which they can help, as shown in Fig. 3b When registering on the platform, the volunteers define which activities they want to help, which can be things like going to the supermarket or providing psychological support. For security reasons, only volunteers who are affiliated with the out university are accepted. According to [14], long periods of social isolation can increase levels of stress and anxiety, and distance care allows the individual to carry out the consultation without leaving the house, reducing the number of people who leave the house. The wide range of service options makes the application comprehensive for different audiences in different locations. An interesting point is the possibility for users to rate volunteers using stars to assign scores from 0 to 5, in addition to comments. 3.3
Medical Emergency
Aiming the prompt service of people who are showing symptoms of COVID-19, our application has developed a solution where the user can inform if they are feeling any serious symptoms and request emergency medical assistance. When triggering the help request, it will be forwarded to a Support Center, which has a panel for viewing and attending these events. This functionality allows teams of health professionals to identify requests for help, immediately contacting the user and viewing important information on the map (Fig. 2 and Fig. 4), such as travel time and distance between the center and the emergency person.
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Fig. 2. Maps with view of medical emergency
3.4
Help Requests
Aiming at situations where the routine returns to normal and in order to assist the campus community, a function (Fig. 3c) was developed in the App that allows users to request support from the campus security team, for emergency situations such as cases of violence on campus, or less critical situations such as accompanying students to the bus stop during off-peak hours. The application was developed to send an alert to a specialized central. This activation is done by shaking the cellphone quickly, this way, if the user is unable to handle the application, the security center can receive the alert and can send a team to the site to find out if there was a problem. This measure was implemented due to alarming numbers of more than 215 cases of thefts and robberies on the university campus in 2018. 3.5
Services API
The project was developed using a client-server architecture, where the client is the mobile device where the application is installed and the server is a REST API with its relational database, both hosted on cloud to provide high availability to users. The API, developed with NodeJS [15], uses the MVC (Model-ViewController) [8] pattern, since all interfaces, or Views, are contained in the mobile application. The API is responsible for providing the endpoints/routes to be consumed by the application, the application of business rules (Controller) and persistence of the information collected in the database (Model). The endpoints are separated according to the system entity they are related to. For each of these entities there is a series of standard operations invoked by each endpoint
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(a) Initial screen for the Amoris IoT Mobile App
(b) Screen for visualization of the volunteers
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(c) App screen with instructions to activate the help request
Fig. 3. App screens
Fig. 4. List of Help Assists including the telephone number and users’ localization
that, in general, are related to the so-called CRUD (CREATE-READ-UPDATEDELETE) [9]. The entities of the system are: – User: It aggregates all operations, business rules and system user data. It has five endpoints used to register new users, update data, read the table of users or a specific user, login and password recovery. – Volunteer: User who signs up as a volunteer and is registered to provide assistance in the most diverse activities. It has endpoints responsible for creating, reading and updating volunteer data. The latter is widely used mainly in cases where the volunteer claims to have COVID-19 symptoms, updating his health status, or when he simply wants to leave the list of volunteers, other endpoints are used to rate and comment on a volunteer.
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– Health Aid: this entity is linked to requests for health problems and has two endpoints, one for receiving help requests triggered by users containing their data such as name, phone and geographical position (GPS) and another for consulting these requests and delivery them to the command and control center. – Security Aid: Very similar to health aid has two endpoints, one for receiving help requests and the other for delivering them to the command and control center. 3.6
Command and Control Center
The Command and Control Center developed in this system allows the separate visualization of public health events with the generated alerts related to security issues in the campus. Through the control of profiles it is possible to create visualizations for the teams that will act in the medical aid and with the teams that will visualize and treat medical safety events. The visualization of the events can be done on a map of the Distrito Federal, using the Google API and allowing the monitoring team to have an accurate view of where the request was made. When making a distress call, the location provided by the Cellular Phone is used, with an accuracy of up to 4.9 m [17] allowing to identify where the request for assistance is coming from. To facilitate control there is an event panel (Fig. 4), that shows the list of all calls received or analyze the deal that was given. 3.7
Student Orientation
A user who is a student or professor at the university can also make use of the orientation functionality. Students can express their academic concerns according to the department in the area in question. Teachers have access to student calls through a line of guidelines, all final interaction between the student and the teacher is done via email. 3.8
Orientation Cards
The Orientation Cards session on this app was created due to the necessity to spread reliable information about COVID-19. This session is made of informative cards containing both text information and their respective illustration, each card gives a piece of information about the disease’s symptoms and measures to avoid it.
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Tests and Results
The ecosystem of this project has a mobile application as a client that can generate help requests that are delivered to the REST API on a remote server that makes data persist in an SQL database and provides specific endpoints for the command and control center. Some tests were developed, applied to requests
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for medical help and personal help, to measure the delay between the sending of a request by the user and the receipt of it by the command and control center. Twenty requests were made for each type of request, as shown in Table 1 and in Fig. 5a. Table 1. Delay between requesting help and presenting it to the command and control center n (ms)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Medical 497 487 605 339 337 337 502 342 343 505 510 344 366 505 341 346 479 331 512 342 Security 509 484 483 479 507 355 344 358 467 331 522 470 330 334 328 468 327 328 499 340
To calculate the total delay of each request, a sum was used in each request that aggregates the time that the request took to leave the client mobile device until it is persisted in the database and the response time between the request to list the requests made by command and control center until the data on screen is rendered. The result of the sum was considered as the total time for each request because it is the exact time between the submission of a request for help and the availability of this request to the command and control center (ttotal = tmobile−to−server + tserver−to−c.c.center ).
(a)
(b)
Fig. 5. Server responses performance: a) Server response time in milliseconds for each mobile request. b) Maximum, average and minimum response time in milliseconds for each service
With the results presented, some statistical metrics were applied to deliver a better visualization of the values found, as can be seen in Table 2 which shows the maximum, minimum and average delay (t in ms) and third quartile calculated
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Table 2. Statistical summary of delays: maximum, minimum, average and third quartile Medical help (ms) Security help (ms) tmax
605
522
tmin
331
327
tmean 410
403
Q3
470
502
from Table 1. The results presented show that a request took on average time between 403 ms and 410 ms to leave the client application and be rendered on the command and control center screen, and in the worst case it reached values between 522 ms and 605 ms, as can see in Fig. 5b. The values found show that the applications completely viable from the point of view of response time due to the fact that it presents delays that can be considered low.
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Conclusion and Future Works
The development of this article contributed to the creation of a mobile application, with a prominent role in combating COVID-19. It offers features such as requests for medical care, formation of a supportive network and a panic button for university students, this combination of features in the same platform being its main innovation when compared to other solutions developed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the creation of the solution, tests have been done that could identify the time required to send medical request and help request. From the analysis of the results the effectiveness of the tool has been confirmed for medical assistance and attendance of public health cases. Other finding is due to the utilization of the embedded system for use on security field. The application is available at Play Store for download and the technical team continues to carry out review procedures and performance improvement, as well as realizing studies for the development of incremental innovations, based on users’ experiences, and it is important to highlight that the project presented in this article is a prototype that, after its validation, will undergo the necessary changes so that it can fully comply with the general data protection law. Acknowledgment. This work was supported in part by CNPq - Brazilian National Research Council, under Grant 312180/2019-5 PQ-2, Grant BRICS2017-591 LargEWiN, and Grant 465741/2014-2 INCT on Cybersecurity, in part by CAPES - Brazilian Higher Education Personnel Improvement Coordination, under Grant 23038.007604/2014-69 FORTE and Grant 88887.144009/2017-00 PROBRAL, in part by FAP-DF - Brazilian Federal District Research Support Foundation, under Grant 0193.001366/2016 UIoT and Grant 0193.001365/2016 SSDDC, in part by the Brazilian Ministry of the Economy under Grant 005/2016 DIPLA and Grant 083/2016 ENAP, in part by the Institutional Security Office of the Presidency of Brazil under Grant
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ABIN 002/2017, in part by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense under Grant CADE 08700.000047/2019-14, and in part by the General Attorney of the Union under Grant AGU 697.935/2019.
References 1. Ghosh, A., Gupta, R., Misra, A.: Telemedicine for diabetes care in India during COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown period: guidelines for physicians. Diab. Metab. Syndr.: Clin.Res. Rev. 14(4), 273–276 (2020) 2. Imran, A., Posokhova, I., Qureshi, H.N., Masood, U., Riaz, S., Ali, K., John, C.N., Hussain, I., Nabeel, M.: AI4COVID-19: AI enabledpreliminary diagnosis for COVID-19 from cough samples via an app. Inf. Med. Unlocked (2020). https:// doi.org/10.1111/jcc4.12194 3. Courtemanche, C., Garuccio, J., Le, A., Pinkston, J., Yelowitz, A.: Strong social distancing measures in the united states reduced the COVID-19 growth rate. Health Aff. 39(7) (2020). https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00608 4. Chand, D., Nayak, S., Bhat, K.S., Parikh, S., Singh, Y., Kamath, A.A.: A mobile application for Women’s Safety: WoSApp. In: TENCON 2015 - 2015 IEEE Region 10 Conference (2015). https://doi.org/10.1109/TENCON.2015.7373171 5. Ting, D.S.W., Carin, L., Dzau, V., Wong, T.Y.: Digital technology and COVID-19. Nat. Med. 26(4), 459–461 (2020) 6. Li, G., Fan, Y., Lai, Y., Han, T., Li, Z., Zhou, P., Pan, P., Wang, W., Hu, D., Liu, X., et al.: Coronavirus infections and immune responses. J. Med. Virol. 92(4), 424–432 (2020) 7. Leite, H., Hodgkinson, I.R., Gruber, T.: New development: ‘Healing at a distance’– telemedicine and COVID-19. Public Money Manag. 40(6), 483–485 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2020.1748855 8. Lucassen, J.M., Maes, S.H.: MVC (model-view-controller) based multi-modal authoring tool and development environment, US Patent 7,900,186, 1 March 2011 9. Rauf, L., Porres, I.: Beyond CRUD. In: REST: From Research to Practice, pp. 117–135. Springer, Heidelberg (2011) 10. Majumdar, N., Bhargava, P., Shirin, R.K.: Emergency panic button using microcontrollers. Int. J. Comput. Appl. 99(9) (2014). https://doi.org/10.5120/173987955 11. Crokidakis, N.: Modeling the early evolution of the COVID-19 in Brazil: Results from a susceptible–infectious–quarantined–recovered (SIQR) model. Int. J. Mod. Phys. C 2050135 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1142/S0129183120501351 12. Bastos, S.B., Cajueiro, D.O.: Modeling and forecasting theearly evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. arXiv preprint arXiv:2003.14288 (2020) 13. Goyal, S., Cafazzo, J.: Mobile phone health apps for diabetes management: current evidence and future developments. QJM: Int. J. Med. 106(12), 1067–1069 (2013). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3840330/pdf/hct203.pdf 14. Park, S., Choi, G.J., Ko, H.: Information technology-based tracing strategy in response to COVID-19 in South Korea-privacy controversies. JAMA 323(21), 2129–2130 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.6602 15. Tilkov, S., Vinoski, S.: Node.js: using Javascript to build high-performance network programs. IEEE Internet Comput. 14(6), 800–83 (2010)
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16. Acter, T., Uddin, N., Das, J., Akhter, A., Choudhury, T.R., Kim, S.: Evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: a global healthemergency. Sci. Total Environ. 730 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138996 17. USGOV: GPS Accuracy U.S. Government (2020). https://www.gps.gov/systems/ gps/performance/accuracy/ 18. WSJ: Is the coronavirus as deadly as they say? (2020). https://www.wsj.com/ amp/articles/is-the-coronavirus-as-deadly-as-they-say-11585088464 19. Theocharis, Y., Vitoratou, S., Sajuria, J.: Civil society in times of crisis: understanding collective action dynamics in digitally-enabled volunteer networks. J. Comput.-Mediat. Commun. 22(5), 248–265 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1111/jcc4. 12194
Hyper-Parameter Tuning of Classification and Regression Trees for Software Effort Estimation Leonardo Villalobos-Arias(B) , Christian Quesada-L´ opez, Alexandra Mart´ınez, and Marcelo Jenkins Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica {leonardo.villalobosarias,cristian.quesadalopez, alexandra.martinez,marcelo.jenkins}@ucr.ac.cr
Abstract. Classification and regression trees (CART) have been reported to be competitive machine learning algorithms for software effort estimation. In this work, we analyze the impact of hyper-parameter tuning on the accuracy and stability of CART using the grid search, random search, and DODGE approaches. We compared the results of CART with support vector regression (SVR) and ridge regression (RR) models. Results show that tuning improves the performance of CART models up to a maximum of 0.153 standardized accuracy and reduce its stability radio to a minimum of 0.819. Also, CART proved to be as competitive as SVR and outperformed RR. Keywords: Software effort estimation ISBSG
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Introduction
Machine learning (ML) has been studied for many years to increase the accuracy of software effort estimations (SEE) [8]. Hyper-parameter tuning is the process of exploring and selecting the optimal ML hyper-parameters, and it is considered a crucial step for building accurate SEE models [28]. Automated hyper-parameter tuning approaches have been evaluated in SEE to improve model performance, but they come at a computational cost. For example, grid search exhaustively executes all possibilities in a search space, hence poorly scales to larger search spaces [4] and requires a large amount of resources [28]. Recent research has endorsed faster tuners that can find good (or even optimal) hyper-parameter values [1,27], such as random search and DODGE. Random search selects and evaluates random samples from a large search space [4]. DODGE stores previously visited hyper-parameter values on a tree, selecting the most promising branches for further exploration [1]. Classification and regression trees (CART) has been shown to be competitive ML algorithms for SEE, which can handle heterogeneous project data [15]. c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 589–598, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_56
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CART can also outperform other machine learning techniques such as regression, multilayer perceptron and case based reasoning models [16]. Previous studies have analyzed the impact of hyper-parameter tuning on the accuracy of CART and have reported promising results [27]. In this paper, we analyze the impact of hyper-parameter tuning on the accuracy and stability of CART. In a previous work, we evaluated the impact of grid search and random search hyper-parameter tuners in support vector regression (SVR) and ridge regression (RR) models using the ISBSG 2018 R1 dataset [25]. This paper extends our previous work by including the DODGE tuner and CART model. We compare the impact of the these hyper-parameter tuning algorithms and learning models on four subsets of the ISBSG 2018 R1 dataset. This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents related work and Sect. 3 presents the study design. Section 4 details the results and Sect. 5 presents the conclusions.
2
Related Work
Minku [15] proposed and evaluated an online SEE hyper-parameter tuning and clustering approach, including both regression trees and random forest. The OIL tuning architecture was presented by Xia et al. [27] to evaluate 3 tuners applied to CART and k-nearest neighbors (KNN). Azzeh [3] investigates the Bee’s algorithm to find high-performing parameter values for regression trees. Song et al. [21] compare the performance of default, best and worst hyperparameters for CART and other learners. Ertu˘ grul et al. [9] compared 9 different grid search tuned SEE models and showed that CART achieved the lowest mean average error. Huang et al. [12] show that the use of data pre-processing techniques combined with CART should go through a careful selection process. Hyper-parameter tuned CART models have been researched in other contexts. The defect prediction studies by Tantithamthavorn et al. [24] evaluate grid search tuned models for improving prediction accuracy and stability, as well as the computational cost of hyper-parameter tuning. Fu et al. [10] employ the differential evolution tuner with CART for defect prediction, showing that tuning can change previously reported rankings of ML. The DODGE tuning tool by Agrawal et al. [1] improves on exhaustive approaches by avoiding redundant hyper-parameter settings, running orders of magnitude faster, and generating more accurate models.
3
Experimental Design
The main objective of this study was to evaluate to what extent does hyperparameter tuning impact the accuracy and stability of classification and regression trees (CART) in the context of SEE. This study extends our previous work [25] using the DODGE algorithm and the CART learner. To meet this objective, the following research questions were posed:
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RQ1. What is the impact of hyper-parameter tuning on the accuracy and stability of CART models? RQ2. How competitive are CART models compared to the SVR and RR models? Dataset. We used the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group (ISBSG) Development & Enhancement 2018 Repository Release 1. The dataset was pre-processed following the guidelines stated in [25]. We selected projects that (a) have A or B of quality, and have function point quality A or B for IFPUG [8,11], (b) recorded effort that accounts only for the development team, (c) are new development projects, and (d) were measured with COSMIC or IFPUG 4+ approaches [17]. We split the data into subsets by their function point measure unit (IFPUG 4+ and COSMIC) and generate two datasets: one using base functional components (BFC) and one using the total function points (FP). Thus, the study used four datasets: IFPUG 4+ UFP, IFPUG 4+ BFC, COSMIC FFP, and COSMIC BFC. Feature selection criteria were applied independently for each subset, based on the protocol of Dejaeger et al. [8] and recommendations detailed in Gonz´ alezLadr´ on-de-Guevara et al. [11]. We kept only those features that (a) are relevant for effort estimation, (b) are not redundant with other features, (c) are available at the time of estimation, and (d) have less than 25% missing values. The final dataset description and selected features are available in [25]. Machine Learning Model Evaluation. In order to evaluate the machine learning models, two validation approaches were used. The first validation approach was a hold-out set, where 90% of the data was used for model construction and evaluation, and the remaining 10% was used as a test set. The accuracy metrics presented in this study were obtained from training and evaluating the models in the 90% partition. A second validation approach was used on the 90% selected data to construct the models. We validated the performance of the investigated SEE approaches through 10 times 10-fold Cross-Validation (CV), based on recent work by Song et al. [22,23] to avoid high variance problems that may rise from using leave-one-out in the smaller (i.e. COSMIC) datasets. The accuracy metrics were calculated for each validation fold. The test set (10%) is used to corroborate the results reported in this study. Experimental Framework. Our framework was built using Python 3.7 and the scikit-learn library [25]. Our DODGE algorithm implementation is based on the work of Agrawal et al. [1] adapted to the scikit-learn tuning interface. Machine Learning Techniques. We constructed the SEE models by combining the following techniques: the logarithmic (Log) [7] data transformation (DT), and 3 ML algorithms, classification and regression trees (CART) [6], support vector regression (SVR) [26] and ridge regression (RR) [8]. Models were also
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L. Villalobos-Arias et al. Table 1. Hyper-parameter values.
Model
Hyper-parameters and their values
CART
min samples leaf = {1, 2, 3, ..., 20}; min impurity decrease = (10x , x = {−5, −4.5, −4, ..., 0}); max depth = {1, 2, 3, ..., 20}
SVR
kernel = {rbf, sigmoid}; γ = (10x , x = {−3, −2.5, −2, ..., −0.5}); auto, scale; C = 1, 5, 15, 30, {50, 100, ... , 450}, {500, 1000, ... , 15000}; = 10x , x = {−3, −2.5, −2, ..., −0.5}
RR
α = 1, {5, 10, ..., 45}, {50, 75, ..., 500}
VT+RR threshold = 0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5; parameters from RR CP+RR percentile = {10, 20, 30, ... , 90}; parameters from RR
constructed using no data transformation. For model tuning, we used 3 hyperparameter tuning (PT) approaches: random search (RS) [4], grid search (GS) [5], and DODGE (DG) [1]. Models were also build using default parameters. For ridge regression, 2 feature selection (FS) methods were used: variance threshold (VT) [2] and correlation percentile (CP) [19]. SVR and CART were evaluated using these feature selectors, but they did not provide significant differences in accuracy and were not reported. A total of forty models were compared, product of the 4 hyper-parameter tunings (3 techniques + default), 2 data transformations (Log + None), and 5 ML models (CART, SVR, RR, VT+RR, CP+RR). Hyper-Parameter Values. The hyper-parameter values researched in this study are shown in Table 1. These values were selected from existing recommendations in the literature [14,22,25]. For the DODGE hyper-parameter tuning, the range of values used for numerical features corresponds with the minimum and maximum values of the search space. The default hyper-parameters are those specified by the scikit-learn library, and are included in the hyper-parameter search space. In total, an exhaustive approach like grid search would explore 4,851 hyper-parameter combinations for CART, 4,128 for SVR, 29 for RR, 232 for VT+RR, and 261 for CP+RR. In contrast, the Random and Dodge tuners were configured to explore a maximum of 60 hyper-parameter settings. Evaluation Metrics. We measured the accuracy of SEE models using absolute residual (i.e., the absolute difference between the predicted and actual effort values) metrics: the median absolute residual (M dAR) and the standardized accuracy (SA) [20]. We measured the improvement on accuracy (with respect to default parameters) using the improvement ratio (imp) [24]. To measure the stability of the tuned approaches, we employed the stability ratio [24] based on the standard deviation of the absolute residual (SdAR). M dAR and SdAR are respectively obtained by calculating the median and standard deviation of the absolute residuals. We use the version of SA by Minku [15], using the random estimation baseline model M dARp0 recommended by Langdon et al. [13].
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593
Threats to Validity
Internal validity: The accuracy of the constructed models is measured in standardized accuracy using a baseline model [13]. We employed 10 times 10-fold cross-validation to calculate these metrics. Construct validity: To mitigate the ISBSG dataset variability, we selected only those projects with high data quality rating. The search space for the hyper-parameter tuning techniques was selected based on previous literature [14,22,25]. Missing value imputation introduces some threats to construct validity. External validity: This study covers only the ISBSG 2018 Release 1 dataset. The results of this study cannot be generalized to other datasets, projects, or the software development industry. Conclusion validity: We use one hundred cross-validation iterations to provide enough experimental runs and measurements. We employed the Scott-Knott algorithm to quantify whether tuning had an effect on the accuracy and stability.
4
Results
Table 2 shows the improvement and stability ratio of tuned models with respect to default parameters. The background color indicates the ranking determined by the Scott-Knott analysis [18]. Results are presented for each model, data transformation, hyper-parameter tuning approach, and dataset. To determine if tuning impacted the accuracy and stability, we ranked all constructed models using the Scott-Knott algorithm. This method uses a hierarchical clustering algorithm to partition the treatments into equivalent groups. The Scott-Knott analysis was performed for once for each dataset, assigning each model and tuner a rank. The analysis was performed separately on the accuracy (SA) and stability (SdAR) achieved by the models. The Box-Cox transformation was used on these metrics before the analysis, as Scott-Knott requires its input to follow a normal distribution. 4.1
Impact of Tuning on Accuracy and Stability
Accuracy. For CART models, grid search increased the median accuracy by up to 0.143 SA, random search by up to 0.153 SA, and DODGE by up to 0.141 SA. The three tuning approaches provided a similar increase in SA, the largest difference in performance being around 0.038 SA for CART and 0.012 for Log+CART. The statistical analysis shows that the three tuning approaches have performance above default parameters, and have equivalent improvement ratios when applied on CART. Moreover, tuned CART models were classified as the top-performing models on the COSMIC FFP dataset. We can thus determine that studied hyper-parameter tuners similarly improve the accuracy of CART. For SVR models, grid search increased the median accuracy by up to 0.223 SA, random search by up to 0.227 SA, and DODGE by up to 0.228 SA. The Scott-Knott analysis determined that DG+SVR performs equally to default
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L. Villalobos-Arias et al. Table 2. Median improvement ratio and stability ratio of tuned models. Rank 1
Rank 2
Rank 3
Rank 4
Rank 5
Rank 6
Rank 7
Rank 8
Rank 9
Model
Tuning
improvement ratio (RQ1) COSMIC IFPUG 4+ BFC FFP BFC UFP
CART
DG RS GS
0.141 0.136 0.121
0.115 0.153 0.138
0.088 0.071 0.103
0.107 0.100 0.105
0.883 0.893 0.917
0.954 0.899 0.901
0.916 0.935 0.934
0.819 0.838 0.882
Log+CART
DG RS GS
0.136 0.145 0.143
0.104 0.111 0.114
0.085 0.097 0.092
0.089 0.097 0.101
0.867 0.890 0.898
0.964 0.919 0.908
0.862 0.862 0.824
0.827 0.862 0.875
SVR
DG RS GS
0.045 0.099 0.102
0.000 0.113 0.092
0.000 0.088 0.105
0.000 0.140 0.156
0.998 1.004 1.002
0.997 0.840 0.885
1.000 0.958 0.958
1.000 0.877 0.864
Log+SVR
DG RS GS
0.084 0.129 0.128
0.163 0.180 0.171
0.159 0.166 0.177
0.228 0.227 0.223
0.978 0.986 0.984
0.829 0.842 0.845
0.911 0.911 0.922
0.850 0.915 0.909
RR
DG RS GS
0.000 0.000 0.000
0.191 0.177 0.177
-0.012 0.000 0.000
0.097 0.064 0.064
1.000 1.000 1.000
0.990 0.971 0.971
1.033 1.000 1.000
1.007 1.006 1.006
Log+RR
DG RS GS
0.000 0.005 0.005
0.184 0.183 0.183
0.000 0.000 0.000
0.091 0.104 0.104
1.000 0.997 0.997
0.904 0.880 0.880
1.000 1.000 1.000
1.010 1.018 1.018
CP+RR
DG RS GS
0.003 0.047 0.018
0.120 0.081 0.083
0.000 -0.041 0.000
0.000 -0.045 0.000
0.998 0.981 0.980
1.006 0.996 0.996
1.000 1.000 1.000
1.000 1.000 1.000
DG Log+CP+RR RS GS
0.000 0.036 0.040
0.000 0.014 0.001
0.000 0.000 -0.014
0.000 -0.012 -0.002
0.993 0.980 0.988
1.000 0.998 1.000
1.000 0.999 0.999
1.000 1.001 1.000
DG RS GS
0.000 -0.012 0.000
0.169 0.165 0.160
0.000 0.002 0.000
0.114 0.113 0.108
1.000 0.999 1.000
0.980 0.971 0.968
1.053 1.040 1.005
1.026 1.010 1.009
DG Log+VT+RR RS GS
0.000 0.005 0.007
0.089 0.152 0.158
0.000 0.000 0.000
0.158 0.091 0.093
1.000 0.988 0.985
0.905 0.892 0.899
1.000 1.000 1.000
1.039 1.024 1.023
VT+RR
stability ratio (RQ2) COSMIC IFPUG 4+ BFC FFP BFC UFP
SVR. The remaining tuners had significantly different SA from default parameters, consistently obtaining the second-highest rank among all methods. In the Log+SVR model, the three tuners were both above default parameters and had similar performance (excepting DG+Log+SVR on COSMIC BFC). Moreover, the three models obtained the top rank across all datasets. For RR models, grid search increased the median accuracy by up to 0.183 SA, random search by up to 0.183 SA, and DODGE by up to 0.191 SA. The impact of tuning depended on the type of dataset and model. Tuning never improved the performance of CP+RR (except in IFPUG 4+ UFP) and Log+CP+RR. Tuning improved accuracy of all other RR models in full function point datasets, but it was not effective in BFC datasets.
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Stability. For CART models, grid search achieved a median stability ratio of 0.825, random search of 0.838, and DODGE of 0.819. The statistical analysis shows that the three tuning approaches have less deviation than default parameters, and have equivalent stability ratios when applied on CART. The DODGE approach provided the lowest stability ratio on several datasets (5 out of 8). We can thus determine that the studied hyper-parameter tuners improve the stability of CART. For SVR models, grid search achieved a median stability ratio of 0.845, random search of 0.840, and DODGE of 0.829. The Scott-Knott analysis determined that GS+SVR, RS+SVR, and DG+SVR are not different from default SVR in the COSMIC BFC dataset. In addition, DODGE had stability equal to default parameters in IFPUG 4+ datasets. In the Log+SVR model, the three tuners were both more stable than default parameters and achieved similar ratios. For RR models, grid search achieved a median stability ratio of 0.880, random search of 0.840, and DODGE of 0.904. The three tuning approaches were similar with respect to the level of stability they provide. Tuning did not improve stability on the IFPUG 4+ datasets, nor for the CP+RR and Log+CP+RR models. 4.2
Ranking of SEE Models
Figure 1 shows the distribution of ranks of each SEE model researched in this study. The models are grouped based on the results of a second Scott-Knott analysis. The first group consists of all tuned (Log+)CART models, and all tuned (Log+)SVR models except DG+SVR. The second group consists of DG+SVR, untuned (Log+)SVR, and untuned (Log+)CART. The third group is comprised of all RR models. Two models rank first across all datasets: RS+Log+SVR, and GS+Log+SVR. The DG+Log+SVR model ranked first in all but one dataset.
Fig. 1. Scott-Knott rankings across the studied datasets.
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In general terms, tuned SVR and CART outperformed untuned SVR and CART models, which in turn ranked above ridge regression. Tuned CART and SVR models provide similar results, but vary depending on the dataset. In the case of RR models, parameter tuning does not greatly affect their overall performance. However, the log transformation does appear to reduce the performance of RR models. The best models were a combination of tuning, log transformation and the SVR model. 4.3
Discussion
The results confirm previous reports in SEE literature that state that hyperparameter tuning improves the accuracy of machine learning models. These techniques have shown to either maintain or improve model stability, as in [25]. The three tuning approaches provided equivalent increases in accuracy (33 out of 40) and stability (31 out of 40), but their use of resources was different. Random search and DODGE explored a total of 60 different hyper-parameter values. This exploration requires training and testing a model to measure the performance of the hyper-parameters. On the other hand, grid search explored a much higher amount of parameter values: 4851 for CART, 4128 for GS, 242 for VT+RR, and 261 for CP+RR. This amounted to a higher requirement of computational resources and time for grid search to obtain results that are similar to the simple, faster approaches. Our recommendation for researchers is to favor simple but effective tuners as DODGE and random search when constructing SEE models for CART and SVR on datasets similar to ISBSG. Further comparisons using other ML algorithms and datasets are necessary to make this statement more general. The effect of tuning depended on whether the estimation used total function points or the basic functional components. CART and SVR models had better prediction when using BFC for COSMIC, and when using UFP for IFPUG 4+. This shows that there is potential in performing SEE using basic functional components instead of function point totals. There are some combinations of techniques that increase effectiveness. For example, using the logarithm transformation increased the accuracy and stability of SVR, but had mostly no effect on CART. Moreover, applying the Log transformation decreased the accuracy of ridge regression models, regardless of tuning or feature selection. In the case of ridge regression, feature selection provided improvements when used in combination with tuning. Although RR models are less accurate than CART or SVR, they have the advantage of being more stable.
5
Conclusion
In this study, we evaluated the impact of hyper-parameter tuning when applied to classification and regression trees. We evaluated three different hyperparameter tuning approaches—grid search, random search, and DODGE. Tuned CART models were also compared against similarly tuned SVR and ridge regression models. The models were evaluated on their ability to estimate development effort on 4 sub sets derived from the ISBSG 2018 Release 1 dataset.
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The main finding of this study was that all of the hyper-parameter tuning approaches improved the accuracy of CART and SVR models. Moreover, the three tuning approaches provided similar increases to accuracy, even though they used different amounts of resources (i.e. 4,851 in GS+CART against 60 in RS+CART and DG+CART). The stability of CART and SVR models increased when using tuning approaches. SEE practitioners or researchers could employ a non-exhaustive tuning approach and obtain improvements in accuracy using less computational resources. Of all the studied models, the combination of tuning, Log transformation, and SVR was the most accurate for predicting software effort in the studied dataset. Future extensions of this study would explore datasets commonly used in SEE studies, as well as incorporate further machine learning algorithms, feature selectors, data transformations, hyper-parameter tuners, and the tuned hyperparameters. Lastly, there is potential in researching the parameter values of hyper-parameter approaches, such as the parameter of DODGE, and their effect in the accuracy of the models. Acknowledgments. This work was supported by project No. 834-B8-A27 at the University of Costa Rica (ECCI-CITIC).
References 1. Agrawal, A., Yang, X., Agrawal, R., Shen, X., Menzies, T.: Simpler hyperparameter optimization for software analytics: why, how, when? arXiv preprint arXiv:2008.07334 (2020) 2. Albon, C.: Machine Learning with Python Cookbook: Practical Solutions from Preprocessing to Deep Learning. O’Reilly Media, Inc., Newton (2018) 3. Azzeh, M.: Software effort estimation based on optimized model tree. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Predictive Models in Software Engineering, pp. 1–8 (2011) 4. Bergstra, J., Bengio, Y.: Random search for hyper-parameter optimization. J. Mach. Learn. Res. 13(Feb), 281–305 (2012) 5. Bergstra, J.S., Bardenet, R., Bengio, Y., K´egl, B.: Algorithms for hyper-parameter optimization. In: Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems, pp. 2546– 2554 (2011) 6. Breiman, L., Friedman, J., Stone, C.J., Olshen, R.A.: Classification and Regression Trees. CRC Press, Boca Raton (1984) 7. Corazza, A., Di Martino, S., Ferrucci, F., Gravino, C., Sarro, F., Mendes, E.: How effective is tabu search to configure support vector regression for effort estimation? In: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Predictive Models in Software Engineering, pp. 1–10 (2010) 8. Dejaeger, K., Verbeke, W., Martens, D., Baesens, B.: Data mining techniques for software effort estimation: a comparative study. IEEE Trans. Software Eng. 38(2), 375–397 (2011) ¨ 9. Ertu˘ grul, E., Baytar, Z., C ¸ atal, C ¸ ., Muratli, O.C.: Performance tuning for machine learning-based software development effort prediction models. Turkish J. Electr. Eng. Comput. Sci. 27(2), 1308–1324 (2019)
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Enabling Buildings’ Comfort Using Context-Aware Technologies: A Systematic Review of the Literature Ana Isabel Martins1 , Ana Carolina Oliveira Lima2 , Paulo Bartolomeu2 Lucilene Ferreira Mouzinho2 , Joaquim Ferreira3 , and Nelson Pacheco Rocha4(B)
,
1 Institute of Electronics and Informatics Engineering of Aveiro, Department of Electronics,
Telecommunications and Informatics, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal [email protected] 2 Institute of Telecommunications, Department of Electronic, Telecommunications and Informatics, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal {ana.carolina.lima,bartolomeu,lucileneferreira}@ua.pt 3 Institute of Telecommunications, Higher School of Technology and Management of Águeda, Águeda, Portugal [email protected] 4 Institute of Electronics and Informatics Engineering of Aveiro, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal [email protected]
Abstract. In the study reported by this paper a systematic review was performed to identify relevant applications supported by context-aware technologies with impact in the comfort of the buildings’ occupants. Sixteen studies presenting context-aware systems with diverse aims were retrieved: visual comfort (six articles); thermal comfort (three articles); and multiple perspective comfort (seven articles). The context-aware components are diverse and include a broad range of sensing devices (i.e., to collect the identity, location and activity of the occupants and the environment conditions), reasoning mechanisms, and devices to generate proper reactions to optimize the buildings’ comfort. Keywords: Systematic literature review · Occupants’ comfort · Context-aware
1 Introduction Although buildings consume a significant amount of natural resources [1, 2] to maintain comfortable indoor environments, the occupants’ satisfaction remains low [3]. One reason is that comfort systems are often designed to expose occupants to uniform environment conditions, which can be uncomfortable and have negative consequences in terms of health and well-being conditions [3]. For instance, long term exposure to uniform thermal environments has been linked to adverse effects on metabolic health and increased risk of cardiovascular diseases [3]. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 599–608, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_57
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Performing continuous monitoring of the environment and maintaining specific conditions are not enough to ensure the occupants’ comfort, since comfort is dependent not only of each occupant preferences, but also of other contextual variables, such as current activities. In this respect, context-aware technologies have an increasing importance, since they can not only detect, sense, and interpret environmental variables, but also the characteristics of the occupants to control the environment [4]. Therefore, the systematic review reported in this article aimed to complement existing systematized evidence related to buildings’ smart technologies (e.g., [1, 5–11]) by providing an analysis of the most relevant applications using context-aware technologies with impact in the comfort of the buildings’ occupants.
2 Context-Aware Technologies During the last decades, the advances in sensing and communication technologies turned possible the ubiquitous computing vision of Mark Weiser [12], which is related to the implementation of computing technologies seamlessly integrated with objects, so they become indistinguishable [12]. Context-awareness is one of the characteristics of ubiquitous and pervasive systems [13]. Abowd and colleagues [14] defined context as information that can be used to characterise the situation of an entity (e.g., a person, place, or object relevant to the interaction between a user and a system). In turn, the concept context-aware was first used by Schilit and Theimer [15] as a software feature that “adapts according to its location of use, the collection of nearby people and objects, as well as changes to those objects”. Other definitions of context-aware were proposed by different authors [4, 14, 16, 17]. In this study, we considered the definition proposed by Dey [4]: “A system is context-aware if it uses context to provide relevant information and/or services to the user, where relevancy depends on the user’s task”, which is useful to identify context-aware systems from the rest. In a further attempt to help the consolidation of the context-aware concept, several researchers have categorized features of context-aware systems (e.g., [15, 18–20]). In particular, Dey and Abowd [20] considered three categories: presentation (i.e., context is used to decide what information and services need to be presented to the user); execution (i.e., context is used to decide to automatically execute a command); and tagging (i.e., gathered data are associated with context for later retrieval). Moreover, in terms of the users’ interaction, three levels of context-awareness can be identified [19, 21]: personalization (i.e., the users set their preferences and expectation to the system manually); passive (i.e., the system constantly monitors the environment and offers the appropriate options to the users so they can take actions); and active (i.e., the system continuously monitors the situation and acts autonomously). Concerning contextual information, important aspects to be consider are where (location), who (identity), what (activity) and when (time). Abowd and colleagues [14] identified location, identity, time, and activity as primary context attributes and defined secondary context attributes as attributes that can be inferred using sensor data fusion operations. The availability of both primary and secondary context attributes requires the existence of sensing networks composed by multiple purpose sensors.
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3 Methods Considering the aim of the research study reported by this article, the following research questions were considered: • RQ1: What are the most relevant application types? • RQ2: What are the characteristics of the context-aware technologies being used? Boolean queries were prepared to include all the articles published until 2019 that have their titles, abstract or keywords conform with the following expression: (intelligent OR smart OR wise OR cognitive) AND (building OR domestic OR home OR dwelling OR house) AND (efficient OR green OR eco OR ecological OR environment-friendly OR environmental) AND (comfort OR well-being). The searched resources included two general databases, Web of Science and Scopus, and one specific technological database, IEEE Xplore. As inclusion criterion, the authors aimed to include all the articles published in scientific journals or in conference proceedings that have as main purpose the explicit use of context-aware technologies in modern buildings to promote the occupants’ comfort while safeguarding energy efficiency. Considering the exclusion criteria, the authors aimed to exclude all the articles not published in English, without abstract or without access to the full text. Furthermore, the authors also aimed to exclude all articles that: do not report primary research results, such as reviews, surveys, or editorials; report solutions that are not intended to be used inside buildings (e.g., streets lighting); do not report results of the application of information technologies, but other technologies (e.g., innovative construction materials); report studies where the main purpose of the application of information technologies was energy efficiency, although impacts on the comfort of the occupants could be envisaged; and do not report implementations of systems aiming the occupants’ comfort, but rather partial solutions such as algorithms or support studies and tools. After the search of the literature, the selection of the articles was performed according the following steps: the authors removed the articles that were duplicated or without abstract; the authors assessed all titles and abstracts according to the outlined inclusion and exclusion criteria and those clearly out of scope of the objectives of this systematic review were removed; the full texts of the remainder articles were retrieved and screened considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, the full texts of the included articles were analysed and classified. In these steps, the articles were analysed by at least two authors and any disagreement was discussed and resolved by consensus.
4 Results 4.1 Overview A total of 2144 articles was retrieved from the initial search on the Web of Science, Scopus and IEEE Xplorer. The initial screen yielded 2030 articles, by removing duplicates (113 articles) and articles without abstract (one article).
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Based on the title and abstracts screening, 1712 articles were removed due to the following reasons: articles reporting overview or reviews; editorials, prefaces, and announcements of special issues, workshops, or books; articles reporting solutions intended for outdoor spaces; articles out of context for the present study since they do not report the application of information technologies (e.g., architecture, education, certification, building techniques or new materials); or articles that, although reporting systems based on information technologies, their focus was not the use of context-aware technologies to promote the comfort of the occupants. The full texts of the remaining 318 articles were analysed and 302 articles were excluded due to the following reasons: the full texts are not in English; do not report the implementation of systems, but rather partial solutions such as algorithms or support studies and tools; report studies where the main purpose was energy efficiency and not comfort; or are not focused on the use of context-aware technologies. Therefore, 16 articles were considered eligible for this systematic review. These 16 articles are equally distributed by scientific journals [22–29] and conference proceedings [30–37]. 4.2 Modality and Building Types Considering the types of buildings, four articles reported solutions for domestic buildings [23, 27–29], five for office buildings [22, 30, 34, 36, 37], three for both domestic and office buildings [24, 33, 35], one for classrooms [25], two for public buildings in general [31, 32], and one for window less spaces [26]. After the respective analyses, the 16 retrieved articles were divided into the following modalities: visual comfort (six articles [23, 25, 26, 30, 33, 35]); thermal comfort (three articles [22, 24, 34]); and multiple perspective comfort (seven articles [27–29, 31, 32, 36, 37]). Visual Comfort. Six articles [23, 25, 26, 30, 33, 35] report context-aware systems to ensure adequate lighting for living spaces. Article [23] reports on the use of cameras and a distributed processing method to estimate occupants’ location and activity in a room. The aim is to feed light control algorithms in order to optimize occupants’ comfort reduce the energy costs of lighting. In turn, article [26] implements a natural light reproduction system able to adapt the lighting environments to the changing situations of the occupants. The other four articles [25, 30, 33, 35] present automated lighting control frameworks that dynamically learn the occupants’ lighting preferences. Article [25] presents a control system designed to create the appropriate lighting environment of a classroom by learning schedules, including such variables as day, time, and subject type and by recognizing the locations of the teacher and students by means of sensors. In turn, article [30] presents a non-intrusive, multimodal system to continuously analyse ambient information and derive dynamic models of the occupants’ visual comfort, safeguarding their preferences under different control scenarios. Additionally, articles [33, 35] present systems able to analyse the occupants’ lighting habits, considering different environmental context variables and occupants’ needs, in order to automatically learn about their preferences and automate the ambience dynamically.
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Thermal Comfort. Thermal comfort of office buildings is addressed by three articles [22, 24, 34], although different strategies were considered, namely, heating optimization of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems using environmental information [34], or optimization of thermal comfort based on knowledge of the occupants [22, 24]. In terms of comfort optimization based on knowledge of the occupants, article [24] describes a control system based on the mobility prediction of the occupants, using contextual information obtained by mobile phones, while the solution reported in [22] aims to estimate the number of the occupants and duration of the occupants’ activities through data collected by a large-scale sensor network. In turn, [34] describes a network of sensors and actuators to support scheduling mechanisms according to which HVAC working times can be selected aiming to achieve a trade-off between energy costs and thermal comfort of the occupants. Multiple Perspective Comfort. Seven articles are focused in multi perspective comfort [27–29, 31, 32, 36, 37]: the context-aware system presented in [27] was built upon a machine-to-machine infrastructure to reduce home power consumption to the minimum without compromising the occupants’ comfort (i.e. thermal, visual and air quality) in a single- or multi-occupant environment; article [28] proposes a semantic framework to represent contextual information; article [29] uses an ontology to organize contextual information to leverage knowledge regarding the occupants, their needs, and the devices deployed inside the environment; article [31] is focused on thermal and visual comfort and presents a context manager that automatically controls lighting and temperature and displays power consumption; the context-aware system presented in [32] is composed by a combination of machine learning and data mining techniques able to adjust the environment settings to the occupants’ preferences and reduce the overall power consumption; article [36] proposes a smart Internet of Things desk that can personalize the environment around the occupants and act as a support system to drive their behaviour towards better environmental settings, while improving posture and ergonomics; and article [37] introduces a framework that comprises various types of sensors and a context modelling and reasoning module for observing the environment.
4.3 Context-Aware Characteristics As can be seen in Table 1, except the studies reported by [28, 29, 33, 37], the remainder studies describe the use of sensors to gather data related to the occupants (i.e., primary context attributes such as identity, location and activity). Moreover, only article [35] explicitly mentions the retrieve of temporal data (date and time), but it should be mentioned that these temporal data need to be always considered for completing the contextual information. Furthermore, in some circumstances, primary context attributes are processed by data fusion techniques to determine secondary attributes. Examples include occupancy [22, 24, 31, 32, 35] and types of activities [23]. Table 2 presents the type of data collected to characterise the environment. Different measurements are considered, namely light, noise level, temperature, relative humidity, pressure and air quality. Three articles [23, 24, 29] do not mention the acquisition of the environment data, and one article [32] mentions the uses of sensors but does not specify them.
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Type of sensors
Identity Location
Cameras
Activity
[22, 23, 30] [23]
Smartphones
[24, 35] [24, 30, 35]
Motion sensors
[30, 36]
Human body detection sensors
[34]
Electric power sensors
[25–28, 31]
Aggregation of infrared, ultrasonic and microwave sensors
[25]
Presence sensors
[25, 26, 31]
Passive infrared sensors (PIR)
[26, 32, 34]
Fingerprint sensors
[32]
[32]
Touch screen
[27]
[27]
Microphones
[27]
Radio-frequency identification (RFID)
[36]
[29, 36]
Table 2. Type of data gathered to characterise the environment. Measurement
Articles
Light Luminance
[22, 25–28, 30, 33, 35, 37]
Correlated colour temperature [25, 26] Noise level
[22, 28]
Temperature
[22, 28, 31, 33–35]
Relative humidity
[22, 33, 35]
Pressure
[33]
Air quality Carbon dioxide CO2
[22, 37]
Oxygen O2
[37]
Benzene C6H6
[37]
VOC volatile organic [36] compounds and particle matter
Finally, Table 3 presents the features that were identified in the described contextaware systems. Except the systems reported by articles [28, 37], the systems reported by the remainder articles have execution features. Nine articles [22, 24, 27, 29, 30, 32–35] report context-aware systems with tagging features: in [22] the prediction of occupancy schedules are derived from occupant behaviour; in [24] the data received from
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the occupants is used to determine the operating schedules; in [30] the collected data is used to generate dynamic behavioural profiles; in [33] a machine learning approach is used to learn about the occupants’ preferences and habits; in [27, 32, 34, 35] the collected data are also used to learn habits and preferences; and in [29] the collected data is used to modelling smart building contexts based on an ontology. Table 3. Context-aware features. #
Presentation Execution Tagging
[22]
x
x
[23]
x
[24]
x
[25]
x
[26]
x
[27]
x
x
[29] x
x
x
[30]
x
x
[31]
x
[32]
x
x
[33]
x
x
[34]
x
x
[35]
x
x
[36]
x
x
[28] x
[37] x
Articles [28, 37] do not present neither execution nor tagging features. The respective systems do not control actuators and they are passive, since their aim is to present suggestions to the buildings’ occupants: the system reported by article [37] presents cautions to the occupants, while the system reported by [28] encompasses an interface to present the consumption of the different domestic appliances within any average house. All the solutions reported by the remainder articles are active. Among these, four articles report solutions that can be somehow personalized [30, 34–36], namely different modes of operation, selection of the preferred temperature, selection of specific characteristics of a shared desk, and indication of preferences.
5 Discussion and Conclusion Concerning the first research question (i.e., what are the most relevant application types?), we might conclude that the retrieved articles describe context-aware systems
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with diverse aims: visual comfort (six articles); thermal comfort (three articles); and multiple perspective comfort (seven articles). In terms of the characteristics of the context-aware technologies being used (i.e., the second research question), 14 articles report the development of context-aware execution features [22–27, 29–36], while nine also present context-aware tagging features [22, 24, 27, 29, 30, 32–35]. In turn, concerning the types of occupants’ involvement, the majority of the articles report active systems [22–27, 29, 31–33] or active systems with personalization [30, 34–36]. Except two articles [33, 37] all the remainder articles refer the use of sensors to collect data related to the occupants. The main concern is the occupants’ location by inferring occupancy or the number of occupants [22–27, 29–36]. In turn, five articles [24, 27, 32, 35, 36] report the use of sensing data to identify the occupants (i.e., using smartphones [24, 35], fingerprint sensors [32], touch screen [27] and RFID [36]), five articles [25–28, 31] refer the use of electric power sensors to determine the activities of the occupants, and one article [23] reports the use of cameras. In this article [23], the authors claimed the capability of identifying activities such as walking, lying in the sofa or sitting watching television using distributed processing methods. The retrieved articles also consider a great diversity of sensors to monitor the environment conditions, similarly to what happens with the collection of data related to the occupants. However, concerning the occupants, the researchers were looking for innovative techniques to identify the occupants’ characteristics, which justifies the use of a broad range of sensors, but for the data related with the environment, it is difficult to justify some of the differences reported. Indeed, it seems that there is a lack of coherent definition of comfort and the type of data that should be collected. For instance, while nine articles present systems that measure the lighting conditions [22, 25–28, 30, 33, 35, 37], seven [22, 27, 28, 30, 33, 35, 37] of them present systems that only measure luminance, while the remainder two [25, 26] report the measurement of luminance and correlated colour temperature for the same objective. Similarly, in terms of thermal comfort, three articles [22, 33, 35] report the measurement of the temperature and relative humidity, while another three articles [28, 31, 34] only report the measurement of temperature. Furthermore, in terms of quality of the air, focused by three articles [22, 36, 37], there is a great diversity of the variables being measured. It should also be mentioned that four articles [23, 24, 29, 32] do not refer the use of sensors or do not specify the sensors being used to measure environmental variables. After this revision, it is possible to state that relevant arguments were presented regarding the importance of applying context-aware technologies in buildings. However, this revision also points to the need of further research in terms of the adequacy of the attributes to be used to characterize the occupants, as well as the identification of the essential contextual attributes that should be considered when developing context-aware systems to improve the comfort of buildings’ occupants. Concerning the methods applied in the systematic review reported by this paper, we followed rigorous procedures in terms of the selection of the articles and the extraction of data. However, we are aware that the study has limitations, namely the dependency
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on the keywords and the selected databases, besides the fact that both grey literature and publications written in other languages than English were excluded. Acknowledgments. The present study was developed in the scope of the Smart Green Homes Project [POCI-01-0247 FEDER-007678] and was partially supported by National Funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the project UI IEETA: UID/CEC/00127/2020.
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Smart Cities: Drivers to Increase Context-Awareness Based on a Systematic Review of the Literature Nelson Pacheco Rocha1(B) , Ana Dias2 , Gonçalo Santinha3 , Mário Rodrigues4 , Carlos Rodrigues3 , and Alexandra Queirós5 1 Medical Sciences Department and Institute of Electronics and Informatics Engineering of
Aveiro, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal [email protected] 2 Department of Economics, Industrial Engineering, Management and Tourism and GOVCOPP - Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal [email protected] 3 Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences and GOVCOPP - Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal {g.santinha,cjose}@ua.pt 4 Águeda School of Technology and Management and Institute of Electronics and Informatics Engineering of Aveiro, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal [email protected] 5 Health Sciences School and Institute of Electronics and Informatics Engineering of Aveiro, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal [email protected]
Abstract. The study reported in this article aimed to identify the most relevant context-aware applications supported in smart city infrastructures, the characteristics of the technologies being used, and the maturity level of their implementation. A systematic review was performed based on a search of the literature and a total of 19 articles was retrieved. The articles report context-aware applications for different domains, namely public health, information services, urban mobility, management of urban infrastructures, active citizenship, and improvement of shopping experience. Keywords: Systematic literature review · Smart cities · Context-aware
1 Introduction The abandonment of rural areas towards cities has grown steadily in recent decades and this trend is expected to continue [1, 2]. For instance, there are projections that show that by 2050 70% of the population will live in cities [3]. To promote the sustainability of cities and respond to the challenges of increasing urbanization the paradigm of smart cities is being implemented all over the world [4]. The smart cities are expressed through different definitions, shades of meaning, nomenclatures, and contexts, and a clearly and unanimously established vision does not © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 609–618, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_58
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yet exist [1]. However, it is commonly accepted that smart cities presuppose the use of innovative information technologies and other means to improve the quality of life of the citizens, to optimize the efficiency of urban operation and services, and, consequently, to promote the competitiveness and sustainability of the cities. One of the challenges of the application of information technologies in smart cities is the implementation of really intelligent systems able, in a non-intrusive way, to understand the citizens behaviours, recognize their needs, and support them in the cities. In this respect, context-awareness has been object of special attention. Context-aware was first introduced by Schilit and Theimer [5] as a software features that “adapts according to its location of use, the collection of nearby people and objects, as well as changes to those objects”. Other definitions emphasize the use of context information to provide relevant services, where relevancy depends on the characteristics of the users, the respective contexts and the tasks being performed [6]. A typical contextaware system has a dynamic nature and includes different activities that are repeated periodically, including the sensing of the environment and the users (i.e., a sensorial network is indispensable to obtaining accurate information) and the generation of proper reactions to operate the environment [7]. Since context-aware systems are self-adaptive, their development is always hard and complex. Furthermore, considering smart cities’ applications, the difficulty level increases, due to requirements such as the scalability of the sensing networks [8], or the privacy, integrity, and confidentiality of the information [9, 10]. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the systematic reviews related to the implementation of smart cities are scarce and address very specific aspects (e.g. [11–13]). The study reported in the present article is part of a medium-term project that aims to systematize current evidence related to the implementation of smart cities, so that good practices can be disseminated. Particularly, this article reports a systematic review that aimed the identification of the most relevant context-aware applications supported in smart cities’ infrastructures.
2 Methods Considering the objective of the systematic review reported by this paper, the following research questions were elaborated: i) RQ1 - what are the most relevant context-aware applications supported in smart cities’ infrastructures? ii) RQ2 - what are the characteristics of the context-aware technologies being used? iii) RQ3 - what is the maturity level of the applications being reported? Boolean queries were prepared to include all the articles that have in their titles, abstracts, or keywords at least one of the following expressions: ‘Smart City’, ‘Smart Cities’ ‘Smartcity’, ‘Smartcities’, ‘Smart-city’ or ‘Smart-cities’. The resources considered to be searched were two general databases, Web of Science and Scopus, and one specific technological database, IEEE Xplore. The research terms were broadly defined to avoid the exclusion of studies with potential interest for analysis. The literature search was performed in January 2020 and included articles published in the last 10 years, so that the results were made representative of the current reality. As inclusion criterion, the authors aimed to include articles that report evidence of explicit use of context-aware technologies in the development of applications requiring
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smart cities’ infrastructures. Considering the exclusion criteria, the authors aimed to exclude all the articles not published in English, without abstract or without access to full text. Furthermore, the authors also aimed to exclude all the articles that report overviews, reviews, applications that do not explicitly require smart cities’ infrastructures or that were not relevant for the specific aim of this study. The selection of the articles was performed according the following steps: i) the authors removed the articles that were duplicated or without abstract; ii) the abstracts of the retrieved articles were screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria; iii) the full texts of the eligible articles were retrieved and screened considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, the full texts of the included articles were analysed and classified. In all these steps, the articles were analysed by at least two authors and any disagreement was discussed and resolved by consensus.
3 Results 3.1 Overview From the literature search on the literature, 21236 articles were retrieved. The initial step of the screening phase yielded 21034 articles by removing the duplicates or the articles without abstracts. Based on titles abstracts and using semi-automatic techniques, 226 articles were removed since they were not published in English, or they are overviews or reviews, editorials, prefaces, and announcements of special issues, workshops, or books. Also, from the analysis of the abstract, 20461 articles were removed because they do not target the development of context-aware applications in the context of smart cities. Finally, the full texts of the remaining 366 articles were screened and 347 articles were excluded because they do not meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Therefore, 19 articles were considered eligible for this systematic review and their aims are presented in Table 1. After the respective analyses, the included articles were divided into the following application domains: i) public health [20, 26, 27, 29]; ii) information services [15, 21, 25, 28, 30]; iii) urban mobility [17, 18, 22, 23, 32]; iv) active citizenship [14, 16, 19]; v) management of urban infrastructures [31]; and vi) improvement of shopping experience [24]. 3.2 Application Domains Public Health. Four articles [20, 26, 27, 29] are related to public health. Two articles [20, 29] are focused on the promotion of healthy lifestyles and they report the development of recommenders that make use of smart cities’ infrastructures to promote physical activity for the citizens. The application reported by [20] offers personalized recommendations of exercise routes to people according to their health condition and real-time information from the smart cities. In turn, the application reported by [29] follows a similar approach, but specifically targets older adults that need to follow clinically approved recommendations, and can monitor physiological parameters, including temperature or heart rate.
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#
Aim
Year
[14] A polling mobile application for smart cities
2013
[15] A smart cities application to provide public alerts
2013
[16] An application to promote the role of the citizens as collectors of data to inform the development and utilization of the urban services
2014
[17] A conceptual method to predict mobility patterns based on data from mobile carrier networks
2015
[18] An application that gathers contextual information and displays a map with an approximate distribution of free parking areas nearby to the users’ position
2016
[19] An application aiming to stimulate the active participation of citizens in generating and sharing useful comments related to the quality of air
2016
[20] An application able to offer personalized recommendations of exercise routes according to the users’ health condition
2017
[21] An application aiming to provide multi-type recommendations
2017
[22] An application to help their users to avoid walking through noisy areas
2017
[23] An application to assess real-time congestion situation on roads
2017
[24] An application aiming the improvement of shopping experience
2017
[25] An application to provide tourism recommendations
2018
[26] A pollution monitoring and alert application that proactively notifies citizens about highly relevant air quality information
2018
[27] An air quality monitoring application aiming to submit personalized alerts whenever air quality-related health risks are detected
2018
[28] An audio augmented reality application for providing informative tourism services and engaging experiences
2018
[29] An application for promoting physical activity among the elderly
2019
[30] An application able to recommend contents and services according to context and 2019 users’ profile [31] A model to give daily proactive recommendations for appropriately rescheduling 2019 the waste collection day in presence of problematic weather events [32] A parking application to assist drivers in finding parking slots dynamically while 2019 moving and/or arriving at the destination
Articles [26, 27] report context-aware applications that proactively notifies citizens via mobile devices about high relevant air quality information once they enter an area with air pollution that exceeds user defined thresholds. The application presented by [26] uses fixed sensors placed at locations which are exposed to a representative particulate matter concentration, while [27] presents a smartphone-based application able to check current air quality values at any available monitoring station.
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Information Services. Concerning the five articles [15, 21, 25, 28, 30] related to information services, three articles [25, 28, 30] report of applications to improve tourism experiences, one presents a public alerts application [15], and another [21] presents an application to provide multi-type recommendations [21]. Article [25] reports the use of contextual information resulting from the aggregation of data such as the location and time description of the position of the user, characteristics of the interaction device, the external physical environment (e.g., weather conditions), the user profile (e.g., age, gender, role, expertise, preferences expressed explicitly by the user) and the actions the user has performed during past interactions to provide tourism recommendations. These recommendations are created considering the collected contextual information and using tourism repositories related to tourism services (e.g., tourism sites or public transportation services), community collected information (e.g., Facebook, Tweeter, and other social networking applications). In turn, the main objective of [28] was to develop an audio augmented reality tour guide to support tourists’ exploration of open urban environments while providing speech-based information about surroundings sight, based on users’ location. Finally, in the study reported by [30] a storytelling application uses contextual information to provide personalized information by aggregating and custom-tailoring data and services extracted from different sources. In this way, it is intended to guide the users while given them the opportunity to immerse themselves in personalized stories of the places they are visiting. With a different aim, article [15] proposes a system to monitor social web feeds and to aggregate information from various sources to provide public alerts. Finally, article [21] presents an exploratory study in which an application was trained to provide five types of recommendations (i.e., hospital, gas station, restaurant, attraction, and cinema), based on a broad set of parameters (e.g., current time, outside temperature, human temperature, human pressure, eating time or oil level in the car). Urban Mobility. Considering the five articles related to urban mobility [17, 18, 22, 23, 32], two of them are focused on applications to support navigation [17, 22], two are focused on applications to facilitate the parking of cars [18, 32] and one aims to contribute to optimize the traffic management in the urban environments [23]. According the followed approach in [17], mobile carrier networks are analysed to obtain patterns such as people traveling by public transport or private cars. The authors argued that these patterns might be used by context-aware and pro-active applications to support travels. In turn, article [22] presents a navigation application that was developed using a framework aiming to enable easy and efficient building of applications that combine smartphone sensors and real-time web data (i.e., any data which can be retrieved by polling a web resource). The application continuously guides the user to walk from a source to a destination using a route with minimal noise, being the noise determined by the sound level data received from the internet of things sensors placed in various locations in the city. Article [18] presents a prototypical application to collect user contextual data and to display mapped parking areas. Once the user starts driving, the application starts retrieving Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates at regular intervals so that paths are build. Then, an algorithm checks their similarity in order to estimate the number of
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parking slots still available. Similarly, [32] reports a context-aware parking application to find a parking slot on real-time when reaching the destination. In terms of traffic management, article [23] reports the use of video cameras and internet of thing sensors to detect vehicle speed, to classify vehicles and count them. These data are used to monitor the traffic flow on the roads and to send alerts to the nearby traffic operation centre, in the presence of abnormal situations. Active Citizenship. Three articles [14, 16, 19] focus active citizenship. Article [19] presents an application that uses social context to stimulate the creation of discussions between citizens on topics related to air quality by borrowing functions from social networking applications, such as posting, commenting, and chatting. In particular, the citizens can make objective contributions such as pictures or videos of specific situations and subjective contributions, such as comments, suggestions, and remarks [19]. In turn, the application reported by [14] uses information related to location to provide a polling mechanism aiming to enable public municipalities to leverage citizen involvement in the decision-making process in urban development of their cities by sending them contextual matching polls. Finally, the application presented by [16] also uses location information (i.e., GPS coordinates), but the aim is to provide the citizens with a mechanism to report security events or crimes. Management of Urban Infrastructures. Article [31] presents a reasoning model to give proactive recommendations for appropriately rescheduling the waste collection day in presence of problematic weather events by using decision theory concepts. Context modelling is supported in several entities, including weather forecasts, physical areas composed by streets whose waste bins are emptied at the same day through a predefined schedule, and smart bins (each one belonging to a unique user, being part of a street or an area, and characterized by its current waste level, the maximum volume of waste that it can support as well was the waste type). Improvement of Shopping Experience. Article [24] aims to improve shopping experiences by managing the customer flows. To contribute for this objective, the authors propose a complex sensing network to identify people and events, which includes cameras, sensors installed in the shopping trolleys, thermal cameras detecting the increased body temperature (which suggests for example stress), and sensors detecting the Bluetooth and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) devices. The processing of the collected data allows the characterization of the current situation (e.g., the number of people entering the store, the number of people who stay inside, the average time of waiting in the particular queues, or the number of people classified into a certain category such as older adults) and provides historical information which might help to identify the preferences of regular clients.
3.3 Context-Aware Characteristics Some of the applications were developed with the intention to contribute to the solution of a specific problem [15, 18, 20, 21, 26–29, 31, 32]. However, other articles report the
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development of applications as examples of applicability of specific architectures, models, or components (e.g., context-aware architectures, queue management architectures, location-based components, social-aware components, or ontologies). Although in some cases it is possible to customize the applications, through the insertion of data (e.g., user profiles [15, 25, 27], preferences [20, 21, 29], health conditions [29], fixed location or fixed activity schedule [27]), all the applications presented do not allow the execution of actions without the explicit consent of the user, that is, they present suggestions, and it is up to the users to accept or not those suggestions. Analysing the included articles, location and identity of the users are important context attributes. Except for the applications reported by four articles [20, 23, 24, 31], in all other fifteen studies smartphones are used to locate and identify the users. Moreover, article [31] reports a smart bin able to provide its location and [24] reports various location mechanism to infer customers’ queues length, including video cameras or Bluetooth and GSM activity. Additionally, a broad range of other attributes are considered. For example, the application described by [29] uses a band which is used to determine the physical activity level, as well as the Google’s Awareness application programming interface to identify if the user is walking or not, and article [17] refers the inference of static and dynamic or mobile behaviours. In some cases, the decisions using context information are supported not only by data acquired by sensors, but also by data from other sources, including, crowd sourcing [16], smart cities’ datasets [15, 29], weather conditions and forecast [20, 23, 31], telecommunications details data set [17] or tourism information [25]. To infer personal context, personal data must be used by all applications. In this aspect, is worthwhile to mention that the privacy, integrity, and confidentiality of the information were considered by two articles [14, 16] and are briefly referred by five articles [19, 22, 26, 27, 29]. The remainder articles do not refer any issue related to the privacy, integrity, and confidentiality of the information. 3.4 Maturity Level To analyse the maturity level of the applications being reported, it was considered different stages in accordance with the development life cycle of information systems: initial (i.e., requirements elicitation which could include, in some cases, forms of co-design involving potential end users); design (i.e., general overview of the system architecture or some of the respective components); prototype (i.e., performance evaluation of the application or some of its components, or laboratory evaluation involving end users of a minimally working version of the application being developed); and pilot (i.e., a real-world evaluation by end users in their daily context during a certain period). Concerning the classification of the maturity level of the included studies, three were classified as initial stage [14, 16, 17] and three as design stage [24, 29, 32]. All the other studies were classified as being in the prototype stage (e.g., usability [21, 28] or algorithms assessment [23, 25, 26, 30, 31]). None of the articles were classified as pilot stage.
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4 Discussion and Conclusion Concerning the first research question (i.e., the most relevant context-aware applications supported in smart cities’ infrastructures), we may conclude that there is an interest to develop smart cities’ applications related to public health [20, 26, 27, 29], information services [15, 21, 25, 28, 30], urban mobility [17, 18, 22, 23, 32], active citizenship [14, 16, 19], management of urban infrastructures [31], and improvement of shopping experiences [24]. Most of these applications domains are related to major current concerns in terms of cities governance. It is worthwhile to mention that some of the domains have become even more important in a pandemic context such as the one we are currently experiencing (e.g., public health, or active citizenship). With respect to the characteristics of the context-aware technologies being used (i.e. the second research question), according to [6] context-aware systems might have features such as personalization (i.e., the users set their preferences and expectation to the application manually), passive context-awareness (i.e., the application constantly monitors the environment and offers the appropriate options to the users so they can take actions) and active context-awareness (i.e., the system continuously monitors the context and acts autonomously). According to these definitions, all the included articles report passive context-aware applications, some of the applications can be personalized, but there are no articles reporting active context-aware applications. Location, identity, and activity are important context attributes for characterizing the situation of a particular entity. These attributes are classified as primary context attributes (i.e., information retrieved without using existing context and without performing any kind of sensor data fusion operations) [6] and are presented in the retrieved studies: location and identity of the users were considered by all the studies, while activity was considered in the studies reported by [17, 29]. Furthermore, secondary context (i.e., any context attribute that can be computed using primary context [6]) was considered in several articles, including article [29] (e.g., to determine the physical activity level), article [17] (e.g., to infer static and dynamic or mobile behaviours) or article [24] (e.g., to determine the number of people entering in a store). None of the articles presents a real-world trial. Therefore, this systematic review of the literature shows that the articles report solutions still far from consolidated solutions since there is no evidence about the evaluation of the applications in real environments neither about their evaluation in the context of smart cities. Moreover, only two studies considered the privacy, integrity, and confidentiality of the information [14, 16], which is an indicator of low maturity level. After this revision, it is possible to state that relevant arguments were presented regarding the importance context-aware in the context of smart cities. Nevertheless, it is evident that the described context-aware features are only a subset of all context-ware possibilities, and there is a lack of robust evaluation trials since most of the solutions being reported are proof of concepts prototypes. Moreover, concerns related to the privacy, integrity, and confidentiality of the information are absent in all studies, except two, which is a major drawback since most of the traditional protection strategies cannot be applied directly to smart cities’ applications due to their heterogeneity, scalability, and dynamic characteristics [10].
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Considering the identified research gaps, this revision points to the need of further research in terms of the implementation of additional context-aware features, the conducting of robust evaluation trials, and the development of adequate solutions to guarantee the privacy, integrity, and confidentiality of the information. Although the authors tried, in methodological terms, to follow rigorous procedures in terms of the selection of the articles and the extraction of data, it should be acknowledged that this study has limitations, namely the dependency on the keywords and the selected databases and the fact that both grey literature and publications written in other languages than English were excluded. Acknowledgments. This work was financially supported by National Funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the project UI IEETA: UID/CEC/00127/2020.
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Home Appliance Recognition Using Edge Intelligence Jos´e Manuel Torres1,2(B) , Luis Aguiar1 , Christophe Soares1,2 , Pedro Sobral1,2 , and Rui S. Moreira1,2,3 1
ISUS Unit, FCT - University Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal {jtorres,luis.aguiar,csoares,pmsobral,rmoreira}@ufp.edu.pt 2 LIACC, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal 3 INESC-TEC, FEUP - University of Porto, Porto, Portugal http://isus.ufp.pt
Abstract. Ambient assisted living (AAL) environments represent a key concept for dealing with the inevitable problem of populationageing. Until recently, the use of computational intensive techniques, like Machine Learning (ML) or Computer Vision (CV), were not suitable for IoT end-nodes due to their limited resources. However, recent advances in edge intelligence have somehow changed this landscape for smart environments. This paper presents an AAL scenario where the use of ML is tested in kitchen appliances recognition using CV. The goal is to help users working with those appliances through Augmented Reality (AR) on a mobile device. Seven types of kitchen appliances were selected: blender, coffee machine, fridge, water kettle, microwave, stove, and toaster. A dataset with nearly 4900 images was organized. Three different deep learning (DL) models from the literature were selected, each with a total number of parameters and architecture compatibles with their execution on mobile devices. The results obtained in the training of these models reveal precision in the test set above 95% for the model with better results. The combination of edge AI and ML opens the application of CV in smart homes and AAL without compromising mandatory requirements as system privacy or latency. Keywords: Ambient Assisted Living · Augmented Reality · Deep learning · Edge computing · Edge intelligence · Internet of Things (IoT) · Smart home
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Introduction
According to the United Nations [1], by 2050, one in four persons living in Europe and Northern America could be aged 65 or over, and worldwide, one in six people will be over age 65 (16%). This prospect raises several challenges for governments and society as a whole. Living longer with quality requires frequent access to c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 619–629, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_59
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health-care services. Traditional approaches to health-care organizations simply do not scale to handle the load induced by a growing elder population. A suitable solution to handle the expected increase in health-care requests is the widespread use of digital services. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) systems, in particular, will be an essential tool for health-care professionals to follow the health parameters of thousands of citizens automatically. These systems enable real-time response to emergencies situations as well as long-term monitoring of health conditions. AAL systems are not only essential to the scalability of healthcare services but also very convenient for the elder population. They can stay longer in their home environments, even alone, assured they are being closely followed by health-care professionals and their caretakers. Figure 1 presents a generic reference architecture for implementing AAL systems. An automation module interacts with software modules (ML and KR), hardware sensors, and human stakeholders to enable the collection of sensor data, give meaning to that data and learn from it. The system can also take actions in the environment as needed [2,3].
Fig. 1. Reference architecture
Identifying complex user activities in AAL settings is not an easy task. A possible approach is to gather information from different sensors (e.g.: electronic, image, sound, etc.) and, using intelligent sensor fusion, infer the activity taking place in the system with a reasonable degree of confidence. Some of these tasks, namely those involving ML and CV, require a considerable amount of computing resources to handle the real-time sensor data flow. Traditional IoT systems are organized around a cloud computing paradigm as presented in Fig. 2(a). In this paradigm, IoT end-devices are very limited in computing resources. They just periodically collect raw sensor data and forward it to a cloud server for further processing. Any reaction to sensor data is triggered by the remote server. This approach has several limitations, such as:
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– Scalability: as the number and complexity of IoT devices is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years, cloud servers will struggle to manage and react to sensor data in near real-time. – Latency: the unpredictable communication latency between the End-Device and the Cloud Server can prevent the correct operation of applications with real-time requirements. – Privacy: Since the raw sensor data has to be sent to a remote location, the user privacy can be compromised.
Fig. 2. IoT computing paradigms
In the Fog Computing paradigm, presented in Fig. 2(b), a new device, closer to the edge of the network is present in the architecture. A shorter loop, with the raw sensor data being processed in the Fog device, results in better scalability, shorter latency, and higher privacy. Only high-level information is sent to the Cloud Server. In the Edge Computing paradigm, presented in Fig. 2(c), the EndDevice itself has enough computational resources to process much of the raw sensor data locally. This approach has the best scalability, latency, and privacy. This paper presents a new application, a module compatible with our generic architecture (Fig. 1), according to the Edge Computing paradigm. It makes use of ML to perform kitchen appliances recognition using CV. The goal is to help users working with those appliances through Augmented Reality (AR) on a mobile device. This is useful for any user that has no experience in handling those appliances but is specially targeted to persons with cognitive disabilities. The paper is organized as follows: Sect. 2 presents related projects addressing the application of machine learning in AAL and e-health. Section 3 describes the adopted reference scenario and the use-case working as the basis of this
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work. Section 4 describes the dataset organized for the conducted experiments. In Sect. 5 the performed experiments and methods and obtained results are depicted. A discussion about the obtained experiments is done in Sect. 6. Final remarks and future work are presented in Sect. 7.
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Related Work
Next-generation healthcare systems, on the one hand, face enormous challenges due to increasing aging and associated widespread chronic illnesses of the world population, and on the other hand, represent a very attractive application scenario of multiple and huge advances in areas such as IoT, edge computing and machine learning. The nature of IoT systems, particularly in healthcare, is leveraging the importance of edge, and fog architectures. Moreira et al. [3] revisit cloud, fog and edge architectures. An interesting comparison between cloud and fog architectures is done in Costa [4]. The adoption of uniquely cloud-based solutions in IoT raises latency, privacy, and scalability concerns as the authors pinpoint. Various projects are described in the literature to tackle the problem of helping people with cognitive disabilities in their daily living activities. One is described in Quintana et al. [5] where they describe a system capable of proving annotations to assist persons with Alzheimer or memory problems, using augmented reality, as well as their caregivers. They use tags in relevant objects in the smart home and provide help in the form of audio, text, or images when a mobile phone is used to identify the tags. The system uses computer vision, running on a server, to process the images gathered from the mobile phone and identify the user location and the tags present. Since the near-real-time operation is a requirement, the server must be located sufficiently close to the client to reduce the total system latency. In recent times a profusion of platforms and their supported mobile operating systems, of deep learning architectures and model formats, allowed the emergence of deep learning in mobile and embedded devices. Deng [6] presents a review of recent advances in this area. Deep learning mobile apps are used to carry out model inference, only. As emphasized by [7] the process of training a DL model is, both, space and computationally expensive, due to millions of parameters that need to be, iteratively, refined over multiple epochs. Concerning inference, this can be also computationally problematic due to the typically high dimensionality of the input data. Usually millions of computations need to be performed on the input data. Recently, several works are being published reporting the application of edge AI, deep learning inference in mobile devices applied to a multitude of application scenarios. One example is the work of Qayyum and S ¸ ah [8] where they present one example of edge computing where they describe a system for food detection using deep learning, running the model inference in an iOS device. In their work, Dai et al. [9] present a mobile health solution for classifying medical images for detecting skin cancer. As the authors emphasize, their approach reduces latency, saves bandwidth, and improves privacy.
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Fig. 3. Use case example: blender recognition and overlay of textual information on the mobile App
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Use Case and Reference Scenario
The use of image sensors can be very helpful in contexts involving e-health, in general, and particularly in ambient-assisted living scenarios. More conventional electronic sensors, deployed in the infrastructure, have some limitations because one can only retrieve sensor data from objects or places where those are deployed. Image sensors, on the other hand, can be placed, for instance, in strategic locations in the household providing a broader view over the rooms that require monitoring. Additionally, any current smartphone is equipped with a powerful image acquisition system. All these imagery sensors, when coupled with powerful deep learning models on computer vision, allow the retrieval of vital information from the environment. However, running those models usually requires computational resources not available in common IoT end devices. Transmitting the video feed to a cloud server for processing is not an option because of obvious privacy issues, network latency, and system scalability. This is the perfect ground for the fog or edge computing paradigms. Placing a fog/edge device with suitable resources to run the models inside the premises, ensures that the video feed never leaves the residence, and enables a near real-time follow-up of the user activities. Only high-level and summarized, non-sensitive, information may be reported to the outside world without compromising the user’s privacy. In this scenario, it is plausible to adopt computer vision, deep neural networks, and additional logic to monitor daily living routines.
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The particular use case reported in this paper is focused on daily routines happening in kitchens of households. Kitchens are rooms where people develop a variety of activities, which can be complex, and involve various equipment that sometimes has non-trivial operating instructions. Furthermore, analyzing the routine that takes place in a kitchen is a fundamental part to understand the dynamics in a home. Figure 3 illustrates a possible scenario where one user, with the help of his smartphone and augmented reality (AR) to overlay textual information about the blender, the target physical world in the example. This specific module represents one piece in the reference architecture presented in [2] and [3], and depicted in Fig. 1. In summary, the home appliance recognition module described in the paper has the following related goals/tasks: – To identify a particular kitchen electrical appliances in a household-based on the image sensing – To provide contextual information about the identified appliance. In Fig. 3 these two tasks are done on a mobile device. In addition to these goals, the home appliance recognition module communicates with the central automation module, the orchestrator, represented in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4. Histogram with distribution per class of kitchen dataset
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Dataset Creation
One of the critical elements of any machine learning chain is the dataset used during the training of the model. In the collection process of the dataset used in this work, image search engines along with web scraping scripts, applied in dedicated websites to the commerce of electrical appliances, were used. After these stages, a first version of the image collection was submitted to a manual quality control stage.
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In the end, around 4900 images remained in the dataset to train the evaluated models, with an approximately uniform distribution of nearly 700 images per class. The obtained distribution of the samples per class can be observed in Fig. 4. This approximately uniform distribution is highly desired to aid in obtaining a trained model more faithful to reality. In Fig. 5 it is possible to preview 15 random sampled images per each of the seven considered classes. Also, in the training stage, a real-time data augmentation procedure was adopted to increase both in size and diversity, the training set exposed to the training algorithm, and, also, to reduce overfitting. In the augmentation, the following operations were considered for the random generation of batches of augmented images: – – – – –
rotation zooming shearing width and height shift horizontal flipping.
Fig. 5. Kitchen dataset preview of 15 examples (cols) for each of 7 classes (rows)
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Experiments
It emerges as a requirement, from what was presented before, that the ML model to be applied in the use case described in Sect. 3 should run in mobile and/or IoT embedded devices. To take advantage of good general-purpose existing DL models, the decision to re-train an existing and available, image classification base model, using transfer learning, was followed. Using this approach, three pretrained models for the dataset ImageNet [10], formally ILSVRCS, were selected:
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– DenseNet121 [11] – MobileNetV2 [12] – NasNetMobile [13]. All of these three models present a total number of parameters smaller than paramM axSize ≤ 10 million which was the cutoff value selected as one of the criteria chosen. These selected models, essentially, worked as feature extractors for the top layers added to the final models used in the experiment. The number of features produced by each of the base models DenseNet121, MobileNetV2, and NasNetMobile, to describe each input image, were, respectively: 1024, 1280, and 1056. The most important training parameters where common to all the three models trained, as can be seen in Table 1. Table 1. Major common parameters used in training all the three models Parameter
Value
Epochs
100
Image input dimensions (224, 224, 3) Batch size
32
Optimizer
Adam
Learning rate
0.001
All the experiment algorithms were written in Python language and used Keras [14] and TensorFlow [15] software libraries for DL development. In the training experiment carried on, the model architecture of each of the three, pretrained, base models were stacked with a classification head composed by: – dropout layer to help to prevent overfitting – global averaging polling layer, to average each spatial matrix of values to single values – dense layer, with a softmax activation function, to convert the previous features into a soft prediction array per image.
Table 2. Accuracy for dataset kitchen-4900 after 100 epochs for three models Base model
Train set accuracy (%) Test set accuracy (%)
DenseNet121
98.79
MobileNetV2
97.25
93.27
NasNetMobile 96.55
95.96
94.72
For the training stage, after a shuffling process, the dataset was split into 80% for training and 20% for testing. The results obtained for the accuracy are
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registered in Table 2. The results obtained were similar and show a very high accuracy for all three models. A model trained with the base model NasNetMobile has the highest accuracy level for the test set used. The graph with the evolution of the accuracy over the 100 epochs, for each of the 3 models, is shown in Fig. 6.
Fig. 6. Accuracy learning for kitchen dataset using DenseNet121 [11], MobileNetV2 [12] and NasNetMobile [13]
AR Output Additionally, a short video sequence was made to demonstrate the inference process, simulating the daily living in a real home. In Fig. 7 it is possible to see the result, for the model using NasNetMobile, after the classification of an input video frame of a blender in a real environment and after overlaying a textual guide to use the blender.
Fig. 7. Example of testing one model in a annotated video sequence
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Discussion
In general, all the three tested models were very similar and all obtained very good results. Although the dimension and diversity of the organized training dataset, presented in Sect. 4, revealed itself appropriate for the number of classes of the models trained, those final models also took advantage of the fact that we used retraining. The combination of a pre-trained base model, with frozen weights, used as feature extractor, with a trained classifier on top of it, adjusted to the specific problem tackled, revealed to be an excellent option. The convergence of the accuracy curve of the models was very fast and the computational cost for training is compatible with doing it in a fog device. This is a key aspect of the solution, the possibility of doing the training in the fog layer, avoiding the disadvantages, already pinpointed, of sending sensitive information to the cloud. This way, the cloud could be used for very specific purposes, such as providing updates of base models or software.
7
Conclusion
In this paper, we have presented an innovative combination of deep learning inference in the edge, as part of a use case scenario of kitchen appliances recognition using computer vision, included in a broader AAL environment. We have, also, presented a new dataset that has good coverage of all the seven categories to be identified. The preliminary quantitative results obtained are very promising and the new advances, both in computing power available in the end nodes and also in deep learning frameworks, validates our strategy. For the particular appliances recognition module described in this document, additional evaluation remain to be done with more data and that will be a natural immediate follow-up of this work. Also, user studies are being designed and those will allow a broader evaluation. The innovative pace in edge computing and artificial intelligence is high. This is opening new opportunities for application in IoT and next-generation healthcare. Acknowledgements. This work was funded by Funda¸ca ˜o Ensino e Cultura Fernando Pessoa (FECFP), represented here by its R&D group Intelligent Sensing and Ubiquitous Systems (ISUS).
References 1. UN: Ageing. http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/ageing/. Accessed 21 Nov 2020 2. Miguez, A., Soares, C., Torres, J.M., Sobral, P., Moreira, R.S.: Improving ambi´ Adeli, H., Reis, ent assisted living through artificial intelligence. In: Rocha, A., L.P., Costanzo, S. (eds.) New Knowledge in Information Systems and Technologies. WorldCIST 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol. 931, pp. 110–123. Springer, Cham (2019)
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3. Moreiraa, R.S., Soaresa, C., Torresa, J.M., Sobrala, P.: Combining IoT architectures in next generation healthcare computing systems. In: Intelligent IoT Systems in Personalized Health Care, Chapter 1, pp. 1–29. Elsevier Inc. (2021) 4. Costa, P., Gomes, B., Melo, N., Rodrigues, R., Carvalho, C., Karmali, K., Soares, C., Torres, J.M., Sobral, P., Moreira, R.S.: Fog computing in real time resource lim´ Adeli, H., Reis, L.P., Costanzo, S., Orovic, ited IoT environments. In: Rocha, A., I., Moreira, F. (eds.) Trends and Innovations in Information Systems and Technologies, pp. 102–112. Springer, Cham (2020) 5. Quintana, E., Favela, J.: Augmented reality annotations to assist persons with Alzheimers and their caregivers. Pers. Ubiquitous Comput. 17, 1105–1116 (2013) 6. Deng, Y.: Deep learning on mobile devices: a review. In: Agaian, S.S., Asari, V.K., DelMarco, S.P. (eds.) Mobile Multimedia/Image Processing. Security, and Applications 2019, vol. 10993, pp. 52–66. International Society for Optics and Photonics, SPIE (2019) 7. Chen, J., Ran, X.: Deep learning with edge computing: a review. Proc. IEEE 107(8), 1655–1674 (2019) 8. Qayyum, O., ¸cah, M.: IoS mobile application for food and location image prediction using convolutional neural networks. In: 2018 IEEE 5th International Conference on Engineering Technologies and Applied Sciences (ICETAS), pp. 1–6 (2018) 9. Dai, X., Spasi´c, I., Meyer, B., Chapman, S., Andres, F.: Machine learning on mobile: an on-device inference app for skin cancer detection. In: 2019 Fourth International Conference on Fog and Mobile Edge Computing (FMEC), pp. 301–305 (2019) 10. Russakovsky, O., Deng, J., Hao, S., Krause, J., Satheesh, S., Ma, S., Huang, Z., Karpathy, A., Khosla, A., Bernstein, M., Berg, A.C., Fei-Fei, L.: ImageNet large scale visual recognition challenge. Int. J. Comput. Vision (IJCV) 115(3), 211–252 (2015) 11. Huang, G., Liu, Z., Van Der Maaten, L., Weinberger, K.Q.: Densely connected convolutional networks (2018) 12. Sandler, M., Howard, A., Zhu, M., Zhmoginov, A., Chen, L.-C.: Mobilenetv2: inverted residuals and linear bottlenecks (2019) 13. Zoph, B., Vasudevan, V., Shlens, J., Le, Q.V.: Learning transferable architectures for scalable image recognition (2018) 14. Chollet, F., et al.: Keras (2015). https://keras.io 15. Abadi, M., Agarwal, A., Barham, P., Brevdo, E., Chen, Z., Citro, C., Corrado, G.S., Davis, A., Dean, J., Devin, M., Ghemawat, S., Goodfellow, I., Harp, A., Irving, G., Isard, M., Jia, Y., Jozefowicz, R., Kaiser, L., Kudlur, M., Levenberg, J., Man´e, D., Monga, R., Moore, S., Murray, D., Olah, C., Schuster, M., Shlens, J., Steiner, B., Sutskever, I., Talwar, K., Tucker, P., Vanhoucke, V., Vasudevan, V., Vi´egas, F., Vinyals, O., Warden, P., Wattenberg, M., Wicke, M., Yu, Y., Zheng, X.: TensorFlow: large-scale machine learning on heterogeneous systems (2015). tensorflow.org
Challenges and Strategies for Information Systems in the Decision-Making Process to Face the COVID-19 Pandemic: The S˜ ao Paulo Case Alessandro S. Santos1(B) , Igor C. Teixeira1 , Rodrigo Neves1 , Icaro Gon¸cales1 , Angelina Inacio1 , Eduardo T. Ueda1 , Eduardo F. Z. Santana2 , Higor A. de Souza2 , and Fabio Kon2 1
Institute for Technological Research – IPT – S˜ ao Paulo, S˜ ao Paulo, Brazil {alesan,igort,rodrigoneves,icarogoncales,angelinasi,eduardoueda}@ipt.br 2 Institute of Mathematics and Statistics – University of S˜ ao Paulo, S˜ ao Paulo, Brazil {efzambom,hamario,kon}@ime.usp.br
Abstract. The State of S˜ ao Paulo was the epicenter of COVID-19 in Brazil, with a high impact on society, causing many deaths and significant losses to the economy. A milestone in confronting the pandemic was creating an Intelligent Monitoring System, whose mission was to consolidate and integrate data to support the state government in its strategic decisions. Overcoming the challenges of integration, anonymity, and privacy was essential to validate and make governmental actions legal and ethical. We present the technical aspects, the information integration and good practices in disseminating strategic data on mobility, health, and economy to support strategic decision making.
1
Introduction
The global risk scenario caused by the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the weakness of the health system in several countries, the need for epidemic management, monitoring population data, and humanitarian support actions. Brazil does not have a recent history of a such a large biological natural disaster, and the COVID-19 pandemic presented itself as a huge challenge that involved several global challenges for public health, political, economic, and legal issues. Besides, due to the current political situation in Brazil, actions between municipalities, states, and the national federation did not have a harmonious integration. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed operational vulnerabilities and the need to implement public policies related to information and communication technologies. Particularly, the use of data on mobility, health, and the economy, considering privacy issues, is essential for offering strategic information for evidencebased decision-making and efficient pandemic management. A legal discussion about the privacy issues in pandemic scenarios in Brazil is still ongoing. There is no consensus on points of collision between the right to c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 630–640, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_60
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privacy and fundamental rights to health and life (in their collective spheres), demanding from the public authorities the creation of weighting targets, appropriate and proportional to the well-being of all [15]. Regardless of the maturity of the legal aspects, the pandemic forced several countries to act quickly, creating mechanisms to minimize the pandemic effects, requiring the creation of guidelines and technical structures to support decisions. The State of S˜ ao Paulo was the epicenter of the pandemic in Brazil, with the highest population density, intensive international trade relations, and the largest COVID-19 situation room. This paper presents the strategies and technical concerns to overcome the challenges, as well as the integration and respect privacy rights without compromising the rights to health and life.
2
Actions, Privacy and Data Protection in the Pandemic
The control of population mobility is one of the challenges to face the pandemic [10], and different technologies can monitor the population movements to provide information on the results of public policies used to combat COVID-19; a restructured society and environment could increase the city resilience [7]. The ideal would be to have a monitoring approach that can be used in different phases of a pandemic, with legal and legislative support, to allow government officials to obtain, ethically and respecting citizen’s privacy, more accurate and efficient information to combat the spread of a virus. This approach should be gradual, with clear criteria that define when to go one more level, to have more restrictive monitoring mechanisms, where collective rights have higher priority. At the same time, there must be a criterion for determining when these mechanisms should cease to operate and be undone without prejudice to citizen rights. The telecommunication infrastructure has been the great technological partner to capture mobility patterns in several parts of the world, with good results for decision-making [14]. Using this framework, Fig. 1 shows an escalator approach analogy, where the rise or fall depends on the advance or setback of the
Fig. 1. Escalator approach for monitoring
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spread of the virus [15]. This technological approach may be integrated into guidelines for privacy to avoid legal and individuals rights issues. The European Commission guidelines for COVID-19 data management used local arrangements for fast implementation of information system to provide strategic data for decision-making to confront the crisis. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Heath approach were the main support within this pandemic scenario. Regarding COVID-19, the Data Protection Commission (DPC), the authority responsible for defending the fundamental right of individuals in the European Union (EU) to keep personal data protected, warned that it is necessary to focus in five main aspects: Lawfulness, Transparency, Confidentiality, Data Minimisation, and Accountability. 2.1
Scenarios and Perspective from Latin America
Table 1 presents an overview of actions in Latin American countries from a data perspective. We only considered countries that published consistent information that could support our analysis. Three actions stood out. The first action concerns the location of individuals, used to measure the rates of social isolation. Another common action is the disclosure of the identities of patients infected with COVID-19 only with their consent, to respect privacy. The most prevalent action in all countries considered is the manipulation of data by healthcare professionals, mainly respecting the confidentiality of the information in the patients’ medical records. An action that also deserves to be highlighted is data anonymization, since it contributes to guarantee the privacy of individuals when data are provided for public disclosure. In Brazil, the national integration actions are not uniform in all states, and each state used a different approach. The State of S˜ ao Paulo was the epicenter Table 1. Mapping COVID-19 data in Latin America Action
Locality Argentina [1, 2]
Chile [4, 5]
Use of data location only with the user’s permission
✘
✘
GPS location, or cell towers,or Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth
✘
✘
Data anonymization
✘
Transparency of data usage with its owners
✘
Incomplete data excluded from datasets
✘
Drop the data when they are not more pertinent
✘
Disclosure of names of those infected with COVID-19 it must be with their permission
✘
History of diseases and user’s medications Health professionals can manipulate and transfer the data, but with confidentiality
✘
Mxico [8, 13]
Peru [16, 17]
S˜ ao Paulo [18]
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘ ✘ ✘
✘ ✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
✘
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of COVID-19 in Brazil, with the largest number of cases and deaths due to its large population and density, as well as a larger connection to international sources of the disease. S˜ao Paulo established a series of legal instruments to confront COVID-19, the creation of a crisis management committee, technical councils, and the establishment of a quarantine starting on March 22, 2020. This crisis management committee put together a multidisciplinary team of nearly one hundred experts in Computer Science, Health, Geology, Transport Engineering, Economics, as well as Public Managers. The Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD) is the main guide for COVID-19 data protection in Brazil. The law was enacted on August 14, 2018, scheduled to come into force in 2020 [3]. Based on GDPR, the LGPD aims to protect personal data and applies to any person, natural or legal, under public or private law, who operates with this type of data. The rights of data subjects are dealt with in several articles (art. 17 to 22) and include the right to information, access, anonymization, rectification, portability, elimination, information from public and private entities with which the controller made shared use of data and even revocation of consent.
3
The S˜ ao Paulo Case
S˜ ao Paulo created a situation room to face the pandemic including the Information Systems and Intelligent Monitoring (SIMI) tool that consolidates data collected from multiple state agencies. It is responsible for monitoring mobility data, health data, and economic impacts. SIMI supports the formulation and evaluation of State actions to face the COVID-19 pandemic. The privacy issues were in a legal framework that determined that the system should not contain personal data, and it should consider the data anonymization. The main modules monitor indicators such as mobility behavior (isolation index and traffic flows), healthcare data (hospital capacity, COVID-19 cases, deaths), and economic indicators. 3.1
Cellular Infrastructure as a Base for Identifying Mobility Behavior
Different parts of the world have been applying rules for social isolation, rapid detection tests, mandatory use of masks to prevent dissemination, as well as monitoring the movement of people using cell phones and other means [11,20]. These measures have shown good results in fighting the spread of the virus. Cellular infrastructure was the base to monitor the mobility behavior in S˜ ao Paulo. Therefore, the isolation index was the indicator to measure the result of public policy decisions regarding quarantine. The index presents the percentage of the population that remained inside their houses, creating an index by neighborhoods, cities, and states. The computation uses the cell phone connections in
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the Cell Site to define the localization. Between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., the connections define the “home Cell Site”, thus, when a cell phone connects to another cell site (during all day), this action updates the isolation index. The idea here is to apply the crowd sensing paradigm that takes advantage of the massive use of smart phones for collecting and reporting sensed geolocation data. But the successful deployment of these systems in real life has some challenges and the citizens’ privacy is an important issue in order to increase the quality of the information in the system [19]. Mobile network operators collect data, applying anonymization procedures and grouping by regions, sending the information to the Big data environment of the Brazilian Association of Telecommunication Resources (ABR Telecom – Data Integrator). Then, the ABR sends the CSV files to the SIMI infrastructure for data visualization by the COVID-19 crisis committee (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. Cellular infrastructure for monitoring isolation index
With regard to privacy, the Telecommunication Operators used the LGPD guidelines to build this ecosystem. Hence, it is not possible to obtain users’ identification, address, mobile phone number, or individual locations. For example, this approach and dataset were useful to the public actions and its results, evaluating the impacts in mobility pattern with trade closing; time restrictions for traffic flows; and anticipation of holidays. 3.2
Vehicular Mobility Monitoring
To understand the spread of COVID-19 across the S˜ao Paulo state, it is important to notice that the virus is carried by people while using the transport system. Thus, it is fundamental to map vehicle flows to capture the SARS-COV2 spreading patterns across the state to support the decision-making process.
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To achieve that, we developed an information system integrating data from traffic counters via inductive-loops and speed cameras installed into highways, providing traffic flow of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. These counters connect via fiber to traffic control centers from operators and supervisors companies (ARTESP, DER, WRITESYS), which send information using a REST API from a cloud broker, InterSCity [6], an integrated open-source platform containing all the major building blocks for the development of robust, integrated, sophisticated applications for smart cities [6]. Then, InterSCity stores data in a MongoDB database, and data visualisation tools (such as Tableau) are used to develop dashboards for the decision-making staff (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3. Sensors data collection and visualization
This approach and dataset were useful to evaluate the impact of mobility on the spread of the virus outside the capital(epicentre) and its relationship with interstate highways; economic impacts based in mobility pattern [9]. Furthermore, the system did not compromise the license plate identification and individual origin-destination. 3.3
Health Data Monitoring
The data used to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in the S˜ ao Paulo State were collected from integrated databases responsible for registering patients with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI). Figure 4 illustrates the process of integrating health systems by the State System for the Analysis of Statistical Data (SEADE Foudation) and the acquisition of international public data. Due to the nature of the application, the bases contain many attributes of patient identification, making it necessary to apply anonymization techniques to build publicly accessible tools.
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To extract relevant information, it is necessary to treat duplicate records, so each patient has only a single record. The suppression of the identifying attributes is responsible for generating the pseudo-anonymized data, where each line has a unique identifier that cannot be linked to the original patient. The aggregation of data allowed the construction of geolocalized maps in which a town is the lowest level of detail. This way, it is possible to ensure that each record will belong to a large group, avoiding re-identification [12].
Fig. 4. Health data monitoring architecture
For example, this approach and dataset were useful to the public actions and its results, evaluating the spread of the virus into state, predicting resources allocation to supply hospitals operations, humanitarian support, logistic support for truck drivers transporting goods. 3.4
Fiscal Secrecy in Monitoring the Economic Rescue
The data used for analysis of the economic recovery refers to the amounts of Invoices and Electronic Tax Coupons issued daily and the total value of those documents, associated with the geographic location of the point of sale. These numbers are not enough to calculate the exact revenues because there is no treatment for returns, remittances, or transfers. However, they are a very good estimate of the point of sale activity. Electronic Coupon data refer to the SAT-CFe (Electronic Tax Coupon Authenticator and Transmitter System) from retail trade and NFC-e (Electronic Consumer Invoice). The NFC-e is a digital document issued and stored electronically by a taxpayer accredited by the State Treasury Office, whose legal validity is guaranteed by the digital signature of the issuer and by the Authorization for Use, granted by the State Treasury Office, with the purpose to document sale operations in person or sale for delivery to the final consumer (individual or legal) in internal operation. To handle this data, technical criteria of tax secrecy must be respected, making impossible to identify taxpayers and ensure privacy. Articles 198 and 199 of
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The Brazilian Tax Code (CNT - National Tax Code) define tax secrecy. There is also the internal Resolution SF 20, which provides access to information protected by tax secrecy provided by computer systems of the State Treasury Office. In addition, article 325 of the Penal Code, states that revealing facts that should be secret can lead to the punishment of six months to two years of arrestment. Thus, all the rules must be carefully applied to ensure anonymization. Weekly, the SIMI system receives a CSV file with data activity of the businesses associated with the S˜ao Paulo State Treasury Office, as depicted in Fig. 5. The file content follows all privacy rules described above. Using these data is a way to create the economic rescue dashboards in Tableau, showing the economic evolution of the State of S˜ ao Paulo, compared to the year 2019. This approach and dataset were useful to evaluate the impact of opening up the economy, define financial support to industry and the more affected sectors.
Fig. 5. Economical rescue monitoring
3.5
Escalator Approach in S˜ ao Paulo
During the SIMI operation, several technologies provided new features to support the state government decision-making process. Thus, it was possible to associate Fig. 1 with actions undertaken in S˜ ao Paulo, as shown in Table 2.
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Escalator level
Modus operandi
Isolation Index and Density
The Cellular Operators use LGPD guidelines to offer the index using anonymous connections in Cell site, as well as the density maps
Origin-Destination Matrix The Highway Operators use LGPD guidelines to offer the anonymous flows and tags from Automatic Vehicle identification to O-D Matrix
4
Profile and behavior
Google offers community mobility reports (https://www.google. com/covid19/mobility/) with csv files, which are used by SIMI dashboards to show relative mobility to 4 classes: retail and recreation; supermarket and pharmacy; parks; public transport stations; and workplaces. Besides, the monitoring of electronic invoice promotes an understanding of economic rescue, and in the case of retail could reflects the acquisition of goods and services in these locations
Individual tracking
S˜ ao Paulo did not use this feature
Conclusions
This experience highlighted the importance of government information systems in offering an integrated view, to enable efficient monitoring of the results of public policies in facing the pandemic. It became evident the absence of mature privacy policies and jurisprudence on the use of data for pandemic periods. This caused friction and instability in the situation room work and multiple difficulties in implementing good practices already consolidated in other parts of the world. Finally, it also demonstrated that the work of multidisciplinary teams and data integration were essential to aggregate and subsidize government officials in evidence-based decision-making to face the pandemic. This paper presents a new way of approaching local problems, based on the large technological body of work developed by network and data integration researchers in the past decades and explains how it has been applied in a real situation. Acknowledgment. This is a work of the Institutional Development Plan in the area of Digital Transformation (PDIp), financed by FAPESP proc. 17/50343-2. The work has the collaboration of the INCT of the Future Internet for Smart Cities funded by CNPq proc. 465446/2014-0, Coordena-cc˜ ao de Aperfei¸coamento de Pessoal de N´ıvel Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001, FAPESP proc. 14/50937-1, and FAPESP proc. 15/24485-9.
References 1. Argentine Government: Protection of personal data and geolocation. https:// www.argentina.gob.ar/noticias/proteccion-de-datos-personales-y-geolocalizacion. Accessed 12 Aug 2020. (In Spanish) 2. Argentine Government: Treatment of personal data in face of the coronavirus (2020). https://www.argentina.gob.ar/noticias/tratamiento-de-datos-personalesante-el-coronavirus. Accessed 12 Aug 2020. (In Spanish)
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3. Brazilian Government: Law 13.709 of August 14, 2018. (Internet Civil Mark) (2018). https://pesquisa.in.gov.br/imprensa/jsp/visualiza/index.jsp?data=15/08/ 2018&jornal=515&pagina=59&totalArquivos=215. (In Portuguese) 4. Chilean Government – Council for Transparency (CPLT): Can the name of an infected person or an eventual contagion be revealed?, https://www. consejotransparencia.cl/se-puede-revelar-el-nombre-de-una-persona-contagiadao-de-un-eventual-contagio/. Accessed 12 Aug 2020. (In Spanish) 5. Chilean Government – Council for Transparency (CPLT): CPLT sends recommendations to authorities to ensure adequate protection of personal data collected by its application ”CoronApp” (2020). Accessed 12 Aug 2020. (In Spanish) 6. Del Esposte, A.D.M., Santana, E.F.Z., Kanashiro, L., Costa, F.M., Braghetto, K.R., Lago, N., Kon, F.: Design and evaluation of a scalable smart city software platform with large-scale simulations. Future Generation Comput. Syst. 93, 427– 441 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2018.10.026 7. Elavarasan, R.M., Pugazhendhi, R.: Restructured society and environment: a review on potential technological strategies to control the covid-19 pandemic. Sci. Total Environ. 725 (2020) 8. Government of Mexico City – Digital Agency for Public Innovation: Information note on collaboration with national mobile phone operators in the face of COVID19. https://adip.cdmx.gob.mx/comunicacion/nota/nota-informativa-sobre-lacolaboracion-con-los-operadores-nacionales-de-telefonia. Accessed 10 Sept 2020. (In Spanish) 9. Haddad, E., Vieira, R., Ara´ ujo, I., Ichihara, S., Perobelli, F., Bugarin, K.: Economic Impacts of the S˜ ao Paulo Plan (Technical Note). TD NEREUS 7-2020, Center for Regional and Urban Economics at the University of S˜ ao Paulo (NEREUS) 10. Kraemer, M.U.G., Yang, C.H., Gutierrez, B., et al.: The effect of human mobility and control measures on the covid-19 epidemic in china. Science 368(6490), 493– 497 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb4218 11. Lyons, K.: Governments around the world are increasingly using location data to manage the coronavirus, https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190700/eumobile-carriers-customer-data-coronavirus-south-korea-taiwan-privacy. Accessed 23 Mar 2020 12. Machado, J.C., Neto, E.R.D., Bento Filho, M.E.: Location data privacy techniques. SBBD 2019 pp. 1–8 (2019) (In Portuguese) 13. Mexican Government: Datos Personales Seguros COVID-19. https://micrositios. inai.org.mx/covid-19/?page id=155. (In Spanish) 14. Oliver, N., Lepri, B., Sterly, H., et al.: Mobile phone data for informing public health actions across the covid-19 pandemic life cycle. Sci. Adv. 6(23), 32 (2020) 15. Palhares, G.C., Santos, A.S., Ariente, E.A., Gomes, J.D.O.: A privacy in times of pandemic and escalation of monitoring and tracing. Adv. Stud. 34, 175–190 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1590/s0103-4014.2020.3499.011. (In Portuguese) 16. Peruvian Government: Disclose personal data of patients with coronavirus can be fined up to 215 thousand soles (2020). Accessed 12 Aug 2020 (In Spanish) 17. Peruvian Government: National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data will supervise the use of geolocation data in cases of infected and suspected of contagion of coronavirus (COVID-19) (2020). Accessed 12 Aug 2020. (In Spanish) 18. State of S˜ ao Paulo: Decree 64.963 of May 5, 2020. Establishes the Intelligent Information and Monitoring System (SIMI), designed to face the COVID-19 pandemic. Official Gazette of the State of S˜ ao Paulo (In Portuguese)
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Data Science Procedures to Aggregate Unstructured Disease Data in Georeferenced Spreading Analysis Lucas C. de Almeida(B) , Daniel S. do Prado , Nat´ alia A. Marques , Francisco L. de Caldas Filho , Lucas M. C. e Martins , and Rafael T. de Sousa Jr. Faculty of Technology, Electrical Engineering Department, University of Bras´ılia, Bras´ılia, DF 70910-900, Brazil [email protected]
Abstract. The importance of analyzing data on public health, especially on notifications of disease cases, can play an important role in the overall improvement of the framework for combating epidemics. This type of study proved to be extremely influential during the COVID-19 pandemic, which demanded rapid and specific actions for the management of different geographic regions. This work presents the design and results of a system that has made possible perform analysis of this nature even in contexts of scarcity of structured and even georeferenced data. It is hoped that the work will be an inspiration for new, more comprehensive initiatives, without implying that health professionals have an advanced knowledge about the techniques and technologies that form the basis of the platform, easily integrating with existing processes and adding value. The result was the generation of a structured and aggregated database of COVID-19 data in the city of Brasilia, Federal District, capital of Brazil. If the informs used to extract data previously provided only information about the disease situation, with the platform, they now provide a basis for complex epidemiological analyzes and even spreading animations. Keywords: Data scraping · Data visualization analysis · Georeferenced data
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· Epidemic data
Introduction
There are barriers in the complete integration of the most recent technological advances for some areas, among which health stands out. This is because most of the activities performed by health professionals depend on direct human interaction, so it is common for the adoption of new technologies and systems to end up adding complexity to the workflow, as if they were a new layer of bureaucracy. In other contexts, there is still a financial issue: health systems and technologies can be of very high value. In [15], it is possible to examine the c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 641–652, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_61
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scenario and opinions of a group of health professionals in Brazil (which may represent a common situation to other emerging countries) on the adoption of technology in healthcare environments. However, as stated by [13], during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was possible to verify the importance of automation and technological structuring in a workflow focused on public health: in the face of a disease with a high rate of contamination, it was necessary to understand where there were more infected, what were their profiles, which comorbidities possibly were more related to the disease, among others. Also, with complete and well-organized reports on these data, it was possible to cross-check information on sanitation, education level, income profile, geographic location, and even travel history. All of this was made possible only due to the use of Data Science technologies and statistical modeling. In [14], you can see the importance of using Data Science systems and the challenge of making health professionals proficient in technological processes. In the context of this work, data on COVID-19 from the Health Secretary of the Federal District [6], in the capital of Brazil, was released daily in public files in PDF (Portable Document Format) format on a website at Internet. These reports did not allow the real understanding and study of the disease, only the verification of the current situation of the epidemic. Therefore, the objective of this work was to transform this context of meaningless data into valuable visualizations for studies and for Public Administration. For the most complex and valuable visualization to be generated, the georeferenced, it was necessary to bring together several technologies and very current approaches during the project. Among them, the following stand out: the adoption of GEOJSON [7] formats, the use of data scraping systems from web pages, techniques for extracting data from files in PDF format, searching for color palettes with representation of the associated numerical data and the use of regular expressions [5] to clean the extracted data and form a structured storage. The outcome was the creation and release of a web platform with data being automatically synchronized with the reports released by the Federal District Health Secretary. On this platform, in addition to graphics, it was possible to view maps of the of reported infections and deaths and also animations about the progression of the disease in the different districts of the city. This paper consists of five sections, including this introduction. Section 2 deals with related work, especially the necessary technical concepts. Section 3 specifies the proposed solution, uniting methodologies widely used in the industry and that integrate seamlessly into the context of users. Section 4 serves to discuss and demonstrate the results obtained in implementing the project with real data. Findings and future work can be found in Sect. 5.
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Related Works
In 2020, the world was affected by the COVID-19 disease, changing the way of life of society [13]. In this context, it modified all existing forms of social and work interaction. Many people had to adapt to a new reality and consequently
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many solutions were created in order to serve the population, specially software solutions. This work aimed to facilitate the empowerment of health professionals and managers, using a different form of organization and data visualization. Related works concerning Big Data concepts, data analysis and web scraping methods will be commented below. The work in [12] analyzes existing data scraping structures and tools and identifies their strengths and limitations extracting resources, with the aim of answering in which way current technologies simplify data collection in pipeline to meet various practical needs. The work also presents a scenario for the extraction of biomedical data, similarly to the context of this project, and also describes the operation of WhichGenes and PathJam, two bioinformatics meta-servers that use data scraping methods as a way to analyze the enrichment of a set of genes. In contrast, the present work uses data scraping techniques to obtain and filter reports in PDF format from the website of the Secretary of Public Health of the Federal District, which didn’t provided, at the time of this work, in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, any application interface for programmatic access. The collection of this data is important for the realization of multidimensional data modeling about the COVID-19. The work described in [16] provides a review of the conceptual and practical aspects related to the application of georeferenced data in epidemiological research. It deals with the tradition of disease mapping in geographic medicine. Also, comments about other types of georeferenced data, its implications for data analysis, spatial auto correlation and other analytical approaches, such as the prediction of future occurrences in specific geographic spaces, which can be implemented by space-time models. In a slightly different way, the work developed in this article applies these concepts, mainly mapping and predicting, to data that in its original form does not contain any guidance for georeferenced visualizations or structured analysis. The research on [9] performs a study using data analysis and mathematical modeling for the information about COVID-19 infections in Iran. For that, daily reports from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education were used. The increase in cases of the COVID-19 disease, the epidemic curves, the number of recovered patients and information about deaths were used as parameters to carry out the modeling and forecasting, forming a conceptual structure of an epidemic and predicting the trend of the evolution of COVID-19. This prediction aligns with assumptions about previous trends in the epidemic verified in Iran, the local government interventions and the behavior of the population during these events. In this context, the present work is an application for making predictions and modeling the data collected from the Secretary of Health of the Federal District regarding the evolution of Covid-19. Data Science methodologies were used in order to bring aggregability and integration to public data, making it possible to trace possible patterns. Considering the Big data context, the work [11] describes briefly the urgency of the use of big data analysis techniques that facilitate the prediction and monitoring of epidemics. With the utilization of data scraping specific software, the resulting work in [11] was able to extract social media data for making these
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types of analysis. The objective of this study is to identify how Big Data Analytics can help in pandemics and epidemics considering that data is generated in huge amounts and provided by diverse sources, making it difficult to correlate these sources. The work also filters the collected data with the purpose of projecting it in a clear way for the technical users. The biggest difference for the current work is the method for collecting data: the present document describes data obtained using web scraping techniques. In the following section, the project proposal and the technical details necessary for implementing the solution will be described.
3
Design of an Epidemic Data Science Project
First, it was necessary to define the context and the data source. Therefore, the data from the Health Department of the Federal District, capital of Brazil [6], chosen through the Center for Strategic Information in Health Surveillance (CIEVES) were chosen. CIEVES is the sector that is responsible, among others, for providing timely information on epidemiological emergencies of national relevance [1]. Daily reports are made available through a website regarding the current situation of each disease that has relevant numbers for the general population. Among them, the most relevant and current for the date of this work is related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These reports are documents containing text and images in PDF format and related to the epidemic situation ascertained on the day they were made available (it is a manual summary of the reports received by the other Administrative Regions of the Federal District). Specifically, it will be of interest in this work to have a table available at the end of each report with the data separated by district. Our work contemplates the tasks described as it follows: 1. Search the reports daily on the web page and download them to the local folder; 2. Extract and clear the data of interest; 3. Feed a structured database and provide access; 4. Generate georeferenced visualizations and time graphics. With the thoughtful application of the microservices approach, it was possible to design a simplified and fast implementation structure for the data aggregation software project, as seen in Fig. 1. An important concern was the complexity of each module: if the division into microservices was done for each minimal work step, there would be many independent and idle modules most of the time, in addition to greater concerns in the form of communication and data exchange between each one. Therefore, it was preferred the scenario in which each module performs the activities belonging to one or at most two stages of the process, thus, although the implementation of each module required more care, the output of each one would be exactly the expected of each phase described earlier.
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Fig. 1. Diagram of the proposed software system architecture.
It is interesting to note, based on Fig. 1, that understanding the expected flow of the system and the ontology described for each module, the process steps do not need to be carried out in a linked way, only repetitive. That is, each step can take place in an independent program. In addition to this streamline implementation, this approach also facilitates project growth and the future addition of features. Therefore, the programs can either be executed independently, or they can have their execution linked with simple calls at the end of the iteration of each module, as if they were independent parts that can be connected, exchanged and even duplicated. For the full logical reproduction of the diagram presented, the second option was chosen, causing one program, at the end, to start executing the next one, the first of which was scheduled to be executed directly by the project server’s operating system. Although the data handled in each stage is essentially a collection of products of the same reports, the adherence of the proposed work to the microservice separation methodology guarantees a low coupling in the modules’ working structure (although there is a high correlation between the inputs and outputs). It should also be mentioned that the approach adopted facilitates the future integration of modules that seek data from other sources, in line with the idea of a system that participates and consumes the result of the work of health professionals without becoming an additional obligation. Once the application and its stages of data acquisition, cleaning, storage, and availability, as described in Fig. 1, was implemented, it was necessary to design the systems that would allow georeferenced and graphical visualizations. Since the data did not contain geographic location, but was related to districts of the city, the first step was to look for ways to embed the information in a context of maps. The GeoJSON (Geographic JavaScript Object Notation) technology was chosen for this purpose. Despite being a relatively new format, it has already received the status of proposed Internet standard [7]. In this format, georeferenced polygon drawings are described in accordance with the
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JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) [8] standard. Thus, the software QGIS [4] was used for the manual design of each region of the city. It is important to note that given the popularity of the format, most cities and states around the world have their representations in GeoJSON easily accessible through the Internet, requiring manual mapping in this case due solely to the specific need to separate the internal regions of a single city (something that was not publicly available at the required level of detail). With the polygons representing each region of interest listed in the reports made available by the Federal District Health Department, the next step would be to define how the visualizations would be presented. It was decided to include graphs and filters in the web dashboard to view time series data for each region and a map with the last state collected from the data, showing the current situation. In order to visualize scattering, however, it would be necessary to understand how to create an animated heat map with data without geographic location, which is only possible through the usage of statistical modeling. It happens that, as the data does not contain the location information, the only possible association of the number of cases in each region would be with the polygon corresponding to each region. However, even though it was not possible to create a traditional heat map based on the aggregation of several georeferenced points, it was possible to generate an animation in which the color of each region would be varied based on the numbers of infections and deaths from the disease. It would not be good practice, however, to vary colors in a single shade, because the variation in brightness of each color in the visible spectrum is not linear. This issue was solved using a color palette chosen specifically so that the visual evolution was completely faithful to the numerical value. The palette chosen was the inverse of the so-called “magma”, and the entire explanation of the phenomenon of luminosity evolution in colors, as well as the chosen palette (part of the sequential color maps of the Matplotlib [3] library) ) can be understood in [2]. In [10] it is also possible to check great explanations about the human visual perception of color maps. It is important to mention that the “magma” color map mentioned has an increasing luminosity evolution, with the library’s plotting parameter varying from 0 to 100. Therefore, 0 would be the darkest possible value, and 100 would be the lightest, or luminous. However, what is most intuitive for humans is that the darkest regions are the most affected, that is, that the progression starts in light colors and evolves into dark colors. To achieve this effect, the inverse of this color map was used, so that, for example, a function that receives the fewest possible cases would need to return 100 to match the lightest color possible. It should also be noted that, having an upper and lower limit for the color map parameter (0 to 100), it was also necessary to define these limits for the colors of the animation to be generated. This need was satisfied by understanding that the animation would show the relationship between the regions of the city over time, therefore, the video-generating application should seek the highest value of cases available in the time series of all regions and define a value close to that as the threshold. The parameter to be passed to the color map for each region obeys the following expression:
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(1)
Therefore, the sequence of values generated for the color variation of each region can be described as: 100 − 100
V alueday max (dataset)
day=N (2) day=0
With V alueday being the number of infected or the number of deaths in each day for the given region and max (dataset) the result of the search for the maximum value in all data available in the corresponding bank, either for deaths or for infected. Also, assuming that there are no overlapping between regions, the mathematical representation of the parameters passed to the animated plotting program can be described as a sequence of sums of colors of each region, each sum corresponding to one complete frame of the video: ⎫day=N ⎬ V alueday )region (100 − 100 ⎭ ⎩ max (dataset) region=0 ⎧ ⎨region=M
(3)
day=0
These calculations and the plotting scheme ensured the normalization of the visualizations, the fidelity of the colors to the reported data and even allowed for complete automation, removing the need for manual adjustments to the calculations. In Fig. 2, it is possible to understand the phenomenon that occurs when applying values that have the nature of exponential progression, for example infected by epidemics, and the color map with evolution of sequential luminosity. It should be noted that the mapping becomes coherent, causing a large difference between consecutive data on an exponential curve to be seen as a big change in the luminosity of the color of the map.
Fig. 2. Expected visual phenomenon for the progression and distribution of colors with epidemic data explained graphically. The dotted lines represent the values calculated for plotting colors in each region of the map.
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Next, the tests and results of the implementation of the system for the context of the data provided by the Health Department of the Federal District of Brazil will be presented.
4
Evaluation of Tests and Results of the Proposed System
In this section, the results obtained with the application of the system will be presented in the context of the data from the Health Department of the Federal District of Brazil made available until August 27, 2020, with 180 reports in the repository. The results of this work can be divided into 2 major parts: data extraction and storage and then its visualization, which will be explained as it follows. 4.1
Extraction and Storage
Considering the data extraction, it was found that 100% of the reports were downloaded and renamed correctly in PDF format. From 180 reports correctly obtained until August 27, 2020, 155 were processed and resulted in successful data extraction. Also, from reports number 1 to 23, the table of interest did not yet exist. Therefore, only 156 reports were real objects of the extraction, and of these, 155 resulted in success. This corresponds to an error rate of about 0.64% and a success rate of 99.36%. This small margin of error is due to the various formatting and tabulation problems both in the source code of the website of the official government document repository and in the documents themselves. As stated earlier, regular expressions are used to filter out these flaws, however not all cases can be predicted. 4.2
Visualization and Georeferenced Views
Data visualization has a fundamental role in facilitating the work of specialists. In the first phase of this work, we provided the most basic visualization forms that could support health professionals in an easy way. Considering this first visualization context, Fig. 3a depicts some graphical data visualization available in the system. Figure 3a shows that the data were arranged in an aggregated manner, providing an overview of the evolution of the number of cases and deaths per interval of interest in the entire city. There is also another way of viewing through filters by districts, in which the user can choose which regions are of interest through a list. Figure 3b shows this form of visualization. There are still several other filters and methods available, allowing different integrations in third party systems. The malleability of the structured data resulting from the complete and continuous iteration of the system adds new layers of study and possible decision making for health professionals without requiring technical knowledge in systems.
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In the second phase of the project that is described in this paper, we worked on a way to make data viewable by geographic region, depicted as districts of the city. As all stored data has identifiers about which district they relate to, it is possible to present them on a map, with colors referring to the epidemic situation of each georeferenced region using the QGIS software. In Fig. 4, this view of the situation of the regions of the city of Brasilia, capital of Brazil is shown, with darker colors representing a greater advance in the number of cases, and lighter colors representing regions with fewer cases in relation to the total. It is important to note that the legend shows absolute values, not the percentage of the population in the city in relation to the total. Therefore, it is not an incidence map, but case distribution. Finally, in Fig. 5 it is possible to see sample frames of the animation that is updated whenever a new report is included in the database. This visualization is the result of bringing together several technologies and methods of data analysis. The review of all images showing the results of the application and the understanding of the progression of frames in Fig. 5 makes clear the added value obtained at the end of the platform tests in relation to a series of full text documents tables such as the scenario described for public health data in the Federal District. From texts with formatting errors and difficult to be studied, general and relative temporal analyzes were obtained that were complex enough to verify even the possible peak date of daily cases for COVID-19 in the city. Although it is not possible to show the animation of this analysis, Fig. 3a shows that this date probably occurred close to the August 20, 2020.
(a) Graphs of accumulated cases, accumulated deaths, daily cases, moving average of daily cases and moving average of daily deaths, being possible to select analysis periods of 7, 15 or 21 days.
(b) Graphics with filtering by region, demonstrating 3 selected districts. The graphs on the top show accumulated cases and deaths and the graphs on the bottom show the distribution in relation to the total of those selected.
Fig. 3. Data Visualization made available in the previous project phase
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Fig. 4. View of the situation of the epidemic allowing the comparison between the districts of the city of Bras´ılia, Federal District, capital of Brazil.
Fig. 5. Animated video frames of a heat map of the historical spread of the number of cases across the city. Dates are presented in the format day, month and year.
With the presentation of the results of the proposed platform, the next section gives a brief overview of the future possibilities of this application and concludes the work.
5
Conclusion and Future Works
In this work, we proposed a platform for applying geospatial attributes for data on diseases and public health provided in a textual manner by the Health Department of the Federal District of Brazil. Our system comprehends the extraction,
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aggregation, and visualization of data in a geospatial manner. The results were presented and discussed briefly, showing the sophistication brought to the data set after the application of all the techniques and approaches described. The final level of quality of the panels proved to be easy to understand and presented results as good as, and perhaps even superior to, those presented in environments in which health professionals have access and are trained with technologies and procedures for collecting and aggregating data. The project still has a small scope of action. In addition to being tested only with data from a city and its districts, it was also used to analyze only data from COVID-19. However, the potential of the system is much more comprehensive and can be quickly integrated with other databases to reproduce the results in relation to other diseases and even comorbidities. As future works, we envision crossing information from social networks and mobile applications with the numbers reported in the reports could allow a machine learning application to adjust the visualizations within each region to find theoretical hotspots, based on infrastructure, density data population, geographic location of mobile application data and even consumption indicators to track adherence to social distance policies. Acknowledgment. This work was supported in part by CNPq - Brazilian National Research Council, under Grant 312180/2019-5 PQ-2, Grant BRICS2017-591 LargEWiN, and Grant 465741/2014-2 INCT on Cybersecurity, in part by CAPES - Brazilian Higher Education Personnel Improvement Coordination, under Grant 23038.007604/2014-69 FORTE and Grant 88887.144009/2017-00 PROBRAL, in part by FAP-DF - Brazilian Federal District Research Support Foundation, under Grant 0193.001366/2016 UIoT and Grant 0193.001365/2016 SSDDC, in part by the Brazilian Ministry of the Economy under Grant 005/2016 DIPLA and Grant 083/2016 ENAP, in part by the Institutional Security Office of the Presidency of Brazil under Grant ABIN 002/2017, in part by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense under Grant CADE 08700.000047/2019-14, and in part by the General Attorney of the Union under Grant AGU 697.935/2019.
References 1. Centro de informa¸co ˜es estrat´egicas em vigilˆ ancia em sa´ ude (cievs). http://www. saude.gov.br/vigilancia-em-saude/emergencia-em-saude-publica/cievs 2. Choosing Colormaps in Matplotlib. https://matplotlib.org/3.3.1/tutorials/colors/ colormaps.html 3. Matplotlib: Visualization with Python. https://matplotlib.org/ 4. QGIS - A Free and Open Source Geographic Information System. https://qgis. org/en/site/# 5. Regular expressions reference. https://www.regular-expressions.info/reference. html 6. Secretaria de sa´ ude do distrito federal. http://www.saude.df.gov.br/ 7. The GeoJSON Format. https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7946 8. The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data Interchange Format. https://tools. ietf.org/html/rfc8259
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9. Ahmadi, A., Shirani, M., Rahmani, F.: Modeling and forecasting trend of Covid-19 epidemic in iran. medRxiv (2020) 10. Bergman, L.D., Rogowitz, B.E., Treinish, L.A.: A rule-based tool for assisting colormap selection. In: Proceedings Visualization 1995, pp. 118–125 (1995) 11. Corsi, A.: Big data analytics as a tool for fighting pandemics: a systematic review of literature. J. Ambient Intell. Human. Comput. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/ s12652-020-02617-4 12. Glez-Pe˜ na, D., Louren¸co, A., L´ opez-Fern´ andez, H., Reboiro-Jato, M., FdezRiverola, F.: Web scraping technologies in an API world. Brief. Bioinform. 15(5), 788–797 (2014) 13. Lima, C.M.: Information about the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Radiologia Brasileira 53, V–VI (2020). https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-3984.2020.53.2e1 14. Santos, A.D.F.D., Fonseca Sobrinho, D., Araujo, L.L., Proc´ opio, C.D.S.D., Lopes, E.A.S., Lima, A.M.D.L.D.D., Reis, C.M.R.D., Abreu, D.M.X.D., Jorge, A.O., Matta-Machado, A.T.: Incorporation of information and communication technologies and quality of primary healthcare in Brazil [Incorpora¸ca ˜o de Tecnologias de Informa¸ca ˜o e Comunica¸ca ˜o e qualidade na aten¸ca ˜o b´ asica em sa´ ude no Brasil]. Reports in Public Health 33 June 2017 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1590/0102311x00172815 15. Santos, S.R.D., Paula, A.F.A.D., Lima, J.P.: Nurses and their perception about the manual recording system in patients’ files [O enfermeiro e sua percep¸ca ˜o sobre o sistema manual de registro no prontu´ ario]. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem 11, 80 – 87 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692003000100012 16. Werneck, G.L.: Georeferenced data in epidemiologic research. Ciˆencia & Sa´ ude Coletiva 13, 1753–1766 (2008)
Mixture-Based Open World Face Recognition Arthur Matta1,2 , Jo˜ ao Ribeiro Pinto1,2(B) , and Jaime S. Cardoso1,2 1
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INESC TEC, Porto, Portugal {joao.t.pinto,jaime.cardoso}@inesctec.pt Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal [email protected]
Abstract. Face Recognition (FR) is a challenging task, especially when dealing with unknown identities. While Open-Set Face Recognition (OSFR) assigns a single class to all unfamiliar subjects, Open-World Face Recognition (OWFR) employs an incremental approach, creating a new class for each unknown individual. Current OWFR approaches still present limitations, mainly regarding the accuracy gap to standard closed-set approaches and execution time. This paper proposes a fast and simple mixture-based OWFR algorithm that tackles the execution time issue while avoiding accuracy decay. The proposed method uses data curve representations and Universal Background Models based on Gaussian Mixture Models. Experimental results show that the proposed approach achieves competitive performance, considering accuracy and execution time, in both closed-set and open-world scenarios. Keywords: Biometrics
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· Face recognition · Open set · Open world
Introduction
A known limitation of conventional classification algorithms is using closed identity sets. Here, all identities seen during testing have been previously presented to the method during training or enrollment stages. The presence of unknown subjects during testing or deployment has a significant negative effect on recognition performance, since the algorithms are unable to correctly recognize their biometric data. Open-Set Face Recognition (OSFR), introduced by G¨ unther et al. [4], addresses this problem by thresholding confidence scores and assigning a single “unknown” label to all samples which do not meet the defined threshold. However, a limitation of OSFR is that it does not learn or otherwise take advantage of newly available data. On the other hand, Open-World Face Recognition (OWFR), introduced by Bendale and Boult [1], extends the concept of OSFR using Class Incremental Learning (CIL). Instead of assigning all unknown subjects to a single class, OWFR discriminates data from unknown identities and learns a new class for each unfamiliar subject. c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 653–662, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_62
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Bendale and Boult [1] proposed the Nearest Non-Outlier (NNO) algorithm, an extension of the traditional Nearest Class Mean (NCM) approach that tackles open space risk while balancing accuracy. However, Rosa et al. [7] argued that several metric learning algorithms, like NNO and NCM, estimate their parameters on an initial closed set and keep them unchanged as the problem evolves, contradicting the very own definition of OWFR. Hence, they extended three algorithms, the Nearest Class Mean, the Nearest Non-Outlier, and the Nearest Ball Classifier, to update their metric and novelty threshold online. Following this line of thought, Doan and Kalita [3] developed a similar approach, employing their solution for the incremental addition of new classes, but optimizing the nearest neighbor search to determine the closest local balls. Lonij et al. [5] proposed a different approach, using knowledge graph embedding to add semantic meaning by employing smoothing constraints in the graph embedding loss function and an attention-based scheme to improve novel graph predictions. For the action recognition task, Shu et al. [9] proposed the Open Deep Network (ODN), which applies a multi-class triplet thresholding technique to detect new classes and then dynamically reconstruct the network’s classification layers, continually appending predictors for new categories. Xu et al. [12] proposed a meta-learning algorithm that only requires a trained meta-classifier to continually include new classes when sufficient labeled data is available and detect/reject later unseen subjects. OWFR is a relatively new concept and, therefore, the related literature is limited. However, the existing state-of-the-art approaches still present some issues, mainly regarding their accuracy compared to standard closed-set approaches. The algorithms proposed in [7], for example, achieved a maximum accuracy of approximately 50% on the ILSVRC’10 dataset. The need to retrain models also leads to long execution time, even with relatively small data sets. Considering the current limitations in OWFR, this work proposes a fast and straightforward algorithm which models identity classes using mixture-based data representations, aiming for high recognition accuracy and time efficiency. The proposed algorithm is formulated with two variants regarding the data representation methodologies. The first variant represents biometric samples as curves and assigns identities based on feature-wise distances to each class’ representation. The second variant employs Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) to represent identities with a Universal Background Model (UBM) as a normalization factor. These approaches were directly compared to the state-of-the-art Online NNO algorithm [7]. Besides this introduction, four more sections compose the remainder of this paper. Section 2 details the mixture-based algorithm proposed in this paper, as well as its two variants. Section 3 describes the experimental settings and databases used for development and evaluation. Section 4 presents and discusses the results obtained from the conducted experiments. Section 5 gathers the conclusions drawn from this work and indicates some potential paths for future research.
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Proposed Methodology
This section introduces the mixture-based OWFR methodology developed in this work. The first method variant focuses on representing N -dimensional data as visual curves in a bidimensional space. The second variant extends the previous approach by employing Gaussian Mixture Models and Universal Background Models for more efficient and complete representation of each identity class. 2.1
First Variant: Curve-Based Representations
The first variant of the proposed method employs a data simplification by representing any N -dimensional biometric sample as a curve on a bidimensional space. It then assigns an instance to an identity class by calculating a feature-by-feature distance between an instance’s curve and a class’ curve. Figure 1 illustrates the representative scheme of this approach.
Fig. 1. Scheme of the first variant of the proposed method.
This approach allows the same class to have multiple clusters, each with its centroid, using a label encoder that maps each group to an index. Therefore, given Y = {y1 , ..., yj } the set of all classes, the index representation is given by I = {i11 , i21 , i12 , ..., igk }, where igk is the index pointing to cluster g of class k, with ugk representing the centroid of cluster igk . For simplification, consider I = {i1 , i2 , ..., ic } the set of all indexes with μc representing the center corresponding to ic . The algorithm first step calculates a threshold for each feature indicating the interval to which an element can be considered related to that cluster: T n = F × σn ,
(1)
where F is a constant scale factor used to adjust the interval’s width, and σ n is the standard deviation of the nth-feature considering all μc . The algorithm’s second step is calculating a feature-by-feature distance between the instance x ∈ X = {x1 , x2 , ..., xi }, with X ∈ RN , and each cluster’ center μc , as follows: n = |μnc − xn |, Dxc
(2)
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where μnc and xn are the nth-feature of μc and x, respectively. This distance is employed to calculate a score value between [0, N] to an instance x for cluster c using the formulation: N n Sxc = [Dxc ≤ T n] , (3) n=1
where [ ] symbolize the Iverson Brackets which return 1 if the condition inside is true and 0 otherwise. The algorithm accepts the instance x as belonging to cluster c with highest score Sxcmax if Sxcmax ≥ H, where H is a threshold in [1, N ], updating the respective centroid using the equation: 1 1 t+1 xt , (4) μct = 1 − μtct + n(ct ) n(ct ) where n(ct ) is the number of instances of cluster ct at time t (including the current sample). Note that the initial value for μ1 is equal to the first sample x1 . However, if Sxcmax < H, it assigns x to one of the unknown classes U = {u1 , u2 , ..., ui } by repeating the same procedure described above but replacing the set I for U . If Sxumax < H, then a new unknown class ui+1 is created and x assigned to it. The final step is, after some period, converting ui into a known class when it reaches a minimum number of samples or discarding it otherwise. When a new cluster is created, an index pointing to it is also generated. 2.2
Second Variant: GMM-UBM Representations
The aforedescribed first variant employs a distance-from-cluster-center approach and therefore is susceptible to the curse of dimensionality. To avoid this, the second variant replaces the curve representation using a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) to represent each class and using the likelihood ratio as biometric comparison score. Figure 2 illustrates the representative scheme of this approach.
Fig. 2. Scheme of the second variant of the proposed method.
The GMMs apply a finite number of Gaussian distributions to model any arbitrarily-shaped cluster more accurately, increasing the method’s robustness.
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They employ an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to calculate a weight encoding the probability of membership to each component for each point and then use it to update the corresponding component’ parameters, ensuring the convergence to a local optimum. The general notation of a GMM is λ = {ωi , μi , Σi }, with i = 1, ..., M , where M is the number of Gaussian components used, and ωi , μi , and Σi are the component’s weight, mean vector, and covariance matrix, respectively. The mean vector defines the Gaussian distribution’s location in space, while the covariance matrix determines its density contours’ direction and length. This approach employs diagonal covariance matrices. The likelihood ratio (LR) test assesses the fitness between two models by employing a hypothesis test: given an observation, O, and a person, P , define the hypothesis H0 = O is from P, and H1 = O is not from P. Then, the ratio between the probability density function (or likelihood) for both hypotheses can be computed through: p(O|H0 ) ≥ θ accept H0 (5) LR(O) = p(O|H1 ) < θ reject H0 In this approach, the GMM describes a feature’s distribution derived from the corresponding person, hence characterizing a hypothesis, and each feature vector represents an observation. Therefore, the LR test becomes: LR(x, P ) =
p(x|λP ) , p(x|λP )
(6)
where λP and λP are parameters denoting the weights, means, and covariance matrices of the corresponding GMM. The p(x|λP ) is a probability density function given by the weighted sum of the GMM’s M components: p(x|λ) =
M
ωi g(x|μi , Σi ),
(7)
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with each component g(x|μi , Σi ) being a function of the form: 1 1 −1 − (x − μi ) Σi (x − μi ) . g(x|μi , Σi ) = N 1 exp 2 (2π) 2 |Σi | 2
(8)
The issue, however, is how to define the likelihood of the alternative hypothesis. λP can be acquired using the training data, but λP must encompass the entire space of possible alternatives to person P . One could calculate the probability λP = F (p(x|λ1 ), ..., p(x|λN )), where F is a function such as average or maximum, for all the possible alternatives to person P but this is not suitable for applications with many alternatives. A Universal Background Model (UBM) pools samples from several different classes, resulting in one single model which represents all alternative hypotheses: p(X|λP ) = p(x|λU BM ).
(9)
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Thus, given an instance x ∈ X, the method calculates the LR for each class using both the corresponding GMM and the UBM: LR(x, y) =
p(x|λy ) , p(x|λU BM )
(10)
accepting x as belonging to the class y with the highest LR if LR(x, y ) > θ, where θ is a provided threshold. The models of this algorithm are static, and hence they do not update. If all classes reject the instance, this method assigns the instance to one of the unknown classes using the first algorithm. However, after accumulating the minimum number of samples, it generates a new GMM fitted to the corresponding data.
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Experiments
The expected scenario for these algorithms consists of small and closed environments (e.g., building entrance, corridor, room) where registered and unknown individuals should be recorded and recognized. As such, the experiments were designed to mimic these expected application settings. The data used was drawn from the VGGFace 1 database [6], resulting in a subset comprising 30k images from 300 identities. The experiments consist of two scenarios: closed-set and open-world. The first scenario validates whether the algorithms can recognize faces properly and consists of an increasing number of subjects from 50 to 100, 150, and 200. The second scenario validates whether the algorithms can handle the unknown subjects and learn new identities. It uses an increasing number of known and unknown subjects: 50 and 100 known identities, and 50, 100, 150, and 200 unknown identities. The training and validation data sets comprise 70 and 30 images per individual, respectively. All these images were randomly shuffled before being fed to the algorithms. To detect and extract the faces, both algorithms employed the Facenet [8] library, a state-of-the-art method that converts each image into a 512-dimensional feature vector. All implementations and evaluations were performed using Python. Performance is evaluated through recognition accuracy: the fraction of test queries which are correctly assigned their true identity label (in case they are enrolled) or the unknown class.
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Results
This section presents and discusses the results obtained in the experiments on closed-set and open-world scenarios. Figure 3 presents the results in the closedset scenario. The first variant of the proposed method stands out for presenting higher accuracy when compared to the alternatives, and the recognition performance attained by both proposed method variants remains relatively stable with growing sets of identities. In most cases, the proposed method outperformed the
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baseline algorithm: oNNO’s performance increased significantly as the number of identities increased, surpassing the second variant and almost achieving the same accuracy as the first variant.
Fig. 3. Comparison of results on the closed-set scenario, with 50, 100, 150, and 200 subjects.
Figure 4 presents the results in the open-world scenario. In this scenario, with 50 known individuals, both proposed variants outperform the baseline by a considerable margin. However, as the number of unknown subjects increases, the accuracy of the first variant quickly degrades, unlike the baseline, whose accuracy generally increases with more unknown subjects. The second variant of the proposed method, in turn, offers more stability with growing sets of unknown identities, retaining high accuracy across all tests. Overall, the proposed method was able to outperform the baseline on this scenario with few known identities. With 100 known identities, all methods have approximately the same performance with fewer unknown subjects. However, as the number of unfamiliar identities increased, the first variant presented once more a notable decrease in accuracy, performing worse than the baseline. On the other hand, the second variant of the proposed method retained competitive performance when compared to the baseline, presenting approximately the same accuracy regardless of the number of unknown identities. Regardless of the scenario and number of identities employed, both variants of the proposed methodology for mixture-based open world recognition presented considerably faster execution times than the baseline, for both training and validation processes. This is largely due to the proposed method’s simplicity and straightforwardness when compared with the alternative state-of-the-art approaches.
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(a)
(b)
Fig. 4. Comparison of results on the open-world scenario obtained with (a) 50 and (b) 100 known individuals, and 50, 100, 150, and 200 unknown subjects.
5
Conclusions
This paper addressed the open-world recognition problem by proposing a mixture-based methodology with two data representation variants. The first variant represents any N -dimensional vector as a curve in a bidimensional space and calculates a feature-by-feature distance between the curves. The second variant substitutes the curve representation by Gaussian Mixture Models to represent each class. These approaches were compared with the online NNO state-of-the-art algorithm and evaluated across two experimental scenarios: close-set and open-world. For the first scenario, the first variant of the proposed approach outperformed the baseline, while the second variant presented a performance decay with increased number of identities. For the second scenario, with 50 known individuals, both
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proposed methods outperformed the baseline. On the other hand, with 100 known identities, the baseline outperformed the first variant and was, on average, as accurate as the second. Overall, the results show that the proposed approach is competitive with the state-of-the-art for open-world face recognition. This is especially true for the expected application scenario, where the biometric system would only know (have enrollment data) of relatively few users. Additionally, regardless of the scenario and number of identities employed, both proposed variants have a considerably faster execution time than the baseline. Future work will focus on dynamically fine-tuning the facenet representation for the application scenarios and adopting more advanced techniques such as Kalman filtering [10], Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) [2], and reinforcement learning [11]. Other topics worth studying are video scenarios and scalability tests. Acknowledgments. This work was financed by the ERDF – European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization - COMPETE 2020 Programme and by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT – Funda¸ca ˜o para a Ciˆencia e a Tecnologia within project “POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030707”, and within the Ph.D. grant “SFRH/BD/137720/2018”. The authors wish to acknowledge the creators of the VGG Face dataset (University of Oxford, UK), essential for this work.
References 1. Bendale, A., Boult, T.E.: Towards open world recognition. In: Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), pp. 1893–1902 (2015) 2. Corrˆea, D., Salvadeo, D., Levada, A., Saito, J.: Using LSTM network in face classification problems. In: IV Workshop am Vis˜ ao Computacional (WVC) (2008) 3. Doan, T., Kalita, J.: Overcoming the challenge for text classification in the open world. In: 2017 IEEE 7th Annual Computing and Communication Workshop and Conference (CCWC), pp. 1–7 (2017) 4. G¨ unther, M., Cruz, S., Rudd, E.M., Boult, T.E.: Toward open-set face recognition. In: Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), pp. 71–80 (2017) 5. Lonij, V.P.A., Rawat, A., Nicolae, M.: Open-world visual recognition using knowledge graphs. arXiv preprint arXiv:1708.08310 (2017) 6. Parkhi, O.M., Vedaldi, A., Zisserman, A.: Deep face recognition. Brit. Mach. Vis. Assoc. Soc. Pattern Recogn. 41(1–41), 12 (2015) 7. Rosa, R.D., Mensink, T., Caputo, B.: Online open world recognition. arXiv preprint arXiv:1604.02275 (2016) 8. Schroff, F., Kalenichenko, D., Philbin, J.: Facenet: a unified embedding for face recognition and clustering. In: IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), pp. 815–823 (2015) 9. Shu, Y., Shi, Y., Wang, Y., Zou, Y., Yuan, Q., Tian, Y.: Odn: opening the deep network for open-set action recognition. In: IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo (ICME), pp. 1–6 (2018)
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10. Wang, L.: Face recognition technology based on kalman filter. In: 2019 9th International Conference on Management and Computer Science (ICMCS), pp. 11–18 (2019) 11. Wang, P., Lin, W., Chao, K., Lo, C.: A face-recognition approach using deep reinforcement learning approach for user authentication. In: 2017 IEEE 14th International Conference on e-Business Engineering (ICEBE), pp. 183–188 (2017) 12. Xu, H., Liu, B., Shu, L., Yu, P.S.: Open-world learning and application to product classification. In: The Web Conference (WWW), pp. 3413–3419 (2019)
Game-Based Learning: A Push for Introducing a C(Classroom)-MORPG Eduardo Nunes(B)
and Mário Cruz
inED – Centre of Research of Innovation in Education, Porto, Portugal {eduardonunes,mariocruz}@ese.ipp.pt
Abstract. The pandemic due to COVID-19 has had rapid and widespread effects in our global society, even asking us, educators, whether in fact we will be able to promote the development of proactive citizens, bringing back the reflection on the need for education reinvented through hypersensory and gamified strategies and resources, which does not forget the need to promote the so-called 21st century calls and the principles of education for the global and sustainable development of children. It is in this context that with this project we seek to demonstrate how the digital Role-Playing Game (RPG) can be used as a tool for (supporting) teaching and learning in different subject areas (Portuguese, English, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and History), in the contexts of the 1st and 2nd Cycles of Basic Education in Portugal. Taking into account an ethnographic approach, which combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies and data triangulation, we intend with this pilot project: a) to analyse the state of the art regarding research projects focused on gamified approaches, in particular using RPG games on teaching and learning process; b) to analyze the representations of pupils and teachers about the gamified approach and the role-playing game; c) to create a digital platform based on RPG for the recreation of the teaching and learning process, validating the didactic modules / paths for their implementation in teaching contexts; d) to analyse the impacts of using the platform, namely with regard to pupils’ knowledge and resources in the different curricular contents. Keywords: Gamification pedagogy · Digital role-play games · Basic education
1 Game-Based Learning and Gamification Pedagogy Within COVID-19 Times: From the Web 2.0 Apps to RPG The use of learning based and supported with the use of technology and its assumptions are back on the agenda, because with the new coronavirus (COVID-19) and the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization, schools were closed physically, but plunged into a digital ocean. The current extraordinary situation raises some questions, from how we will teach and how pupils will learn in a post-globalized and post-pandemic future. As we know, the pandemic has boosted the use and (re)creation of technological media, both for teachers and pupils. This (new) distance learning made teachers and pupils develop their digital skills. On the one hand, this type of teaching © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 663–670, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_63
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forced teachers to look for ways to motivate their pupils; on the other hand, pupils also had to adapt, and in some cases, send their work by email, which would have been unthinkable a few months earlier, at least for pupils of lower age groups. In this context, teachers were forced to use Web 2.0 tools and/or platforms in order to motivate pupils, helping them to promote the so-called “21st century skills” [1]. This implies that the pupil becomes an active agent in his own educational process, through the use of technologies. One should stimulate pupils’ ability to analyze information, solve problems, a critical and initiative spirit and also communication skills and a critical cultural awareness [2]. In fact, by stimulating access to hypersensory sources of knowledge, information and communication technologies have even questioned the classroom as a close and “conservative” space, being therefore “unattractive for younger people” [3]. The school with a more futuristic, implicationist vision and concerned with reinvention and innovation must stop seeing technology as an archenemy, but as an ally that facilitates learning, especially because in the current context we are living in, many believe that “a new hybrid model of education will emerge (…)” and “that the integration of information technology in education will be further accelerated and that online education will eventually become an integral component” [4]. However, this reconfiguration must happen, on the one hand, with the use of new approaches, based on an experiential approach and a pedagogy of gamification [1], which favor the development of 21st century skills in a holistic way, taking into account at the same time differentiated learning styles and fostering autonomy in learning, which sometimes inspires itself on collaborative but also competitive practices. We are considering here the didactics of gamification, understood as a “the teacher uses in the design of a learning activity (be it analogue or digital) introducing elements of the game (badges, time limit, scores, dice, etc.) and their thinking (challenges, competition, etc.), in order to enrich that learning experience” [5]. In fact, with a gamified approach, the teacher has the opportunity to use elements of the game, such as its mechanics, motivation, and problem-solving features, in the creation of didactic activities, so that they are more attractive in the eyes of the pupils (Kapp, 2012). The teacher should apply the so-called Human-Focused Design (HFD) in the process of recreating didactic activities, focusing on optimizing the pupil’s feelings, motivations and empowerment. Therefore, in education the focus “cannot lie solely on developing a superficial level of a game, hence, the shell of the game experience (…), which is often embodied in the form of game mechanics (…)” [6]. This implies that the classroom doors are effectively opened to the visionary teacher capable of putting his/her imagination to the service of designing, testing and adopting - or even abandoning - strategies and resources. With the massive use of gamified approaches, and tools like Mentimeter, Kahoot! or Classcraft, the look of those who intend to innovate in their practices now turns to other types of tools, namely those that even involve the use of more radical applications, as it is the case with ODEUM platforms (www.odeuml earning.com) or EUTOPIA (www.lanas.unina.it/eutopia/), which work according to the assumptions of digital RPG. Due to the dynamics and structure of RPG, some researchers in the educational area believe in its potential as a tool in the teaching-learning process, as a means of making it more attractive and that it may become more motivating due to
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its playful character, in addition to stimulate the development of creativity, logical reasoning, problem solving, cooperation, and interdisciplinarity - because their stories can include historical facts, mathematical calculations, regional characteristics, principles of ecology, etc.
2 The RPG Environments and the Creation of Schoolers and Scholars: The Platform and Its Main Features While looking to apply a proposed architecture for a videogame-based learning environment (VGLE) that can disrupt with previously designed learning management systems, one must first question the structural capacity and environment of the game that one wishes to create. Logic tells us we should focus on the game genre selected as a base model for the functions and structure of the game. Then look at the specific mechanics we intend to implement that match the necessary requirements for it to be called a VGLE. Genres affect several parts of the gaming experience. It can define if the game is going to have a first person or third person perspective, a focus on survival, strategy or violence, puzzles or adventures, etc. and can take different periods of time to master [7]. Within the existing genres there is Role Playing Games (RPG), in which there is a focus on the story but then several elements derive from the narrative, with the elements and mechanisms varying drastically. The player interacts with the environment using a series of commands, which can be as simple as point-and-click or include several dozen keyboard shortcuts. Complexity in these games varies significantly. However, in pointand-click games, usually more focused on adventure and narrative aspects, gameplay is easily grasped. RPG can be described as any game that allows the player to immerse itself into a character, by introducing him/her into the story as, usually, the main character or hero, and progress through a narrative which includes a main storyline and several smaller branched storylines, in which they can undertake specific adventures, quests and goals, until the main story is completed. Since their introduction as videogames, RPG have gathered millions of users and evolved to becoming complex and engaging videogames, either to play individually (single player) or with friends and unknowns (multi-player). Customization and game mechanisms also evolved, allowing players to progress through the storyline with different characters, perspectives and backgrounds, creating an uncanny replayability and immersion levels. The level and range of game mechanisms as well as the narrative-driven gameplay, which has been seen as a very powerful way of teaching [8] (particularly when it includes interaction [9]), make it the ideal game genre for a classroom multiplayer online learning environment. RPG works through two main constants: maps and objects within those maps, and narratives such as storylines, plotlines subsequent adventures, missions, quests, etc. Each player enters this world as a “low-level” usually unknown character that can interact with the map environment and with the objects and non-playable characters (NPC) within it. The player must complete certain quests and missions before others appearing or being able to move to a new map or access new locations. That in turn is necessary for the player to progress in terms of capacity (level) and in the main storyline, until an end is reached.
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We believe that architecture can be used to create a complete narrative that emulates a school year-long subject, while at the same time, heterogeneous scenarios, and locations, preventing repetition. By creating a structured and logical story behind all of these quests and missions and other tasks we implement to transmit knowledge, exemplify in, practice and test it, it should be possible to maintain engagement from the pupil without a feeling of repetition or meaningless task completions [10]. The first requirement deemed necessary was that the game would be playable on an online capacity, meaning the player must have online access to open the game. In that way, we can offer pupils and teachers the freedom to enter a game world where they can or want, in class or individually, study and learn from the game, providing an adequate tool for mixing leisure with learning moments. At the same time, such a procedure would imply a global save file, which is necessary for pupils to access the game in the last point where it was, in terms of completion and actions have been taken, and hence ensure its continuity. We also determined another primary requirement: the existence of multiplayer capabilities, specifically speaking, the ability to, when online and playing, perceive the presence of other pupils and teacher inside the game via their avatars, and be able to chat and interact with them, in order to play and complete certain adventures/quests/missions, etc. That requires the game to transmit movement and interaction in a constant feedback loop, so that pupils get additional social interactions, which, while in class and while studying, they are currently lacking, providing an extra extrinsic motivation. One additional feature we propose and shall exist in such an environment is an achievement and rewards system, as it has been proven to be a foundation of motivation and engagement from players. At the same time, a well design achievement system can also work as a basis for an evaluation of the progress each pupil is making in terms of completing challenges, quests and other tasks, which in itself should portray knowledge and skills development, namely critical thinking and problem-solving ones [2]. Such a rewards system could also give the opportunity to use in the form of items and accessories and allow players to customize their appearance. In order to support learning processes, if a player is engaged in a quest, it would require support from books, manuals, explanatory videos, etc. If it is required for a pupil to abandon the game environment constantly in search of answers to solve the quests, that could reduce valuable immersion. For that reason, we also aimed at assuring that the game can support and transmit information in several media formats, from audio to video to text and image files. Graphically, the choices are large but not meaningless. The graphic structures to RPG can vary from a basic text image to 2D to more advanced 2D techniques to even 3D. Although 3D would be too complex to develop in the period of time and with the team allocated to this project1 , the choice was made to build the game in an isometric 2D environment, which we believe is modern and has enough graphic visual quality for it to strike curiosity in young pupils. A question that was posed was how the game would be structured. It could be created a game per learning theme, per year-long curriculum, and one game per subject (e.g., 1 This work is funded by National Funds through the FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia,
I.P., under the scope of the project UIDB/05198/2020 (Centre for Research and Innovation in Education, inED).
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mathematics, English, geography, history, natural sciences, etc.) or one for all of the subjects. Considering size, we would expect that a game ranging all school subjects for one year would be too complex and too large for many computers, making it difficult to control and correct certain aspects and would require a much larger development team. A small game on the other hand, just focused on each of the subject’s theme, would not be long nor complex enough for immersion, and therefore not challenging and engaging enough for pupils. It was therefore determined that each game should fit the size of a subject’s full year curriculum. Table 1. Functionalities introduced into the VGLE Basic interactive functionalities - NPC dialogue with user - Player interactions with environment - Questions, answers, numbers input - Give/take items to user - Change player characteristics
Basic Game Controls - Turn on/off switches and self-switches - Set variables such as range, single number, constants, random, scripts, operations - Set conditions, timers and loops, priorities and triggers - Conditional branching
Game Mechanics - Teleport to another part of the map - Scroll map, predefined routes - Perform animations - Autonomous movements - Autorun and parallel events - Battles against enemies - Parties/groups
Graphic Functionalities - Isometric 2D graphics - Animations and notifications incl. Pop-ups - Actor Dynamics and facial expressions - Weather effect (rain, storm, snow) - Change tileset and regions system - Background images and battle backs - Load screens and cutscenes
Media Functionalities - Show images (png, jpeg) - Play sounds and audio (mp4) - Play video content and web-browser
RPG Functionalities - Hero classes, skill system - Enemies and troops - Actions
Multiplayer Capacity - Synchronized player movement and avatar "skins" - Registration page and account creation Persistance of position, skins, items, stats, inventory and equipment - Persistance of global, local and party switches and variables - Party and combat party system - Global and local maps - Game chat (local and world)
Educational-related functionalities - Character customization and profile - Achievements system - Notifications system and screenshots - Limited access areas and switches (teacher) - Ability to reset tasks and questlines (teacher) - Ability to change environment (teacher) - Quest journal and notebook (incl. Backlog) - Skills, jobs and crafting systems - Tutorial and help system
We summarized the characteristics and specific features determined above for a valuable C-MORPG and then we translate those into game mechanisms. We developed what we call a game engine, through JavaScript programming, characterized for being a pre-defined framework or architecture that through a collection of modules of code can
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set a game logic and environment, including physics, dynamics and all other possible output necessary to create a game [11]. That game engine was then injected with additional capabilities to fully connect with the educational objectives. All those features are summed up in Table 1. The development of a prototype that encompasses all the features mentioned took us less than 3 months, and while it can produce and exemplify all functionalities, it does not possess any educational content. As it was being developed, we considered more logical to create a sort of VGLE engine that can, on its own, be a backbone for the injection of educational content and therefore be aligned with the national school curricula for each subject and year of study (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. The platform prototype samples
3 Pilot Case Study: Research Methodology and Aims Taking all these assumptions into account, this project aims to create a virtual school teaching environment for the 1st and 2nd Cycles of Basic Education, i.e., an application, the Schoolers and Scholars (SnS), which is significantly innovative due to its characteristics, and therefore may result in a very positive impact on pupils’ learning and motivation and commitment outside the classroom [12]. In summary, this application is characterized by: a) simulating a 2.5 D game style virtual classroom, with visual and textual contact between teacher and pupils (avatar) with access via any location through the computer; b) include a global chat system that allows communication and interaction between any stakeholder; c) allow the use of a closed map system on a dedicated server, ensuring confidentiality and security in use; d) allow access to study support documentation (manuals, forms, tests) in pdf or image format, access to video / audio and web-browser; e) promote the use of multiple exercises and tools to support study and learning in the form of games (cooperative or computer battle system, puzzles, mazes, use of mechanisms, manufacturing system, store system, missions and adventures) and following interconnected narratives and stories; f) encourage the use of an individualized reward system; g) introduce multiple scenarios both in physical aspects (countryside, city, school, space, mountain, desert, among others) and in eras (ancient, medieval, fantasy, industrial, modern, postmodern).
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Therefore, the system can be adapted together with teachers, both in a logic of preimplementation and continued support to the dynamics of the application, ensuring that the application adapts to the teaching and individual objectives of the teacher, as well as the pupils themselves. It is in this context that we present this project which aims to: a) analyze the state of the art regarding studies and projects related to the subject under consideration; b) analyze the representations, attitudes/motivations, behavior of the parties involved (pupils, parents, teachers, school management and guardianship) in the context of teaching and learning using the SnS platform; c) (re)create pedagogical practices through the application, reflection and construction of knowledge, stimulating the development of teaching and learning practices in the 1st and 2nd cycles of Basic Education, using a gamified platform (SnS); d) analyze the impact of the SnS platform, on professional development and pedagogical change/innovation, in the voice of its actors. This study will follow a mixed approach that allows both the complementary use of quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as triangulation in the analysis of data after its collection. In a first stage, we will analyze the state of the art regarding projects and approaches of a similar nature. In a second stage, we will choose the design of our case study that will be implemented in. The modules of the different curricular domains for the 1st and 2nd Cycles of Basic Education will be created, and these will constitute our object of study that will be developed and implemented during approximately 6 school periods over 2 academic years. At this time, we will proceed with the implementation of the following data collection instruments: a) semi-structured interview (to both teachers and pupils); b) questionnaire survey of teachers in groups and pupils. Subsequently, still in the second stage, we will build our model of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the pilot project in the 1st and 2nd Cycles of Basic Education, taking into account the necessary teacher training on the SnS application and creation of modules within the among other aspects. Small practices will be carried out, in the form of a test, in the 1st and 2nd Cycles of Basic Education, created in the context of teacher training, in order to test the SnS platform. Within the third stage, we will implement the project in classes of the 1st and 2nd Cycles of Basic Education. During the process we will try to assess the degree of proficiency of pupils in the scope of different subject areas. A page dedicated to the project will also be created, with the possibility of accessing the platform in its beta version, which will also include tutorials regarding access to it, its use and content creation. In the last stages of the project, we will try to make an intermediate and final evaluation of the project, in order to assess its perfect and strong points, making the necessary adjustments. The results of the project will also be disseminated.
4 Final Considerations With SnS, a project that fits perfectly these hard times we are living regarding the COVID pandemic, we expect to develop the following products: a) a questionnaire on the representations of pupils and teachers on the use of gamification; b) grids of semi-structured interviews to analyze pupils’ and teachers’ representations about the platform’s contributions to their learning; c) the gamified platform itself.
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We also need to develop further research on some other aspects. In fact, we believe that testing and comparison are essential in the following: time spent, short term and long-term learning, accessibility of gameplay, comprehension of concept, level of fun, level of addiction. We need to consider other game engines adaptation, and at the same time the evolution of the primary concept towards a complete game solution from scratch, with 3D environment, further interaction and a more complex learning environment.
References 1. Cruz, M.: Escaping from the traditional classroom - The ‘Escape Room Methodology’ in the foreign languages classroom. Babylonia - Rivista svizzera per l’insegnamento delle lingue, 3 (2019) 2. OCDE: The future of education and skills Education 2030 (2018). https://www.oecd.org/edu cation/2030/E2030%20Position%20Paper%20(05.04.2018).pdf 3. Vieira, F., Restivo, M.: Novas Tecnologias e Educação: Ensinar a aprender/Aprender a ensinar. Universidade do Porto, Porto (2014) 4. Fuentes, G.: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how (2020). https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-cov id19-online-digital-learning/ 5. Foncubierta, J., Rodríguez, C.: Didáctica de la gamificación en la clase de español (2014). https://espanolparainmigrantes.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/didactica_gam ificacion_ele.pdf 6. Duarte, S., Cruz, M.: From and beyond gamified activities in primary english learning. In: Paper presented at the Challenges Conference 2017, Braga (2017) 7. Squire, K.: Changing the game: what happens when video games enter the classroom? J. Online Educ. 1 (2005) 8. Steeves, P., Huber, J., Caine, V., Huber, M.: Narrative inquiry as pedagogy in education: extraordinary potential of living, telling, retelling, and reliving stories of experience. Rev. Res. Educ. 37, 212–242 (2013) 9. Zhang, Y., Song, H., Liu, X., Tang, D., Chen, Y., Zhang, X.: Language learning enhanced by massive multiple online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and the underlying behavioral and neural mechanisms. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 11 (2017) 10. Oblinger, D.: The next generation of educational engagement. J. Interact. Media Educ. 8, 1–8 (2004) 11. Lewis, M., Jacobson, J.: Game engines in scientific research. Commun. ACM (2002) 12. Pessotti, V.: O uso do RPG como ferramenta de ensino de História. Universidade de Fernando Pessoa, Porto (2018). https://bdigital.ufp.pt/bitstream/10284/6855/1/DM_Victor%20Brito% 20Pessotti.pdf
Jooka: A Bilingual Chatbot for University Admission Walid El Hefny(B) , Yasmin Mansy, Mina Abdallah, and Slim Abdennadher German University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt {walid.elhifny,mina.abd-allah,slim.abdennadher}@guc.edu.eg, [email protected]
Abstract. High school students start to apply to universities during their senior year. This marks the beginning of a frustrating and stressful period for the students as well as the admission staff. Students have countless queries and issues that need to be repeatedly answered and solved by the admission staff. However, with the rise of modern technologies such as conversational agents, the admission process can be automated to decrease the load of the admission staff. Therefore, we investigated the usefulness of a chatbot for university admission that is designed for a specific target demographic. A chatbot was developed named “Jooka” for a university to improve their admission process. Since our target audience is predominately bilingual, we added bilingualism support to Jooka. Jooka understands queries written in English and Arabic, and responds according to the query language. A survey was conducted to evaluate the performance of Jooka with parents and high school participants. Overall, the results showed great acceptance and willingness from users to adopt the new technology. Keywords: Conversational agents Higher education · Bilingualism
1
· Chatbots · Educational systems ·
Introduction
Conversational agents are software applications that engage in human-like dialogues using natural language [11]. They started in the 1960s to deceive users into believing that they are humans in an attempt to pass the Turing Test [15]. It was realized that by giving users the ability to express their interests and questions in a natural way through speaking, typing, or pointing, it will enhance and improve the overall user experience and satisfaction level. There are multiple reasons why people are interested in chatbots. A study found that getting assistance and retrieving information were the most popular reasons for users to use chatbots [2]. Meanwhile, another study showed that the majority of chatbot users used them for their constant availability [6]. Actually, 72% of users globally expect to receive a response from a customer support service within an hour. However, due to the unavailability of human agents, they c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 ´ Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 671–681, 2021. A. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7_64
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receive a response on an average of 6.5 h, compared to chatbots which respond instantly [16]. Chatbots used in customer support save time and resources when it comes to answering client queries that are frequently asked and repetitively answered. Such practice is very common in higher educational environments where students have various organizational and administration questions that must be repeatedly answered by the staff [14]. Additionally, this is heavily seen during the stressful and annual admission season where the admission staff are expected to respond to questions from an innumerable amount of knowledge seeking high school students [9]. As a result, countless studies about chatbots developed to serve as advisors for universities and higher institutions applicants have been conducted. However, the expectations and needs of the specific target group of chatbot users have not been explored enough. It is important to do so since chatbots will only sustain their relevance provided that they generate good user experience and motivate users in repeated interactions [6]. Addressing the client needs of the targeted consumers will be beneficial in understanding the effect of designing user-specific chatbots. This paper investigates the effectiveness of a university admission chatbot, and the role of demographics in adopting chatbot technology, as well as, the effects of designing a chatbot according to the needs of a specific target audience. Therefore, a bilingual university admission chatbot was developed called “Jooka” for the German University in Cairo (GUC) to enhance their admission process. Jooka understands English and Arabic queries and responds according to the query language. In addition, the work presented in this paper studies the effect of adding human-like behavior to a university chatbot, and how will it influence user satisfaction. A study in the Human-Computer Interaction field showed that users apply witlessly social expectations while interacting with chatbots [7]. Although admission chatbots exist in the literature, they do not offer bilingualism support nor apply social cues. The structure of this paper is as follows: Sect. 2 presents the related work. Section 3 describes the chatbot features and functionalities. Moreover, Sect. 4 discusses the approach taken for implementing the chatbot. Furthermore, Sect. 5 discusses our evaluation, results, and discussion. Finally, Sect. 6 concludes the paper and presents future work.
2
Related Work
A chatbot was developed for a university in Asia to benefit the students and university staff. Its purpose was to help in the university admission, and advising students support. Multiple advantages for using a university chatbot were highlighted, including the university admission season hassle. A huge number of applicants is served every year which makes it a stressful time for the admission staff. Answering the queries of all applicants needs a lot of time and manpower resulting in communication errors. Therefore, the presence of a university admission chatbot to answer recurrently asked questions correctly regardless of the applicants numbers will enhance the process [9].
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Further research showed that chatbots are even more advantageous to students when deployed on mobile platforms. A chatbot was developed to provide administrative examination data to students. Moreover, a design was proposed to save students time and resources when looking for administrative data, as well as, to automate the repetitive question-answering process of the examination office employees. It was stated that future chatbots must be hosted on mobile platforms since it is the easiest and most fit platform for the students use [14]. Currently, most of the academic assistant chatbots are rule-based and use pattern matching to generate the output. For instance, the proposition of a university related frequently asked questions chatbot involved pattern matching. It uses the Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML) for template-based and general questions such as welcoming and greetings, and uses Latent Semantic Analysis for other service-based questions [13]. Moreover, a study discussed the development of an automated translation open-domain chatbot that was tested on students. The chatbot aim was to allow the students to type in German and have the responses in English compared to copying and pasting text into a translation website. The results showed that the automated translation was minimally 30 times faster than manual text translation. Additionally, students were significantly satisfied with the automated translation. The authors encouraged researchers to use automated translation in future research with language combinations other than English and German [12]. Therefore, it was necessary to support the Arabic language along side the English language in our proposed chatbot due to our targeted users being predominately bilingual, speaking both Arabic as a first language, and English as a second language. However, a study showed that there is a scarcity of research done in the field of Arabic chatbots due to its development difficulty [1]. It provided a review of the published Arabic chatbots to identify the gap of knowledge and to highlight the areas that need further research. After evaluating those chatbots, it was found that linguistic complexities are hindering Arabic language processing. These include morphological ambiguities which means that the word has many meanings, and syntactic ambiguities which means that the sentence has more than one structure.
3
Chatbot Design
We designed a bilingual chatbot named “Jooka” to answer questions related to the admission process of the GUC asked by high school students and their parents. Jooka can respond to enquiries written in English and Arabic. Previously, applicants had to access the university website and contact the admission office to receive answers related to their enquiries. Therefore, Jooka has been equipped with a sufficient pool of information to be able to fully aid students through the admission process.
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Off-Campus Support
Off-campus support contains the features and functionalities that can be performed while the applicant is at home. It mainly focuses on providing answers to the most frequently asked questions during the admission process. Additionally, applicants can ask about the different majors and facilities available. Enquiries raised by applicants when they are at the admission office such as questions related to the documents needed, fees, scholarships, and financial aid can be answered by Jooka seamlessly. In addition, Jooka keeps track of the applicant information such as their name, high school type, chosen major, and nationality. Hence, it can provide customized and personalized responses that are tailored to the applicant’s needs instead of having the applicant visit the university website looking for answers. Moreover, applicants can ask Jooka about the admission tests that must be taken before enrolling at the university. Jooka can provide the applicants with sample questions as well as the purpose and fees of the test. Finally, Jooka can respond to questions related to the facilities available and the extracurricular activities which are available on the website, however, the admission staff may not be up-to-date with it. Not only can Jooka respond to the admission process questions, it also acts as an academic advisor for the new applicants. It provides help to the new applicants by informing them about the different faculties and majors offered at the university, the courses taken in each major per semester, and the different career opportunities and paths. 3.2
On-Campus Support
Applicants visiting the university to submit their documents or take the admission test tend to feel lost and confused. They end up asking other students for directions or waiting for the university admission tours. However, applicants can ask Jooka about the directions to more than 60 unique locations on campus. Jooka will reply with an animated image (GIF) containing the directions to the desired location. Additionally, a Google Maps link will be sent to help the applicant navigate in real-time. Finally, applicants can ask Jooka for the overall campus map to show them the campus structure from the top-view approach. 3.3
Social Cues
Social cues are signals depicted by humans when interacting with each other [5]. A chatbot humanness is determined by various social cues which are verbal, visual, and invisible. Verbal social cues are conversational qualities portrayed by a chatbot such as small talk [3]. Small talk allows the chatbot to answer questions in a personal manner creating human-like conversations that serve the user’s emotional needs. It responds to user inputs such as “I’m angry” and “You are awesome!”. These comments are frequently sent by users, and responding to them increases the user’s interest in technology and motivates them to interact
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more with the chatbot. Therefore, Jooka supports responding to social messages that are not related to the admission process. Moreover, visual social cues are viewable features that are graphic and infer human conduct. They include avatars, names, and emojis. Involving visual social cues can yield positive reactions from the users. Therefore, our chatbot was given a name, avatar, and uses emojis when responding to user enquiries. In addition, animated images (GIFs) were used in the responses. Finally, invisible social cues are those that cannot be seen but their effect is felt. An example is the response time. Chatbots respond to user queries instantaneously. However, a study reported that chatbots which use delayed responses resulted in more user satisfaction compared to chatbots that respond immediately [5]. Normally, a human takes some time to read and respond to a message which increases the user’s perception of humanness and social presence, as well as, fulfilling the user’s social expectations. Therefore, a response delay was added to Jooka to enhance the perceived humanness. Moreover, the delay size was set according to the complexity of the response in terms of the length and data value. In addition, we used quick replies which are suggestions that appear to the users that can be used when responding to chatbot messages instead of typing. The quick replies appearing to the user differ according to the chatbot message. They are used to assist the applicants when they feel lost while interacting with Jooka. Furthermore, a persistent menu was added which allows the applicants to access the most frequent features at any time. It is present next to the input text field to provide quick access to the main features.
4
Chatbot Implementation
Jooka was built using a modified version of the framework presented in [4]. Our chatbot consists of four main components which are the messaging application, web server, chatbot agent, and database. Originally, the messaging application should interact with the chatbot agent and not the web server. However, in our implementation, we swapped the web server with the chatbot agent. Therefore, the user input will be transferred from the messaging application to the web server, and then the web server will send it to the chatbot agent. Afterwards, the chatbot agent will perform the intent matching process, and will notify the web server with the matched intent. Finally, the web server will access the database to formulate a response. This modification was made to integrate the translation module that translates the Arabic user input into English. The used natural language processing module present in the chatbot engine framework does not understand Arabic text, therefore the translation must be done before reaching the chatbot engine. Hence, putting the web server as the centralized module. 4.1
Architecture
An overview of the user journey is shown in Fig. 1. At the beginning, the messaging application acts as the conversational user interface where it takes the
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Fig. 1. Overview of the chatbot architecture
user message as an input and sends it to the back-end represented as the web server. Facebook Messenger is used as the messaging application since it is one of the leading platforms in adopting chatbot technology. It was one of the early platforms that allowed developers to host and deploy chatbots on. Moreover, students use Facebook to communicate with each other by sharing announcements and questions on their groups. Additionally, Jooka passed the Facebook review process, making it accessible to all Facebook users at any time. The web server is based on the Platform as a Service (PaaS) paradigm which is a type of cloud computing that offers a platform to clients, allowing them to build, run, and manage applications without the need to maintain the infrastructure. Heroku, which is based on Amazon Web Services (AWS), is used to host the JavaScript back-end code. In addition, the web server interacts with the chatbot agent and the storage (database) to provide a customized response to the user. Firebase Real-Time Database is used as the storage module since it is an online non-relational database that stores the user information and customized responses. Finally, the chatbot agent is used for entities extraction and intent matching as described in [4]. Dialogflow Essentials (Dialogflow ES) was used to build the chatbot engine. It is made of up of two components which are intents and contexts. Possible user questions have to be identified first in order to create intents. Therefore, commonly asked university admission questions were collected from the university Facebook page, university website FAQs section, and a collection of other popular universities FAQs. Afterwards, questions in many possible formats were mapped into intents with a specified action that will be sent later to the web server for processing. In addition, the chatbot agent uses contexts to maintain the flow of the conversation. This is done by predicting the user’s upcoming questions so the context of the conversation is maintained. Dialogflow ES offers a way to do so through the addition of follow-up intents or upcoming questions whenever needed. Moreover, in order to predict the possible direction of a conversation, flow charts were used. Dialogflow ES is a non-programming
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chatbot development tool with a web interface that is used to create entities, add intents, and adjust machine learning settings. In our implementation, Dialogflow ES communicates with a web server to perform the input processing and output generation. Furthermore, our implementation follows the retrieval-based approach described in [4]. 4.2
Input Processing
As we mentioned earlier, user messages sent through Facebook Messenger are processed first at the back-end. The input is processed for two different purposes which are translation and validation. The translation process aims at inspecting the user message for any Arabic constituents. This is performed by checking the Unicode representation of each character in the user message. If an Arabic character is detected, the user message is flagged to notify the chatbot with the language it should respond with. Afterwards, the user message is translated from Arabic to English using Google Cloud Translation API. Moreover, the translated text will pass through a validation process to check whether the user input meets the validation criteria for the question asked by the chatbot or not. If the validation was handled through the chatbot agent, it will repeat the same question until the user inputs the required information. However, in our approach, the validation is handled by the back-end, providing a customized message to notify the user about the issue with their message so that they can send the required information. Finally, the validated user message will be sent to the chatbot engine for the output generation phase. 4.3
Output Generation
The output generation process is handled by the chatbot agent and web server collectively. The translated and validated user input is sent to the chatbot agent from the web server to perform the intent matching process. The intent identification is performed by using training phrases and parameters for each intent to determine the most suitable reaction to the user input. An intent is defined as the intention of a user for one conversation turn. Therefore, Jooka has a list of intents that can handle a complete conversation with the user. The user message is analyzed and matched to the most suitable intent which contains training phrases that are similar to the user message. Additionally, entities were created to enhance the intent matching process. They are used to identify keywords and parameters in a user message. Custom entities can be created to match custom data which can be used in the training phrases of an intent. After matching the user message to an intent, an action will be sent to the web server to be performed. Since we are following the framework proposed in [4], a retrieval-based approach was implemented. A suitable response will be retrieved from the database according to the matched intent. Afterwards, according to the language flag value from the input processing phase, a translation may be required to output an Arabic response to the user. Finally, before sending the response to Facebook Messenger to be displayed to the user, the web server
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performs some minor operations to make sure that the response is readable in a user friendly manner. The operations include splitting the response into chunks, where each chunk is sent as a separate message, as well as inserting spaces and line breaks. Figure 2 shows a validation scenario, where Jooka sends personalized messages to the wrong user input. Meanwhile, a translation scenario is also shown of messages sent in Arabic and English, where Jooka responds according to the message language.
Fig. 2. Jooka’s responses to various user messages in English and Arabic
5
Evaluation
The System Usability Scale (SUS) and Chatbot Usability Questionnaire (CUQ) were used to evaluate Jooka’s performance in terms of usability. 5.1
System Usability Scale (SUS)
The SUS is a 10-item scale developed by John Brooke in 1986 [10]. A study showed that the SUS is still applicable and tests for usability and learnability. The SUS is composed of 10 items with five response options for respondents from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The items are divided into oddly-numbered positive comments and evenly-numbered negative comments about the surveyed entity. The SUS score is calculated out of 100. 5.2
Chatbot Usability Questionnaire (CUQ)
According to the study in [8], the SUS is not enough to evaluate all aspects of a chatbot interface. Therefore, it is necessary to use an additional survey, which is
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the CUQ. The CUQ survey assesses seven different parameters, which are personality, onboarding, navigation, understanding, responses, error handling and intelligence of a chatbot. It also contains positive and negative comments being ordered alternately and a rating of five points from strongly disagree to strongly agree. However, it consists of 16 items to evaluate the overall performance of chatbots. The CUQ score is also calculated out of 100. 5.3
Results
We gathered 27 participants to evaluate our chatbot. Out of the 27 participants, 4 participants were parents to high school students (14.8%), while 23 participants were high school students between the age of 15 and 17 (85.2%). Moreover, 85.2% of the participants were females, while 14.8% of the participants were males. There were 18 participants (66.6%) who interacted with Jooka using English only. However, 7 participants (26%) used both English and Arabic, while 2 participants (7.4%) used Arabic only. In addition, the participants came from three different schooling systems which were the National High School System (29.6%), IGCSE “British System” (51.9%), and American Diploma (18.5%). The minimum SUS score recorded is 52.5, the maximum is 100, and the median is 90. Meanwhile, the CUQ minimum score recorded is 59, the maximum is 100, and the median is 92. Finally, the mean SUS score is 88.5, while the mean CUQ score is 87.3. According to the literature, the minimum acceptance value is “Score > 71.1”, while the not acceptable value is “Score < 62.6”. 5.4
Discussion
Our goal was to examine the effectiveness of a university admission chatbot. Moreover, we wanted to identify whether demographic variables such as age, gender, and lingual preferences affect the adoption of chatbots as an advisor for the applicants or not. In general, the results suggest that the chatbot was considered useful by the participants. This can be seen by the mean SUS (88.5) and CUQ (87.3) scores which are larger than acceptance value (71.1). Furthermore, analysis of individual questions confirm that the chatbot is adoptable, since it was perceived as a useful tool by the participants. Moreover, the participants found that the chatbot responses were informative and helpful. In addition, participants who used Arabic were satisfied because they can express their questions using their native language instead of English. Finally, the chatbot scored best when asked if it was easy to use, and if it was friendly and welcoming. However, according to the results, the chatbot did not perform well in a couple of categories. Firstly, it did not score well when asked whether they needed a technical person’s help to use the chatbot. This contradicts the results from both SUS and CUQ indicating the ease-of-use of the chatbot. However, some participants stated that the chatbot functionalities were not well integrated. We believe this may be one of the reasons why some participants felt that they needed external support to be able to use the chatbot. Additionally, some participants felt that the chatbot was too robotic and could not cope well with errors.
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However, these participants attempted to ask the chatbot irrelevant questions outside of its domain. Therefore, it was normal for the chatbot to fail in answering those questions. Overall, the results build on the existing evidence of the usefulness and adoption of university admission chatbots. Moreover, it adds a clearer understanding of the importance of designing user specific and motivated chatbots which are easy to access and use. Finally, we believe one of the main limitations is the small sample size which can be improved in future work.
6
Conclusion and Future Work
We wanted to identify the efficacy and adoption of university admission chatbots which are particularly designed to serve a specific target demographic. According to qualitative analysis, it was found that chatbots are highly helpful and effective for university admission purposes saving time and resources for both students and admission staff. Moreover, it was shown that building a user motivated chatbot has a positive effect on the user satisfaction and adoption of the technology. Therefore, we built a university admission chatbot named “Jooka” to help university applicants with their enquiries. Additionally, we added bilingualism support so the applicants can ask questions in English or Arabic, and the chatbot will respond according to the input language. Social cues were added to provide a human-like interaction with the applicants instead of a monotonic and robotic feeling. We gathered 27 participants to test the chatbot. The SUS and CUQ surveys were used to evaluate the usability of the system. Jooka scored an average of 88.5 in the SUS, and 87.3 in the CUQ, which are higher than the acceptance level (71.1). The participants found that the chatbot responses were informative and helpful, and they perceived Jooka as a useful tool. They were satisfied with the bilingualism support. However, some limitations were faced since some participants did not spend a sufficient amount of time questioning the chatbot before requesting the surveys to fill. This proves the concept of graphical user interfaces providing a finite amount of options for users to test, compared to conversational user interfaces which give users an infinite amount of time. This causes users to spend less time testing chatbots compared to applications with more complex interfaces since they do not know what to ask the chatbot. Finally, future research should focus on exploring methods of balancing the humanness and effectiveness of chatbots. This is important as shown in our results, where users viewed the chatbot as a useful tool, while others viewed it as robotic. Moreover, more work should be done in the field of bilingual chatbots. In this paper, the chatbot was given bilingual abilities, however, all processing was done on one language which was English. Therefore, researchers should explore more language combinations, perhaps more than two languages. Finally, adding Arabizi support to bilingual English-Arabic chatbots will be interesting to explore. Arabizi is the concept of writing Arabic words using Latin characters and numbers. Current translation APIs detect Arabizi text, however, the translation process is still lacking.
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Author Index
A Abbu, Haroon R., 329 Abdallah, Mina, 671 Abdennadher, Slim, 671 Acosta Gutiérrez, Gina V., 92 Agostini, Federico, 506 Aguayo, Beatriz Berrios, 3 Aguiar, Luis, 619 Ahmed, Bestoun S., 546 Alcarria, Ramón, 535 Almeida, Isabel F., 483 Almeida, Newton Franklin, 411 Almeida, Vera, 483 Almendariz-Pozo, Pablo, 183 Alves, Joana, 151 Alves, José Matias, 22 Amaral, Luís, 257 Amboala, T., 319 Andrade, António, 22 Antonova, Albena, 202 Arango-López, Jeferson, 123 Araújo, Ana, 350 Araújo, Cristiana, 494 Araújo, Maria, 494 Arias-Flores, Hugo, 60 Arrobo, Karen Michelle Benítez, 12 Ayala-Chauvin, Manuel, 473 B Bahar, Iza A. A., 314, 319 Barona-Pico, Valeria, 401 Bartolomeu, Paulo, 599 Becerra, Mónica Hinojosa, 12
Bellekens, Xavier, 546 Bergande, Bianca, 69 Bogdanovi´c, Zorica, 360 Bordel, Borja, 535 Brune, Philipp, 271 Burbano, Clara L., 163 Bures, Miroslav, 546, 570 Butrime, Edita, 222 C Cáceres-Mena, Andres, 183 Cáceres-Mena, Mayra, 183 Caiza, Gustavo, 401 Cardoso, Eduardo Luís, 52 Cardoso, Jaime S., 653 Carvalho, Célia, 371 Carvalho, Paulo, 483 Castanho, Rui Alexandre, 371 Castellanos, Camilo, 425 Catarino, Rui, 483 Cavalcanti, André, 577 Chaim, Ricardo Matos, 232, 411 Chalal, Rachid, 527 Collazos, Cesar, 103 Cornejo, Cristián, 285 Correal, Darío, 425 Cortés, Roberto, 285 Costa, Ana Paula Cabral Seixas, 295 Costa, João Paulo Vieira, 411 Couto, Gualter, 371 Cruz, Mário, 663 Cunha, Carlos R., 380, 390 Curado, António, 557
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST 2021, AISC 1367, pp. 683–686, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72660-7
684 D da Graça Batista, Maria, 371 da Silva, Nayara Rossi Brito, 577 de Almeida, Lucas C., 641 de Caldas Filho, Francisco L., 577, 641 de Carvalho, Victor Diogho Heuer, 42, 295 de Gusmão Freitas Júnior, Olival, 42 de la Fuente-Morato, Albert, 473 de Lima, Cleber Mitchell, 411 de Melo Braga, Marcus, 42 de Mendonça, Fabio Lucio Lopes, 577 de Oliveira Almeida, Leonardo, 577 de Sousa Jr., Rafael T., 577, 641 de Souza, Higor A., 630 Delgado, Isidro Navarro, 173 Despotovi´c-Zraki´c, Marijana, 360 Dias, Ana, 609 Díaz, Javier, 450 do Prado, Daniel S., 641 Dominguez, Ernesto Redondo, 173 Dorado, Gabriel, 506 E e Martins, Lucas M. C., 641 El Hefny, Walid, 671 Elias, Constança, 494 Eliseo, María Amelia, 244 Escudero, David Fonseca, 103, 173 Espinosa, Mónica Maldonado, 12 Eusébio, Celeste, 151
Author Index Guarda, Teresa, 450 Gutiérrez, Isidro Marín, 12 H Henriques, Pedro Rangel, 494 Hernández, Fernando Rafael Minaya, 173 Hernández, Pilar, 506 Hidouci, Walid-Khaled, 527 Hindy, Hanan, 546 Hirasawa, Shigeichi, 31 Holtermann, Renan Silveira, 232 I Ibarra-Torres, Fernando, 401 Ildefonso Medina, Alejandro E., 92 Inacio, Angelina, 630 Ishii, Yutaka, 31 Ismail, H., 305, 314, 319 J Javorcik, Tomas, 113 Jenkins, Marcelo, 589 Juca-Aulestia, Marcelo, 183 K Klima, Matej, 546, 570 Kobayashi, Manabu, 31 Kon, Fabio, 630
F Fernandes, José, 257 Ferreira, Joaquim, 599 Ferreira, Maria João, 103 Fleischmann, David, 329 Flores, Tomas, 285 Flórez-Aristizábal, Leandro, 163
L Labus, Aleksandra, 360 Lada, S., 305, 314, 319 Lima, Ana Carolina Oliveira, 599 Lopes, Sérgio I., 557 Lopes, Toni, 483 Lounes, Naima, 527 Lung, Jackel C. V., 305, 314
G Gálvez, Cristhian, 450 Gálvez, Sergio, 506 Garcia, Marcelo V., 401 Garcia, Renan, 516 Gasca-Hurtado, Gloria Piedad, 461 Georgiev, Atanas, 202 Gomes, Alex, 103 Gomes, João Pedro, 380, 390 Gómez, José Manuel Naranjo, 371 Gonçales, Icaro, 630 Gonçalves, Jorge Brandão, 494 Gopalakrishna, Pradeep, 329 Gressmann, Anne, 69
M Machado, Carolina, 257 Machuca-Villegas, Liliana, 461 Magalhães, Andreia, 22 Malla-Alvarado, Franklin, 183 Mansy, Yasmin, 671 Marques, Natália A., 641 Martínez, Alexandra, 589 Martinez, Danilo, 516 Martins, Ana Isabel, 599 Martins, Pedro, 557 Matheu, Alexis, 285 Matta, Arthur, 653 Mendes, Paulo H. F. C., 577
Author Index Mesquita, Anabela, 81 Mihaylova, Elizabet, 195 Mihnev, Pencho, 202 Mitrovi´c, Svetlana, 360 Mladenov, Valeri, 195 Morais, Elisabete Paulo, 390 Moreira, Fernando, 103, 123, 163 Moreira, Rui S., 483, 619 Motz, Regina, 244 Mouzinho, Lucilene Ferreira, 599 Moya, Joaquim N., 173 N Nakano, Michiko, 31 Nakazawa, Makoto, 31 Nakov, Ognyan, 195 Nakov, Plamen, 195 Naranjo, Jhony, 516 Nasirin, S., 319 Nasirin, Syed, 305, 314 Nepomuceno, Thyago Celso Cavalcante, 295 Neves, Rodrigo, 630 Nikolova, Nikolina, 202 Ninahualpa, Geovanni, 450 Nistah, Nona M., 319 Noira, Gabriel, 380 Nunes, Eduardo, 663 O Oliveira, Adriana, 81 Oliveira, Leandro, 52 Oliveira, Luciana, 81 P Palacio-Fierro, Andrés, 60 Pavlov, Dmitriy, 340 Pereira, Carla Santos, 103 Pereira, João Paulo, 340 Pérez García, Adams S., 92 Pérez, Boris, 425 Piccirilli, Darío, 450 Pimenta, Pedro, 52 Pimentel, Pedro, 371 Pinheiro, Bruno Contessotto Bragança, 232 Pinheiro, Pedro, 494 Pinto, João Ribeiro, 653 Poleto, Thiago, 295 Popovi´c, Snežana, 360 Pozo-Vinueza, Mónica, 183 Q Queirós, Alexandra, 609 Quesada-López, Christian, 589
685 R Radenkovi´c, Miloš, 360 Rechtberger, Vaclav, 546 Reis, José Luís, 435 Ribeiro, Pedro, 350 Robles, Tomás, 535 Rocha, Nelson Pacheco, 599, 609 Rodrigues, Carlos, 609 Rodrigues, Mário, 609 Rodriguez, Patricia Paderewski, 123 Román-Robalino, Daniel, 183 Ruff, Claudio, 285 Ruiz, Marcelo, 285 S Saá, Fernando, 473 Safsaf, Abderraouf, 527 Sandoval, Georgina, 173 Sandoval, Miguel Ángel Pérez, 173 Santana, Eduardo F. Z., 630 Santinha, Gonçalo, 609 Santos, Alessandro S., 630 Santos, Arlindo, 380, 390 Seman, Esmadi A. A., 305, 314, 319 Sequeira, Arminda, 81 Silva, Paulino, 81 Soares, Christophe, 483, 619 Sobral, Pedro, 483, 619 Sobral, Sónia Rolland, 133, 212 Sousa, Áurea, 371 Souza, João Carlos Félix, 411 Stefanov, Krassen, 202 Stefanova, Eliza, 202 T Tahir, Abdullah M., 305, 314 Teixeira, Ana, 483 Teixeira, Igor C., 630 Teixeira, Leonor, 151 Teixeira, Pedro, 151 Teixeira, Sandrina Francisca, 435 Torres, José M., 483 Torres, José Manuel, 619 Tuah, Nooralisa M., 305, 314 U Ueda, Eduardo T., 630 Umezawa, Katsuyuki, 31 V Valera-Aranguren, Ramón, 123 Vallejo, Antonio Pantoja, 3 Vasconcelos, Catarina, 435 Vega-Zepeda, Vianca, 461 Vela, Francisco Luis Gutierrez, 123
686 Villalobos-Arias, Leonardo, 589 Villarroel-Córdova, Fernando, 473 Viola Deambrosis, María, 244 Vulevic, Ana, 371
W Weilemann, Erica, 271
Author Index Y Yanguas, Alia Besné, 173 Yugcha, Michael, 450 Z Zambrano, Andrés, 516 Zapata, Mireya, 516 Zúñiga-Tinizaray, Fanny, 183 Zurita, Kevin, 516