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Driving research questions from the prevailing issues and interests and developing from them new theories, formulas, algorithms, methods, and designs, and linking them to the interests of the larger audience is a vital component of scientific research papers. The present article discusses outlining purposes or stating the nature of the present research, and listing research questions or hypotheses in the introduction of academic papers. This corpus-based genre study focuses particularly on Move 3 of the model "occupying the niche." The results indicating disciplinary variation show that the writers of Computer Science (CS) research articles, over the years have developed an increased use of outlining purpose/stating the nature of the present research, having the characteristics of purposive, descriptive, extension of the previous work, contrast to the existing work, brevity, complexity, and a description of methodology. It also shows that listing research questions or hypothesis may have distinctively different functions in developing genres as compared to the established ones such as physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversity has become increasingly relevant in computer science and technology development, both in terms of inclusive design teams and as a concept used to design "diversity-aware" technologies. The latter part has received less attention and notions of diversity leveraged to design technologies remain understudied. This paper critically examines diversity concepts employed by computer scientists and designers by reviewing 120 articles in two subfields of computer science: personalized recommendations and human–computer interaction. Drawing on Black feminism and critical race theory-inspired literature, I offer a critique of demographic and cultural user representations and underscore the shortcomings of diversity as a strategy to increase user satisfaction and fairness. Particularly concerning is the unreflected use of binary, static, and individual-level diversity concepts in the design of technologies. Such concepts render structural inequalities between and within groups of users invisible and thereby risk reinforcing existing injustices. The paper closes with considerations on whether and how diversity concepts can be leveraged by designers in a social justice–oriented manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This issue on B Blockchain Technology and Machine Learning and Automation in Concurrent Engineering b further advances the existing knowledge in the fields to new domains and provides examples of how to deploy such methodologies. The available computational facilities in recent years have helped engineers to develop new applications in the real-world problems, implement automation to reduce the complexity and improve productivity of the existing systems. The main focus of this issue is to collect the cutting-edge research articles related to block chain, machine learning and other advanced virtual methods to promote concurrent engineering application in a variety of applicable domains. [Extracted from the article]

Although women's representation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) employment has increased significantly over the past few decades, their presence remains low in fields like computer science. Using the National Science Foundation's Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT), this paper assesses the factors shaping employment in STEM and non-STEM occupations among men and women with bachelor's degrees in computer science. Our results reveal that women with degrees in computer science are far less likely than their male counterparts to be employed in STEM occupations, particularly in computer science jobs. But family factors do not have the expected association with employment in computer science jobs. Men who are parents and childless women are more likely to work in non-STEM jobs versus computer science jobs, relative to childless men. Furthermore, the gender gap in employment in computer science jobs is larger among those graduating in the new millennium, suggesting that other factors are at play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Code-switching (CS) is prevalent in bilingual communication. With the bibliometric method CiteSpace, this paper gives an overview of the 1319 bibliometric records (1998–2018) on CS selected from the Web of Science. A co-occurring keyword network and a co-citation network of these publications were constructed. Analyses on the high-frequency keywords, document co-citation, co-cited reference clusters, publications with centrality betweenness and citation bursts have been conducted. The results indicate that the landscape of CS research has been expanded from the initial focus on the lexical/conceptual aspect to today's in-depth explorations on language contact, language control, systematic pedagogy, etc. Topics related to 'multimodality', 'translanguaging', 'switch costs' and 'automatic speech recognition' can represent the emerging trends of CS studies in various perspectives, such as linguistics, social science, cognitive science and computer science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community detection is a major issue in network analysis. This paper combines a socio-historical approach with an experimental reconstruction of programs to investigate the early automation of clique detection algorithms, which remains one of the unsolved NP-complete problems today. The research led by the archaeologist Jean-Claude Gardin from the 1950s on non-numerical information and graph analysis is retraced to demonstrate the early contributions of social sciences and humanities. The limited recognition and reception of Gardin's innovative computer application to the humanities are addressed through two factors, in addition to the effects of historiography and bibliographies on the recording, discoverability, and reuse of scientific productions: (1) funding policies, evidenced by the transfer of research effort on graph applications from temporary interdisciplinary spaces to disciplinary organizations related to the then-emerging field of computer science; and (2) the erratic careers of algorithms, in which efficiency, flaws, corrections, and authors' status, were determining factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces modular and context-aware evaporative cooling for the outdoor urban environment as a physical structure that could be implemented at various scales and physical contexts. We propose a technique for collecting occupancy and climatic data to create a computational context and optimise its operation. We then outline a concept for developing a predictive algorithm that would further enhance its performance. The research focuses on the interaction between the proposed system and the environment and establishes an evidence-based technique to balance the temperature drop and the humidity it generates. The study combines architectural design, mechanical engineering and computer science to enable the upscaled application of evaporative cooling to help reduce local heat accumulation in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in government is receiving increasing attention from global research and practice communities. This article, introducing a Special Issue on Artificial Intelligence in Government published in the Social Science Computer Review, presents an overview of some of the main policy initiatives across the world in relation to AI in government and discusses the state of the art of existing research. Based on an analysis of current trends in research and practice, we highlight four areas to be the focus of future research on AI in government: governance of AI, trustworthy AI, impact assessment methodologies, and data governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural processes can reduce self-selection into math and science fields, but it remains unclear how confidence in computer science develops, where women are currently the least represented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Few studies evaluate both computer skills and self-assessments of skill. In this paper, we evaluate gender differences in efficacy across three STEM fields using a data set of middle schoolers, a particularly consequential period for academic pathways. Even though girls and boys do not significantly differ in terms of math grades and have similar levels of computer skill, the gender gap in computer efficacy is twice as large as the gap for math. We offer support for disaggregation of STEM fields, so the unique meaning making around computing can be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have become quite popular. Such courses are either completely free or cost nominally. Generally, the MOOCs face the challenge of not being recognized as 'regular' courses (i.e., the ones taken at the traditional learning institutions). One of the main reasons for this lack of acceptability is the assessment in an unsupervised environment, which is prone to the problems of test-taker's online lookups or interaction with others for finding the answers to the test questions. A few ways of alleviating this problem include: limiting the time for answering the questions, the avoidance of repetitive questions, and the creation of a large number of questions. This paper presents a tool named QAgen that enables the automatic creation of a large number of questions and answers related to different topics in computer/electrical engineering (ECE), computer science, physics, etc. Specifically, the tool is related to the courses on digital logic design, computer architecture, etc. The generated questions are in a format that is suitable both for learning management system (LMS) based and/or non-LMS-based assessment in conventional courses or MOOCs. The proposed tool is based on open-source software, thus eliminating the need for any commercial software packages. The underlying principles of QAgen are applicable to other engineering/science courses as well, if the assessment methods require the creation of some connected-object diagrams, tables and equations. For assessing the usefulness of QAgen, practice question sets were created for three different courses. The student surveys for these courses indicated that the questions helped students prepare for actual tests/examinations. Especially favored by the students was the availability of correct answers at the end of each practice test/examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The computer science (CS) unplugged approach intends to teach CS concepts and computational thinking skills without employing any digital tools. The current study conducted a systematic literature review to analyze research studies that conducted investigations related to implementations of CS unplugged activities. A systematic review procedure was developed and applied to detect and subsequently review relevant research studies published from 2010 to 2019. It was found that 55 research studies (17 articles + 38 conference proceedings) satisfied the inclusion criteria for the analysis. These research studies were then examined with regard to their demographic characteristics, research methodologies, research results, and main findings. It was found that the unplugged approach was realized and utilized differently among researchers. The majority of the studies used the CS unplugged term when referring to "paper–pencil activities," "problem solving," "storytelling," "games," "tangible programming," and even "robotics." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which guest editors discuss the use of paramedical modeling tools to determine architectural forms, acoustics as determinant of geometry and material, and methods of determining architectural form through encoding and tracking parameters which are subject to varied constraints.

Introduction: Although many oncology pharmacists are embedded members within the healthcare team, data documenting their contributions to optimal patient outcomes are growing. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the value of the oncology pharmacist within the healthcare team and describe the knowledge, skills, and functions of the oncology pharmacist. Methods: A systematic literature review of articles that were published on PubMed between January 1951 and October 2018 was completed. Identified abstracts were reviewed and included if they focused on measuring the value or impact of the oncology pharmacist on provider/patient satisfaction, improvement of medication safety, improvement of quality/clinical care outcomes, economics, and intervention acceptance. Review articles, meta-analysis, and studies not evaluating oncology pharmacist activities were excluded. Studies were thematically coded into four themes (clinical care, patient education, informatics, and cost savings) by 10 oncology pharmacists. Results: Four-hundred twenty-two articles were identified, in which 66 articles met inclusion criteria for this review. The selected literature included 27 interventional and 38 descriptive studies. The value of the oncology pharmacist was demonstrated by published articles in four key themes: clinical care, patient education, informatics, and cost savings. Conclusion: With an expected shortage of oncology physicians and the ongoing development of complex oncology therapies, the board-certified oncology pharmacist is well suited to serve as a physician extender alongside nurse practitioners and/or physician assistants as the medication expert on the oncology care team. The demonstrated value of the oncology pharmacist supports their role as frontline providers of patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The motivation for this work is derived from the current interest in speeding up development schedules for information technology (IT) projects. A key implication of the shift to more rapid development methods is the growing emphasis on fixed time and fixed effort delivered during such projects. However, there appears to be little work that addresses the impacts of dealing with bound effort levels. The result of binding time and effort is to deprive project managers of the normal parameters that are used in trade-offs. The paper introduces a quantitative analytical framework for modeling effort-boxed development in order to uncover the effects on the overall development effort and the potential leverage that can be derived from incremental delivery in such projects. Models that predict product size as an exponential function of the development effort are used in the paper to explore the relationships between effort and the number of increments, thereby providing new insights into the economic impact of incremental approaches to effort-boxed software projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces several articles about grid computing.

Qualitative data-analysis methods provide thick, rich descriptions of subjects' thoughts, feelings, and lived experiences but may be time-consuming, labor-intensive, or prone to bias. Natural language processing (NLP) is a machine learning technique from computer science that uses algorithms to analyze textual data. NLP allows processing of large amounts of data almost instantaneously. As researchers become conversant with NLP, it is becoming more frequently employed outside of computer science and shows promise as a tool to analyze qualitative data in public health. This is a proof of concept paper to evaluate the potential of NLP to analyze qualitative data. Specifically, we ask if NLP can support conventional qualitative analysis, and if so, what its role is. We compared a qualitative method of open coding with two forms of NLP, Topic Modeling, and Word2Vec to analyze transcripts from interviews conducted in rural Belize querying men about their health needs. All three methods returned a series of terms that captured ideas and concepts in subjects' responses to interview questions. Open coding returned 5–10 words or short phrases for each question. Topic Modeling returned a series of word-probability pairs that quantified how well a word captured the topic of a response. Word2Vec returned a list of words for each interview question ordered by which words were predicted to best capture the meaning of the passage. For most interview questions, all three methods returned conceptually similar results. NLP may be a useful adjunct to qualitative analysis. NLP may be performed after data have undergone open coding as a check on the accuracy of the codes. Alternatively, researchers can perform NLP prior to open coding and use the results to guide their creation of their codebook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational technologists and practitioners have made substantial strides in developing affordable digital and tangible resources to support both formal and informal computer science instruction. However, there is a lack of research on practice-based assignments, such as Internet of Things (IoT) projects, that allow undergraduate students to design and demonstrate educational robots using digital or physical assistance, especially when it comes to computational thinking (CT) and programming skills development in association with their psycho-emotional experience. This study compares the impact of Scratch and LEGO® WeDo robotic kits on students' CT and programming skills development. A quasi-experimental approach was conducted, involving two hundred forty-six participants (n = 246), who were equally divided between Scratch and LEGO® WeDo groups. Results indicate that the LEGO® WeDo group showed greater improvement in CT and programming skills development, while designing and presenting IoT projects. Nevertheless, no significant association between motivation, grit, and CT skills was observed. The findings highlight the potential of tangible robotics in facilitating students' hands-on learning and enhancing motivation to foster CT and programming skills. This study provides a wide range of implications for instructional designers on how to use tangible robotics to support hands-on IoT projects in computer science courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how live linkages between parametric geometry, structural analysis and optimization can be leveraged to explore an architectural massing from different perspectives of optimum assuming a set of cost and value characteristics. Broad performance measures such as program area, cladding surface and structural quantities were computed for each geometry variation and collected. Optimums from different perspectives (structure, developer, designer) were extracted for each height category and compared. To further inform and engage stakeholders, a variety of visualization and filtering techniques have been implemented. These new techniques and associated distillation of data aids the design team in understanding the design space. A script based approach towards geometry and data management has led to a shift towards active option evaluation and a more interactive approach to form exploration. A generic workflow for structural analysis, design and optimization has been implemented and this ability to engineer at a greater velocity will move the design profession towards a more collaborative and information based design environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the complexity of parametric modeling, it has been the task of only a handful of experts in the design team to develop, build and modify parametric models. The complexity of parametric models increases exponentially with the number of design aspects it incorporates. The ambiguity of parametric models towards the modeled design intent explains that modifying the model is often isolated as an individual exercise. Developments in physical and ubiquitous computing, however, allow for collaboration and interaction with parametric models in other ways. Communication, coordination, and interaction between parametric models and the physical and social environment are the context of this paper. The paper describes some of the projects that were outcomes of the SmartGeometry 2010 workshops. These projects are dealing with mass collaboration using Twitter, tangible interfaces, parametric design and construction coordination and geometrical interpretation of datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robot functioning in an environment may exhibit various forms of behavior emerge from the interaction with its environment through sense, control and plan activities. Hence, this paper introduces a behaviour selection based navigation and obstacle avoidance algorithm with effective method for adapting robotic behavior according to the environment conditions and the navigated terrain. The developed algorithm enable the robot to select the suitable behavior in real-time to avoid obstacles based on sensory information through visual and ultrasonic sensors utilizing the robot's ability to step over obstacles, and move between surfaces of different heights. In addition, it allows the robot to react in appropriate manner to the changing conditions either by finetuning of behaviors or by selecting different set of behaviors to increase the efficiency of the robot over time. The presented approach has been demonstrated on quadruped robot in several different experimental environments and the paper provides an analysis of its performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TeamBots was designed and developed by Tucker Balch at Carnegie Mellon University, as development and testing environment for studying collaborative robot behaviour. This paper presents the strategies behind all the robot soccer teams available in the Teambots (soccerbot) package. The performances of the various soccer teams were analysed. This paper will aid the researchers to develop the soccer team with best strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central strategy in selling information technology has involved the appropriation of earlier historical notions of the ether: as an immersive environment, communicative medium and electronic presence. Just as telephony was connected to the 'wireless ether', virtual reality and cyberspace have been connected to the idea of a virtual, electronic sphere, represented as an informatic space, through which a mode of (digital) being is conducted. However, as this paper will argue, while the data trails generated through 'dataveillance' technologies, or the information collected by wearable computers, may indeed situate the individual within a digitally rendered 'ether', these technologies are based on the generation of knowledge more than the creation of a space, installing an epistemological, rather than an ontological framework for understanding telepresent agency. With reference to recent works by Canadian artist Catherine Richards, this paper will discuss both research into new 'reality mining' and 'affective computing' technologies and the discourse of posthumanism, as it elaborates the transformation from autonomous liberal subject to post-human hybrid currently underway, and the developing relationships between humans and embodied, emotionally intelligent machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational thinking (CT) uses concepts that are essential to computing and information science to solve problems, design and evaluate complex systems, and understand human reasoning and behavior. This way of thinking has important implications in computer sciences as well as in almost every other field. Therefore, we contend that CT should be taught in elementary schools and included in every university’s educational curriculum. Several studies that measure the impact of teaching programming, analytical thinking, and CT have been conducted. In this review, we analyze and discuss findings from these studies and highlight the importance of learning programming with a focus on the development of CT skills at a young age. We also describe the tools that are available to improve the teaching of CT and provide a state-of-the-art overview of how programming is being taught at schools and universities in Colombia and around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, students of electronics, electrical and computer science engineering are very much curious to know about the various security issues in wireless communication. Therefore, these students require a platform (i.e. by using Matlab software) that can fetch knowledge about the security issues in wireless communication. The Matlab software will give a perfect understanding about the mathematical concepts through a graphical representation. Therefore, students can understand the typical mathematical equation very easily. The main objective of our paper is to create a countermeasure environment that would protect the sensitive information passing through the multi-input and multi-output (MIMO)-OFDM channel. A novel remote steganography method is proposed, and the essential execution of the system was assessed. In this research work, a remote steganography utilizing the MIMO-OFDM structure, the sensitive information processing and also an Eigenbeam-space Division Multiplexing conveyance are proposed. Based on the Matlab simulation results, our proposed technique aims to reduce the bit error rate. In addition, SNR values for different modulation techniques successfully retrieved from the original information are analyzed. And finally, we make two project groups: one is related to the cryptography method and the second group is related to combining the cryptography and steganography methods, and we differentiate which group information is more secure in the wireless communication platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This practice analysis considers the extent to which mental health occupational therapists utilize standardized assessments and other tools within local electronic clinical records. There is further analysis of a clinical dataset from a single service that highlights limitations in its use to inform cost effectiveness evaluation. The paper highlights the opportunity for the profession to promote greater consistency across clinical datasets at a time when many electronic record systems are being updated. This will require a collaborative approach to allow cross-organizational benchmarking and to adopt a set of variables and other outcome measures in order to successfully undertake economic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coding is increasingly popular in schools around the world and is often taught by non-specialist teachers as an integrated task with other subject areas. In this article, we explore the relationship between computer science (CS) concepts and students' multimodal expression in a coding animated narrative (CAN) task in the context of an integrated English-Technology unit of learning. Through this collective case study, we explore how CS concepts underpin semiotic elements of an animated narrative, analyse the factors that influence the extent to which students exercise those concepts, and reveal the tensions and opportunities that a CAN task may present for learning computer science concepts in regular, non-specialist, cross-curricular classrooms. The findings suggest that CAN tasks are unique in presenting opportunities for students to learn challenging CS concepts such as synchronisation and parallelism. At the same time, CAN tasks present tensions for teaching CS concepts in non-specialist classrooms, where student projects are often judged on their visual qualities. In such settings, procedural, rather than conceptual knowledge, may be a more efficient route to creative outcomes. It also means that drawing skills need to be prioritised. Role specialisation often led to better quality projects but at the expense of individual students' conceptual development in computer science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the direction and magnitude of racial disparities on three advanced placement (AP) computer science (CS) exams, namely AP CS Principles, AP CS A, and AP CS AB, based on the test scores of more than one million students who have taken AP CS exams between 1997 and 2020. Using Mann–Kendall test and Sen's slope procedures we found that the number of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students in AP CS exams have increased steadily and significantly over years, yet they are still far from reaching parity. Further, our findings suggest that the racial disparities among top achievers are very wide. The results provide educators and researchers support for identifying and quantifying the racial disparities in advanced academic programs and may inform the development of policies, practices, and programs to reduce racial disparities in pre-college CS education and further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technological status of seven key sub-sectors in three sectors (energy, industry and consumption) was analysed using bottom-up modelling. Using 2010 as a baseline, the paper predicts direct CO2 emission trends, turning points, reduction potentials and costs for the three sectors in two policy scenarios and three technology scenarios for the years 2015, 2020 and 2030. The scenario analysis shows that the industry sector might reach its emissions peak between 2015 and 2020, which leaves more emission reduction potential for the consumption sector. CO2 emissions in the consumption sector will increase through to 2030 without reaching a turning point. In the Social Low Control Middle (SL-CM) scenario, CO2 reduction technology potentials of the industry and consumption sectors will reach 0.84 billion tonnes CO2-eq by 2020. Within this, production contributes 13% of reductions, transportation 48%, and construction 39%. In the 2030SL-CM-scenario, the CO2 reduction potentials rise to 1.6 billion tonnes CO2-eq, within which production contributes 8%, transportation 44% and construction 48%. In building China's Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), the government should pay more attention to a low carbon consumption policy rather than a traditional CO2 control policy for the industrial sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews two main strategies for dealing with the threat posed by radically enactive/embodied cognition to traditional cognitive science. Both strategies invoke action oriented representations (AORs). They differ in emphasizing different features of AORs in their attempt to answer the REC threat – focusing on their contents and vehicles, respectively. The first two sections review the central motivations and rationales driving the ‘content’ and ‘format’ strategies in turn and raise initial concerns about the tenability of each. With respect to the ‘content’ strategy, these worries ought to make us suspicious about the explanatory value of positing AORs. Although the ‘format’ strategy has a way of answering this concern, it raises a more fundamental worry about the motivation for even believing in AORs in the first place. Although these worries cast doubt on the feasibility of invoking AORs as a means of dealing with the REC threat, they do not constitute conclusive reasons for eliminating AORs altogether. There are other, stronger reasons for supposing that we should. The third section provides a sketch of a master argument, developed elsewhere, which makes that case in full dress fashion. The final section – ‘Resurrection?’ – considers and rejects the possibility that AORs might be resurrected, even if it is agreed that the master argument cited in the third section succeeds. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper we introduce a new method for locating shapes. The method is based on active shape model, and combining with mean shift to improve local search in the region around each landmark. Bringing new local descriptor and search strategy to active shape model search, mean shift can improve active shape model in both precision and speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health Information Managers (HIMs) are responsible for overseeing health information. The change management necessary during the transition to electronic health records (EHR) is substantial, and ongoing. Archetype-based EHRs are a core health information system component which solve many of the problems that arise during this period of change. Archetypes are models of clinical content, and they have many beneficial properties. They are interoperable, both between settings and through time. They are more amenable to change than conventional paradigms, and their design is congruent with clinical practice. This paper is an overview of the current archetype literature relevant to Health Information Managers. The literature was sourced in the English language sections of ScienceDirect, IEEE Explore, Pubmed, Google Scholar, ACM Digital library and other databases on the usage of archetypes for electronic health record storage, looking at the current areas of archetype research, appropriate usage, and future research. We also used reference lists from the cited papers, papers referenced by the openEHR website, and the recommendations from experts in the area. Criteria for inclusion were (a) if studies covered archetype research and (b) were either studies of archetype use, archetype system design, or archetype effectiveness. The 47 papers included show a wide and increasing worldwide archetype usage, in a variety of medical domains. Most of the papers noted that archetypes are an appropriate solution for future-proof and interoperable medical data storage. We conclude that archetypes are a suitable solution for the complex problem of electronic health record storage and interoperability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a structure-specified mixed H2/H8 controller design using particle swarm optimization (PSO) is proposed for control balancing of Bicyrobo, which is an unstable system associated with many sources of uncertainties due to un-model dynamics, parameter variations, and external disturbances. The structure-specified mixed H2/H8 control is a robust and optimal control technique. However, the design process normally comes up with a complex and non-convex optimization problem which is difficult to solve by the conventional optimization methods. PSO is a recently useful meta-heuristic search method used to solve multi-objective and non-convex optimization problems. In the method, PSO is used to search for parameters of a structure-specified controller which satisfies mixed H2/H8 performance index. The simulation and experimental results show the robustness of the proposed controller in compared with the conventional proportional plus derivative (PD) controller, and the efficiency of the proposed algorithm in compared with the genetic algorithm (GA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of process parameters on microstructural evolution, including grain size and shape factor of the α solid particles during semisolid compression of an Al–4Cu–Mg alloy, were investigated. Experiments were conducted at deformation temperatures of 540, 560 and 580°C, strain rates of 0001, 001, 01 and 1 s–1, and height reductions of 20, 40 and 60%. All of the optical micrographs and quantitative metallography showed that deformation process parameters significantly affect the microstructure during semisolid compression of Al–4Cu–Mg alloy, which appears to have a fuzzy characteristic. According to the experimental results from the semisolid compression of Al–4Cu–Mg alloy, a model has been established to describe microstructural evolution by applying a fuzzy set and artificial neural network, which integrates the learning power of neural networks with fuzzy inference systems. The model presented in the present paper can be applied to predict the microstructural changes at deformation temperatures of 540–580°C and strain rates of 0001–1 s–1. The maximum relative difference of grain size is 934%. The predicted results are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a case study of the Pakistan Library Automation Group, formed in October 2000 by volunteers in library and information science and computer science in Pakistan. The group's mission was to promote the use of ICT in Pakistani libraries with virtually no financial support. The achievements of the group during 6 years include: PakLAG Website; Automation of libraries with Library Information Management System (LIMS); Multilingual Web OPAC; Searching interface of National Digital Library; Online directory of LIS professionals; Publications program; Pak-LIS News; E-mail discussion group; Online posting of job advertisements; Virtual library; Training in ICTs for library professionals; and free consultancy service in library automation. The group's future plans are also presented. The study concludes that, if some committed professionals present themselves for voluntary endeavors and plan to develop their nation without any material resources, they can play a significant role in the promotion of ICT in the libraries of a developing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bureaucracies in the Weberian mould, whether of the state or corporate type, are rational-legal structures organized to deliver order, stability and predictability. Early developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) appeared set to deliver such an outcome. Yet the new economy turns out to be more ‘distributed’ than had originally been expected. What is the nature of the challenge that this poses for bureaucracies? To address this question, the paper first presents a conceptual framework, the Information-Space or I-Space, which allows us to explore the relationship between how knowledge is structured and how it flows within and between populations of agents. The paper then examines what cultural and institutional challenges the new ICTs pose for both state and corporate bureaucracies, confronted as they are with the complexities of an increasingly distributed social order.Journal of Information Technology (2006) 21, 239–248. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jit.2000079 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review and discuss the evolution of interdisciplinary and interorganizational research in operations management and suggest directions for future investigations. The proposed operations management research focus is one that embraces a more holistic view of an “extended enterprise” which involves working with a new business model—the organization as a network. This methodology starts by treating the organization as a system that is enabled by information technology and is characterized by ubiquitous information sharing across traditional enterprise. Proper integration of technology, business processes and people factors needs to be developed to create higher value from networked enterprises. Operations management research future lies in establishing this science from an interdisciplinary perspective. We analyze this perspective in the context of papers published in the first 50 issues of Production and Operations Management and the related literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal and sequential information is essential to any agent continually interacting with its environment. In this paper, we test whether it is possible to evolve a recurrent neural network controller to match the dynamic requirement of the task. As a benchmark, we consider a sequential navigation task where the agent has to alternately visit two rewarding sites to obtain food and water after first visiting the nest. To achieve a better fitness, the agent must select relevant sensory inputs and update its working memory to realize a non-Markovian sequential behavior in which the preceding state alone does not determine the next action. We compare the performance of a feed-forward and recurrent neural control architectures in different environment settings and analyze the neural mechanisms and environment features exploited by the agents to achieve their goal. Simulation and experimental results using the Cyber Rodent robot show that a modular architecture with a locally excitatory recurrent layer outperformed the general recurrent controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews and extends recent scholarly and popular literature to provide a broad overview of how information technology (IT) impacts organizational characteristics and outcomes. First, based on a review of the literature, we describe two of the principal performance enhancing benefits of IT: information efficiencies and information synergies, and identify five main organizational outcomes of the application of IT that embody these benefits. We then discuss the role that IT plays in moderating the relationship between organizational characteristics including structure, size, learning, culture, and interorganizational relationships and the most strategic outcomes, organizational efficiency and innovation. Throughout we discuss the limitations and possible negative consequences of the use of IT and close by considering several key areas for future research. c 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reintroducing computer science (CS) education in K–12 schools to promote computational thinking (CT) has attracted significant attention among scholars and educators. Among the several essential components included in CS and CT education, program debugging is an indispensable skill. However, debugging teaching has often been overlooked in K–12 contexts, and relevant empirical studies are lacking in the literature. Moreover, novices generally have poor performance in domain knowledge and strategic knowledge concerning debugging. They also consistently experience a high cognitive burden in debugging learning. To address these gaps, we developed a flipped systematic debugging approach combined with a systematic debugging process (SDP) and the modeling method. A quasi-experimental study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of this flipped systematic debugging approach, in which 83 fifth-grade students attended the flipped debugging training lessons with the SDP–modeling method, and 75 fifth-grade students attended the unassisted flipped debugging training lessons without the SDP–modeling method. The results indicated that flipped debugging training using the SDP–modeling method improved students' debugging skills. The results from the questionnaire showed that the proposed teaching approach increased the students' investment in germane cognitive load by promoting schema construction. It also helped reduce students' intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load in learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational thinking (CT) has emerged as an important method in the United States for helping children learn to solve complex problems and develop skills necessary for coding and other computer science-related endeavors. Research has revealed that CT can be encouraged with children as young as 3–4 years of age. While some preschools and schools are incorporating CT into their curriculum for young children, ages 0–8 years, it is important to understand how environments outside of schools are using CT with young children, particularly given that, in the United States, a large percent of young children, ages 0–5 years, are not in formal school settings. This study provides insight into this area through 20 interviews with educators in libraries and museums to understand how they incorporate CT into their work with young children, ages 0–8 years, and their families. The interviews reveal that library and museum educators are using a variety of developmentally-appropriate approaches, such as play, experimentation, and narrative, to design and offer a diverse array of engaging, hands-on CT activities that allow young children to practice CT in child-centered, meaningful ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of computing usually focuses on achievements in Western universities and research centers and is mostly about what happened in the United States and Great Britain. However, in Eastern Europe, particularly in war-torn Poland, where there was very little state funding, many highly original hardware and software projects were initiated. The small number of publications available to us, especially those in English, led to the belief that technological progress was the result of research carried out in Western countries alone. This article aims to fill this knowledge gap by focusing on the numerous research projects initiated in Polish universities and computer industries that unfortunately turned into dead ends as the result of socialist policies. These are references that cannot be ignored, not only for a historical reconstruction of the evolution of technology but also with regard to the social effects recorded in Poland immediately after the Second World War. The communist ideology, which pursued gender equality policies after the end of the war, encouraged women to pursue education, enabling the many female students enrolled in mathematics degree courses to specialize in " Maszyny Matematyczne " (mathematical machines) and become, like men, experts in computer programming and design. As well as highlighting the role that Poland played in the nascent "computer science" and providing detailed information on what women contributed, this article will explain why the success of the Polish computer industry was limited due to the nonexistent coordination between the communist states (Comecon). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technological world has witnessed many revolutions since the beginning of the 21st century, such as mobile development, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and also the Internet of Things. The internet of things revolution is driven by a broader access to internet and versatility of programmable hardware devices that can communicate between each other. In order to make internet of things devices, a technical background is required in many fields, especially electronics and Computer Science. Therefore, many efforts are put in place to develop educational kits that simplify the basics of these two fields so that everyone can make his internet of things prototype without technical knowledge. The authors present their own initiative: IOIOAI that simplifies the programming process for the input output input output electrical board. The service has been tested successfully on children and young students. In this paper, the authors present a wider adoption for their initiative. The IOIOAI service is imple- mented in introductory course to embedded systems for electrical and computer science students during the 2016-2017 academic year in the National Engineering School of Sfax, Tunisia. The efficiency of the solution is analyzed based on the students' marks and feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies neural network technology, a standard approach in computer science that has been unaccountably ignored by sociologists, to the problem of developing rigorous sociological theories. A simulation program employing a "varimax" model of human learning and decision-making models central elements of the Stark-Bainbridge theory of religion. Individuals in a micro-society of 24 simulated people learn which categories of potential exchange partners to seek for each of four material rewards which in fact can be provided by other actors in the society. However, when they seek eternal life, they are unable to find suitable human exchange partners who can provide it to them, so they postulate the existence of supernatural exchange partners as substitutes. The explanation of how the particular neural net works, including reference to modulo arithmetic, introduces some aspects of this new technology to sociology, and this paper invites readers to explore the wide range of other neural net techniques that may be of value for social scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines ways in which the concept of work identification may provide a useful means of delineating the boundaries of occupational groups. This concept is based on the view that the sociological utility of the concept occupation lies in its subjective meaning for participants in their sense of corporate belonging, rather than in `objective', arbitrarily drawn boundaries. Two kinds of identification are discussed-identification with employing organizations and identification with occupation. The paper, which results from research into work orientations of data processing staff, describes distinctive patterns of identification found among systems analysts and among computer programmers These distinctions are used as the empirical basis on which subsequent discussion is built. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informed by evidence that computing attitudes may be uniquely constructed in informal contexts and that the early teens are a key period for academic decision-making, we investigate lines of practice that connect computing skills, attitudes, and videogames. We compare the relationship between computer skill, computer efficacy, and activities associated with gaming using a data set of 3,868 children in middle school. The time that children spend gaming has very modest association with skill and efficacy. Accounting for the frequency with which children modify games, engage in social gaming activities, and the salience of gamer identity explains the gender gap in computer skill and significantly narrows the gender gap in computer efficacy. We find support for the argument that computer skill and efficacy are dependent on children connecting often isolated social contexts, a socially embedded characteristic of the digital divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As technologically gifted students apply their abilities to computer science, they naturally flow through the talent development stages of potential, competency, and expertise. Processes that have always been important for gifted students to learn as they develop potential are embedded in learning code, which engages the beginning programmer in rich and complex authentic projects (Housand et al., 2017). As stakeholders present opportunities for open-ended, creative processes and products, the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA; 2017) and International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE; 2016) Standards can form guidelines for gifted students to self-direct their education through technology. Learning to code results in both cognitive and psychosocial skill development, including creative and critical thinking, logical and systematic reasoning, positive risk-taking and processing of feedback, perseverance through challenges, social skills, and collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite computer science (CS) students' widespread participation in internships, few studies have examined how internship experiences impact career decision-making. Because women are severely underrepresented within CS, understanding how internship experiences impact career decision-making can provide critical insight into women's career development processes and longevity in the field. Using the concept of career self-management within social cognitive career theory as a theoretical framework and standpoint feminism as a critical lens, we conducted interviews with 13 women CS majors to learn how internship experiences influenced their career decisions. Findings reveal three major career development process themes, including questioning technical competence, navigating gendered "microclimates," and reflecting on careers in CS. While internships largely affirmed women's career interests in CS, participants also navigated challenging gendered dynamics and often made career decisions directly influenced by these experiences. Findings inform how CS educators, career development practitioners, and employers may better develop inclusive internship cultures in computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the test scores of more than 1,000,000 students who participated in the Advanced Placement Computer Science (AP CS) exams from 1997 to 2020, this study examined the direction and magnitude of the trends in gender disparity in participation and top achievement in advanced exams. The findings indicated that the male-to-female ratio (MFR) among AP Computer Science (CS) exam participants declined from 4.87 to 2.26 between 1997 and 2020. Similarly, the MFR among top scorers (students who scored 5 out of 5) in any type of AP CS exams declined rapidly, in favor of female students, from 8.00 to 2.14 during the same period. Possible implications of these findings for educators, particularly for AP CS teachers and school counselors, were also discussed in the context of the underrepresentation of females in computing fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first paper discussed six dimensions of blended systems and how ready are in-service teachers for making effective use of the new systems. In the 1980s, computer-assisted instruction (CAI) systems began to promote more learner-centered learning activities. Although the microcomputer systems were limited in operational speed, data storage, and graphics, the drill and practice, computer simulation systems and writing, and mathematical software provided new instructional tools. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: We aim to better understand the curricular, staffing, and achievement trade-offs entailed by expansions of high-school computer science (CS) for students, schools, and school leaders. Methods: We use descriptive, correlational, and quasi-experimental methods to analyze statewide longitudinal course-, school-, and staff-level data from California, where CS course taking has expanded rapidly. Findings: We find that these rapid CS course expansions have not come at the expense of CS teachers' observable qualifications (namely certification, education, or experience). Within-school course taking patterns over time suggest that CS enrollment growth has come at the expense of social studies, English/language arts (ELA), and arts courses, as well as from other miscellaneous electives. However, we find no evidence that increased enrollment of students in CS courses at a school has a significant effect on students' math or ELA test scores. Implications: Flexible authorization requirements for CS teachers appear to have allowed school leaders to staff new CS courses with teachers whose observable qualifications are strong, though we do not observe teachers' CS teaching skill. Increasing CS participation is unlikely to noticeably improve school-level student test scores, but administrators also do not need to be overly concerned that test scores will suffer. However, school leaders and policymakers should think carefully about what courses new CS courses will replace and whether such replacements are worthwhile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]