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This study investigates students' performance, perception and acceptance when experiential learning approaches are integrated in Computer Science courses. An experiential learning approach has been designed to assist students in web development courses. The proposed learning approach in based on real-world examples and the abstraction of terminology using a sequential wizard-based logic. A survey model has been constructed and an exploratory study is conducted on 54 under and post graduate students. Results demonstrated high degree of perception and acceptance, as well as high performance scores. No gender differences have been detected in the examined sample and several strong correlations have been found among the measured variables. In particular, perceived ease of use and usefulness are strongly correlated to each other as well as to self-efficacy, willingness to learn and satisfaction. Satisfaction and self-efficacy are not correlated to each other, while performance has not been affected by anyone of the measured variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the role of gender in End-User Development (EUD) environments and examines whether there are gender differences in performance and in correlations between performance and a set of behavioral attributes. Based on a review of the most prominent EUD-related behavioral Human Computer Interaction (HCI) theories, and the influence of gender on them, it attempts to classify all the gender related behavioral attributes influencing the end-users' performance. Then, it theoretically selects a subset of these attributes, namely R isk-Perception, U sefulness-Perception, L earning Willingness, E ase-of-Use-Perception, and S elf-Efficacy, presents an example application and conducts a basic evaluation testing. The proposed attributes (their initials form the word RULES) can form the basis for the design of EUD-oriented user modeling techniques for gender-neutral self-adaptive software EUD environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubiquitous and cloud manufacturing systems have paved the way for the development of smart systems that can provide self-adaptive services to enhance quality of service and user experience, based on user and context awareness. However, current approaches to software adaptation have critical limitations when applied on software in a cloud environment, since cloud service engineers cannot be certain of the ‘nature’ of their users, regarding their needs and their evolution over time. This article proposes a user-centred framework that addresses self-adaptation of cloud services based on users’ distinct needs and requirements. It aims at leveraging existing human computer interaction approaches to explicitly and implicitly collect user-related data into the cloud. This collection later supports the delivery of adaptive cloud services, contextually relevant to users’ tasks and to their behavioural profiles. Such approaches have the potential to enhance the quality of cloud applications’ service and user experience in cloud-based manufacturing systems. A first prototype demonstration is also presented as a future platform composed of the first basic models (of the ones mentioned in this article) .Then, the platform will be further expanded for instantiation and evaluation in the context of cloud and ubiquitous computing environments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes an innovative Energy Consumption Management System (ECMS) that is aimed at rationalizing the end use of the electrical energy in tunnel lighting. It is based on agent technologies and Power Line Communications to achieve lowest consumption lighting conditions in an optimal way. Depending on the type of application, the system would lead also to reduced installation and running costs, especially as far as lighting systems are concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]