Abstract

We discuss our initial experience with the transition from conventional technology to social networking sites and other cloud-backed sites for three core business functions of an academic computer science department at a mid-size private university: course management, research collaboration, and community engagement. We first discuss the social/cultural context that informs our technology choices, as well as the evolution of the technology choices themselves. Then, we identify the targeted department functions and their actors. Next, we describe the past and present technical ...

Abstract

Mashups combine data and services provided by third parties through open APIs (such as Google Maps and Flickr), as well as internal data sources owned by users. The creation of mashups is supported by a complex ecosystem of interconnected data providers, mashup platforms, and users. In this paper, we examine the structure of the mashup ecosystem and its growth over time. Several observations follow from our analysis. First, we can conclude that while the number of new APIs and mashups over ...

Abstract

Course management systems (CMS) like WebCT, Blackboard, Astronomica, etc., have reached and surpassed their tipping point in higher education. They are no longer a technology-trendy item to use in a course, but rather an expected supplement to undergraduate courses. There is a well known disconnect between the student population of ”digital natives” (1) and higher education instructors, the ”digital immigrants” (1). What expectations and technology skills do the new generations of undergraduates have? How can instructors easily meet their students' needs? What needs do instructors have and what resources are ...

Abstract

This paper was the first initiative to try to define Web 2.0 and understand its implications for the next generation of software, looking at both design patterns and business modes. Web 2.0 is the network as platform, spanning all connected devices; Web 2.0 applications are those that make the most of the intrinsic advantages of that platform: delivering software as a continually-updated service that gets better the more people use it, consuming and remixing data from multiple sources, including individual users, ...

Abstract

Web 2.0 is often attributed with a high potential to address today's challenges in knowledge management and distributed collaboration. This is due to the focus on innovative and creative sociotechnical concepts that are strongly influenced by informal communication and collaboration. This development has already reached industry. Using the term 'Enterprise 2.0', different possibilities to use social software in enterprises are researched. But also in academia, cooperation to generate new knowledge and add it to the scientific discourse may radically change under ...

Abstract

Abstract Previously assumed to be a homogenous and highly skilled group with respect to information and communications technology, the so-called Net Generation has instead been shown to possess a diverse range of technology skills and preferences. To better understand this diversity, we subjected data from 2096 students aged between 17 and 26 from three Australian universities to a cluster analysis. Through this analysis, we identified four distinct types of technology users: power users (14% of sample), ordinary users (27%), irregular users ...

Abstract

This paper reports qualitative findings from a study that investigated Australian university staff and students’ perceptions and use of current and emerging technologies both in their daily lives and in teaching and learning contexts. Forty-six first-year students and 31 teaching and support staff from three Australian universities took part in interviews and focus groups. This paper examines how students and staff reported on their use of new technologies in their daily lives, their stated reasons for using those technologies, and their ...

Abstract

Online social networking sites like Orkut, YouTube, and Flickr are among the most popular sites on the Internet. Users of these sites form a social network, which provides a powerful means of sharing, organizing, and finding content and contacts. The popularity of these sites provides an opportunity to study the characteristics of online social network graphs at large scale. Understanding these graphs is important, both to improve current systems and to design new applications of online social networks. This paper presents ...

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate age differences and similarities in the use of the social networking website MySpace, to explore potential differences in social capital among older people (users over 60 years of age) compared to teenagers (users between 13 and 19 years of age). We used locally developed web crawlers to collect data from MySpace's user profile pages, and to quantify any differences that exist in the networks of friends of older people and teenagers. Content analysis ...

Abstract

Don Tapscott, author of <i>The Digital Economy</i>, turns his attention to the way young people--surrounded by high-tech toys and tools from birth--will likely affect the future. In <i>Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation</i>, Tapscott parlays some 300 interviews into predictions on how today's 2- to 22-year-olds might reshape society. His observations about this enormously influential population, which will total 88 million in North America alone by the year 2000, range from the kind of employees they may ...

Abstract

Since social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, began allowing organizations to create profiles and become active members, organizations have started incorporating these strategies into their public relations programming. For-profit organizations have used these sites to help launch products and strengthen their existing brands; however, little is known about how nonprofit organizations are taking advantage of the social networking popularity. Through a content analysis of 275 nonprofit organization profiles on Facebook, this study examines how these new social networking sites ...

Abstract

This book explains online social networks and how to use them to create career opportunities with tips on defining objectives and setting goals. ...

Abstract

Social Networks is the highest growing web-application in terms of users. Different surveys show that users are most concerned with their privacy in respect to web-based social networks. Anyhow, uses ldquocompeterdquo in the number of ldquofriendsrdquo they can attach to their own profile. This means that the trust relations users are using to establish friends in the web applications becomes significantly different from the trust relations used in face-to-face meetings. This paper compares and discusses some of the existing self-management mechanisms ...

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of information technology (IT) on productivity and collaboration patterns in academe. Our data combine information on the diffusion of two noteworthy innovations in IT--BITNET and the Domain Name System (DNS)--with career-history data on research-active life scientists. We analyzed a random sample of 3,114 research-active life scientists from 314 U.S. institutions over a 25-year period and find that the availability of BITNET on a scientist's campus has a positive effect on his or her productivity and collaborative ...

Abstract

The objective of this article is to inform educators about the use of currently available educational technology tools to promote student retention, engagement and interaction in online courses. Educational technology tools include content management systems, podcasts, video lecture capture technology and electronic discussion boards. Successful use of educational technology tools requires planning, organization and use of effective learning strategies. ...

Abstract

What are the requirements on computer- and telecommunications-based tools to aid groups in producing intellectual products? In this article we examine research collaborations as a particularly informative example of group work and propose a framework for describing research collaboration that should provide guidance to those developing technology to support collaborative work. The framework is based on 50 semistructured interviews with researchers in psychology, management science, and computer science. It focuses on the problems in forming and maintaining personal relationships and completing ...

Abstract

The relationship that currently exists between undergraduate admission, technology and the Millennial generation continues to be an area of constant change. As technology trends come-and-go and resources continue to be limited, what are colleges and universities doing to ensure they are being as effective and efficient as possible when it comes to recruiting students through technological means or otherwise? Regardless, one thing remains certain: admission departments all over the country are actively engaged with the use of technology, yet few have ...

Abstract

One of the recent popular social media platforms is the social networking site (SNS). Thus far, few previous studies have empirically investigated people’s motivations for SNS usage, especially not outside the U.S. This study combines a large-scale quantitative and qualitative research design, by asking 1,200 SNS users an open question regarding their reasons for using SNSs. An important conclusion drawn from a preliminary content analysis is that people often report many motivational reasons for using SNSs . The most important reason ...

Abstract

We propose an integrated Cloud computing stack architecture to serve as a reference point for future mash-ups and comparative studies. We also show how the existing Cloud landscape maps into this architecture and identify an infrastructure gap that we plan to address in future work. ...

Abstract

Progress of research efforts in a novel technology is contingent on having a rigorous organization of its knowledge domain and a comprehensive understanding of all the relevant components of this technology and their relationships. Cloud computing is one contemporary technology in which the research community has recently embarked. Manifesting itself as the descendant of several other computing research areas such as service-oriented architecture, distributed and grid computing, and virtualization, cloud computing inherits their advancements and limitations. Towards the end-goal of a ...

Abstract

In this paper we explore the possibility of using Web 2.0 technology, specifically social networking technology, to support a community of practice in a graduate-level classroom setting in order to enhance learning. For our experiment, we utilized Facebook as a learning resource for an MIS course for learners to share prior knowledge and experience. We present the results of our five-month study, and found that Facebook provides an easy- to-use and familiar technology for learners to leverage social networking to share ...

Abstract

Social networking sites such as <i>Facebook</i> and <i>MySpace</i> have been subject to much recent debate within the educational community. Whilst growing numbers of educators celebrate the potential of social networking to (re)engage learners with their studies, others fear that such applications compromise and disrupt young people's engagement with traditional education provision. With these ongoing debates in mind, the current paper presents an in-depth qualitative analysis of the <i>Facebook</i> wall activity of 909 undergraduate students in a UK university. Analysis of these ...

Abstract

This paper describes a new social networking site, Cloudworks, which aims to provide a dynamic environment for finding, sharing and discussing learning and teaching ideas and designs. The paper begins by discussing the mismatch between the potential application of technologies in education and their actual use in practice. It considers some of the reasons for this and suggests ways in which this gap might be addressed. It goes on to outline the vision behind the development of Cloudworks, the phases of ...

Abstract

In this cross-sectional study, the principles of a technology acceptance model were used to identify variables related to the level of Internet usage by older adults. Community-dwelling older adults aged 60–88 years completed a postal questionnaire survey that elicited responses on the use of the Internet. Out of a sample of 592 older adults (236 males and 356 females), 50.7% used the Internet. A multiple linear regression analysis was carried out on the Internet users sample using the self-reported number of hours ...

Abstract

In the context of today's electronic media, social networking has come to mean individuals using the Internet and Web applications to communicate in previously impossible ways. This is largely the result of a culture-wide paradigm shift in the uses and possibilities of the Internet itself. The current Web is a much different entity than the Web of a decade ago. This new focus creates a riper breeding ground for social networking and collaboration. In an abstract sense, social networking is about ...

Abstract

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) such as Facebook are one of the latest examples of communications technologies that have been widely-adopted by students and, consequently, have the potential to become a valuable resource to support their educational communications and collaborations with faculty. However, faculty members have a track record of prohibiting classroom uses of technologies that are frequently used by students. To determine how likely higher education faculty are to use Facebook for either personal or educational purposes, higher education faculty (n = 62) ...

Abstract

This study explored how social networking technology can be used to supplement face-to-face courses as a means of enhancing students' sense of community and, thus, to promote classroom communities of practice in the context of higher education. Data were collected from 67 students who enrolled in four face-to-face courses at two public universities in Taiwan. Findings indicated that the majority of participants developed strong feelings of social connectedness and expressed favorable feelings regarding their learning experiences in the classes where social ...

Abstract

The concept of Internet-facilitated social networking is not new - we have evidence of the development of the concept and the technologies over decades. However, Web 2.0 technologies and the emergence of social networking sites has expanded accessibility and use beyond levels that may have been thought imaginable just two or three years ago. These developments have been accompanied with calls to integrate the new technologies and experiences of social networks within formal education. Yet, there is limited research on the ...

Note (first note only)

Generation Z

Abstract

Software often goes through a variety of extensions during its lifetime: adding new fields or new variants to a data structure, retroactively creating new type abstractions, and adding new operations on a data structure. As characterized by the extensibility problem, it should be possible to apply any combination of these types of extensions in any order. Mainstream object-oriented languages, however, do not well support the latter two. This paper proposes two language mechanisms that facilitate extending existing type hierarchies: multimethod dispatch and retroactive abstraction. For these ...

Abstract

This paper summarizes the results of an industry case study that introduced a cross-system business process automation solution based on a combination of SOA and BPM standard technologies (i.e., BPMN, BPEL, WSDL). Besides discussing major weaknesses of the existing, custom-built, solution and comparing them against experiences with the developed prototype, the paper presents a course of action for transforming the current solution into the proposed solution. This includes a general approach, consisting of four distinct steps, as well as specific action items that are to be performed for every step. ...

Abstract

Transformational programming is a methodology that intends to formalize the development of programs from problem specifications. Given the recent effort towards the design of a common prototyping system (CPS) for the Ada programming language, transformation systems may be reconsidered as possible components of prototyping systems. This paper examines and evaluates three approaches to transformational programming: * The Munich CIP project (Computer-aided, Intuition-guided Programming) consists of a strongly typed, wide-spectrum language with user-defined algebraic types and a semi-automatic transformation system that requires user guidance. * By contrast, ...

Abstract

We describe program structuring mechanisms for integrating algebraic, functional and object-oriented programming in a single framework. Our language is a statically typed higher-order language with specifications, structures, types, and values, and with universal and existential abstraction over structures, types, and values. We show that existential types over structures generalize both the necessarily homogeneous type classes of Haskell and the necessarily heterogeneous object classes of object-oriented programming languages such as C++ or Eiffel. Following recent work on ML, we provide separate linguistic mechanisms for reusing specifications and structures. Subtyping ...

Abstract

We present an extension of Haskell's type class concept in which a type class is identified with the signature of an abstract type. As shown by Mitchell and Plotkin, abstract types can be expressed using existential quantification. Unlike in Mitchell and Plotkin's work, an abstract type does not come with one --- and only one --- implementation. Rather, any concrete type can be declared to be an implementation by a clause that corresponds to an instance declaration in Haskell. We introduce F-bounded existential quantification, ...

Abstract

Many statically-typed programming languages provide an abstract data type construct, such as the package in Ada, the cluster in CLU, and the module in Modula2. However, in most of these languages, instances of abstract data types are not first-class values. Thus they cannot be assigned to a variable, passed as a function parameter, or returned as a function result. The higher-order functional language ML has a strong and static type system with parametric polymorphism. In addition, ML provides type reconstruction and consequently does not require type declarations for identifiers. Although ...

Note (first note only)

Available as Technical Report 622, December 1992, from New York University, Department of Computer Science

Abstract

This paper presents a semantic extension of ML, where the component types of a datatype may be existentially quantified. We show how datatypes over existential types add significant flexibility to the language without even changing ML syntax; in particular, we give examples demonstrating how we express * first-class abstract types, * multiple implementations of a given abstract type, * heterogeneous aggregates of different implementations of the same abstract type, and * dynamic dispatching of operations with respect to the implementation type. We have a deterministic Damas-Milner inference system ...

Abstract

To our knowledge, we are the first to implement a fully metacircular interpreter for a statically typed, Turing-complete language. We argued that conventional statically typed object-oriented languages were not sufficient to guarantee well-typed expression syntax trees and described an alternative metalanguage based on F-bounded polymorphism and existential quantification. While such a language was not available at that time, we were now able to use a reasonably wide-spread `stock' functional language for our purposes. We demonstrate that each feature of the metalanguage, lazy evaluation, static typing, and systematic overloading, ...

Note (first note only)

Preliminary version of JFP 1996 article.

Abstract

C and C++ allow passing functions as arguments to other functions in the form of function pointers. However, since function pointers can refer only to existing functions declared at global or file scope, these function arguments cannot capture local environments. This leads to the common misconception that C and C++ do not support function closures. In fact, function closures can be modeled directly in C++ by enclosing a function inside an object such that the local environment is captured by data members of the object. This ...

Abstract

Interactive applications on the World-Wide Web are supported by the CGI interface, which allows transfer ring information from the browser to programs invoked by the server. Information is obtained through fill-out forms embedded in documents written in the HTML language and rendered by the browser as collec tions of user interface objects. While the World-Wide Web is based on the stateless HTTP protocol, state can be simulated by encoding it in the information transmitted between browser and server. Many interactive applications have a finite number of states and perform ...

Note (first note only)

Invited paper

Abstract

The World-Wide Web is a distributed hypermedia information network. Users navigate through this information in mainly static but context-sensitive ways with browsing tools. Browsers are client programs that run on the user's local machine, request information from server programs on remote machines, and display the information to the user. Documents for the World-Wide Web are usually written in the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). Support for interactive applications on the World-Wide Web is provided by the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). This interface allows transferring information from the browser back to the ...

Note (first note only)

Preliminary version of Computer Journal 2000 article.

Abstract

Design patterns are distilled from many real systems to catalog common programming practice. We have analyzed several published design patterns and looked for patterns of working around constraints of the implementation language. Some object-oriented design patterns are distorted or overly complicated because of the lack of supporting language constructs or mechanisms. We lay a groundwork of general-purpose language constructs and mechanisms that, if provided by a statically typed, object-oriented language, would better support the implementation of design patterns and, thus, benefit the construction of many real systems. ...

Abstract

We argue that the novel combination of type classes and existential types in a single language yields significant expressive power. We explore this combination in the context of higher-order functional languages with static typing, parametric polymorphism, algebraic data types and Hindley–Milner type inference. Adding existential types to an existing functional language that already features type classes requires only a minor syntactic extension. We first demonstrate how to provide existential quantification over type classes by extending the syntax of algebraic data type ...

Abstract

Since its initial release two years ago, the programming language Java has gained tremendous popularity and momentum. Java was introduced by Sun within the context of the recent growth of the World Wide Web chiefly as a technology for providing interactive web content. However, Java is also a general-purpose object-oriented programming language in the spectrum between two other popular object-oriented languages, C++ and Smalltalk. The proposed paper discusses past experiences and future plans for integrating Java into the undergraduate computer science curriculum. A major design objective for ...

Abstract

We describe the interaction of objects and concurrency in the design of Triveni, a framework for concurrent programming with threads and events. Triveni has been realized as JavaTriveni, a collection of tools for the Java programming language. We describe our experiences in JavaTriveni with an example from telecommunication. ...

Abstract

We argue that a computer-science curriculum should introduce the principles of concurrent programming in an integrated, coherent, and application-independent fashion early in the major. We have incorporated current research into our curriculum. We describe a sophomore-level course on the fundamentals of concurrent and interactive programming that is the fruit of this work. We offered this course to about 60 students in Fall 1997 and Spring 1998. Information regarding the software frameworks for the programming assignments can be obtained by contacting the authors. ...

Abstract

This paper describes compositional semantics (operational, denotational and logical) for a process algebra enhanced with input/output actions and preemption combinators, in the presence of fairness. The context of this paper is Triveni, a process-algebra-based design methodology that combines threads and events in the context of object-oriented programming. Triveni has been realized as an Application Programmer Interface in the Java programming language. The semantics described in this paper forms the theoretical basis of the Triveni programming language and environment. ...

Abstract

Modern interactive services such as information and e-commerce services are becoming increasingly more flexible in the types of user interfaces they support. These interfaces incorporate automatic speech recognition and natural language understanding, and include graphical user interfaces on the desktop and web-based interfaces using applets and HTML forms. To what extent can the user interface software be decoupled from the service logic software (the code that defines the essential function of a service)? Decoupling of user interface from service logic directly impacts the flexibility of services, or, how easy they ...

Note (first note only)

Kluwer Academic Publishers

Abstract

Constraint-based languages can express in a concise way the complex logic of a new generation of interactive services for applications such as banking or stock trading, that must support multiple types of interfaces for accessing the same data. These include automatic speech-recognition interfaces where inputs may be provided in any order by users of the service. We study in this paper how to systematically test event-driven applications developed using such languages. We show how such applications can be tested automatically, without the need for any manually-written test cases, and ...