Facilitating enterprise application integration adoption: An empirical analysis of UK local government authorities     

Muhammad Mustafa Kamal  Ray Hackney  Maged Ali 《International Journal of Information Management》2013

local government authorities (LGAs) are organised around operational structures with business processes spanning within departments and across other government organisations. In such an organisational setting, the harmonisation of Information Technology (IT) operations, integration of cross-departmental processes and the underlying Information Systems (IS) signifies a challenge in delivering integrated services. This paper attempts to explore enterprise application integration (EAI) adoption in the UK local government authorities (LGAs). Despite the hype of EAI adoption in private domain, its application in LGAs is inadequate as there is a lack of adoption models/frameworks that can be used by the public sector. The context of the study is to consider the transformation of IT infrastructure management and operations with EAI technologies. The empirical findings, generated through a detailed case analysis, manifestly exemplify that EAI predominantly acts as a ‘back-office’ technology that facilitates operations by developing a flexible and maintainable integrated IT infrastructure. Our proposed framework is believed to be imperative and unique as it provides a more systematic way to examine the adoption of integration technologies, extends the established norms for EAI adoption by utilising a prioritisation technique to classify the importance of factors. The contribution of the research extends the literature on EAI and identifies theoretical and practical opportunities that facilitate LGAs in their decision-making process to produce more robust proposals for EAI adoption.  相似文献   

Flatness-based adaptive fuzzy output tracking excitation control for power system generators     

Hassan A. Yousef  Mohamed Hamdy  Muhammad Shafiq 《Journal of The Franklin Institute》2013

In this paper, a novel approach for the design of an indirect adaptive fuzzy output tracking excitation control of power system generators is proposed. The method is developed based on the concept of differentially flat systems through which the nonlinear system can be written in canonical form. The flatness-based adaptive fuzzy control methodology is used to design the excitation control signal of a single machine power system in order to track a reference trajectory for the generator angle. The considered power system can be written in the canonical form and the resulting excitation control signal is shown to be nonlinear. In case of unknown power system parameters due to abnormalities, the nonlinear functions appearing in the control signal are approximated using adaptive fuzzy systems. Simulation results show that the proposed controller can enhance the transient stability of the power system under a three-phase to ground fault occurring near the generator terminals.  相似文献   

Segmentation techniques for recognition of Arabic-like scripts: A comprehensive survey     

Saeeda Naz  Arif I. Umar  Syed H. Shirazi  Saad B. Ahmed  Muhammad I. Razzak  Imran Siddiqi 《Education and Information Technologies》2016,21(5):1225-1241

  相似文献   

Anatomy practical examinations: How does student performance on computerized evaluation compare with the traditional format?     

Inuwa IM  Taranikanti V  Al-Rawahy M  Habbal O 《Anatomical sciences education》2012,5(1):27-32

Practical examinations in anatomy are usually conducted on specimens in the anatomy laboratory (referred to here as the “traditional” method). Recently, we have started to administer similar examinations online using the quiz facility in Moodle?. In this study, we compare student scores between two assessment environments viz. online and traditional environments. We hypothesized that regardless of the examination medium (traditional or online) overall student performance would not be significantly different. For the online medium, radiological images, prosected specimens, and short video clips demonstrating muscle action were first acquired from resources used for teaching during anatomy practical classes. These were optimized for online viewing and then uploaded onto Moodle learning management software. With regards to the traditional format, actual specimens were usually laid out in a circular stream. Identification tags were then attached to specific spots on the specimens and questions asked regarding those identified spots. A cohort of students taking practical examinations in six courses was studied. The courses were divided into three pairs with each pair credit‐weight matched. Each pair consisted of a course where the practical examination was conducted online and the other in the traditional format. There was no significant difference in the mean scores within each course pair. In addition, a significant positive correlation between score in traditional and online formats was found. We conclude that mean grades in anatomy practical examination conducted either online or in the traditional format were comparable. These findings should reassure teachers intending to use either format for their practical examinations. Anat Sci Educ. © 2011 American Association of Anatomists.  相似文献   

Awareness about plagiarism amongst university students in Pakistan     

Muhammad Ramzan  Muhammad Asif Munir  Nadeem Siddique  Muhammad Asif 《Higher Education》2012,64(1):73-84

Research is an original and systematic investigation undertaken to discover new facts and information about a phenomenon. However a variety of empirical and ethical issues are on the rise in academia, especially plagiarism is quickly becoming part of global educational and research culture. More and more students and researchers are turning to the Internet for cooked solutions and shortcuts for writing assignments, research papers and thesis. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the seriousness of plagiarism amongst graduate and post graduate students of Pakistan. It also explores the university students’ level of awareness of plagiarism. A total of 365 graduate and post graduate students of randomly selected public and private sector universities participated in this exploratory empirical study. A self-reported questionnaire survey was used for collection of primary data. Findings revealed that there was a low level of awareness about plagiarism and university plagiarism policies and processes amongst the students. Findings also revealed that many respondents did not understand what plagiarism is? A significant number of students have fairly admitted that they have intentionally plagiarized written materials. Based on the findings of the study this paper puts forward recommendations to create awareness amongst the students regarding plagiarism, plagiarism policies and provides statistical evidences for formulation of policies and guidelines to combat plagiarism in institutions of higher learning in Pakistan. Furthermore, the paper submits recommendations to minimize the plagiarism based on the authors’ experiences.  相似文献   

An improved technique for global daily sunshine duration estimation using satellite imagery     

Muhammad Ali Shamim  Renji Remesan  Da-wei Han  Naeem Ejaz  Ayub Elahi 《浙江大学学报(A卷英文版)》2012,13(9):717-722

This paper presents an improved model for global sunshine duration estimation. The methodology incorporates geostationary satellite images by including snow cover information, sun and satellite angles and a trend correction factor for seasons, for the determination of cloud cover index. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology has been tested using Meteosat geostationary satellite images in the visible band with a temporal resolution of 1 h and spatial resolution of 2.5 km×2.5 km, for the Brue Catchment in the southwest of England. Validation results show a significant improvement in the estimation of global sunshine duration by the proposed method as compared to its predecessor (R ² is improved from 0.68 to 0.83, root mean squared error (RMSE) from 2.37 h/d to 1.19 h/d and the mean biased error (MBE) from 0.21 h/d to 0.08 h/d). Further studies are needed to test this method in other parts of the world with different climate and geographical conditions.  相似文献   

Attitudes toward Face-to-Face and Online Counseling: Roles of Self-Concealment,Openness to Experience,Loss of Face,Stigma, and Disclosure Expectations among Korean College Students     

Geoff J. Bathje  Eunha Kim  Ellen Rau  Muhammad Adam Bassiouny  Taehoon Kim 《International journal for the advancement of counseling》2014,36(4):408-422

This study examined attitudes toward face-to-face (f2f) and online counseling among 228 Korean college students. In addition, it tested a hypothesized model proposing that general propensities (i.e., self-concealment, openness to experience, and loss of face) would influence counseling-specific expectations (i.e., self-stigma and disclosure expectations), which, in turn, would predict attitudes toward f2f and online counseling. Findings mirrored the results of earlier studies revealing that self-concealment was negatively related to attitudes toward both f2f and online counseling, while openness to experience and disclosure expectations were positively related. However, whereas self-stigma was associated with negative attitudes toward f2f counseling, it was not related to attitudes toward online counseling. In addition, disclosure expectations accounted for f2f attitudes more than online attitudes.  相似文献   

School Leadership in Pakistan: Exploring the Headteacher’s Role     

Tim Simkins  Charles Sisum  Muhammad Memon 《School Effectiveness & School Improvement》2013,24(3):275-291

There is a good deal of consensus in the literature about the key role of leadership – especially that of the headteacher – in facilitating school improvement. Yet much of the research in this area has taken place in Western industrialised countries. This article explores the issue of headship in the context of schools in a specific developing country context, that of Pakistan. Drawing on 2 studies of the experience of headteachers in Karachi, the article identifies and explores the key variables that may contribute to a sense of personal efficacy for these heads, namely the expectations generated by the national or community culture, the powers and accountabilities generated by the school system in which they work, and their own individual personalities and histories.  相似文献   

Book reviews     

Muhammad Khalifa 《International journal of qualitative studies in education》2013,26(2):259-282

This study examines Black student and parental perceptions of exclusionary practices of Black school principals. I ask why students and parents viewed two Black principals as contributing to abusive and exclusionary school environments that marginalized Black students. After a two-year ethnographic study, it was revealed that exclusionary behaviors toward Black students—which was viewed as “abuse” by students and parents—was a reproduction of the district's racism, and thus adds new considerations for discussions around the value of racially-like (i.e., all Black) educators and students. Parents perceived these two Black principals as dealing more harshly and rigidly with the Black students and their families; moreover, analysis of the interview data revealed that the principals rejected the cultural and social capital, and proclivities of Black students, and blamed Black students for their lower achievement and unique behaviors. I draw significant attention to the larger contexts of White supremacy and racism as I examine how Black principals negotiate their own roles, how they understand their own treatment of urban Black students, and how they are (knowing or unknowingly) reproducing oppressive practices of White supremacy on Black students in school.  相似文献   

Effects of metacognitive instruction on mathematics achievement and attitude towards mathematics of low mathematics achievers     

Muhammad Maqsud 《Educational research; a review for teachers and all concerned with progress in education》2013,55(2):237-243

An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of metacognitive instruction on mathematics achievement and attitude towards mathematics of low mathematics achievers at a middle school in the North‐West Province of South Africa. Forty standard (std) 7 pupils were identified whose non‐verbal general ability and previous mathematics achievements were significantly lower than those of other std 7 pupils. These subjects were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. Metacognitive strategies in solving mathematical problems related to four mathematics topics were individually taught to the members of the experimental group, while the pupils in the control group were taught the four mathematics topics through the conventional method of teaching mathematics. The comparisons of pretest and posttest measures of general ability, metacognitive awareness, attitude towards mathematics, and mathematics achievement revealed that the posttest scores of all the four variables for the experimental group were significantly higher than those for the control group.  相似文献