Albertus Buitendag

Presenting an Alternative Source Code Plagiarism Detection Framework for Improving the Teaching and Learning of Programming

The transfer and teaching of programming and programming related skills has become, increasingly difficult on an undergraduate level over the past years. This is partially due to the number of programming languages available as well as access to readily available source code over the Web. Source code plagiarism is common practice amongst many undergraduate students. This practice has a detrimental effect on the presentation of specific content relating to introduction to programming courses. One of the problems identified in the research conducted is that turnaround time with relation to assessment and feedback, which are presented to the students, is a critical factor in the subsequent success rates of the subject. This paper investigates, utilizing a literature review, how plagiarism detection metrics and a framework for providing effective feedback to students and educators could be implemented to enhance the teaching and learning processes. The predominant technique used for detecting plagiarism is to evaluate how a piece of source code was constructed over time. By analyzing the students’ programming patterns, lectures can be adapted to address problem areas and react accordingly. The paper also provides an overview of current metrics used for plagiarism detection and suggests ways of improving the process by including enhanced techniques for the gathering of metrics over time as well as suggesting ways to use the metrics to aid learning on all cognitive levels. Some of the key considerations presented as part of this research include effective feedback mechanisms and real-time responses to plagiarism as well as contributing towards learning on different cognitive levels.

User willingness to accept friend requests on SNS: A facebook experiment

Based on a dual approach, which incorporated both a literature survey as well as a direct experiment without the preamble to support any hypothesis, the objectives of the research was to determine the likeliness of a SNS users from two different parts of South Africa to accept a friend request from a totally unknown and fictitious user. The results seem to point to a general willingness to accept a friend requests from a total stranger.

Presenting a framework utilising the cloud to facilitate asset management

This paper presents an overview of various interrelated Cloud technologies and presents a framework for use in the creation of a Cloud based asset management application. The full potential of the application of Cloud based services are still to be realised by corporates and in this paper the possibilities of mobile applications within an organisational environment is highlighted in the form of a real world asses management case study based on the framework presented.

A Framework for Using Questions as Meta-tags to Enhance Knowledge Support Services as Part of a Living Lab Environment

The power and importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing within knowledge-intensive innovation focused environments is a huge driving force in today’s knowledge driven economy. Decisions taken are based on knowledge available, and knowledge is gained by asking questions. Within a Living Lab environment, information and knowledge dissemination can take on many forms and are cardinal to the Living Lab’s successful operation, where the creation of innovative solutions is a key deliverable. This paper presents a framework that incorporates questions as additional metadata tags to catalyze knowledge discovery. The question metadata are used as part of a collection of knowledge support services developed utilizing a Living Lab approach. The objective of the knowledge support services is to provide mechanisms to enable and fulfill various knowledge oriented activities such as information acquisition, learning, and knowledge sharing. Each of the knowledge oriented activities is enabled by the implementation and use of Knowledge Objects. This paper reviews popular metadata formats, including the Dublin Core standard, the Learning Object Metadata standard, and the Sharable Content Reference Model (SCORM). Also presented is the concept of a Knowledge Object Wrapper, a collection of metadata as part of a class hierarchy, which includes questions. The concept of a Knowledge Object is also revisited.

An E-Collaboration Activity System for Research Institutions

Introduction Collaboration between academic and research institutions (ARIs) has become part and parcel of the daily routine at these institutions, thereby contributing meaningfully to their development. ARIs are always interested in developing knowledge, hence their selection as participants in this study. Other institutions, such as private educational organizations, were approached to participate, but their response rate was very low. The reasons for this included the fear to break confidentiality clauses and concerns regarding the loss of a competitive advantage. Regarding ecollaboration, it is noted that technology plays an ever increasing part in our lives and the way that we communicate or do things. Research institutions are a fertile ground for theory advancement since their core focus is on academic work and research. There seems to be a tendency for researchers and innovators to be more easily located at ARIs than in private businesses. Building a model for ARIs should present wider opportunities for knowledge development. This discussion is divided into the objectives and aims of the paper, succeeded by a section on ARIs and collaboration from a literature perspective. The following sections detail the supporting theories, methodology, and triangulation. The proposed activity system model is then presented as an output followed by a conversation on the results. The final section addresses the conclusion and future work to be done. Objectives and Aims of the Paper The objectives and aims of this paper are to: * conduct a literature review on ARIs, collaboration, e-collaboration, LLs and the concept of maturity: * review the collected empirical data from an e-collaboration investigation; * advance the theory on e-collaboration; * propose an activity system model for research institutions; and * start a conversation on how the proposed system model should be used to advance research work. Literature Perspective This section features a discussion of ARIs and related matters from a literature perspective. Collaboration between ARIs and Reason for the Focus ARIs have a central role to play in conducting scientific and technical investigations, research, innovation, and continued improvement of knowledge in communities. The primary focus and scope of this paper is on e-collaboration and ARIs. In this regard, Mattessich & Monsey (1992) indicate that collaboration requires comprehensive planning and well-defined communication channels that operate on multiple levels. This highlights the importance of well-coordinated collaboration initiatives. ARIs normally are non-profit organizations or are government funded. This motivated the focus on and inclusion of ARIs in this study. Horwath & Morrison (2007) discuss the ingredients of collaboration and identify certain essential ingredients required for collaboration, namely, the: * pre-disposing factors. * a mandate, * membership and leadership, * machinery, * process, and * outcome. The collaboration amongst ARIs in South Africa (SA) can be illustrated with some examples. One such an example is that of the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) and Higher Education SA (HESA) who agreed that collaboration should take place between them. In a joint statement by the two organizations, they announced that they would enter into a MoU (memorandum of understanding) to promote and advance social science and humanities research in the interest of the government, industry, civil society and international agencies (Human Science Council Research Council [HSRC], 2006). This will culminate in the establishment of a framework that enables inter-institutional collaborations. A later source indicates that areas of collaboration have been identified between the HSRC and higher education institutions in SA at institutional, programmatic as well as project levels (Human Science Council Research Council [HSRC], 2010). …