Attracta Brennan

An agent-based approach to knowledge management in distributed design

The collaboration process among individuals with heterogeneous skills in a distributed virtual environment represents a crucial element of the extended enterprise. In order to achieve global optima in design, there is an increasing need for design teams to establish and maintain cooperative work through effective communication, co-location, coordination and collaboration at the knowledge level. Because of the distributed nature of users and information resources involved in the design process, the need for appropriate knowledge management tools is imperative. This paper proposes an agent-based architecture to support multi-disciplinary design teams that cooperate in a distributed design environment (DDE). Using ontologies and multi-agent systems (MAS), the proposed framework aims to optimise design process operation and management by supporting the dialogue among distributed design actors.

Strategic Decision Making in Modern Manufacturing

Strategic Decision Making in Modern Manufacturing introduces and explains the Ambit (Advanced Manufacturing Business ImplemenTation) approach, which has been developed to bridge the gap between strategic management considerations and the operational effects of technology investment decisions on the manufacturing organisation, so that the likely impact of new manufacturing technology and/or programme implementations can be evaluated, anticipated and accurately predicted. The Ambit approach focuses specifically on the non-financial aspects of such investment decisions and offers an approach that allows a manager, or more frequently a management team, to understand the impacts of a new technology or a new programme on the manufacturing organisation in terms of manufacturing performance.

A Multi-agent Architecture for Distributed Design.

Due to current trends in the design field towards virtual teams that collaborate over computer networks to achieve global optima in design, there is an increasing need for design teams to establish and maintain a cooperative work through effective communication, co-location, coordination and collaboration at the knowledge level. As problems become more complex, teamwork is becoming increasingly important. This paper proposes a multi-agent architecture to support multidisciplinary design teams that cooperate in a distributed design environment. Using ontologies and multi-agent systems, the proposed framework addresses resource allocation problems and aims to optimise design process operation and management.

Strategic Management in the Global Marketplace

Chapter Objectives: Chapter Objectives: With the explosion of available information technology based products, the IT revolution has resulted in information accessible at our fingertips. The widespread access to this global information has resulted in increased competition and intensified the challenge for today’s organisations to survive and prosper. Complacency in the marketplace is no longer acceptable. Competition has intensified, whilst the marketplace itself has become more discerning, varied and dispersed. Indeed, the very nature of the manufacturing climate has inspired new approaches with respect to the organisational structure, the managerial role and manufacturing procedures. Many believe that long-term organisational success is greatly dependent on a flexible strategy. However, the challenge to today’s organisation in achieving its strategic objectives rests to a large extent on IT and the proper management and presentation of information, such that organisational decision makers are facilitated in distinguishing between realistic alternatives and mis-information. Clearly, managers require IT based tools to support and facilitate them in what is considered one of the most critical of managerial roles - strategic decision making. Having read this chapter, the reader should become familiar with:

EMPOWERING LEARNERS WITH SELF-SELECTING LEARNING TOOLS

Students need to be encouraged while in the liminal space (i.e. the learning journey in the process of mastering a threshold concept) [1], [2] However, this learning journey can either be a positive/negative experience and the time spent negotiating this space can depend on the learner-educator relationship [3]. Students may also experience increased insecurities and doubts during their learning journey [4]. Therefore, rethinking curriculum design and placing the student at the centre of the design process can be used to invite students to enter liminal spaces and to dampen negative experiences thereof [5]. The development of an effective constructive alignment process can be used in curriculum design such that: (a) students are supported in achieving learning outcomes (LOs) and (b) students are encouraged in linking assessment with learning, thereby showing that assessment can be used to strategically change the way they learn [6], [7]. Effective curriculum design should focus on ‘fitness for purpose’ LOs to provide students with critical key graduate attributes (e.g. high levels of cognitive ability, leadership, entrepreneurial, analytical and critical thinking skills etc.). It should also incentivise students to manage their workload, engage with the module and be supported in a holding environment through the liminal space (until mastery of the threshold concepts is reached), achievable through creative continuous assessment via self-selecting learning tools. This represents a move away from over-assessing students, into more activity-based practice where students learn by doing. It also underpins key graduate attribute development and aligns with the four purposes of assessment as outlined by [8]; certification, student learning, quality assurance and lifelong learning capacity. In this paper, the use of Self-Selecting Learning Resource Assessment Tools as part of the Operations Engineering module curriculum re-design, with the goal of incentivizing students to manage their workload and empower them to achieve the LOs, is described and evaluated.

SUPPORTING ONLINE STUDENTS THROUGH THE LIMINAL SPACE FROM FACILITATED ONLINE MODULES TO SELF-STARTING A THESIS

Most third-level institutes now offer online education [1] with Allen et al. reporting that in excess of 28% of all American higher education students are enrolled on at least one online course [2]. Online education offers flexibility, convenience, and benefits that particularly suit the adult learner wishing to study parttime while continuing to work and deal with other life commitments. This flexibility and convenience associated with online education has a drawback as non-completion rates are typically higher than in on-campus education [3] [1] [4]. However, research has shown that online students have outperformed their traditional student counterparts [5] [6] [7]. Maki & Maki (in Dixson, 2010) contend that in order for this to happen, a strong instructor presence is required along with strong instructor-student communications [7]. Launched in 2004, the online Masters in Software Information Systems (a joint collaboration between the National University of Ireland, Galway and Regis University, Colorado) has seen strong enrolment and retention figures. The Masters programme operates in a part-time mode and the typical student is working while they take the online-content. Analysis of student feedback has shown that one crux-point for student dis-engagement is the strain a student encounters when writing their thesis [8]. In particular, feedback shows that students struggle when transitioning from facilitated online modules to self-starting their thesis literature [8]. In this paper the authors present data, from the academic years 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 201617, showing the percentage of students starting thesis-research and those successfully completing a thesis each year. It also discusses the implementation of a roadmap of student-engagement in the mastery of identified related threshold concepts. Note: Anecdotal commentary from the students is presented in [].

RE-BOOT LEARNING: PROVIDING AN E-TIVITY SCAFFOLD FOR ENGAGEMENT FOR EARLY RESEARCH ACTIVITY THROUGH BLOG TECHNOLOGY EMBEDDED WITHIN TEACHING AND LEARNING

Increasing student numbers in higher education over the last decade has challenged educational environments [1] and prompted educators to re-think learning environments and delivery methods such that a student-educator partnership approach is adopted [2]. Such a partnership approach can result in deep-learning and debate rather than the delivery of a service, thereby invalidating the viewpoint that a degree is a commodity rather than a skills-set. The Community of Inquiry framework draws upon ideas that computer-mediated teaching and learning require the existence of three interdependent presences (social, teaching and cognitive) [3]. However, the inclusion of technology in pedagogy can further complicate teaching and learning. Given that digital technologies are ever-changing, not always predictable, and can take on many forms supports the view that both developers and end-users of digital technologies do not always know nor can they always predict trends and applications of said technologies [4]. “Efforts to guide educators and researchers in their technology integration has resulted in developed standards, frameworks, models, and theories that may be used to inform research and practice”. As an example, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (2015) standards have been developed “to support students/educators/leaders with guidelines for the skills, knowledge and approaches they need to succeed in the digital age” thereby addressing how learners can benefit from the effective use of technology [5] [6]. The use of frameworks (such as Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK)) facilitates the integration and effectiveness of technology in teaching and student engagement [7]. The authors assert that the use of an e-tivity (i.e. a framework which supports active and interactive online learning), based on the TPACK framework, which structures research based student learning activities can act as a scaffold to encourage students to spend enriched learning time in the liminal space in the mastery of the related threshold concept (how to engage in early research activity related to the module content). In this paper, the authors present this e-tivity scaffold. In order to assess its effectiveness, 93 Postgraduate and Undergraduate students are surveyed.

THE LINK BETWEEN OFF CAMPUS WORK FOR STUDENTS, REDUCED ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND INCREASED MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

Despite the Free Fees Initiative (introduced in 1996), Irish students pay an annual registration fee of €3,000 [1]. This fee, in combination with rising accommodation and living costs, means that the annual cost of college education ranges from €4,340 (living at home) to €8,206 (rented accommodation) [2]. Notwithstanding student need-based grants and financial support from parents [2], it is inevitable that some students have to combine/support their university life with paid employment [3]. Soliz et al. (2016) state that “the number of hours students are working during college appears to be increasing”. Research on the effects of off-campus work on student performance are contradictory [4], with some studies suggesting no negative impact and others suggesting that 0-9 hrs part-time work/week can result in minimal negative effect whilst longer hours can show greater negative effects on study-time [5] and academic performance [6]. Interestingly, studies also show work-based benefits of part-time work i.e. students develop transferrable labour market skills which can ultimately increase employability postcollege [7]. However, college life is not solely about attending lectures, it is also about the extracurricular social participation/interaction (i.e. sports/societies) that has a beneficial effect, both on academic performance and on the ‘growth’ of the individual [8] [5]. Working during third level education means that there is less time to devote to these activities and in turn can lead to increased levels of stress and feelings of isolation. A study in 2017, showed an increase in the percentage of Irish students seeking “help with depression, anxiety, relationships problems and academic issues has reached unprecedented levels ... a 40 per cent increase in demand for counselling over the last 10 years, with waiting lists for counselling services at many colleges” [9]. In this paper, the authors present the results of a survey of 180 engineering and informatics students comprising 109 undergraduate (UG) students and 71 postgraduate (PG) students. The purpose of this survey was to identify (1) the numbers engaged in off-campus work per year of the degree programme, (2) students’ perceptions of whether or not a link exists between off-campus part/full time work and stress/depression, (3) whether their off-campus work affects their academic performance, attendance and energy and enthusiasm for third level, (4) how they believe the university can best support them in this university-work conflict and (5) the benefits of working off-campus during term time. Note : Anecdotal commentary from the students is presented in italics in [].

Innovative Online Vocational Training of Renewable Energy Technologies (INNOVRET)

 Abstract— Heat pump systems are very important at a European level as they help meet the 20-20-20 targets of the EU policy. In recent years, the European market for these technologies has increased constantly. In addition to having insufficient numbers qualified in heat pump systems installation, current training has been recognised to have limitations. If high quality, standardised training in heat pump systems is not provided, it could result in a drawing back of the market development of heat pump systems in the EU. Furthermore, the low efficiency, poor reliability and increased cost of heat pump system installation and maintenance, which has resulted from poor training has also resulted in disillusionment on the part of the purchaser, notwithstanding the obstacles of time, cost and distance on the part of the installer with regard to training. INNOVRET (Innovative Online Vocational Training of Renewable Energy Technologies), a Leonardo da Vinci funded project, aims to address the need for training sufficient numbers in heat pump system installation throughout the EU. The innovative online training solution developed by the INNOVRET team will overcome the time, cost and distance constraints of learners through the delivery of the training in a flexible and accessible way. The methodological approach to training delivery is based on the Competence-based Knowledge Space Theory (CbKST). CbKST is a framework for representing the conceptual organisation of a given body of competences, which supports self-regulated learning. By developing competencies in the installation and maintenance of heat pump systems, installers and maintenance personnel all over Europe will be able to leverage these capabilities in order to increase their employability in the emergent heat pump system sector.

Overview of the AMBIT Approach

Chapter Objectives: The purpose of this chapter is to stress the importance of the manufacturing strategy in the development of a competitive edge and to document the reasons for developing the AMBIT approach. Having read this chapter, the reader should become familiar with: • Porter’s five competitive forces. • The importance of the manufacturing strategy. Performance of the manufacturing function influences the strategic direction of a manufacturing organisation. Therefore, it is vital that there be compatibility between the manufacturing strategy and the business strategy. • World class manufacturing. • The extended enterprise and its relation to Porter’s model, the value chain, CIM and the total product cycle view. • The concept of extended products. • The reasons for the development of the AMBIT approach. • How the AMBIT approach has been developed to fulfil the support formalisation required by managers. • The basic outline of the AMBIT approach.