Graham Alsop

Learn Programming++: The Design, Implementation and Deployment of an Intelligent Environment for the Teaching and Learning of Computer Programming

We discuss the demand for intelligent systems to assist both teachers and students in the teaching and learning of computer programming, then describe the design, implementation of Nooblab, an integrated system offering instruction, a programming test bed and assessment for several programming languages, and its deployment in real university classroom situations. The system also logs every interaction which each student has with it, providing a rich set of data for analysis. Initial results from its use within real courses are presented and discussed, along with proposals for future developments involving incorporating machine learning paradigms into the system.

Public Services: eGovernance and eHealth - What are we really talking about? 'A Cure All for all Ills?'

Patient or citizen centred healthcare is about access, choice, communication and service provision. It implies that one of the prime functions of e-healthcare is to deliver a range of effective and efficient information services based on specific needs of different user groups such as health institutions, health professionals and citizens. This paper offers some reflections from the perspectives of communication and political theory on a project that looked at local people’s need for health information and recommended strategies for change. It is argued that, in the light of major new technological and other developments in the provision of health information, perspectives from other disciplines allow for improved solutions to be established.

Technology and democracy: a panacea for government?

This paper considers whether communications theory can help us to understand better the social and juridical impacts of new telecommunications services, particularly in relation to e-democracy and e-government.