Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology

	05:02
	December 2007

Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology.
Vol 5, Issue 2 (December 2007).
ISSN 1176-4120.

Guest Editorial

Humans and Computers: A Puzzle, Still...

Beryl Plimmer, University of Auckland, New Zealand ( beryl@cs.auckland.ac.nz  )

The New Zealand National Advisory Committee on Computing Qualifications (NACCQ) has a long history of successfully fostering research in the Computing Departments of New Zealand Polytechnics. The tertiary education landscape has changed in the twenty years since NACCQ was formed. When I was first involved in 1990, as a lecturer at Carrington Polytechnic (now UNITEC), NACCQ focused on maintaining a national curriculum. Government policies and the introduction of degree teaching...

Invited

Extreme Research: Applying Extreme Programming Practices To Research Mark Toleman, University of Southern Queensland, Australia ( markt@usq.edu.au )

A few years ago, my colleagues and I embarked on a journey that had multiple rationales and multiple outcomes. We had all been software developers at some point in our professional lives and we noticed a growing interest in the software developer community about so-called Agile methods, and eXtreme Programming (XP) in particular. None of us had explicitly applied these methods in the projects in which we had been a part, but we did have some other colleagues who had and still were.

 Refereed Articles

A1. Impact of Blogs and the Blogosphere on Various Societies

Nay Myo Aung, UNITEC, New Zealand ( academic@naymyoaung.name )

Blogs are personal thoughts and opinions published on the web periodically and usually presented in reverse chronological order. Blogs are also an evolution of peer-to-peer powered communication media such as newsgroups. They are however, much more user-friendly and more efficient than newsgroups for publishing and discussing issues. Thus, blogs have become one of the most widely used media to publish news and issues in the recent years. A blog is a more effective tool...  

A2. Features of Online Learning Management Systems

Daniel Blyth, Michael Verhaart, Eastern Institute of Technology, New Zealand ( mverhaart@eit.ac.nz )

This paper examines the features needed in an online Learning Management System (LMS) that will ideally produce the best learning experiences for its users. Features, or their lack thereof impact directly on the e-learner's educational experience. In combination with a system’s usability, they could make or break a student’s commitment to a course. In the pursuit of determining relevant and required features in an LMS, this paper looks at the needs of specific users. Typical users include learners,...

A3. Building Services Integration: A Technology Transfer Case Study

Andy Connor, Wilson Siringoringo, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand ( andrew.connor@aut.ac.nz ), ( wilson.siringoringo@aut.ac.nz ) Nick Clements, Nick Alexander, bisco, New Zealand ( nickc@bisco.co.nz ), ( nicka@bisco.co.nz )

This paper details the development of a relationship between Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and the Building Integration Software Company (bisco) and how projects have been initiated that add value to the bisco product range by conducting applied research utilising students from AUT. One specific project related to producing optimal layout designs is discussed.

A4. Mixed Mode Delivery: A Case to Study the Effect of Sequencing Mixed-Mode Delivery

Taiyu Lin, Massey University, New Zealand ( taiyu.lin@gmail.com ) Kinshuk, Athabasca University, Canada ( kinshuk@ieee.org )

Researchers have pointed out that online learning gives students a good opportunity to develop a robust understanding of conceptual knowledge, whereas classroom face-to-face interaction is valuable for strengthening understanding and/or correcting misconceptions about the subject matter. It is therefore the belief of the authors that curriculum sequencing could be used as a tool to leverage the benefits of online and face-to-face learning to optimise the learning outcomes. The current study proposes...

A5. Security Awareness Training and Education in Organisations

Charles Tsui, Manukau Institute of Technology, New Zealand ( charles.tsui@manukau.ac.nz )

This paper discusses support and guidance provided by governments concerning security awareness training and education and then (based on the recommended guidelines by the NIST of the USA) investigates what technical and non-technical areas should be covered and how training and education should be done most efficiently...

Book Reviews

The Magic Circle - Principles of Gaming & Simulation

Brian Cusack, Auckland University of Technology , New Zealand. ( brian.cusack@aut.ac.nz )

The interest in games, gaming, and the relationship between game play and learning experiences have a resurgence as a result of the growth of electronic games, virtual reality sports, and the Internet game market. Games in themselves are not new: Game theory, gaming, and playful activities have a long history of study literature. What is new is the movement to rejoin novel study areas such as information systems, computing systems, and game development to the body of foundational game literature that.....

Shaping Things

Judith A. Symonds, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand ( jsymonds@aut.ac.nz )

At 145 pages long, Bruce Sterling’s book ‘Shaping Things’ is refreshingly easily digestible.  The obligatory Google search tells me that Bruce Sterling is a CyberPunk writer.  Sterling doesn’t refer to himself as a CyberPunk but more of a science fiction writer. However   ‘Shaping Things’ doesn’t read like a science fiction novel either.  It is more like a fascinating meta-analysis of modern technosocial discovery in which Sterling analyses where WE (society) have come from ... 

Editorial Board