Case-based reasoning (CBR), as one of the problem solving paradigms in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), is an approach to the re-use of experience to solve problem. The aim of this research was to identify and evaluate existing and new approaches to elicit and formalise knowledge for context-aware systems as well as systems that are able to perform explanation-aware computing. The research was centred on systems that employ the specific AI approach of CBR. The research identified positive and negative effects of knowledge formalisation as well as synergies of knowledge formalisation for context-awareness and explanation-aware computing. The research focused on a set of specific knowledge sources such as sensors, human experts, online sources such as web communities and social media as well as a combination of these sources. A set of knowledge formalisation approaches was evaluated during the implementation of six prototype systems, representing a series of product- and work-flow recommender systems. Example domains for the systems developed include CBR-based recommendation in audio mastering, gold ore refinement and travel medicine. Test data gathered from real-world use of the prototypes formed the basis for a quantitative and qualitative analysis to establish the performance and quality of the knowledge formalisation approaches used within the prototypes development. The outcome of this research work consists of new approaches to knowledge elicitation and formalisation for expert work-flow recommender systems, new approaches to context- and explanatory-knowledge formalisation in combination with software engineering techniques, new approaches to knowledge extraction and formalisation from web sources and contributions to the further development of the myCBR 3 software, an open source software for the rapid prototyping of CBR systems.

Primary and secondary teachers in Western Australian have adopted a new Curriculum Framework (Curriculum Council, 1998a) which is outcomes-focused and endorses a constructivist approach to science for school students. This research examines the influence of teachers' science content knowledge on how they make judgements about students' conceptual understandings and the extent to which follow-up activities they suggest reflect a conceptual change approach to teaching science.Primary and secondary teachers, from a range of science education histories and experiences teaching students of different ages, responded to a science task involving concepts of heat energy, combustion and ignition. They were asked to judge a student work sample about the same task, and suggest follow-up activities to support further learning.How teachers made their judgements was found to vary in accord with their science knowledge, categorised as high, midrange and low. Teachers with high science knowledge were the most adept at making accurate and appropriate judgements and had the lowest frequency of problems with their judgements. Teachers with high and midrange science knowledge were more able to link their suggestions for follow-up activities to students' science concepts, and showed greater familiarity with activities commensurate with a conceptual change orientation to teaching. Non-recognition of students' concepts as critical evidence of development was a key aspect of the judgements of teachers with low science knowledge.Recommendations are made for professional development to assist teachers to develop appropriate science content knowledge they can use to support their pedagogical content knowledge so they are able to foster students' conceptual development.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1991. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-116).

Thesis (PhD) -- Macquarie University, Division of Information and Communication Sciences, Department of Computing, 2007. / "Submitted January 27 2007, revised July 27 2007". Bibliography: p. 281-304.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX202524.

In Chapter 1, I discuss the background to the problems which confront a realist account of the growth of scientific knowledge. At the beginning of Chapter 2, I explain in what sense relativism constitutes a challenge to this account. Four interconnected questions are then posed which are said to underlie the realist position. The chapter finishes with an explanation of how some of them arise in an actual case study. Chapter 3 deals with a general argument of Quine's for the view that reference is inscrutable. In reply I maintain that the argument does not hold good, either with respect to interpreting our own language or when it comes to translating an alien language. With Chapter 4, I begin to answer the four questions. I explain how Tarski's theory of truth can be seen as a correspondence theory. It is argued, however, that Tarski's theory itself presupposes theories of reference and extension, and certain recent attempts to overcome this lacuna are criticized. In the next chapter I draw an analogy between natural kind predicates, which are of particular importance in science, and proper names, and offer cluster theories of reference for both. This answers the third most basic of the four questions. These theories are defended against criticisms made by Kripke and Putnam, Chapter 6 aims to answer the second most basic question by considering in detail how we can understand what earlier scientific theories were about. I develop some arguments of Davidson's as a counter to Quine's doctrine of the indeterminacy of translation of sentences. I claim that although translation might in fact be indeterminate, Quine, through concentrating on behavioural evidence to the exclusion of other physical evidence, has failed to show that it is, and that in any case indeterminacy of sentence translation does not imply inscrutability of reference of terms. Finally, in Chapter 7, I sum up ray explication of the realist's account of the growth of science with respect to natural kind predicates. I then consider two cases of theory change of different sorts and suggest how my work might be extended.

The role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as a facilitator and enabler for development and poverty reduction has been increasingly recognised by many international organisations. ICTs need to be diffused in society to have their effects realised. The diffusion of ICTs in developing countries is lagging behind the developed countries creating the digital divide. Although the divide is reducing in many sub-Saharan countries, in Ethiopia it is increasing. The purpose of this study is to find the factors that affect the adoption and nonadoption of ICTs in small and micro businesses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A number of sectors were explored and the hotel and tour operator sector was found to have both adopters and non-adopters. The hotel and tour operator business in Addis Ababa was selected to be the study population. The main research question was to find the connection between the political, economic, and social factors and the adoption and use of ICT in this sector. While cultural, social-economic, political and legal factors affect the adoption of innovation in both developed and developing countries, these factors are more pronounced in the developing countries. Rogers’ diffusion of innovation theory is a good initial theoretical candidate for understanding the ICT diffusion factors. However, to include the national level factors, a theoretical framework was proposed based on Rogers’ diffusion of innovation theory. An exploratory research method was used to shed light on the adoption and non-adoption factors. It uses mixed methods research methodology in two phases to collect data from owners/managers. In the first phase in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 hoteliers who adopted ICT in their businesses. In the second phase survey questionnaires were used to collect data from 128 hoteliers and 57 tour operators. In this phase both adopters and non-adopters of ICT were included. Data were analysed using NVivo and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software packages. This study argues that the telecommunications monopoly, the non-affordability of ICT products and services, the general economic situation, lack of knowledge and awareness of the technology, and lack of legal protection for small hotels affect the adoption negatively. On the other hand, network externalities, competition among hoteliers, and major customers (foreign) act as a facilitator agent and have a positive impact on the adoption of ICT. The researcher argues that the political, social, economic, technological and legal policies are the sources of the adoption and non-adoption factors of ICTs in the hotel and tour operator business.

The university library has been called “the heart of a university”, but in the past has been described as being “virtually unusable”. This exploratory study is an investigation into user experience and usability in university libraries in the UK, and aims to examine the difference between users’ experience and their expectations of using their university library. It will also investigate university library policies to determine how a user experience policy can help to improve users’ experience. A user survey was carried out at three UK university libraries, using a questionnaire which asks participants to give their current opinions on their experience of 12 usability properties, and then to rate their expectations of each of the 12 properties. This means that it is then possible to calculate the gap between how the users rate the usability of the library, and how usable it should be. Additionally, a website survey of 121 UK universities was undertaken to see which types of policies UK university libraries have in place, whether a policy for user experience factors exists at these institutions, and if so what the policy covers. The findings show the areas where the largest gaps between expectations and experience occur. One of the largest gaps at the three institutions concerns the adequacy of the information that users are able to retrieve, and this can be addressed by either improving the library’s performance in this area, or by managing the expectations of library users. The website survey of library policies shows that while there is a core of seven types of library policy, user experience policies are unusual. Library user experience and usability is undoubtedly a field growing in importance in the eyes of librarians and researchers. By taking the “lived experiences” of users into account, and doing this in conjunction with a user experience policy, the university library can become a place of continuous improvement.

The global increase in demand for dwelling energy and implications of changing climatic conditions on buildings require the built environment to build sustainable dwellings. The aim of this thesis is to apply passive mitigation and adaptation design strategies to newly detached residential buildings in the UK with the view to identify the key building envelop and systems parameters to secure the right balance of energy consumption and thermal comfort in dwellings. In addition, currently, acceptable robust validation process for validating space temperatures is required, as existing simulation software validation is geared toward energy consumption. The thesis further aims to apply an effective validation method to the validation of building simulation indoor temperatures. This thesis comprised of six case studies. In the first study, Bland-Altman’s method of comparison is used as a validation technique in validating space temperatures in building simulation application. This is a newly developed knowledge in civil and construction engineering research in validating thermal analysis simulation software. The relevance of this approach is due to the emergent understanding that the goodness of fit measures used in current building simulation model validation are inadequate coupled with that fact that the current simulation software validation are geared toward energy consumption. In the second study, global Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis is performed on two differing weather patterns of UKCIP02 and UKCP09 weather data sets to compare their impact on future thermal performance of dwellings when use in thermal analysis simulation. The investigation seeks to ascertain the influential weather parameters which affect future dwelling indoor temperatures. The case study when compared to literature affirms the mean radiant temperature and the dry bulb air temperature as the key parameters which influence operative temperatures in dwellings. The third study, the extent of impact of climate change on key building performance parameters in a free running residential building is quantified. The key findings from this study were that the average percentage decrease for the annual energy consumption was predicted to be 2.80, 6.60 and 10.56 for 2020s, 2050s and 2080s time lines respectively. A similar declining trend in the case of annual natural gas consumption was 4.24, 9.98 and 16.1, and that for building emission rate and heating demand were 2.27, 5.49 and 8.72 and 7.82, 18.43 and 29.46 respectively. This decline is in consonance with the range of annual average temperature change predicted by the GCM based on the IPCC scenarios (IPCC, 2001) which generally shows an increase in temperature over stipulated timelines. The study further showed that future predicted temperature rise might necessitate the increasing use of cooling systems in residential buildings. The introduction of cooling to offset overheating risk, the trend of heating and cooling demand shows progressive increase variability with an average percentage increase of 0.53, 4.68 and 8.12 for 2020s, 2050s and 2080s timelines respectively. It is therefore observed that the introduction of cooling cancels out the energy gains related to heating due to future climatic variability. The fourth, fifth and sixth case studies consider the integrated passive mitigation strategies of varying future climatic conditions, variable occupant behaviour, building orientation, adequate provision of thermal mass, advance glazing, appropriate ventilation and sufficient level of external shading which influence the potential thermal performance of dwellings and a methodology that combines thermal analysis modelling and simulation coupled with the application of CIBSE TM52 adaptive overheating criteria to investigate the thermal comfort and energy balance of dwellings and habitable conservatories. In the fourth study, the impact of four standardized construction specifications on thermal comfort on detached dwellings in London, Birmingham and Glasgow are considered. The results revealed that the prime factor for the variation of indoor temperatures is the variability of climatic patterns. In addition, London is observed to experience more risk of thermal discomfort than Birmingham and Glasgow over the time period for the analysis. The total number of zones failing 2 or 3 CIBSE TM52 overheating criteria is more in London than in Birmingham and Glasgow. It was also observed that progressive increase in thermal mass of the standardized construction specifications decrease the indoor temperature swings but increase in future operative temperatures. The day ventilation scenario was seen not to be effective way of mitigating internal heat gains in London and Birmingham. The opposite was observed in Glasgow. Night ventilation coupled with shading offered the best mitigation strategy in reducing indoor temperatures in London and Birmingham. In the fifth study, Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis is used to determine the impact of standard construction specifications and UKCP09 London weather files on thermal comfort in residential buildings. Consideration of London urban heat island effect in the CIBSE TM49 weather files leading to the generation of three different weather data sets for London is analysed. The key findings of the study indicated that in the uncertainty analysis (box and whiskers plots), the medians for the day ventilation scenarios are generally higher than those of the night ventilation and further higher than the night ventilation with shading scenarios. This shows that applying mitigation scenarios of night ventilation and shading have a significant impact on reducing internal operative temperatures. In addition, the sensitivity analysis shows glazing as the most dominant parameter in enhancing thermal comfort. The sensitivity of glazing to thermal comfort increases from Gatwick, with London Weather Centre having the highest sensitivity index. This could be attributed to the urban heat island effect of central London, leading to higher internal operative temperatures. The study thus shows that more consideration should be given to glazing and internal heat gains than floor and wall construction when seeking to improve the thermal comfort of dwellings. Finally, the sixth study considers the use of passive solar design of conservatories as a viable solution of reducing energy consumption, enhancing thermal comfort and mitigating climate change. The results show that the judicious integration of the passive solar design strategies in conservatories with increasing conservatory size in elongated south facing orientation with an aspect ratio of at least 1.67 could progressively decrease annual energy consumption (by 5 kWh/m2), building emission rate (by 2.0 KgCO2/m2) and annual gas consumption (by 7 kWh/m2) when the conservatory is neither heated nor air-conditioned. Moreover, the CIBSE TM52 overheating analysis showed that the provision of optimum ventilation strategy depending on the period of the year coupled with the efficient design of awnings/overhangs and the provision of external adjustable shading on the east and west facades of the conservatory could significantly enhance the thermal comfort of conservatories. The findings from these case studies indicate that thermal comfort in dwellings can be enhanced by analysis of future climatic patterns, improved building fabric and provision of passive design consideration of improved ventilation and shading. They also confirm that the utilization of appropriate mitigation strategies to enhance thermal comfort could contribute to the reduction of the environmental implications to the built environment and facilitate the drive towards the attainment of future sustainability requirements.

The shortage of scientists in South Africa today can be attributed to poor teacher development especially in Natural Sciences. Educator interpretation and integration of assessment standards when conducting scientific investigations in Natural Sciences in the Intermediate Phase, is what this study sought to explore. The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) policy outlines the seven roles to be fulfilled by educators in the Norms and Standards for educators. However, this investigation focused mainly on the two roles for educators: · Interpreters and designers of learning programmes and materials (LO 1: Scientific Investigations) · Scholars, researchers and lifelong learners (DoE, 2002:3) The five schools sampled are from Mankweng area, situated in the Capricorn district in Limpopo province of South Africa. The data was qualitatively collected using the interviews, observations and document analysis as strategies. Before the investigation starts, all participants were told that the investigation was on how they (educators) design (plan), present and assess learners when conducting Learning Outcome 1: Scientific Investigations and how they integrate the assessment standards. The observation and interview schedules were clarified during the meeting. The study revealed that most educators do not know different types of scientific investigations, their lessons designed showed little understanding of LO 1: Scientific Investigations and the integration of assessment standards which are: 1. Planning investigation 2. Conducting scientific investigation and collecting data. 3. Evaluating data and communicate findings. Data analysed revealed that most educators have little understanding and follow a direct teaching style, and thus Construct Scientific Knowledge (LO 2). Only one educator of the 13 observed and interviewed was able to integrate assessment standards 1 and 2. There is a relationship between the level of qualification and better understanding of NCS implementation because the educator above is a scholar, researcher and lifelong learner. I recommend that educators teaching Natural Sciences be work shopped by knowledgeable curriculum advisors (teacher development) on how to teach Scientific Investigations LO 1. And in addition, support should be given to educators on implementing new curricula such as NCS and CAPS ensuring that teacher development is priority. Finally, to ensure that LO 1 can be effectively taught in schools, science kits should be made available to all schools whereas the importance of laboratories cannot be overemphasised. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lk2014 / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / unrestricted