Large-scale networked environments, such as the Internet, possess the characteristics of distributed data, distributed access and distributed control; this gives the user a powerful mechanism for building and integrating large repositories of distributed information from diverse resource sets. However, few support tools have been developed to allow the user to take advantage of the distributed nature of their information. Distributed information management is the process by which users can create, disseminate, discover and manage information that is spread across distributed resources. Distributed open hypermedia systems have shown how distributed information, such as documents and hypermedia links, can be managed and handled within an environment that integrates smoothly between the user's desktop and the network. However, such systems are now looking at addressing the problem of interoperability across hypermedia systems, so that documents and links can be shared between users on heterogeneous integrating technologies. This thesis proposes that the distributed information management provided by open hypermedia systems needs to be extended so that it is more interoperable, extensible and pervasive and that this can be achieved by integrating the principles of open hypermedia with the technology of mobile agents. Mobile agents present a new development mechanism for designing and building distributed applications which are well suited to the dynamic environment of large-scale networks. This thesis describes the development of a mobile agent architecture within which distributed information management tasks can be built and executed. Mobile agents present an important abstraction mechanism when designing distributed environments and also allow the user to manage distributed information indirectly through their mobile agents. A number of prototype agents are described that have been developed to illustrate distributed information management tasks within the architecture and to show how abstractionism and indirect management can be achieved.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Este estudo teve como objetivo construir e validar uma hipermÃdia educacional que venha a favorecer o processo de ensino-aprendizagem referente à atuaÃÃo da enfermagem na realizaÃÃo da Consulta de Enfermagem GinecolÃgica. Como embasamento norteador para o desenvolvimento desse estudo, adotou-se a Teoria da InteraÃÃo Social de Vygotsky, que define a interaÃÃo social como a troca de informaÃÃes entre pelo menos duas pessoas, devendo ocorrer o sentido duplo entre essa interaÃÃo, ou seja, a reciprocidade entre os envolvidos, o que torna o compartilhamento de conhecimentos possÃvel e facilitado. Trata-se de um estudo de desenvolvimento, no qual foi construÃda e validada uma hipermÃdia educacional com uma abordagem acerca da Consulta de Enfermagem GinecolÃgica. A hipermÃdia foi desenvolvida no Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem (AVA) Solar, no perÃodo de janeiro a junho de 2011. Para a construÃÃo dessa hipermÃdia, foram seguidas seis etapas, dentre as quais as cinco primeiras compuseram a fase de construÃÃo da hipermÃdia e a sexta compÃs sua fase de validaÃÃo. O levantamento de conteÃdo e o planejamento dos mÃdulos constituÃram a primeira etapa. Nesta, buscou-se o conteÃdo relativo à realizaÃÃo da Consulta de Enfermagem GinecolÃgica em livros didÃticos, manuais do MinistÃrio da SaÃde e artigos cientÃficos disponÃveis em base de dados na internet. O conteÃdo foi organizado em mÃdulos, apontando as principais informaÃÃes acerca da Consulta de Enfermagem, do cÃncer cÃrvico-uterino, da Consulta de Enfermagem GinecolÃgica e os possÃveis diagnÃsticos e tratamentos. Na segunda etapa do estudo, foram desenvolvidas as mÃdias que compuseram a hipermÃdia, podendo ser composta de gravuras, vÃdeos, textos, dentre outros. Na terceira etapa do desenvolvimento dessa hipermÃdia, foram disponibilizados espaÃos de anotaÃÃes, denominados portfÃlios, para o aluno e o tutor, bem como ferramentas de comunicaÃÃo entre eles, tais como fÃruns de discussÃo e chat, buscando desenvolver uma maior interaÃÃo social entre os participantes desse processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Terminadas as trÃs etapas anteriores â o conteÃdo, as mÃdias e os espaÃos de anotaÃÃes e comunicaÃÃo â os itens produzidos foram disponibilizados no AVA SOLAR. Dando continuidade ao processo de construÃÃo da hipermÃdia, realizou-se o processo de validaÃÃo do material produzido. No processo de validaÃÃo, foram convidados, de acordo com critÃrios prÃ-estabelecidos, quatro especialistas de enfermagem e quatro de informÃtica para avaliar a hipermÃdia, quando foram identificados os pontos de ajuste necessÃrios para uma melhor utilizaÃÃo da hipermÃdia. Quanto à construÃÃo desse produto, constatou-se que as etapas seguidas foram consideradas satisfatÃrias, de forma que foi possÃvel construir um produto educacional apto a favorecer o processo de ensino-aprendizagem com relaÃÃo à temÃtica da Consulta de Enfermagem GinecolÃgica. Quanto à validaÃÃo desse material, hà pontos de ajustes que foram considerados e corrigidos, e outros que foram satisfatoriamente contemplados e ressaltados pelos especialistas que participaram do estudo. Realizadas as modificaÃÃes solicitadas, denotou-se a validaÃÃo dessa hipermÃdia junto a especialistas, estando apta para a utilizaÃÃo junto ao pÃblico-alvo para o qual foi construÃda. / This study aimed to construct and validate an educational hypermedia that will facilitate the teaching-learning process concerning the nursing activities in realizing the Gynecologic Nursing Consultation. As a guiding base for the development of this study, we adopted the Theory of Social Interaction of Vygotsky, who defines social interaction as the exchange of information between at least two people should experience the double meaning of this interaction, ie, reciprocity between those involved, which makes knowledge sharing possible and easier. This is a development study, which was constructed and validated an approach to educational hypermedia on the Gynecologic Nursing Consultation. Hypermedia was developed in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Solar, the period from January to June 2011. For the construction of hypermedia, six steps were followed, among which the first five comprised the construction phase of hypermedia composed his sixth and validation phase. The survey content and design of the modules were the first step. In this, we sought to content on the implementation of Gynecologic Nursing Consultation in textbooks, manuals and the Ministry of Health papers available in the database on the Internet. The content was organized in modules, pointing out key information about the Nursing Consultation of cervical cancer, the Gynecologic Nursing Consultation and possible diagnoses and treatments. In the second stage of the study, the media were developed that made hypermedia, and may be composed of pictures, videos, texts, among others. In the third stage of the development of hypermedia annotations were available spaces, called portfolios, for the student and tutor, as well as tools of communication between them, such as discussion forums and chat, to develop greater social interaction among the participants of this process teaching and learning. Finished the previous three steps - the content, media and communication spaces and notes - the items produced were available on the AVA SOLAR. Continuing the process of construction of hypermedia, we carried out the validation process of the material produced. In the validation process were invited, according to predetermined criteria, four experts and four nursing informatics to evaluate hypermedia, were identified when the set points needed for a better use of hypermedia. As for the construction of this product, it was found that the steps taken were satisfactory, so that it was possible to build an educational product able to promote the teaching-learning process with respect to the issue of Gynecologic Nursing Consultation. Regarding the validation of this material, there are points of adjustments that were considered and corrected, and others who have been satisfactorily addressed and highlighted by the experts who participated in the study. Implemented the changes requested, denoted is the validation of hypermedia from experts, being able to use at the audience for which it was built.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of various navigational control options within a hypermedia learning environment on the performance of students who differed in their locus of control orientations. Ninety-three college students were classified as internal or external in their locus of control orientation based on their scores on the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale (ANSIE). They were then randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups that differed in the way participants navigated through a hypermedia instructional program dealing with the human heart. In the Linear group, participants navigated through the program in a standard linear fashion. In the Branching group, participants navigated through the program with the help of a hierarchical menu structure. In the Networked group, participants had the additional option of using embedded (associative) hyperlinks. At the conclusion of the program, participants completed a posttest that assessed two types of learning. A 2 X 3 Analysis of Variance was conducted to explore the main effects for locus of control (internal and external) and navigational control (linear, branching, and networked) and any interaction effect between the two factors. The results showed no significant differences in achievement based on participants' locus of control orientation or treatment group. There was also no significant interaction observed. The results provided no support for the hypothesis that different navigation options would improve the performance of learners differing in their locus of control orientation. / Ph. D.

In our knowledge based economy, demand for better and effective learning has led to innovative instructional technologies. However, the one-size-fit-all approach taken by many e-Learning systems is not adequate to the different requirements of people who have different goals, preferences, and previous knowledge about a subject. Many e-Learning systems have approached this problem with personalized and customized content. However, many of these systems are closely tied to one particular subject that they are trying to teach; authoring of courses on different subjects using the same framework is a difficult process. Adaptive Hypermedia is an approach in which content presentation and navigation assistance is personalized depending on the requirements of the user. The user requirements are represented using a user model, while the content is represented using a content model. By using a set of algorithms, an Adaptive Hypermedia based system is able to select the most appropriate content to be presented, as the user interacts with the system. The objective of AlcoZone is to educate all of the 5,000 freshman students of Virginia Tech about alcohol education using Adaptive Hypermedia technology, as part of the mandatory university requirement. The course presents different content to different students based on their drinking pattern. AlcoZone integrates Curriculum Sequencing, Multimedia and Interactivity, Alternate Content Explanation, and Navigational Assistance to make the course interesting for students. This research investigates the design & implementation of AlcoZone and its Adaptive Hypermedia based reusable framework for course creation and delivery. / Master of Science

Zugl.: Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2007

Zugl.: Paderborn, Universiẗat, Diss., Diss., 1998.

Webbens framgång har lett till tendens att stora IT-system byggda enligt en centralistisk arkitektur är på väg att ersättas av samverkande distribuerade system. De processorienterade, verksamhetsstödjande systemen utgör inget undandag. I enlighet med denna tendens så finns det ett behov för processtödjande verksamhetssystem att synkronisera och utbyta resultat med med andra verksamhetssystem. Målet med denna undersökning har varit att utreda hur kommunikationen mellan distribuerade verksamhetsprocesser byggda enligt BPMN 2.0-standarden kan implementeras. Ansatsen har varit att en tjänsteorienterad arkitektur baserad på principerna för REST skulle vara en framkomlig väg för att lösa detta problem. Teoretiska studier av tjänsteorienterad arkitektur, BPMN 2.0 samt REST har lett till en minimal implementation baserad på en ”proof-of-concept”-arkitektur i tjänsteplattformen Motrice från Motrice AB. Det konkreta lösningsförslaget utvärderas enligt Richardsons mognadsmodell, där mognadsnivån för lösningsförslaget avgörs i enlighet med denna modell. Slutsatsen är kommunikation mellan distribuerade verksamhetsprocesser bygger på meddelandeflöden, där dessa meddelandeflöden är helt förenliga med principerna för REST. / The success of the web has led to a tendency by which monolithic systems constructed according to a centralistic architecture,are replaced by distributed cooperating systems. Process and business oriented systems are no exception in this regard. This tendency has led to increased demand for process oriented systems to be able to synchronize and exhange results with other business systems. The purpose of this study has been to investigate how communication between distributed business processes built according to the BPMN 2.0 standard can be implemented. The hypothesis was that a service oriented architecture based on the principles of REST would be a viable approach to solve the problem. The theoretical study of service oriented architectures, BPMN and REST have resulted in a minimal implementation based on a proof-of-concept architecture. The concrete solution is then evaluated using Richardsons maturity model, and the maturity level of the solution is assessed according to this model. The conclusions are that communication between distributed BPMN 2.0 processes are based on message flows, where the concrete implementation of message flows are fully compatible with the principles of REST.

The use of hypermedia for educational purposes gained a great deal of importance for educators. There are many opportunities provided to learners by these environments such as independence from time and place, availability and accessability of the course material, non-linear interaction that provides the learner to regulate his/ her own learning and so on. Although many advantages of hypermedia environment are suggested in the literature, there are also many studies concerning with learning in hypermedia environment concluding that many learners face with problems on these settings. This qualitative study aimed to investigate the affects of three important factors in terms of learning with hypermedia revealed by the literature / cognitive styles, computer competency levels, and domain knowledge levels of the students. To the purpose of the study, participants from a web-enhanced course were selected considering these factors, and interviews and observations were conducted to reveal their learning strategies. Results indicated some differences among the different cognitive style groups of students in terms of their preferred learning strategies. Computer competency levels of the students were also found to be quite important in terms of their patterns to use the hypermedia program. Students&rsquo / prior knowledge levels were also important in this study, since different needs and expectations were revealed related to the domain knowledge levels of the participants. Furthermore, a deep understanding about the behaviors, experiences, feelings, and expectations of the students in an instructional hypermedia environment related to suggested different characteristics were gained at the end of the study.

In an eLearning context, Adaptive Hypermedia Systems have been developed to improve learning success by increasing learner satisfaction, learning speed, and educational effectiveness. However, creating adaptive eLearning content and structures is still a time consuming and complicated task, in particular if individual lecturers are the intended authors. The way of thinking that is needed to create adaptive structures as well as the workflows is one that lecturers are unaccustomed to. The aim of this research project is to develop a concept that helps authors create adaptive eLearning content and structures, which focuses on its applicability for lecturers as intended authors. The research is targeted at the sequencing of content, which is one of the main aspects of adaptive eLearning. To achieve this aim the problem has been viewed from the author’s side. First, in terms of complexity of thoughts and threads, explanations about content structures have been found in storytelling theory. It also provides insights into how authors work, how story worlds are created, story lines intertwined, and how they are all merged together into one content. This helps us understand how non technical authors create content that is understandable and interesting for recipients. Second, the linear structure of learning content has been investigated to extract all the information that can be used for sequencing purposes. This investigation led to an approach that combines existing models to ease the authoring process for adaptive learning content by relating linear content from different authors and therefore defining interdependencies that delinearise the content structure. The technical feasibility of the authoring methods for adaptive learning content has been proven by the implementation of the essential parts in a research prototype and by authoring content from real life lectures with the prototype’s editor. The content and its adaptive structure obtained by using the concept of this research have been tested with the prototype’s player and monitor. Additionally, authoring aspects of the concept have been shown along with practical examples and workflows. Lastly, the interviewees who took part in expert interviews have agreed that the concept significantly reduces authoring complexity and potentially increases the amount of lecturers that are able to create adaptive content. The concept represents the common and traditional authoring process for linear content to a large extent. Compared to existing approaches the additional work needed is limited, and authors do not need to delve into adaptive structures or other authors’ content structures and didactic approaches.

This thesis investigates how community groups make use of hypermedia technology to tell their stories. Hypermedia software can enable multimedia and multi-linear production which brings new modes of expression and approaches to organising material which can lead to new ways of telling a community story. Using Ricoeur's consideration of the role of imagination in social action, it is argued that storytelling is an important process in maintaining and strengthening community. A review of community media production reinforces this argument that story is integral to community experience and action and considers how this is influenced by choice and engagement with media technology. Hypermedia as both a technology and a form for community representation and story as well as approaches for facilitating the use of hypermedia software in community or participatory media production are explored through a hypermedia storytelling project with St Paul's Carnival Association, Bristol, UK. This project was both observed and facilitated by the author which allowed privileged access to the emerging process. Different methodological approaches were required to accommodate these different roles. Facilitation approaches were borrowed from participatory development and community media which favour participant-led processes. The approach to observation borrows from ethnomethodology in that it favours the participants' accounts of their production and is influenced by Certeau's account of tactical and strategic activity. Analysis of the case study suggests that hypermedia technology can be used to produce rich representations of community experience. Theprocess of production is shaped in particular ways by choice of media, context of production and motivations of participants. Particular attention is drawn to the following aspects: • How hypermedia story making relates to community identity and action including the dynamic between individual and collaborative practices and motivations; • the process of storymaking as a community project including participants' tactical engagement with both story and technology; • the form of the emerging hypermedia community story in particular the collage-like nature of hypermedia production and the appropriateness of this form for the partial and provisional nature of community story; • the role of the facilitator; Suggestions are made for a framework for community-based hypermedia production