Craig Blewett | University of KwaZulu-Natal (original) (raw)
Papers by Craig Blewett
Expert systems apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to an application area, aiming (usua... more Expert systems apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to an application area, aiming (usually) to mimic the behaviour of a human expert. However, there are some AI techniques which can be used to improve the internal performance of an existing application, not necessarily currently performed by a human. In this paper, we present further research and results of EAGLE (External Advisor for Granting Locks Expertly), an expert system advisor for the lock manager in a database system. By matching lock event sequences received from the lock manager against stored scripted deadlock sequences, EAGLE is able to identify unfolding deadlock sequences. By using this Dynamic Deadlock Avoidance (DDA) approach, EAGLE is able to avoid deadlocks before they occur. Currently, no ideal solution exists to the deadlock problem. Solutions vary in terms of the number of waits for access to resources and the number of deadlock occurrences. By utilising AI techniques, DDA offers a new way of treating the deadlock problem. In this paper we describe the design of EAGLE and present the results, in terms of the number of waits and number of deadlock occurrences, occurring with DDA compared with Deadlock Detection and Resolution
Educational research suggests social constructivist approaches as a way to “reach ” students. His... more Educational research suggests social constructivist approaches as a way to “reach ” students. Historically though, this has been difficult to implement. Now for the first time the confluence of the way we approach learning (social constructivism), available platforms (Web 2.0), and generation of students (GenY) provides an opportunity to align appropriate teaching paradigms and the vehicle for educational delivery in a way that suits learners. To investigate the impact of this confluence on student motivation a study took place within the Computer Mediated Communication course delivered to 4th year BCom Hons (IS&T) students (February to May 2008). Activities included a mock television panel interview, communication via a social learning network (SLN) and an extended development in Second Life. Student motivation was measured through two IMMS motivational surveys, the first conducted after their initial experience in the SLN and the second after an immersive experience in Second Life...
as we rose and fell on this epic journey. It has been a privilege to journey with all of you. Fif... more as we rose and fell on this epic journey. It has been a privilege to journey with all of you. Fifthly, I would like to thank my students for being such keen participants in this crazy undertaking. There is something wonderful about youth, and that is its excitement with change and comfort with chaos. The U-Spring, (University Spring) as you called it was an uprising that has changed my life and perceptions. It would not have been possible without all of you. You ppl r orsum! ntn lyk u :-) LOL v
There has been widespread criticism about the rates of participation of students enrolled on MOOC... more There has been widespread criticism about the rates of participation of students enrolled on MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), more importantly, the percentage of students who actively consume course materials from beginning to the end. This study sought to investigate this trend by examining the factors that influence MOOC adoption and use by students in selected Ghanaian universities. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was extended to develop a research model. A survey was conducted with 270 questionnaires administered to students who had been assigned MOOCs; 204 questionnaires were retrieved for analysis. Findings of the study show that MOOC usage intention is influenced by computer self-efficacy, performance expectancy, and system quality. Results also showed that MOOC usage is influenced by facilitating conditions, instructional quality, and MOOC usage intention. Social influence and effort expectancy were found not to have a significant influence...
South African Journal of Higher Education, 2016
The personal cloud is a rapidly emerging technology with applications in both the personal and ed... more The personal cloud is a rapidly emerging technology with applications in both the personal and education domains. Despite the rapid emergence of the personal cloud, there exists limited research into the adoption and utilisation of personal cloud technologies, particularly by university students in a developing country. Using the questionnaire responses of 137 students at various university levels, and using the Personal Cloud Adoption Model (PCAM) as a theoretical lens, this article reports on a study that investigated the factors influencing the adoption of personal cloud technologies by students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban, South Africa. the authors argue that whilst the personal cloud is crucial in the future of higher education, there are certain institutional challenges that must be overcome before the benefits of the personal cloud in higher education are realised. the need for an appropriate paradigmatic change by universities, in order to effectively use these new technologies, is discussed.
… & THE STUDENT …
Web 2.0 technologies have been instrumental in the development of a new collaborative learning sp... more Web 2.0 technologies have been instrumental in the development of a new collaborative learning space called Virtual Learning Environments. There are a variety of challenges in virtual learning environments, including team issues, technological problems and pedagogical practices. However these challenges can be broadly grouped into student challenges and lecturer challenges. Virtual Worlds such as Second Life (SL) and Social Learning Networks have provided many opportunities for lecturers to explore these challenges and ways of overcoming them. This study focuses on student challenges in these environments. In terms of the findings of this study, student responses were generally positive, with 77% of students finding international collaboration on their project beneficial. In addition, they report spending more time on the course and exerting more mental effort. They are satisfied with the organization and scaffolding of their learning but are still overwhelmingly dependent on campus computing resources, which is a limitation. The limitation points to the potential value of a beta-mindset approach supported by scaffolded learning. This research reports on the experiences and lessons learned during a virtual collaborative learning experience in an Honours module involving fourth year Information Systems and Technology students at both the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and Applied Student Challenges in a Virtual Collaborative Learning Course … 217 Computer Science fourth year students from Daystar University in Kenya. The research was conducted in March and April 2010. This paper explores the academic, operational and technological challenges, from a student perspective.
A Buddhist proverb proclaims, When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. This paper expl... more A Buddhist proverb proclaims, When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. This paper explores teaching practice, the current generation of student and the use of technology, as the elements at a teacher’s disposal in the process of enhancing the learning experience. It explores the theoretical foundation underpinning these elements and postulates that their interactions over time can be used to illustrate why they may not have been aligned in the past. However; with the current context of teaching practice, students and technology, a synergistic relationship can be formed which can potentially optimise the learning experience. The underlying assumption though is that teachers would need to implement this practically in their classrooms for the synergy to be experienced: The subtle implication alluded to in the title is that perhaps teachers will become the architects of their own demise if they do not begin to engage their students using some of the precepts discussed. A stu...
A disturbing dichotomy is becoming apparent within e-learning. On the one hand are reports of inc... more A disturbing dichotomy is becoming apparent within e-learning. On the one hand are reports of increasing use of e-learning environments by higher education institutions, however on the other hand are indications that the use is limited and pedagogically rigid. By exploring the changes in e-learning terminology and research foci over the past ten years it is possible to trace underlying pedagogical currents in higher education. The paper firstly presents a framework that classifies e-learning tools into three categories. Then using search engine count estimates based on both Google Scholar and five top ranked journals, the paper examines trends in the terminology associated with these three categories between 2001 and 2010. The findings indicate that Type 1 environments, typified by Learning Management Systems continue to dominate, while Type 2 environments such as Virtual Learning Environments are becoming increasingly popular. However, despite technological innovations in Web 2.0 p...
Many organizations in the world are going for Business Process Reengineering (BPR) to improve pro... more Many organizations in the world are going for Business Process Reengineering (BPR) to improve profits, to reduce costs, to improve turn around times, to improve quality or to provide better service to the customer, etc. This article discusses business process, business process reengineering, top management's role, reengineering team, process redesign, external consultant, skills required for a reengineer, communicating in the team, role of IT in business process implementation and advantages of the combination of IT and BPR in detail.
Expert systems apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to an application area, aiming (usua... more Expert systems apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to an application area, aiming (usually) to mimic the behaviour of a human expert. However, there are some AI techniques which can be used to improve the internal performance of an existing application, not necessarily currently performed by a human. In this paper, we present further research and results of EAGLE (External Advisor for Granting Locks Expertly), an expert system advisor for the lock manager in a database system. By matching lock event sequences received from the lock manager against stored scripted deadlock sequences, EAGLE is able to identify unfolding deadlock sequences. By using this Dynamic Deadlock Avoidance (DDA) approach, EAGLE is able to avoid deadlocks before they occur. Currently, no ideal solution exists to the deadlock problem. Solutions vary in terms of the number of waits for access to resources and the number of deadlock occurrences. By utilising AI techniques, DDA offers a new way of treating the deadlock problem. In this paper we describe the design of EAGLE and present the results, in terms of the number of waits and number of deadlock occurrences, occurring with DDA compared with Deadlock Detection and Resolution
Educational research suggests social constructivist approaches as a way to “reach ” students. His... more Educational research suggests social constructivist approaches as a way to “reach ” students. Historically though, this has been difficult to implement. Now for the first time the confluence of the way we approach learning (social constructivism), available platforms (Web 2.0), and generation of students (GenY) provides an opportunity to align appropriate teaching paradigms and the vehicle for educational delivery in a way that suits learners. To investigate the impact of this confluence on student motivation a study took place within the Computer Mediated Communication course delivered to 4th year BCom Hons (IS&T) students (February to May 2008). Activities included a mock television panel interview, communication via a social learning network (SLN) and an extended development in Second Life. Student motivation was measured through two IMMS motivational surveys, the first conducted after their initial experience in the SLN and the second after an immersive experience in Second Life...
as we rose and fell on this epic journey. It has been a privilege to journey with all of you. Fif... more as we rose and fell on this epic journey. It has been a privilege to journey with all of you. Fifthly, I would like to thank my students for being such keen participants in this crazy undertaking. There is something wonderful about youth, and that is its excitement with change and comfort with chaos. The U-Spring, (University Spring) as you called it was an uprising that has changed my life and perceptions. It would not have been possible without all of you. You ppl r orsum! ntn lyk u :-) LOL v
There has been widespread criticism about the rates of participation of students enrolled on MOOC... more There has been widespread criticism about the rates of participation of students enrolled on MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), more importantly, the percentage of students who actively consume course materials from beginning to the end. This study sought to investigate this trend by examining the factors that influence MOOC adoption and use by students in selected Ghanaian universities. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was extended to develop a research model. A survey was conducted with 270 questionnaires administered to students who had been assigned MOOCs; 204 questionnaires were retrieved for analysis. Findings of the study show that MOOC usage intention is influenced by computer self-efficacy, performance expectancy, and system quality. Results also showed that MOOC usage is influenced by facilitating conditions, instructional quality, and MOOC usage intention. Social influence and effort expectancy were found not to have a significant influence...
South African Journal of Higher Education, 2016
The personal cloud is a rapidly emerging technology with applications in both the personal and ed... more The personal cloud is a rapidly emerging technology with applications in both the personal and education domains. Despite the rapid emergence of the personal cloud, there exists limited research into the adoption and utilisation of personal cloud technologies, particularly by university students in a developing country. Using the questionnaire responses of 137 students at various university levels, and using the Personal Cloud Adoption Model (PCAM) as a theoretical lens, this article reports on a study that investigated the factors influencing the adoption of personal cloud technologies by students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban, South Africa. the authors argue that whilst the personal cloud is crucial in the future of higher education, there are certain institutional challenges that must be overcome before the benefits of the personal cloud in higher education are realised. the need for an appropriate paradigmatic change by universities, in order to effectively use these new technologies, is discussed.
… & THE STUDENT …
Web 2.0 technologies have been instrumental in the development of a new collaborative learning sp... more Web 2.0 technologies have been instrumental in the development of a new collaborative learning space called Virtual Learning Environments. There are a variety of challenges in virtual learning environments, including team issues, technological problems and pedagogical practices. However these challenges can be broadly grouped into student challenges and lecturer challenges. Virtual Worlds such as Second Life (SL) and Social Learning Networks have provided many opportunities for lecturers to explore these challenges and ways of overcoming them. This study focuses on student challenges in these environments. In terms of the findings of this study, student responses were generally positive, with 77% of students finding international collaboration on their project beneficial. In addition, they report spending more time on the course and exerting more mental effort. They are satisfied with the organization and scaffolding of their learning but are still overwhelmingly dependent on campus computing resources, which is a limitation. The limitation points to the potential value of a beta-mindset approach supported by scaffolded learning. This research reports on the experiences and lessons learned during a virtual collaborative learning experience in an Honours module involving fourth year Information Systems and Technology students at both the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and Applied Student Challenges in a Virtual Collaborative Learning Course … 217 Computer Science fourth year students from Daystar University in Kenya. The research was conducted in March and April 2010. This paper explores the academic, operational and technological challenges, from a student perspective.
A Buddhist proverb proclaims, When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. This paper expl... more A Buddhist proverb proclaims, When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. This paper explores teaching practice, the current generation of student and the use of technology, as the elements at a teacher’s disposal in the process of enhancing the learning experience. It explores the theoretical foundation underpinning these elements and postulates that their interactions over time can be used to illustrate why they may not have been aligned in the past. However; with the current context of teaching practice, students and technology, a synergistic relationship can be formed which can potentially optimise the learning experience. The underlying assumption though is that teachers would need to implement this practically in their classrooms for the synergy to be experienced: The subtle implication alluded to in the title is that perhaps teachers will become the architects of their own demise if they do not begin to engage their students using some of the precepts discussed. A stu...
A disturbing dichotomy is becoming apparent within e-learning. On the one hand are reports of inc... more A disturbing dichotomy is becoming apparent within e-learning. On the one hand are reports of increasing use of e-learning environments by higher education institutions, however on the other hand are indications that the use is limited and pedagogically rigid. By exploring the changes in e-learning terminology and research foci over the past ten years it is possible to trace underlying pedagogical currents in higher education. The paper firstly presents a framework that classifies e-learning tools into three categories. Then using search engine count estimates based on both Google Scholar and five top ranked journals, the paper examines trends in the terminology associated with these three categories between 2001 and 2010. The findings indicate that Type 1 environments, typified by Learning Management Systems continue to dominate, while Type 2 environments such as Virtual Learning Environments are becoming increasingly popular. However, despite technological innovations in Web 2.0 p...
Many organizations in the world are going for Business Process Reengineering (BPR) to improve pro... more Many organizations in the world are going for Business Process Reengineering (BPR) to improve profits, to reduce costs, to improve turn around times, to improve quality or to provide better service to the customer, etc. This article discusses business process, business process reengineering, top management's role, reengineering team, process redesign, external consultant, skills required for a reengineer, communicating in the team, role of IT in business process implementation and advantages of the combination of IT and BPR in detail.
Education Sciences , 2018
There has been widespread criticism about the rates of participation of students enrolled on MOOC... more There has been widespread criticism about the rates of participation of students enrolled on MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), more importantly, the percentage of students who actively consume course materials from beginning to the end. The current study sought to investigate this trend by examining the factors that influence MOOC adoption and use by students in selected Ghanaian universities. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was extended to develop a research model. A survey was conducted with 270 questionnaires administered to students who had been assigned MOOCs; 204 questionnaires were retrieved for analysis. Findings of the study show that MOOC usage intention is influenced by computer self-efficacy, performance expectancy, and system quality. Results also showed that MOOC usage is influenced by facilitating conditions, instructional quality, and MOOC usage intention. Social influence and effort expectancy were found not to have a significant influence on MOOC usage intention. The authors conclude that universities must have structures and resources in place to promote the use of MOOCs by students. Computer skills training should also be part of the educational curriculum at all levels. MOOC designers must ensure that the MOOCs have good instructional quality by using the right pedagogical approaches and also ensure that the sites and learning materials are of good quality.