http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/handle/1812/7 Search the Channel search http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/simple-search http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/handle/1812/1076 Title: X <br/> <br/>Authors: X, X <br/> <br/>Abstract: xXXXX http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/handle/1812/1065 Title: A support environment for novice researchers using semantic approach <br/> <br/>Authors: Maizatul Akmar Ismail <br/> <br/>Abstract: Abstract The huge content of web resources provides endless supplies of knowledge. The emergence of Institutional Repositories (IR) contributes in populating the web with research material in the form of literature. Early days of studies were important where the scholars need more support in the information-seeking process. This study aims to identify methods of supporting and enhancing scholarly research activity on the Web by arranging it to thematic view i.e. users (novice researchers), task (support for research work), tools (support system for novice researchers) and the environment (scholarly content of IR). Several steps are taken in realizing this. Firstly, a survey to understand the current situation of users’ utilization of academic resources, their role and information seeking methods is done in the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, University of Malaya (FCSIT, UM). The findings of the surveys show that; i) novice researchers play a role as readers more than they are willing to play the role of the contributor of IR, ii) novice researchers need a storehouse of academic related resources to assist them in the research process, and iii) majority of novice researchers are motivated to use the IR if it provides free access, user-friendly interface and efficient search. The survey also indicates that three factors are found by respondents as useful in motivating them to use the IR i.e. modules of Related Literature, Research Trend and Experts Detection. Secondly, a study on the scholarly activity on the web is conducted through experts’ interview. The findings show that apart from the factors identified in the survey, Research Centers and Related Online Resources are also found as important support features needed to answer users’ research questions. Thirdly, due the heterogeneous nature of the scholarly content, a semantic storage is used to enable the integration of databases. A scholarly data model is introduced based on current standards in providing a homogeneous view to the user. Fourthly, a Support System for Novice Researchers (SSNR) is developed using a semantic web technology based on the findings of previous study. Finally, an evaluation on SSNR is done by augmenting attributes of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with the Software Usability Measurement Inventory (SUMI). The analysis shows that SSNR is desired as part of a supporting tool for research work. Even though there is much work to be done, this study provides an insight of the support needed while conducting research activities on the web by emphasizing on the interaction of four important components i.e. user, task , tool and the environment. This study is the first of its kind in presenting overall process involved specifically in creating a support environment for novice researchers by using semantic approach. Abstrak Kandungan sumber-sumber web yang banyak telah menyediakan keperluan maklumat yang tidak ternilai. Kewujudan Repositori Institusi (RI) menyumbang kepada web keperluan-keperluan penyelidikan dalam bentuk literatur. Penyelidikan di peringkat awal amat penting dimana cendikiawan memerlukan sokongan dalam proses pencarian maklumat. Penyelidikan ini bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti kaedah-kaedah untuk menyokong dan memperbaiki aktiviti penyelidikan para cendikiawan di web dengan membahagikannya kepada beberapa tema iaitu pengguna (penyelidik baharu), tugas (sokongan untuk kerja penyelidikan), peralatan (sistem sokongan untuk penyelidik baharu) dan persekitaran (kandungan cendikiawan di dalam RI). Beberapa langkah diambil untuk merealisasikan perkara ini. Pertama, satu tinjauan dilakukan untuk memahami situasi semasa pengguna dalam penggunaan sumber-sumber akademik, peranan dan kaedah-kaedah pencarian maklumat di Fakulti Sains Komputer dan teknologi Maklumat, Universiti Malaya (FSKTM, UM). Hasil penemuan tinjauan mendapati; i) penyelidik baru memainkan peranan sebagai pengguna lebih daripada peranan sebagai penyumbang kepada kandungan RI, ii) penyelidik baru memerlukan tempat simpanan untuk sumber-sumber akademik bagi membantu mereka dalam proses penyelidikan, dan majoriti penyelidik-penyelidik baru lebih bermotivasi untuk menggunakan RI sekiranya ia menyediakan capaian percuma, antaramuka yang mesra pengguna dan carian yang efisyen. Tinjauan juga menunjukkan tiga faktor-faktor berguna dalam memotivasikan mereka untuk menggunakan RI iaitu modul-modul Literatur Berkaitan, Aliran Penyelidikan dan Pengesanan Pakar. Kedua, satu kajian mengenai aktiviti penyelidikan di web dijalankan melalui temuramah dengan pakar. Penemuan mendapati selain daripada faktor-faktor yang telah dikenalpasti daripada iii tinjauan, Pusat Penyelidikan dan Sumber-Suber Atas Talian yang Berkaitan juga didapati penting sebagai ciri-ciri sokongan untuk menjawab soalan-soalan penyelidikan daripada pengguna. Ketiga, disebabkan oleh ciri-ciri heterogeneous kandungan cendikiawan, simpanan semantik digunakan untuk membenarkan integrasi di antara pangkalan-pangkalan data. Satu model data cendikiawan diperkenalkan berasaskan kepada piawai semasa dalam menyediakan pandangan yang homogeneous kepada pengguna. Keempat, satu Sistem Sokongan untuk Penyelidik Baru (SSPB) dibangunkan dengan menggunakan teknologi web semantik berdasarkan penemuan kajian terdahulu. Akhirnya, penilaian kepada SSPB dijalankan dengan menggabungkan Model Penerimaan Teknologi dan Inventori Pengukuran Kebolehgunaan Perisian. Analisa menunjukkan SSPB diperlukan sebagai sebahagian daripada peralatan untuk kerja penyelidikan. Walaupun lebih banyak perkara perlu dilakukan, kajian ini menyediakan pemahaman mengenai sokongan yang diperlukan semasa menjalankan penyelidikan di web dengan menekankan kepada interaksi empat komponen utama iaitu pengguna, tugas, peralatan dan persekitaran. Kajian ini adalah yang pertama seumpamanya dalam mempersembahkan keseluruhan proses yang terlibat terumanya dalam mencipta satu persekitaran sokongan untuk penyelidik baru dengan menggunakan pendekatan semantik. <br/> <br/>Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of Malaya, 2011. http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/handle/1812/1044 Title: An adaptive learning Tele-text Chatterbot <br/> <br/>Authors: Ram Gopal Raj <br/> <br/>Abstract: Adaptive software packages are intended to increase the lifespan of systems as well as reduce the maintenance costs of those systems. An adaptive system is one that can adjust its response to a given situation or input using new settings or information. Up to now adaptive software systems require administrative intervention in order to execute a system modification. Either its source code has to be modified or some settings have to be changed. The goal of this project is to develop a system that demonstrates a learning capability via conversations with a user. The learning ability will illustrate a change of response to the same question, i.e. situation, after new or relevant, information has been obtained through previous conversations. The system will be developed using Java as the implementation language and with SQL databases as its knowledge base. <br/> <br/>Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of Malaya, 2011. http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/handle/1812/1033 Title: Video visual feature space reduction and semantic search for visual content retrieval <br/> <br/>Authors: L. Ranathunga <br/> <br/>Abstract: ABSTRACT Video data search and retrieval is a popular research topic of interest in the search engine industry. Capabilities of conventional search engines are lagging behind in semantic video content retrieval. Video visual search and retrieval uses descriptions derived from visual data. A meaningful visual description on video data paves the path for semantic video retrieval. Common practices of high dimensional and multiple visual feature combinations in video visual depictions have negative effect on visual concept classification. Reduction of visual feature space in visual descriptors is important due to the ‘curse of dimensionality’. This research formulates a new form of compact visual feature called Compacted Dither Pattern Code (CDPC) which is a chromatic syntactic feature. In this research, the efficiency and effectiveness of CDPC combined with Bhattacharyya classifier has been analysed through experiments and compared with well known colour feature descriptors namely MPEG-7 Dominant Colour Descriptor (DCD), 3D Local Histogram Descriptor and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) Descriptor. There are also various combinations of classifiers namely Support Vector Machine (SVM), k-Nearest Neighbourhood (k-NN) and Bhattacharyya used with the visual features mentioned above for comparison. The experiments were conducted using TRECVID 2005 and 2007 datasets. There are several competitive advantages of CDPC in feature extraction and classification stages when compared to other colour visual features and descriptors. The embedded texel properties, spatial colour arrangements, high compactness, and robust feature representation of CDPC have proven its effectiveness in this research study. Visual description experiments have been conducted for irregular shapes based visual concepts. The experimental results are presented based on four common performance measures namely precision, recall, F1- score and average precision. The average precision results are compared with different state-of-art system results based on TRECVID 2005 dataset evaluations. The results depict that CDPC with Bhattacharyya classifier provides an improved generalised performance for irregular shape based visual description as compared to the other experimental setups. Furthermore, the performance of CDPC is significant as a single syntactic visual feature when compared to state-of-art multimodal systems. Maintenance of the balance between low dimensional visual feature space and high retrieval accuracy has been shown by CDPC in this research. Inline with semantic visual retrieval of video content, this research study contributes to reduce the ‘semantic gap’. The retrieval mechanisms and the depiction schema have been enabled to bridge the clear understanding between the users and the retrieval system. Spatial and temporal organisations of visual concepts in videos have been positively used to model the search mechanisms. The retrieval model employs video graphical and context oriented knowledge of user in generation of search results. Furthermore, the temporal segmentation implemented in this study shows a direction towards semantic shot segmentation rather than common shot boundary detections based on statistical features. The possible improvements in video visual retrieval with proposed users’ visual ontology accompanied search mechanisms are also demonstrated with retrieval results. This nature of video search makes a path towards realisation of semantic video search. ABSTRAK Carian dan capaian video merupakan topik kajian yang popular dalam industri enjin carian. Mesin carian konvensional masih lagi mempunyai kekurangan dari segi capaian kandungan video secara semantik. Carian dan capaian video secara visual adalah dengan menggunakan keterangan yang berasal dari data visual. Keterangan visual yang memberi makna untuk data video telah membuka jalan kepada capaian video secara semantik. Amalan umum yang menggabungkan dimensi tinggi dan himpunan ciri-ciri visual dalam penggambaran visual video mempunyai kesan negatif terhadap klasifikasi konsep visual. Pengurangan pada ruang ciri-ciri visual dalam keterangan visual adalah penting bilamana ‘curse of dimensionality’ dipertimbangkan. Penyelidikan ini merumuskan satu bentuk ciri-ciri visual padat baru disebut Compacted Dither Pattern Code (CDPC) yang merupakan ciri-ciri sintaktik berwarna. Dalam kajian ini, kecekapan dan keberkesanan CDPC yang digabungkan dengan pengklasifikasi Bhattacharyya telah dianalisis melalui eksperimen dan dibandingkan dengan pendeskripsi ciri-ciri warna yang terkenal iaitu MPEG-7 Dominant Colour Descriptor (DCD), 3D Local Histogram Descriptor dan Principal Component Analysis (PCA) Descriptor. Terdapat juga pelbagai kombinasi pengklasifikasi seperti Support Vector Machine (SVM), k-Nearest Neighbourhood (k-NN) dan Bhattacharyya yang digunakan bersama ciri-ciri visual yang telah disebutkan di atas untuk tujuan perbandingan. Eksperimen telah dilakukan dengan menggunakan set data TRECVID 2005 dan 2007. CDPC mempunyai beberapa kelebihan di dalam peringkat pengekstrakan ciri-ciri dan juga klasifikasi apabila dibandingkan dengan ciri-ciri visual warna dan pendeskripsi yang lain. Sifat-sifat texel tertanam, tatasusunan warna spasial, kepadatan yang tinggi, dan perwakilan ciri-ciri yang kuat pada CDPC telah terbukti berkesan dalam kajian ini. Eksperimen pendeskripsian visual telah dilakukan ke atas konsep-konsep visual yang tidak mempunyai bentuk yang tetap. Keputusan eksperimen dipersembahkan dengan berdasarkan kepada empat ukuran prestasi yang biasa iaitu ketepatan, panggilan semula, F1-score dan purata ketepatan. Keputusan untuk purata ketepatan telah dibandingkan dengan keputusan dari beberapa sistem terkini yang berbeza berdasarkan penilaianpenilaian terhadap set data TRECVID 2005. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan bahawa CDPC dengan pengklasifikasi Bhattacharyya telah memberikan prestasi umum yang lebih baik untuk pendiskripsi visual bentuk yang tidak tetap bila dibandingkan dengan eksperimen yang lain. Selanjutnya, prestasi CDPC sebagai ciri-ciri visual sintaktik tunggal sangat menonjol jika dibandingkan dengan sistem-sistem multimodal terkini. Pemeliharaan dalam keseimbangan antara ciri-ciri dimensi visual yang beruangan rendah dan ketepatan capaian yang tinggi telah ditunjukkan oleh CDPC dalam kajian ini. Seiring dengan capaian visual semantik untuk kandungan video, kajian ini memberikan sumbangan dalam mengurangkan 'jurang semantik'. Mekanisme capaian dan skema penggambaran telah diaktifkan untuk menghubungkan pemahaman yang jelas antara pengguna dan sistem capaian. Organisasi spasial dan temporal untuk konsep visual dalam video telah digunakan secara positif dalam permodelan mekanisme carian. Model capaian telah menggunakan grafik video dan pengetahuan penguna yang berorientasikan konteks untuk menjana hasil carian. Selain itu, segmentasi temporal yang dilaksanakan dalam kajian ini telah menjurus lebih kepada segmentasi paparan semantik berbanding pengesanan sempadan paparan berdasarkan ciri-ciri statistik. Penambahbaikan yang mungkin dalam capaian video visual dengan ontologi visual pengguna yang dicadangkan disertai mekanisme carian juga ditunjukkan dengan hasil carian. Sifat carian video ini telah membuka jalan dalam merealisasikan carian video secara semantik. <br/> <br/>Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of Malaya, 2011. http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/handle/1812/1031 Title: A qualitative reasoning framework for the simulation of sn1 and sn2 mechanisms in organic reactions <br/> <br/>Authors: Tang, Yee Chong <br/> <br/>Abstract: Abstract In organic chemical reactions, one has to understand the many cognitive steps involved before a stable product is formed. Understanding these cognitive steps is among the many difficulties faced by chemistry students. Traditional chemistry educational software is inadequate in promoting understanding such as why and how things happen. These programs do not “explain” simply because the results are obtained through chaining of rules or by searching the reaction routes that have been pre-coded in software. This thesis describes a qualitative reasoning framework for the simulation of SN1 and SN2 mechanisms in organic reaction based on Qualitative Process Theory (QPT). The modelling constructs of QPT provide grounds for representing chemical theories qualitatively with notions of causality which can be used to explain the behaviour of a chemical system. The major theme of this framework is that, in a qualitative simulation environment, students are able to articulate his/her knowledge through the inspection of explanations generated by software. These students are seen as the recipients of knowledge delivered via the “explanation” pedagogy. To test the framework, a simulator prototype, named QRiOM (Qualitative Reasoning in Organic Mechanism) was implemented. Specifically, this thesis investigates the qualitative reasoning approach and QPT ontology applied to the task of constructing qualitative models and generating explanation for the simulation of organic chemical reactions. The framework focuses on a few issues relating to: (1) Automation of the qualitative model construction for organic reaction processes, and (2) Improvement of the explanation generation approach since current chemistry software cannot appropriately explain a chemical phenomenon. In this work, “makebond” and “break-bond” are identified as two generic processes in the simulation of organic reactions. From analysis of various chemical reactions occurring under SN1 and SN2 mechanisms, the common set of chemical theories and behaviour for the generic processes have been identified, from which the model automation procedures are formulated. The issue of lack of explanation in chemistry software is addressed by embedding a causal explanation generator that produces explanation in various forms. The generator justifies and explains a simulated result by tracing the chains of causality that stem from QPT model reasoning. These features are demonstrated via QRiOM. Since QRiOM is developed to promote learners’ understanding of organic chemical reactions, the effectiveness of QRiOM in explaining organic chemical phenomena has also been evaluated. Evaluation results show that the tool has enhanced student knowledge in organic chemical reactions and mechanisms. This thesis comprises two main contributions. The first contribution is the application of QPT to model various organic chemical reactions occurring under SN1 and SN2 mechanisms and to reproduce the chemical behaviour of the SN1 and SN2 mechanisms “intuitively”. The thesis also provides justifications that QPT can be effectively used to support learning. The second contribution is the development of an explanation module obtained from the process model directly. This explanation module can be generalized and used in other systems. Abstrak Dalam reaksi kimia organik, kita harus memahami langkah-langkah kognitif yang terlibat sebelum suatu produk yang stabil terbentuk. Memahami langkah-langkah kognitif adalah salah satu masalah yang dihadapi oleh pelajar-pelajar kimia. Perisian kimia tradisional untuk pembelajaran tidak mencukupi dalam meningkatkan pemahaman seperti mengapa dan bagaimana sesuatu terjadi. Program-program ini tidak dapat menjelaskan sesuatu koncep kerana keputusan yang diperolehi adalah melalui penggunaan peraturan dan fakta atau dengan mencari laluan reaksi yang telah dikodkan dalam perisian. Tesis ini menggambarkan rangka kerja penaakulan kualitatif untuk mensimulasikan mekanisme SN1 dan SN2 dalam reaksi organik berdasarkan Qualitative Process Theory (QPT). Konstruk pemodelan yang terdapat pada QPT menyediakan asas untuk mewakili teori kimia secara kualitatif yang boleh digunakan untuk menjelaskan perilaku sistem kimia. Tema utama dari rangka kerja ini adalah bahawa, dalam lingkungan simulasi kualitatif, pelajar mampu mengartikulasikan pengetahuannya dengan menyemak penjelasan yang dihasilkan oleh perisian. Pelajar-pelajar ini dianggap sebagai penerima pengetahuan yang disampaikan melalui pedagogi “penjelasan”. Untuk menguji rangka tersebut, sebuah prototaip simulator bernama QRiOM (Qualitative Reasoning in Organic Mechanism) telah dibangunkan. Secara khusus, tesis ini meneliti pendekatan penaakulan kualitatif dan ontologi QPT untuk membina model kualitatif dan simulasi untuk menghasilkan penjelasan untuk reaksi kimia organik. Rangka kerja ini menumpukan pada beberapa isu berkaitan dengan: (1) Pembangunan model kualitatif secara otomatik untuk reaksi organik, dan (2) Peningkatan pendekatan dalam “penjelasan” kerana perisian kimia pada saat ini tidak dapat secara tepat menggambarkan fenomena kimia. Dalam kajian ini, “make-bond” dan “break-bond” dikenalpasti sebagai dua proses generik dalam simulasi reaksi organik. Dari analisis pelbagai reaksi kimia yang berlaku di mekanisme SN1 dan SN2, teori umum dan perilaku untuk proses generik itu telah dikenalpasti, dari mana prosedur untuk automasi model dirumuskan. Masalah kurangnya penjelasan dalam perisian kimia diselesaikan dengan adanya sebuah generator “penjelasan kausal” yang menghasilkan berbagai bentuk penjelasan. Generator tersebut menggambarkan dan menjelaskan hasil simulasi dengan menelusuri rantai kausal dari model QPT. Ciri-ciri ini ditunjukkan melalui QRiOM. Tujuan QRiOM adalah untuk meningkatkan pemahaman pelajarpelajar, oleh itu keberkesanan QRiOM dalam menjelaskan fenomena kimia organik telah dinilai. Keputusan penilaian menunjukkan bahawa QRiOM dapat meningkatkan pengetahuan pelajar dalam kimia organik dan mekanisme reaksi. Tesis ini mempunyai dua sumbangan utama. Sumbangan pertama adalah penggunaan QPT untuk pemodelan pelbagai reaksi kimia organik dalam mekanisme SN1 dan SN2, dan mengeluarkan semula perilaku mekanisme SN1 dan SN2 secara “intuitif”. Tesis ini juga memberikan justifikasi bahawa QPT boleh digunakan secara berkesan untuk menyokong pembelajaran. Sumbangan kedua adalah pembangunan modul penjelasan dalam prototaip QRiOM. Modul ini juga boleh digunakan dalam sistem lain. <br/> <br/>Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of Malaya, 2011. http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/handle/1812/980 Title: The identification of trust factor in electronic commerce usage <br/> <br/>Authors: Mohd Sazili Shahibi <br/> <br/>Abstract: The main objective of this research is to investigate and understand factors that contribute to trust building in e-commerce amongst internet users. Trust plays an important role in the success of e-commerce usage. Trust in e-commerce simply refers to trust in a virtual environment. Lack of trust has been repeatedly identified as one of the most formidable barriers to Internet users for engaging in e-commerce transactions. The research started with a definition of e-commerce and trust. This is followed by a study on the importance of trust in e-commerce and barriers toward e-commerce that have been identified by previous researchers. Three most dominant e-commerce trust frameworks have been analysed and adopted in this research as guidelines to improve understanding of trust factors that can promote trust in e-commerce usage. The survey and interview techniques were selected as research methodologies for the study. The survey was conducted to gain the respondents’ opinion on trust factors in e-commerce usage. The interviews were conducted to find out the respondents’ opinions on the elements of information in e-commerce website that will contribute to the building of trust amongst the e-commerce users. The respondents of the study consisted of the Public Information System Personnel of Selangor. The findings of the survey showed that the respondents have positively admitted that all core factors such as security, familiarity and privacy are important to developing trust in e-commerce application amongst Internet users. The results obtained from the survey were used to develop an e-commerce trust prototype website. The prototype was tested by the respondents before the interviews were conducted. The interview exercise further identified important elements of information on an e-commerce website to create Internet users’ confidence in using e-commerce. From the findings gathered and conclusions derived from the survey and interviews, the researcher has proposed an e-commerce trust framework and website guidelines. The framework described the four factors that contributed to Internet users’ trust in e-commerce. These factors are: familiarity, security, and privacy and website information elements. The trusted e-commerce website guidelines described the elements of information that should be placed in an e-commerce website in order to gain the Internet users’ trust. <br/> <br/>Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of Malaya, 2010. http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/handle/1812/970 Title: Ontology-based approach for resolving semantic schema conflicts in the integration of semi-structured data sources <br/> <br/>Authors: Hajmoosaei, Abdolreza <br/> <br/>Abstract: The web is the platform for information publishing; it is the biggest resource of information of any type. There are a lot of valuable data and business data on the web that organizations or users may need in order to improve the decision making process. It is therefore, very important and critical that this information are complete, precise and can be acquired on time. Most web data sources provide data in semi-structured forms on the internet. The process of combining semi-structured data from different sources on the internet often fails due to syntactic and semantic differences. The access, retrieval and utilization of information from different web data sources require the data to be integrated. Integration of web data is a complex process because of the heterogeneity nature of the web data and thus needs some kind of a web data integration system. There are many types of heterogeneity and differences among web data sources that makes data integration a difficult process (e.g., different data model, different syntax and semantics in schema and data instance level among web data sources). Semantic schema heterogeneity, which refers to the misinterpretation of data at the schema level, is one major obstacle that needs to be overcome in web data integration process. Semantic schema heterogeneity has been identified as one of the most important problems when dealing with interoperability and cooperation among multiple data sources on the internet. In this research, the major aim is to give a solution for resolving semantic schema heterogeneities in web data integration. For this purpose we first recommend an approach and system architecture for web data integration. The proposed web data integration system relies on the ontology technology for resolving of semantic heterogeneity among heterogeneous web data sources. Our proposed web data integration system covers all abstraction levels of data heterogeneity conflicts between web data sources. The system applies: • ontology as a solution for resolving schema heterogeneities; • wrapper as solution for resolving data model heterogeneities; • converter as solution for resolving data value heterogeneities; In the second part of the work, we focus on semantic mapping module of proposed web data integration system and propose an approach and algorithm for resolving semantic conflicts between web ontologies. We use semantic ontology mapping as a solution for the reconciliation of semantic schema conflicts between web data. The proposed algorithm uses query path as a technique to enhance the quality of the mapping results and reduce the runtime of the algorithm. The algorithm searches domain ontology in order to find user query concept and its query attributes through query path. The query path gives two strength points to algorithm as follows: 1. Reduce runtime of each achievement of mapping results: It directs algorithm toward query concept and its attributes and causes to reduce the search domain of algorithm. 2. Gain higher quality mapping results: The query path possesses concepts which have some semantically relation with query concept. Therefore the algorithm has further information about meaning of query concept that helps to find corresponding term with query concept with higher quality mapping results. <br/> <br/>Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of Malaya, 2010. http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/handle/1812/967 Title: Adaptive multi learning style system for E-learning <br/> <br/>Authors: Hanan Ettaher Dagez <br/> <br/>Abstract: Options, accessibility and control have been provided by e-learning systems to promote the success of education process. However, there are many problems impeding the educational progress to satisfy everyone’s need. The reason for this is that e-learning is unable to cope with individual learning style. In terms of teaching and learning process there are similarities between traditional classrooms system and e-learning system, but technically they are totally different due to many issues. The most critical issue is that the learner is more independent in e-learning system, whereas in traditional classroom a teacher can monitor and react accordingly based on student’s response. Therefore, e-learning system needs to be adapted to the learner’s responses and presents information based on individual learning style. However, learners sometimes do not know how to learn and what approach suits them most. Although there are many learning style models, theories, and methodology that have been used for a long time in education, none of them have adequately covered all learning aspects such as personality, emotional issues, scale differences, and preferences. In e-learning when the learning style of the student is not compatible with the teaching style of the teacher; difficulties in academic achievement can result. Therefore, knowing what is the preferred learning style and favorite study environment supporting emotional intelligence enhance the success of learning and teaching process. This research investigates how personalized courses can be delivered to the learner in adaptive environment. This was done by analyzing the available learning style models and extracting the suitable activities for e-learning system based on individual learning characteristics and preferred e-learning environment. The learning styles are classified according to five learning approaches, namely sequential, mind map, problem based, inquiry based and gaming. In this research an e-learning model was developed together with neural network to improve e-learning system and accommodate learners based on their learning preference. Results from a survey conducted are used to validate the model. The system was tested on a group of students and found to be adaptable to their different learning styles. <br/> <br/>Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, University Malaya, 2009. http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/handle/1812/963 Title: Conceptual framework and instructional design process model supporting student-centric e-learning environment based on e-learning pedagogy and multiple intelligences theory <br/> <br/>Authors: Krishnasamy, Kemalatha <br/> <br/>Abstract: The most important aspects in e-learning are the employment of appropriate learning theory and paradigms, organisation of content based on sound pedagogy, as well as methods and techniques of delivery. For optimum characterisation and modeling of e-learning environment, the scope of this thesis is limited to this domain. The assumption underlying this reseach is that current general and software-oriented e-learning approaches lack a comprehensive view regarding firstly, what learning theories should be considered, secondly, what are the most efficient teaching and learning principles that govern sound e-learning pedagogy, and thirdly, how do they accommodate multiple intelligences theory. The existence of e-learning frameworks that establish defined principles and best practices for effective teaching and learning which better support the e-learning process is a fundamental feature. The central argument of this resrach is that, in order to develop a successful e-learning environment, a comprehensive view of the learning principles based on sound e-learning pedagogy and an instructional design process model has to be considered. This holistic view has to take into account the requirements as well as the constraints imposed by all parties involved (i.e. student, instructor and subject matter expert). In other words, the decision regarding instructional design and planning within any targeted e-learning environment has to take into account diversity of student’s learning styles, technical capabilities and organisational needs. In regard to creating a pedagogically sound e-learning content, this research was concerned with proposing a conceptual framework for effective e-learning. The framework defines instructional principles and relevant instructional strategies as well as key elements for creating an effective e-learning environment. Moreover, the intelligences type and e-learning preferences of students in a Smart School environment were investigated. The purpose was to propose suitable features for e-learning based on multiple intelligences. From the point of view of instructional design and planning, this research was concerned with proposing an instructional design process model that will assist in the development of learning modules based on accepted learning concepts while utilising the e-learning environment. This model ensures that courses developed for an e-learning environment have a flexible design approach and the capacity to accommodate several differing pedagogical approaches to cater for diversity of learning styles. The proposed model consists of a conceptual structure, procedural guidelines, and a list of required elements to include in the e-learning environment. To test the effectiveness of this model, a prototype was developed. This prototype named SCEnE (Student-Centric E-learNing Environment) was reviewed by two different panels of educators. These panels report that the prototype does promote seven learning concepts as part of the e-learning environment. In a second means to validate the prototype, volunteer instructors were recruited to develop lessons using SCEnE and any other HTML authoring tool. The observations stated that SCEnE produces an average of 15% more learning content in the same development time as non-SCEnE. Furthermore, students stated that the prototype was easy to use and rated the usefulness of the activities provided in SCEnE based on their intelligence type. <br/> <br/>Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of Malaya, 2010. http://dspace.fsktm.um.edu.my/handle/1812/917 Title: ICT integration in enhancing English language teaching and learning <br/> <br/>Authors: J. Samuel, Peterson @ Robinson <br/> <br/>Abstract: As English Language is gaining in prominence as the international language of trade and industry, there is an outcry by the private sector in Malaysia that students graduating from schools, colleges and universities cannot fit into the job market because of poor English communication skills. Little is really known on factors that contribute to low communicative competence in English Language and the impact and integration of ICT tools in English Language teaching and learning. Against this concern, this study was undertaken with the purpose to unfold and understand the need for integration of ICT tools in the teaching and learning of English Language in Malaysian schools in particular oral communication skills. The study further examines the benefits of integrating ICT tools, the success factors and obstacles encountered by English Language option teachers in ICT integration. This study used a multiple-case design approach, involving mixed methods i.e. qualitative and quantitative approaches. Teachers from nine areas in West Malaysia were involved in the study. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was used to find out the level and extent of ICT integration carried out by English option teachers. Open-ended questions in the last part of the survey were used to find out the reasons for the poor oral communication skills of the students. Teacher and pupil interviews that were transcribed and carefully coded together with teacher observations were analyzed to find out in detail the factors that were withholding the students from verbalizing their thoughts in simple English. User requirements obtained from the research findings were subsequently used in the creation of the Virtual English Language Tool (VELT). The end objective of this tool is to improve the English language proficiency of students in particular their oral communication skills. VELT incorporates a series of interactive lessons customized to local themes, topics and language variations. The VELT modules cater for the development of different communication skills namely pronunciation, stress, rhythm and intonation, basic conversational English with appropriate structure, word order and appropriate semantic elements. VELT was implemented among 29 Year 5 pupils in Banting District in Selangor for a period of 9 months in 2005. Further implementation and evaluation of the tool were carried out in two other schools in 2007, namely in Ampang District and in Kuchai Lama District in Selangor. The evaluation findings on the usefulness of VELT among students in the above mentioned three case studies showed that ICT integrated lessons and the online tutorial using Instant Messaging tools not only improved their oral communication skills but further increased their attainment levels in terms of academic achievement and classroom participation. Another pertinent finding in the case studies revealed that the free audio and video conferencing tools embedded in Instant Messaging tools could be exploited by English Language teachers to enhance students’ communication skills. Besides the practical contribution of VELT, the study has developed an empirical-based framework on ICT integration which could act as a training model for pre-service and in-service English option teachers on ways of enhancing English Language teaching and learning in particular oral communication skills. This framework could further be used to serve as a general guideline for other subject areas. Despite its success in achieving its objectives, this study is subjected to several limitations that include an online progress report, incorporating audio and video conferencing tools within VELT and giving more sophistication to the VELT designs and graphic user interface elements. Future research should consider investigating cross-cultural variables so that usage of VELT as a teaching-learning tool could be extended to other countries which face similar problems. <br/> <br/>Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of Malaya, 2009.