Real-Time Howling Detection for Hands-Free Video Conferencing System

Real-Time Howling Detection for Hands-Free Video Conferencing System Mi Suk Lee and Do Young Kim Future Internet Research Department ETRI, Daejeon, Korea {lms, dyk}@etri.re.kr Abstract: This paper presents howling detection method in two-way hands-free communication system. Though hands-free communication is convenient for multi-user system such as audio/video conference, it is very common for the open microphones and loudspeakers produce acoustic feedback in a closed loop, which results in howling. This obviously prevents any useful conversation between participants. In this paper we propose a real time howling detection method based on the long-term average spectral power and howling information of the previous frame. Performance tests show that the proposed algorithm provides quick and stable howling detection results. Keywords-component; howling detecion; howling suppression; hands-free video conferencing I. INTRODUCTION As high speed internet connectivity has become more easily available, video conferencing is being used more and more everyday life for business and educational purpose, not just for the personal use. Recently, many educational institutions including universities are interested in distance education by using the video conferencing technology for students who are separated by time and distance. In the fields of business, various types of video conferencing system has been adopted, because it enable individuals in distance locations to participate in meetings with time and money saving. In video conferencing system, hands-free communication is more convenient for users. But it is very common to produce acoustic feedback in a closed loop, resulting in howling. This obviously prevents any useful conversation between participants. A typical closed loop path (dashed line) can exist when both parties are using hands-free video conferencing system is illustrated in figure 1. This type of closed loop which includes microphone, network, and loudspeaker is most common in real time hands-free communication system. If the loop gain is greater than unity at one or more frequencies the system becomes unstable and produces oscillations. If the oscillation signal has the frequency in the audible range of human hearing, it is called howling or squealing. It not only disturbs normal communications, but also damages power amplifier for overload. In two-way hands-free communication, acoustic feedbacks from loudspeaker into the microphone are traditionally cancelled using acoustic echo canceller (AEC). When it has reached enough convergence, it provides protection against howling because it reduces acoustic feedback. Until then, or when the acoustic path is changed or high loudness is required, the system exposed to howling because of improper function of AEC[1,2]. One of This research was funded by the MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning), Korea in the ICT R&D Program 2013. The most popular techniques for supplementing the AEC to prevent howling in hands-free communication systems is notch filter based howling suppression (NHS) methods. NHS methods consist of howling detection and howling suppression by using a notch filter. The design of notch filters for howling suppression is based on well-established filter design techniques. Hence, it is critical to detect howling signal rapidly and exactly in NHS methods. In this paper we propose a howling detection method ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 1

based on the howling information of the previous frame and long-term average spectral power for real time twoway hands-free video conferencing system. This paper organized as follows: Section 2 briefly reviews a notch filter based howling suppression method. In section 3, we discuss characteristic of howling signal recorded in our two-way hands-free video conferencing system. Section 4 introduces a proposed howling detection method for NHS and Section 5 presents performance test results. A B Figure1. Acoustic feedback in packet based video conferencing system NOTCH FILTER BASED HOWLING SUPPRESSION II. Notch filter based howling suppression (NHS) is one of the most popular methods for acoustic feedback control in public address and hands-free communication systems[3]. The NHS methods consist of howling detection and howling suppression by using a notch filter. And NHS can be divided into two categories, i.e., onestage and two-stage, depending on whether the howling detection and notch filtering are performed jointly or separately. The adaptive notch filter (ANFs) based methods are typical one-stage method. Two-stage NHS methods are the most popular method for acoustic feedback control. The two-stage NHS in hands-free communication system can be outlined as shown in figure 2. The microphone signal is first processed by a howling detection algorithm, which forwards a set of design parameters of notch filter. When howling has been detected, a notch filter has been activated to suppress the howling signal before transmit the input signal to the remote site. In the two-stage NHS method, howling detection is crucial to get reliable howling suppression results because the notch filter design method is well defined. Figure 2. Two-stage notch filter based howling suppression III. HOWLING SIGNAL IN TWO-WAY HANDS-FREE VIDEO CONFERENCING ENVIRONMENT In order to analyze the howling signal in two-way hands-free video conferencing environment, we set up an experimental environment as shown in figure 1. The hands-free video conferencing system consists of personal computer, display, microphone and loudspeaker. The characteristic of the microphone and loudspeaker is as follow: o Loudspeaker: BOSE Companion 2 multimedia speaker o Microphone: ETM-003 of Edutige o Condenser / Omnidirectional / Boundary microphone o Sensitivity: -23dB o Frequency response: 50~18 khz ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 2

Figure 3 shows a block diagram for audio signal processing in our video conferencing system. The microphone signal of site A is processed by AEC and encoded with G.711.1 wideband encoder [4] and transmitted to remote site B after RTP packing. In site B, the received packet is unpacked and decoded by G.711.1 decoder. The decoded signal is played out through a loudspeaker. Since the loudspeaker and microphone are located in same room, the speaker output is captured by a microphone again and transmitted to site A. A B Figure 3. Audio signal flow in two-way hands-free video conferencing Figure 4 and 5 present time domain signal and frequency spectrum of howling signal recorded at 16 khz sampling rate without AEC block both in site A and B, respectively. The frequency range of each spectrum in those figures is limited to 1,000 Hz. From the figures, we can see the amplitude of howling signal is globally increase with time but has some fluctuation. Figure 4. Howling signal recorded in site A ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 3

Figure 5. Howling signal recorded in site B IV. PROPOSED HOWLING DETECTION METHOD Figure 6 presents the high-level block diagram of the proposed howling detection method. Basically, it is operated in a 10 msec frame based manner. The microphone input signal is stored in a buffer and this time domain signal is transformed into a frequency domain signal by a FFT analysis. FFT is run once every 10 msec and the FFT window size is 16 msec (corresponding to 256 samples at 16 khz sampling). After howling candidate selection and detection, the related parameters are update for the next frame processing. Figure 6. High level block diagram of the proposed howling detection A. Howling Candidate Selection The magnitude of the howling signal is globally increased over time, but it can be locally fluctuated by the delay caused in communication environment. In this case, it is difficult to detect howling signal consistently in some segment which have relatively decreased magnitude. In order to solve this problem, we use the howling information of the previous frame when selecting howling candidate. To select a howling candidate, first, N frequencies which have highest spectral power are chosen by using peak picking. We select a frequency which has maximum spectral power from N as a howling candidate of the current frame. However, if the selected howling candidate is different from the howling frequency of the previous frame, the howling candidate can be replaced with the howling frequency of the previous frame according to the following procedure. First, it is checked that there is a same frequency with the howling frequency of the previous frame in N-1 frequencies except howling candidate. Second, if one of them is same with the howling frequency of the previous frame, then compare the spectral power of the current howling candidate and the previous howling frequency. The howling candidate of the current frame are replaced with the howling frequency of the previous frame if the ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 4

spectral power at previous howling frequency is greater than the weighted spectral power of current howling candidate. Here, the weighing factor is set to a value less than 1. B. Howling Detection The howling detector judges that the howling candidate is a true howling signal. We use not only the peak to short-term (frame) average spectral power ratio but also long-term average spectral power ration of the howling candidate of current frame and howling frequency of the previous frame. We detect the howling candidate as a true howling signal in two cases. First, it is decided the howling frequency candidate is true howling signal when both ratio of the spectral power of the howling candidate to a short-term average spectral power and the long-term to short-term average spectral power ratio of the howling candidate is greater than the predetermined threshold values. Second, it is detected the howling candidate is a true howling signal when the previous frame has howling signal and the long-term average spectral power of the howling candidate is greater than the weighted long-term average spectral power of the howling signal of previous frame. The weighing factor is set to a value less than 1. V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS In order to test the performance of our proposed method, we recorded two types of signal without AEC operation at 16 khz sampling rate. One is a pure howling signal without speech activity and second is a howling signal with a speech activity from one of the sites. Figure 7 shows a test result for a pure howling signal in time domain and frequency domain with a limited frequency range. A microphone input signal (blue wave) and howling suppressed signal (green wave) by using a 2nd order IIR notch filter is shown in figure 7. And the howling detection results also depicted with black line overlapped with the waveform and spectrum. Figure 7 shows that the proposed method is able to detect the howling signal very quickly and consistently even though the magnitude of howling signal is fluctuated. Figure 7. Experimental results for a pure howling signal. Figure 8 shows a performance test results for a howling signal mixed with speech signal. The time domain waveform of input signal(blue wave) and howling suppressed signal(green wave) are presented with howling detection results(black line) in first block of figure 8. Also, the spectrum of the microphone input signal and howling suppressed signal is illustrated with limited frequency range. It indicates that the proposed howling detection is providing stable performance when the speech signal is presented. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 5

Figure 8. Experimental results for a howling signal mixed with speech signal. VI. CONCLUSION In this paper, we propose a howling detection method based on the howling information of previous frame and long-term average spectral power. The performance of the proposed method is tested with the sample data recorded in real-time two-way hands-free video conferencing environment. The test results shows that the proposed method quickly detect the howling frequency and also gives stable results for the howling signal mixed with speech. REFERENCES [1] Senthil Kumar Mani and Sowmya Mannava, Robust and High quality Howling Suppression for Real Time Hands-Free Communication systems, IEEE 2011 [2] Franck Beaucoup, A Novel Loop Stabilisation Technique for Full-Duplex Speakerphones, IEEE CCECE/CCGEI, May, 2006, pp.771-774. [3] T.van Waterschoot and M.Moonen, comparative spectral analysis of howling detection criteriia in notch filter based howling suppression. AES 126th conv., Munich, Germany, May, 2009 [4] ITU-T Recommendation G.711.1, Wideband embedded extension for ITU-T G.711 pulse code modulation, sept. 2012. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 6

Applying Delphi Methodology for Lifelong Learning Activities Miguel Doctor, Rafael Mompó European University of Madrid Madrid, Spain miguel.doctor@noveltelecoms.com, rafael.mompo@uem.com David de la Mata, Judith Redoli University of Alcalá Alcalá de Henares, Spain david.mata@uah.es, judith.redoli@uah.es Abstract : Nowadays we are immersed in a highly competitive job market where demonstrating good technical skills is not in most cases a guarantee of a success. In addition, the economical context is provoking a diaspora of highqualified workers from their countries to others with lower unemployment rates. In this scenario, applicants need to demonstrate not only a strong background in their specialization fields, but also, a set of soft skills and abilities, which allow them, highlight themselves in the hard task of finding a job. In this paper we present an evolution of a methodology supported by a web tool, aims to helping working adults trainers and university professors to develop soft-skills in engineering, as well as technical competencies provided by classical engineering training programs. Delphi Learning Package (DLP) tool is based on Delphi strategic consulting. Firstly, a short introduction about what the Delphi method consist of, will be performed. Then, a description about the adjustments and modifications made on the methodology in order to fix it to educational environments will be discussed as well as an evaluation of the effects triggered by them. Afterwards, the technological environment created for hosting the tool and supporting the methodology is described. A justification about why a tool to automatize the methodology is required will be provided. Also, how students develop different soft skills such as critical thinking, synthesis ability, inference, and argumentation following our method is discussed. Finally, we assess the methodology and the tool by discussing about the results obtained during two pilot projects that have been developed involving both, students with a major in Telecommunications Engineering and software engineers from a software department of, a well known food company. This tool can be downloaded and used freely by contacting the authors of this article or by accessing the website www.noveltelecoms.com. Keywords-component; Delphi, lifelong learning, e-learning, collaborative/cooperative learning I. Introduction The current socio-economic context triggers high levels of instability and uncertainty over the high- qualified positions job market. The ever faster technological evolution gives engineers and specialized workers, through their skills and abilities, the key to support their companies in the current high-competitive scenario. Because of this, companies are starting to consider engineering training as one of the most important issues in their strategic company dossiers. Nevertheless, the quick evolution of development processes and the frequency of appearance of new technologies, affect even the best and most experimented workers, who observe how their skills are getting obsolete in few months. As a consequence, the value of the technical background is loosing ground with other more generic skills or soft skills, which means that it is becoming more and more important that engineering students and professionals workers develop soft skills [1]. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 7

The methodology proposed aims to force students and professional workers to develop personal skills in order to solve intricate problems, to manage large amounts of information and to get the ability to extract useful knowledge from huge amounts of available documentation [2]. Collaborative/cooperative learning is the approach we have chosen as axe of our methodology. Since the proposal was to develop technical and soft skills at the same time, it was considered necessary to investigate how to adapt classic methodologies of strategic consulting based on making forecasts, to be used for engineering learning purposes. Among the different methodologies analyzed (such as Genius Forecasting [3], Trend Extrapolation [4], Consensus Methods (e.g., Delphi) [5], Simulation Methods [6-7], crossed impact matrix method [8], scenario [9], or decision trees [10]) one of them, which belongs to the group of consensus methodologies, was chosen. The most famous method from this group is the Delphi [11-12] one. The reasons to choice this methodology over other previously mentioned is because Delphi allows us, in a flexible way, to structure the communication flow efficiently. II. Special Issues Regarding Working Adults Learning Every year huge amounts of money are invested in programs and activities oriented to keep updated workers knowledge and skills in many engineering companies around the world [13]. Nevertheless, it is estimated that no more than 10% of this investment is returned to the companies like a real transference of knowledge or improvements in their production procedures [14]. The explanation of this low success ratio could be find in the techniques and methods used in the training courses and also, in the gap existing between programs or services offered by the training provider organizations (universities or training consultancy companies) and the real requirements demanded by the engineering companies [15]. The dynamic world in which engineers develop their activity presents them with new demands and provides new challenges almost everyday. This vertiginous technological evolution provokes that technical competencies and skills could become obsolete even before that recent graduated engineers could find their first employment. Because of that, technical background is losing importance compared to other kind of skills or abilities. This change started to be observed at the end of the 20th Century. In those years an evolution started from a hard-engineering model to a soft-engineering one. In the past, engineers were focused only in technical issues about projects, but today they are more interested in a softengineering working model, in which engineers need assume management resources tasks as well as marketing and commercial responsibilities [16]. This tendency (the importance of soft-skills as a part of engineers background) has risen on the first decade of the 21st Century, and currently an engineer has to demonstrate basic competencies in the next transversal areas [17]: Social Science: Communication skills, Social skills, Presentation skills, Interpersonal skills. Business/Management: Leadership skills, Business management skills, Team-working skills, Financial skills Computer/Technology: Computer skills, Programming skills, Design skills Mathematics/Science: Problem solving skills, Research, self-learning and development skills, Analysis/synthesis skills Traditionally, these competencies were acquired after some years of working on real projects, but modern companies require the application of some processes oriented to develop these soft-skills as well as modern technical skills [18-19]. In this paper, a methodology, which develops the soft-skills listed below in two different target populations (working adults and university students) is presented: ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 8

Synthesis skills, Communication and presentation skills, Argumentation Capacity, Critical Thinking, Inference Capacity, Building Customized Knowledge from a Certain Amount of Information, Self-learning by discovery. III. Delphi Methodology Background Initially, the Delphi methodology was designed to support forecast Escalation Dynamics on different conflict scenarios [20], but it was quickly applied to other fields, such as medicine, information systems, or company organization [21 23]. Delphi methodology aims to make future forecasts to improve decision making in the present. In this article, the use of Delphi methodology as a collaborative learning methodology to solve complex problems approached daily by engineering professionals and students is proposed. A Delphi process consists of selecting a group of experts that are asked about their opinion on certain matters pertaining to future events. The group could be made up by experts on the matter, affected or/and with an interest, in such a way that because of their level of information and extent of knowledge they can contribute different ideas and points of view to the problem at hand. The experts are asked about the topics by filling in the basic element within a Delphi process: the questionnaire. In this way we avoid experts meetings, or face-to-face debating which means that we can increase significantly the number of consulted experts. Between rounds, the experts are given controlled feedback, which results from all experts forecasts. The product we really get with a Delphi method is a collective vision built on each group communication structure. In other words, at the end of the process we will obtain a set of opinions with different levels of consensus. IV. Delphi Methodology Based Learning In this section our proposal of adaptation of the Delphi methodology to collaborative learning is described. First of all, a coordinating group (professors or trainers) is set. This group is in charge of summarizing the concepts and contents that will be studied during the course, creating questionnaires that efficiently contribute to obtain results and defining the group of people that will compose the panel of experts. This panel of experts will be the students enrolled in the subject. It is considered that the prior knowledge acquired in the first years of the university program qualifies them sufficiently to analyze the information that the professor provides and to propose ideas, key aspects, or solutions to the case study presented, according to the focus determined by the professor. The questionnaires are the core elements of the process: initial questions and feed- backs are generated by the coordinating group (professors), that are sent to the panel of experts (students, or professionals attending to a training program) so as they can express their ideas and opinions. This process makes it possible to reach a consensus and to obtain conclusions that help solve the problem under study. Nevertheless, it is necessary to make certain adjustments to the method, as certain limitations are en- countered when applying it to a teaching environment, for example, the time of application (a semester or a number of hours purchased), or the selection of the panel of experts (always composed of students). Thus, Delphi methodology applied to learning establishes the following line of work: First step: previous study of the state of the subject matter by the participants. The learners receive information on the theme to be studied. Some of the information will be provided by means of attending class, but it is fundamental that the learners have access subsequently to the material presented in class, as well as to additional information (documents, presentations, etc.). Second Step: open questionnaire. The professor draws up a questionnaire in which he/she requests students to contribute ideas for the resolution of the problem. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 9

Third step: closed questionnaire (feedback). Subsequently, the professor carries out a selection of the better ideas contributed. With these ideas the professor generates a closed questionnaire (feedback) in which the students, by means of allocation of a score to each idea of the closed questionnaire, assess the degree of importance. It is a matter of sorting the ideas according to its importance taking into account a criterion previously established by the professor. Fourth step: public discussion. Subsequently, a public discussion is opened through virtual forums, in which the students argue their points of view on the importance of the ideas. The professor should promote that discussion. Fifth step: final feedback. After the debate of the fourth step, students can modify the scoring assigned in the third step, taking into account the arguments that have prevailed as more serious and coherent in the debate. Sixth step: evaluation. Depending on the scenario (university students or working adults attending to a course) the evaluation can take different ways. For university courses an evaluation grade for each student is generated automatically. This grade is calculated taking into account the deviation of each student s answers from the average in the third and fifth steps, as well as the number of proposed ideas by the student in the second step (which were chosen by the professor due to their quality). This evaluation could be omitted in working adults learning programs, because in some cases the goal of the training is not to score the workers, but to demonstrate that the team is capable to build a work planning using the concepts and skills learned during the course. All these steps an their elements are related among themselves as it is indicated in Figure 1. In this manner, a process of communication is established, according to the phases of a Delphi method. Figure 1. Delphi learning communication process We have to pay attention to the number of questions included into the questionnaire. In practice, for a group of fifty students, the application of this methodology means that between 100 and 400 ideas are generated in the second step. From them all, the professor should select between 10 and 40 to generate the feedback questionnaire of the third step. It has been proven that a questionnaire with more than 30 questions is not effective due to the loss of concentration in the answers as the length of the questionnaire increases [24]. V. A software Tool is necessary: DLP In order to make the application of the methodology Delphi viable, it is necessary that both the professor and the learner have a software tool that facilitates the management and selection of the ideas generated by the learners, ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 10

and maintains each idea associated with the participant who has proposed it. Likewise, the software tool simplifies the preparation of the questionnaires to be answered by the students. Finally, the tool should show the professor the progress of the learner along the diverse steps and should facilitate the generation of final grading for the evaluation, according to the contributions of each participant. Therefore, a collaborative learning software tool has been developed based on the Delphi methodology applied in learning called DLP (Delphi Learning Package) and developed with PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor). The interface is user-friendly and fast for both the professor and the student. The DLP software has been developed as a two separated modules WEB application. The first module is a common web application that implements the MVC (Model View Controller) [25] pattern through the framework CakePHP (cakephp.org). The principles followed for its design and subsequent development have been the following: sturdiness, efficiency, scalability, and usability. The second module, named interface module is a piece of software, which allows us running the application within a LMS (Learning Management System), concretely Moodle (www.moodle.org). This layered architecture aims to allow install the application in other Web platforms (Learning Manager Systems like Sakai, other Web Portal Solutions like Liferay or Drupal, or even Social Networking sites like Facebook) just creating a new interface module to connect with the new platform. There are two objectives in using the selected technology. On one hand, to integrate the tool developed within a LMS (Learning Management System), which results in all the Delphi activity being carried out in the Virtual Class, and on the other hand, to obtain independence from the e-learning platform that is to be utilized. To carry out the Delphi activities both the DLP tool and LMS (or other community support application) are necessary. The solution adopted is an application based on CakePHP technology working on Apache Server (www.apache.org) that communicates with a LMS Moodle also based on PHP technology. The platform makes use of a version of MySQL with which they form a self-sufficient architecture, entirely interoperable and modular. VI. Experimentation Learning activities cannot be considered as isolated products with well-defined con- tents and duration, but as a permanent process, which should be linked to the professional activity of the learner and adapted to their professional needs and challenges [26]. Since this process should start before young engineers get access to the job market, the proposed methodology has been applied to two groups of engineers involved in two different stages of their professional careers [16][27]. The first pilot experience has been performed with students of fourth year of Telecommunications Engineering program. The objective of this experiment was to verify in practice the functionalities of the tool, its suitability to the needs of professors and students, as well as the adequacy of the methodology for the attainment of the educational objectives. When it was finalized, a poll among the students was conducted and gathered feedback from the professors. From the functional point of view, the purpose was to: Verify whether the tool is user friendly to carry out each one of the activities both by professors as well as by students. Test the functionality of the tool that allows the selection of ideas and generation of the closed questionnaire. This is the most complex task undertaken by the tool and it is necessary to verify its behavior with a high number of participants. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 11

Detect improvements in the evaluation functionality both for the professor as well as for the students. The goal is to generate grading along the process, which will allow a continuous monitoring of the students performance. From the educational methodology point of view, the purpose was to: Verify the suitability of the Delphi activities to attain the learning objectives proposed by the professor. Design different types of activities that are adequate to be carried out by means of an educational Delphi activity. The second pilot was developed with a software development team working for a software development department of a food company. They had to approach the maintenance of a web portal developed using PHP technology but they didn t have background using it. In this case, the purpose from the functional point of view was to: Test whether the tool is flexible enough to be used with working adults, considering the special features of this target population (training combined with professional tasks, family responsibilities, etc.) Detect how to improve the learning experience by making the access to the learning activities and tasks easier. From the educational methodology point of view, the purpose was to: Provide them with enough knowledge about PHP in order to allow them make the maintenance of a real application. The different roles of the participants were considered in order to offer a useful training. Test the methodology for lifelong training in a real software development team. Evaluate if the Delphi methodology improves some of the soft-skills in a real software development team. Detect improvements in the methodology and in the tool in order to avoid dropout cases during the course. VII. Results The results of both experiments proved that the Delphi method adapted to the learning environment for the development of skills in engineering useful. After analyzing the pool of students and also after a discussion meeting with the engineers enrolled in the second pilot, it can be concluded that, in addition to the technical skills gained from the specific study content (which will vary with the subject), the Delphi method allows developing a series of soft skills that are discussed below. Building customized knowledge from a certain amount of information, Self-learning by discovery and Synthesis Ability: In the current complex modern professional world, professionals need to build their own knowledge from huge amounts of information by filtering contents that can be useful to their daily work. The Delphi activities are designed to increase the student s capacity for self-learning and building of knowledge. To do this, the activity proposes an initial approach on a multiple-solution problem, study, or technical documentation. The student has different sources of information that allow him/ her to examine the problem from different points of view. Working on this information, participants generate answers to the initial approach, based on prior knowledge and on the given material. By analyzing the proposals of their fellows it makes it possible to advance a step further in the comprehension of the problem. This feature resulted very interesting and productive in the second pilot, when participants with different roles retrieved from common information sources, the contents more related to their work activities. Regarding Synthesis ability development, each participant has a limited space to present his/her solution or proposal. Therefore, he/she has to exercise synthesis in such a way as to express in own words the solution to the problem. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 12

Inference Capacity, Argumentation Capacity and Critical Thinking: The inference capacity allows to establish relations among the available information (that initially is not related), and to use it to resolve certain approaches or problems. In the Delphi activities, the participant has multiple documents and sources of information to approach the problem, and he/she is challenged to propose creative solutions based on them. Likewise, in the debate phase, he/she is obliged to confront his/her opinions with those of his/her colleagues. This exercise develops his/her inferential capacity at the same time than his/her argumentation capacity, because the participant has to defend his/her proposal. Regarding the second pilot, the debate phase became a typical kick-off project meeting, in which participants with different roles tried to convince the others about the best way to approach the project. It was detected how participants with the same role, presented closer opinions than members of different role groups. Finally, critical thinking abilities were worked out by reasoning the pros and cons of different proposals. VIII. Conclusions and future work lines The results of both experiments proved that the Delphi method adapted to the learning environment for the development of skills in engineering useful. The pilot experience performed in the context of university programs made it possible to demonstrate that the methodology encourage the participation and collaboration among students. It was observed that some soft skills were exercised during the process (a poll offered to the students at the end of the pilot reveals that critical thinking, learning by discovery and capacity of argumentation are skills that the students consider promoted because of using this methodology). It also proved that for the practical implementation of the methodology, a software tool that allows easy processing and managing of information contributed by students, as well as monitoring of students, is needed. The support of a software tool is essential; it would be very difficult to apply the methodology without the help of a software tool. Moreover the experience reveals that the evaluation procedure followed in the methodology is fair and represents properly the amount of work performed for each participant. The second pilot worked in a different scenario, and in consequence, led to different conclusions. The software engineers who participated in the working adults training paid more attention to the final average questionnaires, as well as the ideas contributed, than to the evaluations. Since the participants in this experience have different roles (managers, programmers, administrators, designers, etc.), their feedbacks for the different stages of the process were strongly influenced by their role. This is very interesting and indicates that this methodology is an excellent resource for working adults learning activities because each student applies their background and improves their daily work. The participants really appreciated the use of a virtual platform because they could fill in the questionnaires at anytime even after training hours. Nevertheless, some of them mentioned that we should work in order to add more time-space flexibility to the platform. Concretely, they considered that offering a smartphone-tablet compatible version would increase the participation and would allow them to use some useless gap times for learning purposes. REFERENCES [1] J. Mills, M. Ayre, D. Hands and P. Carden, Learning About learning styles: Can this im- prove engineering education? MountainRise, vol.2, pp 33-48, 2005. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 13

[2] R. M. Felder, D. R. Woods, J.E. Stice and A. Rugarcia: The future of engineering education II. Teaching methods that work, Chem Eng Educ, vol 34, pp 26 39, 2000. [3] H. Kahn, Thinking about the unthinkable, Horizaon Press, New York, 1962. [4] H. Kahn, World economic development: 1979 and beyond, Morrow Quill Paperbacks, New York, 1979. [5] A. Fink, J. Kosecoff, M. Chassing and R.H. Brook, Consensus methods: Characteristics and guidelines for use Am J Public Health, vol.74, pp 979 983, 1984. [6] M. B. Blake, A Student-enacted simulation approach to software engineering education, IEEE Trans Educ, vol.46, pp 124 132, 2003. [7] F. J. Jiménez-Hornero, J. V. Giráldez, A. M. Laguna and J. E. Jiménez-Hornero, An educational computer tool for simulating longterm soil erosion on agricultural landscapes, Comput Appl Eng Educ, vol.17, pp 253 262, 2009. [8] W. Schultz, Scenario building: The Manoa approach, 1993. Available at: www.infinitefutures.com/tools/sbmanoa.shtml. [9] P. Bishop, A. Hines and T. Collins, The current state of scenario development: An overview of techniques, Foresight, vol.9, pp 5 25, 2007. [10] J. Buckley and T. Dudley, How Gerber used a decision tree in strategic decision-making, Graziadio Business Report, 1999. [11] N. Dalkey and O. Helmer, An experimental application of the Delphi method to the use of experts, Manage Sci, vol.9, 458467,1963. [12] H. A. Linstone and M. Turoff, The Delphi method: Techniques and applications, Addison-Wesley, London, 1975. [13] P.H. Wu, G. J. Hwang, H.C. Chu, C.C. Tsai and Y.M. Huang, A Computer-Assisted Collaborative Approach for Developing Enterprise e-training Courses on the Internet, Journal Of Research And Practice In Information Technology, vol.41 (4), pp 319-340, 2009. [14] E.A. Awoniyi, O.V. Griego, and G.A. Morganm, Person-environment fit and transfer of training, International Journal of Training and Development, vol.6, pp 25-35, 2002. [15] M. Salas-Velasco, The transition from higher education to employment in Europe: the analysis of the time to obtain the first job, Higher Education, vol.54 (3), pp 333-360, 2007. [16] G. Guest, Lifelong learning for engineers: a global perspective, European Journal of Engineering Education, vol.31 (3), pp 273 281, 2006. [17] J. Farr, D. Brazil, Leadership Skills Development for Engineers, Engineering Management Journal, vol.21 (1), pp 1-8, 2009. [18] V. Garousi, Applying Peer Reviews in Software Engineering Education: An Experiment and Lessons Learned, IEEE Transactions on Education, vol.53 (2), pp 182-193, 2010. [19] J. Arco-Tirado, F. Fernández-Martín and J.M. Fernández-Balboa, The impact of a peer- tutoring program on quality standards in higher education, Higher Education, 62 (6), pp 773-788, 2011. [20] F. E. Morgan, K.P. Mueller, E. S. Medeiros, K. L. Pollpeter and R. Cliff, Dangerous threshold. Managing escalation in the 21st century, RAND Corporation, Project Air Force, Santa Mónica, 2008. [21] P. Holsappele and K. Joshi, Knowledge manipulation activities: Results of a Delphi study, Inf Manage 39, pp 477 490, 2002. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 14

[22] V. Lai and W. Ching, Managing international data communications, Inf Manage vol.45, pp 89 93, 2002. [23] J. Landeta, J. Barrutia, People consultation to construct the future: A Delphi application, Int J Forecasting, vol.27, pp 134 151, 2011. [24] R. M. Groves, F. J. Fowler, M. P. Couper, J. M. Lepkowski and E. Singer, Tourangeau, R.: Survey methodology, John Wiley, New York, 2004. [25] A. Leff and J. T. Rayfield, Web-application development using the model/view/controller design pattern, In: Proceedings of the 5th IEEE International Conference on Enterprise Distributed Object Computing (EDOC 01), Washington, 2001. [26] J. J. Rodríguez-Andina, L. Gomes, S. Bogosyan, Current Trends in Industrial Electronics Education, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol.57 (10), pp 3245-3252, 2010. [27] V. Mayorova, Integration of educational and scientific technological areas during the process of education of aerospace engineers, Act Astronautica, vol.69 (7 8), pp 737-743, 2011. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 15

A pilot e-tutoring program for students of secondary education Spyros Doukakis, Cleo Koutroumpa The American College of Greece - PIERCE Athens, Greece sdoukakis@acg.edu, cleo@acg.edu Abstract : This paper presents a pilot e-tutoring program on mathematics and ancient Greek realized through Blackboard Collaborate and focusing on the support of 58 students of lower secondary education. Two teachers for each subject provided daily two hour support to students. In addition the results of a research conducted using a questionnaire answered by the students involved in the program after the latter s completion are also presented. The results show that 6 out of 10 students participated in etutoring sessions. Their satisfaction exceeded 90%, while the program s acceptance exceeded 94%. Moreover the results indicate no correlations between gender, personal involvement with web 2.0 tools and knowledge of computer use. Finally, the students related their satisfaction to the e-tutor s role as a facilitator, something that puts forward the need for further investigation of the educator s role. Keywords-component; e-tutoring, secondary education, satisfaction I. INTRODUCTION The integration and incorporation of digital tools to the educational procedure has led educators to the redefining of their way of teaching. Within this framework, e-tutoring (electronic tutoring) is a digital media of supporting students, which utilizes possibilities offered by the internet and web 2.0 tools in order to enhance the cooperation between students and educators. E-tutoring has the characteristics of traditional teaching in a classroom, in the sense that there is a teacher who facilitates students to acquire further knowledge, develop capacities and modify attitudes towards the subject taught [1]. The difference lies on the environment via which the cooperation between teacher and student is realized. E-tutoring is realized via an online environment, where an internet site or platform is used [2]. These environments dispose a series of interactional and co-operational possibilities that contribute to teaching, learning and students assessment. Furthermore, they provide a synchronous discussion system which permits face to face contact in rooms, dispose a multifunctional whiteboard with graphics, chat, application sharing, students assessment tools, and offer the possibility of recording the etutoring course for further and later use, etc. [3]. Finally, taking into consideration the easy access to and use of the e-tutoring environment, as well as the fact that teachers and students are at home and not at their work place (or wherever they wish, for that matter), e-tutoring environments modify students, teachers and parents perspective of teaching and learning. In this paper, primarily, the frame of e-tutoring utilization in the international educational community is presented. Afterwards, the pilot operation of the e-tutoring program in the school is described. Sequentially, the research conducted on the students is reported and the data and relative descriptive measures, followed by the research s results, are shown. Finally, the paper concludes with the outcome and discussion on issues of etutoring implementation, whilst ideas for future research are cited. II. OVERVIEW The increase of internet use and the integration of web 2.0 tools to the educational procedure has led to the growing utilization of e-tutoring environments. According to the relative literature, e-tutoring is an ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 16

individualized service providing support to a student or a group of students from an educator who uses the internet as their mean of communication [1], [2], [4]. Researcher Prensky supports that e-tutoring can function more effectively than traditional teaching, due to the frequency of interaction, the immediate feedback and the personal style of teaching and learning [5]. Lately, e-tutoring is offered internationally by public, private, and non-profit institutions [6]. A case of integrated e-tutoring is the Homework Help program which was created in 2008 by the Ontario Ministry of Education and in 2011 it covered about 236.000 students (https://homeworkhelp.ilc.org/). According to Jopling s research, several studies of e-tutoring programs have been published [7]. From these, 11 studies concern exclusively elementary and secondary education. Furthermore, 9 out of the 11 study the possible improvement of the students school performance. Particularly, from the studies is shown a) the greater students involvement in the learning procedure when they participate in an e-tutoring program [8], b) the possibility provided to educators to take into consideration their students style of learning and thinking and to students to bring forth their interests [9] and c) the opportunity provided to educators and students to use pedagogical tools which couldn t be utilized in the traditional classroom [10]. On top of that, from the research of Dekhinet et al. is shown that through e-tutoring the students further develop their initial motives for learning, as their involvement in the program modifies their perspective of learning [11]. According to the results of Beal et al., most benefited was the weakest student of the group that participated in the e-tutoring program [12]. Finally, Gabriel and Kaufield put forward that teaching through an e-tutoring environment provides bidirectional learning opportunities for both the educator and the student and contributes to the student s participation in a community of learning, reinforcing students that were isolated in the traditional teaching and learning environment [13]. However, in the Greek educational community no studies related to e-tutoring environments in elementary and secondary education have been recorded. Thus, in this paper we will try to show the way the available etutoring environment within the educational unit was utilized and, thereafter, the research conducted to students who used e-tutoring as an educational procedure, as well as its results. III. OPERATION FRAME OF E-TUTORING PROGRAM The e-tutoring platform used in the educational unit is Blackboard Collaborate (BC). Primarily, during a 6 hour training on the environment and the available tools, the e-tutors discussed with the students the way to utilize and the netiquette for appropriate use of the e-tutoring program. The students were also notified that they needed headphones with a speaker. Daily each student received two internet addresses (one for ancient Greek and one for mathematics) and was able to connect to e-tutoring of the subject s/he wished. The pilot operation of the program lasted seven weeks, during the first of which students training was realized. E-tutoring was available for 2 hours per day, 4 evenings per week. The digital tools used for teaching were various. Mostly, suitable PowerPoints presentations uploaded on Whiteboard through an appropriate tool available from Blackboard Collaborate. On PowerPoint presentations students and the e-tutor were able to intervene, adding comments, erasing, marking or underlying. Furthermore, direct writing on Whiteboard was utilized, using tools from the control panel (Figure 1). Mathematics teachers used the dynamic mathematical software Geogebra, which, through Application Sharing or Print Screen, produced appropriate images. Application Sharing also proved valuable in solving problems on technical matters. Along those, the possibility to assess students through wrong/right answers and multiple choice questions was applied. Finally, particularly useful proved the possibility to divide groups of students into private working rooms. All e-tutoring courses were recorded, in order for them to be available both to students and educators. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 17

Figure 1. Blackboard Collaborate platform, PowerPoint uploading and Whiteboard utilization During the pilot operation of the program, students participation ranged from 0 to 15 students per twohour session. Each of the participants was connected to the program for a time period ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours. Nonetheless, sometimes the program lasted more than two hours, since there were still questions unanswered or issues unresolved. Overall, 22 e-tutoring meetings for every subject and 137 students connections took place. With the completion of the program s pilot operation, students were asked to fill anonymously a questionnaire in order to a) research the degree of their satisfaction from e-tutoring, b) relate their answers to gender, grade, knowledge of computer, internet and web 2.0 tools use. IV. RESEARCH APPROACH A survey questionnaire was used in this study. It consisted of two sections; the first section required that participants provide demographic and educational information (gender, grade, knowledge of computer use and internet, existence of a Facebook account and/or use of Skype program), and the second section included items which measure the degree of students satisfaction from the whole program and the learning benefits they might have gained from it. Satisfaction has been defined as the perception of pleasurable fulfillment of a service [14]. For the development of the questionnaire, questions adapted from previous studies were used [1], [15], [16]. The questionnaire was distributed to the students after the completion of the pilot operation. Initially it was given to two students (a boy and a girl) one of whom, must be noted, even though given the chance, did not use e-tutoring who were asked to complete it, in order to track down any problems. The responses showed no misunderstandings. Then, the questionnaire was filled out by the total of students that had the possibility to use etutoring. 58 questionnaires were completed. Students connected at least once to e-tutoring were asked to answer other questions as well, concerning the way of communication during the use of e-tutoring, the degree of satisfaction from the environment, the e-tutors and the material. The questionnaire is included in the appendix of the present paper. The data gathered was analyzed with SPSS software. With its use, both the descriptive statistics of data and the correlations were measured, as well as the reliability analysis (Cronbach s alpha), in order to evaluate the level of internal consistency of its elements [17]. V. RESULTS A. Descriptive statistics 58 students participated in the research. 33 (57%) of the participants were boys and 25 (43%) were girls. The students were originally asked if they possess a Facebook and/or Skype account and, furthermore, were asked to define their knowledge on computer and Internet use. From the whole number of students in question 50 (86%) have a Facebook account, while 34 (59%) have a Skype account. In table 1 the profile of the research students is presented. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 18

TABLE I. THE PROFILE OF THE RESEARCH STUDENTS Students profile No % Gender Male 33 57% Female 25 43% grade 28 52% 2nd 30 48% Grade 1st grade According to the research results, 45 students declared excellent or very good knowledge of computer use, whilst 11 declared good or average knowledge (2 students didn t answer). Also, 54 students declared excellent or very good, while 4 declared good knowledge of internet use. From the study of the recorded meetings is shown that 23 students (39.6%) didn t participate or were never connected to the e-tutoring program. From the remaining 35 students, 15 (25.8%) were connected at least once to both subjects; 9 (15.5%) only participated in ancient Greek and 10 (17.2%) only in mathematics sessions. As a sum, 137 students connections occurred, from which 49 were in ancient Greek and 88 in mathematics. Only students connected at least once to e-tutoring were called upon to answer questions concerning the environment and the educational procedure in which they took part. The results showed high student satisfaction, of the program in which they participated. More particularly, 32 out of the 35 students who used the program were satisfied (Figure 2), while 33 out of 35 deemed it successful. At the same time, 28 out of 35 students declared that e-tutoring responded to their needs. On top of that, 80% of the students declared that through e-tutoring they received individualized support aimed at learning. As far as the program s environment is concerned, 30 students declared that it was easy to use and 33 that it was friendly. Furthermore, 33 out of 35 students said that the environment was safe. Also, roughly 89% of the students declared that through the environment they were provided with the help necessary to master the subject s material. However, only 20 of the 35 students admitted that e-tutoring helped them control the progress of their learning. In this context, a rough 89% of the students said that through e-tutoring easy communication between the e-tutor and students was developed, but only 52% of them said that it was easy to communicate with their classmates. Approximately 89% of the students declared that the material provided through e-tutoring by the etutors responded to their needs and 85% of them considered this material sufficient. Figure 2. Overall satisfaction of e-tutoring ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 19

B. Reliability analysis Regarding the reliability, Cronbach s alpha indicators was applied [17]. According to Fornell and Larcker, Cronbach s alpha value greater than 0.7 indicates a high reliability [18]. The result of the test revealed acceptable indices of internal consistency is 0.889. C. Correlation analysis A correlation analysis followed using X2 method, in order to detect substantial statistic differences between the students assertions. In the analysis the correlation concerning gender, grade, knowledge of computer and Internet use, the possession of Facebook and Skype account was investigated. From the data analysis is demonstrated that there is no apparent correlation between the use of e-tutoring and the level of knowledge of computer and Internet use, nor gender and age. VI. DISCUSSION E-tutoring programs constitute a contemporary approach to teaching and learning, aiming to the coverage of students needs. The present research didn t detect statistically important differences between the participants gender, age and knowledge of computer and Internet use. It appears that the research s students don t have differences as far as the use of both digital environments (Facebook and Skype) and educational environment of e-tutoring are concerned. The results agree with resent researches that refer generally to e-learning environments [19], [20]. According to the above mentioned researches, the differences between boys and girls are rare, since digital environments and new technologies have been integrated in young people s daily routine. Also, from the data analysis was shown that that the students participation in the e-tutoring program did not depend on the possession of a Facebook and/or Skype account. The results show high student satisfaction and great acceptance of the e-tutoring pilot program. Students satisfaction and acceptance of similar programs on international level is also high [22]. For the students it was an innovative program they hadn t used in the past and, according to them, the learning benefits they acquired contributed to the improvement of their school performance. E-tutors provided students with material that met their personal needs, as these were defined by the students themselves. The students connected to the environment informed the e-tutor of the material of the morning course on which they wished to be supported, and the e-tutor with appropriate presentations and targeted questions, tasks and exercises tried to help students overcome the learning impediments they had spotted. In this context, it was very important that students defined their personal needs, which enhanced their self-awareness concerning the knowledge they had obtained during the morning course or their study at home, as well as the deficiencies they had located and wished to be helped to overcome. Nonetheless, from the research s results it was shown that only 6 out of 10 students thought that e-tutoring helped them control their progress of learning, a fact that demonstrates that the rest of the students considered e-tutoring as a tool that contributes to the overcome of daily learning problems and not to the overall improvement of their learning. The above results are in agreement with the research [12] who state that with e-tutoring programs is succeeded the improvement of some students and especially those with low performances. Through the environment was reinforced a form of communication between e-tutor and students which is difficult to achieve within the classroom context, since personal contact of each student separately and the meeting of his/her needs was considered important by the students. As a result, they consider crucial the e-tutor s role as a facilitator to overcome the learning obstacles they had spotted themselves. This role appears also at Brychan et al. research, where the e-tutor needs to possess special communication, feedback to students and organizational ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 20

abilities, and at the same time qualitative characteristics, such as enthusiasm, support and reinforcement of students, flexibility and easy access to students [21]. However, what appears not to have been achieved to a satisfactory degree through the environment was students cooperation with each other, since only one out of two thought s/he could easily communicate with his/her classmates through e-tutoring. Although, during the particular pilot program, the cooperation of students in the Blackboard Collaborate wasn t cultivated, the results might be useful for further discussion. VII. CONCLUSION The present study was conducted as a pilot implementation of an e-tutoring program on students of secondary education. The students declared satisfaction from the program and high acceptance. It appears that during the online support provided to students through the digital environment of e-tutoring, the students didn t feel they were at a distance from the e-tutor and declared they were supported to overcome their learning impediments. They declared satisfied with the development of a further relationship with e-tutors. Furthermore, they attributed to the e-tutor the role of a facilitator who helped them overcome their learning difficulties. Further research on the above mentioned directions, will provide elements for the more thorough evaluation of e-tutoring programs. Also important is the examination and documentation of e-tutors opinions for the etutoring program, as well as the knowledge they need to possess in order to offer their students as many learning benefits as possible. Overall, it appears that e-tutoring programs can provide an alternative way of supporting students needs, who can gain multiple learning benefits both on knowledge and on abilities and stances. REFERENCES [1] J.A. Corrigan, The Implementation of E-Tutoring in Secondary Schools: A Diffusion Study, Computers & Education, 59(3), pp. 925 936, 2012. [2] G.M., Johnson, and S.E. Bratt, Technology education students: e-tutors for school children, British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(1), pp. 32 41, 2009. [3] Blackboard Inc., Blackboard Collaborate, Delivering ROI for K-12 Schools, 2012. [4] A.T. Flowers, NCLB spurs growth in online tutoring options. School Reform News, The Heartland Institute, Chicago, IL. Retrieved from http://www.heartland.org/article.cfm?artid=20426, 2007. [5] M. Prensky, e-nough!, On The Horizon, 11(1), pp. 1 14, MCB University Press, 2003. [6] B. George, and C. Dykman, Virtual tutoring: the case of TutorVista, Journal of Cases in Information, 3(3), pp. 45 61, 2009. [7] M. Jopling, 1:1 online tuition: a review of the literature from a pedagogical perspective, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 28(4), pp. 310 321, 2012. [8] P.J. Pinder, Exploring and understanding the benefits of tutoring software on urban students science achievement: what are Baltimore city practitioners perspectives?, in Regional Eastern Educational Research Association Conference, SC, 2008. [9] M. Hastie, N. Chen, and Y. Kuo, Instructional design for best practice in the synchronous cyber classroom, Educational Technology & Society, 10, pp. 281 294, 2007. [10] E. Balajthy, K. Reuber, and C. Robinson, Teachers Use of Technology in a Reading Clinic, Reading Online, 5(3), 2001. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 21

[11] R. Dekhinet, K. Topping, D. Duran, and S. Blanch, Let Me Learn with My Peers Online: Foreign language learning through reciprocal tutoring, Innovate Innovate: Journal of Online Education 4(3), 2008. [12] R.B. Beal, R. Walles, I. Arroyo, and B.P. Woolf, On-line tutoring for math achievement testing: a controlled evaluation, Journal of Interactive Online Learning, vol. 6, pp. 43 55, 2007. [13] M.A. Gabriel, and K.J. Kaufield, Reciprocal mentorship: an effective support for online instructors, Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning 16, pp. 311 327, 2008. [14] R.L. Oliver, Whence consumer loyalty?, Journal of Marketing, 63, pp. 33 44, 1999. [15] S. Siritongthaworn, and D.Krairit, Satisfaction in E-learning: the Context of Supplementary Instruction, Campus-Wide Information, 23(2), pp. 76 92, 2006. [16] D. Shee, and Y. Wang, Multi-criteria evaluation of the web-based e-learning system: A methodology based on learner satisfaction and its application, Computers & Education, 50(3), pp. 894 905, 2008. [17] L.J. Cronbach, Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests, Psychometrika, 16(3), pp. 297 334, 1951. [18] C. Fornell, and D.F. Larcker, Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error, Journal of Marketing Research, 48, pp. 39 50, 1981. [19] P. Bruestle, D. Haubner, B. Schinzel, M. Holthaus, B. Remmele, D. Schirmir, and U.D. Reips, Doing elearning/ doing gender? Examining the relationship between students gender concepts and e-learning technology, in 5th European Symposium on Gender & ICT Digital Cultures: Participation Empowerment Diversity, 2009. [20] M. Cuadrado-García, M.E. Ruiz-Molina, and J.D. Montoro-Pons, Are there gender differences in elearning use and assessment? Evidence from an interuniversity online project in Europe, Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), pp. 367 371, 2010. [21] T. Brychan, P. Jones, G. Packham, and C. Miller, Student Perceptions of Effective E-moderation: A Qualitative Investigation of ECollege Wales, in Networked Learning Conference, 2004. [22] S.S. Cheng, Z.F. Liu, H.W. Ko, and C.H. Lin, Learning with online tutoring: rural area students perception of satisfaction with synchronous learning, Int. J. Comp. Comm., 1(2), pp. 48 54, 2007. APPENDIX 1. Circle the number that indicates how many times 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 11 you used etutoring in ancient Greek. 2. Circle the number that indicates how many times 11 you used etutoring in Mathematics. 3. If you circled zero (0) in the two previous questions, now circle YES or NO, so as to demonstrate the reason for not using e-tutoring. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 22

Α. I didn t have a computer at home. YES NO B. I faced technical problems I couldn t solve and I couldn t use e-tutoring YES NO C. I didn t need it in ancient Greek. YES NO D. I didn t need it in Mathematics. YES NO E. I didn t have time to use e-tutoring. YES NO F. I didn t like it. YES NO G. Other (please specify):. Excellent Very good Good Average Poor Very poor 4. Knowledge of computer use 5. Knowledge of Internet use 6. Grade First Gymnasio Second Gymnasio 7. Gender Female Male 8. I have a Facebook account YES NO 9. I use Skype YES NO Choose the level of your agreement with the sentences below (I totally agree, I agree, I neither agree nor disagree, I disagree, I totally disagree, I do not know/no answer). 1 I use microphone and text during e-tutoring. 2 I use exclusively microphone during e-tutoring. 3 I use exclusively text during e-tutoring. 4 The e-tutoring environment provides the tools I needed for the course. 5 I am satisfied with the easy use of e-tutoring. 6 The e-tutoring environment is friendly. 7 During the use of e-tutoring I didn t face technical problems. 8 The e-tutoring is a safe working environment. 9 At e-tutoring the teachers provide material that meets my needs. 10 At e-tutoring the teachers provide sufficient material. 11 At e-tutoring the teachers provide additional material to the one provided in the classroom. 12 E-tutoring corresponds to my demands. 13 E-tutoring makes discussion with the educator easy. 14 E-tutoring helps me control the progress of my learning. 15 E-tutoring helps me learn the material taught. 16 E-tutoring makes discussion with other students easy. 17 I liked watching video from an e-tutoring course. 18 E-tutoring provides individualized support of learning. 19 I learned and had fun with e-tutoring. 20 Overall, I am satisfied with e-tutoring. 21 Overall, e-tutoring is successful. 22 Write whatever else you deem necessary. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 23

Exploring students attitudes to learning mathematics with the use of micro experiments via Information and Communication Technologies S. Doukakis1, Μ. Vrontakis2, C. Diamadis3, G. Μihalopoulou4 The American College of Greece-PIERCE Athens, Greece {1sdoukakis, 2mvrontakis, 3cdiamadis, 4gmihalopoulou}@acg.edu Abstract : 220 students of lower secondary education participated in a research aiming to explore their attitudes related to the utilization of microexperiments via information and communication technologies (ICT) in the classroom. Using a modified scale based on the scale of Pierce et al. (2007) data collected relevant to the students confidence in mathematics, confidence with technology, attitude to learning mathematics with technology, and the way of students engagement when using microexperiments and ICT. Data analysis shows that the 56% of the students believes that they benefit from the use of microexperiments in the context of the school classroom. Those students expressed that microexperiments helped them in understanding and learning mathematics as well as in exploration of mathematical ideas. It is shown, finally, that the utilization of the microexperiments contributes in developing a group-collaborating climate in the classroom. Keywords-component; education, mathematics, microexperiments, group collaboration I. INTRODUCTION In the framework of teaching mathematics, the utilization of manipulatives, representational means and digital technologies (DT), contributes in students experimenting, conjecture developing, mathematical ideas discovering and finally in conjecture documentation, by means of mathematical argument. This study focuses on the case of engagement and utilization of teaching mathematics with DT. Recently, the Greek ministry of education launched Digital School to be the main component of the vision for the New School. In this effort, the school books turned from printed form into a digital one and they were also enriched with digital applications (microexperiments), aiming to become the catalyst for the change of: the content of the curriculum and school knowledge the teaching and learning process the relationship between students and teachers the relationship between parents and school [1]. Particularly, the enriched mathematical school books of lower secondary education include hundreds of microexperiments, which can be used as they are or they can be reconstructed by the teachers according to their personal point view or their students needs. Microexperiments have been developed through the educational software: GeoGebra, Function Probe, Geometer's Sketchpad and Turtleworld. These constructions have been incorporated in different parts of the syllabus and they may be connected with activities, examples, exercises, as well as with definitions and mathematical properties. Although the main purpose of the microexperiments is to be easy handled by the students, with cooperative orientation (mainly) under the guidance and support of the teacher, the existing school context and the lack of appropriate laboratory environment for the teaching of mathematics, usually leads to the utilization (in the ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 24

traditional school classroom) by means of an interactive blackboard or a computer and a video projector, in order to explain notions and to investigate mathematical ideas for the whole of the classroom [2]. The enrichment of the school books was a teaching armamentarium for the teachers who would like to utilize the DT, but they didn t know how to construct microexperiments. On the other hand, this enrichment supported the work of the teachers who knew how to construct microexperiments, by giving them the opportunity to add/incorporate them in their own digital library. In the present work firstly we will (briefly) describe the utilization context of the microexperiments in the school unit and we will continue by presenting the results of a research which took place in our school, with the participation of 220 students, related to the use of microexperiments in the school classroom. II. THE FRAMEWORK FOR INCORPORATION AND UTILIZATION OF THE MICROEXPERIMENTS In the school unit, educational software programs such as Euclidraw, GeoGebra and the Geometer's Sketchpad, have been used for many years. However, the widespread of Geogebra, the development and the availability of a number of its applications, from domestic teachers and also from the international community, has lead the teachers of the school in the further use of the specific software and develop a large number of applications [3]. All the available microexperiments from the digital school (since the academic year 2011-2012), were studied and they were included in the framework of mathematics teaching, along with the applications that teachers of mathematics of the school had already developed. The selected microexperiments were uploaded at Blackboard platform which is the school lesson management system (LMS), with the citation of the source reference. In this way, microexperiments are now part of the daily teaching process and they are used every time the teacher or a group of teachers believes that it will be helpful for the students. III. RESEARCH METHOD In order to study the aspects and the attitudes of the students for the utilization of the microexperiments in the mathematics classroom, a modified scale was used, based on the Mathematics and Technology attitudes scale (MTAS) of Pierce et al. [4]. According to its developers, the initial scale can be used for the investigation of students attitudes and the level of their engagement in the classroom, in relation to DT. The constructors scale consists of 20 items. These items are divided into subscales: mathematics confidence [MC], confidence with technology [TC], attitude to learning mathematics with technology [MT], affective and behavioral engagement [ABE] with mathematics. Students are asked to indicate the extent of their agreement with each statement, on a five-point scale (Likert-type scoring format) from strongly agree to strongly disagree (scored from 5 to 1). According to its developers, students will need 15 minutes for the completion of the scale. For details see [4]. The scale was modified so that microexperiments will be inserted into questions, while the phrases referring to scientific/graphic calculators were eliminated from the items, as they are not used by the Greek school mathematical community. For example, the statement: Mathematics is more interesting when using graphics calculators. was turned into: Mathematics is more interesting when microexperiments are used. Furthermore, there are two items in order to investigate issues of group-collaboration. Through the use of that scale data were collected related to: mathematics and technology confidence, students attitude in learning mathematics wit DΤ, the students engagement when DT are utilized. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 25

The modified scale was examined for its reliability according to Alpha coefficient (Cronbach Alpha), evaluating the internal consistency of its propositions. According to Fornell and Larcker, Cronbach s alpha value greater than 0.7 indicates a high reliability [5]. The result of the test revealed acceptable indices of internal consistency is 0.771. In the present research, 220 students (male and female) from three classes were participated. The female students were 115. The research took place in the beginning of the second semester, when students had already worked with microexperiments in the classroom and had already taken the grades of the first semester. In this paper we present the results of the descriptive statistics, as well as some conclusions from the analysis of the differences between samples, using X2. IV. RESULTS A. Students aspects related to mathematics On a percentage of 70% students consider to have confidence with mathematics (Figure 1), while 78.5% consider achieving good results in mathematics. Figure 1. Students answers I am confident with mathematics 52.5% of the students consider having a mathematical mind, while 44% (approximately) consider handling difficult mathematical issues. Although 7 out of 10 students declare that they are interested in learning new things in mathematics, only half of them believe that learning mathematics is enjoyable (Figure 2). Moreover, 76% of the students feel satisfied when they solve mathematical problems. On the other hand, 4 out of 10 students mention that if they have done a mistake in mathematics, they will not try to locate and correct it. On a similar percentage, students will not continue trying to investigate a mathematical issue, with new ideas or a new approach, if they get stuck. Figure 2. Students answers Learning mathematics is enjoyable B. Students aspects related to technology Students mention to be familiar with DT and also good users of DT. A small percentage of 5% mentions to be inadequate in the use of computers, while the percentage becomes even smaller (2.5%) when it comes to the use ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 26

of other technological tools, such as mobile phone, mp3 etc. However, when they were asked if they can handle any computer program in school, a percentage of 60% replied positively, while 1 out of 4 gave no answer. C. Students aspects related to microexperiments Students, on a percentage of 64% mention that mathematics is more interesting when using computer and explore microexperiments. The percentage of positive answers increases up to 70% when they are asked if they like using computers and microexperiments to do mathematics (Figure 3). Figure 3. Students answers Mathematics is more interesting when using computer and explore microexperiments On the other hand, 56% mentions that the microexperiments have helped them in learning better the mathematics that are taught, while in the matter of convenience to the way of investigation mathematical ideas, 55% of the students replied positively, although 1 out of 3 gave no answer (positive or negative). Finally, 52% of the students agreed that the microexperiments increased their willingness to cooperate with their classmates (Figure 4). Figure 4. Students answers Microexperiments increased my willingness to cooperate with my classmates V. CORRELATIONS A correlation analysis through the chi-squared (X2) method followed, in order to locate statistically significant differences between the students statements. Throughout this analysis the correlation of the use of microexperiments, with the confidence in mathematics and with the confidence in DT was investigated. For that purpose, the answers: I totally agree and I agree grouped as one variable, and I totally disagree and I disagree as another variable. From the analysis the following results appeared: A. Correlation between confidence in the use of computer and in the use of microexperiments There was a significant correlation between the answers in the statement I am good at using computers and in the statement Mathematics is more interesting when microexperiments are used (X 2 = 19.87, DF = 4, p = 0.001). It is possible for those who stated that they are good in the use of computers, to believe that mathematics is more interesting when microexperiments are used. At the same direction, there is correlation between the students statements I am good at using computers and I like doing mathematics through microexperiments (X2 = 22.27, DF = 4, p < 0.001). ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 27

B. Correlation between confidence in mathematics and students cooperation when microexperiments are used. There was a significant correlation between the answers in the statement I am confident with mathematics and in the statement Microexperiments increased my mood for cooperation with my classmates (X 2 = 11.73, DF = 4, p = 0.019). It is possible for those who stated that they are good in mathematics, to believe that microexperiments increased their mood for cooperation with their classmates. Similarly, there was a significant difference between the students statements Mathematics is more interesting when microexperiments are used and Microexperiments increased my mood for cooperation with my classmates (X 2 = 17.55, DF = 4, p = 0.002). It is possible for those who stated that mathematics is more interesting through microexperiments, to believe that their mood for cooperation with their classmates, increased. As far as it concerns cooperation, it resulted that there was significant correlation between the answers in the statement Microexperiments make easier the investigation of mathematical ideas and in the statement Microexperiments increased my mood for cooperation with my classmates (X2 = 40.53, DF = 4, p < 0.001). It is possible for those who stated that microexperiments make easier the investigation of mathematical ideas, to believe that microexperiments increased their mood for cooperation with their classmates. VI. CONCLUSION According to the data analysis, 64% of the students seem to have a positive attitude in utilization of microexperiments, while 56% believe that microexperiments have helped them in the classroom. Moreover, it seems that students who have mentioned that are confidence with mathematics, have a positive attitude in teaching mathematics with the use of DT. This is an outcome that agrees with the research of Barkatsas et al. [6]. However, students with a negative attitude toward mathematics and low level mathematical confidence seemed not to be affected by the use of microexperiments and they did not seem to modify their attitude. Moreover, the outcomes agree with the research of Vale and Leder, in which it is stated that students who are good users of computers, want to learn mathematics with the use of computers [7]. On the other hand, it seems that the utilization of microexperiments contributes to the development of a group-collaboration climate, which is very important in the contemporary mathematical classroom [8]. Moreover, students who agree with the use of microexperiments, mention that microexperiments have helped them in better learning of the mathematics taught. VII. EPILOGUE Microexperiments are now an additional component of the mathematical classroom in Greece. In the context of this new school they are considered as one of the pillars of students mathematical education. This attempt is very important because teachers acquire a critical and a creative role, through these open to modify structures [9]. The material obtained by the digital school, can be modified by teachers and it can be shared to other teachers as well. At the same time, they have the opportunity to focus on each student, on a group of students, on the classroom practices or at the world outside the classroom. Furthermore, all of these structures are matched with activities, examples and exercises from the school books. Simultaneously, they have been developed according to the curriculum, highlighting the relationship between the curriculum and the DT. It arises the importance for the teachers to be prepared to utilize DT in teaching mathematics since, on one hand, the research in the field of mathematical education emerges the benefits of this use and, on the other hand, the daily involvement of the students with the DT, contributes in the development of a utilization framework and incorporation of DT in the teaching process [10]. The development of an enriched curriculum, which will ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 28

describe the utilization of microexperiments, may probably support the needs of the teachers, but also contributes to the optimization of the teaching and learning process, for students benefit. Finally, the coexistence of the traditional school book along with the enriched (digital) book is a challenge for the teacher. Teachers must not just decide if they will utilize the given digital material, but they will also have to decide critically the way of this utilization. He will have to act by emancipated orientation and take advantage of the technological, pedagogical content knowledge which possesses. REFERENCES [1] Digital school, in Greek, http://digitalschool.minedu.gov.gr/manuals/sxoleio.php, 2013 [2] M. Artigue, E. Alexopoulou, J. Alshwaikh, C. Cazes, H. Chaachoua, G. Chiappini, et al. Representing Mathematics with Digital Media: Integrated Theoretical Framework, Version C, Contract No IST 426751, 2009. [3] Ζ. Lavicza, The GeoGebra Community and the International GeoGebra Institute, http://ggbconference2011.pbworks.com, 2011. [4] R. Pierce, K. Stacey, and A. N. Barkatsas, A scale for monitoring students attitudes to learning mathematics with technology, Computers and Education, 48(2), pp. 285 300, 2007. [5] C. Fornell, and D.F. Larcker, Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error, Journal of Marketing Research, 48, pp. 39 50, 1981. [6] A. Barkatsas, K. Kasimatis, and V. Gialamas, Learning secondary mathematics with technology : Exploring the complex interrelationship between students attitudes, engagement, gender and achievement, Computers & Education, 52(3), pp. 562 570, 2009. [7] C. Vale, and G. Leder, Student views of computer-based mathematics in the middle years: does gender make a difference?, Educational Studies in Mathematics, 56, pp. 287 312, 2004. [8] M. Artigue, The Future of Teaching and Learning Mathematics with Digital Technologies in C. Hoyles & J.-B. Lagrange (Eds.), Mathematics Education and Technology-Rethinking the Terrain, vol. 13, pp. 463 475, Boston, MA: Springer US, 2010. [9] N. Sinclair, F. Arzarello, M.T. Gaisman, M.D. Lozano, V. Dagiene, E. Behrooz, and N. Jackiw, Implementing Digital Technologies at a National Scale, in C. Hoyles & J.-B. Lagrange (Eds.), Mathematics Education and Technology-Rethinking the Terrain, vol. 13, pp. 61 78, Boston, MA: Springer US, 2010. [10] J. Trgalova, A.B. Fuglestad, M. Maracci, and H. Weigand, Introduction to the papers of WG15 technologies and resources in mathematics education, in M. Pytlak, T. Rowland, & E. Swoboda (Eds.), Proceedings of the Seventh Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME 7), vol. 7, pp. 2144 2147, Rzeszów, Poland, 2011. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 29

Metacognitive scaffolding in interactive learnin environments Mohamed Taib MOHTADI Hassan 1st University, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies LAVETE Laboratory SETTAT, MOROCCO mt_mohtadi@yahoo.fr Hakim ALLALI hakim-allali@hotmail.fr Abdelmajid HAJAMI adbelmajidhajami@gmail.com Abstract : This article is based on doctoral research in progress whose main objective is to measure the effect of the integration of metacognitive dimension in the design of mediated activities through interactive learning environments (ILE) on the quality of learning. In the development of an ILE prototype device that will serve our experimental research, we conducted a theoretical analysis with the aim of defining the pedagogical functions must ensure that our ILE so it can provide scaffolding for metacognitive learners. A literature review has allowed us to define the structure of an activity of self-regulated learning and the ways in which metacognitive scaffolding can be integrated into an activity supported by an ILE. Thus, through this work we propose the model of selfregulated learning activity integrating scaffolding metacognitive. Keywords-component: Self-regulated learning, Computer supported learning, metacognition, scaffolding I. Introduction Learning through Interactive Learning Environments (ILE) implies and requires the learner autonomy, in which learners are facing the machine alone and thus responsible for their learning. The learner autonomy is linked to the concept of self-learning [1]. To be an autonomous learner, one will need to : define his or her objectives, select and undertake appropriate activities to implement and evaluate his or her own progress, identify the sources of its potential problems, make appropriate decisions, adjust and regulate its proceedings. All these procedures are only possible if the student develops a good metacognitive competence. Metacognitive skills, critical component of cognitive development of the learner, is unfortunately not explicitly integrated into learning, which is transmitted by the curriculum, but it is considered as an outcome of other learning and would be developed implicitly and indirectly. As it is known, learners do not necessarily develop their metacognitive potential naturally [2] [3]. Moreover, ILE does not take into account the learner beyond its activity on a media content, and few are those who introduce principles for learning meta-knowledge and different learning strategies [4] in spite of the fact that the students who succeed in school regularly use metacognitive strategies [5]. The importance of learning strategies for academic success must inspire us to integrate them into our systems of teaching and training, especially the ILE. Based on these observations, we ask the following question: How to integrate metacognitive dimension in a learning activity mediated through interactive learning environment? This article is divided into two parts. In the first part we will present the conceptual framework used as a basis for developing our model, and in the second part we will present our proposed model of selfregulated learning activity which the metacognitive level is supported by the computer tool. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 30

II. Conceptual framework: The self-regulated learning seems to be the model that best represents the learning situation in an ILE with regard to the relationship between self-regulation and metacognition. A. Structure and function of metacognition Metacognition is defined as "knowledge that a person has on his own cognitive functioning." [6]. This concept joins two distinct facts: Firstly, the ability to know when a strategy must be implemented, and secondly, the absolute certainty that the use of a particular strategy instead of another should be more efficient for a situation or a task in a given context. The functions of monitoring and control are central to the working of metacognition [7]. There are several models which are used to comprehend the articulation of these functions: the Kluwe model (1982),the Narens and Nelson model (1994) and the Efklides model (2006). Metacognitive knowledge: The structure of monitoring cognition provides constantly metacognitive knowledge. When an automatic cognitive processing fails, conscious control of cognition is required in order to select the appropriate information for the fixed aim. Metacognitive experiences: They are the online monitoring of cognition, revealing the judgments, estimates and feelings caused by the treatment of the current task. When they are aware, these metacognitive experiences provide internal feedback that could trigger metacognitive skills which control the action. Metacognitive skills: conscious and deliberate activities for: * selecting and using the strategies to allocate efforts and time, * determining the orientation according to the requirements of the task, * Planning, * verifying and regulating cognitive processes * and evaluating outcomes. B. Metacognitive scaffolding: The concept of scaffolding is introduced in the educational context by Wood, Bruner and Ross, it indicates the "social interaction with an adult or more expert, providing the learner with the necessary assistance to evolve" [8]. Currently, this concept refers to the possibilities of supporting a learner who finds it difficult to use strategies and skills. The role of metacognitive scaffolding is to cause the activation of metacognitive strategies which the learner has but can t implement them [9]. [10] Highlighted the importance of providing multiple means of scaffolding in problem-solving situations. When they are integrated and multiplied, the probability that the learner benefits from these means increases. There are several ways to incorporate metacognitive scaffolding in a learning activity, [4]. In the following we present the two chosen means to model our learning activity. Metacognitive prompts: The prompt in the IT context is a term meaning any visual or audible message requesting user intervention by a notice or action. Metacognitive prompt entails activating one or several metacognitive strategies available for learner before, during or after the execution of the task by a set of questions. It is considered an "activator strategy" [9]. The effectiveness of metacognitive prompts is mentioned in many situations (draw attention of the learner to the importance of certain aspects of the task, activate the representations, display the pre-requisite knowledge, elicit explanations and especially cause metacognitive selfregulation). [11] ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 31

Characteristics of metacognitive prompts: A prompt can direct attention either to enable a thorough treatment of the actions of the task (cognitive prompts) or to manage these actions (metacognitive prompts) [12]. These two types of prompts can be obtained by the use of action verbs involving the subject either about the task itself or around the metacognitive processes mobilized. A prompt may be general, domain-specific or task-specific [13]. This level of generality is distinct from the direction of attention from one level to the other (cognitive and metacognitive). Prompts can be offered before, during or after the action. Prompts presented before learning are less beneficial than those presented during learning, both on self-regulation strategies which are activated or on the performance in the task [9]. A prompt may be gradual, like the Socratic midwifery, from a simple level to a sophisticated level of reflection by using the questions what, how, and why. In the beginning, the declarative knowledge is activated through the wh-question what, then the procedural knowledge through the wh-question how and finally the conditional knowledge through the wh-questions when and why [14]. Tracers: The potential of IT to externalize and bring back to learners their traces of learning activities so that they can regulate them has been mentioned [15] Tracing a learning activity should not be limited to return to learners the product of their activity: a socio-constructive view of learning where knowledge is constructed in action, what matters in it is the process by which knowledge is built [16]. Resituating to learner the process of his learning is beneficial for several reasons. On the one hand, even if the control and regulation are delegated to learners in their activities, these metacognitive operations are not mobilized naturally and need to be supported [13]. On the other hand, educational software, which engages learners in real practice as simulation tools, should encourage reflection on action which is not always possible during the action [17]. Despite the techniques difficulties to trace a process whose conduct is unpredictable and can not be reduced to any predetermined sequence or structure [16], these tools can help reflective practices [18] in this sense of process by which individuals are involved to recapture their experiences." Distancing the learner from his/her learning activity encourages him/her to think, which is interesting for the following reasons: - Provide an opportunity to analyze his/her own activity and hence metacognitive strategies which is beneficial for him/her. - Allow the externalization of knowledge, helped by the fact that he/she discovers aspects of his/her activity which are revealed by his/her traces. C. c. The self-regulated learning: The ability of self-regulation allows the learner to conduct their learning actively and to update their knowledge whenever necessary. The concept of self-regulated learning refers to the learners management and control of his/her own cognitive processes in learning situations. According to the different models, the self-regulated learning is a process consisting of three phases: preparatory phase or planning, performance phase or execution of the task, and adjustment phase or assessment [19]. 1. The preparatory phase prepares the main activity of learning through the analyzing of the task, the planning, the strategy selection or the goal-setting procedures. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 32

2. The performance phase allows managing proposed task "online" for achieving the target goal, implementing the strategies chosen during the preparatory phase, observing their efficiency and replacing them by others if necessary. 3. The evaluation phase concerns the results of the performance phase. The feedback received on the effectiveness of actions implemented makes the basis for a new adaptation. Indeed, self-regulated learning is a cyclical phenomenon since the assessments influence, in turn, the following preparatory phases. III. Metacognitive model of learning activity: From the point of view based on a didactic socio-constructive approach, a learning activity goes through three different times: 1. Setting: when the learner is placed in contact with a problem situation which should put him/her in cognitive imbalance when he discovers that his representations are insufficient to solve the problem. 2. Construction of new knowledge: It s a moment when a result of changes in mental structures is established in the action of the learner and in his attempt to explain and solve the problem.this is a moment when the learner is self-regulating the metacognitive level to adapt his/her learning strategies. 3. Evaluation Phase: It s the moment when the learner is situated in a new problem belonging to the same kind as that used in the Setting phase. This phase is necessary to control the learning quality and to design,if significant errors are identified, a new remedial system. The main idea of this work is to articulate relevant metacognitive scaffoldingswith these three phases. Based on the conceptual framework above, we propose the model of a learning activity that can serve as a framework for defining the specifications for the software development of an ILE. This model is composed of five interventions linked to the three phases of learning as it is described below: Boot intervention (verbalization of metacognitive feelings with regard to the nature of the problem. This phase occurs just after the setting time) Three intervention covering the time of construction (Preparation, Performance and Evaluation) Distancing intervention (Moment of metacognitive reflection just after the evaluation phase) Figure 1. The articulation of scaffolding techniques with phases of learning activity The means of metacognitive scaffoldings used are the following: Three prompts of structuring [20]: planning prompts; Monitoring prompts, evaluation prompts. Verbalization of distancing confrontation: The ILE must provide functionality to keep trace of the process adopted by the learner to solve the problem. verbalization of feelings; ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 33

TABLE1 : DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THE MODEL: Means scaffolding Phases Description Express feelings verbally and emotional judgments on the kind of A Verbalization of feelings Boot proposed situation. Express verbally the estimation of the degree s difficulty of the situation Prompt planning: What is the problem?, What are we trying to Analyzing the task do? What do we know about the problem? B What are the data? How these data can help Planning Preparation Selecting strategies us? What is our plan? Are there other ways Defining objectives to do this? What would happen if...? What do we need to do next? Implementing the strategies chosen in the preparatory phase Monitoring prompt: Monitoring Is the chosen strategy used? Is the proposed C plan followed? Do we need to change the performance plan? What is our goal now? Are we on the strategies implemented and assessing their effectiveness Regulating strategies or replacing track? Are we closer to our goal? them if necessary Evaluating the result of the Prompt evaluation: D E What does work? What does not work? what Evaluation performance should we do differently next time? Feedback Verbalization of feelings: Analyzing metacognitive strategies Individual self-confrontation which is what the learner verbalizes about his/her own work based on the trace provided by the ILE. distancing Externalizing feelings with regard to the outcome of strategies revealed by the traces. IV. Conclusion Success in a learning activity instrumented through an ILE necessarily leads to an intense cognitive load, and raises a continuous self-regulation of cognitive and metacognitive strategies from the part of the learner that if he had previously developed a metacognitive skill. The model proposed allows combining several means of metacognitive scaffolding which are considered as factors that may promote self-regulation and thus the quality of learning. The perspective of this work is to develop an ILE, based on this model, which will be used for experiments to be performed as part of the overall goal of our doctoral research. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 34

Bibliography: [1] Butler D.L. &Winne, P.H. (1995). Feedback and self-regulated learning: A theoretical synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 65, 245-281 [2] PR Pintrich, WJ McKeachie, YG Lin,"Teaching a course in learning to learn",1987,"teaching of Psychology" [3] PR Pintrich, WJ McKeachie, SL Yu, BK Hofer","The Role of Motivation and Self-regulated Learning in Math and Science Classrooms",1995," for Research on Learning and " [4] ROMERO, Margarida «10 principes pour la prise en compte du développement métacognitif dans les EIAH» Avril 2005. [5] McMillan, W. J., Your trust is to understand how academically successful students learn, teaching in higher Education vol. 15, N 1, 2010, 1-13 [6] Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring. American Psychologist, 34, 906-911. [7] Efklides, A., (2006). Metacognition and affect: what can metacognitive experiences tell us about the learning process. Educational Research Review, 1, 3-14. [8] Wood, D., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976).The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 17, 89 100. [9] Thillmann, H., Kunsting, J., Wirth, J. &Leutners, D. (2009). Is it merely a question of «what» to prompt or also «when» to prompt?the role of point of presentation time of prompts in self-regulated learning, ZeitschriftfürPädagogischePsychologie, 23 (2), 2009, 105 115. [10] Puntambekar, S. &Hübscher, A. (2005). Designing navigation support in hypertext systems based on navigation patterns. Instructional Science 33 (5 6): 451 481 (this issue). [11] Ge, X., Chen, C. H., & Davis, K. A. (2005). Scaffolding novice instructional designers' problem-solving processes using question prompts in a web-based learning environment. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 33(2), 219-248. [12] Lin, X. D., & Lehman, J. D. (1999). Supporting learning of variable control in a computer based biology environment: Effects of prompting college students to reflect on their own thinking. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36, 837 858. [13] Gama, C. (2004). Integrating metacognition instruction in interactive learning environments.unpublished doctoral dissertation.university of Sussex. [14] Veenman, M. V. J., Van Hout-Wolters, B. H. A. M, &Afflerbach, P. (2006). Metacognition and learning: Conceptual and methodological considerations. Metacognition and Learning, 1, 3 14. [15] Cram, D., Jouvin, D., & Mille, A. (2007). Visualisation interactive de traces et réflexivité: application à l EIAH collaboratif synchrone emédiathèque. Revue STICEF, 14, 1-22. [16] Akhras, F. N., & Self, J. A. (2002). Beyond intelligent tutoring systems: Situations, interactions, processes and affordances. Instructional Science, 30(1), 1-30. [17] Schauble, L., Raghavan, K., & Glaser, R. (1993). The Discovery and Reflection Notation: A graphical trace for supporting self regulation in computer-based laboratories. In S.LaJoie& S. Derry (Eds.), Computers as Cognitive Tools (pp. 319-337). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [18] Schön, D. A. (1987).Educating the reflective practitioner. Boston: Heath. [19] Puustinen M. &Pulkkinen L. (2001) «Models of self-regulated learning : A review» Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 45, 3 (269-286). [20] King, A. (1991). Effects of training in strategic questioning on children's problem-solving performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 307-317. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 35

A morphological engine for Italian language Vincenzo Catania University of Catania, DIEEI, Catania, Italy vincenzo.catania@dieei.unict.it Ylenia Cilano University of Catania DIEEI, Catania, Italy ylenia.cilano@dieei.unict.it Raffaele Di Natale University of Catania DIEEI, Catania, Italy raffaele.dinatale@dieei.unict.it Valerio Mirabella TESI Automazione s.r.l Acireale (CT), Italy vmirabella@tesiautomazione.it Daniela Panno University of Catania, DIEEI, Catania, Italy daniela.panno@dieei.unict.it Abstract : In this paper a morphological engine for the Italian language is described. It is developed in C++ and has three components: a word-list that contains a set of entry words and each entry word is associated to a grammatical category with information about the part of speech of the entry word and its way of creating inflections; a morphological generator that allows generating inflected forms from an entry word; a morphological analyzer that associates a word to the possible entry word from which it originates, specifying characteristics of inflection of a word. Keywords-component; POS, NLP, morphological analysis I. INTRODUCTION In Natural Language Processing (NLP) the first phase is the lexical analysis of the phrase that creates tokens, then there is the part-of-speech tagging (POS) that is the process of marking up a word in a text as corresponding to a particular part of speech. Parsing process creates a parse tree that describes the syntactic structure of the phrase and semantic analysis process assigns a meaning to the phrase[1]. Link Grammar Parser has been used for parsing the text in Italian; originally it only supported the English language and for this reason it has been adaptated in Italian. The morphological engine has been created for the POS. Many approaches for morphological generation and analysis exist. Until the 80 s tabular word lists were used and they contained thousands of words. In the early 80 s Kimmo Koskennieni introduced the two-level morphology that uses common morphological phenomena to many words. This was the base for the development of systems based on a set of dictionaries of lexical segments (roots, prefixes, suffixes, desinences) and a set of rules for their application. For the morphological analysis many kinds of algorithms exist[2]: of brute force, of suffix stripping, of lemmatization, stochastic, hybrid and of matching. Many algorithms of morphological analysis use the FST, but in natural languages, very complex morphological phenomena can exist from the computational point of view and the FST may result inadequate. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 36

II. ITALIAN LANGUAGE Italian has words that can be reproduced by the combination of 28 different sounds called phonemes. Sometimes there is not a correspondence between phonemes and letters because some of them represent different sounds according to the following vowel[3], for example c and g produce a hard sound if followed by the vowels a, o and u and they produce a soft sound if followed by the vowels e and i ; to get the correspondent hard sound the letter h is inserted between these letters and vowels e and i ; to get the soft sound with the vowels a, o and u the letter i is inserted. To get some phonemes, groups of two or three letters are used, for example sc, gn, gl. This groups are always followed by a vowel, in particular gl is followed by i ; gn is followed by i only in particular cases: in words like compagnia in which the accent is on the i, in first-person plural of present indicative tense and in first and second-person plural of present subjunctive tense. Italian is a Romance language and it is highly inflectional. Inflection does not change the part of speech category but the grammatical function. Inflections of verbs are called conjugations and provide information about mood (indicative, subjunctive, conditional, infinite, participle and gerund), tense, person, number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or feminine) in the case of past participle. There are three conjugations according to which different declensions are applied: the first conjugation is for verbs that end in are, the second is for verbs that end in -ere, the third is for verbs that end in -ire. Irregular verbs that end in -rre belong to the second conjugation. In Italian language there are many irregular verbs. Irregularities can be in the desinence or in the root (this phenomenon is known as apophony). Italian grammar is founded on the basis of the Latin language and therefore many irregular forms originate from the irregular forms in Latin. Inflections of nouns and adjectives are called declensions and provide information about gender and number. The plural of nouns is obtained in various ways: some nouns remain the same, others have many plural, sometimes with different meanings; many nouns are irregular when the gender changes. Nouns and adjectives can be altered; the alteration is the addition of a suffix to change the meaning in quantity, quality or evaluation. Adverbs are not declined but can be obtained by adding the appropriate suffix to some adjectives. III. THE MORPHOLOGICAL ENGINE The morphological engine is developed in C++ and has three components: a word-list, a morphological generator and a morphological analyzer. A. The word-list The word-list contains a set of entry words and each entry word is associated to a grammatical category with information about the part of speech of the entry word and its way of creating inflections. For verbs there are four grammatical categories: VI (intransitive verb), VT (transitive verb), VA (auxiliary verb) and VS (modal verb). If a verb is irregular a three-digit code, called inflectional code, is added and it allows obtaining irregular inflections. For nouns there are the following grammatical categories: SN: Neuter nouns that can generate four inflectional forms (e.g. maestro, maestra, maestri, maestre ). SNFI: Neuter nouns with invariable feminine form (e.g. cantante, cantanti ). SM: Masculine nouns that can generate two inflectional forms, one for masculine singular form and one for masculine plural form (e.g. gelato, gelati ). ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 37

SF: Feminine nouns, that can generate two inflectional forms, one for feminine singular form and one for feminine plural form (e.g. oliva, olive ). SINVM: Invariable masculine nouns that do not change in the plural form (e.g. bar ). SINVF: Invariable feminine nouns that do not change in the plural form (e.g. crisi ). SPRN: Proper neuter nouns that are proper masculine nouns from which the feminine form can be derived (e.g. Roberto, Roberta ). SINVPRF: Proper feminine nouns (e.g. Alice ). SINVPRM: Proper masculine nouns (e.g. Matteo ). SIRR: Irregular nouns, not following inflectional rules; a list of irregular entry words to obtain the irregular forms must be consulted. SMI: Masculine nouns that become feminine in the plural form (e.g. paio, paia ). SMI2P: Masculine nouns with two plurals, one masculine and one feminine (e.g. braccio becomes bracci and braccia ). SMICI: Masculine nouns that ends in -co and have the plural in -ci and not in -chi (e.g. medico, medici ). SFI: Particular feminine nouns (e.g. energia becomes energie and not energe ). SNCI: Neuter nouns that ends in -co and have the masculine plural in -ci and not in -chi (e.g. amico, amici ). SNII: Neuter nouns that have the plural with two i (e.g. zio, zii ). SNI: Neuter nouns with particular the feminine form (e.g. leone, leonessa ). SMC1: Compound nouns. For adjectives there are the following grammatical categories: AINV: Invariable adjectives that do not change in other inflectional forms (e.g. loro ). AN: Neuter adjectives that can generate four inflectional forms (e.g. vario ). AINVNUM: Cardinal number adjectives. ANNUM: Ordinal number adjectives that can generate four inflectional forms (e.g. secondo ). AIRR: For irregular adjectives not following inflectional rules, a list of irregular entry words to obtain the irregular forms must be consulted. AI1: Adjectives with particular inflections (e.g. mio, mia, miei, mie ). AI2: Adjectives with particular inflections (e.g. tuo, tua, tuoi, tue ). AI3: Adjectives with particular inflections (e.g. bello, bella, belli, bei, begli, belle ). ANCI: Adjectives that ends in -co and have the masculine plural in -ci and not in -chi (e.g. economico, economici ). ANII: Adjectives that have the masculine plural with two i (e.g. pio, pii ). For the other parts of speech there are the following grammatical categories: E (prepositions), C (conjunctions), B (adverbs), R (articles) and P (pronouns). Entry words are written in lower case letters, accents are represented by the quote character ['] and spaces between words of the same entry word are represented by the underscore [_]. The word-list can also contain identical entry words but with different grammatical categories. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 38

B. The morphological generator The algorithm for morphological generation allows generating inflected forms from an entry word according to the rules. To generate inflections of a verb, the last three characters of the verbs are examined and they determine the verbal group code: if it ends in -are, inflections of first conjugations are applied; if it ends in ere or -rre, inflections of second conjugations are applied; if it ends in -ire, inflections of third conjugations are applied. Nouns and adjectives are inflected according to their grammatical category. For each grammatical category there are different inflectional rules chosen according to the last characters of the entry word that determine the noun group code and the adjectival group code. In general each group code associates a grammatical category and a substring with which a word can end with specific inflections to be applied. Each inflection has associated information about: mood, tense, person, number, gender, characters of desinence, characters to remove from the entry word before applying the desinence, number of characters to remove from the entry word, an indication to understand if the entire entry word must be replaced to obtain the inflected form and an indicator to understand if the regular inflection is also valid, finally a string of instructions that indicates the actions to obtain the inflection that has the following format (1): *N>C,-M+S; (1) where N is the position of the character to substitute, C is the substituted character, M is the number of characters to delete from the end of the entry word, S is the string of characters to add. Different instructions can correspond to the same grammatical category according to the last characters of the entry word. For example, consider the entry word altoforno, that belongs to grammatical category SMC1 to which following instructions are associated if the entry word ends in -o : MS.-1+o;MP.*4>i,-1+i; this means that the masculine singular form is obtained by deleting the last character and adding o and the masculine plural form which is obtained by substituting the fourth character with an i, that is deleting the last character and adding i. Irregular inflections of nouns and adjectives are obtained from a list that contains irregular entry words associated with corresponding inflections, indicating for each inflection the associated gender and number. For example, consider the entry word bue, that belongs to grammatical category SIRR ; in the list of irregular entry words there are the following instructions associated to bue : MS-bue,MP-buoi; this means that the masculine singular form is bue and the masculine plural form is buoi. If the verb is irregular the inflectional code is examined: each inflectional code is associated to a combination of groups of irregular inflections. A specific code is associated to each group. There is a list of elements called sets of rules which associates a code to a list of inflectional rules. Each inflectional rule contains information about the number of characters to delete from the end of the entry word and is able to understand if the regular inflection is also valid. In general a set of rules has the following format (2): C.D1-N1±, D2-N2±,, Dn-Nn±; (2) in which C is the code, D is a number that identifies a set of desinences, N is the number of characters to delete from the entry word and ± is +" if regular versions are also valid, - otherwise. For example, consider the entry word scrivere that belongs to grammatical category VT024. Its inflectional code is 024 that corresponds to the set of rules: 024.604-4-,424-4-; this means that desinences with code 604 are to be applied after deleting 4 characters from the entry word and desinences with code 424 are to be applied after deleting 4 characters from the entry word. In this case regular forms are not valid. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 39

Inflections creation. The morphological generator searches the entry word in the word-list and derives its grammatical category. If it is a verb, the last three characters of the entry word are analyzed and regular associated inflections are derived. The possible inflectional code is derived. If the verb is regular, only inflections associated to the verbal group code are applied. Instead if there is an inflectional code, also irregular inflections to be applied are derived using the rules previously explained. If it is a noun or an adjective, the grammatical category is analyzed: if it is SIRR (for nouns) or AIRR (for adjectives), the list with irregular entry words is consulted and inflections are derived, else the rules associated with the group code are applied. If it is a preposition, a conjunction, an adverb, an article or a pronoun, the algorithm gives in output the same entry word. Orthographic rules. When desinences are combined with the roots, the orthographic rules of the Italian language are respected. When the entry word is a noun or an adjective: If the root ends in -c or -g and the first character of the desinence of the canonical form is -a, -o or -u and the first character of desinence to be applied is -e or -i, character h is inserted between the root and the desinence to maintain the hardness of the sound (e.g. oca - oche ). If the root ends in -c or -g and the first character of the desinence of the canonical form is -e or i and the first character of desinence to be applied is -a, -o or -u, the character i is inserted between the root and the desinence to maintain the softness of the sound. If the root ends in -i and the desinence to be applied is i, this is not added (e.g. bacio ). If the root ends in -ci or -gi and the first character of the desinence to be applied is -e, the vowel i is removed if -ci or -gi are preceded by a consonant (e.g. not in ciliegia, yes in frangia ). Words which do not follow these rules are managed by assigning appropriate grammatical categories, e.g. the category SNII nullifies the third rule and category SMICI nullifies the fourth. When the entry word is a verb: The vowel i is removed from the desinence if all following conditions occur: The root ends in -gn The first character of the desinence to be applied is -i The second character of the desinence to be applied is a vowel The entry word is not in the first-person plural of present indicative The entry word is not in the first-person plural of present subjunctive The entry word is not in the first-person plural of present imperative The entry word is not in the second-person plural of the present subjunctive (e.g. sogniamo from the entry word sognare ). If the root ends in -hi or -li and the first character of the desinence to be applied is i, it is removed from the desinence (e.g. macchi from the entry word macchiare ). If the root ends in -ci and the first character of the desinence to be applied is -e or -i, it is omitted (e.g. mangera' form the entry word mangiare ). If the root ends in -i and the desinence is -i, it is omitted (e.g. scoppi from the entry word scoppiare ). ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 40

If the root ends in -c or -g, the first character of the desinence of the canonical form is -a or -o or u and the first character of the desinence to be applied is -e or -i, the character h is added between root and desinence to maintain the hardness of the sound (e.g. bivacchi from the entry word bivaccare ). C. Morphological analysis The analyzed word is the input to the analyzer that creates a list of string to analyze. In this list following strings are added: the word to analyze, strings obtained with normalization of word, strings obtained removing possible prefix from all strings in the list, strings obtained removing possible suffix from all strings in the list and strings obtained by a new normalization of all string in the list. For each string in the list a step called segmentation associates to each string a list of possible entry words. For each obtained entry word, a list of entry words with irregular roots is consulted to obtain the exact entry word of provenience if the word derives from an entry word that is inflected also in the root. The word-list is consulted to remove entry words which do not exist from the list of possible entry words. Now a compatibility analysis is performed inflecting each possible entry word: if an entry word generates the initial word, it is a solution. Following paragraphs describe each step in detail. Normalization. This step completes the word if it is truncated. Last characters of the word are analyzed. If the word ends in -r, -l, -m, or -n, the vowel e is added (e.g. miel becomes miele ). If the word ends in -r, -l, -m, or -n, the vowel o is added (e.g. cammin becomes cammino. If the word ends in or, the vowel e is added (e.g. amor becomes amore ). Prefixes removal. This step uses two lists of prefixes, one for verbal ones (e.g. ri- ) and one for adjectival ones (e.g. super- ). Suffixes removal. This step uses four lists of suffixes: substantival, adjectival, adverbial and verbal enclitics. Four forms for each substantival and adjectival suffix (generated by changing gender and number) are considered (e.g. -issimo, -issima, -issime, -issimi for adjectives and -accio, -accia, -accie, -acci for nouns). Adverbial suffixes are applied to adjectives ( -mente and -issimamente ). Verbal enclitic can be removed only from a present imperative, a present gerund, a present infinitive or a past participle and the verb cannot be intransitive. After the removal of verbal enclitics the obtained string is modified: if the last character is a vowel, also a string with the character [ ] added is inserted in the list; if the last character is a consonant that matches with the first character of detected enclitic, it is removed (enclitics we apply to monosyllabic imperatives double the initial consonant); if obtained string ends by a vowel, also a string with the character [ ] added is inserted in the list. It is used to detect verbs where the last character is [ ], for example di that is derived from the entry word dire. The algorithm stores each modification of the word, storing also the kind of suffix and the gender and the number associated to the suffix. Renormalization. Removal of suffix can cause truncation of the word to be analyzed. The renormalization operates as the normalization, but it also performs the following actions: If substantival or adjectival suffixes have been removed, three new strings are added to list: the string obtained by adding the last character of the suffix, the string obtained by adding the vowel e and the string obtained by adding the vowel o. If adverbial suffixes have been removed, character e is added. If verbal suffixes have been removed and the last character of the obtained string is r, perhaps it is a verb in the form present infinitive, so two new strings are added to list: the string obtained by adding vowel e ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 41

(for verbs ending in -are, -ere and -ire ) and the string obtained by adding re (for verbs ending in rre ). Segmentation. Segmentation associates a list of possible entry words of origin to each string in the list. A list of possible desinences is used; a string of instruction (3) is associated to each desinence: desinence:(str)-n+des;(str)- n+des; ;(str)-n+des. (3) Instruction is interpreted as follows: the desinence is removed and, if obtained string ends in str, n characters are removed and the substring des is added. For example, consider the word temerono in which desinence rono is detected. To this desinence following instructions are associated: rono:+ere; (a)+re; (e)+re; (i)+re. This means that, after removing the desinence, the string ere is added and the possible entry word temeere is added to the list; if the obtained string ends in a, the string re is added (in this case this instruction is not applied); if the obtained string ends in e, the string re is added and the possible entry word temere is added to the list; if the obtained string ends in i, the string re is added (in this case this instruction is not applied). Search for irregular roots. In some words the inflection can change not only the ending, but also the root. In some words, the change is small and frequent in many entry words; for these cases, some instructions associated with endings were added. In rare cases the root completely changes, for example in the verb andare, in which the first person singular of the present indicative is vado. For this reason, there is a list of strings obtained from the segmentation of these particular words, each associated with the correspondent entry word. For example the string vadare, obtained by segmentation of vado, is present in the list and it is associated to the entry word andare that is added to list of possible entry words from which it originates. Selection of existing entry words. At this point there is a list of possible entry words some of which are nonsensical. This step eliminates the strings without meaning removing those not present in the word-list or that are in the word-list but belong to a grammatical category different from that seen during removal of prefixes and suffixes. If the grammatical category of adverb is detected, the word in the word-list is searched as an adjective. Compatibility analysis. In this step each entry word obtained in the previous step is inflected. This step has the following inputs: the entry word and the grammatical category associated, the initial word (normalized and without suffixes and prefixes) and information about the removed suffixes (gender, number and an indication that specifies if the suffix is -one ). All inflections of the entry word are generated and compared with the initial word. For each inflected form that matches with the word the following checks are performed: If the word is a verb where the enclitic has been removed, it can be only a present imperative, a present gerund, a present infinitive or a past participle and it cannot be an intransitive verb. If the entry word has the grammatical category of adjective, but the removed suffix is adverbial, the initial word is accepted as adverb. If the removed suffix has associated gender and number, they must coincide with those of generated inflected form. If the suffix is -one and the entry word is a feminine noun, the word can be an augmentative form that has changed its gender: in this case the result is a masculine noun. IV. EXAMPLES For example, consider the word bellissima. In the removal of suffix step, the adjectival suffix -issima is detected and the string bell is added to the list of strings to be analyzed with grammatical category of adjective. The renormalization step adds the strings bella (obtained by adding the last character of the suffix), ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 42

belle and bello to the list, all three with grammatical category of adjective because they are derived from bell. The selection of existing entry words detects only the entry word bello with grammatical category of adjective. After the compatibility analysis the result is that bellissima is derived from the entry word bello with the suffix -issima and it is the feminine singular form. For example, consider the word bellissima. In the removal of suffix step, the adjectival suffix -issima is detected and the string bell is added to the list of strings to be analyzed with grammatical category of adjective. The renormalization step adds the strings bella (obtained by adding the last character of the suffix), belle and bello to the list, all three with grammatical category of adjective because they are derived from bell. The selection of existing entry words detects only the entry word bello with grammatical category of adjective. After the compatibility analysis the result is that bellissima is derived from the entry word bello with the suffix -issima and it is the feminine singular form. Consider the word cammino. In the removal of suffix step the substantival and adjectival suffix -ino is detected: the string camm is added twice in the list of strings to be analyzed, both as a noun and as an adjective. The renormalization step adds to list the strings cammo (twice, both as a noun and as an adjective) and camme (twice, both as a noun and as an adjective). In the segmentation step many possible entry words are generated, then the selection of existing entry words detects: the verb camminare and the masculine noun cammino. After the compatibility analysis the result is that cammino can be first-person singular of present indicative of verb camminare or the masculine singular of noun cammino. V. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORKS With the algorithm the number of the entries in the dictionary is reduced, in fact it does not contain: verbs and adjectives starting with a prefix, adverbs that can be derived from adjectives, adjectives and nouns with suffixes, verbs with enclitics, whole conjugation of verbs (57 verbal forms are obtained from a verbal entry word), and all declensions of nouns and adjectives. Thanks to the developed morphological engine the search space is considerably reduced and the parser receives as input a vocabulary with only the words of the phrase and the complexity is reduced. The management of compound nouns can be improved, for example by adding new grammatical categories and by adding a new step in the algorithm of morphological analysis after the segmentation step to check if obtained entry words start with another word. Another possible improvement regards the suffixes: many nouns or adjectives are not compatible with certain suffixes, consequently the algorithm can recognize words that do not exist. The problem can be solved by adding inflectional codes that indicate the set of suffixes compatible with the entry word. The same action can be performed for prefixes. The morphological engine can be adapted for other Romance languages such as French. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Authors were in part supported by the Sicily Region grants PO FESR 2007/2013: "Rammar Sistema Cibemetico programmabile di interfacce a interazione verbale" PROGETTO POR 4.1.1.1 and Improved Adaptive Testing with Language Interface Pack (IATLIP) PROGETTO POR 4.1.1.2 REFERENCES 1. Chiari, I.: Introduzione alla linguistica computazionale. Bari, Laterza, 2007. 2. Kumar, D., Rana, P.: Design and Development of a Stemmer for Punjabi. International Journal of Computer Applications, Volume 11 No.12, December 2010, page 1. 3. Musso, F., Prandi N.: Per dirla giusta. Fonologia, ortografia, morfologia. S. Lattes & C. Editori SpA, 2012. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 43

Internet and emerging Information technologies in Libyan Universities into reduce Digital Divide Abdussalam Elzawi, University of Huddersfield, School of Computing and Engineering, Huddersfield, United Kingdom Email: Abdussalam.Elzawi@hud.ac.uk Thuraya Kenan, University of Huddersfield, School of Computing and Engineering, Huddersfield, United Kingdom Email: Thuraya.kenan@hud.ac.uk Steve Wade, University of Huddersfield, School of Computing and Engineering, Huddersfield, United Kingdom Email: S.Wade@hud.ac.uk Crinela Pislaru University of Huddersfield, School of Computing and Engineering, Huddersfield, United Kingdom Email: C.pislaru@hud.ac.uk Abstract: This paper aims to identify the factors enabling information and the reduction bridging of digital divide and enhancing the technology with staff academic at Universities in Libya through an effective ICT implementation. The authors study the global digital divide with emphasis on the Info-tech disparities between developed and African countries (including Libya) in relation to generalised rates of social and technological development. Also, investigate the relationship between the digital divide and Higher Education (HE) teaching methods in Libya. It is indicates into: (1) The effective of ICT implementation by focus on understanding individual faculty needs. (2) The significance of implementation of electronic education at Libyan universities. (3) The challenges and solutions of ICT implementation. (4) The factors that affect enabling information and the reduction with Internet use by the staff members who using Internet resources. Keywords: Digital divide; emerging technology; ICT gap; Electronic education; Libyan Higher education. I. Introduction About two decades ago, Libya was able to emerge from economic separation that had a significant role in causing stagnation in the oil trade and the commercial companies. The telecom sector consists of an operator, owned by the state, which provides postal services and telecommunications (Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Company LPTIC, General Post and Telecom Company "GPTC ). Libyan Telecommunication and Technology (LTT) Corporation provide Internet service, and two mobile phone networks in Libya, the lowest of the African countries, and have lowest prices. In 2004 Libyan Telecommunication penetration of the market began, it was one of the lowest in Africa and in just two years it made a great leap. A. Libyan Communications Infrastructure and Internet usage: ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 44

Libya's civil war in 2011 has crippled the country's economy and disrupted its telecommunications sector. It is estimated that more than US$1 billion worth of ICT has been destroyed, including about 20% of the country's cell sites. Reconstruction efforts are underway, and at an estimated 76% GDP growth, the country's economic output is expected to return to pre-war levels in 2012 [ ]. Internet usage statistics of Africa published the results in 2011 that shown 5.7 % of the users in Africa and 17.00 % of the users in Libya were subscribers. In the case of Libya, an Internet subscription is often used by several members of the household, by clients of cybercafés, and increasing user Facebook and by visitors to libraries. [2] The main restrictions on Internet use are relative poverty, poor quality of Internet services due to infrastructural shortcomings, low Internet bandwidth and unreliable electricity [3]. These problems pose serious limitations and frustrations for African users and Libya too. Internet access officially came to Libya at the end of 1998, but it was not widely available until early 2000. Internet penetration remains lows, at around 3.8%, and change in 2011 about 17.0 % [4]; see Table 1. The primary means for people to connect is through Internet cafés. The state-owned General Post and Telecommunications Company (GPTC), regulates and operates Libya s telecommunications infrastructure, and owns and operates the country s primary ISP, Libya Telecom and Technology (LTT), which offers Internet services via dialup, DSL, broadband, and satellite. At least seven companies other companies are licensed but are effectively subordinated to LTT, as LTT maintains a monopoly over the country s international Internet gateway. Libya has one of the highest budgetary surpluses and one of the lowest government debt levels worldwide. Libya has now embarked on a process of economic reform and the list of challenges to be addressed is long, particularly the low penetration of the latest technologies to improve the overall level and quality of education. Table shows the growth of Internet usage in Libya and countries near Libya [5]. TABLE 1: THE GROWTH OF INTERNET USAGE IN LIBYA AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRIES 2011. (WWW.CIA.GOV.) The Population Internet Users, User Population User Countries (2012) Latest Data Facebook Penetration Growth (2012) (31-Dec 2012) (20002011) LIBYA 6,469.50 954,275 781,700 17.0 % 3,44% TUNISIA 10,704.90 4,499.275 3,328.300 39.1 % 3,50 % ALGERIA 36,485.80 5,230.000 4,111.320 14.0 % 9,30 % EGYPT 83,958.40 29,809.724 12,173.540 35.7 % 4,37% It is not possible to discuss the Internet in Libya and adjacent countries without considering the state of its applications, including the number of Internet hosts and the cost of Internet access. The LTT monopoly in Libya raises the cost of an Internet connection and, to some extent, exacerbates the deterioration of the service. Many Arab governments, for political reasons, create a monopoly in the ISP market by preventing new firms from entering the market by e.g. control of licences [6]. Another reason why Internet costs are high and connection speeds are low in Arab countries is because ISPs are not allowed to provide their own international gateways. Table 2 shows the number of hosts in each country. TABLE 2: INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS IN COUNTRIES NEAR LIBYA Number of Internet Service Providers in countries near Libya ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 45

Country Internet Hosts Example of ISP LIBYA 67 Libya Net (www.libyanet.net) TUNISIA 281 Global Net (www.gnet.tn) ALGERIA 897 Cerist (www.cerist.dz) EGYPT 3401 Link Egypt (www.link.com.eg) B. The Digital Divide of ICT in Libyan higher education: The ICT policy in Libya has relied on the introduction of telecommunications competition, and the lifting of strict regulations on wireless and other digital technologies to provide more incentive, for investment and development. Efforts to build out the ICT infrastructure can be incorporated into online projects strategies. Additionally, it is important to recognize the synergy between online projects and ICT development. Libyan national ICT policy for education aims to provide access to ICT tools and build a strong Infrastructure. It also promote research and development to ensure the provision of suitable learning, one of the main objectives of the national ICT policy for education is human resource development, and the investment in human resources is the key factor to achieve the goals and objectives of the national ICT strategy. Several indicators can be used on a global scale to determine the digital divide between countries; generally the research projects within Libyan universities aim to satisfy academic requirements (students certificates; job promotion, etc), but have not emerged from the real needs of society [7]. Libyan business executive survey/global competitiveness report (LBES/GCR) has the rank 97 (out of 111 countries) in university/industry research collaboration [8]. Additionally, the Digital Divide has historically referred to the lack of physical access to important information technology such as computers and the Internet [9]. The digital divide exists in Libya and negatively affects the ability of the group to use information technology Libya experiences limitations of ICT access due to geographic, infrastructure, and education limitations along with a history of restrictively traditional cultural values. This process affects the experience and development of Libyan staff academic universities, which eventually affects students. This general problem evolves into a twofold manifest that includes limited research on staff academic and understanding the perspectives of these universities in the context of the digital divide [10]. II. Research methodology: The use of questionnaire is considered to be appropriate in this case due to advantages mentioned as the highly economical research tool - large amount of data collected easily and efficiently from a large number of members. Also, the data collected from standardized questionnaires allows for easy comparisons and statistical analysis [ 1]. The responses are analysed with quantitative and qualitative methods by considering the issues of reliability, validity, bias and triangulation. The survey was on random sample (32 Mature) from the stockholders of Tripoli University in 2008. Generally, the survey has a positivist approach to research, even though having some weaknesses (such as low response rate, possible ambiguities in the questions) [12]. III. Findings: It is indicate to exist a digital divide, which were results from pervious studies; it also suggest that the availability of digital content has helped overcome the substantial scholarly information divide. The questionnaire was conducted to provide comments on the final survey [13]. The postal survey strategy has been adopted to satisfy the objectives of the study and the need for a large sample to carry out the data analysis. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 46

The overarching finding was that there were three primary elements that affected the use of the Internet by the respondents: job requirements, self-perception, and technology availability. However, within these three fairly obvious elements were subtleties that provide thought-provoking consideration. A. Using of Internet. Table 3 shows the weekly use on the Internet, in hours, by the respondents. Nearly one fifth of the respondents use the Internet for academic purposes less than two hours a week. Only a quarter use the Internet for more than an average of one hour per day. Only 2 respondents (6.25%) are more frequent in Internet use with a minimum of 10 hours weekly. The relevant analysis showed no obvious gender difference in time spent on the Internet. Based on common sense, it is presumed that the people with science backgrounds spend more time on the Internet, but the data do not support the assumption. TABLE 3: USE OF THE INTERNET EVERY WEEK Case (hours used/week) Frequency Percent 0--2 6 18.75 % 2--5 17 53.125% 6 --10 7 21.875% >10 2 6.25% The total 32 100% B. Face Barriers to keep staff from using the Internet. There are fifteen factors that could keep them from using the Internet for academic research purposes, these are: 1- Lack of Internet access; twenty members (62.5%) considered the absence of Internet access in their institutions is what has prevented faculty from using it. 2- Lack of access of specialized online databases; Seventeen members (53.13%) indicated that not having access to specialized online database is what is keeping them from using the Internet for research. 3- Low speed of connection; Twenty (62.5%) members suggested that having a low speed Internet access is what kept them from using Internet. 4- Quality of the information source; all the members (100%) agreed to necessary of the strategy for searching information, variety and availability of information, information convenience, quality of information, unfiltered information, speed of finding information, newness of information and opportunity for update. 5- System availability; Eighteen members (56.25%) cited the lack of computer availability in their institution as the barrier to their use of the Internet. 6- Lack of educational institutions' encouragement and incentives; Fourteen members (43.75%) believe that not having the encouragement or incentives from their institution is a barrier to their accessing the Internet. 7- Lack of skill in the English language; Twelve members (37.5%) indicated that being not proficient in English is one of the main reasons that prevent them from using the Internet. 8- Field of study; Thirteen members (40.63%) mentioned that they could find information sources in their field of study, without the aid of the Internet. 9- Unfiltered information; Eight members (25%) indicated that the unfiltered information from the government sometimes that prevented them from using the Internet ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 47

10- Clarity and ease of use; Thirteen members (40.63%) considered the Internet as a complicated and unclear source of information. 11- Technical difficulties; Thirteen members (40.63%) mentioned that there is a barrier to their Internet use related to technical problems. 12- Lack of interest; Twelve members (37.5%) mentioned that not having sufficient interest to learn about the Internet is what is preventing them from using it. 13- Social factors, Eleven members (34.38%) mentioned that certain social factors prevent them from using the Internet. (Because it is considered a large proportion of the community as source for finding prohibited information, some schools or universities place restrictions on using the Internet.) 14- High cost of Internet connections; Seven members (21.88%) indicated that the expense of Internet connection is one of the reasons that prevented them from using it. 15- Lack of training, support computer and Internet skills; Sixteen members (50%) indicated that lack of computer and Internet skills and the training, keeps them from using the Internet. Conclusion and Implication for future research: The primary conclusion from this paper is that there are significant differences in the perceptions of Libyan academics as to the potential use of the Internet for research purposes and the benefits from Internet access. However, while there is an understanding to improve the computer literacy and Internet skills; as many responders reported that they needed more Arabic websites as realised they needed to improve their English language skills. The findings of this paper indicate that faculty utilizes the Internet for teaching purposes more than for communication and research. Previous studies examining faculty Internet usage in the local situation have consistently reported email and communication as the major purposes for their online activities when compare to teaching or research purposes. Integrating Internet technologies in the teaching process generally indicates higher utilization. This may be an indication that comparable studies conducted in the past showed that Internet adoption is in its early stages, the Internet is being utilized to a wider extent as the resources become more accessible to faculty in higher education institutions. In our examination of the hypotheses [14], the study showed that there is no connection between available university resources and Internet use. This finding is in line with findings of studies that reported that organizational factors have minimal effect on faculty use of the Internet. Utilization of research in higher education in Libya, conducted across the world, provides explanation for low implementation rates by putting the blame on the faculty; either they are stuck in traditional methods of teaching, and are labelled as resistors, or charged with negative attitudes towards technology. These unjust explanations are based on a poor understanding of different faculties with different needs. The challenge of increasing the benefits gained from Internet technologies should focus on understanding individual faculty needs. Stakeholders are advised to include faculty members in every step of the planning and realization of up-to-date technologies. If they are involved from the early stages, then their requirements would be met, and this should allow for increased levels of efficient integration of Internet technologies that meet their particular needs [15]. This paper offers an in-depth understanding of problems in utilizing the Internet. Technology solutions are not likely to be the quick fix to all educational problems and issues. It is generally known that technology solutions do not improve enough teaching methods. Therefore, the focus should be on adopting the right technology solution that fits the education context and the faculty involved. The being factor should always be considered as the starting ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 48

point on making the decision on how technology, and more specifically the Internet, could be employed to improve teaching and research efforts. Faculty should be given the chance to participate in decision-making with regard to the appropriate use of technology in their specific academic control with more training. REFERENCES: [ ] The largest telecommunications research site on the internet, Budde comm website. Libya - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband. [online] < http://www.budde.com.au/research/libya-telecoms-mobile-and- Broadband.html#sthash.6IaCgc8N.dpuf>, 2013. [Accessed 22 Jun. 2013] [2] Miniwatts Marketing group, Internet Usage Statistics for Africa. [online] <http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm.> [Accessed 15 Jul. 2013] [3] N. Al-Kahtani, J. Ryan, and T. Jefferson, How Saudi female faculty perceive Internet technology usage and potential, Information Knowledge Systems Management. 2005, vol. 5, pp. 227 243. [4] The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), The world Facebook. [Online]<www.cia.gov/Libary/publications/the-world-factbook/goes/ly.html>. [Accessed 27 Jul. 2013] [5] T. Kenan, The Barriers of E-Learning in Higher Education in Libya. Published MSc Dissertation, 2009, University of Salford, United Kingdom. [6] A. Elzawi, A Review of Internet Technology and the Utilization of Research in Higher Education in Libya. Published MSc Dissertation, 2008, University of Salford, United Kingdom. [7] A. Hamdy, ICT in education in Libya. Libya Country Report, 2008. <www.infodev.org/en/document.412.pdf.> [Accessed 19 Dec. 2012] [8] M. Porter, and D. Yegin, National Economic Strategy: An Assessment of the Competitiveness of the Libya. The general planning council of Libya. 2006, Cera, UK. [9] P. C. Gorski, Privilege and Repression in the Digital Era: Rethinking the Socio-politics of the Digital Divide. Race, Gender, & Class, 2003, Vol. 10, pp. 145-149. [ 0] A. Elzawi, and J. Underwood, How Higher Engineering Researchers in Libya Perceive The Use of Internet Technology. The International Arab Conf. on Information Technology (ACIT'2010 ), University of Garyounis, Benghazi, Libya, 2010, pp. 89-98. [11] M. Saunders, P. Lewis, and A. Thornhill, Research methods for business students. 3rd edition, Prentice Hall. 2003, London, UK. [12] [13] R. K. Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods (3rd Ed.). 2003, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. A. Elzawi, T. kenan, S. Wade, and C. Pislaru, Bridging the Digital Divide and Enhancing the Quality of Engineering Research in Libyan Universities. In: 6th Conference on Quality in Middle East, 2012, Hamdan Bin Mohammed University, 2012, Dubai, Unpublished. [14] A. Elzawi, and S. Wade, Barriers to ICT adoption in quality of engineering research in Libya: how to bridge the digital divide?. In: Proceedings of The Queen s Diamond Jubilee Computing and Engineering Annual Researchers Conf.; CEARC 12. UK: University of Huddersfield. 2012, pp. 98-103. [15] T. Kenan, C. Pislaru, and A. Elzawi, Comparing the impact of E-learning and ICT in Higher Education institutions in Libya and United Kingdom. ICEIC 2011. Florida, USA, 2010, pp. 162-173. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 49

The social impact and cultural issues affecting the e-learning performance in Libyan Higher Education institutes Thuraya Kenan, Crinela Pislaru, Aisha Othman, Abdussalam Elzawi University of Huddersfield School of Computing and Engineering Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, United Kingdom Email: Thuraya.Kenan@hud.ac.uk Abstract: This paper analyses the social impact and cultural issues which affect the e-learning performance in Libyan Higher Education institutes (HEIs). It is described the development and implementation of e-learning systems in various HEIs with the emphasis on the digital gap in Libya and barriers to successful e-learning implementation in these institutions. Also the social impact of using e-learning packages and Internet by young people in Libya is studied and a SWOT analysis of ICT and e-learning in Tripoli University is performed in order to improve the effectiveness of the use of e-learning systems in Libyan HEIs. Keywords-component: social impact; cultural issues; e-learning; education technologies; Libya. I. Introduction: The impacts of social media and the development in Information and Communication Technologies in the Libyan higher education sector which have led to the increase academic staff awareness and improvement of teaching and learning systems and strategies. The ICTs play a major role in today s education system and the purpose of this paper is to study the social impact of using ICT for the teaching and learning processes in Libyan HEIs. Regarding the implementation of e-learning systems as one of the mediums of instruction in courses offered at their institutions, it has proved to be a good teaching and learning method in some cases while for other institutions there were problems related to the design and implementation phases. Incontestably, delivering courses through e-learning systems will continue to grow in various institutions. In expectation of this growth, the governments, business companies and professional associations can start focusing on applications and the effective and professional implementation of e-learning. The real e-learning is a methodology, one can experience the greatest benefits that e-learning has to offer now and in the future. However, the fact remains that with respect to e-learning, poor quality procurement practices are a barrier to growth and adoption. So it is necessary to make a thorough evaluation when it comes to choose e-learning software for education in order to improve the knowledge of learners, the learning outcomes, the performance outcomes, also the business and policy impact and in order to value the cost spent. The paper also presents the analysis of the barriers to successful implementation of e-learning systems in HEIs with emphasis on cultural barriers. Finally the results of a SWOT analysis of ICT and e-learning implementation in Tripoli University, Libya are analysed. II. E-learning in Libyan Universities Libya does not recognize distance learning and E-learning as valid modes of education and most Libyan universities have not appointed a staff member with formal qualifications in either distance learning or E-learning. In fact, the Ministry of Higher Education, which is by law responsible for endorsing degrees from foreign universities, will not endorse a degree obtained through either distance learning or E-learning. Without the ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 50

approval of the Ministry, students cannot gain any advantages in the work place from their degrees. This is of significant importance and could be developed In 2003, Tripoli University confined its task to providing a video-conferencing service as a step to the distance learning. The main objective of this distance-learning Centre is to shorten the physical distance between students and their lectures. There have been online examinations; similar in structure to the theoretical part of the UK driving test, and as second step in 2004 some universities used them in the assessment of the second stage of their courses. The public perception of distance learning and E-learning is mainly negative [1]. The commons belief is that distance learning or E-learning is of a lower quality than traditionally taught course [2]. These barriers are mainly pedagogical, technological and attitudinal according to the showing in [3]. The list below presents issues and perceptions about Libyan e-learning that help to provide a context for this study: A. Although most Libyan universities provide each faculty member with a personal computer, a significant percentage of faculty members are still computer illiterate, and one might reasonably estimate resistance from those members toward any attempt to adopt an E- learning model in their discipline within the university. Also some of faculty members have difficulty with the English language, and as there is a lack of E-learning applications supporting by Arabic. Teaching E-learning courses would be nearly impossible for these staff, even for those who willing to do so [3]. B. The lack of interests by university administrations regarding the possibilities of E-learning is also a real challenge. According to Abouchedid [2] University decision-makers fear that E-learning would abruptly shift traditional education into a new pedagogical venture for which educators and policymakers are not sufficiently familiar. C. In Libya a strong power structure governs the relation between learner and educator, and any learner may feel subservient to the educator and this could prove a problem when the student is asked to discuss his/her views freely with the educator [4]. D. The lack of Arabic learning tools and applications for E-learning courses will be a serious challenge implementing E-learning into Libyan HE, peculiarly in the more theoretical colleges where Arabic language is the teaching language. But even for the science based colleges where English is the official teaching language, the lack of Arabic learning applications might cause a problem for a large proportion of students [5]. III. Social impact of using e-learning packages and Internet by young people in Libya The social impact or the socialisation is seen as a learning process that takes place in the family or community without any formal teaching, the learning that takes place by observing or interacting with other people. Such process can make learning communities work, and learners transform the information they get from instructors and texts into meaningful knowledge through conversations, discussion groups and other real world activities [6]. Libya witnesses an active period for all the networking of the social media, especially among the young generation. BBC_NEWS and many media channels in 2012 declared in Had it not been for the efforts of young generation and professionalism with social media, had not achieved the revolution of political change in Libya, they are making the world see what is happening in Libya, while most media channels failed to that, and was forced to adopt videos, which were the jurisprudence of these young generation in several sensitive areas [7]. In recent years most of Libyan young generation in general (and Higher Education students in particular) have shown that they love using modern technology and their eagerness to use all technical devices through social ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 51

communication channels. The evidence shows this increased sales of computers and smart phones. Many students in higher education are using these tools to share information, knowledge and discuss issues related to their studies [8]. In Libya, this is the best time to look closely at the ways of the tools that influencing on the social relationships and the education systems, stating by the mail to chat rooms to call phones. The social impacts have to offer the teaching and learning process. Its means to become closely support and might help the students in reaching an understanding of planning actions, acting, noting and reflecting. Also, the natures of social media tools help instill in students not just the motivation but also the opportunity to experience the personal mechanics of action research. The social media played a parallel role with the cultural change; the students like investigating extensions, to strengthen their understanding of the topic and their learning skills. The lecturers face many difficulties when joining the complexity and multiplicity of action research with a sufficient clarity that enables students to learn meaningfully. Therefore, they need to display, share, support and stimulate with other lecturers, experts, and students the potential of social media in the teaching and learning. This paper is encouraging a broader educative practicum for encourages a community of learning; and provides the lecturers and students with opportunities to study more serious critical their teaching and learning process. IV. The digital gap in Libya There are other indicators for the spread of Information Communication Technology (ICT) applications in education system computers: the number of computers per hundred students, the number of hours of study in the field of ICT, the number of schools that use the Internet, the average number of Internet sites per school, the speed of the Internet connection, and specialist television and radio broadcasts. These indicators can be used on a global scale to determine whether there is a digital divide between countries, since the summary of these measures could be used as a measure of any digital gap. Rhema & Miliszewska [9] conclude that because the technical and technological level existing in a country largely determines the rate at which IT develops, the developing countries will not catch up easily. Andersson & Grönlund [10] are concerned that developing countries may miss out on the opportunities offered by the information and communication revolution because of an inability to fully participate in all spheres of political, economic, cultural, scientific life provided by the IT revolution of new technology. Tripoli University conducted a study of web usage in the Middle East. It was shown that although there was an increase in the number of Internet users in the world scale by 43% during the last six years, this represented at the end of 2009. On a world scale, Africa had 3.6% of Internet users from this percentage; the Middle East had 10%, Asia 12.8% while the percentage of Europe 39.4% and North America 67%. This shows that is a substantial digital-gab between countries, which will take time to be reduced [11]. V. Barriers to E-learning implementation in Libyan HEIs. Kenan [12] studied the resistance to growth of E-learning in Libya and classified the barriers into four main categories as following: A. Implementation Barriers - increased workload for academic staff; development time; delivery time; lack of extrinsic incentives/rewards; lack of strategic planning and vision; lack of support; lack of training in technological developments; lack of support for pedagogical aspects of the developments [13]. B. Technological barriers - insufficient network and systems infrastructures; weaknesses of E-learning development in HEIs; Security; difficulties in overcoming initial implementation problems; lack of experience in using ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 52

technology; lack of provision of robust Internet access; lack of specific student services C. Mismanagement barriers - lack of a general strategy of education linking the different stages of study, with a consequent difficulty in accepting E-learning in HE; lack of common regulations or standards for e-learning in a country, which does not generally approve of such methodology; disapproval from the Ministry of Higher Education for E-learning courses; difficulty in securing accreditation collaboration and lack of cross-institutional collaboration. The barriers to achieve E-learning in Libya grouped into four categories based into Management barriers, Technological barriers, Cultural barriers and other barriers due to other factors such as cost, etc. The teaching load in Libyan universities is typically large, e.g. the average number of teaching hours for academic staff is 24 hours/week, and Libyan universities have not yet established a scientific research tradition [14]. Thus, even Professors find it difficult to find the time for research activity and educational development. The postgraduate programmes initiated in 1973 in some faculties in Libyan universities included education (Tripoli University) and literature [15],[12]. D. Cultural barriers - unfamiliarity with the Internet and related technologies results in lack of appreciation and understanding of E-learning and its benefits; opposition to the adoption of the necessary educational changes (e.g. self-regulation, student centered) required for successful E-learning. Cultural barriers or cultural challenges exist where a certain culture or group is unable to accept or adopt a new methodology in an important area of their lives, such as religious beliefs or social customs or habits [16]. This attitude has been reinforced by events because, with the arrival of new technologies, jobs that could previously be done with a minimum of education fast disappeared. Again, a key concept of E-learning is the flexibility of timing for students but certain religions impose a strict daily timetable, and it is also widely known that many universities have schedules are fixed and not at all flexible. When considering social impacts or cultural challenges that could act as barriers to e-learning, one has to find the reasons why people or individuals might prefer not to learn in an electronic environment. Some of the reasons such as the fear of demonstrating a lack of skill or competence, fear of Webpages contents, fear of isolation from other students, lack of awareness of the need to develop or the opportunities available, blaming others for inadequate performance rather than taking responsibility for one s own actions, lack of personal confidence, and a general belief that people cannot change. hence, fear poses a serious barrier to e-learning, because it is only through exposure and experience that one can master or be comfortable with e-learning. VI. SWOT analysis of ICT and e-learning implementation in Tripoli University: An e-learning strategy will offer a framework for the assessment all the things that impact on the E- learning implementation. The strategy should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate changes in the developments in Elearning products, services and technology. The implementation of e- learning in an official setting requires inclusive strategic planning. Changing the educational offering through technology requires utilizing effective implementation plans and strategies [17]. Implementing any type of process that involves change and alters how people work can present difficulties for an organization. Estimates have shown that up to 70 percent of the cost of implementing a major organizational change effort has been linked to managing employee behavior during the transition [18]. The process of transforming organizations objectives into strategies that deliver lasting, sustainable change is, to a large extent, dependent on how institutions approach changing everyday processes. When there are major ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 53

shifts in the processes faculty and staff rely on to do their jobs on a daily basis, senior administration must fully endorse and engage in the planning, development, and launch of the initiative for it to be successful [12]. Once the key players are committed to the implementation process, quality control and measurable outcomes must be considered as part of implementation [19]. However, a SWOT analysis looks at the main environmental issues such as the economic situation, social changes such as the population getting older and technological developments. Kenan et al. [15] undertook a SWOT study on ICT and e-learning implementation in Tripoli University, Libya. The SWOT analysis is an essential step to analyze various factors before implementing an e-learning solution at any institution because the success or failure of an E-learning initiative will be directly related to the quality of strategic thinking that underpins it. One may link the E-learning strategy to a map, supplying the necessary directions for the journey towards implementing E-learning. It is thus important to have an E-learning strategy in place before beginning the implementation process. E- learning initiative must be tied to the institution s core business to ensure that the business objectives are met [20]. The strategic analysis is useful for successful implementations of e-learning; and aims to help the decision makers at the departmental level to decide on opportunities with respect to elearning. The strategic analysis based on the experiences as well as the perceptions of the instructors, students, administrators, and technical staff about using web-based instruction with the institution. Kenan et al. [15] present a critical review of research pertinent to a strategic analysis of SWOT e-learning model for Libyan HEIs. The review recommends that the institutions should start working hard on minimizing the weaknesses points such as poor English skills of students as well as instructors, lacking ICT infrastructure, and lack of e-learning know-how. Also, to relieve the threats, they recommend the use of a blended model (a combination of traditional and e-learning methods). The strategic analysis is important commission to analyse various factors before implementing an e-learning solution at any Libyan HEIs. However, a SWOT analysis looks at the main environmental issues such as the economic situation, social changes such as the population getting older and technological developments. The main conclusions of the SWOT analysis performed by Kenan et al. [15] are as follows: Strengths points: Using the computers, the enjoying by the Internet websites, availability of educational methods and availability much Software to support. Weakness points: Libyan ICT infrastructure; Internet access; mismanagement; lack of development in HEIs in the operations of the education and the importance of Libya s geographic and width area of it. Opportunities points: Language and IT skills acquired; time management; comfortable education and new method. Threats points: Cultural barriers; lack of dependency the IT industry and lack of employ the e-learning graduates. The conclusions of SWOT analysis should help the managers and users to choose the convenient e-learning software packages for education. Also the following aspects should be considered: improvement of the learners knowledge, learning outcomes, efficiency of the teaching and learning processes and the reductions of costs. CONCLUSIONS: E-learning is dependent on technology to deliver the instructional content. The Libyan HEIs must make decisions about technology issues previous to the implementation of the e-learning strategies. Beyond the questions of what type and how much hardware, software and bandwidth will be needed, institutions must consider how the new technology will be supported. The data protection and other security issues should be also ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 54

considered. The review of different learning management systems should be done and the technology issues related to the implementation of the chosen e- learning systems should be taken into account afterwards. It is important for the HEIs to determine how to use technology as a teaching tool framed within their particular learning pedagogy and to change their existing teaching and learning methods in accordance with the pedagogy related to e- learning. The implementation of e- learning in an official setting requires inclusive strategic planning. Changing the educational offering through technology requires utilizing effective implementation plans and strategies [21]. Implementing any type of process that involves change and alters how people work can present difficulties for an organization. Estimates have shown that up to 70 percent of the cost of implementing a major organizational change effort has been linked to managing employee behavior during the transition [6]. REFERENCES [1] N. Clark, Education in Libya. World Education News and Reviews, 2004, vol. 17, no. 4. [2] K. Abouchedid, E-learning challenges in the Arab world: Revelations from a case study profile. Journal of Quality Assurance in Education, 2004, Vol. 12, no. 1. [3] T. Kenan, and C. Pislaru, Challenges related to the implementation of e-learning in higher education institutions in Libya. In: Proceedings of The Queen s Diamond Jubilee Computing and Engineering Annual Researchers Conference 2012: CEARC 12. Huddersfield: University of Huddersfield. 2012, pp. 116-122. [4] T. Kenan, C. Pislaru, and A. Elzawi, Comparing the impact of E-learning and ICT in Higher Education institutions in Libya and United Kingdom. ICEIC 2011. Florida, USA, 2010, pp. 162-173. [5] A. Elzawi, and S. Wade, Barriers to ICT adoption in quality of engineering research in Libya: how to bridge the digital divide?. In: Proceedings of The Queen s Diamond Jubilee Computing and Engineering Annual Researchers Conf.; CEARC 12. UK: University of Huddersfield. 2012, pp. 98-103. [6] A. Chen, A. Mashhadi, D. Ang, and N. Harkrider, Cultural issues in the design of technology-enhanced learning systems. British Journal of Educational Technology, 1999, vol.30, no.3, pp. 217-230. [7] BBC, ARA.NEWS. A program about the results of Libyan war. In: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/middleeast/ (ed.) Middleeast news. Feb. 2012, Http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/middleeast/ [8] T. Kenan, C. Pislaru, and A. Elzawi, Social media influnce on the student s skills in Libyan higher education. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, 2013. to be published. [9] A. Rhema and I. Miliszewska, Towards e-learning in higher education in Libya. Issues in informing Science and information technology, 2010, vol. 7, pp. 423-437. [10] A. Andersson, and A. Grönlund, A. A conceptual framework for e-learning in developing countries: a critical review of research challenges. EJISDC, 2009, vol. 38, no. 8, pp. 1-16. [11] A. Elzawi, T. kenan, S. Wade, and C. Pislaru, Bridging the Digital Divide and Enhancing the Quality of Engineering Research in Libyan Universities. In: 6th Conference on Quality in Middle East, 2012, Hamdan Bin Mohammed University, Dubai. unpublished [12] T. Kenan, C. Pislaru, and A. Elzawi, Analysing the effectiveness of e-learning based on national and international cultures and approaches to pedagogy. In: 17th UKAIS Conf. on Information Systems, March 2012,UK. New College, Oxford University (unpublished) [13] A. Rhema, and I. Miliszewska, Reflections on a Trial Implementation of an E-Learning Solution in a Libyan University. Issues in informing Science and information technology, vol. 8, pp. 61-76. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 55

[14] A. Elzawi, & J. Underwood, How Higher Engineering Researchers in Libya Perceive The Use of Internet Technology. The International Arab Conf. on Information Technology (ACIT'2010 ), University of Garyounis, Benghazi, Libya, 2010, pp. 89-98. [15] T. Kenan, C. Pislaru, and A. Elzawi, Novel SWOT Analysis of E-learning Implementation in HE Institutions in Libya. In: Intenational journal on E-learning (IJEL): Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), 2013. to be published [16] C. Armatas, D. Holt, and M. Rice, Impacts of an online-supported, resource-based learning environment: does one size fit all?. Distance Education, 2003, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 141-158. [17] A. Rhema, and I. Miliszewska, The Potential of E-Learning in Assisting Post-Crisis Countries in Re-Building Their Higher Education Systems: The Case of Libya. Issues in informing Science and information technology, vol. 9, pp. 149-160. [18] J. DYCHE, The CRM Handbook, Boston, MA.: Addison-Wesley Pearson Education. Education Economics, 2002, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 139-144. [19] J. Mapuva, Confronting challenges to e-learning in higher education institutions. International journal of education and development using information and communication technology, 2009, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 1-14. [20] A. Othman, C. Pislaru, T. Kenan, and A. Impes, Attiudes of Libyan students towards ICT and e-learning in the UK, Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference in E-learning ( ICEL2013), Ostrava, Czech Republic, 2013, pp. 123-129. [21] F. Danwa, and H. Wenbin, Research on Educational Technique Training Based on Teacher Professional Development. IEEE computer society. Second International Workshop on Education Technology and Computer Science, 2010, pp. 568-571 ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 56

Videogame: A springboard for enhancing students self-confidence Ali Soyoof Islamic Azad University, Shiraz branch,iran alisepehry17@gmail.com Sara Sedighi* Islamic Azad University, Shiraz branch,iran Sedighi_sara@yahoo.com Zahra Sedighi Islamic Azad University, science and research branch, Shiraz branch,iran sedighiaida@yahoo.com Maryam Talei Payamenur University, Tehran, Iran Maryam.talei@gmail.com *: Corresponding author Abstract: Scholars believe that for learning a new language successfully an optimal situation is required. Brown (2001) [2] has enumerated several principles that a successful classroom should be imbued with; one of these principles that plays an integral role in second language education is self-confidence. Based upon current studies one of the best avenue for augmenting self-confidence with learners is providing an atmosphere where language learners can attain their self-confidence step by step; of best avenue recently has been accentuated is Tasked based language teaching (TBLT) where not only the seeds of self-confidence can be implanted within learners but the gradual progress of self-confidence can be programed through an easy to difficult task. Recently researchers believe that there are many similarities between videogame and Tasked based Language teaching (TBLT), For instance, Rapeepisarn, Wong, Fung and Khine (2008)[12], expounded that various game genres can be used to target different learning objectives. For example, role play games, strategy games or simulations can be used to integrate skills in holistic problem-solving activities. What is more, According to Franciosi (2011) [5] in terms of flow theory videogame provides the optimal situation for engagement and participation. In order to gather data 5 Iranian EFL learners who were well-acquainted with videogame were interview. The analysis of data indicates that videogame can positively nurture self-confidence within Iranian EFL language learner.also, results display that some sense of automaticity and motivation is fostered within learners along with selfconfidence. Introduction: The main thrust of this inquiry is to change our teaching methods not only to enhance skills but to benefit from digital literacy to satisfy our future needs in digital society (Gros 2007) [8]. Children and young people are acquainted with virtual world via videogames and their interaction with technology may change ways of learning and production of knowledge (Gros, 2007)[8]. Engagement and motivation are of interesting advantages of videogame that should be taken into account, but they are not enough for educational purposes. In effect, like books and movies, videogame can be used in different ways. One of the main reasons why game is so significant is because of its content that makes the real world easy to understand. On the contrary, games are not always desirable sometimes they provide a violent and misogynistic theme (Gros, 2007)[8]. This study delves into one ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 57

of the most eminent language principles in order to find out whether is there any relationship between videogame and self-confidence or not. Videogame: Newman (2004) [11] considered videogame as follows: While scholars identify a range of social, cultural, economic, political and technological factors that suggest the need for a (re)consideration of videogames by students of media, culture and technology, here, it is useful to briefly examine just three reasons why videogames demand to be treated seriously: the size of the videogames industry; the popularity of videogames; videogames as an example of human-computer interaction. GAME: Although videogame is an obvious term it should apparently be remembered for its cultural, artistic, narrative form and also educational tool and even more (Esposito, 2005) [4]. Frasca (2004) [6] says: However, even if it sounds obvious, videogames are, before anything else, games. So, what is game? It seems that we have games for very long time, but the definitions are not numerous. However, some of them are applied to videogames with adeptness (Esposito, 2005) Salen and Zimmerman (2003) [15] define videogame as: A game is a voluntary interactive activity, in which one or more players follow rules that constrain their behavior, enacting an artificial conflict that ends in a quantifiable outcome Play: To introduce what playing a videogame is, Zimmerman (2004) [15] maintains: Play is the free space of movement within a more rigid structure. Play exists both because of and also despite the more rigid structures of a system. Zimmerman (2004) [15] also considers three classifications: game for the sake of play, funny affairs, and playfulness. Considering these classification, the eminent Huizinga connotation is attributed to the first category. Karmer (2000) [10] defines video game as follow: Such a concept, we felt, seemed to be tolerably well defined in the following terms: play is a voluntary activity or occupation executed within certain fixed limits of time and place, according to rules freely accepted but absolutely binding, having its aim in itself and accompanied by a feeling of tension, joy and the consciousness that it is different from ordinary life. AUDIOVISUAL APPARATUS: The audiovisual apparatus is an electronic system which contains computing capabilities, input devices (controllers, mouse, keyboard, etc.), and also output devices (screen, loudspeakers, etc.)it can sometimes be arcade videogames, consoles, a common computer, and so forth. Videogames facilitate human-computer interactions and can be seen as user interfaces (Esposito, 2005) [4]. As Jasper Juul (2004) [9] notices that there are big differences between videogames and their non-electronic precursors : The main difference between the computer game and its non-electronic precursors is that computer games add automation and complexity they can uphold and calculate game rules on their own, thereby allowing for richer game worlds; this also lets them keep pace. What is more, Rouse (2004) [13] considers interactivity as the key trait of his connotation of the term gameplay: ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 58

The gameplay is the component of the computer games that is found in no other art form: interactivity. A game s gameplay is the degree and nature of the interactivity that the game includes. STORY: Videogames generally embrace simulations Fransca (2003) propounds that: [6] Narrative is based on semiotic representation, while videogames also rely on simulation, understood as the modeling of a dynamic system through another system. DEFINING SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-CONFIDENCE: The ultimate success that learners can attain is self-confidence which is owing to the full capability of accomplishing a task that can also enhance the power of risk taking among students (Richards and Rennandya, 2002) [14]. Above 100 years, scholars have endeavored to denote both self-esteem and confidence and there is a handsome set of investigations that can be used. Nonetheless, this paper will focus on the more paramount and current beliefs. The pioneer investigators in the realms of self-esteem has preferred to connote self-esteem as either a sense or worthwhileness (to have a good feeling and perception about yourself) or about your capability and performance. Branden (1969) [1] ascertains that both definitions are suitable and as a result he characterizes self-esteem as follows: Confidence in our ability to think, confidence in our ability to cope with the basic challenges of life and Confidence in our right to be successful and happy, the feeling of being worthy, deserving, entitled to assert our needs and wants, achieve our values (Branden, 1994) [1]. Methodology: The participants of this study were 5 Iranian EFL language learners who had a considerable experience of videogame. Their proficiency level was ranged from elementary to intermediate based upon Oxford placement test (2007). They were all male and their age ranged from 17 to 23. They all had the experience of different videogames in different genres for at least 3 years. They were all interviewed regarding the impact of videogame upon their self-confidence. Data analysis: After the 20th century, the so-called method lost most of its proponents and pedagogy came in to vogue, pedagogy has been considered as a far broader term, in the post-method era, pedagogy is of paramount importance. Language learning principles can be deemed a the velocity for the train of post-method era; of the best language learning principles has enumerated by Brown (2001), who believes that here are several principles that a successful classroom should be imbued with; one of these principles that plays an integral role in second language education is self-confidence. Based upon current studies one of the best avenue for augmenting selfconfidence with learners is providing an atmosphere where language learners can attain their self-confidence step by step. Hadi : I like to learn the target language via videogame. There are numerous reasons why I would like to learn it through videogames; one of the most integral of them is the intrinsic motivation. Indeed, whenever I play videogame I have intrinsic motivation and even if sometimes I do not, by accomplishing a level I again gain my intrinsic motivation by benefiting from extrinsic motivation. Also, the quality of game and playing the role of a hero give enough self-confidence for other tasks in my life. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 59

As mentioned above by Hadi, it can be concluded that videogame can be a fresh tool for enhancing motivation within language learners. Also, the quality of games and participating in the very real atmosphere gives language learners a sense of relief. Tellingly, when players play the role an important person or a hero to some extent they gain self-confidence. Both kind of motivation can be observed in videogame; most importantly videogames can turn students extrinsic motivation into intrinsic one. Ali: In my opinion, videogame can be a suitable tool for teaching and enhancing students self-confidence, one of the best traits of videogame is its tutorial phase where players can learn the most basic skills, in high quality graphic as well as film that is way simpler to learn. Moreover, they have enough opportunity to engage in tutorial level and attain enough skill for main levels. Also, there is no stressful situation and students can promote their skills privately. Based upon above-mentioned sentences by Ali, it can be inferred that videogame provides its tutorial form in a superior way, the tutorial phase of videogame includes both role-play and high quality films and graphics which by itself can promote learners self-confidence. Also, players can engage in their future role and practice as much as possible privately, which is not a stressful place like classroom that can deteriorate language learners selfconfidence. At first, learners can promote their skills based upon a standard benchmark, and then they can engage in competitive phase like the multiplayers phase in most videogames. Sadegh: In my experience, the kind of atmosphere videogame caters is very suitable for language learning and promoting students self-confidence, for instance, the nature of videogames invite players for a challenge for experiencing a new atmosphere. Also, I believe that videogames invite to success not failure. In comparison to classroom, one failure in classroom is enough for me to lose my self-confidence and do not try again, but in games after lots of failure I do not discourage and by one success I forget them all. According to what mentioned by Sadegh, in can be extracted that the general goal of videogame can be enticing for learners to begin a new challenge, also videogames atmosphere is provided for success rather than failure. What is more, according to follow theory the optimal atmosphere is provided through videogames which dangles players between boredom and enthusiasm. Also, in comparison to classroom, when students fail and make a mistake in front of their peers they lose their self-confidence but in a private place there is no one to be ashamed of, so they do not succumb to one failure and not only do not lose their self-confidence but they find more opportunity to work for success, and as a result to gain a better self-confidence. Navid: one of the unique aspects of videogame is providing an easy to difficult levels. It is mandatory for players to accomplish one level to go to the next one. In other words, it is a gradual task and it is chained process that players need to gain enough skill to move to the next level. Also, videogames provide enough feedback to make players understand how they should correct themselves in different phase which allows players to go further and further by a new try. As mention above by Navid, it can be conclude that videogame is like a task and scholars investigation indicate that videogame can be considered as a more comprehensive and developed module of task-based language teaching (TBLT), the essence of video game is a step by step task that is chained from easy to difficult, and as a result players should accomplish an easier level in order to go to the next harder level, this process can cater an atmosphere where students gain their self-confidence step by step which is deemed as the best form, because at first it is easy to gain self-confidence and in further levels students can rely on the skills they gained ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 60

through previous levels. Tellingly, the kind of feedback videogames offer can promote players precedent reactions which again boost their self-confidence due to their progress in a given phase. Reza: In my experience, videogame is not limited to just self-confidence. There are several other characteristics that I felt during playing these games. Motivation is one of them, both intrinsically and extrinsically. Also, by performing the game step by step I find better skills in that particular game at first I did not know even how to do the most basic reactions, but after a moment I became very skillful in the game. Also, because there is no peer or teacher you can find as many opportunities as you want. And as result you sometimes can risk and try different method, even sometimes I accomplish a hard phase by benefiting from my own creativity and intuition. According to what uttered above by Reza, in can be understood that videogames can not only offers selfconfidence but also other skills namely, creativity, since sometimes players can rely on their own intuition or creativity for accomplishing a given level. Also, they can boost their automaticity due to the fact that they gain a particular skill after enough engagement in videogames. Besides, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can be observed in videogames. Conclusion: The paramount role of self-confidence in both EFL/ESL contexts is undeniable. One of the main issues researchers and investigators have conducted a great deal of inquires about is self-confidence. In this study researchers offered videogame as a new tool for promoting students self-confidence. Based upon what participants of this study mentioned videogame can enhance students self-confidence by providing an easy to difficult task. Also, if language learners fail, there will be no blame and ridicule from peers or students owing to the privacy of videogame. What is more, according to follow theory videogames provide the optimal situation for students engagement. Besides, language learners are benefited from both type of motivation in the course of playing videogames which can provide the necessary energy for language learners to perform their task with a better quality. Finally, in students perspective, several language learning principles that are very crucial for learning language successfully can also be observed in videogames namely, motivation, engagement, risk-taking and creativity. References: [1] Branden, N. (1969). The psychology of self-esteem. New York: Bantam. [2] Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy.2nd ed. [3] Esposito, N. Émulation et conservation du patrimoine culturel lié aux jeux video. Proceedings of ICHIM 04( Digital Culture and Heritage), 2004. [4] Esposito, N.(2005) A short and simple definition of what video game is. Proceedings of DiGRA Conference:Changing View-Worlds in Play. Available online: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.60.1409 [5] Franciosi, S. (2011) A Comparison of Computer Game and Language-Learning Task Design Using Flow Theory. CALL-EJ, 12(1), 11-25. [6] Frasca, G. Simulation versus Narrative. In Wolf, M. J. P. & Perron, B. (eds), The Video Game Theory Reader, Routledge, 2003. [7] Frasca, G. Videogames of the Oppressed. In Wardrip-Fruin, N. & Harrigan, P. (eds), First Person, MIT Press, 2004. [8] Gros,B.(2007),Digital games in education: The design of games-based learning environment. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 61

[9] Juul, J. Introduction to Game Time. In Wardrip-Fruin, N. & Harrigan, P. (eds), First Person, MIT Press,2004. [10] Kramer W. What Is a Game? The Game Journal, December, 2000. [11] Newman, J. Videogames. Routledge, 2004. [12] Rapeepisarn, K., Wong, K. W., Fung, C. C., & Khine, M. S. (2008). The relationship between game genres, learning techniques and learning styles in educational computer games. In Z. Pan, Z. Zhang, A. El Rhalibi, W. Woo, & Y. Li (Eds.), Technologies for E-learning and Digital Entertainment (pp. 497-508). Berlin: Springer. [13] Rouse, R. Game Design. Wordware Publishing, 2004. [14] Richards, JC and WA Renandya,(2002).Methodalogy in language teaching : an anthology of current practice(pp.13-14). [15] Salen, K. & Zimmerman, E. Rules of Play. MIT Press, 2003. [16] Zimmerman, E. Narrative, Interactivity, Play, and Games. In Wardrip-Fruin, N. & Harrigan, P. (eds), First Person, MIT Press, 2004. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 62

Videogame: A Superior Tool in Teacher s Kit Ali Soyoof Islamic Azad University, Shiraz branch,iran alisepehry17@gmail.com Sara Sedighi* Islamic Azad University, Shiraz branch,iran Sedighi_sara@yahoo.com Zahra Sedighi Islamic Azad University, science and research branch, Shiraz branch,iran sedighiaida@yahoo.com Maryam Talei Payamenur University, Tehran, Iran Maryam.talei @gmail.com *: Corresponding author Abstract Language learners generally encounter a set of problems in the cumbersome journey of learning a new language. One of the most pivotal problems language learners have to get along with is cultural differences between L1 and L2. Scholars believe that for learning language aptly practitioners should highly concentrate on the cultural aspects of L2 language. Unfortunately, classroom has its own limitation. For instance, teachers don t have enough time to allocate to these cultural differences appropriately or they may don t have enough knowledge regarding the culture of L2; or even sometimes there are biased and do not reflect these cultural differences appropriately. Recent study shows that there is growing interest in language learners for understanding these cultural differences realistically. One of the most current tools that can actualize the possibility of operationalizing this recent interest is videogame. Videogame can provide a virtual situation not only where students can attend to these cultural differences but where they can participate in that given atmosphere and stay with it for a while. To gather data 6 Iranian EFL language learners who were well-acquainted with videogame were interviewed. The results of this study indicates that learners who benefited from videogame believe that videogame can be deemed as a superior tool by which language learners can feel the true way cultural differences are. Also, after participating in those cultural differences they can make unbiased decisions. What is more, languages learners feel these cultural differences subconsciously which bring about learners tolerate L2 cultural differences more optimally than usual situation. The result also shows that videogame can be a fresh wave for minimizing the potential cultural shock between two languages. Introduction: Notwithstanding the fact that a set of disadvantages have been enumerated for videogame namely, addiction, increased aggression, medical and psychological influences, investigations indicate that videogame has its own merits. Tellingly, videogame can promote learners reaction, hand-eye co-ordination and self-esteem. In a parallel vein, it can enhance learners sense of curiosity, fun as well as challenge. Intriguingly, one of the very unique aspects of videogame is provoking learners to allocate more time for their learning experience owing to the edutainment essence of these games (Griffiths, 2002) [3]. By considering games that were created a decade ago, games have tremendously been progressed. In effect, game designers have created far better games with a highly improved sound and graphics. What is more, the expansion and development of videogame even goes further ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 63

every day. For instance, today s games are immensely improved in comparison to Pac-man a game that was produced three or four decades ago. Nonetheless, the fundamental traits of games have not been changed drastically. Like several decades ago games can be classified into simulation, role play, sports, puzzle and adventure. Role play games can vary drastically from playing the role of a pilot of F-14 to leading the development of a civilized society (Civilization, Age of Empires, Alpha Centauri), players can also participate in fantasy role play (Final Fantasy VIII), (Squire, 2003) [10]. Literature review: Game: Drill and Practice Computer has generally been used in educational context as a supporting and facilitating tool for both practice and dill of factual recall (Jonassen, 1988) [6]. Drill-based and practice-based games namely, Alga-Blaster, Reader Rabbit, or even Knowledge Munchers have been so widespread due to their mechanism that can be easily adaptable to traditional as well as didactic curriculum as enrichment exercises. These games can be benefited from as a proper extracurricular practice. One of the best kinds of drill and practice game is the action genre of videogame that can enormously enhance learner for participation (Bowman 1982; Malone 1980) [1,7]. Few investigations have been conducted to find out whether aforementioned games are effective or not. Nonetheless, there are some reasons that can backbone why a well-designed videogame lead into a far better learning than a non-computer based one (Clark, 1983) [2]. While drill-based and practice-based games can have a pivotal role in learners learning and its atmosphere like problem-based learning (Savery & Duffy, 1995) [9], benefiting from videogame to underpin students inquiries about micro-words or being used as a calculation tool(papert 1980; Reiber, 1996) [8], is more prevalent with the upcoming paradigm of instruction. Simulation and Strategy games: In contrast with games which abstain from using actual world rules to use its own rules, simulation games try to build its mechanism in way that is highly adaptable to reality (Heinich et al, 1996) [4]. Simulation games try to make a system that is very similar to physical and social system by taking advantages from other symbol system, like computer interface. Thiagarjan (1988) [11] makes a distinction between high and low fidelity simulation. High-fidelity version of simulations tries to imitate every possible interaction of its model, while the low-fidelity one attempts to imitate only the key traits of its model. Owing to the extravagant cost of high-fidelity version it is mainly being used in actual activity that is either cost-prohibitive or too dangerous, namely, for training pilot (Thiagarajan, 1992). Military sometimes take advantages from these games by releasing them to the market as an entertainment or software (Herz, 1997) [5]. The superiority of high-fidelity version is upon simulating every possible action players should do while the low-fidelity version have an edge over the high-fidelity one in terms of providing the main components of a system in the absence of a cost (Squire, 2003) [10]. CULTURAL LEARNING It is incumbent upon learners to learn Cultural knowledge due to the fact that this knowledge in a far broader sense is synonymous to their pragmatic competence that can embrace interpretations, schemata and scripts of a specific culture. Moreover, Tschirner, maintains that Language is a cultural product. In the multicultural societies of the information age, intercultural understanding and appropriate cross-cultural behavior are likely to become essential skills for all humans. (Tschirner, 2001, p.8) [13] [. Hence, to learn cultural knowledge and its cultural analytical reasoning can play an integral role very similar to the acquisition of functional competency ( Tschirner ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 64

, 2001) [13]. Learning frequent cultural knowledge can tremendously help through benefiting from genuine video documents. Nonetheless, Pictures and photos cannot be considered as a suitable aid for catering enough room to find out how the culture of target countries can be ( Tschirner, 2001) [13]. Tschirner, ascertains that Human action, mimic and gesture, etc. have to be seen if one wants to gain insights about the semiotic systems representative of another culture. ( Tschirner, 2001, p.8) [13]. Due to human interaction s pace and also its complexity, technological software and hardware that can decrease the communicative behavior of human being and is capable of concentrating on these various traits can be very helpful. By each repetition, a various body of signs can be sort out to catch learner s attention that is necessary for learning ( Tschirner, 2001) [13]. Methodology: The participants of this study were 6 Iranian EFL language learners who had a tremendous experience of videogame. Their proficiency level was ranged from elementary to intermediate based upon oxford placement test (2007). They were all male and their age ranged from 16 to 23. They all had the experience of different videogames in different genres for at least 3 years. They were all interviewed so as to find out how effective videogame cab be for learning culture. Data analysis: Advantages of learning Culture through videogame: One of the most crucial strategies that can improve students language learning is attuning their knowledge concerning target language culture. Nonetheless, there are some restrictions in classroom. Additionally, it is virtually impossible to learn language without its culture. And even if it comes about the learners are not capable of getting along with different contexts in target language. Reza: I like to learn the L2 culture through videogame. There are lots of reasons why I would like to learn it via videogame; one of them is the quality of videogame in offering L2 culture, videogames provide a virtual world that is very similar to L2 culture. I believe that it is impossible to teach culture in classrooms, since culture is far more complicated than few pictures and a general oral description. By noticing to above-mentioned sentences, it can be inferred that videogame can provide a very similar situation to the real L2 culture. What is more, videogames use the most current technology for teaching a new culture that can stimulate learners for learning more efficiently owing to the atmosphere it caters for players. Also, culture is more complex than few pictures and it is very hard for students to become acquainted with L2 culture by benefiting from classroom atmosphere. Sadegh: In my opinion, it is ridiculous for me to teach culture within classroom context. There are a set of limitations in classrooms. For instance, the majority of cultural differences cannot even be mentioned in classroom, because the norms of different societies vary according to their belief, but videogame does not have such limitations. Based upon what mentioned by Sadegh, it can be concluded that even mentioning some of the cultural differences within classroom context is prohibited, due to the problems they can cause within classroom context. Besides, the norms of a culture can be ridiculous for another culture owing to the different perspectives one can have. Mehdi: As far as I know, classroom has its own limitation, but, learning language via videogame is very amusing and intriguing. Also, it offers a culture as it is, simply put, it is not biased. Additionally, videogames facilitate the process of students participation because of its edutainment nature. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 65

Based upon what mentioned by Mehdi, it can be understood that learning language via videogame is very interesting because of the atmosphere it provides for learning. Also, the edutainment nature of videogames stimulates learners to participate more in culture learning. Moreover, it offers the L2 culture in unbiased manner. What is more, according to flow theory the optimal environment for the maximum participation is offered by videogame where students are sustained between boredom and enthusiasm. Also, the edutainment essence of videogame promotes students participation unprecedentedly. Hadi: In my experience, videogame is the best way for learning new materials, history, and culture. One of the most integral benefits that can be ascribed to videogame is its implicit nature, put it in a nut shell, videogame provides a situation where students can experience implicit learning which in my opinion has a more retention in my mind and due to its discovery-based traits can cater an atmosphere where learners can experience not only the most basic feature of a culture but its most detailed ingredients. According to what mentioned by Hadi, videogames can make implicit learning possible which can rarely be experienced in educational context due to time and budget restriction. What is more, in SLA principles (second language acquisition) scholars emphasize the importance of of implicit learning for learning language successfully. Also, the idea of learning culture implicitly can offer a handsome room for language learners to firstly learn the most general characteristics of one culture and in the nest phase learn the L2 culture in a detail. Navid: I believe that videogame is a very useful tool for learning a new language as well as culture. One of the rare features that most videogame are imbued with is the motivation they provide for language learner both intrinsically and extrinsically, also in my own experience, accomplishing each phase of a game can promote learners self-confidence that can help them for being successful in other spheres of their lives. From what Navid uttered above, it can be extracted that videogames are mostly full-fledged with motivation either intrinsically or extrinsically or even both of them. Scholars in the realms of motivation ascertain that if we consider learning as a car then motivation is as influential as an engine or fuel for movement. Moreover, some other ingredients of successful learning can be observed in videogames namely, self-confidence which plays a crucial role in learning as well as daily life. Ali: I like videogame and I believe that it can be considered as a fresh wave for teaching new materials, especially culture; of the unique aspects of videogame I highly recommend is the subconscious characteristic of these games that ease the situation for learners to accept target language culture. Also, they are story-based which facilitate for language learners to connect cultural details for a better retention. From the what Ali mentioned, it can inferred that the subconscious trait of videogame can implicitly entice language learners to embrace the target language culture, though, they are differences between L1 and L2 culture owing to different norms every society has for itself. Besides, the story-based essence of these games allows language learners to make a connection between different instructions from the most general one to the most specific one. In effect, videogames help language learners to remember the cultural norms of a particular society for a longer period of time. Conclusion: It is believed that learning a new language is actually learning a new culture. Without learning the culture of a particular language, language learners cannot be capable of communicating successfully. The data analysis of this study indicates that in students view videogame can provide a situation where students can engage in learning a culture of a new language enthusiastically. Due to the complexity of culture, it is not possible to teach a new ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 66

culture only by several pictures. Nonetheless, videogames offer different high quality video and multimedia. Moreover, it allows language learners to attend to the new culture virtually and feel the L2 culture. Videogame through its intriguing atmosphere persuades language learners to the maximum participation. Additionally, it is believe that videogame can provide the L2 culture in unbiased way. Furthermore, since videogame teach the L2 culture subconsciously the influence of students ego is minimized. Finally, in students perspective, videogame can enhance some other learning principles namely, motivation, self-confidence and so forth. References: [1] Bowman, R.F. 1982. A Pac-Man theory of motivation. Tactical implications for classroom instruction. Educational Technology 22(9), 14-17. [2] Clark, R. E. 1983. Reconsidering research on learning from media. Review of Educational Research 53(4), 445-459. [3] Griffiths, M.D. (2002). The educational benefits of videogames Education and Health, 20, 47-51. [4] Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russell, J.D., & Smaldino, S.E. 1996. Instructional media and technologies for learning. (5th Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. [5] Herz, J.C. 1997. Joystick Nation. How videogames ate our quarters, won our hearts, and rewired our minds. Princeton, NJ: Little Brown & Company. [6] Jonassen, D.H. 1988. Integrating learning strategies nto courseware to facilitate deeper processing. In David H. Jonassen (Ed.), Instructional Designs for Microcomputer Courseware (pp. 151-181). Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum. [7] Malone, T.W. 1980. What makes things fun to learn? A study of intrinsically motivating computer games. (Report CIS-7). Palo Altao, CA: Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. [8] Papert, S. 1981. Mindstorms: Children, computers and powerful ideas. Brighton: Harvester Press. [9] Savery, J.R., & Duffy, T.M. 1995. Problem based learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework. Educational Technology, 35(5), 31-37. [10] Squire, K. (2003). Video games in education. International Journal of Intelligent Simulations and Gaming (2) 1. [11] Thiagarajan, S. 1998. The myths and realities of simulations in performance technology. Educational Technology, 38(5), 35-41. [12] Thiagarajan, S. & Thiagarajan, R. 1999. Interactive experiential training: 19 strategies. Bloomington, IN: Workshops by Thiagi, Inc. [13] Tschirner, E. (2001). Language Acquisition in the Classroom: The Role of Digital Video. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 2001, Vol. 14, No. 3-4, pp. 305±319 ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 67

Integrating English corpus linguistics and online learning environments at university level Giovanna Carloni Department of International Studies University of Urbino Urbino, Italy giovanna.carloni@uniurb.it Abstract: Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) courses have been implemented at the University of Urbino, Italy, for some years now. To promote CLIL instruction effectively across all departments, a blended learning model has been designed. In this paper, the integration of corpus linguistics and online learning is described along with online collaborative tasks. Keywords-component: English corpus linguistics, corpus-informed activities, online learning. I. Introduction In CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) instruction, content subjects are taught through the medium of a foreign language. CLIL aims to promote concurrently content knowledge and foreign language acquisition: in the teaching and learning process, there is a focus not only on content, and not only on language. 1 At the University of Urbino, CLIL courses are part of an Internationalization Project targeted to promote multilingualism and student mobility in higher education. A CLIL expert and English native-speaker specialists are available to help university lecturers plan and teach their courses. Online Learning A Blended Learning Model A blended learning model has been designed to help instructors implement CLIL courses in English. In particular, online scaffolding is provided to learners to help them manage CLIL instruction effectively. Coursetailored activities are devised for each course using free tools, software, and mobile apps. Besides content knowledge and English language development, learner autonomy is consistently targeted through online learning. Students are expected to carry out various online activities autonomously before and after class. Self-directed learning is a key parameter in CLIL: CLIL as a fused subject provides a learning environment which promotes the capacity for self-organisation. 2 Online Scaffolding Online scaffolding aims to help learners effectively manage English subject-specific written materials out of class; a thorough knowledge of the reading materials assigned is also pivotal for students to effectively process the input provided in the target language during lectures in class. Online course-tailored activities are made available; learners are thus introduced to key content-specific vocabulary items in the academic articles they have to study prior to or after class. Furthermore, students can access language awareness activities and can carry out collaborative tasks online. [1] Do Coyle, Philip Hood, and David Marsh, CLIL, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. [2] Dieter Wolff, CLIL and Learner Autonomy: relating two educational concepts, in Education et Sociétés Plurilingues, 2011. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 68

Corpus Linguistics and Online Learning in CLIL To create online activities for CLIL courses, course-tailored Do-It-Yourself (DIY) corpora are created by a CLIL expert. Sketch Engine,3 web-based software, is used both to investigate existing corpora and to compile new corpora. This section presents both the results retrieved from the investigation of a corpus featuring English coursespecific academic prose and the activities devised using the data retrieved from the corpus. Content-specific Vocabulary To create course-tailored activities within a CLIL pedagogical framework, each article listed in course reading materials is investigated by means of corpus linguistics analysis. Corpus-driven data, [f]indings are corpus-driven if they are extracted from corpora, using the methodology of corpus linguistics, then intellectually processed and turned into results, 4 are used to devise corpus-informed teaching materials: By developing corpus-influenced materials, writers can couple the detailed knowledge of language as it is actually used provided by a corpus with their own expertise of designing language activities. 5 Corpus-informed materials feature various advantages in terms of foreign language learning: The five ways corpus-influenced materials are more beneficial to students are: 1. They are based on actual language use, providing a more accurate picture of the language. 2. Their examples [ ] are a reflection of authentic language. 3. Their syllabi are informed by frequency information, providing learners exposure to more useful language. 4. They are able to distinguish how different language is used in different registers. 5. They can provide specialized language to particular groups of learners.6 In corpus linguistics, keywords are words in a corpus whose frequency is unusually high. 7 Keywords are likely to be the core subject-specific vocabulary items of academic texts. The knowledge of content-specific vocabulary is pivotal for CLIL learners to process thoroughly discipline-specific texts: Technical vocabulary is essential to understanding discourse in a field, and can cover 10% or more of the running words in a text from the field (Sutarsyah, Nation, and Kennedy, 1994). 8 Within this theoretical framework, a DIY corpus, the Landscape painting corpus, was compiled with Sketch Engine using an article on landscape painting suitable to art history courses. Keywords were first retrieved from the course-tailored corpus. To this purpose, the British National Corpus was selected as reference corpus; reliable data were thus obtained. Some of the top-ranking keywords, provided in order of frequency, are the following: painting, erasure, representationality, painterly, mechanized, cinematic, modernist, still-life, landscape, representational, non-figurative, monochromatic, panorama, seamstress, viewer, figurative, semblance, indexical, installation, pictorial, mechanization, conceptualization, illusory, transcendental, written-painted, toxic-ink, technographical, techno-installation, sketchy-techno-drawing, retro-avantgarde, post-avantgarde, pictorialism, mediumality, graphical-digital, field-painting, drawn-paintings, anti-narrative, representational, spatiality, non- [3] http://www.sketchengine.co.uk. [4] Wolfgang Teubert and Anna Čermáková, Corpus Linguistics. A Short Introduction, London: Continuum, 2004. [5] Gena Bennett, Using Corpora in the Language Learning Classroom, Anne Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2010. [6] Ibidem.. [7] Tony McEnery, Richard Xiao, and Yukio Tono, Corpus-Based Language Studies. An Advanced Resource Book, London and New York: [8] Norbert Schmitt, Researching Vocabulary. A Vocabulary Research Manual, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Routledge, 2006. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 69

representational, reinvention, two-dimensional, diptych, architectonic, formlessness, postmodern, scratching, dyadic, minimalism, dissimulation, overshadowing, life-giving, handicraft, expressionist, flatness. Left-sorted concordances, retrieved in KWIC (Key Word in Context) format, of the query term painting, one of the top-ranking keywords mentioned above, showed that collocations, i.e. the habitual co-occurrence of words/linguistic items in close proximity to one another, 9 such as landscape, modern, modernist, non-figurative, representational, and traditional paintings were quite common (Fig. 1). Right-sorted concordances of painting retrieved the collocation painting hand. Figure 1. Left-sorted concordances of painting. Left-sorted concordances of landscape, another top-ranking keyword, were also elaborated. Through the analysis of the concordance output, the following collocations emerged: two-dimensional, visible, written, writtendrawn, painted, and frozen landscape. Right-sorted concordances of landscape retrieved collocations such as landscape painting and landscape paintings. Lexical profiling was implemented: Lexical profiling is an efficient way to exploit a [ ] corpus while reducing the effort required by the human user. 10 With Sketch-Engine, Word Sketches can be elaborated: Word sketches are one-page automatic, corpus-based summaries of a word s grammatical and collocational behaviour. 11 A Word Sketch for painting revealed that the query item was the object of verbs such as characterize, investigate, define, draw, classify, and deform as well as the subject of verbs such as defeat, operate, depict, and produce (Fig. 2). Figure 2. Word Sketch for painting. [9] Sebastian Hoffmann, Stefan Evert, Nicholas Smith, David Lee, and Ylva Berglund Prytz, Corpus Linguistics with BNCweb A Practical Guide, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2008. [10] Lynne Flowerdew, Corpora and Language Education, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. [11] Adam Kilgarriff, Pavel Rychly, Pavel Smrz, and David Tugwell, The Sketch Engine, 2004. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 70

A Word Sketch for landscape showed that the query item worked as the subject of verbs such as convey, bear, and turn. Furthermore, the search word was frequently retrieved in of-phrases such as the overshadowing of landscape, the dissociation of landscape, the expressiveness of early landscapes, and the path of the landscape. By means of Word Sketch Differences, a Sketch-Engine tool which specif[ies], for two semantically related words, what behaviour they share and how they differ, 12 lexical items that collocate with both landscape and painting were searched. The collocates retrieved were written (written paintings, written landscapes), early (early landscapes, early paintings, early landscape paintings), and project (landscape painting project). Keywords and keyword-related collocations were used to create online activities, devised with Word Dynamo.13 Before reading the art history article, students could thus familiarize themselves with the main content-specific vocabulary items and collocations of the targeted text through online matching activities. Learners were expected to match the most frequently used technical terms with their definitions; the activities could also be accessed on mobile devices. Online activities were instrumental in building learners background content knowledge. After being introduced to the key content-specific vocabulary items, students were encouraged to read the assigned reading material on their own. Thanks to corpus-informed activities, learners were thus enabled to process the academic article effectively. As Kramsch suggests: To understand texts, readers draw on prior experience and knowledge. [ ] Called alternately frames, scripts, o schemata, this background knowledge makes it possible to anticipate incoming information, relate it to previous knowledge and thus make global sense of the text as it unfolds. Fillmore (1981) has distinguished three kinds of schemata: text schemata that deal with grammatical and cohesion structures; genre schemata that pertain to the rhetorical structures of different text genres (fairy tales, letters, newspaper articles, etc.); and content schemata that refer to the topic.14 Language Awareness To promote foreign language acquisition as required within a CLIL pedagogical framework, language awareness was promoted. Thus, proactive form-focused instruction was implemented: Proactive form-focused instruction involves pre-planned instruction designed to enable students to notice and to use target language features that might otherwise not be used or even noticed in classroom discourse. 15 To this end, the main linguistic features of the art history academic article were searched. Nominalizations, that is nouns that are derived from verbs and adjectives, 16 emerged as a core parameter of the text investigated. Through the analysis of concordance outputs, about one hundred and forty nouns ending in -tion were identified (Fig. 3): condition, consideration, conceptualization, investigation, repetition, installation, resuscitation, exhibition, composition, depiction, alienation, destruction, decoration, dissimulation, connection, addition, operation, communication, mechanization, rotation, illustration, equation. [12] Ibidem. [13] http://dynamo.dictionary.com. [14] Claire Kramsch, Context and Culture in Language Teaching, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. [15] Roy Lyster, Learning and Teaching Languages through Content. A Counterbalanced Approach, Amsterdam: John Benjamins [16] Douglas Biber, Susan Conrad, and Geoffrey Leech, Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English, Harlow: Longman, 2002. Publishing, 2007. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 71

Figure 3. Nouns ending in -tion. Likewise, numerous nouns ending in -ity over fifty lexical items were retrieved: specificity, sensitivity, uniformity, modernity, visibility, availability, materiality, spatiality, mediumality, functionality, subjectivity, purity, priority. In this respect, it is noteworthy that Biber s studies pinpoint nominalizations as [m]uch more common in academic prose, especially nouns formed with -tion and -ity. 17 Furthermore, almost one hundred and forty derived adjectives ending in -al were retrieved: mechanical, theoretical, historical, critical, conceptual, formal, visual, architectural, two-dimensional, transcendental, philosophical, artificial, pictorial, graphical-digital, instrumental, ethical, representational, lexical. The data were in keeping with Biber s findings: Derived adjectives [ ] [are] [m]uch more common in academic prose, especially adjectives formed with -al. 18 Nominal binomials, which are especially frequent in academic prose as Biber suggests,19 were identified as a common pattern in the art history article searched. Nominal binomials such as painting and life, painting and sculpture, painting and video were retrieved. Another key feature of the art history article was postmodification of noun phrases through participial clauses. As Biber holds: Participial clauses as post-modifiers in noun phrases [are] very common in academic prose. 20 Examples of participial clauses working as postmodifiers in noun phrases are the following: landscape painting displayed, the painting discussed, frozen landscape crusted over by death, landscapes linked into a progressive narrative, painting positioned in the early cinematic world. Prepositional phrases working as postmodifiers, which Biber categorizes as a key feature of academic prose,21 were detected as a recurrent pattern in the Landscape painting corpus investigated. Some examples follow: painting as a field, painting as a two-dimensional medium, the painting in its totality, a painting under erasure. In academic prose, the use of prepositional phrases is highly instrumental since prepositional phrases allow a very dense packaging of information in a text. 22 Furthermore, many of-phrases over three hundred were identified. [17] Douglas Biber, University Language. A Corpus-Based Study of Spoken and Written Registers, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing, [18] Ibidem. [19] Ibidem. [20] Ibidem. [21] Ibidem. [22] Biber, Conrad, and Leech, 2002. 2006. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 72

It is noteworthy that of-phrases, which are [m]uch more common in writing, 23 were the most common prepositional phrases in the corpus. Overall, premodification and postmodification emerged as pivotal features of the academic article investigated, which was in keeping with Biber s findings: noun phrases in academic writing usually have premodifiers or postmodifiers (or both). [ ] [In] academic prose, [ ] a majority of all noun phrases have some modifications. In fact, much of the new information in academic texts occurs in the modifiers in noun phrases, resulting in a very high density of information.24 On the other hand, in the Landscape painting corpus searched, the relative pronoun that was used almost five times more than the relative pronoun which ; this result was in contrast with Biber s findings claiming that the relative pronoun which is the most widely used in academic writing.25 In terms of discourse organizers,26 some lexical bundles, i.e. the most frequent recurring sequences of word, 27 were detected. In particular, the following lexical bundles were retrieved: the purpose of indexing topic introduction/focus; 28 on the one hand, on the other hand, and at the same time indexing topic elaboration/clarification; 29 one of the major indexing identification/focus. 30 Referential expressions31 such as in terms of, as a result of, in accordance with, an understanding of, the relationship between were retrieved. For CLIL to be effective, foreign language acquisition needs to be fostered along with content knowledge. In the blended model devised at the University of Urbino, instructors promote the intake of content knowledge in class while students work mainly on the development of English as a foreign language autonomously online. Thus, the content- and academic-specific lexico-grammatical features retrieved from the Landscape painting corpus were used to implement online course-tailored language awareness. A CLIL expert created online Learnclick-generated32 activities aimed to guide students to infer the main language features of the academic article investigated. Corpusdriven data related to the following categories were targeted: collocations, nominalizations, derived adjectives, binomials, discourse organizers, referential expressions, participial clauses and prepositional phrases as postmodifiers. Furthermore, Learnclick-generated cloze exercises and matching activities were created in order for learners to use the targeted language elements; the intake of content- and academic-specific lexico-grammatical items was thus enhanced. Learnclick-generated activities were also devised to foster the intake of content-specific lexical sets. Online Collaborative Learning As part of the blended model devised, online course-tailored content-focused collaborative tasks are designed for each CLIL course to enhance students active engagement: There is a growing body of research literature that [23] Biber, 2006. [24] Biber, Conrad, and Leech, 2002. [25] Biber, 2006. [26] In the present study, the analysis of lexical bundles which mostly characterize written academic prose was carried out on the basis of the classification provided in Douglas Biber, University Language. A Corpus-Based Study of Spoken and Written Registers, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing, 2006. [27] Biber, 2006. [28] Ibidem. [29] Ibidem. [30] Ibidem. [31] Ibidem. [32] http://www.learnclick.com. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 73

clearly demonstrates that active engagement in online learning environments is effective and highly desired by students (Creanor et al., 2006; Weaver et al., 2008). 33 Skehan defines tasks as follows: A task is an activity in which: meaning is primary learners are not given other people s meanings to regurgitate there is some sort of relationship to comparable real world activities task completion has some sort of priority the assessment of the task is in terms of outcome.34 Tasks are pivotal to foster higher-order thinking skills in CLIL: [A]ccomplishing a task has two consequences. First, a person will acquire information facts, concepts, principles, solutions involved in the particular task that is accomplished. Second, a person will practice operations memorizing, classifying, inferring, analyzing used to obtain or produce the information demanded by the task.35 Students can use Mightybell, 36 a free online space, to carry out CLIL subject-specific tasks collaboratively. In this learning environment, learners can post text messages, files, and images; furthermore, videos can be embedded. While working collaboratively, students can also use the chat made available. All interactions need to be carried out in English. Online collaborative tasks foster negotiation for meaning [...] [which] facilitates acquisition because it connects input, internal learner capacities, particularly selective attention, and output in productive ways; 37 the intake of the target language is thus consistently enhanced along with content knowledge. To accomplish CLIL tasks, learners are expected to search, evaluate, and share subject-specific materials in English with peers. Students can use content curation tools, such as Pearltrees38 and BagTheWeb,39 to bookmark and share the information gathered; group members can thus use the information collected to create new knowledge collaboratively. As a result of online collaborative tasks, content knowledge and foreign language development are fostered. Critical thinking, an essential component of CLIL, is also promoted by means of collaborative tasks scaffolded through Web 2.0 tools: Learning tasks: Should be authentic, personalized, experiential, learner driven and designed, and enable the creation of content and innovative ideas by learners. 40 CLIL learner-centred instruction is thereby consistently promoted in an online networked learning environment designed in keeping with Pedagogy 2.0: we are witnessing a re-definition of the roles of both teachers and learners, with the latter assuming more active roles [33] Belinda Tynan and Cameron Barnes, Web 2.0 and Professional Development of Academic Staff, in M. J. W. Lee, C. McLoughlin (eds.), Web 2.0-Based E-Learning: Applying Social Informatics for Tertiary Teaching, New York: Information Science Reference, 2011. [34] Dave Willis and Jane Willis, Doing Task-based Teaching, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. [35] Walter Doyle, Academic work, in Review of Educational Research, 53.2, 1983. [36] https://mightybell.com [37] Michael Long, The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition, in W. Ritchie and T. Bhatia (eds.), Handbook of Language Acquisition. Vol. 2: Second Language Acquisition, New York: Academic Press, 1996. [38] http://www.pearltrees.com. [39] http://www.bagtheweb.com. [40] Catherine McLoughlin and Mark Lee, The Three P s of Pedagogy for the Networked Society: Personalization, Participation and Productivity, in International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 20.1, 2008. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 74

as contributors of course content and ideas while also demonstrating learning outcomes through performance and production of ideas. 41 Conclusion The integration of corpus linguistics in a CLIL blended model represents an effective strategy in terms of both content knowledge and foreign language acquisition. Online activities students are expected to carry out on their own are also instrumental in fostering learner autonomy in a technology-enhanced learning environment: Learner control has a huge role to play and is consistent with the intentions behind Web 2.0 technologies (Dron, 2007). 42 Autonomous learning in a CLIL academic setting is thus promoted: The notion of self-regulation of academic learning is a multidimensional construct, including cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, behavioural, and environmental processes that learners can apply to enhance academic achievement. [ ] This new emphasis has been explicitly expressed by Zimmerman [ ]: Neither a mental ability nor an academic performance skill, self-regulation refers instead to the self-directive process through which learners transform their mental abilities into task-related academic skills.43 Furthermore, collaborative activities requiring learners to interact in English to accomplish subject-specific tasks online aim to enhance students active engagement in knowledge construction in a networked customized learning environment. It is noteworthy that in the blended model devised, CLIL and Web 2.0 tools are integrated to foster the intake of content subject and English as a foreign language as well as collaborative and autonomous learning concurrently: In the Web 2.0 era, the need [ ] to achieve truly student centred learning is paramount, as learners, more so than ever before, desire and demand high degrees of autonomy, connectivity and socioexperiential learning (McLoughlin & Lee, 2008). 44 References [1] BagTheWeb, http://www.bagtheweb.com. [2] G. Bennett, Using Corpora in the Language Learning Classroom, Anne Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2010. D. Biber, S. Conrad, and G. Leech, Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English, Harlow: Longman, [3] 2002. D. Biber, University Language. A Corpus-Based Study of Spoken and Written Registers, Amsterdam: John [4] Benjamins Publishing, 2006. [5] D. Coyle, P. Hood, and D. Marsh, CLIL, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. [6] Z. Dörnyei, The Psychology of the Language Learner. Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition, Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005. [7] W. Doyle, Academic work, in Review of Educational Research, 53.2, 1983, pp. 159 199. [8] L. Flowerdew, Corpora and Language Education, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. [41] Ibidem. [42] Tynan and Barnes, 2011. [43] Zoltan Dörnyei, The Psychology of the Language Learner. Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition, Mahwah NJ: [44] Catherine McLoughlin and Mark Lee, Personalised and self regulated learning in the Web 2.0 era: International exemplars of innovative Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005. pedagogy using social software, in Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 26.1, 2010. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 75

[9] S. Hoffmann, S. Evert, N. Smith, D. Lee, and Y. Berglund Prytz, Corpus Linguistics with BNCweb A Practical Guide, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2008. [10] A. Kilgarriff, P. Rychly, P. Smrz, and D. Tugwell, The Sketch Engine, 2004, ftp://ftp.itri.bton.ac.uk/reports/itri-04-08.pdf. [11] C. Kramsch, Context and Culture in Language Teaching, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. [12] Learnclick, http://www.learnclick.com. [13] M. Long, The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition, in W. Ritchie and T. Bhatia (eds.), Handbook of Language Acquisition. Vol. 2: Second Language Acquisition, New York: Academic Press, 1996, pp. 413 468. [14] R. Lyster, Learning and Teaching Languages through Content. A Counterbalanced Approach, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing, 2007. [15] T. McEnery, R. Xiao, and Y. Tono, Corpus-Based Language Studies. An Advanced Resource Book, London and New York: Routledge, 2006. [16] C. McLoughlin and M. Lee, The Three P s of Pedagogy for the Networked Society: Personalization, Participation and Productivity, in International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 20.1, 2008, pp. 10 27. [17] C. McLoughlin and M. Lee, Personalised and self regulated learning in the Web 2.0 era: International exemplars of innovative pedagogy using social software, in Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 26.1, 2010, pp. 28 43. [18] Mighthybell, https://mightybell.com. [19] Pearltrees, http://www.pearltrees.com. [20] N. Schmitt, Researching Vocabulary. A Vocabulary Research Manual, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. [21] Sketch Engine, http://www.sketchengine.co.uk. [22] W. Teubert and A. Čermáková, Corpus Linguistics. A Short Introduction, London: Continuum, 2004. [23] B. Tynan and C. Barnes, Web 2.0 and Professional Development of Academic Staff, in M. J. W. Lee and C. McLoughlin (eds.), Web 2.0-Based E-Learning: Applying Social Informatics for Tertiary Teaching, New York: Information Science Reference, 2011, pp. 365 379. [24] D. Willis and J. Willis, Doing Task-based Teaching, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. [25] D. Wolff, CLIL and Learner Autonomy: relating two educational concepts, in Education et Sociétés Plurilingues, 2011. http://www.cebip.com/datapage.asp?l=1&id=43. [26] Word Dynamo, http://dynamo.dictionary.com. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 76

Beyond Motivation: Iranian Teachers perception of the Role of Computers Ali Soyoof Islamic Azad University, Shiraz branch,iran Sara Sedighi* Islamic Azad University, Shiraz branch,iran Zahra Sedighi Islamic Azad University, science and research branch, Shiraz branch,iran Maryam Talei Payamenur University, Tehran, Iran Abstract There have been many discussions about the advantages of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in classrooms. The assumption underpinning those benefits is that computers can be used in a student-centered class and can be utilized as a tool for adopting constructivist learning approach, departing from teacher-centered teaching approach. The use of computers in the classroom, nevertheless, differs depending on the teachers perceptions and expectations they have from computers. There is little known about the EFL and in particular Iranian teachers teaching beliefs and perceptions of the role of computers in their classrooms. This study investigated 8 Iranian EFL teachers who enrolled in both a teacher education program and an advanced certificate for educational technology program. In this study researcher were in attempt to benefit from grounded theory in order to understand these teachers perceptions of computers in their classrooms. For data collection, each participant was interviewed for 30 minutes. The findings of this study indicated that teachers ascertained that computers can play a pivotal role as an instructional tool. Notwithstanding the fact that these teachers had a considerable acquaintance with computer, it seems that there is still a long way for Iranian EFL language teachers to reach the desirable benchmark. Introduction The important role of technology in human s life is undeniable; nowadays it is crystal clear for all that Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) can cater numerous solutions for settling the majority of issues that were deemed as deadlock in traditional language classroom. Scholars have enumerated numerous benefits for this kind of learning namely, privacy and stress-free atmosphere where language learners can be exposed to infinite input. Moreover, they can learn language in accordance to their own speed (Neri et al, 2002) [7]. In the primary phase of computer-assisted language learning (CALL), just few set of ESL/EFL classes and teachers had the potentiality to benefit from CALL within their classroom for the sake of practice. As a result, CALL and its advantages were restricted to those teachers who had considerable knowledge of and ablaze with interest in computer technology (Kim, 2008) [4]. After the prevalent use of internet and computers, nonetheless, the application of CALL in ESL/EFL is currently deemed as a general teaching method and it is no longer limited to only few technological experts (Kim, 2008) [4]. In these study researchers aim to uncover to what extent Iranian language teachers are acquainted with computer technology and to what extent they believe computer assisted language learning (CALL) is applicable in Iranian contexts. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 77

Literature review: The Role of the Computer in Classrooms In the primary phase of CALL application, the computer was considered as a tool that is unable to make an action on its own (Ahmad, Corbett, Roger, & Sussex, 1985) [1]. Most investigators believe that computer should be controlled for every action and they cannot do anything by themselves. As a result, computers were mostly benefited as a tutor (Taylor, 1980) or even as a machine for teaching. For example, computers were mainly being used for the sake of drill or practice objectives or for teaching materials or texts to language learners which help them to practice particular skills in accordance to speed (Kim,2008) [4]. These various trend of using computers are in line with what Roblyer (2006) [8] considered as direct methods of using computers, like integrating computers to remedy identified weakness or skill deficits, to promote skill fluency or automaticity, to support self-paced instruction and to support self-paced review of concepts (p. 48). By considering various approaches and computer use and its superior techniques, the computer and its power have been developed far broader than what most language teachers imagined and speculated. Additionally, teachers and students acquaintance with internet and also multimedia can cater almost numerous benefits and uses for both ESL/EFL contexts (Kim, 2008) [4]. Regardless of the impact of teachers instructional tool, benefiting from multimedia along with the internet caters an environment where language learners can experience learning materials through these tools authentically and explore numerous L2 resources. (Kim, 2008) [4]. Computers use, Student-oriented Teaching, and Constructivist Domain. As Meskill, Mossop, DiAngelo and Pasquale (2002) [5] maintain that teachers who have a considerable experience in technology prefer to concentrate mostly on student learning and empowering their students rather than focusing on instruction that is relevant to teacher or managing student. Even though there is some vagueness in the way language teachers perceive computers within their classrooms, weather teachers consider computers as a suitable aid for a teacher-centered or a student-centered approach, the advantages of CALL are mainly in line with student-centered teaching or a teaching in constructivist way. In effect, it can be discussed that the underpinning assumption of using computers influentially claims that teachers should benefit from them in a student-centered as well as constructivist learning approach. As Miller and Olson (1994) [6] and Cuban (2001) [2] report, computers were being used as vehicle for transmitting teachers pedagogical practices from a teachercentered to student-centered ones. A constructivist learning approach can be considered as a key factor in student-centered teaching where learners have an interaction with their environment, engagement in constructing meanings, and take the authority of their own learning (Jonassen et al., 1999) [3]. Finding out about students necessities and enthusiasm can enhance their engagement more actively by expanding a feeling that is related to their own learning activities (Rodriguez, 1996) [9]. Taking advantages of computers in student-centered teaching can cater an atmosphere where students can inquire about information or new material and co-construct knowledge with their classmates (Sandholtz et al., 1997) [10]. Wang s (2002) [12] investigation, nevertheless, corroborate that most of pre-service teachers still tend to benefit from computers in an approach in which teachers are the authority of the classroom (e.g., utilizing computers as instructional tools). Methodology: The participants of this study were 8 Iranian EFL language learners who had a considerable experience of technology. They were all male and their age ranged from 26 to 40; 5 of them were graduates and others were ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 78

undergraduates. They all had the experience of teaching English at least for 3 years. They were all interviewed regarding the impact of technology upon teaching new materials in Iranian context. The role of the computer was classified into 3 major themes namely, computer as a benefit in teachers kit, computer as a simulating tool, computer as an ancillary tool and computers gaps in Iran. Data analysis: Computer as a benefit in teachers kit The first theme is mainly regarding resource, tutoring, communication, presentation, and writing. All of teachers believe that computer can play a pivotal role in helping students for resources. Nonetheless, they believe that students should work under their teachers tutelage and teacher should frequently control students action especially in terms of Internet in order to help them to focus on what the purpose of a particular task is. Sure, there is no doubt that computers can help students enormously for gathering data, but what should be considered is students movement especially when they work with Internet teacher should guide them and make sure that they are moving in the right direction One of the most superior advantages that have been considered for CALL is the privacy it contains. In effect, language learners can practice language in accordance to their own pace of learning new material. Our participants also corroborate the advantages of computer in teaching new material privately. In my opinion, computer is a great tool for tutoring, because of the privacy it provides for language learners. Also, it is totally adaptable to students needs. For instance, students can adjust computer with their own pace of learning new materials or they can listen to a file two or three times. Computers can make all the impossibilities into possibilities in terms of communication. It is very cheap and easy to communicate with a native speaker or your friend without being in trouble. Also, teacher can communicate and allocate more time for their students by benefiting from computers. By computer, students can communicate with native speaker or other students throughout the world. Even it is possible for teacher to have more communication with his students out of classroom. Without spending a considerable amount of money students can communicate authentically. There is no doubt that how miraculous computers are for presenting new material they offer different software which can not only ease our presentation but make our presentation more intriguing. Also, they can help us to have a better impact upon our audience. Computers can crucially help us to prepare a presentation in a shorter time. Moreover, they enable us to beautify our presentation by benefiting from various tools. Besides, the interesting atmosphere computers provide can help us to have better impression on our audience. Computers can influentially help teachers for writing the most eminent program for this purpose is Microsoft Word which can enable language learners as well as teachers to make the most of its worthwhile tools. It helps both teachers and learners in different stage of writing namely, changing their drafts and correcting their papers. Computers can help not only teachers but students in their professional writing a lot, the most wellknown program that is very widespread is Microsoft Word which can help both teachers and students in various phase of their writing from draft to the final copy. Besides, it offers numerous feedbacks which help students along with teachers to improve their writing. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 79

Computer as stimulating tool: All of the participates believe that one of the most important reasons why most teachers and language learners reinforce and embrace computers in educational contexts is because of the motivation it caters for learning a new material. Computers are deemed as a new trend for teaching new material. In fact, computers are always considered as new tools for learning language variously, the interesting atmosphere computers have and the new environment it provides is good news for language learners. Other reasons that can be considered for why computers are good motivators are the privacy it provides for language learners and also the facility of learning new materials. Additionally, computer provides a stress-free environment where learners can learn new material based upon their learning tendencies and differences. The private and stress-free environment computers provide for language learners can crucially help them to develop their language skills. Moreover, computers facilitate the process of learning new material. What is more, language learners can learn language in accordance to their learning preferences. Computer as an ancillary tool: Five teachers out of our eight teachers believe that computer should be used as an ancillary or a supplementary vehicle for minimizing the limitations and restrictions that exist within classroom contexts. Nonetheless, they highly recommend computers as extracurricular tools by benefiting from which both language teachers and students can boost their language proficiency tremendously. In classrooms, the main focus should be allocated to traditional approach and computers should be used a supplementary tool for decreasing the limitations of both teachers and students. However, out of classroom territories computer can influentially help students to improve their language skills. Computers gaps in Iran: Computers are not used enormously in Iranian contexts due to numerous reasons. First, it is not possible for schools or institutes to provide enough computers for their needs. Second, many language teachers do not have the necessary knowledge of how computers operate. Third, language teachers are not familiar with various programs that can help students to promote their different skills. Fourth, syllabus designers do not have any flexibility in order to change their syllabus. Fifth, there is no correspondence between theory and practice. Tellingly, syllabus designers do not apply the most current investigations and theories in their works. There are not enough computers in schools or institutes. Also, many of my colleagues are no familiar with computer and different programs that can help students to enhance their language proficiency. Moreover, syllabus designers are not flexible enough to change their previous syllabus. In our country, there is no relationship between theory and practice, and if there is our daily method and approach is not the most recent version. As result, benefiting from computers is not widespread because the idea of CALL is not very common in Iran especially in most schools. Conclusion: The pivotal role Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) can play in sphere of second language learning is crystal clear for all investigators and scholars. Computers can provide various solutions and minimize the limitation and restriction of classroom. Nonetheless, language teachers are sometimes at odds with the role of computers in educational contexts. This study at the first phase inquired about the role of computers as benefit in teachers kit where all language teachers ascertain that computers can facilitate and precipitate students learning. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 80

Nevertheless, computers should be used under the auspicious of language teachers in order to abstain from any waste of time and energy within classrooms. In the second phase language teachers were asked regarding computer as stimulating tool, again all language teachers believe that computer can motivate students considerably owing to its facility of use and the interesting atmosphere it offers. In the third phase language teachers perspective with regard to computer as an ancillary tool indicate that the majority of language teachers believe that computers should be used as a supplementary tool for minimizing the limitations of classrooms. And in the final phase, language teachers were questioned about the computers gaps in Iran. They have enumerated several reasons why the use of computers in Iran is so limited; the most crucial of which are lack of budget for providing computers, lack of knowledge in computer software and its use, lack of flexibility from syllabus designers to change their syllabus and finally lack of any correspondence between the most current theories and practices. References: [1] Ahmad, K., Corbett, G., Roger, M., & Sussex, R. (1985). Computers, language learning and language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [2] Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and underused: Computers in the classroom. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. [3] Jonassen, D., Peck, K., & Wilson, B. (1999). Learning with technology: A constructivist perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. [4] Kim, H.K (2008) Beyond Motivation: ESL/EFL Teachers' Perceptions of the Role of Computers, CALICO Journal, 25 (2), 2008, 241-259. [5] Meskill, C., Mossop, J., DiAngelo, S., & Pasquale, R. (2002) Expert and novice teachers talking technology: Percepts, concepts, and misconcepts. Language Learning & Technology, 6 (3), 46-67. Retrieved April 15, 2006, from http://llt.msu.edu/vol6num3/meskill/default.html [6] Miller, L., & Olson, J. (1994). Putting the computer in its place: A study of teaching with technology. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 26 (1), 121-141. [7] Neri, A., Cucchiarini, C., Strik, H. Boves, L.W.J.(2002) The pedagogy-technology interface in Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training, Computer Assisted Language Learning vol. 15,2002,441-467. [8] Roblyer, M. D. (2006). Integrating educational technology into teaching (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. [9] Rodriguez, S. (1996). Preparing preservice teachers to use technology: Issues and strategies. Tech Trends, 41 (4), 18-22. [10] Sandholtz, J. H., Ringstaff, C., & Dwyer, D. C. (1997). Teaching with technology: Creating student-centered classrooms. New York: Teachers College Press. [11] Taylor, R. (1980). The computer in the school: Tutor, tool, tutee. New York: Teachers College Press. [12] Wang, Y. (2002). When technology meets beliefs: Preservice teachers perception of the teacher s role in the classroom with computers. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 35 (1), 150-161. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 81

Citizen-centric Smart Cities: M-Technology for realizing Smart Participatory Urban Sensing in E-Government Mohamed Salem Service-centric Networking Telekom Innovation Laboratories, Berlin, Germany mohamed.salem@telekom.de Joachim Schonowski Future Communications Telekom Innovation Laboratories Berlin, Germany joachim.schonowski@telekom.de Axel Küpper Service-centric Networking Telekom Innovation Laboratories, TU Berlin, Berlin, Germany axel.kuepper@telekom.de Abstract: Cutting-edge approaches for citizen involvement in E-Government urban planning essentially rely on eportals and social network channels, mainly Facebook and Twitter. Based on a conducted field trial and a questionnaire, it can be deduced that current adopted communication channels for citizen involvement are not optimal for bridging the untapped potential of citizen participation in decision-making. This is due to challenges, risks and limitations associated with social networks. In this article, we present a novel participatory urban sensing concept for leveraging personalized, real-time citizen participation in urban planning via a mobile client. The presented concept is fundamentally based on the Location-based Polling and Collaborative Decision Making paradigms, hence realizing bottom-up, citizen-centric approaches for sensing the dynamics of cities through citizen participation. Keywords-component; Context-aware Services, Smart Cities, Urban Sensing, Ubiquituous Computing I. INTRODUCTION Cities of the world are encountering an era of extreme urbanization, with more than 50% of the global population now being urban and foresights even expecting this percentage to reach 70% by 2050 [1]. Apparently, the unprecedented rate of population growth in urban areas confronts cities of the world with major demographic challenges. Governments and municipalities of cities are urged with a demanding imperative for finding innovative ways to cope with these challenges, realizing the so-called smart city. There exist different definitions for a smart city; however, Figure 1 shows its fundamental elements and dimensions. From the perspective of this work, we define a smart city as a citizen-centric one in which citizens are at its core, and where advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are used to leverage citizen participation for urban sensing by ensuring constant exchange of information personalized to the citizens needs and preferences, so as to mitigate and remedy urban development challenges allowing citizens to shape their own cities. The immense use of mobile devices and personal digital assistants to connect to wireless networks has yet placed governments at the edge of transforming to the so-called Mobile (M-)Governments. M-Government is considered to be a complementary extension to E-Government. M-Government involves the utilization of all kinds of wireless and mobile ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 82

technology, services, applications and devices for enhancing services to the E-Government s citizens, employees, businesses and other government agencies [2]. Smart Governance Smart People Smart Mobility Smart ICTCity Smart Living Smart Environment Smart Economy Figure 1: Dimensions and Fundamentals of a Smart City. The six basic dimensions of a smart city are: Smart Governance, Smart Mobility, Smart Environment, Smart Economy, Smart Living and Smart People. These dimensions are fundamentally based on: ICT, Regional Competitiveness, Transportation, Human and Social Capital, Natural Resources and Participation of Citizens in governmental decision-making. Governments and municipalities need to abandon traditional top-down decision-making approaches, and rather consider more grassroots, bottom-up processes for sensing the dynamics of cities based on citizens participation; participatory urban sensing [3]. However, in an effort to transform to E-Governments, governments and municipalities have embarked on providing information portals, engaging citizens in government decisionmaking as well as providing accessibility to the government itself. Though, this does not implicitly imply realization of a more participatory or collaborative government. In order to enhance citizens involvement in decision-making, some governments have adopted new communication channels for interacting with citizens. This has substantially been achieved via online social networking channels, mainly Facebook and Twitter [4][5]. Undoubtedly, the involvement of citizens via social networking channels have inspired the involvement of some citizens in governmental decision-making, however, has the impact on citizen participation been substantive or inconsequential? While the opportunities for participation seemed impressive, in the matter of fact citizen participation on average has been lackluster. In order to address these issues, we have conducted a field trial and an online questionnaire to investigate the usage patterns and reach of social networks among citizens as well as its applicability to be used for citizens involvement in decision-making. Moreover, within an M-Government scenario, we present a citizen-centric mobile participatory urban sensing application, where citizens are proactively polled by municipalities regarding urban infrastructure issues. The presented application is based on a location tracking mobile client and is realized via a location-based polling and a collaborative decision-making platform. II. SOCIAL MEDIA AND CITIZENS INVOLVEMENT IN E-GOVERNMENT In recent years, some municipal governments have adopted concepts of participatory sensing, where adoption rates of online social networking technology were remarkable. A study conducted in 2009 stated that 34% of US ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 83

states incorporated an interactive chat feature on their state websites [6]. Furthermore, a 2010 report showed that 63% of the US House of Representative members and 62% of senators used Twitter for interaction with citizens [5]. According to a recent study in 2012, 50 US state websites were examined for using social networks to leverage citizen participation. The study revealed that 68% and 56% used Twitter and Facebook respectively [4]. In an initiative to leverage citizens participation, the German Chancellor initiated in February 2012 an e-portal called The Dialogue on Germany s Future incorporating Twitter for establishing direct communication with citizens. Some government municipalities have also adopted urban sensing applications. For example, the New York City s NYC311 service, where citizens can report local city-wide problems. Owing to the wide adoption of social networking technologies by E-Governments, this raises the question if social networks being the main communication channel is expected to fill the often untapped gap of citizen participation? A. Usage Patterns and Reach of Social Media In a conducted field study in 2011, using a demonstrator we have investigated current communication trends. The demonstrator, called the Communication Cockpit [7], provided an integration of various communication services, e.g. real-time messaging threads, VoIP calls, and collaborative real-time document editing. In addition, information services like RSS feeds were injected directly into a running discourse, thus combining communication and information. Initially the 15 female and 45 male participants, aged between 20-55, living in Darmstadt, Berlin (Germany) and Puebla (Mexico) were asked using a questionnaire and a moderated interactive interview. When asked about their subscription to social networks, a majority of 80% used one with an entertainment focus like Facebook, around 41% a career social network like Linked In or Xing and 28% a microblogging site like Twitter. It was striking that Facebook was in general THE synonym for social networks for the majority of the participants, who participate in any social network. However, the results reveal that about 20% of the participants did not use Facebook and almost 10% did not use any social network. In the interviews the participants distrusted social networks due to privacy and security issues. These results, however, coincide with the German social network user statistics, which state that 26% of Internet users in Germany were not subscribed to at least one social network in 2011 [8]. While the aforementioned results show on the one hand that social networking sites already reach quite a high number of a society s population, they meanwhile reveal that almost one third of the population does not participate in a social network at all. Thus, indicating a social media divide among citizens within a city. Therefore, usage of social media in citizens involvement is expected to lead to segregation, since only a fraction of a society s population is addressed. Apart from the challenge to overcome digital and social media divide; social networks are associated with challenges and risks that can lead to an unstoppable negative spiral. Such as communication risks, which include internal information leaks to the outside, omission of critical information, misinformation, or over transparency of information [4]. An example of over transparency happened when Lower Saxony police in Germany posted on Facebook detailed data of a suspect for a murderer of a young child. That caused Facebook subscribers to start a hate and lynch campaign versus that person, though the suspect was later declared innocent. While social computing can be beneficial for E-Government use, the latter example also outlines a possible negative downward spiral leading to a political risk [4]. Therefore, we propose that the usage of social networks for governmental matters need defined steering mechanisms, e.g. a responsible administrative body, as well as defined social etiquettes to reduce operational risks. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 84

In our field trial, we have further investigated the usage patterns of social media. Where participants have been asked about their core activity within social networks, the results are shown in Figure 2. Moreover, within the moderated interviews, some participants emphasized that social networks are rather used for chit chat rather than for personal matters or important discussions. It can be deduced from these results that although social networks seem to be an attractive platform for E-Governments to leverage citizen participation, current social network usage patterns are far less directed towards a serious political discourse, but rather towards quick short information and update purposes amongst the friends list. Figure 2: Activities carried out in Social Networks B. Social Media and Citizen Involvement in decision-making Does the reach of social media make it a suitable channel for use by E-Governments to involve citizens in decision-making? In order to further investigate citizens perception concerning this aspect, we have conducted an Internet-based questionnaire in 2013. Around 90% of the 154 participants were aged between 18-50. Owing to the finding that Facebook is THE synonym for social networks for most of our participants in the initial field trial, the willingness to participate in political or urban planning issues via Facebook was questioned. Surprisingly, as shown in Figure 3, only 31% were willing to, while the majority of 69% were not. The results, however, coincide with the aforementioned field trial results. Even though discussion groups or forums exist within social networks, subscribers do not expect to use them for this purpose. We assume that privacy and security concerns are the main drivers for social networks not being accepted as an exchange platform for serious discussions. Moreover, we have investigated the perception and acquaintance of the participatory e-portal recently launched by the German Chancellor among German citizens. Results show that 71% of the participants did not know about it! Furthermore, when asked about the willingness to participate in the German Chancellor s e-portal, only 16% were definitely willing to! Results show that citizens have a general apathy in interacting and getting involved with governments, these results coincide with an overall decreasing public interest in participation. As it can be shown ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 85

Figure 3: Online questionnaire results from the aforementioned results, the use of social media for promoting citizen involvement in decision-making has inherent challenges and risks. Such challenges include the social media divide among demographically, economically, and socially diverse groups of citizens within a city [9]. Moreover, the current social media usage patterns indicate that citizens do not expect to use them for getting into a discourse with municipalities. Other challenges involve privacy and security concerns. However, the risks include communication, operational and political ones [4]. III. PARTICIPATORY URBAN SENSING CONCEPT In order for E-Governments to realize participatory urban sensing, they inevitably need to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of current approaches. The widespread of smartphones among citizens, enable unprecedented distribution channels giving governments a golden opportunity to deliver personalized services how and when citizens want them, utilizing the Mobile (M)-technology [9]. This is essentially realized on top of three unique characteristics; mobility, personalization and wireless; which in the matter of fact contribute to its significance. We believe that utilizing innovative technological methods will re-energize citizen engagement and encourage wider participation in urban sensing. As a result we present a novel mobile participatory urban sensing concept, which strives to bridge the untapped gap between citizen participation and currently existing municipal E-Government approaches to embrace citizens in urban planning processes. The participatory urban sensing concept, as shown in Figure 4, involves municipalities and E-Governments designing urban planning polls and associating them with certain geographic locations, i.e. geofences, and validity time periods. Citizens are required to register for the service via an application on their mobile clients, which continuously runs in the background. Continuous background tracking of citizens is realized in a smart, novel and battery-efficient manner. Within the validity period of a certain poll, only citizens who come into the vicinity of the urban area under development are polled via their mobile client. All those that have received the poll are then able to collaboratively discuss the poll among each other, exchanging their points of view. After responding to the poll, all responses are then delivered back to the municipal agency. A feedback of the final poll result is then sent upon the poll s validity time expiry. At the end of a poll, the application on the mobile devices goes passive ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 86

and is activated once again when a municipality submits a new poll. The application supports several polls concurrently, allowing citizens to participate in different polls with respect to their location. E-Municipalities E-Governments Administrative Layer Citizen-centric Participatory Platform Service Layer Urban Development Area Citizens Citizens Citizens Access Layer "City" Figure 4: Participatory Urban Sensing Concept. The Administrative Layer consists of E-Municipalities, EGovernments and Administrative bodies, and is responsible for designing and initiating polls as well as analyzing the responses and providing feedback to citizens. The Service Layer consists of the Citizen-centric Participatory Platform, which is responsible for realization of the participatory urban sensing concept. The Access Layer denotes the city including citizens and urban development sites. A geofence is represented by a circular dotted line and is situated around the urban development site for which the municipality is interested to poll its citizens. Only citizens who enter the geofence receive a poll on their mobile devices. The participatory urban sensing concept, realized via the Citizen-centric Participatory Platform, is fundamentally realized on top of two major technical aspects; Location-based Polling and Collaborative Decision Making, and builds upon three main functional blocks; Poll Management, the Positioning Enabler Platform and the Communication Cockpit. A. Poll Management The Poll Management component is responsible for handling the polls. The municipal administrative bodies use this component to design urban planning polls, specifying certain context information, e.g. location, time and poll validity duration. The Poll Management component is moreover accountable for collecting the poll responses ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 87

submitted by citizens. Municipalities could then have access to the poll responses via the Poll Management component. B. Positioning Enabler Platform for Location-based Services The Positioning Enabler, shown in Figure 5, is a service platform for providing Location-based Services (LBS) [10][11]. Its main functionality is computing the position of users by exploiting multiple positioning methods and technologies, both device-centric and network-centric, e.g. GPS, Cell-ID, WiFi [12]. The significance of this platform is based on its novel approach for realizing continuous background tracking of mobile devices in a highly battery-efficient manner [10]. Moreover, it analyzes the collected location information in real-time providing services to targets based on their location. According to the LBSs classification presented in [13], the Positioning Enabler is designed to compute the position of single and multitargets in both a reactive as well as a proactive manner, enabling the realization of simple LBSs as well as more complex ones based on background tracking and geofencing. In order not to violate citizens privacy aspects, municipal bodies do not have access to the Positioning Enabler platform, i.e. to the location information of citizens. Positioning Enabler Platform Localization Layer Positioning Low-Level Position Management GPS Cell-ID WiFi... Periodicbased Zonebased Distancebased... High-Level Position Management Proximity Detection Separation Detection Cluster Detection Core Layer Authorization & Authentication Open-ID OAuth Permission & Privacy Control Pseudo Anonymization... Policies Alerts & Notifications Google Cloud to Device Messaging Apple Push Notification Service... Figure 5: Positioning Enabler Architecture. It is based on a Core Layer and a Localization Layer. The Core Layer includes: Authorization & Authentication functionality for registering, authorizing and authenticating the user prior to accessing the platform s utilities; Permission and Privacy Control functionality for managing user tracking permissions against 3rd party entities, e.g. municipalities, and for protecting user s privacy; Notification & Alerts functionality for informing the user in case of fulfillment of a certain location event, i.e. in case a user enters a geofence. The Localization Layer includes: Positioning functionality for computing the position fixes of users; Low-Level Position Management functionality for managing background tracking and geofencing, thus involves different position update strategies; High-Level Position Management functionality for correlating and processing position data of a single or several users as well as interlinking their positions. The Positioning Enabler platform is indispensable for citizens to register for the service via their mobile client and get authorized and authenticated. In case of active polls, the platform is essential for continuously positioning and tracking citizens in the background as well as analyzing the collected location information in real- ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 88

time with respect to the location of urban planning areas with active polls. The Positioning Enabler maintains the geofence of active polls and that of citizens, and is responsible for sending a poll to citizens upon their entry into a geofence of an active poll. The enabler is furthermore responsible for notifying polled citizens with a feedback of the poll result after its validity time expiry. C. Communication Cockpit for Collaborative Decision-making The Communication Cockpit [7] is based on the Communication Triangle shown in Figure 6a. Where communication means are provided via social media interaction. Moreover, it is enhanced via information and multimedia services. These two pillars use search and storage as the underlying technical platform. It is enriched via the mass market sphere, e.g. user generated content, video-on-demand and multiplayer gaming, which can be mapped to any specific application scenario, e.g. polling in M-Government. In addition, complementary services and technologies, e.g. location and maps, further enhance the service. Participation and communication within the Communication Cockpit follows a tree discourse [14], which is used to add interaction services to the poll. Such an integrated communication solution provides all essentials for a social and entertainment solution. The Communication Cockpit, as shown in Figure 6b, can be used to qualitatively enhance the statistical poll results. It provides collaborative discussion via communication flows among the citizen crowd, enriched with key additional multimedia information, such as information about the context of a poll or instructions concerning a poll. Moreover, to omit communication or political risks the citizen crowd dialogue is enhanced by participation of a corresponding administrative body, which steers the discourse as well as monitors the compliance to etiquettes to reach a promising result. D. Opportunities The presented participatory sensing concept strives to overcome limitations in existing approaches. This concept enables municipalities to leverage real-time citizen interaction and participation in urban planning by proactively polling citizens via a mobile client based on their geographical location. Moreover, it allows collaborative discussion among citizens as well as between them and municipal administrative bodies regarding the urban planning issue under question. Reaching citizens via their mobile device would overcome the issue of digital divide among citizen groups, as the use of smartphones is becoming ubiquitous with 70% of the US and 60% of the EU mobile devices are smartphones [15]. M-technologies are considered to be more evenly distributed across society when compared to wired technologies [9]. Moreover, mobile devices usually being used by a particular citizen, makes it an appealing venue for delivery of personalized services, e.g. LBSs. On the contrary to existing approaches, in order to participate, citizens are not responsible for searching for the information, they rather proactively get polled if they come within the vicinity of an urban planning area. Therefore, the participatory urban sensing concept causes minimal overheads to citizens with respect to their participation. Providing feedback in addition to supporting topic-based collaborative discussion fosters the conveniency of citizens participation in urban planning even further. We believe that the proposed concept will bridge the gap between e-democracy and citizens. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 89

Communication & Content & Informatio Social Search & (a) (b) Figure 6: The Communication Cockpit. (a) Communication Triangle. (b) Screen shot of the Communication Cockpit. The Cockpit integrates a social screen, calendar, contacts, collaborative multi-media storage, e.g. for relevant poll information and the inbox for recent communication flows, e.g. other polls. In addition, it provides VoIP call-conferencing functions, RSS feed integration in flows and collaborative real time document editing. IV. CONCEPT SCENARIO AND OUTLOOK A. Citizen-centric Urban Sensing Scenario The participatory urban sensing application could be used in various urban planning contexts, e.g. events, new building sites, infrastructure in citywide level. We would like to outline the service usage on a current public transportation example in the city of Berlin. Tram services are historically available in the eastern part of Berlin. Currently Tram line extensions to western parts of the city are discussed by city representatives. Our service could be used to leverage citizen participation in the discussed topic by polling citizens riding on relevant Tram lines regarding their preferences, e.g. whether the Tram extension should follow path A, B,... or X. The poll results should be provided to participating citizens in real-time. In addition citizens would have the chance to discuss among themselves in a discourse about their preferred choices as well as express their arguments to responsible administrative officials. Who in turn also participate in the discourse, steering the discussion as well as summarizing and providing the final reached decision. The results would be available to citizens until another EGovernment urban planning topic is active, which would then be directly pushed to the application and an additional tab is provided to polled citizens. B. Outlook The involvement of citizens in urban planning processes through and with regard to ICT is believed to be one of the major aspects in cities becoming smarter. So far, in contrast to modern society, public institutions and EGovernments are thought of as too slow to keep pace with the rapid evolution in communication trends. Furthermore, in a world where people are ought to be passive with respect to participation, citizens need to be ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 90

provided with innovative, convenient and appealing methods to facilitate their involvement. We believe that the emergence of the M-technology promotes for a new era of interactive governance through providing of personalized e-services for leveraging participatory urban sensing. References : [1] World Urbanization Prospects: The 2011 Revision, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, March 2012.J. Clerk Maxwell, A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, 3rd ed., vol. 2. Oxford: Clarendon, 1892, pp.68 73. [2] I. Kushchu and H. Kuscu, From E-government to M-Government: Facing the Inevitable, in Proceedings of 3rd European Conference on e-government, Dublin, Ireland, 2003, pp. 253 260. [3] T. J. Winkler, H. Ziekow, and M. Weinberg, Municipal Benefits of Participatory Urban Sensing: A Simulation Approach and Case Validation, in Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, vol. 7, no. 3, December 2012, pp. 101 120. [4] Joseph, R.C., E-Government Meets Social Media: Realities and Risks, in IEEE Computer Society IT Professional, vol. 14, no. 6, Nov.-Dec. 2012, pp. 9 15. [5] Burson-Marsteller Study: Analysis of Twitter Adoption by Members of Congress, Burson-Marsteller blog, 9 September 2010. [6] R. C. Joseph and J. Esteves, Social Computing: Implications for E-Government, in International Virtual Communities and Social Networking, vol. 1, no. 1, 2009, pp. 23-33. [7] J.Schonowski,A.Knabner,andD.Linner, CommunicationCockpit:ConceptsBeyondEmail, ininternationalc onferenceoninternet Technologies and Society. Shanghai, China: IADIS, Dec 2011, pp. 73 84. [8] T. Arns, Soziale Netzwerke: Eine repra sentative untersuchung zur Nutzung sozialer Netzwerke im Internet, in Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft, Telekommunikation und neue Medien (BITKOM), vol. 2, December 2011. [9] S. Trimi and H. Sheng, Emerging Trends in M-Government, in Communications of the ACM, vol. 51, no. 5, May 2008, pp. 53 58. [10] M. Salem, P. Ruppel, U. Bareth, and A. Küpper, X-centric Positioning: A Combination of Device-centric and Multi-RAT Network- centric Positioning Approaches, in Proceedings of the 4th Intl. IEEE Workshop on Open NGN and IMS Testbeds (ONIT 2012). Anaheim, California, USA: IEEE, Dec 2012, pp. 1866 1871. [11] M. Salem, U. Bareth, and A. Küpper, Positioning Enabler for realizing Location-based Community Services, in Proceedings of the 2nd Intl. IEEE Conference on Mobile Services. Silicon Valley, California, USA: IEEE, June 2013. [12] M. B. Kjaergaard, Location-Based Services on Mobile Phones: Minimizing Power Consumption, in IEEE Pervasive Computing, Jan.-March 2012, pp. 67 73. [13] A. Küpper, G. Treu, and C. Linnhoff-Popien, TraX: A Device-Centric Middleware Framework for Location-Based Services, IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 44, no. 9, pp. 114 120, Sept. 2006. [14] V. Flusser, Kommunikologie. Fischer Book Publisher, 2007, vol. 4. [15] T. Kang, N. Mawston, B. Joy, K. Spektor, N. Shah, and D. Kerr, Global Smartphone Sales Forecast by Operating System: 2002 to 2015, in Wireless Smartphone Strategies. Strategy Analytics, October 2010. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 91

E-Government Implementation Benefits, Risks and Barriers in Developing Countries: Evidence from of Nigeria Mr. Olusoyi (Richard) Ashaye Brunel Business School, Brunel University, West London, UK E-mail: Olusoyi.Ashaye@brunel.ac.uk Prof. Zahir Irani Brunel Business School, Brunel University, West London, UK E-mail: Zahir.Irani@brunel.ac.uk Abstract: This paper review literature on the benefits, risks and challenges of e-government implementation as egovernment id becoming a global concept for transforming government business. The researcher adopted interpretive approach using qualitative analysis since it is inductive and would allow for better understanding of deeper structure of phenomenon within cultural and contextual situation Case study research approach was adopted with questionnaires and face-to-face interview survey carried out in public service organisations in Nigeria. From the analysis and findings, researcher was able to describe the state of e-government in developing country Nigeria and to make recommendations for its successful implementation. Keyword-Component; E-Government Implementation; Benefits, Risks, Barriers 1. Introduction E-GOVERNMENT: RATIONALE AND MOTIVATION FOR STUDY E-Government is a concept that is increasingly accepted by practitioners and academicians in the information and communication technology environment. Government around the world are embracing egovernment from local, state and federal level, which explains its importance and fast spreading nature. Some of its benefits include enhancing transparency and increasing efficiency. E-Government is also essential for increasing revenue, promoting competitiveness and enhancing marketing in the public sector. As a result, numerous processes and applications have been developed over time, despite having no structured methodology Although there is no standard definition of e-government, academicians and researchers have attempted to explain the concept in various contexts. For instance, Otubu (2009) describes e-government as narrow, specific, and simplified, whereas Bhatnager (2004) believes its efficiency is decisively connected with the presence or absence of public accountability. In spite of its drivers, ICT infrastructure is recognised to be one of the main challenges for e-government; with most developing countries have low IT literacy level in comparison to the developed countries. Thus the evolving change in the global world and the need for developing countries to meet up with technological advancement, call for transformation. Like many other projects or programme, there are always risks in the implementation process that needs to identified and carefully managed, in order to ensure successful application and to promote good practice. These risks stem around service quality, data sharing, security and privacy and misinterpretation or the services. Thus e-government implementation requires stakeholders participation all every level of the development lifecycle, from the initiation stage to the monitoring and evaluation stage. Academicians have argued that poses ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 92

some challenges, as effective communication and organisational skills re required in order to maintain the vision, values and aspirations of all parties involves in e-government implementation. These barriers as observed in the developing countries include socio-cultural problems, economic constraints, infrastructural and technical constraints, and change management issues resistance to change amongst public servants. Despite the challenges, there is enormous prospects in e-government implementation as it seeks to provide governments at all levels and arms world-over, with value for money and finding a balance between costs, revenue and good governance. Thus e-government practice introduces positive changes into the day-to-day management of government business. (Onu and Chiamogu, 2012; Lam, 2005; Muoka, 2010). II. RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this research paper is to analyse the drivers and barriers impacting on e-government implementation in the developing countries. The main objectives of this research that arise as a result of the above aim are: 1. To review and analyse the existing literature, theories and models relating to e-government benefits, risks and barriers. 2. Using case study research approach, to analyse these implementation factors with a view to making recommendations from the findings. III. RESEARCH QUESTIONS What are the benefits, risks and barriers influencing e-government implementation in public sector in the context of developing countries? How do these characteristics and factors influence e-government implementation and are we able to identify new factors? 2. Literature Background I. E-GOVERNMENT: BENEFITS, OPPORTUNITIES, RISKS, BARRIERS A. E-Government Benefits and Opportunities: The benefits of implementing e-government systems should be similar in both developing and western countries, except that the developing countries still has a lot to learn from the developed countries especially in the areas of ICT. As Ifinedo (2006) puts it, e-government initiatives provide check balance on a country s political instability through efficiency, accountability and transparency. If implemented properly, e-government could also help to improve the culture in terms of norms in the country, and restructure administrative functions and processes and monitoring government performance. Practitioners have argued that e-government can help solve the problems of revenue collection, with improved service and provision of digital services to both government and other businesses. This includes online taxation, recording of land records and title deeds. Other opportunities of e-government implementation include: strong leadership helping to build confidence in programs, educating and training government staffs on the importance of security and privacy, reforming process by simplifying regulations and procedures, as well as e-literacy such as giving special attention to groups that are difficult to integrate women, elderly or immigrants. (Wimmer and Traunmuller, 2001; Almarabeh and AbuAli, 2010; Ifinedo, 2006) B. E-Government Risks and Barriers ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 93

Scholars have argues that in spite of the many benefits that can be accrued through knowledge sharing, true participative systems have difficulties in sustaining themselves because barriers are deeply embedded in social, economic, and political principles and values of organisations that are usually viewed as having a higher value than the potential gains from such systems. These barriers could be classified as technological, organizational, and legal and policy. (Zhang, Dawes and Sarkis, 2005; McCaffrey, Faerman and Hart,1995). Review of literature reveals that because of the high level of corrupt practices in some of the public services most especially in the developing countries, the staffs who are beneficiaries are likely to frustrate and resist the egovernment implementation. These staff would believe the newly implemented services would help alleviate or even put an end to their illicit and bureaucratic conducts. This explains why the staff prefer the current paperform to paperless workflow documentation and face-to-face contact with citizens from inception to accomplishment of the transaction. E-Government implementation risks can be classified as shown in Table I below: TABLE I. Element E-GOVERNMENT IMPLEMENTATION RISKS E-Government Implementation Risks Accessibility of info by other agencies* New technologies - Risk of Technology failure Dependence on foreign technical know-how Service fragmentation Reducing full control over information; Process Inferior service quality e.g. delayed service; More corruption if front office functions are delegated to intermediaries; Unstable power supply Relational privacy e.g. background checks People Reduction in manpower Increase in unemployment Misinterpretation and misuse of e- Organisational Government services; Increase criticisms by other agencies and citizens Financial Security and Privacy Limited or lack of funding especially during implementation; Financial sustainability Environmental info' security e.g. identify theft Other challenges facing e-government implementation in the context of developing countries include: lack of funding and financial resources, technical know-how, lack of acceptance and buy-in b both staff and citizens, leadership failures, socio-economic and cultural constraints (West, 2004; Eddowes, 2004, Heeks, 2001, Ndou, 2004; Irani, Themistocleous and Love, 2003). ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 94

II. THEORIES AND MODELS OF E-GOVERNMENT A. Institutional (Adaptive) Theory Institutional theories of organizations provide a rich, complex view of organizations (Zucker, 2009). Bj orck (2004) however proposed the following, whilst applying institutional theory to the management of IS/IT security in organisations, that: it can help us understand and explain why formal security structures and actual security behaviour differs it can help us shed light on why organisations often create and maintain formal security structures without trying to implement them fully it helps us identify and explore the main mechanisms by which actual security behaviour is controlled. The key assumptions are about how institutions are created, maintained, changed, and dissolved. The three pillars of the theory are regulative, normative, and cognitive, whilst the institutional carriers are like symbolic systems, social structures, routines, and artefacts (objects). Although Jensen, Kjaergaard and Svejvig (2008) have argued that Institutional theory does not explicitly account for how organisational actors make sense of and enact IS in their local context, others believed it allows for the creation of theories of endogenous institutional change by looking at how change at the margins works itself in toward the core institutions, and could also be used for analysing organisations, and developing theoretical perspective further in order to enhance its use in empirical research (North, 1990; Jensen, Kjaergaard,and Svejvig, 2008; Currie 2009, Tolbert & Zucker, 1996; Peter, 2000 ). Institutional theory could be explored in determining pertinent research benefits, challenges and risks facing the IS community. It allows for other theories and models to be combined due to its flexibility, most importantly that there is no unified theory to focus on e-government implementation factors. B. Drivers-Barriers Model Hammed (2008a) developed the drivers and barriers model in his research into e-commerce and economic development in Libya. He highlights twelve potential issues that could be classify as either drivers or barriers in e-commerce economic development of a country, however these factors vary from country to country. Although his research was specific to the Libyan economy, the model suggests these drivers/barriers are common in most countries. The researcher therefore suggests this model could be used by academicians in order to determine the benefits and challenges facing e-government implementation in other developing countries (See Appendix 1 for the Drivers-barriers Model) 3. Research Methodology Case study research was the preferred strategy for this study since it is widely applied by researchers and allows for flexibility in terms of evidence gathering and ability to assess the outcome (Yin, 2003). Data were collected sing online and web-form questionnaire and face-to-face interview, and due to time constraint, research focus was on three public sector organisations, ranging from small to large organisational size see Table II below: The researchers were satisfied that this approach would enable understanding in a more holistic picture, the organisation's process towards implementation of e-government through close investigation, observation and face-to-face contact. The survey was carried out within the government to employee (G2E) context, and the employers were mainly public servant ranging from government ministries to agencies and local government. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 95

TABLE II. CASE STUDY RESEARCH SELECTION CRITERIA Selection of Organisations 1. Level of intervention Government to Employee (G2E) Federal Ministry Large Housing, Land & Urban Devpt 2. Organisational size Local Govt - Medium Sagamu Gov Agency - Small NESREA Pre- Phase 1 Implementation E-Government 3. Development During Phase 2 Implementation Phases Post- Phase 3 Implementation The Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation and FELIS were the two departments that survey was carried out at the Federal Ministry of Housing, lands and Urban Developments. This is because of the organisational size of the ministry and the bureaucracy involved in obtaining information. The data collected consists of primary and secondary data. Strategic policy documents were collected from decision makers such as head of services and service managers, operational and middle managers (team managers and team leaders) and project managers and business analysts. Project leaders and other members of staff mainly from the Federal, Local Governments and parastatal, who have ICT knowledge and/or regularly use ICT infrastructures of their organization were chosen at random to complete the questionnaires and interviewed separately. About 27 participants were involved in the face-to-face interview across the case studies and they represent various departments involved in the service delivery process. It is anticipated both primary and secondary data investigation should enable us determine the key drivers and barriers with the implementation of e-government systems in public sector organsiations, especially in the developing countries. Table III below summarises the organisations visited and where survey was successfully conducted: TABLE 111. LIST OF ORGANISATIONS FOR CASE STUDY RESEARCH List of Organizations for Case Study Research Abbreviati on 1. NeGst Organization Survey Conducted Remarks National E-Government Strategies No Organization going through complete re-structure ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 96

Fed Min Federal Ministry of Environmental Housing and Urban Development Yes Case study: survey conducted with staff and managers at the office of the SurveyorGeneral of the Federation FELIS Federal Land Information System Yes Questionnaire survey with Senior officer NITDA National Information Technology Development Agency No Staff and managers on overseas training National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency Yes Case study: Face-to-face interview plus questionnaire, conducted with junior, middle and senior staff SLG Sagamu Local Government Yes Case study: Questionnaire NCAA Nigerian Civil Aviation 2. 3. 4. NESREA 5. 6. 7. authority Yes Face-to-face interview plus questionnaire 4. Initial Findings and Analysis I. CASE STUDY - NIGERIA E-Government in Nigeria could be traced back to 2003 when the then President of the country, Olusegun. Obansanjo declared, we have adopted a national policy for ICT with emphasis on PublicPrivatePartnership to ensure that our country is part of the evolving Information Society Since then there has been rapid advance in modern technology in Nigeria. The formation of the tripartite joint venture known as National e-government Strategies (NeGSt) in 2004 aims at creating a practical strategy and a single architecture to guide the evolution of digital government solutions with consistent standards, operating platforms and applications across agencies and government systems, thereby enabling the development of e-government portal in the country. Thus NeGSt comprises the following partnership: Government (5%), Consortium of Banks (15%) and a Strategy Partner (80%). With the constant change in ICT, the various arms of government should be ready to embrace e-government implementation despite the bureaucracies often experience in public sectors. From findings, new ICT-related tools have been known to make institutions and markets more productive, enhance skills and learning, improve governance at all levels, and make it easier for services to be accessed. Academicians have reported that despite Nigeria developing in the area of ICT there are some factors that impact on the country s total advancement in the areas of benchmarking tool and access to ICT usage due to the number of Internet users and literacy levels. The map of Nigeria is shown in Appendix 2. II. E-GOVERNMENT BENEFITS In analysing the research findings, most of the respondents were in support of the benefits identified by academicians and professionals, as reviewed in the literature. For instance, improving productivity and increasing capacity of government as well as improving the quality of service delivery and business and customer were believed to be the most important benefits. Table IV and Figure 1 below summarises the findings as it relates to e-government implementation benefits in developing country like Nigeria: ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 97

TABLE 1V. E-GOVERNMENT IMPLEMENTATION BENEFITS 1. Improve productivity 2. Improve quality of service delivery 3. Reduce the overall costs of the organisation 4. Reduce data collection, process and storage 5. Network and community cohesion New Benefits identified 6. Well-equipped offices to enhance productivity 7. Information sharing is quick and prompt 8. Speed the process and decision-making 9. Increased productivity in governance Figure1: E-Government implementation Benefits III. E-GOVERNMENT BARRIERS According to Adeyemo (2011), Nigeria has the fastest growing and most lucrative telecommunications, and Information and Communications technology (ICT) market in Africa, yet in spite of this obvious and significant progress is still being ranked low in e-government provision to its citizens. Thus scholars and practitioners have argued that the practice of e-government is most likely to be negatively impact upon because of the current poor state of social infrastructure mot especially the power supply and road network in a country like Nigeria, (Dode, 2007). Respondents were asked about egovernment, and they all agreed there many barriers to e- Government in Nigeria and that government involvement is crucial to alleviating these barriers and assist in setting up the necessary infrastructure needed for successful implementation. Apart from ICT infrastructure, other barriers were argued; these include high level of investment required, education, training and set up costs and high level of knowledge among employees. The survey analysis reveals implementation policy as a newly identified barrier asides those discussed in review of literature. These barriers are highlighted in the Table V and bar chart in Figure.2 below. For instance, ICT transformation was identified as the major barrier for e-government implementation in Nigeria. Other key barriers are training, investment and knowledge. For any egovernment implementation in a developing country like Nigeria, respondents believe legislative supports, security and other barrier such as implementation policy as important as resistance to change among different departments and leadership role. The bar chart in Figure 2 below indicates that transformation was ICT identified as the major barrier for e-government implementation in Nigeria. Other key barriers are training, investment and knowledge. For any egovernment implementation in a developing country like Nigeria, respondents believe legislative supports, security and other barrier such as implementation policy as important as resistance to change among different departments and leadership role. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 98

1. ICT infrastructure 2. High level of investment required 3. Education, training and set-up costs 4. High level of knowledge among employees 5. Cultural awareness 6. Strategy (vision, mission,etc) 7. Security issues and privacy of citizens 8. Lack of legislative support / Formal policy TABLE V. E-GOVERNMENT IMPLEMENTATION BARRIERS New Barriers identified 9. Implementation policy Figure2. E-Government implementation Barriers IV. E-GOVERNMENT RISKS From the research findings, three new risk factors were identified, which were not discussed in the review of literature or by researchers and academicians who have carried out previous studies of the Nigerian egovernment systems (see Table VI and Figure 3 below). TABLE VI. E-GOVERNMENT IMPLEMENTATION BARRIERS 1. Accessibility of info by other agencies 2. Environmental info' security e.g. identify theft 3. Reducing full control over information 4. Inferior service quality e.g. delayed service 5. Misinterpretation/ misuse of e-gov services 6. Increase criticisms by other agencies and citizens New Risks identified 7. Reduction in manpower 8. Increase in unemployment 9. Unstable power supply Figure3. Risks to e-government implementation A director at NEREA, like many other respondents believe that accessibility of information by other agencies, including information sharing is the most ranked risk for e-government implementation in Nigeria. This is compared to risks such as misuse of e-government services and increased criticism by other agencies and citizens. He further argued that the following risks should also be considered, which were not previously identified during review of literature: Reduction in manpower, and Increase in unemployment ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 99

Table VI highlights the risks identified with implementing e-government systems in an IS environment, This is also illustrated using the bar chart in figure 5.3, which shows that accessing of information by other agencies as one of the significant risks that could impact on successful implementation of e-government. To buttress his point, the Assistant Director at FELIS in Abuja also identified a risk factor based on his experience of implementing e-governments systems in land administration in Nigeria. Thus he mentioned that unstable power supply poses risk to e-government implementation since Nigeria does not have regular supply of electricity across the country, despite being one of the petroleum exporting countries, who belongs to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Table VI above highlights the risks identified with implementing e-government systems in an IS environment, This is also illustrated using the bar chart in Figure 3, which shows that accessing of information by other agencies as one of the significant risks that could impact on successful implementation of e-government. Most of the staff and senior officers interviewed at the Federal Ministry of Housing, land and urban Development (Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation) and National Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) supported the notion that accessing information and security in terms of identity theft were major risks to be considered. Other risks identified were control over information and the fear of inferior quality service or delayed service. However, only a minority of the respondents across the public sectors surveyed believes that misuse of e-government services and increased criticisms by other agencies and citizens post higher risks. 6. Recommendations, Summary and Initial Conclusions I. RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the research analysis and finding, it is believed that strategy and planning have important roles in creating vision, goals and targets. In addition, technology, people and processes remain the enablers of egovernment. The following recommendations are made: Academicians should identify potential risks and challenges to be faced before implementing egovernment, and not just focusing on the benefits. More so, the drivers-barriers model have shown that what appears to be a driver say costs or infrastructure could be a barrier in another country. There therefore exists difference between theory and practice of e-government systems s they vary from countries to countries, including the main benefits, barriers and risks. E-Government strategy office should work closely with other organisations. At the moment, it is not known by many like a stand-alone organization. The office should be responsible for organising and coordinating seminars, workshops, conferences and training and development programme on egovernment and ICT infrastructures. NeGSt is currently undergoing complete restructure as the researchers were unable to conduct survey at this office. Infrastructure is crucial to a country s development. Government should improve ICT infrastructure and delivery fulfillment. Electricity and internet connection are two main factors the government should address rely on dial-up network or even mobile phones. Government should encourage technologically-advanced countries and companies to be involved in egovernment implementation by reducing tax duties on equipments and services specific for ICT projects in the country. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 100

II. FUTURE WORK Having analysed the researched findings, it is evident that further works need to be carried into why most the developing countries as ranked as low in terms of e-readiness. The resistant and unco-operative attitude of the change needs to be explored further in terms of change management change. Researches have shown that resistance to change often leads to project failure. Although this study was looked at from the institutional viewpoint, there is need for further research on the management perspective since leadership support in essential for successful of e-government implementation. III. SUMMARY AND INITIAL CONCLUSIONS The researchers have reviewed the drivers and barriers to e-government implementation by carrying out multiple case studies research in the context of Nigerian public sector organization. This is due to the fact that as one of the fastest ICT marketers in the developing countries, it is ranked low in terms of ereadiness and egovernment provision for its citizens. Research findings, therefore supports the notion that senior government officials and decision-makers would need to buy into the e-government concept in order to address the issue of staff attitude and resistance to change, which is common with most public servants globally. Review of literature has shown that a few academicians and practitioners have carried out studies in determining the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of e-government implementation, it is evidence from the survey carried out and findings, that the concept of e-government requires the implementer of changes to give full support to e-government services being provided for both citizens and employees including businesses. The benefits are enormous as it would lead to transparency and efficiency of services, thereby reducing and in the long run, eradicating bribery and corruption that is often common in this part of the country. It also brings accountability and improves the ICT literacy level of the country as a whole. Apart from government taking the lead, other governmental agencies and parastatal including voluntary and private organsiations have some role to play to ensure successful implementation through to the monitoring and evaluation - postimplementation stage. REFERENCES [1] A.B. Adeyemo, 2011, E-government implementation in Nigeria: An assessment of Nigeria s global e-gov ranking, Journal of Internet and Information System, vol. 2 pp. 11-19, January 2011 [2] T. Almarabeh and A. AbuAli, A General Framework for E-Government: Definition Maturity Challenges, Opportunities, and Success, European Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 39, pp. 2942, 2010. [3] H. Alsuwaidi, Evaluating the Factors Affecting for the Adoption of E-government Services in the Public Sector (UAE), A project proposal submitted to BBS, Brunel University (PhD student), 2009 [Online]. Available from <http://www.brunel.ac.uk/329/.../hassanalsuwaidi0631732.pdf> [12 October 2009]. [4] O.R. Ashaye and Z. Irani, Government Implementation Factors: A conceptual framework. ELearn 2012, Proceedings of the World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare & Higher Education, Montreal, Canada. 9 12 October 2012. [5] S. Bhatnagar, E-Government: From Vision to Implementation A Practical Guide with Case Studies, London: Sage Publications, 2004. [6] F. Bj orck, Institutional theory: A new perspective for research into IS/IT security in organisations, IEEE. Proceedings of the 37th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2004. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 101

[7] W. Currie, Contextualising the IT artefact: towards a wider research agenda for IS using institutional theory, Information Technology & People, vol.21, pp. 63-77, 2009 [8] R.O. Dode, Prospects of E-Government Implementation in Nigeria, ICEGOV 2007, Macao, 1013 December 2007. [9] Z. Ebrahim and Z. Irani, E-Government adoption: architecture and barriers, Business Process Management Journal, vol. 11, pp. 589-611, 2005. [10] L.A. Eddowes, The Application of Methodologies in e-government, Electronic Journal of egovernment, vol. 2, pp. 115-126, 2004 [Online]. Available from <http://www.ejeg.com/volume2/volume2.../v2-i2-eddowes-pp115-126.pdf > [13 September 2009] [11] A. Hamed, H. Berger, P. Cleary, and D. Ball, E-Commerce drivers and barriers: A new classification method in digital revolution, UKAIS, Bournemouth, 2008A. [12] S. Hassan, Introducing E-Government in Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects, Journal of International Social Science Review, 78, 2003. [13] R. Heeks, Understanding E-Governance for Development, Institute for Development Policy and Management, Manchester, 2001. [14] P. Ifinedo, Towards E-Government in a Sub-Saharan African Country, Journal of EGovernment vol. 3, pp 3-28, 2006. [15] Z. Irani, M. Themistocleous, and P.E.D. Love, The impact of enterprise application integration on information system lifecycles, Information and Management, vol. 41, pp. 177-87, 2003. [16] T.B. Jensen, A. Kjaergaard, and P. Svejvig, Two Perspectives on Information System Adaptation: Using Institutional Theory with Sense making, Working paper I-2008-06, Informatics Research Group, 2008. [17] S.S. Khasawneh-Jalghoum, A Case Study of Drivers and Barriers to E-Government Initiative in Jordan, Unpublished PhD Thesis, submitted to University of Manchester, Manchester, England 2011. [18] W. Lam, Barriers to E-Government Integration, The Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol.18, pp. 511-530, 2005. [19] D.P. McCaffrey, S.R. Faerman, and D.W. Hart, The appeal and difficulties of participative systems, Organization Science, vol. 6, pp. 603-27, 1995. [20] R. Muoka, Prospects of Nigeria s action Agenda for Better Citizen Engagement Through ICT for Development, WSIS 2010 Forum EGM, 13-14 May 2010. [21] V.D. Ndou, V D, E-Government for Developing Countries: Opportunities and Challenges, The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries EJISDC, vol.18, pp. 1-24, 2004. [22] National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) [Online]. Available from: < http://www.nesrea.org > [12 March 2013]. [23] D.C. North, Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. [24] G. Onu and A.P. Chiamogu, E-Governance and Public Administration in Nigeria: A Discourse, International Journal of Business and Management Tomorrow, vol. 2, pp.1-6, September 2012. [25] A.K. Otubu, E-Government and Land Administration in Nigeria A Recipe for Lagos State, Working paper Series of Social Services Research Network (SSRN), 15 May 2009. Available from <http://ssrn.com/abstract=1405363> [12 October 2009] ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 102

[26] G.B. Peter, Institutional Theory: Problems and Prospects, Political Science Series, Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, 2000. [27] S.W. Richard, Institutional theory, Encyclopaedia of Social Theory, pp.408-414; in George Ritzer, Eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2004. [28] P.S. Tolbert and L.G. Zucker, The institutionalization of institutional theory [Electronic version]. In S.Clegg, C. Hardy and W. Nord, Eds. Handbook of organization studies, pp. 175-190. London: SAGE, 1996. [29] D. M. West, Equity and accessibility in e-government: A policy perspective, Journal of egovernment, vol. 1, pp. 31-43, 2004. [30] M. Wimmer and R. Traumuller, trends in electronic government: Managing distributed knowledge, In the Proceedings of the 11th International Workshop on Database Expert Systems Applications, Springer New York, 2001. [31] R.K. Yin, Applications of Case Study Research. Second Edition, London: Sage Publications, 2003. [32] J. Zhang, S.S Dawes, and J. Sarkis, Exploring stakeholders expectations of the benefits and barriers of egovernment knowledge sharing, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. 18, pp. 548-567 2005. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 103

Appendices Appendix 1. Drivers-Barriers Model Competition Cos Culture & Religion Economic Activities Employment Government Infrastructure Knowle dge of -ecommerce Legislation & Regulation Payment System Security Traditional Business Appendix 2. The map of Nigeria ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 104

Evaluation of Academic Research Project Types: A Multi Criteria Decision Making Methodology Ufuk BOLUKBAS*, Betul OZKAN, Huseyin BASLIGIL Yildiz Technical University, Mechanical Faculty, Department of Industrial Engineering, 34349, Beşiktaş / İstanbul, Turkey E-mail addresses: bolukbas@yildiz.edu.tr (U.BOLUKBAS), bozkan@yildiz.edu.tr (B. OZKAN), basligil@yildiz.edu.tr (H. BASLIGIL) Abstract Academic projects are very important for academicians. Deciding on the right project type can be very complicated. Project research has a positive impact on the academic career, it will improve researcher s motivation and provide an additional income for project personel. There are different project types that support the academic research studies. Academicians have many attempts to realize their study by academic project funds, it is a multi criteria decision making problem to choose which project type is the most suitable for a researcher s work plan. The goal of this paper is to help academicians to select the right project type by applying the right methodolgy. In this paper there are five alternative project types and criteria defined by decision makers and Analytic Network Process (ANP) method is used to select most appropriate type of the research project by the comparison of criteria. Interaction of the criteria are evaluated to define appropriate project type by the ANP method. The results of method is compared in the last part of the study. Keywords: Research project, ANP, Multi Criteria Decision Making 1. Introduction Selecting an appropriate project type is an important decision for an effective academic work. This study attempts to solve project selection problems by adopting ANP Method. In the proposed methodology, ANP method is used to evaluate five project alternatives for an project application in a research field. To choose one between five project types under five different criteria defined by expert academicians is a new approach for selecting an academic project type in the literature. This study uses ANP (Analytic Network Process) methods to evaluate academic project alternatives. There are many academic research possibilities which are funded by universities, powerful public institutions such as TUBITAK and other government institutions as Ministry of Scinence, Industry and Technology. An academician needs to do some research on project financial possibilities, feasibility of project and the contribution to the project coordinator. To decide which academic research project type is suitable for his/her academic research, the researcher should have know the project characteristics and have some limitations about the project and then according to determined criteria the best academic research project can be chosen. In this study we have 5 main criteria time, applicability, academic contribution, project budget and experience. In this study ANP method is used to determine the relative weights of criteria and the most appropriate alternative. Super decision software method is applied to score project types under the criteria. To the best of our knowledge, we have not come across a project type selection study for the academic research projects. The goal of the project selection process is to analyze project viability and to approve or reject project proposals based on established criteria, following a set of structured steps and checkpoints (Amiri, 2010). ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 105

There are many studies about project selection using different multi criteria decision making techniques. Hsieh et al. (2004) presented a fuzzy multi-criteria analysis approach for selecting of planning and design (P&D) alternatives in public office building in Taiwan. They used fuzzy AHP to determine the weightings for evaluation criteria. There are 6 main and 20 sub-criteria for the problem. An empirical case study of nine proposed P&D alternatives for a new building project for the Taipei City Police Bureau is used to exemplify the approach. Pan (2008) presented a fuzzy AHP model to select an appropriate bridge construction method of bridge construction projects. Huang et al. (2008) presented fuzzy AHP to select government sponsored R&D projects. And then they used a simulation process to understand changes in the judgments of the technical advisory committee when they considered different decision risks. Çağlar (2009) proposed a two abjective two mathematical models based on PROMETHEE V method for selecting project selection problems. For the first model a data mining method (ib- PROMETHEE) was used and for the second mathematical model a NSGA-II method was applied that considered the constraints. Chen and Cheng (2009) dealt with multiple-criteria decision-making method (MCDM) for selecting an information system project based on the fuzzy measure and the fuzzy integral. Amiri (2010) used AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS methodologies to assess alternative projects for National Iranian Oil Company. AHP was used to determine the weights of the criteria and then fuzzy TOPSIS was used to determine the final results. Durán (2011) used FAHP methodology for selecting computerized maintenance management systems. Jaskowski et al. (2010) suggested an extended fuzzy AHP method to select a reliable contractor. Shaw et al. (2012) presented a study about the selection of the appropriate supplier in the supply chain, addressing the carbon emission issue using fuzzy AHP and multi-objective linear programming. Ju et al. (2012) proposed a hybrid fuzzy method consisting of fuzzy AHP and 2tuple fuzzy linguistic approach to evaluate emergency response capacity. Chou et al. (2012) used a fuzzy AHP and fuzzy DEMATEL in human resource for science and technology. Lee (2010) used a fuzzy AHP model to evaluate university performances in Taiwan. In this paper, Analytic Network Process (ANP) method is used for the most appropriate project selection. There are five main criteria and three sub-criteria. ANP method is prefered because the main criteria and sub criteria have interaction between each other. The paper is organized as follows: In section 2, we explained the method. In section 3, we explained the model and solved our model according to the ANP method. And section 4 is the result part of the problem and section 5 is the conclusion part, here we compared the results of selection. 2. Method: Analytic Network Process (ANP) Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and analytic network process (ANP) are the two most important and popularly used multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods that aid the decision maker to select the best choice under situations characterized by having more than one criterion (or multiple criteria)(das and Chakraborty,2011). The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for decision structuring and decision analysis was first introduced by Saaty and it allows a set of complex issues that have an impact on an overall objective to be compared with the importance of each issue relative to its impact on the solution of the problem (Meade and Presley,2002). Although it has been applied to different situations with reasonable satisfactory results, the AHP fails in handling all the complexities of many real time problems because of its strictly hierarchical structure. With the aim of ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 106

solving such problems, Saaty presented the ANP which depicts a decision-making problem as a network of criteria and alternatives (which are all called as elements), grouped into clusters (Das and Chakraborty, 2011). Table 1: Comparison matrix scale of the criterian evaluation (Hsieh, Lu and Tzeng, 2004) Evaluating numbers Symbol Severity 1 Eq Equally important 3 Wk Weakly important 5 Es Essentially important 7 Vs Very strongly important 9 Ab Absolutely important 1/Eq 1/1 1/Wk 1/3 1/Es 1/5 1/Vs 1/7 1/Ab 1/9 Scale of criteria Criteria have equal weight First Criterion has more important than second criterion First Criterion has more important than second criterion First Criterion has more important than second criterion First Criterion has more important than second criterion Inverse matrix of the criteria evaluation ANP represents a decision-making problem as a network of criteria and alternatives (all called elements), grouped into clusters. All the elements in the network can be related in any possible way, i.e. a network can incorporate feedback and complex inter-relationships within and between clusters. This provides a more accurate modeling of complex settings (Beltran et al., 2010). According to Saaty, the ANP model comprises the following steps (Beltran et al., 2010): 1 Identifying the components and elements of the network and, 2 their relationships, 3 Conducting pairwise comparisons on the elements, 4 Placing the resulting relative importance weights (eigenvectors) in pairwise comparison matrices within the supermatrix (unweighted supermatrix) 5 Conducting pairwise comparisons on the clusters, 6 Weighting the blocks of the unweighted supermatrix, by the corresponding priorities of the clusters, so that it can be column-stochastic (weighted supermatrix), 7 Raising the weighted supermatrix to limiting powers until the weights converge and remain stable (limit supermatrix). 3. Application In our problem, there are 5 types of projects to be selected. All of the project types have huge funds, so that project studies are carried out by possibility of the project institution. Major research institutions that are best ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 107

known in local and international area have possibilities to realize project study by funding researches. Project institutions are analized and most important main criteria of research project are defined by the questionaries of decision makers. European Union Projects-The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7); The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) bundles all research-related EU initiatives together under a common roof playing a crucial role in reaching the goals of growth, competitiveness and employment; along with a new Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme Education and Training programmes and Structural and Cohesion Funds for regional convergence and competitiveness (http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/understand_en.html). TUBITAK(The Scientific and Technological Research Council Of Turkey ) Project; Tubitak supports industry and public institution s Research&Development Projects, gives countdown to meeting and issues, founds scholarships to future academicians during their education and makes international collaboration in science, technology and innovation area (http://www.tubitak.gov.tr/). State Planning Organization (SPO) Project; These projects are systematically works that is done for developing new product/process/method or improving existing product/process/method. The aim of this project is to improve the countr s competitiveness and to meet country s needs (especially in industry area). They focuses mainly on infrastructure Works (www.dpt.gov.tr). Industry Thesis (IT) Project; The goal of IT Projects is to meet the industria producer s R&D needs with the universityindustry collaboration and university s scientific approach. And another goal is to supports the vision Turkey, that understands the importance of innovation and R&D; produces and sells its own technology and its competition power and affluence level is high. When a IT Project is decided to support, maximum support level is %75 and %25 of the total project amount should be paşd by the firm in cash. The study time is between 36-48 months. There is no upper limit for the project amount. It depends on the budget oppurtunity. Between 2006-2010, ministry supported 42 million TL for the projects (http://sagm.sanayi.gov.tr/default.aspx?lng=tr). Scientific Research Project (SRP); Scientific Research Projects will be chosen according to 5 years Development Plan, university s scientific policiy and country s scientific policy. Research projects are completed maximum in 3 years. If the Project manager ask for extra time or resource, project comission evaluate this and can give extra time and resource. Extra time will be maximum 1 year and extra project budget can be improved by 50% of the project cost. Copyright of the scientific results that are obtained from the project belong to the Council of Higher Education. Our university supports between 7.000-30.000 TL for the projects (http://www.apk.yildiz.edu.tr/category.php?id=14). An academician can apply to different establishments for its project work. Financial support is needed for the project. The project alternatives are State Planning Organization Projects (SPO), European Union Projects (EU-FP7), TUBITAK Projects, Industry Thesis (IT) Projects and Scientific Research Projects (SRP) at universities. There are 5 main criteria and the main criterion academic contribution has 3 sub-criteria ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 108

to select the best project. Our criteria are; time, applicability, academic contribution, project budget and experience. Figure 1 shows the criteria and alternatives of the problem. Time: Academician needs time for the project work. The time given for doing the project is important. It is analyzed if the time is enough or not. Applicability: The project should have facilities in terms of application areas like public sector, private sector or laboratories. Academic Contribution: The project should have some advantages in terms of academic carrier. Scientific publications, the increase of the income and the increase of motivation are the positive impacts. The alternative project types should be compared according to this criterion. Project Budget: Budget is a very important criterion by assessing the alternatives. Related firm should support the project exactly. Experience: It is critical that a similar project was done before. It affects the project s success. Academic contribution has 3 sub-criteria. These are; - Scientific issue - Income level - Motivation Fig. 1 Hierarchical structure of the overall problem 3.1. Solving the problem with ANP Method The criterion experience affects the criteria academic contribution and applicability. The subcriterion, academic issue affects income level and motivation. So we used analytic network process (ANP) for selecting the best project type. For evaluating the alternatives there are 3 academicians as experts. They answered the questions individually. Then the geometric mean of three answers were calculated and one result was obtained. For solving the ANP problem we used Superdecisions software. Figure 2 shows the hierarchical structure of ANP method. Five alternatives are evaluated under five main criteria.sub-criteria of the Academic effect are in interaction between each other. Scientific issue-publication, income level and motivation are sub-criteria that are evaluated for all alternatives by decision makers from academical. Experience, academic effect and applicability have network interaction between each other. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 109

Fig. 2 Hierarchical structure for the selection problem Fig. 3 Hierarchical structure for the ANP solution The program shows all the possible comparisons. For comparison the program uses 1-9 scale. Then we can see the weights of nodes and the inconsistency index. All of the criteria are used to evaluate the alternatives by the questionaries. Project types and criteria are used in the superdecision software to define the ranking of the alternatives. Figure 4 shows an example for the comparison of alternatives according to income level, and Figure 5 shows their weights and the inconsistency index. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 110

Fig. 4 Example for the comparison matrix in Superdecisions Fig. 5 The weights and the inconsistency rate According to ANP, European Union (EU-FP7) project is the most appropriate project type with 0,477798 points and SRP project type is in fifth place with 0,037031 points. Fig. 6 The results of ANP Figure 6 shows the results of Superdecisions software. Alternatives are sorted by the percentage of Normals column in the solution. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 111

4. Results In this study, selection problems of the academic reserach project is evaluated by the comparison matrix. Firstly, a model for decision making process is offered to assess alternatives under main criteria. Three decision makers defined the criteria and alternatives by agreement approach. European Union seventh frame program is the best research project alternative and it is sharply different from other alternatives. State Plan Organization is the second important project fund institution alternative by the result of ANP method. Other project alternatives are sorted in figure 5 by the ANP method. Evaluate questions are considered by decision makers from academic field. Complex decision making process is the common issue for the most selection problems. Many researchers study to solve selection problems by the network and hierarchical approaches. Our model is an example of multi objective selection problems. 5. Conclusions In this paper we used multi criteria decision making method (ANP) to select the most appropriate project type for an academic project. According to ANP method, in this study European Union FP7 is the best alternative and SRP is the worst alternative for selecting an academic research project. Ranking about other three project alternatives; IT, SPO and TUBITAK projects have different importance levels in the method. Selecting an appropriate project alternative under some criteria is a new and important decision for an academic research project. This study attempts to solve project selection problems by adopting ANP method to evaluate five project alternatives under five criteria for an project application in an academical field. Table 2 shows the ranking results of ANP method. European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) Project, Industry Thesis (IT) Project, TUBITAK Research Project, State Planning Organization (SPO) Project, Scientific Research Project (SRP) are the most popular alternatives for academic research in Turkey so they are evaluated by two analyses. Table 2: Performance values of alternatives by the method ANP method Project alternatives Evaluation Ranking FP7 1. (%47,7) SPO 2. (%20,6) TUBITAK 3. (%15,3) IT 4. (%12,5) SRP 5. (%3,7) The crucial point about project selection with ANP method is to obtain same ranking results about European Union FP7 project which is the most appropriate project alternative under the defined criteria for an academician. Eventually, in the literature, there is no similar scientific publication with touching on the subject of project selection approach for the academic research project as we understand during this study. In the near future, there will be more project proposals from different application fields in universities. This method is used to choose the best alternative under some criteria for an academician or a funding institution so this approach is a valuable contribution to choose alternatives. if there is a complicated problem about the selection of the best among the alternatives, ANP method will suggest a convenient solution method. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 112

References 1. Amiri, M.P. (2010). Project selection for oil-fields development by using the AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS methods. Expert Systems with Applications, 37, 6218 6224. 2. Beltran, P.A., Ferrando, J.P.P., Garcia, F.G., &Agullo, A.P. (2010). An Analytic Network Process approach for siting a municipal solid waste plant in the Metropolitan Area of Valencia (Spain). Journal of Environmental Management, 91, 1071 1086. 3. Chen, C-T.,& Cheng, H-L. (2009). A Comprehensive Model For Selecting Information System Project Under Fuzzy Environment. International Journal of Project Management, 27, 389 399. 4. Chou, Y-C., Sun, C-C., Yen, H-Y. (2012). Evaluating the criteria for human resource for science and technology (HRST) based on an integrated fuzzy AHP and fuzzy DEMATEL approach. Applied Soft Computing, 12, 64-71. 5. Çağlar, M. (2009).Multi-Criteria Project Selection Problems. Master Thesis, Middle East Technical University. 6. Das, S., & Chakraborty, S. (2011). Selection of non-traditional machining processes using analytic network process. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 30, 41 53. 7. Durán, O. (2011). Computer-aided maintenance management systems selection based on a fuzzy AHP approach. Advances in Engineering Software, 42-821-829. 8. Hsieh T-Y., Lu S-T.&, Tzeng G-H. (2004). Fuzzy MCDM approach for planning and design tenders selection in public office buildings, International Journal of Project Management, 22, 573 584. 9. Huang, C-C., Pin-Yu Chu, P-Y.,& Chiang, Y-H. (2008). A fuzzy AHP application in governmentsponsored R&D project selection, Omega, 36, 1038-1052. 10. Jaskowski, P., Biruk, S., Bucon, R. (2010). Assessing contractor selection criteria weights with fuzzy AHP method application in group decision environment. Automation in Construction, 19, 120-126. 11. Ju, Y., Wang, A., Liu, X. (2012). Evaluating emergency response capacity by fuzzy AHP and 2-tuple fuzzy linguistic approach. Expert Systems with Applications, 39, 6972-6981. 12. Lee, S-H. (2010). Using fuzzy AHP to develop intellectual capital evaluation model for assessing their performance contribution in a university. Expert Systems with Applications, 37, 4941-4947. 13. Meade, L.M. & Presley, A. (2002). R&D Project Selection Using the Analytic Network Process. IEEE Transactıons on Engıneerıng Management, Vol. 49, No. 1. 14. Pan, N.-F. (2008). Fuzzy AHP approach for selecting the suitable bridge construction method. Automation in Construction, 17, 958 965. 15. Shaw, K., Shankar, R., Yadav, S.S., Thakur, L.S. (2012). Supplier selection using fuzzy AHP and fuzzy multi-objective linear programming for developing low carbon supply chain. Expert Systems with Applications, 38, 8182-8192. http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/understand_en.html http://www.dpt.gov.tr http://sagm.sanayi.gov.tr/default.aspx?lng=tr http://www.tubitak.gov.tr/ http://www.apk.yildiz.edu.tr/category.php?id=14 ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 113

Artificial Intelligence Approach for Information Technology Projects Portfolio Management and Services Ali Sulaiman Alneyadi Faculty of Information Science and Technology University Kebangsaan Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia alniadi@hotmail.com Mohd. Juzaiddin Abd Aziz Faculty of Information Science and Technology University Kebangsaan Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia din@ftsm.ukm.my Abstract: Most of E-Government projects do not succeed and reach their objectives. This fact is due to the challenging nature of Information Technology (IT) project management in general. IT project management suffers from high complexity, uncertainty and nonlinearity. These challenges have huge impact on the sustainability of EGovernment sector in any country. This research is concerned about the uncertainty of time management, the complexity of cost management and the nonlinearity that arises in time and cost management when multiple projects are managed at the same time as projects portfolio. To overcome these issues, this research proposes the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) because of its ability to handle complex non-linear problems. Specifically, two AI techniques will be the focus of our methodology. These techniques are Fuzzy Inference and Artificial Neural Network. The scope of this research will cover time and cost management. Keywords: Information Technology; Project Portfolio Management; Artificial Intelligence; Fuzzy Inference; Neural Networks I. INTRODUCTION IT management in E-Government projects is a very complex process that has many dimensions and requires advanced managing skills. Management of multiple and concurrent projects at the same time is called Projects Portfolio Management and it is based on Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) [5]. This theory has been extremely instrumental as an important tool of identifying and assessing risks that projects can be subjected to and the returns that such project investments are bound to bring to business organizations [5]. Markowitz assumed that investors are normally risk-averse, and creating a basket of portfolios, he attempted to mathematically maximize return for a given risk perception, or minimize risk for a given amount of expected return. Risk is measured in terms of various quantities, such as Alpha, Beta, and R-Squared among others. While MPT was mainly used for financial analysis, in the latter half of the twentieth century its lessons and insights were also applied to the emerging field of IT Project Management [6]. This gave rise to Project Portfolio Management (PPM), which is the centralized management of a group of existing projects by a Project Management Office (PMO) or a project manager. There are several different definitions of IT PPM exist, this research will adopt the definition proposed in [4], which is as follows: Continuous process to manage IT projects, application and infrastructure assets and their interdependencies, in order to maximize portfolio benefits, minimize risk and cost, and ensure alignment with organizational strategy over the long run ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 114

A PPM framework should subscribe to project areas, or capability definitions, as defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI) as part of its Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). These nine areas are as follows: Integration Management, Scope Management, Time Management, Cost Management, Quality Management, Human Resource Management, Communications Management, Risk Management and Procurement Management [3]. Obviously, IT project portfolio keeps changing over time. However, these changes have to be within organization constrains and limitations. In other words, there is no global set of rules to manage projects portfolio everywhere. Every projects portfolio has its own best way of management. This viewpoint of management is called Contingency Theory [7]. This study fundamentally seeks to establish the extent of which artificial intelligence can be used to benefit the management processes of project portfolios in information technology (IT) based Contingency Theory. II. MOTIVATION AND SCOPE A. Motivation The central focus of this research is based on the approaches that need to be adopted to improve the evaluation of IT projects or project portfolios. There are various problems that have been associated with these phases of project development. Quite fortunately, there are various solutions that have been provided by artificial intelligence technologies, tools and models, which can be used in the enhancement of portfolio management processes. In the use of these AI technologies, tools and models, it is important to understand what needs to be done in order to make sound and informed conclusions as well as recommendations in this research, which is what this thesis seeks to do. One of the most critical dimensions of project portfolio management in this research is risk management [2]. Project portfolios have been associated with a significant number of risks. About 70 percent of IT projects do not achieve the set objectives because they fail to effectively manage the risks. Many projects failure have also been associated with great uncertainties. The need to establish AI technologies, tools and models that can be used in better dealing with these uncertainties has been, therefore, a compelling force in this research. AI is appealing because of the cyclic nature of IT project management process. This cyclic behavior will lead to forming pattern inside IT project management process which can be extracted by artificial intelligence tools. This fact is the major motivation behind adopting AI as the main methodology in this research. B. Scope This research study aims at covering a number of dimensions of portfolio management and how its management can be enhanced through the use of artificial intelligence. The study basically focuses on IT project portfolios cost and time management. Project cost has, in recent years, also come up as a considerable issue in the study of project portfolio management. Different projects have different budgetary constraints which have to be taken to account before the selection, development, implementation or even the evaluation of any It project begins. Fortunately, there are various technologies, approaches and models that are used in making sure that cost management is facilitated and the project objectives are achieved. These are the general issues that will be discussed as well as the relationships they have with the overall discussion. The other important part of this discussion that has immense considerations in the literature review, which has to be incorporated in the study, is time management. Information technology projects are associated with ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 115

numerous complexities that have to be understood prior to the commencement of any phase of a project or a project portfolio consideration. This necessitates the discussion and understanding of all aspects of time and completion deadlines as well as their relationships with cost management [1]. This is important in all of the project phases, which include the selection, development, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. III. PROBLEM STATEMENT Project development, as a result of its multifaceted formation, particularly in the field of Information Technology, could frequently come across numerous unexpected setbacks, leading to project delays, overbudgeting and poor quality results. Even though such issues cannot be entirely eradicated, they can be managed and limited by implementing adequate and appropriate risk management techniques. Nevertheless, the issue with current and rare methods is that they fail to address the precision or accurately estimate budget and timeline necessary for creation of a perfect product. It is evident that starting IT projects is sometimes hard; this is allied to the fact that IT projects commonly entail numerous dynamic features; nevertheless, they are commonly constrained by finite circumstances. Some of the said features consist of measures of implementing control systems, structures, variables as well as methods. Likewise, this may include other aspects such as change control along with risk management. Depending on the nature of the IT project, it has been established that delivery framework is another factor that is allied to the success or failure of any IT project. This is more correlated to the application of system development structures towards the anticipate project. When starting an IT project, it would be advisable to consider those dynamics, which are within attainable level. Time is of great importance since if well managed it helps in overcoming structural and administrative variables, which can limit the projects perimeters. Other essential dynamics include identifying the projects specific deliverables, how to handle administrative crisis, financial inadequacies as well as operational breakdown. Estimation of time and cost are considered to be the basic criterion to project success. It is very problematic to predict the time and cost accurately as unexpected events and urgent work are not taken into consideration. Sudden occasions may involve internal and external meetings, sickness and holidays of key staff, equipment breakdown, missed deliveries, quality control rejections, etc. The greatest risk throughout estimation is board s constant assertion for rapid actions during the procedure. The majority of estimation techniques convey a form as quantification for the dimension of the object to be anticipated. If to found on this idea, a time as an appropriate form (effort) is expanded from the amount of costs, which can be obtained. The project administrator is required to further render the early "sophisticated" project description into a detailed project map that tackles the simplest degrees of execution details. Time and cost estimation are closely intertwined as time estimation is a key factor of price determining and, hence, the project profitability. Time also makes influence on reliability and competence assessment. Cost estimations greatly depend upon accurate assessments of resources and time. Estimating time accurately is considered to be one of the most complicated tasks as it takes experience and profound understanding of the project. One of the most common issues is that project managers overlook that the execution of this task may take longer than expected. Each project task will have a cost including the cost of the labor hours of a computer programmer, cost of equipment breakage, total time needed for the project, etc. When the budget of a project is prepared, the cost and ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 116

time of each task are calculated and totaled. Nonetheless, it is difficult to predict all prices and time due to price change and other unpredicted events. Thus, the effort estimation process within Information Technology has been noted as cost estimation, which is the result of time, schedule and effort evaluation. Due to the complexity and a variety of factors that influence estimation accuracy, there is a need to develop a model which might take all possible factors into consideration. The problem of accurately estimating time and cost gets worse when multiple projects are being performed at the same time. Each project in the projects portfolio will have indirect effect on the other projects. Sometimes, this effect can be a kind of Butterfly Effect where all parameters start behaving chaotically. Chaotic parameters are exponentially very hard to estimate. Each project in the portfolio has a set of tasks to be completed. Each one of these tasks has a cost and timeframe based on its nature. Different techniques have been used to solve the problem of time and cost estimation including statistic techniques (correlations), a model based on adjusted curves. The main disadvantage of the above mentioned techniques is that the size is considered as a free variable whereas it remains unknown until the end of the project. Considering all factors and difficulties of cost and time estimation, the issue should be studied under the framework of artificial intelligence approaches. IV. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The focus of this study lies in the use of artificial intelligence to address problems associated with selection, implementation and monitoring, and evaluation of projects in information technology. The use of PPM is taken into deep consideration and how AI can be integrated into it. The fowling objectives have, therefore, been set for accomplishment. To establish ways through which project selection can achieve choices that have the highest benefit and the best chances of success as part of the project portfolio To balance project portfolio on account of their cumulative risks in an effort to achieve the best cumulative performance over the project implementation and evaluation period To allocate the available resources in an optimal way such that no project is depending on other projects in the portfolio To establish ways in which artificial intelligence can best be used to improve the selection, implementation and monitoring, and evaluation of information technology project portfolios In the appreciation of the fact that the selection, implementation and monitoring, and evaluation have will result in the introduction of new technologies, systems, models and approaches, the study also seeks to establish ways to achieve the highest possible of scalability and absolute adaptability so that not much of the existing infrastructure can be affected by the new developments. V. EXPECTED RESULTS AND EXPECTED LIMITATIONS This research will use several performance metrics to evaluate the proposed solutions. The most essential performance metrics are project time, project expending, accumulated delays, risk exposure, resources utilization, average number of concurrent projects in the portfolio, etc. The major expected results are: Reduction in average project time of projects portfolio. Reduction in average project budget of projects portfolio. Increase of available resource utilization. Increase of concurrent managed projects. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 117

Reduction of all sort of risk exposure. In addition, this research will provide very important insight of how artificial intelligence techniques can be used to enhance the management process of IT projects portfolio. The main feature of artificial intelligence is its ability to extract patterns. For patterns to emerge, some sort of repetition is required. In our case, IT projects, if these projects in the portfolio are not similar in a way or another, the expected improvement after implementing the proposed solution will not be high. The reason behind this is that projects do not have common activities among and each activity may happen only one time. For example, our brain can associate the word NOKIA with cellphones and telecommunications because we heard it many times in relation with cellphones and telecommunications context. If we only heard it once in our life, we will not be able to associate it with cellphones and telecommunications. The same is applied to any artificial intelligence technique. However, we can overcome this issue by insuring that projects in any portfolio are related. REFERENCES [1] Chen, L. Y., & Wang, T.-C. (2009). Optimizing partners choice in IS/IT outsourcing projects:the strategic decision of fuzzy VIKOR. Int. J. Production Economics 120, 233 242. [2] Jin, X.-H., & Zhang, G. (2011). Modelling optimal risk allocation in PPP projects using artificial neural networks. International Journal of Project Management 29, 591 603. [3] Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) third edition. Project Management Institute, (2006). [4] Kumar, R., Ajjan, H., & Niu, Y. (2008). Information technology portfolio management: literature review, framework, and research issues. Information Resource Management Journal, 64-87. [5] Markowitz, H. (1952). Portfolio selection. The Journal of Finance, 77-91. [6] McFarlan, W. (1981). Portfolio approach to information systems. Harvard Business Review, 142-150. [7] Woodward, J. (1958). Management and Technology. London, UK: Her Majesty s Stationary Office. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 118

Evaluating E-Government Initiatives in Turkey From the Perspective of Public Employees: A Case Study and Preliminary Findings Elif Esin Gökçeoğlu Assistant Expert General Directorate for Consumer Protection and Market Surveillence, Ministry of Customs and Trade, Ankara, Turkey esin.gundogan@metu.edu.tr Nilay Yavuz Assistant Professor Political Science and Public Administration Department Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey nyavuz@metu.edu.tr Abstract : Along with e-government applications increasingly becoming prevalent around the world, evaluation of their potential to improve governmental efficiency and operational effectiveness, policy outcomes, and communication with citizens, and increase citizen satisfaction and engagement has been a trending research topic both in academia and practice. While the main actor of interest in these evaluation studies tend to be public organizations and end users of the services, a few studies have explored the attitutes, perceptions, and behaviors of public employees in relation to e-government projects. This paper is a preliminary attempt to shed more light on understanding the implementation and consequences of e-government initiatives, by focusing on the perspective of public employees in Turkey. A case study is conducted to describe how public employees view e-government initiatives and to what extent they use it in the General Directorate for Consumer Protection and Market Surveillence under the Ministry of Customs and Trade in Turkey. A survey was administered to 56 public employees in the organization including superior and subordinate positions. The paper reports preliminary findings from the data and conclusions discuss policy and research implications of the findings in relation to egovernment implementation. Keywords: E-government evaluation, ICT use in public organizations, Technology adoption, Public employees attitutes and perceptions, Survey study Introductıon In the recent years, individuals have confronted with information and communication technologies (ICT) in almost every aspect of their daily lives. In fact, ICT not only affects individuals but also pushes states to make structural transformation. In this transformation process, traditional, awkward, bureaucratic state structure has left leaves its place to faster, modern, participative, customer-centered, low-cost and transparent state model in many places. Technological reforms in the end of 1990s led to the fast and big transformation of state functions with the possibility of providing information and services over the Internet and enabling online public participation. In that context, e-government emerged as a tool to support and improve public policies and government operations, engage citizens, and provide comprehensive and timely government services. [1] Similarly, e-government applications have been rapidly developing in Turkey in the last 10 years and they have gained even more importance. In order to keep pace with the changing and developing world, many e-government ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 119

projects have been implemented by public institutions and organizations, which can provide information and services 24 hours 7 days. However, there is limited research on the evaluation of the usage of e-government tools, especially by public employees. In other words, whether the purposes of e-government projects are realized or not is ambiguous. Moreover, the views of public servants who have to use such projects and the internet as parts of their jobs should be taken into consideration, because their attitudes and perceptions on online applications are worth to analyze so as to understand the efficiency and effectiveness of e-government projects and identify problematic areas. Hence, this paper is a preliminary attempt to shed more light on understanding the implementation and consequences of e-government initiatives, by focusing on the perspective of public employees in Turkey. A case study is conducted to describe how public employees view e-government initiatives and to what extent they use it in the General Directorate for Consumer Protection and Market Surveillence under the Ministry of Customs and Trade in Turkey, using a survey that was administered in 2013 to 56 public employees in the organization including superior and subordinate positions. The paper reports preliminary findings from the data and discuss policy and research implications of the findings in relation to e-government implementation. The paper is organized as follows. It first reviews the development of e-government practices in Turkey. The next part looks at the e-government applications of the Ministry of Customs and Trade. Then, more specifically econsumer portal as the e-government project of the General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Public Surveillance will be evaluated. At this point, consumer information system will be examined from public employees perspective and whether the targets of e-government have been realized or not will be analyzed. Lastly, conclusion part discusses research and policy implications of the findings from the preliminary survey analysis. an overview of the development of e-government in Turkey If we look at the stages of e-government development in Turkey, the period between years 1996 and 2002 was the beginning stage. First e-government initiative was made by Ministry of Finance in 1998, named as Internet Tax Project. All of the tax transactions were automatized via information technology. Decreasing workload, increasing efficiency and effectiveness, and creating management information system were all aimed under this project [2]. This project was put into practice in 22 city centers, 155 tax departments and 5 revenue offices. Then, because of instability of the economy and politics, there had been no long-term e-projects during 1998-2002. As a significant development, Turkey accepted eeurope+ initiatives in 2001. At this point, Turkey adopted common goals and priorities of eeurope+ Action Plan. With 2002 elections, Justice and Development Party in power started e-government reforms. They also aimed to fulfill reforms on e-europe enterprise in order to be a member country. Urgent Action Plan was introduced to develop economic and social welfare in Turkey so as to transform into information society. The plan included targets such as providing cheaper, faster and secure Internet access, investing in well-developed human resources and skills so to promote the use of Internet. As a result of Urgent Action Plan of 58th and 59th governments, etransformation Turkey Project was created in 2003 as a huge step for e-government in Turkey. In other words, it gathered all other efforts under a big umbrella. This project coordinated by State Planning Organization aimed at transformation into information society. Objectives and principles of the project was explained as: Policies, laws, and regulations regarding ICT will be re-examined and changed if necessary, with respect to the EU acquits; e-europe+ Action Plan, initiated for the candidate countries, will be adapted to Turkey, mechanisms that facilitate participation of citizens to decision-making process in the public domain via usage of ICT will be developed, transparency and accountability for public management will be enhanced, through increased usage of ICT, good governance principles will be put in place in government services, ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 120

widespread usage of ICT will be enhanced, public IT projects will be coordinated, monitored, evaluated and consolidated if necessary, in order to avoid duplicating or overlapping investments, private sector will be guided according to the above-mentioned principles [3]. Shortly, there were 3 main goals: to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in e-government projects, coordination with other information activities, and alignment with EU on ICT. As Çayhan argues (2008), there has been a strong intention to implement e-government in Turkey at EU standards [4]. Information Society Strategy and Action Plan was made for 2006-2010 to identify middle and long term strategies. According to this strategy, there has been 7 strategic priority areas under 111 actions, which were social transformation, CT adoption by businesses, citizen oriented public service, modernization of public management, globally competitive ICT sector, competitive, widespread and affordable telecom infrastructure and services, R&D and innovation in ICT [5]. If we look at major e-government applications realized under this strategy, we see e-government gateway, central census management system (MERSIS), identity sharing system, address record system, national judiciary informatics system (UYAP), internet tax offices, police network and information system (POLNET), accounting office automation project (2000i), e-budget, customs modernization project, edocument in foreign trade, social security e-declaration project, Turkish foreign investment portal, KOBİnet for SMEs, tourism portal, electronic signature and certification authority, mobile electronic signature [6]. As a result of this strategy, one of the most targeted e-government applications was the egovernment gateway. Under the responsibility of State Planning Organization, e-government portal project was implemented in 18 December 2008 with the corporation of TURKSAT-international cable and satellite operator. The establishment, operating and managing of this portal has been conducted by Ministry of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communication on behalf of prime ministry. It has been a platform which government services were provided electronically to citizens, business organizations and all other governmental organizations from one single websitewww.turkiye.gov.tr. From this website, citizens are provided main services such as birth issues, educational issues, military obligation issues, social security issues, health issues, job and career issues, traffic issues, tourism and travel issues, obstacle citizen issues, culture art and sport issues, foreign citizen issues, law and regulation and protection of right issues. All these issues are carried by related ministry. If we look at the statistical data about e-government since 2008, we see huge developments in this area. In 2009, it was started with 22 e-services and in year 2010, there were 139 e-services provided to citizens, business groups and non-governmental organizations. Year 2011 brought 246 e-services to people and the year 2012, there were 514 services that can be used electronically from the website of www.turkiye.gov.tr. Similarly, number of registered users increased year by year. When it just implemented at the end of 2008, approximately ten thousand people registered to the system. In 2009, nearly five hundred seventy thousand people, in 2010, nearly two million users (1,95 million), in 2011, with the big attack, approximately 7 million users (7,14 million) and today nearly 14 million people (13,85 million) got the password and used the portal in kind of a way. Lastly, number of institutions has been also increasing. When in 2011, there were 26 institutions registered in the system, this year we see more than double institutions as 54. Moreover, we analyze online list of e-services, we see that all ministries as main institutions have e-services and many other institutions/ organizations are actively involved in the system. This paper focuses on the e-government initiatives that are implemented in the Ministry of Customs and Trade, which is dealt in the next section. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 121

E-government projects ın the mınıstry of customs and trade Objectives and Structure of the Ministry The ministry performs several duties such as to assist in the preparation of customs policies and to implement, to check and ensure the customs services in fast, effective, efficient manner and in accordance with determined standards, to help to identify the major goals and policies on domestic trade services, to implement the trade policies and the other duties stated in the decree law. Central organization of the ministry has 9 general directorates which are General Directorate of Customs, of Customs Enforcement, of Domestic Trade, Risk Management and Audit, of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance, of Merchants and Craftsmen, of Cooperative, of EU affairs and Foreign Relations, of Liquidation Services. In addition, there are also Department of Internal Audit, Department of Strategy Development, Department of Guidance and Inspection, Legal Consultancy Department, Department of Personnel, Department of Training, Department of Support Services, Department of Data Processing, Consultancy of Press and Public Relations, Private Secretary and Ethical Commission. On the other hand, in its provincial organization, there are 16 customs and trade district offices. E-Government Initiatives in the Ministry Like the other ministerial organizations, Ministry of Customs and Trade has also adopted the phenomenon of e-government. It implements various e-government projects. Online transactions can be made through its websitewww.gumruk.gov.tr. Firstly, under the general directorate of customs, there have been online electronic custom applications. In addition, there is also department for electronic custom transactions. System was established for the exporters to make new transit pass. They prepare declaration, show some assurance for the property subjected to transit transactions and they can also inquire any declarations online. Moreover, there is an opportunity for online petition. These are technical issues because they only concern business groups who deal with customs. For example, they can make a petition for the demand of additional time on regime declaration. There is a need for approval for properties by custom offices in certain days.(45 days for the goods by sea, 20 days for the goods coming by other ways) If the process passes 30 days, an obligator has to apply for additional time. This process can be made through online transactions. Additionally, there is an advisory unit of large firms under this directorate. Another e-government application of the ministry involve every citizen because every human being, at the same time, has the common identity as the consumer. Every individual consumes many things and this consumption process may bring some problems. As one of the universal rights, people have consumer rights. Therefore, General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance serves approximately 75 million citizens. This GD and relevant legislation protect the consumer who is the weak side of the business/trade relationship. No: 4077 Law on Consumer Protection brings many consumer rights which are not even in European countries. However, citizens are not aware of or use those rights. For this reason, this general directorate aims to provide awareness of consumer rights and responsibilities. The most important project at this area is the Consumer Information System, called TUBİS in Turkish. It has been executed through the website- www.tuketici.gov.tr. This is a website that serves to increase consciousness of consumers and getting them informed as citizens. In other words, e-consumer Portal is designed to serve all consumers, so all citizens. In fact, it not only shows direction to the citizens, but also all side-producers, industrialists, merchants and tradesmen. This system adopts a friendly approach to the citizen and desires to have a fast-acting public image. Therefore, while designing the website, the main target was to be the smiley face of the state. Additionally, participative and citizen-focused service understanding is another main base for the information system. This system in general aims to enable ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 122

citizens to make complaints online and follow the results, to make the transactions of arbitration committee for consumer problems online and so to increase the traceability of their procedures, to provide integration with National Judicial Network Project (UYAP) so that shortening the operations between the arbitration committee for consumer problems and consumer courts, to integrate with e-government gateway so that reaching services through e-government portal and with the integration of citizen authentication system, ensuring the security of personal data. In addition, via the e-consumer portal, informing consumers in efficient, effective, rapid and accurate way and developing consumer policies with the analysis of the data collected on TUBİS are the other targets of the system. This system was put into practice in 2010 but this general directorate was established in 1994. Before this online system, applications were made in traditional bureaucratic ways. People were making their complaints only through mail and fax. Yet, complaints through postal services still reached out to the directorate. On the other hand, first online applications were made through Prime Ministry Communication Center (BİMER), so since 2006 there have been both online and traditional methods. Now, complaints can be made through mail, fax, AKİM (Justice and Development Party Communication Center), BİMER( Prime Ministry Communication Center) and online applications from www.tuketici.gov.tr and www.turkiye.gov.tr. For the application considered to be valid, ID number of the citizen is the necessary requirement. Formerly, applications could be made with no name, address or any credentials. Therefore, after these online initiatives, the number of applications was decreased because many of them declared invalid. These new online applications make personal information like id number, address, telephone and e-mail obligatory. Its full integration with e-government portal www.turkiye.gov.tr is an important step that enables citizens to reach it from any web page. There is an also integration process between TUBİS and the project of Ministry of Justice that is National Judicial Network Project (UYAP). With full integration of two projects, transferring the file from arbitrary committee to consumer courts can be made online so there will be direct online interaction between them and so there will be no more loss of time and resources. After this review of the e-government initiatives and their implementation in the Ministry of Customs and Trade, it is also important to look at the perspective of public employees, and understand how they view the initiatives. Although the main users of e-government services are citizens, the implementers are public servants. What they think about e-government, their adaptation to the new technology are significant indicators in order to analyze the development and effectiveness of e-government projects. In other words, the engagement of public servants is vital to the success of e-government [7]. Indeed, public employees have two identities: as a public employee and as a citizen. As citizens they have a significant role in increasing awareness about e-government initiatives, because they can affect people near them in their daily lives. In addition, they provide public services to citizens on behalf of the State so they tell people how the process is working. Because they mostly communicate with citizens, they are in a very effective position: citizens can get information from them. The next section describes the survey that was administered to 56 employees in the General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance and presents preliminary findings from the study. e-government and publıc employees: A Survey study in the General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance under mınıstry of trade ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 123

Survey on Public Employees about Internet and E-Government Use In order to better evaluate how public employees perceive e-government initiatives in general both as an employee and as a citizen, and understand how they utilize the internet, we conducted a case study in the General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance using survey methodology in July 2013. For a period of 5 consecutive days, we visited all the employees offices in the general directorate to invite them to participate in the survey study. Of the 98 employees that work for the general directorate, we administered the survey to a total number of 56 employees who were readily available in their offices at the time of the survey implementation and agreed to participate. The surveys were distributed to the participants and collected by the researchers on the same day. The purpose of the survey was to learn public servants' views and behaviors about the usage of Internet, e-government, and visiting governmental websites. The questions were mostly designed in Likert scale of 1-5. Preliminary Findings from the Analysis of the Survey Data 1) Respondent demographics and other characteristics: 27 survey respondents are women and 29 of them are men. The respondents are mostly young people: 18 of them are between the range of 18-29 and 27 of them are between the range of 30-39. It may be especially important to see young public employees' views about egovernment, because general perception in the society is that young people tend to use the Internet and new technologies in their daily lives more whereas older people prefer using the Internet less or even do not know how to use such technologies. 48% of the participants are women and 48% of women are at the ages of between 30-39, whereas 40% of women are at the ages of between 18 and 29. If we look at the educational features of respondents, %80 of them were graduated from university, %14 of them continued to their education with master and doctor's degree. 3 people answered as lycee and stated their job titles are employee. There are 7 different job titles which are general director/ vice general director, head of department, department chief, expert, assistant expert, employee and others. Distribution is as follows: 2 vice general directors, 3 heads of departments, 2 department chiefs, 17 experts, 19 assistant experts, 7 employee and 6 others. In terms of work experience, 19 respondents have been working for between 1-5 years. 21 of them are working for years between 6 and 10. That is to say, %70 of participants have been working for less than 10 years. Indeed, mostly respondents in superior positions are normally working for more than 10 years. Specifically, job tenure at the General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance are also asked. This is also remarkable because in addition to having young staff, there are also many new staff in the directorate. %48 of respondents has been working at this general directorate for less than 5 years. Last demographic question is about whether public servants had worked at the private sector before and the results are interesting: %48 of them did work for private companies and then preferred working for public sector. That is to say, they have had a chance to compare public and private organizations. 2) Computer and internet usages: Second part of the survey is composed of questions about computer and Internet usages. On average, general computer knowledge of the respondents are 3.75 over 5. How often your job requires you to use the Internet? question was averagely answered as quite often. They averagely use the Internet for 4-6 hours. Another question aims to find out the purposes of using Internet in their daily lives. They are asked 13 different items and expected to answer whether they use the internet for that purpose very often (rated as 5), quite often (rated as 4), sometimes (rated as 3), rarely (rated as 2), and never (rated as 1). Job-purpose communication with public or private organizations, communication with citizens for job purposes, private communication and social networking, searching information, online payment/banking transactions, online ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 124

shopping, using e-government applications for job-purpose, using e-government applications as a citizen, communication with public organizations as a citizen (asking question, expressing opinion, problem, job application), communication with private organizations as a citizen, entertainment, education, health and other items were ranked according to most commonly given response. According to the respondents, the highest ranked item with an average frequency of 4.17 over 5 is using Internet for searching information. Then, online payment is ranked as average 3.67 among respondents which means that people mostly trust banking system so that they can make payments online. However, it is not the same case for online shopping. It is ranked under average with 2.89. In fact, %12 of the respondents answered as never for online shopping. The finding may imply that while many people trust online banking systems, they mostly do not trust private companies. The third mostly ranked item is job-purpose communication with public or private organizations with 3.55 and after that, as not surprised, private communication and social networking comes with 3.51. On the other hand, unfortunately, the lowest ranked item is using e-government applications as citizens which is 2.32. They also rarely prefer communicating with public institutions as a citizen with the average 2.32. Actually, respondents of the survey answered using e-government applications for job-purpose more frequently than as a citizen (2, 51). However, it is still below the average. If we look at the average point of the 13 items, it is 3.06. In the final analysis, online shopping, using e-government applications for both job purpose and as a citizen, communication with public and private organizations as a citizen, and using the internet for health purposes are under the average. 3. Methods used in government operations: The respondents are also asked mostly preferred methods to conduct their operations in the workplaces and as citizens for their relationships with some other government offices. Answer choices were e-mail, website, face-to-face, telephone and mail. As a public employee in their workplaces, they mostly preferred to do their jobs with e-mail at the rate of %34. Then, with the ratio of %30, they use telephones for communicating with citizens. %46 of respondents ranked the website option as the least preferred method in their workplaces. On the other hand, as a citizen, with %32 ratio, they mostly preferred telephone method to communicate with other government offices. Then with the same percentage-%21, face-to-face communication and e-mail methods are chosen by respondents. The least preferred method of respondents as being a citizen is the mail option with %34. As a result, what they do as a job in workplaces and what they prefer to do as a citizen in other offices show some variation. It seems that they do not opt for the same methods in their work and daily lives. 4. Use of e-government: Forth part of the survey is about the use of e-government. %52 of respondents use the e-government gateway which is www.turkiye.gov.tr. Likewise, %48 of them do not use e-government which is a big rate. This is surprising because based on the general demographic composition of the respondents, it might be expected that the usage rate would be higher. However, it is almost half-and-half. Additionally, the users of egovernment are asked the methods they use to access to the e-government portal. 80% of public employees who use e-government enters to the system with e-government password. 2 people use both password and identity card. 3 of them use e-signature for the entrance to the system and only 1 of them has a mobile signature. Then, they are asked how often do you visit websites of public organizations? Average of the total respondents is 2.76 which means between sometimes and rarely. The other question asks the respondents about the types of egovernment applications they use as citizens and it allows multiple choices to be picked. 16 e-government applications are listed and mostly frequently selected one is the inquiry of personal information (citizen ID number, criminal record, retirement number etc.) with 37 votes. Interestingly, even 13 people who responded ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 125

no to the question do you use e-government gateway? chose this option which means that even if they do not use www.turkiye.gov.tr, they get online services from other public websites. Second mostly selected egovernment application among options is searching information about government operations like official statistics, reports, announcements, news with 24 votes. Right after, online applications to governmental agencies come with 23 votes. Social security transactions are marked by 21 times. Then online payment to governmental agencies had 18 votes, address record system, tax operations, traffic operations got same 17 votes from respondents. The least selected option is sending e-mail to politicians/public officials. It shows that even if they are public officials, they do not prefer to communicate with other public officials and politicians. Actually, options which are mostly selected are now that compulsory to check from Internet. For example, you have to control your id number from the website of www.tckimlik.nvi.gov.tr. Similarly, from www.adres.nvi.gov.tr provides the investigation of address record system. Online applications to government agencies, tax operations, traffic operations provide 7/24 online services to citizens so instead of going to the bureau within the working hours, now that they began to opt for completing process online. Moreover, the survey also inquires about the purposes of visiting of public websites in the workplace so this question is answered under the task identity. Acquisition of knowledge about legislation, searching/downloading information, benefit from online services, learning address-telephone-e-mail addresses, communication/asking a question/ expression of opinion, reporting a problem/complaint are listed to rank from very often to never. Among these options, respondents mostly ranked searching/downloading information with the average 3.91. Then, acquisition of knowledge about legislation comes with the average of 3.82. On the other hand, they apply to public websites for reporting a problem/complaint at least average of 2.52. Total frequency of all these purposes is 3.38. 5. Evaluation of e-government: After the questions on the use of e-government, questions about evaluation of egovernment took place under the question of 25. It involved 25 items implying positive and negative views on egovernment. The response options are listed as totally disagree to totally agree (1 to 5). The highest ranked one with 4,48 over 5 is that e-government is useful for citizens. which means that almost all respondents think that it is indeed useful. Moreover, %52 of respondents who even do not use e-government gateway replied to this question as totally agree. This may imply that even if they do not use e-government gateway, they believe that it is useful, or they are aware of its usefulness. They also see e-government useful for public employees but with a little bit less votes; 4,39 over 5. 82% of participants does not agree to the statement that E-government may give harm to democratic processes, voting 1 and 2. Similarly for questions that represent a negative view about e-government, including E-government reduces citizens' access to government services, e-government makes difficult the communication of citizens with government., e-government increases workload of public servants and e-government increases bureaucratic transactions, the respondents disagreed with an average of 1.8 over 5, which means that they voted mostly either totally disagree or disagree. Another question in the survey aimed to compare public employees confidence for public and private organizations websites and sharing information. The results indicate that they do not trust both organizations websites but public organizations have a bit more trust in the eye of public employees with 2.71 rating over 5 on average while trust on private organizations websites took 2.35. It is surprising because although they work at public organizations, they do not trust sharing information online with public authorities. Those respondents who worked at private sector before seems to have more trust on public websites than private websites with the average of 2.48 and 2.22. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 126

6. General evaluation of governmental websites and TUBIS: The last part of the survey is composed of questions about general evaluation of public websites and the website of their public organization- www.tuketici.gov.tr. From the points of ease of use, effectiveness, currency, reliability, fastness, design, they evaluated the public websites at the question 21. From the perspectives of respondents, the case of websites is sadly unpleasant. General evaluation of websites in terms of 6 points is 2,9 over 5. They found weak the design of websites with the average of 2,58. They also do not think that public websites are current because they voted 2,78 which means between weak and medium. Mostly voted issues among 6 items is websites' effectiveness and their reliability. Compared to others, to a certain extent, they find public websites effective and reliable, respectively voted 3, 13 and 3, 09 which is not enough for to say that websites are really effective and reliable. On the other hand, provision of current information is required for the usage of e-government services. is voted 4, 39 over 5 which means they value current information on public websites for effective e-government implementation. Similarly, the security and speed of websites are evaluated by respondents with the average 4, 25 over 5 which can be said that they also put importance on these features of websites. Their opinions about whether public websites are sufficiently used or not are posed and %61 of respondents think that they are not sufficiently used, %27 of them think yes, they are sufficiently used and %12 of them have no idea about this. Because we also think that public websites are not used enough, after this question, general reasons for unuse or little use of public websites are listed to be chosen from respondents. These reasons are users' being unaware, having no computer or Internet access, instead of transactions, websites' intended for informative purposes, the difficult use of websites, complex and recondite contents of websites, its remaining slow in solving the problem, the lack of update, its being slow, technical problems, lack of reliability. According to the respondents, most voted reason for disuse or little use of public websites is its remaining slow in solving the problem. %73 of respondents put on this reason. Then, at the second rank, %55 of the participants think that public websites are disused or little used because users are unaware of online services. The least marked reason is, with 6 votes, users' having no Internet or computer access which means that they do not think the access problem in Turkey anymore. However, according to the report published by Turkish Statistics Institution in August 2013, the rate of using Internet and computer is respectively %48,9 and %49,9. Besides, %49,1 of households in Turkey has an Internet access. That is to say, half of the population still do not have Internet access. This rate is %57,4 at the urban areas and % 29,1 at the rural areas. That is to say, on the contrary to participants, the access problem is still critical issue in Turkey. %71,4 of public employees agree with the statement that online applications reduce the time passed with citizens at the workplace. In other words, with the preference of making online applications at anywhere at anytime, going to the public offices within working hours is reduced. However, %74 of the respondents still think that online applications increased the communication with citizens. In other words, it only reduced the time passed at workplaces but the other ways of communication such as e-mail, telephone did not reduce, conversely increased according to the respondents. The last question coming up with objective results give the rates of giving feed back to citizens is making online %75 of the respondents give online feedback to citizens. It can be resulted as such that as part of their jobs, they use more online applications when compared to their daily lives as citizens. In the final analysis, the total average of the sub-questions which can show us the general evaluation of their public website is 3,45 over 5. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 127

Conclusıons and Dıscussıon As can be understood from the results of the survey, even if people working as public officials generally have positive feelings about e-government, they do not prefer using it much practically. Anyway, if they do not use egovernment applications as being at the top of the e-government, we cannot realistically expect high rates of usage of e-government by citizens. Firstly, government officials should use and then lead to the citizens. From the analysis of the survey, it can be easily said that most of them are aware of many opportunities of e-government but they do not find public websites as current, fast, easy to use, in good design which affect people's choices. Besides, they do not trust public websites. Therefore, there is need for regulations at this area so that it will impact citizens. Some applications are made obligatory by the government so citizens have to use them online. At the first phase maybe the number of the obligatory applications may be increased so that people will get used to egovernment applications and will go on. Moreover, when they are asked the reasons of disuse of public websites, they mostly chose that its remaining slow in solving the problem so what should be done is to quickly solve the problems and show their activeness to the people. If people see that when they apply public websites and wait for reply, if the government officials quickly give an answer to their problems, this will affect their tendency to use online ways to reach public officials. Thereby, a system should be developed in this regard. Additionally, the recognition of online methods and awareness of citizens are not enough according to the public employees participated in the survey. Therefore, primarily there are needs of policies for those online methods to be introduced to people and their awareness to be increased in a way. Another point is that, people in relation with governmental works are commonly at their middle or older ages so they more stick to traditional, paper-based practices, however, young population is coming on strong because they are directly related with the Internet and online applications and the future users of these online systems will be such young people. In other words, they are accustomed to using the Internet and in the near future who will increase the online trend in e-government use will be this part of society. Besides, people began to see easiness of ICT. In other words, they increasingly realize that e-government projects can make their life easier without going to bureaus, waiting in queues for a long time. At this point, what is needed to be done is to increase awareness of citizens and their trust on government. When they become aware of these services, if they feel safe on them, they will start to use such e-services. For example, many people started to pay taxes online, search for social security online because they noticed its convenience and speed. Moreover, government officials' tendencies also affect the citizens points of view about e-government because if they exactly know and rule over the system, they can easily and positively direct the people. That is why this paper has tried to measure the perspectives of employees. It should also be noted that the study was an initial attempt to understand the public employees views and behaviors about e-government initiatives, and was designed as a case study, focusing only on the public employees of one of the general directorates in the ministry. Therefore results may not be generalizable. Future studies may shed more light on the perspective of the employees about e-government, by involving large numbers of employees and several organizations. As a last word, using technology is becoming widespread among our society in the process of time but using technology for governmental purposes need time to catch up other online practices. It can be understood from many surveys that the Internet usage is not problematic issue in Turkey anymore but using Internet for egovernment purposes is not at the adequate and expected level so government policies should be designed firstly for increasing the interest and trust of officials, so then citizens. ) (ISSN : 2091-1610 ), Volume No : 12 Issue No : 1..Page 128

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