Knowledge

In response to the recent formalization of Filipino Sign Language (FSL) and the lack of comprehensive studies, this paper introduces a real-time FSL gesture recognition system. Unlike existing systems, which are often limited to static signs and asynchronous recognition, it offers dynamic gesture capturing and recognition of 10 common expressions and five transactional inquiries. To this end, the system sequentially employs cropping, contrast adjustment, grayscale conversion, resizing, and normalization of input image streams. These steps serve to extract the region of interest, reduce the computational load, ensure uniform input size, and maintain consistent pixel value distribution. Subsequently, a Convolutional Neural Network and Long-Short Term Memory (CNN-LSTM) model was employed to recognize nuances of real-time FSL gestures. The results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed technique over existing FSL recognition systems, achieving an impressive average accuracy, recall, and precision rate of 98%, marking an 11.3% improvement in accuracy. Furthermore, this article also explores lightweight conversion methods, including post-quantization and quantization-aware training, to facilitate the deployment of the model on resource-constrained platforms. The lightweight models show a significant reduction in model size and memory utilization with respect to the base model when executed in a Raspberry Pi minicomputer. Lastly, the lightweight model trained with the quantization-aware technique (99%) outperforms the post-quantization approach (97%), showing a notable 2% improvement in accuracy. Full article

We develop a new theory of knowledge with mathematics and a broad-based series of case studies to seek a better understanding of what constitutes knowledge in the field and its value for autonomous human–machine teams facing uncertainty in the open. Like humans, as teammates, artificial intelligence (AI) machines must be able to determine what constitutes the usable knowledge that contributes to a team’s success when facing uncertainty in the field (e.g., testing “knowledge” in the field with debate; identifying new knowledge; using knowledge to innovate), its failure (e.g., troubleshooting; identifying weaknesses; discovering vulnerabilities; exploitation using deception), and feeding the results back to users and society. It matters not whether a debate is public, private, or unexpressed by an individual human or machine agent acting alone; regardless, in this exploration, we speculate that only a transparent process advances the science of autonomous human–machine teams, assists in interpretable machine learning, and allows a free people and their machines to co-evolve. The complexity of the team is taken into consideration in our search for knowledge, which can also be used as an information metric. We conclude that the structure of “knowledge”, once found, is resistant to alternatives (i.e., it is ordered); that its functional utility is generalizable; and that its useful applications are multifaceted (akin to maximum entropy production). Our novel finding is the existence of Shannon holes that are gaps in knowledge, a surprising “discovery” to only find Shannon there first. Full article

Despite increased attention being given to Indigenous rights, decolonization, and reconciliation in a broader business setting, the engagement of business, marketing, and consumer studies with Indigenous cultures and peoples is negligible. Although Indigenous and First Nations peoples have a significant position in the social sciences, there is no specific body of marketing or consumer knowledge that is dedicated to Indigenous knowledge and practices, even though there is a growing interest in more inclusive and transformative marketing. This paper reports on current research on Indigenous worldviews and marketing, with a continuum of Indigenous research being presented which is particularly informed by Māori experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand. Several appropriate research methods for advancing Indigenous knowledge are presented. The paper concludes by noting the potential contributions that Indigenous knowledge may provide and some of the challenges faced. Full article

Commercial construction projects (CCPs) in New Zealand contribute more to the economy than other project types. However, many face cost and time increases due to inadequate planning. Procurement pathways that involve contractors during design development provide more time to plan, collaboratively. Nevertheless, most projects are procured through traditional tender where contractors are only involved after detailed design. Through two-stage early contractor involvement (2S-ECI), contractors can provide design buildability advice for complex projects, contribute value management, carry out exploratory works, and order materials. The role of subcontractors in 2S-ECI can be significant. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with clients, consultants, main contractors, and a subcontractor involved in large complex commercial construction projects. The findings build on the emerging body of knowledge about 2S-ECI by providing insight into subcontractor early involvement. Project complexity and market conditions were the main reasons for early subcontractor involvement. Common challenges include a lack of information sharing among the parties, non-competitive selection, and a lack of standard contract documentation. Opportunities for improvement include clarifying client expectations, educating stakeholders, and providing more equitable compensation for pre-construction services. Key drivers for subcontractor involvement include project complexity, market conditions, ordering long-lead-time systems, and performance specifications. Specialist early sub-trades include electrical, mechanical, structural steel, and façades. Subcontractors should typically be engaged as early as possible, often concurrently via main contractors to share performance risk. Pre-construction services provided by subcontractors include planning and sequencing; design buildability analysis; risk mitigation; value management; budget advice; systems procurement; design solutions; and document control systems. Advantages include obtaining specialist project knowledge and improving completion certainty. Producing a pre-construction services agreement (PCSA) for subcontractors may address challenges, as has been carried out for main contractors, but there is still a gap in the contractual framework for 2S-ECI for subcontractors. Full article

The Program for International Student Assessment highlights the persistent lack of commitment and motivation among students worldwide in their school activities, which are resulting in decreased proficiency levels in reading, mathematics, and science. The magnitude of this phenomenon, with its clear social implications, suggests that we are facing a concerning quest for immediate answers and results. This research focuses on the impact of the relationships between self-regulated learning processes and the planning of time management that is dedicated to school activities on student performance, specifically in the subjects of the Mother Tongue and Mathematics. The instruments used for analysis included the Inventory of Self-Regulated Learning Processes, the Inventory of Time Management Planning, a personal data sheet, and a school data sheet. The sample in this study consisted of 688 students from primary schools in northern Portugal. The results reveal that self-regulated learning has a positive influence on how students plan time management, both in the short and long term. Additionally, a positive and statistically significant relationship is observed between short-term and long-term time management planning and students’ academic performance. This study provides an in-depth perspective on the dynamics between these elements, shedding light on the crucial nuances that shape students’ academic journeys. Full article

Background: In an era of dramatic technological progress, the consequent economic transformations, and an increasing need for an adaptable workforce, the importance of education has risen to the forefront of the social discourse. The concurrent increase in the awareness of issues pertaining to social justice and the debate over what this justice entails and how it ought to be effected, feed into the education policy more than ever before. From the nexus of the aforementioned considerations, concern about the so-called education gap has emerged, with worldwide efforts to close it. Methods: I analyze the premises behind such efforts and demonstrate that they are founded upon fundamentally flawed ideas. Results: I show that in a society in which education is delivered equitably, education gaps emerge naturally as a consequence of differentiation due to talents, the tendency for matched mate selection, and the heritability of intellectual traits. Conclusion: I issue a call for a redirection of efforts away from the ill-founded idea of closing the education gap to the understanding of the magnitude of its unfair contributions, as well as to those social aspects that can modulate it in accordance with what a society deems fair according to its values. Full article

This paper presents the process of digital data flow in RE/CAD/RP/CAI systems to develop models for planning surgical procedures in the craniofacial area. At the first RE modeling stage, digital data processing, segmentation, and the reconstruction of the geometry of the anatomical structures were performed. During the CAD modeling stage, three different concepts were utilized. The first concept was used to create a tool that could mold the geometry of the cranial vault. The second concept was created to prepare a prototype implant that would complement the anterior part of the mandibular geometry. And finally, the third concept was used to design a customized prototype surgical plate that would match the mandibular geometry accurately. Physical models were made using a rapid prototyping technique. A Bambu Lab X1 3D printer was used for this purpose. The process of geometric accuracy evaluation was carried out on manufactured prototypes of surgical plates made of ABS+, CPE, PLA+, and PETG material. In the geometric accuracy evaluation process, the smallest deviation values were obtained for the ABS plus material, within a tolerance of ±0.1 mm, and the largest were obtained for CPE (±0.2 mm) and PLA plus (±0.18 mm). In terms of the surface roughness evaluation, the highest value of the Sa parameter was obtained for the PLA plus material, which was 4.15 µm, and the lowest was obtained for the CPE material, equal to 3.62 µm. The knowledge of the flow of digital data and the identification of factors determining the accuracy of mapping the geometry of anatomical structures allowed for the development of a procedure that improves the modeling and manufacturing of anatomical structures within the craniofacial region. Full article

Healthcare organizations have a contractual obligation to the public to address population-level inequities to health services access and shed light on them. Various studies have focused on achieving equitable access to healthcare services for vulnerable patients. However, these studies do not provide a nuanced perspective based on the local reality across the full continuum of care. In previous work, graph topology was used to provide visual depictions of the dynamics of patients’ movement across a complex healthcare system. Using patients’ encounters data represented as a graph, this study expands on previous work and proposes a methodology to identify and quantify cohort-specific disparities in accessing healthcare services across the continuum of care. The result has demonstrated that a more nuanced approach to assessing access-to-care disparity is doable using patients’ patterns of service utilization from a longitudinal cross-continuum healthcare dataset. The proposed method can be used as part of a toolkit to support healthcare organizations that wish to structure their services to provide better care to their vulnerable populations based on the local realities. This provides a first step in addressing inequities for vulnerable patients in accessing healthcare services. However, additional steps need to be considered to fully address these inequities. Full article

Science has been an incredibly powerful and revolutionary force. However, it is not clear whether science is suited to performance under pressure; generally, science achieves best in its usual comfort zone of patience, caution, and slowness. But, if science is organized knowledge and acts as a guiding force for making informed decisions, it is important to understand how science and scientists perform as a reliable and valuable institution in a global crisis. This paper provides insights and reflections based on the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and from an analytical perspective. In particular, we analyze aspects such as speed, transparency, trust, data sharing, scientists in the political arena, and the psychology of scientists—all of which are areas inviting more detailed investigations by future studies conducting systematic empirical studies. Full article

Over the last two decades, the knowledge production, research, and reconfiguration of universities have been understood as ways of giving new meanings to the university–society binomial. In this regard, humanities are the subject of multiple debates in the face of ideas about their impact in relation to the “other sciences”. Based on these premises, this article sets out to explore possible meanings attributed by researchers to the concepts of commitment, mobilization, and transfer of research in humanities in view of the debates on the university–society interaction and the third mission of the university. The methodology used will address bibliographical analysis, theoretical background, and statements from different institutions, as well as the analysis of material from four interviews. As a first instance, the preliminary results show that strengthening critical thinking as forms of commitment emerge as central senses, focusing on Hungarian characteristics and productions in order to unravel the ways of understanding and imagining Eastern European reality. In this respect, the discussion of certain aspects of Western knowledge is seen as a task associated with social commitment with public universities as a focus of resistance. Full article

This contribution describes the change in methodology introduced in the subject of electrical technology within the industrial technologies engineering degree at Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de València. The main purpose of the methodology change was to improve the attainment of student outcomes by the introduction of project-based learning supported by flipped teaching. Moreover, a software tool was developed that generates standard exercise statements for the design of electrical installations. Using this tool, students can practice with different problem exercises, enter their solution, and receive immediate feedback on their results, improving the teaching–learning experience. The level of student outcomes attained was improved, and other positive aspects arose from the experience, such as boosting students’ responsibility in their own learning (learn to learn), their ability to solve problems, and students’ motivation. Furthermore, the instructors’ opinions on the methodology change were highly positive. Full article

This study aims to analyze the perceived value of services provided by the Brazilian Company of Research and Industrial Innovation (EMBRAPII) to its contracting ministries and institutional partners. It utilizes the theory of value perception analysis and Constructivist Multi-criteria Decision Analysis to identify critical elements for evaluating EMBRAPII’s contracting organizations. Brainstorming sessions with experts led to the identification of five criteria and 14 sub-criteria. These criteria include a relationship with EMBRAPII, a signed agreement, EMBRAPII’s reputation, technical capacity, and the ability to adapt to changes. Data were entered into the second version of the MyMCDA-C software for value perception analysis. The findings showed a positive perceived value, with the best-performing sub-criteria relating to the organization’s reputation and the agreement signed. The study concludes that EMBRAPII needs to improve in areas such as adapting to change, the adequacy of its proposals for distinct types of partnership, and social media positioning. However, the contracting organizations generally support EMBRAPII’s direction and proposed solutions. Full article

This research explores the optimization of firewall systems within private cloud environments, specifically focusing on a 30-day evaluation of the Omni-Secure Firewall. Employing a multi-metric approach, the study introduces an innovative effectiveness metric (E) that amalgamates precision, recall, and redundancy considerations. The evaluation spans various machine learning models, including random forest, support vector machines, neural networks, k-nearest neighbors, decision tree, stochastic gradient descent, naive Bayes, logistic regression, gradient boosting, and AdaBoost. Benchmarking against service level agreement (SLA) metrics showcases the Omni-Secure Firewall’s commendable performance in meeting predefined targets. Noteworthy metrics include acceptable availability, target response time, efficient incident resolution, robust event detection, a low false-positive rate, and zero data-loss incidents, enhancing the system’s reliability and security, as well as user satisfaction. Performance metrics such as prediction latency, CPU usage, and memory consumption further highlight the system’s functionality, efficiency, and scalability within private cloud environments. The introduction of the effectiveness metric (E) provides a holistic assessment based on organizational priorities, considering precision, recall, F1 score, throughput, mitigation time, rule latency, and redundancy. Evaluation across machine learning models reveals variations, with random forest and support vector machines exhibiting notably high accuracy and balanced precision and recall. In conclusion, while the Omni-Secure Firewall System demonstrates potential, inconsistencies across machine learning models underscore the need for optimization. The dynamic nature of private cloud environments necessitates continuous monitoring and adjustment of security systems to fully realize benefits while safeguarding sensitive data and applications. The significance of this study lies in providing insights into optimizing firewall systems for private cloud environments, offering a framework for holistic security assessment and emphasizing the need for robust, reliable firewall systems in the dynamic landscape of private clouds. Study limitations, including the need for real-world validation and exploration of advanced machine learning models, set the stage for future research directions. Full article

This paper will discuss Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom, which is commonly referred to as DIKW. The DIKW Pyramid Model is a hierarchical model that is often referenced in both academic and practitioner circles. This model will be discussed and shown to be faulty on several levels, including a lack of definitional agreement. A new DIKW framework with systems orientation will be proposed that focuses on what the DIKW elements do in the way humans think, not what they are by definition. Information as a replacement for wasted physical resources in goal-oriented tasks will be a central organizing point. The paper will move the DIKW discussion to the computer-based concept of Digital Twins (DTs) and its augmentation of how we can use DIKW to be more effective and efficient. This will especially be the case as we move toward Intelligent Digital Twins (IDTs) with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Full article

One of the major problems in classifying network attack tactics is the imbalanced nature of data. Typical network datasets have an extremely high percentage of normal or benign traffic and machine learners are skewed toward classes with more data; hence, attack data remain incorrectly classified. This paper addresses the class imbalance problem using resampling techniques on a newly created dataset, UWF-ZeekData22. This is the first dataset with tactic labels, labeled as per the MITRE ATT&CK framework. This dataset contains about half benign data and half attack tactic data, but specific tactics have a meager number of occurrences within the attack tactics. Our objective in this paper was to use resampling techniques to classify two rare tactics, privilege escalation and credential access, never before classified. The study also looks at the order of oversampling and undersampling. Varying resampling ratios were used with oversampling techniques such as BSMOTE and SVM-SMOTE and random undersampling without replacement was used. Based on the results, it can be observed that the order of oversampling and undersampling matters and, in many cases, even an oversampling ratio of 10% of the majority data is enough to obtain the best results. Full article

There has been no study examining the effectiveness of an accessible computing curriculum for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on their learning of computational thinking concepts (CTCs), flow control, data representation, abstraction, user interactivity, synchronization, parallelism, and logic. This study aims to investigate the effects of an accessible computing curriculum for students with ASD on their learning of CTCs as measured by the scores of 312 computing artifacts developed by two groups of students with ASD. Conducted among 21 seventh-grade students with ASD (10 in the experimental group and 11 in the control), this study involved collecting data on the computing projects of these students over 24 instructional sessions. Group classification was considered the independent variable, and computing project scores were set as the dependent variables. The results showed that the original curriculum was statistically significantly more effective for students in learning logic than the accessible one when all seven CTCs were examined as a single construct. Both curriculums were statistically significantly effective in progressively improving students’ learning of data representation, abstraction, synchronization, parallelism, and all CTCs as a single construct when examining the gradual increase in their computing artifact scores over the 24 sessions. Both curriculums were statistically significantly effective in increasing the scores of synchronization and all CTCs as a single construct when the correlations between CTCs and sessions for individual groups were analyzed. The findings underscore that students with ASD can effectively learn computing skills through accessible or standard curriculums, provided that adjustments are made during delivery. Full article

Medical professionals are rarely trained to treat the unique healthcare needs and health disparities of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The Curriculum in IDD Healthcare (CIDDH) eLearn course aims to redress gaps in the delivery of medical care to people with IDD. An initial comprehensive evaluation of CIDDH in-person training content had previously underscored its knowledge and skill transfer efficacy for Mississippi healthcare providers. Training content has recently become available to medical professionals nationwide through an online self-paced modality to address physicians’ IDD education needs. This study introduces and applies a new evaluation framework called SEAM (Streamlined Evaluation and Analysis Method) that offers a promising avenue for rendering a follow-up appraisal after rigorous evidence of program effectiveness has been previously established. SEAM reduces the data-reporting burden on trainees and maximizes instructor–trainee contact time by relying on an abbreviated post-only questionnaire focused on subjective trainee appraisals. It further reduces methodological and analytical complexity to enhance programmatic self-assessment and facilitate sound data interpretation when an external evaluator is unavailable. Ratings from a small sample of early-cohort trainees provide an important test of effectiveness during CIDDH’s transition to online learning for clinicians nationwide. Using SEAM, CIDDH achieved high ratings from this initial wave of trainees across various evaluative domains. The study concludes by highlighting several promising implications for CIDDH and SEAM. Full article

The labor market is highly dependent on vocational and academic education, training, retraining, and further education in order to master challenges such as advancing digitalization and sustainability. Further training is a key factor in ensuring a qualified workforce, the employability of all employees, and, thus, national competitiveness and innovation. In the contribution at hand, we explore an innovative way to derive knowledge about learning pathways by connecting the dots from different data sources of the German labor market. In particular, we focus on the web mining of online resources for German labor market research and education, such as online advertisements, information portals, and official government websites. A key question for working with different data sources is how to find the ground truth and common data structures that can be used to make the data interoperable. We discuss how to classify and summarize web data from different platforms and which methods can be used for extracting data, entities and relationships from online resources on the German labor market to build a network of educational pathways. Our proposed solution is based on the classification of occupations (KldB) and related document codes (DKZ), and combines natural language processing and knowledge graph technologies. Our research provides the foundation for further investigation into educational pathways and linked data for labor market research. While our work focuses on German data, it is also useful for other German-speaking countries and could easily be extended to other languages such as English. Full article

The exploration of threshold concepts, which represent a transformed way of understanding, interpreting, or viewing something necessary for a learner’s progress, has significantly influenced teaching and learning in higher education, gaining broad acceptance in academic circles. Despite widespread enthusiasm, the scientific development of the field faces obstacles, especially epistemological and ontological uncertainties, directly implying the reliability of identification techniques and, by extension, raising questions about the validity of previous findings. This comprehensive review delves into 60 articles sourced from the Web of Science database to scrutinize the literature on threshold concept identification. The findings confirm the adaptability of threshold concepts across diverse disciplines. However, the fluid definition inherent in these concepts introduces ontological challenges, influencing biases in the identification process. The review highlights the diverse identification methods influenced by knowledge area specificities, community affinities, and research practice traditions. A diagram depicting the methods employed to identify threshold concepts is offered to highlight five central decisions to be considered. Acknowledging professors as pivotal mediators adept at navigating the epistemological and ontological dimensions of threshold concepts while integrating theoretical and applied knowledge, this study enhances our nuanced understanding of threshold concept identification. Emphasizing methodological validity and reliability, it acknowledges the crucial role of experienced educators in this issue and presents future perspectives for advancing current research, fostering the maturation of the field. Full article