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Un moindre taux de cellules commerciales vides dans le centre-ville carolo selon la Ville

(Belga) Le taux de cellules commerciales vides dans le centre-ville carolo est tendanciellement à la baisse, a indiqué lundi soir lors du conseil communal de la Ville de Charleroi Babette Jandrain, l'échevine carolo du Commerce en réponse à une question qui lui était adressée.

Selon l'élue, qui a indiqué reprendre les chiffres de l'Association de Management du Centre-Ville (AMCV), le taux actuel de cellules commerciales vides dans l'intra-ring carolo est de 29% contre 33,6% en 2020. Et ce malgré le Covid et la crise énergétique qui ont mis en difficulté l'activité commerciale dans les grandes villes. Si le taux de cellules commerciales vides reste élevé à Charleroi, il n'en reste pas moins que la situation a tendance à s'améliorer, a indiqué Babette Jandrain. Les chiffres donnés par l'échevine ont été constatés par la conseillère communale du PTB Sofie Merckx, évoquant une situation de "désolation" concernant le quartier de la Ville Basse et interrogeant par ailleurs la volonté de la Ville de faire de certaines cellules vides des logements. (Belga)




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Elon Musk se défend au tribunal d'accusations "scandaleuses" sur des tweets de 2018

Elon Musk a tenté de montrer lundi au tribunal que ses fameux tweets de 2018, sur sa volonté de sortir Tesla de la Bourse, n'avaient rien de trompeurs ou de frauduleux, contrairement aux accusations d'investisseurs qui disent avoir perdu des millions de dollars à cause du milliardaire.

Le patron de Tesla -- et de Twitter, depuis fin octobre -- a assuré qu'il n'avait "jamais" cherché à tromper les investisseurs, et que l'accusation de fraude était "scandaleuse".

Il avait créé la stupeur le 7 août 2018 en affirmant qu'il voulait retirer son groupe automobile de la Bourse au prix de 420 dollars par action, puis en assurant que le financement était "sécurisé".

"Je ne disais pas que c'était fait, je disais simplement que je l'envisageais, que j'y pensais. Et qu'à mon avis le financement était sécurisé", a déclaré Elon Musk à la barre, dans le tribunal de San Francisco où a lieu le procès.

La semaine dernière, le principal avocat des plaignants, Nicholas Porritt, avait accusé le dirigeant d'avoir "menti" et d'être responsable des pertes des investisseurs.

Le titre avait bondi dans la foulée des tweets très inhabituels (et le Nasdaq avait temporairement suspendu le cours de l'action Tesla), avant de décliner les jours suivants. Des articles de presse avaient fini par révéler que le patron n'avait pas vraiment les fonds.

Tesla était restée cotée en Bourse.

A travers ses questions, Nicholas Porritt a cherché à montrer qu'Elon Musk n'avait pas réalisé les consultations appropriées, et ne disposait pas ni des éléments nécessaires, ni de l'autorité pour faire une annonce aussi fracassante, surtout sur Twitter, et surtout pendant que les marchés étaient ouverts.

- "M. Tweet" -

L'avocat a mis en avant des échanges acerbes le 12 août 2018 entre le milliardaire et Yasir Al-Rumayyan, le directeur du fonds souverain saoudien, qui s'était engagé "catégoriquement" et "sans hésitation" à financer l'opération, selon Elon Musk.

"Le financement n'était pas vraiment sécurisé, n'est-ce pas?", a demandé M Porritt.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan a fait du "rétropédalage", a rétorqué le patron de Tesla.

Il a assuré qu'il avait de toute façon la possibilité de vendre ses actions de son autre fleuron, SpaceX, "l'entreprise non cotée la plus valorisée des Etats-Unis".

"Cela m'aurait brisé le cœur (de les vendre), mais je l'aurais fait si besoin", a-t-il déclaré, évoquant comment il avait dû se séparer d'actions de Tesla pour racheter Twitter l'année dernière.

Costume sombre, chemise blanche et cravate, il est apparu hésitant, ne se souvenant pas de nombreux emails et détails, et répondant souvent à côté des questions pour répéter à l'envie les messages qu'il voulait faire passer au jury.

Au point de faire perdre patience à l'avocat des investisseurs. "Nous avons passé toute une journée ensemble à Austin, vous vous en souvenez M. Tweet?!", a lancé Nicholas Porritt, avant de corriger pour "M. Musk".

- "Karma" -

L'accusation est aussi revenue sur le prix proposé par Elon Musk, 420 dollars par action. Aux Etats-Unis, les chiffres 4 et 20 accolés sont associés à la consommation de cannabis. Quand le milliardaire a proposé de racheter Twitter au printemps dernier, il a choisi un prix de 54,20 dollars par action.

"Avez-vous arrondi à 420 en guise de blague à l'attention de votre petite amie?", a demandé Nicholas Porritt.

"Ce n'était pas une blague, cela représentait une prime de 20% au-dessus du prix de l'action", a répondu Elon Musk, reconnaissant cependant qu'il y a "un certain karma autour de 420".

"Pas sûr que ce soit un bon ou un mauvais karma à ce stade", a-t-il encore plaisanté.

Son avocat Alex Spiro l'a ensuite aidé à dresser le portrait d'un immigré parti de rien, venu aux Etats-Unis - "là où les grandes choses sont possibles" - après une enfance "malheureuse" en Afrique du Sud, selon les mots du milliardaire.

"On m'a traité de fou à de nombreuses reprises", a déclaré Elon Musk après avoir énuméré les entreprises qu'il a cofondées.

Mais "à ce stade je crois que j'ai levé plus d'argent que quiconque dans l'histoire", s'est-il vanté, attribuant sa réussite à son "honnêteté" à l'égard des investisseurs.

Le procès doit durer trois semaines. Dans une précédente décision liée à cette affaire, un juge avait estimé que le fameux tweet de 2018 pouvait être considéré comme "faux et trompeur".

Le gendarme boursier américain, la SEC, avait de son côté obligé Elon Musk à céder la présidence du conseil d'administration, à payer une amende et à faire pré-approuver par un juriste ses tweets directement liés à l'activité de Tesla.




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Insurrection à Washington - Assaut du Capitole: des membres de la milice Oath Keepers reconnus coupables de "sédition"

(Belga) Quatre membres de la milice d'extrême droite "Oath Keepers" ont été reconnus coupables lundi de sédition pour leur rôle dans l'assaut du Capitole, à l'issue du second procès organisé sur ce chef d'accusation extrêmement rare.

Depuis l'attaque du 6 janvier 2021, plus de 950 partisans de l'ex-président républicain Donald Trump ont été arrêtés et inculpés pour avoir semé le chaos dans le siège de la démocratie américaine. Parmi eux, seuls 14 militants de groupuscules d'extrême droite - neuf membres des "Oath Keepers" et cinq "Proud Boys" - ont été accusés de "sédition", un chef passible de 20 ans de prison qui implique d'avoir planifié l'usage de la force pour s'opposer au gouvernement. Faute de place suffisante dans le tribunal fédéral de Washington, la justice a organisé le procès des Oath Keepers, accusés de s'être entraînés et armés pour l'occasion, en deux temps. Un premier procès s'est conclu fin novembre par un verdict mitigé: le fondateur de cette milice, Stewart Rhodes, et un responsable local ont été déclarés coupables de sédition, mais leurs trois co-accusés ont été acquittés sur ce chef. Lundi, à l'issue du second procès, les jurés ont jugé coupables les quatre derniers Oath Keepers, des hommes âgés de 38 à 64 ans décrits comme de dangereux "traîtres" par l'accusation, mais comme des "fanfarons" par leurs avocats. Le procès des Proud Boys, dont leur leader Enrique Tarrio, s'est ouvert en décembre et était toujours en cours lundi, dans le même tribunal. (Belga)




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En renonï¿œant aux dividendes, l'Etat va perdre 2,4 milliards d'euros

Pas de dividendes en pᅵriode de crise. En annonᅵant qu'il n'accorderait aucune aide (comme des reports de cotisation) aux entreprises qui verseraient des dividendes ᅵ leurs actionnaires, le gouvernement a tentᅵ...




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La Semaine politique : la France a dᅵtruit ses masques, un ex-collaborateur de Vᅵran a cherchᅵ ᅵ en vendre (et quelques autres infos)

Vous n'avez pas eu le temps de lire Le Canard enchaᅵnᅵ, Mediapart, Le Monde, Arrᅵt sur images et tous les autres titres de presse ? On s'en charge pour vous.




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Le maire d'extrᅵme-droite de Perpignan s'est augmentᅵ de 17% juste aprᅵs son ᅵlection

C'est un classique. Juste aprï¿œs leur victoire, certains ï¿œlus locaux font voter une augmentation de leur salaire. Une dï¿œcision qui intervient au dï¿œbut de leur mandat, histoire que les ï¿œlecteurs aient le temps...




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Journï¿œes parlementaires, campus rï¿œgionaux : La Rï¿œpublique en marche va dï¿œpenser prï¿œs d'un million d'euros pour sa rentrï¿œe

C'est la rentrᅵe politique. Et qui dit rentrᅵe, dit universitᅵ d'ᅵtᅵ. Cette annᅵe, la Rᅵpublique en marche a vu les choses en grand en organisant ᅵ la fois des journᅵes...




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Le ministre de la justice, Eric Dupont-Moretti, a oubliᅵ de dᅵclarer 300 000 euros de revenus au fisc

Voilᅵ un "petit oubli" bien embᅵtant. Selon Mediapart, "le garde des Sceaux, Eric Dupont-Moretti, a oubliᅵ de dᅵclarer au fisc et ᅵ la Haute Autoritᅵ pour la transparence de la vie publique...




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Pᅵle emploi a organisᅵ un sᅵminaire au Stade de France pour 300 000 euros

Le retour de Politique.net mᅵritait bien de commencer par une fᅵte. Selon Le Canard enchaᅵnᅵ, "le 17 juin, Pᅵle emploi Il-de-France s'est offert un sᅵminaire managers au Stade de France pour communier...




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Pour dᅵsengorger les urgences des hᅵpitaux, le ministre de la Santᅵ a saturᅵ le Samu

C'est malin. A peine nommᅵ ministre de la Santᅵ, Franᅵois Braun croyait avoir trouvᅵ une astuce pour dᅵsengorger les services d'urgences des hᅵpitaux : demander aux patients d'appeler le 15,...




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Crï¿œation de 3000 postes de "gendarmes verts" : la fausse promesse de Darmanin

A chaque jour, une nouvelle annonce. Cet ᅵtᅵ, le ministre de l'Intᅵrieur, Gᅵrald Darmanin, a multipliᅵ les dᅵplacements sur le terrain et les annonces. Pour lutter contre les pyromanes ᅵ...




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A vin nouveau, outres neuves ?

(Chronique d'avant-plage) Emmanuel Macron a écrit aux Français pour louer le parlementarisme et la stabilité institutionnelle. Il a pourtant contourné le Parlement pendant 7 ans et méprisé les Présidents des deux chambres en se contentant de les informer de la dissolution. Alors, avec un tel garant, que fait-on ?




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Enabling smart city technologies: impact of smart city-ICTs on e-Govt. services and society welfare using UTAUT model

Smart cities research is growing all over the world seeking to understand the effect of smart cities from different angles, domains and countries. The aim of this study is to analyse how the smart city ICTs (e.g., big data analytics, AI, IoT, cloud computing, smart grids, wireless communication, intelligent transportation system, smart building, e-governance, smart health, smart education and cyber security) are related to government. services and society welfare from the perspective of China. This research confirmed a positive correlation of smart city ICTs to e-Govt. Services (e-GS). On the other hand, the research showed a positive influence of smart city ICTs on society's welfare. These findings about smart cities and ICTs inform us how the thought paradigm to smart technologies can cause the improvement of e-GS through economic development, job creation and social welfare. The study offers different applications of the theoretical perspectives and the management perspective which are significant to building a society during recent technologised era.




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Design of traffic signal automatic control system based on deep reinforcement learning

Aiming at the problem of aggravation of traffic congestion caused by unstable signal control of traffic signal control system, the Multi-Agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient-based Traffic Cyclic Signal (MADDPG-TCS) control algorithm is used to control the time and data dimensions of the signal control scheme. The results show that the maximum vehicle delay time and vehicle queue length of the proposed algorithm are 11.33 s and 27.18 m, which are lower than those of the traditional control methods. Therefore, this method can effectively reduce the delay of traffic signal control and improve the stability of signal control.




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Do authentic leaders influence innovative work behaviour? An empirical evidence

The purpose of this research is to investigate how genuine leaders impact the creativity and innovative behaviour (IWB) of information technology (IT) employees. It also examines the impact of perceived organisational support as a mediator in the correlations between authentic leadership as well as innovative behaviours. This study explores the influence of authentic leadership via the employee's IWB using aspects from social exchange theory as well as social cognitive theory. The data was collected from a sample of 487 employees of the IT sector in India. The partial least square method is applied to test the structural relationship of the research framework. Findings reveal that authentic leadership positively impact innovative work behaviour and perceived organisation support mediates authentic leadership and IWB. Additionally, when organisations and leaders support the employees and value their creative thinking then the employee replicates IWB in the organisation. The practical and theoretical implications are discussed.




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Impact of servicescape dimensions on customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions: a case of casual dining restaurants

Physical and social aspects each make up a separate part of servicescape. Together, these make up the servicescape. Although previous research has frequently investigated these aspects separately, the purpose of this study is to simultaneously find out the impact of both aspects within the casual dining restaurants' context. In total, 462 customers in Delhi were polled for this study, and structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. According to the results, both the social and physical parts of the servicescape have the ability to affect how satisfied customers are, which in turn can affect how they behave in the future.




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Study of the Impact of Collaboration among Teachers in a Collaborative Authoring System




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Automatic Grading of Spreadsheet and Database Skills




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Developing Cross-Cultural Awareness in IT: Reflections of Australian and Chinese Students




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Augmenting a Child’s Reality: Using Educational Tablet Technology




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Experiences of Using Automated Assessment in Computer Science Courses

In this paper we discuss the use of automated assessment in a variety of computer science courses that have been taught at Israel Academic College by the authors. The course assignments were assessed entirely automatically using Checkpoint, a web-based automated assessment framework. The assignments all used free-text questions (where the students type in their own answers). Students were allowed to correct errors based on feedback provided by the system and resubmit their answers. A total of 141 students were surveyed to assess their opinions of this approach, and we analysed their responses. Analysis of the questionnaire showed a low correlation between questions, indicating the statistical independence of the individual questions. As a whole, student feedback on using Checkpoint was very positive, emphasizing the benefits of multiple attempts, impartial marking, and a quick turnaround time for submissions. Many students said that Checkpoint gave them confidence in learning and motivation to practise. Students also said that the detailed feedback that Checkpoint generated when their programs failed helped them understand their mistakes and how to correct them.




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Using Autobiographical Digital Storytelling for the Integration of a Foreign Student in the School Environment. A Case Study

Immigrant students face a multitude of problems, among which are poor social adaptation and school integration. On the other hand, although digital narrations are widely used in education, they are rarely used for aiding students or for the resolution of complex problems. This study exploits the potential of digital narrations towards this end, by examining how the development and presentation of an autobiographical digital narration can assist immigrant students in overcoming their adaptation difficulties. For that matter, a female student presenting substantial problems was selected as the study’s subject. Data was collected from all the participating parties (subject, teacher, classmates) using a variety of tools, before, during, and after the intervention. It was found that through the digital narration she was able to externalize her thoughts and feelings and this, in turn, helped her in achieving a smoother integration in the school environment. In addition, the attitudes and perceptions of the other students for their foreign classmate were positively influenced. The intervention was short in duration and it did not require special settings. Hence, it can be easily applied and educators can consider using similar interventions. On the other hand, further research is recommended to establish the generalizability of the study’s findings.




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Investigating the Feasibility of Automatic Assessment of Programming Tasks

Aim/Purpose: The aims of this study were to investigate the feasibility of automatic assessment of programming tasks and to compare manual assessment with automatic assessment in terms of the effect of the different assessment methods on the marks of the students. Background: Manual assessment of programs written by students can be tedious. The assistance of automatic assessment methods might possibly assist in reducing the assessment burden, but there may be drawbacks diminishing the benefits of applying automatic assessment. The paper reports on the experience of a lecturer trying to introduce automated grading. Students’ solutions to a practical Java programming test were assessed both manually and automatically and the lecturer tied the experience to the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Methodology: The participants were 226 first-year students registered for a Java programming course. Of the tests the participants submitted, 214 were assessed both manually and automatically. Various statistical methods were used to compare the manual assessment of student’s solutions with the automatic assessment of the same solutions. A detailed investigation of reasons for differences was also carried out. A further data collection method was the lecturer’s reflection on the feasibility of automatic assessment of programming tasks based on the UTAUT. Contribution: This study enhances the knowledge regarding benefits and drawbacks of automatic assessment of students’ programming tasks. The research contributes to the UTAUT by applying it in a context where it has hardly been used. Furthermore, the study is a confirmation of previous work stating that automatic assessment may be less reliable for students with lower marks, but more trustworthy for the high achieving students. Findings: An automatic assessment tool verifying functional correctness might be feasible for assessment of programs written during practical lab sessions but could be less useful for practical tests and exams where functional, conceptual and structural correctness should be evaluated. In addition, the researchers found that automatic assessment seemed to be more suitable for assessing high achieving students. Recommendations for Practitioners: This paper makes it clear that lecturers should know what assessment goals they want to achieve. The appropriate method of assessment should be chosen wisely. In addition, practitioners should be aware of the drawbacks of automatic assessment before choosing it. Recommendation for Researchers: This work serves as an example of how researchers can apply the UTAUT theory when conducting qualitative research in different contexts. Impact on Society: The study would be of interest to lecturers considering automated assessment. The two assessments used in the study are typical of the way grading takes place in practice and may help lecturers understand what could happen if they switch from manual to automatic assessment. Future Research: Investigate the feasibility of automatic assessment of students’ programming tasks in a practical lab environment while accounting for structural, functional and conceptual assessment goals.




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Matching Authors and Reviewers in Peer Assessment Based on Authors’ Profiles

Aim/Purpose: To encourage students’ engagement in peer assessments and provide students with better-quality feedback, this paper describes a technique for author-reviewer matching in peer assessment systems – a Balanced Allocation algorithm. Background: Peer assessment concerns evaluating the work of colleagues and providing feedback on their work. This process is widely applied as a learning method to involve students in the progress of their learning. However, as students have different ability levels, the efficacy of the peer feedback differs from case to case. Thus, peer assessment may not provide satisfactory results for students. In order to mitigate this issue, this paper explains and evaluates an algorithm that matches the author to a set of reviewers. The technique matches authors and reviewers based on how difficult the authors perceived the assignment to be, and the algorithm then matches the selected author to a group of reviewers who may meet the author’s needs in regard to the selected assignment. Methodology: This study used the Multiple Criteria Decision-Making methodology (MCDM) to determine a set of reviewers from among the many available options. The weighted sum method was used because the data that have been collected in user profiles are expressed in the same unit. This study produced an experimental result, examining the algorithm with a real collected dataset and mock-up dataset. In total, there were 240 students in the real dataset, and it contained self-assessment scores, peer scores, and instructor scores for the same assignment. The mock-up dataset created 1000 records for self-assessment scores. The algorithm was evaluated using focus group discussions with 29 programming students and interviews with seven programming instructors. Contribution: This paper contributes to the field in the following two ways. First, an algorithm using a MCDM methodology was proposed to match authors and reviewers in order to facilitate the peer assessment process. In addition, the algorithm used self-assessment as an initial data source to match users, rather than randomly creating reviewer – author pairs. Findings: The findings show the accurate results of the algorithm in matching three reviewers for each author. Furthermore, the algorithm was evaluated based on students’ and instructors’ perspectives. The results are very promising, as they depict a high level of satisfaction for the Balanced Allocation algorithm. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend instructors to consider using the Balanced Allocation algorithm to match students in peer assessments, and consequently to benefit from personalizing peer assessment based on students' needs. Recommendation for Researchers: Several MCDM methods could be expanded upon, such as the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) if different attributes are collected, or the artificial neural network (ANN) if fuzzy data is available in the user profile. Each method is suitable for special cases depending on the data available for decision-making. Impact on Society: Suitable pairing in peer assessment would increase the credibility of the peer assessment process and encourage students’ engagement in peer assessments. Future Research: The Balanced Allocation algorithm could be applied using a single group, and a peer assessment with random matching with another group may also be conducted, followed by performing a t-test to determine the impact of matching on students’ performances in the peer assessment activity.




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Key Factors for a Creative Environment in Saudi Arabian Higher Education Institutions

Aim/Purpose: This research explores the influence of organizational-level and individual-level creativity and innovation and the technology acceptance model toward the higher education creative environment that consists of research creativity and teaching creativity. Background: Creativity and innovation are essential pillars for higher education institutions (HEIs). The two terms are interconnected, where creativity is referring to finding better ideas to do the work, while innovation is referring to how to do and implement these creative ideas. Choosing the optimal creative process and the organizational support needed to develop it is an important goal in achieving a creative and inventive environment. For the success of the creative environment to ensure the improvement of higher education institutions, information technology as social networking sites plays a crucial part in the creative process within universities. However, assessing the creativity and innovation of Saudi higher education institutions has not been well recognized. Universities today serve as knowledge-based institutions because they are at the forefront of cutting-edge R&D and scientific innovations. Creating such a productive research environment in universities, however, necessitates a work culture that encourages employees to be more creative while also encouraging the creation of new ideas and innovations. Methodology: A survey instrument was utilized as a quantitative method for this research to gather data from the study sample on the influencing variables employed in the research framework. Respondent data were analyzed using a disjoint two-stage method using PLS-SEM path modelling. Contribution: The results of this research contribute to the theoretical and scientific literature by offering a model of creativity and innovation in higher education institutions. The model proposes an optimal blend of organizational, individual, and technology variables that contribute to the development of the Higher Education Creative Environment in HEIs via creativity in teaching and research and a culture of innovation. In another way, the proposed framework especially helps to comprehend the challenges regulating establishing teaching and research creativity in HEIs via the adoption of organizational, individual, and technology enablers identified as part of this study. Findings: According to the results, organizational factors such as organizational encouragement, freedom, and challenging work have a positive relationship with the higher education creative environment. However, realistic work pressure, a lack of organizational impediments, managerial encouragement, and work group support is insufficient to affect the creative environment in higher education in Saudi Arabia. Individual variables (creative thinking skills and expertise, for example) also have a positive impact on the higher education creative environment. In the higher education creative environment, however, the influence of intrinsic motivation is insignificant. Finally, technology factors such as social networking site adoption intention, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use have the potential to influence the higher education creative environment. Recommendations for Practitioners: On the practical front, the obvious recommendation of this research is that it enables top leadership in Saudi HEIs to rethink the norms of creativity and innovation in their institutions, thereby instilling a mindset guided by a flourishing culture of creativity in the HEI environment with a specific focus on creativity practices in research and teaching domains. Furthermore, to promote the environment’s creativity within Saudi Arabian HEIs, university leaders must consider the suggested Organizational, Individual, and Technology factors as key enablers of creativity and innovation, which will guide them in revisiting their strategic actions in terms of further augmenting the creative performance of their academic’s staff, thereby sustaining a culture of Higher Education Creative Environment (HECE). Recommendation for Researchers: This study addressed many organizational, individual, and technology variables that facilitate Saudi Arabian HECE accomplishment in the form of research and teaching creativity. Furthermore, fresh insights for Saudi public HEIs are revealed when the success aspects of the creative environment are considered. If academic leadership at Saudi HEIs is to encourage the creative environment in general and creativity in teaching and research, it would be suitable for them to highlight individual, organizational, and technology success elements. As a result, their HEIs will be able to produce more innovative research, products, and services that can support and meaningfully achieve national transformation initiatives, opening the path for a transition into a knowledge-based economy. Impact on Society: In fact, this research is based on a quantitative research method, and the findings were also significant especially considering the current global crises. It is clearly understood by this process that includes organizational, individual, and technology factors as key enablers of the creative performance of academic staff, thereby sustaining a culture of HECE. Future Research: While providing the research model, it is probable that this study overlooked any other crucial aspects influencing creativity and innovation. As a result, future research should look at additional variables that may impact HECE in Saudi Arabian HEIs. Furthermore, while this study focused on deriving HECE with a particular emphasis on research and teaching creativity as results, future research might look at deriving other creativity outcomes (e.g., entrepreneurial creativity) within the investigated HECE dimension.




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Adoption and Usage of Augmented Reality-based Virtual Laboratories Tool for Engineering Studies

Aim/Purpose: The study seeks to utilize Augmented Reality (AR) in creating virtual laboratories for engineering education, focusing on enhancing teaching methodologies to facilitate student understanding of intricate and theoretical engineering principles while also assessing engineering students’ acceptance of such laboratories. Background: AR, a part of next-generation technology, has enhanced the perception of reality by overlaying virtual elements in the physical environment. The utilization of AR is prevalent across different disciplines, yet its efficacy in facilitating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is limited. Engineering studies, a part of STEM learning, involves complex and abstract concepts like machine simulation, structural analysis, and design optimization; these things would be easy to grasp with the help of AR. This restriction can be attributed to their innovative characteristics and disparities. Therefore, providing a comprehensive analysis of the factors influencing the acceptance of these technologies by students - the primary target demographic – and examining the impact of these factors is essential to maximize the advantages of AR while refining the implementation processes. Methodology: The primary objective of this research is to develop and evaluate a tool that enriches the educational experience within engineering laboratories. Utilizing Unity game engine libraries, digital content is meticulously crafted for this tool and subsequently integrated with geo-location functionalities. The tool’s user-friendly interface allows both faculty and non-faculty members of the academic institution to establish effortlessly the virtual laboratory. Subsequently, an assessment of the tool is conducted through the application of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model, involving the administration of surveys to university students to gauge their level of adaptability. Contribution: The utilization of interactive augmented learning in laboratory settings enables educational establishments to realize notable savings in time and resources, thereby achieving sustainable educational outcomes. The study is of great importance due to its utilization of student behavioral intentions as the underlying framework for developing an AR tool and illustrating the impact of learner experience on various objectives and the acceptance of AR in Engineering studies. Furthermore, the research results enable educational institutions to implement AR-based virtual laboratories to improve student experiences strategically, align with learner objectives, and ultimately boost the adaptability of AR technologies. Findings: Drawing on practice-based research, the authors showcase work samples and a digital project of AR-based Virtual labs to illustrate the evaluation of the adaptability of AR technology. Adaptability is calculated by conducting a survey of 300 undergraduate university students from different engineering departments and applying an adaptability method to determine the behavioral intentions of students. Recommendations for Practitioners: Engineering institutions could leverage research findings in the implementation of AR to enhance the effectiveness of AR technology in practical education settings. Recommendation for Researchers: The authors implement a pragmatic research framework aimed at integrating AR technology into virtual AR-based labs for engineering education. This study delves into a unique perspective within the realm of engineering studies, considering students’ perspectives and discerning their behavioral intentions by drawing upon previous research on technology utilization. The research employs various objectives and learner experiences to assess their influence on students’ acceptance of AR technology. Impact on Society: The use of AR in engineering institutions, especially in laboratory practicals, has a significant impact on society, supported by the UTAUT2 model. UTAUT2 model assesses factors like performance, effort expectancy, social influence, and conditions, showing that AR in education is feasible and adaptable. This adaptability helps students and educators incorporate AR tools effectively for better educational results. AR-based labs allow students to interact with complex engineering concepts in immersive settings, enhancing understanding and knowledge retention. This interactive augmented learning for laboratories saves educational institutions significant time and resources, attaining sustainable learning. Future Research: Further research can employ a more comprehensive acceptance model to examine learners’ adaptability to AR technology and try comparing different adaptability models to determine which is more effective for engineering students.




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The authenticity of digital evidence in criminal courts: a comparative study

Scientific progress has a significant impact on both reality and the law that applies to it. As the ICT system has positive points that are considered an added value to it, it made it easier for people to perform their tasks and facilitate interpersonal communication for individuals, saved effort and money, and reduced the time needed to accomplish part of the duties. However, at the same time, it has become a means of committing offences and a fertile space for the existence of offence, to the extent that offence in our current era has become the result of intermarriage between human intelligence and artificial intelligence. Thus, the issue of proving cybercrimes requires a deep exploration in the notion of the authenticity of audio evidence obtained from electronic searches, as well as the process of eavesdropping and recording phone calls, and the use of expert and inspection procedures in criminal lawsuits and its impact on proof before the criminal courts.




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A novel IoT-enabled portable, secure automatic self-lecture attendance system: design, development and comparison

This study focuses on the importance of monitoring student attendance in education and the challenges faced by educators in doing so. Existing methods for attendance tracking have drawbacks, including high costs, long processing times, and inaccuracies, while security and privacy concerns have often been overlooked. To address these issues, the authors present a novel internet of things (IoT)-based self-lecture attendance system (SLAS) that leverages smartphones and QR codes. This system effectively addresses security and privacy concerns while providing streamlined attendance tracking. It offers several advantages such as compact size, affordability, scalability, and flexible features for teachers and students. Empirical research conducted in a live lecture setting demonstrates the efficacy and precision of the SLAS system. The authors believe that their system will be valuable for educational institutions aiming to streamline attendance tracking while ensuring security and privacy.




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Unravelling e-governance adoption drivers: insights from the UTAUT 3 model

The study aims to unveil the various determinants that drive the adoption of e-governance services (EGS). Using the UTAUT 3 model, the research investigated these factors within the Indian context. A purposive sampling technique was utilised to collect the samples from 680 respondents through the online survey method. Furthermore, the study employs structural equation modelling (SEM) to examine the structural relationships between the UTAUT3 model's dimensions in the context of e-governance. Findings revealed that the UTAUT3 model adequately predicts the intention to adopt EGS. The present study addressed a significant gap in the literature on EGS and technology adoption by establishing a relationship between different dimensions of the UTAUT3 model and actual usage of EGS. The findings have implications for practitioners and policymakers as they throw light on the effective implementation of e-governance programs, which are essential for providing the citizens with high-quality services.




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Auditing the Performing Rights Society - investigating a new European Union Collective Management Organization member audit method

The European Union Rights Management Directive 2014/26/EU, provides regulatory oversight of European Union (EU) Collective Management Organizations (CMOs). However, the Directive has no provision indicating how members of EU CMOs may conduct non-financial audits of their CMO income and reporting. This paper addresses the problem of a lack of an audit method through a case study of the five writer members of the music group Duran Duran, who have been members of the UK's CMO for performing rights - the Performing Rights Society (PRS) for over 35 years. The paper argues a new audit CMO member method that can address the lacunae regarding the absence of CMO member right to audit a CMO and an applicable CMO audit method.




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Preserving and delivering audiovisual content integrating Fedora Commons and MediaMosa

The article describes the integrated adoption of Fedora Commons and MediaMosa for managing a digital repository. The integration was experimented along with the development of a cooperative project, Sapienza Digital Library (SDL). The functionalities of the two applications were exploited to built a weaving factory, useful for archiving, preserving and disseminating of multi-format and multi-protocol audio video contents, in different fruition contexts. The integration was unleashed by means of both repository-to-repository interaction, and mapping of video Content Model's disseminators to MediaMosa's Restful services. The outcomes of this integration will lead to a more flexible management of the dissemination services, as well as to economize the overproduction of different dissemination formats.




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LDSAE: LeNet deep stacked autoencoder for secure systems to mitigate the errors of jamming attacks in cognitive radio networks

A hybrid network system for mitigating errors due to jamming attacks in cognitive radio networks (CRNs) is named LeNet deep stacked autoencoder (LDSAE) and is developed. In this exploration, the sensing stage and decision-making are considered. The sensing unit is composed of four steps. First, the detected signal is forwarded to filtering progression. Here, BPF is utilised to filter the detected signal. The filtered signal is squared in the second phase. Third, signal samples are combined and jamming attacks occur by including false energy levels. Last, the attack is maliciously affecting the FC decision in the fourth step. On the other hand, FC initiated the decision-making and also recognised jamming attacks that affect the link amidst PU and SN in decision-making stage and it is accomplished by employing LDSAE-based trust model where the proposed module differentiates the malicious and selfish users. The analytic measures of LDSAE gained 79.40%, 79.90%, and 78.40%.




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Factors Influencing the Decision to Choose Information Technology Preparatory Studies in Secondary Schools: An Exploratory Study in Regional/Rural Australia




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Automatically Grading Essays with Markit©




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Technology and Marginalization: A Case Study of the Limited Adoption of the Intranet at a State-owned Organization in Rural Australia




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Communication and Cooperation: Technology Transfer on Australian Family Cotton Farms




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An Assessment of Software Project Management Maturity in Mauritius




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Automatically Generating Questions in Multiple Variables for Intelligent Tutoring




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Computer Network Simulation and Network Security Auditing in a Spatial Context of an Organization




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"We Work as a Team Really": Gender Homophily on Australian Cotton Farms




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The Power of Normalised Word Vectors for Automatically Grading Essays




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A Second Opinion on the Current State of Affairs in Computer Science Education: An Australian Perspective




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A Measure of Risk Caused by Information Asymmetry in e-Commerce




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Automatic Conceptual Analysis for Plagiarism Detection




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An Exploratory Survey in Collaborative Software in a Graduate Course in Automatic Identification and Data Capture




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Prisoner’s Attitudes Toward Using Distance Education Whilst in Prisons in Saudi Arabia




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An Information System for a Bauxite Mine




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Mobile Phones and Children: An Australian Perspective




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The Social Cost of the Integration of Information and Communication Technologies, Information, Education, and Communication on the Young of the Republic of Mauritius




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SMS Based Wireless Home Appliance Control System (HACS) for Automating Appliances and Security