ABSTRACT:
In this paper, the authors examine the specificity of a new process for obtaining qualifications in a French higher education, based on the recognition of professional experience (APEL or VAE in French) and the potential of its replication to other countries Firstly, the purpose focuses on the pertinence of the notion of « competence » in accreditation of prior (experiential) learning (AP(E)L). Although APEL approaches in the French higher education system tend to lean toward the notion of « knowledge », it appears that an approach structured by competences and based on specific frames of reference, offers great potential. Secondly, the question of the replication of APEL process in the North American context is raised with a study of the Mexican case. If educational systems of both countries don’t differ much, it appears that the transfer of the APEL process could be hazardous considering the cultural and social contexts and the difficulties associated to foreign educational transfers.

ABSTRACT:
Despite the proliferation of mature multimedia software technologies, radiology reports continue to lack image content and structure that would improve the ability of referring clinicians to fully interpret and analyze radiological findings. This paper introduces an intuitive and interactive radiology report authoring system that provides enhanced visual multimedia capabilities, structured content, and reduced report production time, using a well-known PDF program, Adobe Acrobat. The system, which we call the Multimedia Radiology Report System, or MaRRS, allows radiologists to quickly and simply create and deliver effective interactive multimedia medical reports. This paper will introduce MaRRS, outline some related radiology report systems, and describe the unique structure and functionality of MaRRS in order to demonstrate its advantages for both radiologists and referring clinicians.

ABSTRACT:
Use of technology in educational scenarios has become self evident especially in contexts of higher or further education. But it still lacks a systematically and integrative discussion about how to exhaust all possible benefits of this integration enduringly. The study at hand aims at evaluating two different learning management systems in use at the University of Education (UE) Weingarten with regard to all perspectives on this topic in a long-term study over a period of three years. In the context of the implementation of a media-affine program of study the two systems moodle and DistanceLearningSystem® get surveyed. The basic functions of the systems are investigated for their adequacy for maximum benefits in didactic, organisational and curricular [1] tenor.

ABSTRACT:
The aim of the study is to examine the effect of Project Supported Education (PSE) on preservice teachers’ achievement and thinking style. ‘Post – test control group Model’ is used to examine achievement results. Pre-post test control group model is used to examine thinking styles differences based on a “Thinking Style Inventory”. The subjects of the study are 46 students enrolled in an Elementary Number Theory course in the Primary Mathematics Education Department in a large university in Istanbul, Turkey. Results indicate that 1) project supported education has no significant effect on student achievement and thinking styles, 2) students in the experimental group scored higher than the control group for their post-tests regarding both Anarchic and Oligarchic Thinking Styles. The reasons for these are discussed further and suggestions are provided.

ABSTRACT:
The present paper addresses the issue of collective competence and social capital analysis for collaborative networks. The objective of the project is to understand how collaborative networks can be influenced considering the perspective of social capital and core competences. In this model we defend the emphasis on endogenous resources, once the technology is, in a general way, accessible to most of the companies and, therefore will not be a long term competitive advantage. The model shows that collaborative networks will be more competitive and successful if they invest in to core elements that are: organizational culture and people. Therefore, the model contributes for the researches in socio-organizational filed and provides a tool to evaluate collaborative networks.

ABSTRACT:
In this paper we demonstrate how the profile distance method was transformed into a software environment enabling the decision maker to utilize a complex decision making tool without any advanced knowledge of the underlying mathematical and technical features. We present theoretical and technical aspects as well as contextual and usage related information from the viewpoint of the decision maker. Preliminary empirical results suggest that the developed software component is effective in terms of platform independence, usability and intuitive interface design. The data showed a good rating for usefulness, which, however, was targeted as the main goal for further development.

ABSTRACT:
Most of the enterprise operations require information from several systems within and outside the enterprise(s). The past few years have seen explosive growth in direct program to program interaction for application integration, removing manual steps yielding tremendous improvements in reliability and efficiency. This paper addresses the practical approach for the design and implementation of Enterprise Application Integration in a heterogeneous environment with SAP NetWeaver Platform (i.e. Exchange Infrastructure (XI)/Process Integration (PI)) using a Customizable Tool named TEmplate based Functional Requirements for Integration Design (TEFRID) developed by the author(s) to improve the Quality of Service (QoS) and reduce the development time and cost with the end-to-end scenario development.

ABSTRACT:
Grinding, embossing, burnishing, thread rolling, drawing, cutting, turning are very complicated technological processes. To increase the quality of the product and minimize the cost of process, we should know the physical phenomena which exist during the process. The phenomena on a typical incremental step were described using a step-by-step incremental procedure, with an updated Lagrange’s formulation. The technological processes are considered as geometrical and physical non-linear initial and boundary problems. The finite element method (FEM) and the dynamic explicit method (DEM) were used to obtain the solution. The application was developed in the ANSYS/LS-DYNA system, which makes possible a complex time analysis of the physical phenomena: states of displacements, strains and stresses. Numerical computations of the strain and stress have been conducted with the use of methodology which requires a proper definition of the contact zone, without the necessity to introduce boundary conditions. Examples of calculations are presented.

ABSTRACT:
Authorities cooperate in various ways. The Web portal www.verwaltungskooperation.eu aims to share knowledge on collaboration projects. A semantic wiki approach was used to facilitate best practice documentation with Semantic Web and Web 2.0 technology.

ABSTRACT:
This paper discusses a real-time e-Lab Learning system based on the integration of 3D visualization technology with a remote robotic laboratory. With the emergence and development of the Internet field, online learning is proving to play a significant role in the upcoming era. In an effort to enhance Internet-based learning of robotics and keep up with the rapid progression of technology, a 3- Dimensional scheme of viewing the robotic laboratory has been introduced in addition to the remote controlling of the robots. The uniqueness of the project lies in making this process Internet-based, and remote robot operated and visualized in 3D. This 3D system approach provides the students with a more realistic feel of the 3D robotic laboratory even though they are working remotely. As a result, the 3D visualization technology has been tested as part of a laboratory in the MET 205 Robotics and Mechatronics class and has received positive feedback by most of the students. This type of research has introduced a new level of realism and visual communications to online laboratory learning in a remote classroom.

ABSTRACT:
This paper considers flows of containerized traffic in a cascade of channels with diverse risk characteristics. Each channel is characterized by a probability distribution function relating the probability of loss being less than a given value to the magnitude of the loss. The cumulative impact of cascading channels is then evaluated as a closed form solution in terms of the characteristics of the constituent channels with dissimilar risk characteristics. The results presented in this analysis can be used to shape the risk characteristics of individual channels through, for example, additional investment in order to maximize the impact of such investments.

ABSTRACT:
Many computer vision applications such as augmented reality require head pose estimation. As far as the real-time implementation of head pose estimation on relatively resource limited mobile platforms is concerned, it is required to satisfy real-time constraints while maintaining reasonable head pose estimation accuracy. The introduced head pose estimation approach in this paper is an attempt to meet this objective. The approach consists of the following components: Viola-Jones face detection, color-based face tracking using an online calibration procedure, and head pose estimation using Hu moment features and Fisher linear discriminant. Experimental results running on an actual mobile device are reported exhibiting both the real- time and accuracy aspects of the developed approach.

ABSTRACT:
In present times, identity protection is becoming increasingly jeopardized. Numerous ways of protecting one

ABSTRACT:
Navigation using GPS is a common strategy which cannot provide the desired accuracy in forests. In the forestry of North Rhine- Westphalia (Germany) algorithms are developed to delineate single trees from remote sensing data. These generated tree maps can be used to create a virtual testbed. Different kinds of sensor data can be merged to form a “visual GPS” system which improves accuracy for the navigation of autonomous vehicles in the forest. Algorithms were developed, which provide localization results accurate enough to allow navigation to a single tree.

ABSTRACT:
Control systems driven by voice recognition software have been implemented before but lacked the context driven approach to generate relevant responses and actions. A partially voice activated control system for mobile robotics is presented that allows an autonomous robot to interact with people and the environment in a meaningful way, while dynamically creating customized tours. Many existing control systems also require substantial training for voice application. The system proposed requires little to no training and is adaptable to chaotic environments. The traversable area is mapped once and from that map a fully customized route is generated to the user

ABSTRACT:
This contribution describes some innovative solutions regarding sensor systems for tool monitoring in the sheet metal industry. Autonomous and tamper-proof sensors, which are integrated in the forming tools, can detect and count the strokes carried out by a sheet metal forming press. Furthermore, an electronic event logger for documentary purposes and quality control was developed. Based on this technical solution, new business models such as leasing of sheet metal forming tools can be established for cooperation among enterprises. These models allow usage-based billing for the contractors, taking the effectively produced number of parts into account.