Abstract The Software Process Improvement (SPI) Manifesto is based on three basic values: people, business focus and organisational change underpinning the philosophy of SPI. In turn, these values bring up to date certain SPI principles serving as a foundation for action in software development. The authors of this paper carried out a pilot expert validation of the sociocultural dimension of the sociocultural, technical, economic, environmental, political, legal, ethical and demographic analysis of the SPI Manifesto. Further, the authors report on the rationale and results of the pilot validation of both the survey instrument and the qualitative responses generated by the field experts, targeting to enlighten and reinforce the importance of the sociocultural dimension of the SPI Manifesto in research and development. The related literature review findings and the pilot research study strengthen this target. The pilot study with experts in particular provided stronger indications that the sociocultural dimension is considered of high importance by between 62% and 88% of the respondents, who were IT and computing professionals and software practitioners from academia and industry.

Abstract Literature on systems development has been progressively identifying the importance of social aspects in systems development. However, there is often a failure of participants in the recognition, and fulfilment, of ethical duties concerning the concepts of health, safety, and well‐being. A rational appeal can be made to normative defensible ethical rules in order to arrive at a judicious, morally justifiable judgement. In this paper, our first step is to report on the findings of a literature review, which presents the current health and safety issues concerning usage of computers in organisations and the workplace. Building on our earlier research on basic generic deontological and teleological moral principles and theories, we prescribe a set of moral rights and duties that must be exercised and fulfilled by stakeholders in systems development in order for them to exhibit moral behaviour. By identifying, and recommending a set of defensible moral obligations that must be fulfilled in the development and deployment of systems, protagonists—such as, project managers, software engineering teams, systems analysts, and clients—can fulfil their ethical duties, thus increasing the likelihood of deployed systems that are compliant with principles of health, safety, and well‐being of its users.

In recent years, e-learning systems have played an increasingly important role in higher education and, in particular, in enhancing learning experiences for individuals who have learning difficulties. However, it appears that many of the people involved in the development and implementation of e-learning tools overlook the needs of dyslexic students. As such, these students lack access to the resources on offer to other students and this leads to a disability divide. In order for educational initiatives to be effective, learning experiences need to be tailored to the individual needs of each student and the materials and tools employed should be aligned with the student's needs, capabilities and learning objectives. The objective of this research was to propose an ontology that will facilitate the development of learning methods and technologies that are aligned with dyslexia types and symptoms. The paper commences with a discussion of domain ontology and examines how learning objectives that take into consideration a student's capabilities and needs can be matched with appropriate assistive technology in order to deliver effective e-learning experiences and educational resources that can be consistently employed. The ontology employed within this study was developed using Ontology Web Language (OWL), an information processing system that allows applications to handle both the content and the presentation of the information available on the web. Two characteristics were employed within this research to describe each resource: dyslexia type and the features of assistive technologies that were deemed to be most appropriate for educational experiences targeted at each dyslexia type.

Abstract Didactic, teacher‐centred approaches and rote learning have long been discredited and gradually replaced by participative, interactive and creative learning sessions. Formal classroom sessions are being replaced or augmented by self‐directed study increasingly in distance mode. The evolution and affordability of technologies enables massive participation in studies, not only for short training for professional updating but also for longer study periods and attainment of qualifications. The rapid changes in society and technology demand that everybody continuously updates their knowledge and skills in their area of expertise and gain knowledge, skills and competencies in other areas for a successful life of careers and not necessarily a career for life as was the norm in the past. It is important to safeguard the quality of independent assessment and certification methods. In this paper, we consider the main delivery methods and their impact on assessment methods and associated results. With reference to the European Certification and Qualification Association framework and the recently completed European Union co‐funded Lifelong Learning Programme project VALO, we juxtapose the delivery methods used and the examination results at different partner institutions. We extract observed issues and trends, which could be principles to be adopted by future projects with regards to process improvement and performance enhancement. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

As a result of the widespread, and accelerating, dissemination of digital technologies, there has been a profound effect on how people learn. These effects have been greatly debated over the years. While many educational developers have agree on the effects technologies have brought on educational performance, little attention has been made to the relationship between such technologies effects and individual differences such as individuals who suffer dyslexia. There are readily available Assistive Technologies that offer potential to help students with learning difficulties such as dyslexia. This paper will attempt to tease out these technologies and dyslexia types, hence attempt at providing a solution. The focus should not be on correlating one technology to one disability. Instead of identifying different pedagogical needs such as help with reading and writing. Then, trying to meet those needs by looking at the whole range of ways that available.