South African Computer Journal - latest Issue

As 2018 reaches a close, we have some transitions. It is the last to be worked on by Production Editor James Dibley, who moves on to a new job that does not allow the time to work on SACJ. James did excellent work in converting the journal over to a new single-column format that is designed to be a lot easier to read online than the old two-column format. His LATEX skills will be much missed. We also have a change in the editorial panel; Emma Coleman leaves us and is replaced as an Information Systems editor by Caroline Khene. I would like to thank the outgoing editor for her service and welcome the new one.

This article investigated the moderating effect of the perceived compatibility of agile methodologies in determining the actual success of a methodology. The researchers conceptualised the agile methodology perceived success by using cost, scope, time and quality to complete the project. The researchers further hypothesised that perceived compatibility has moderating effects towards agile methodology perceived success and its use. The theoretical framework was evaluated by means of data collected from IT professionals (n = 230). The objective of the study was to determine how agile methodology use and perceived compatibility influence agile methodology perceived success in South Africa. A survey was conducted among IT professionals and the results analysed using statistical methods. The results showed perceived compatibility to have a moderating effect towards agile methodology use, time and cost. Nevertheless, there was a lack of moderating effect of perceived compatibility with regard to agile methodology use and perceived quality, and agile methodology use and perceived scope. The results of this study formulate a comprehensive model that could provide a set of guidelines for agile methodology use to the agile methodology communities and other IT professionals in South Africa.

Higher education institutions seem to have a haphazard approach to harnessing the ubiquitous data that learners generate on online educational platforms, despite promising opportunities offered by this data. Several learning analytics process models have been proposed to optimise the learning environment based on this learner data. The model proposed in this paper addresses deficiencies in existing learning analytics models that frequently emphasises only the technical aspects of data collection, analysis and intervention, yet remain silent on ethical issues inherent in collecting and analysing student data and pedagogy-based approaches to the interventions. The proposed model describes how differentiated instruction can be provided based on a dynamic learner profile built through an ethical learning analytics process. Differentiated instruction optimises online learning through recommending learning objects tailored towards the learner attributes stored in a learner profile. The proposed model provides a systematic and comprehensive abstraction of a differentiated learning design process informed by learning analytics. The model emerged by synthesising steps of a tried-and-tested web analytics process with educational theory, an ethical learning analytics code of practice, principles of adaptive education systems and a layered abstraction of online learning design.

Users of mobile devices share their information through various methods, which are supported by mobile devices. However, the information sharing process of these methods are typically redundant and sometimes tedious. This is because it may require the user to repeatedly perform a series of steps to share one or more selected files with another individual. The proliferation of mobile devices support new, more intuitive, and less complicated solutions to information sharing in the field of mobile computing. The aim of this paper is to present MotionShare, which is a NUI application that supports information sharing among co-located mobile devices. Unlike other existing systems, MotionShareÕs distinguishing attribute is its inability of relying on additional and assisting technologies in determining the positions of devices. A primary example is using an external camera to determine device positioning in a spatial environment. An analytical evaluation investigated the accuracy of device positioning and gesture recognition, where the results were positive. The empirical evaluation investigated any usability issues. The results of the empirical evaluation showed high levels of user satisfaction and that participants preferred touch gestures to point gestures.

Academics have, for many years, been under the threat of “publish or perish” (Gad-el-Hak, 2004; Garfield, 1996). South African academics have also felt this pressure with their universities chasing the money paid out by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in terms of “research incentive funding”. Conference proceedings publications and journal articles are both accepted by DHET although journal articles earn more units. In recent times, however, South African academics have come under increasing pressure to publish in journals on the DHET “lists”. In some instances, academics receive increased incentives if they publish in “good journals”. For many academics in the computing disciplines, moving from publishing in conferences to publishing in journals is a difficult transition.