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Advances in Software and Hardware Engineering towards a Sustainable Technology Education

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 14559

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Prof. Dr. Po-Hsun Cheng

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Department of Software Engineering and Management, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung 82444, Taiwan
Interests: information education; software engineering; healthcare informatics; hardware/software co-design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

To cross global technology gaps and promote sustainable technology education, well-developed courses of software and/or hardware in technology education have increased rapidly during recent decades. Large numbers of software and/or hardware courses with intermittent characteristics have been equipped on both the latest generation and demand sides, bringing significant challenges to the optimal planning, operation, control, and revision of sustainable technology education. To deal with the uncertainties in sustainable technology education, instructors and even decision-makers need to utilize various flexible software and hardware resources, such as adjustable software APIs, reusable requirements-on-demand code generators, flexible hardware components, etc.

The significant challenges of sustainable technology education optimization are the uncertainties and complexities in both software and hardware parts. Under the diverse education environments, technology education needs to consider intermittent renewable technology trends and even revolutions as well as account for volatile technology prices. Therefore, it is a must for instructors, even the government, to provide sustainable and up-to-date software and hardware teaching materials. As a result, it is necessary to investigate efficient optimization techniques for sustainable technology education considering parameter uncertainties and system properties to maximize the educational benefits, save on existing educational investment and convert it into other necessary education programs, and even ignore the consideration of updating to the latest version.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Advanced sustainable technology education;
Advanced sustainable information education;
Advanced sustainable information technology education;
Advanced sustainable hardware design education;
Advanced sustainable software/hardware co-design education;
Advanced sustainable software education;
Advanced sustainable software engineering education;
Advanced sustainable requirements analysis education;
Advanced sustainable software design education;
Advanced sustainable software testing education;
Advanced sustainable software maintenance education;
Adjustable and reusable application programming interfaces;
Adjustable and reusable requirements-on-demand code generators;
Adjustable and reusable software and/or hardware components;
Adjustable and reusable software-assisted tools.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Po-Hsun Cheng
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sustainable
adjustable
reusable
software engineering
software/hardware codesign
information technology
education
methodology
practice

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 977 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Empowering Sustainable Futures: Insights from the Integration and Impact of Software-Gifted Classes in South Korea

by Jaeho Lee and Hongwon Jeong

Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15279; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115279 - 25 Oct 2023

Viewed by 765

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to introduce and analyze key insights into South Korea’s unique field of gifted education, with a specific focus on software-gifted classes and the process of their integration into the education landscape. This study spans a seven-year period, divided into two parts: the first part examines insights gained during the establishment of these classes, while the second part derives structural relationships by analyzing students’ perceptions during the recent three-year expansion of software-gifted classes. The findings of this research provide essential insights into the operation and expansion of software-gifted classes, highlighting the pivotal role of the educational process and content. Furthermore, the study indicates that the interests of gifted students significantly influence their achievements and career development, thereby paving the way for a sustainable future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Software and Hardware Engineering towards a Sustainable Technology Education)

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17 pages, 545 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Software Defect Prediction Analysis Using Machine Learning Techniques

by Aimen Khalid, Gran Badshah, Nasir Ayub, Muhammad Shiraz and Mohamed Ghouse

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5517; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065517 - 21 Mar 2023

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5102

Abstract

There is always a desire for defect-free software in order to maintain software quality for customer satisfaction and to save testing expenses. As a result, we examined various known ML techniques and optimized ML techniques on a freely available data set. The purpose of the research was to improve the model performance in terms of accuracy and precision of the dataset compared to previous research. As previous investigations show, the accuracy can be further improved. For this purpose, we employed K-means clustering for the categorization of class labels. Further, we applied classification models to selected features. Particle Swarm Optimization is utilized to optimize ML models. We evaluated the performance of models through precision, accuracy, recall, f-measure, performance error metrics, and a confusion matrix. The results indicate that all the ML and optimized ML models achieve the maximum results; however, the SVM and optimized SVM models outperformed with the highest achieved accuracy, 99% and 99.80%, respectively. The accuracy of NB, Optimized NB, RF, Optimized RF and ensemble approaches are 93.90%, 93.80%, 98.70%, 99.50%, 98.80% and 97.60, respectively. In this way, we achieve maximum accuracy compared to previous studies, which was our goal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Software and Hardware Engineering towards a Sustainable Technology Education)

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19 pages, 2320 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Multiple Data Mining Technologies to Analyze Process Evaluation in the Blended-Teaching Environment

by Xiaoting Li and Lingyun Yuan

Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4075; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054075 - 23 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1170

Abstract

Under the background of new engineering, the integration of theory and practice in the blended-teaching environment has become the mainstream teaching mode amid science and engineering curriculum reform. Data analysis technology is used to study process evaluation based on the integration of theory and practice in the blended-teaching environment, and a reference for the innovation of process evaluation is provided. This paper makes four key contributions to the blended-teaching environment. The K-means algorithm is used to cluster students into five groups (“serious learners”, “active learners”, “self-directed learners”, “cooperative learners”, and “students with learning difficulties”), according to the results of the students’ process evaluation in the course, integrating theory and practice. The Apriori algorithm and C5.0 model are used to find the key indicators which affected students’ learning performance. They are: classroom performance, assignment submission, classroom testing, problem solving, and online learning. These indicators are used to predict the final learning outcome of students. The Bayesian network model is used to find that there is a strong correlation between learning participation and assignment submission, unit assessment and classroom testing, and classroom performance and work presentation. Data analysis technology is creatively used to strengthen process evaluation. Teaching and learning are promoted by evaluation, so that the true meaning of process evaluation can be revealed. This lays a theoretical and practical foundation for process evaluation, to impact the predominant situation of outcome evaluation and promote the sustainable development of education evaluation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Software and Hardware Engineering towards a Sustainable Technology Education)

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9 pages, 2058 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Twenty-Year Research on Out-of-School Education in China from a Sustainability Development Perspective

by Wen Lai, Yan Xu, Jing Chen and Jingzi Xie

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2557; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032557 - 31 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1282

Abstract

By using Citespace, an information visualization software, this paper analyses the hot content and evolution trend of China’s out-of-school education research in the last twenty years. The results show that the research hot spots in this field include the value and status of out-of-school education, the planning and institutional setup, and the policy and governance of out-of-school education. The hot spots in the weakening trend are leisure education and Children’s Palace, while the research frontiers in the increasing trend are quality education, Youth Palace, and research travel. China’s out-of-school education research should further consolidate the theoretical foundation of out-of-school education, pay attention to the research on the influence of out-of-school education, use information technology to carry out out-of-school education and evaluation, pay attention to the combination of qualitative analysis and quantitative research of out-of-school research, and improve the research validity. Only when the research results are rich and scientific can we achieve the goal of sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Software and Hardware Engineering towards a Sustainable Technology Education)

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13 pages, 4989 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Customizable No-Code Realistic Motion Editor for VRM-Based Avatars

by Po-Hsun Cheng, Li-Wei Chen and Chia-Hsuan Lin

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1182; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021182 - 8 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1559

Abstract

Avatar actions can be captured using certain gesture sensors or can be predefined by game designers through desktop applications. In other words, developing an online avatar editor could be necessary to specify the detailed actions for use by people who are not game creators. Our research team proposed a web-based toolset, myKLA, to construct and design avatar actions with editor and player features. The goal of myKLA is to help users define the required behaviors of avatars within a set time frame without codes. We used cyber–physical system theory in a software reconstruction initiative. Additionally, an exchangeable JSON file format for predefining the avatar actions was opened and shared here. Furthermore, the cyclomatic complexity of the main code blocks in our toolset was measured and changed using the McCabe approach to fine-tune the performance. An algorithm was proposed for quickly calculating an integrated activity diagram from several sub-activity diagrams. Our research showed that it is easy to create an avatar head and embed it in other web-based applications for additional interaction utilization. Therefore, our findings will be useful in creating and designing new educational tools. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Software and Hardware Engineering towards a Sustainable Technology Education)

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18 pages, 3490 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Aspects Framework for Component-Based Requirements Prediction and Regression Testing

by Sadia Ali, Yaser Hafeez, Mamoona Humayun, N. Z. Jhanjhi and Rania M. Ghoniem

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14563; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114563 - 5 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1517

Abstract

Component-based software development has become more popular in recent decades. Currently, component delivery only includes interface specifications, which complicates the selection and integration of suitable components to build a new system. The majority of the components are reused, after appropriate modifications in accordance with the new system, or new version of the system. After components integration, errors may occur during the interaction of their features due to incomplete, ambiguous, or mismatched terms used in requirement analysis and specification, affecting component validation. Therefore, there is a need for a study that identifies challenges and covert concepts into practice by providing solutions to these challenges. The objective of this study is to identify some attributes and information sources that are essential during component-based development. The proposed framework is based on these attributes and information sources. In this study, we provide a taxonomy of attributes and information sources among different activities of component development, and propose a framework to improve the component development process. To investigate the proposed framework, we performed an experimental study to get real-world scenario results from industrial practitioners. The results showed that the proposed framework improves the process of component specification and validation without ambiguity and component failures. Additionally, compared with other methods (random priority, clustering-based and execution rate), the proposed framework successfully outperforms other methods. As a result, the proposed framework’s accuracy, F-measures, and fault identification rate were higher (i.e., greater than 80%) than those of other methods (i.e., less than 80%). The proposed framework will provide a significant guideline for practitioners and researchers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Software and Hardware Engineering towards a Sustainable Technology Education)

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15 pages, 2718 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A TRIZ-Adopted Development of a Compact Experimental Board for the Teaching and Learning of Operational Amplifier with Multiple Circuit Configurations

by Peng Lean Chong, Silvia Ganesan, Poh Kiat Ng and Feng Yuan Kong

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14115; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114115 - 29 Oct 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2052

Abstract

Operational amplifiers (op-amps) are generally used for actualizing simple and complex electronic circuits in the subject of analogue electronics. In an effort to improve the teaching of op-amps in electronics engineering curricula, op-amp circuits in various configurations are often used for experiments in laboratory sessions so that students can acquire certain psychomotor and cognitive skills by constructing circuit connections and analyzing input–output waveforms. As a result, multiple configurations of operational amplifier circuits are often needed, requiring multiple sets of experimental boards or circuits for each experiment. This is usually not cost effective, requires more consumable electronic components, requires more maintenance and storage space in facilities, and is less user friendly for the students. Therefore, the aim of this research is to design a single, compact, and easy-to-replicate experimental board that can be converted into multiple configurations of the LM741 operational amplifier, comprising an inverting amplifier, a noninverting amplifier, a voltage follower, a summing amplifier, a differential amplifier, a differentiator, and an integrator, with minimal electronic components at a cost lower than EUR 10. The experimental board was tested with a constant input voltage of 1.0 V AC and a switching frequency of 1.0 kHz. It is capable of producing an output voltage corresponding to the individual operational amplifier configurations and can thus be used as a facilitating module for teaching and learning activities in the field of analogue electronics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Software and Hardware Engineering towards a Sustainable Technology Education)

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