Brian C. Tompsett

Bio: Brian C. Tompsett is an academic researcher from University of Hull. The author has contributed to research in topics: The Internet & Ontology (information science). The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 11 publications receiving 133 citations. Previous affiliations of Brian C. Tompsett include University of Edinburgh.

Ontology-Driven Disability-Aware E-Learning Personalisation with ONTODAPS

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how personalisation of learning resources and services can be achieved for students with and without disabilities, particularly responding to the needs of those with multiple disabilities in e‐learning systems The paper aims to introduce ONTODAPS, the Ontology‐Driven Disability‐Aware Personalised E‐Learning System, which has the mechanism for such personalisationDesign/methodology/approach – This paper reviews current e‐learning systems that provide personalisation for students, including their strengths and weaknesses The paper presents personalisation and its techniques and then presents ONTODAPS, which personalises learning resources and services to students In total, three case studies are considered to show how personalisation is achieved using ONTODAPSFindings – This paper shows that it is possible to use automated ontology‐based agents intercommunicating to provide an effective personalisation for disabled students The results reveal that ONTODAP

Ontology-based e-learning personalisation for disabled students in higher education

Abstract: The number of students with disabilities in UK higher education institutions increases every year. Delivering education online is becoming increasingly challenging as institutions encounter some disabilities requiring adjustments of learning environments. The law requires that people with disabilities be given equivalent learning experiences to their non-disabled peers through “reasonable adjustments”. Educational institutions have thus utilised assistive technologies to assist disabled students in their learning, but some of these technologies are incompatible with some learning environments, hence excluding some disabled students and resulting in a disability divide. To solve this problem, amongst other solutions, e-learning personalisation has been used and more recently, this is also achieved using Semantic Web technologies such as ontologies. Nevertheless, as ontologies are incorporated into learning environments little seems to be done to personalise learning for some disabled students. This...

Describing and Assessing Image Descriptions for Visually Impaired Web Users with IDAT

Abstract: People with visual impairments, particularly blind people face alot of difficulties browsing the web with assistive technologies such as screen readers, when websites do not conform to accessibility standards and are thus inaccessible. HTML is the basic language for website design but its ALT attribute on the IMG element does not adequately capture comprehensive image semantics and description in a way that can be accurately interpreted by screen readers, hence blind people do not usually get the complete description of the image. Most of the problems however arise from web designers and developers not including a description of an image or not comprehensively describing these images to people with visual impairments. In this paper, we propose the use of the Image Description Assessment Tool (IDAT), a Java-based tool containing some proposed heuristics for assessing how well an image description matches the real content of the image on the web. The tool also contains a speech interface which can enable a visually impaired individual to listen to the description of an image that has been uploaded unto the system.

Phishing counter measures and their effectiveness – literature review

Abstract: – Phishing is essentially a social engineering crime on the Web, whose rampant occurrences and technique advancements are posing big challenges for researchers in both academia and the industry. The purpose of this study is to examine the available phishing literatures and phishing countermeasures, to determine how research has evolved and advanced in terms of quantity, content and publication outlets. In addition to that, this paper aims to identify the important trends in phishing and its countermeasures and provides a view of the research gap that is still prevailing in this field of study., – This paper is a comprehensive literature review prepared after analysing 16 doctoral theses and 358 papers in this field of research. The papers were analyzed based on their research focus, empirical basis on phishing and proposed countermeasures., – The findings reveal that the current anti‐phishing approaches that have seen significant deployments over the internet can be classified into eight categories. Also, the different approaches proposed so far are all preventive in nature. A Phisher will mainly target the innocent consumers who happen to be the weakest link in the security chain and it was found through various usability studies that neither server‐side security indicators nor client‐side toolbars and warnings are successful in preventing vulnerable users from being deceived., – Educating the internet users about phishing, as well as the implementation and proper application of anti‐phishing measures, are critical steps in protecting the identities of online consumers against phishing attacks. Further research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of the available countermeasures against fresh phishing attacks. Also there is the need to find out the factors which influence internet user's ability to correctly identify phishing websites.

Ontologies in E-Learning : Review of the Literature

Abstract: We have witnessed a great interest in ontologies as an emerging technology within the Semantic Web. Its foundation that was laid in the last decade paved the way for the development of ontologies and systems that use ontologies in various domains, including the E-Learning domain. In this article, we survey key contributions related to the development and use of ontologies in the domain of E-Learning systems. We provide a framework for classification of the literature that is useful for the community of practice in categorizing work in this field and for determining possible research lines. We also discuss future trends in this area.

Fear of Cyber-Identity Theft and Related Fraudulent Activity

Abstract: Identity theft and related fraudulent activities affect approximately one in twenty-five adults each year across western societies. The Internet provides a new avenue for obtaining identity tokens and identifying information and increases the scale on which identity theft can be perpetrated. Recent research has suggested that fear of these types of crimes now matches or exceeds the fear of traditional place-based crimes, and has the potential to curtail online activities and hinder the further development of e-commerce applications. In this article, we conduct exploratory research identifying predictors of fear of cyber-identity theft and related fraudulent activities, based on the analysis of items included in the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (2007). Fear was predicted by a generalized fear of crime component and a specific Internet exposure component. Traditional predictors of fear of crime were insignificant or weak predictors, highlighting the need for further research.