Free Online Services Research Articles

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TECHNICAL TASK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHATBOT

Abstract. The article describes the general principles of the technical task for the development of chatbots of a modern educational institution. It is noted that chatbots are still a new tool that is constantly developing and improving. Almost any company can integrate a chatbot into its work, because today it has become a universal assistant for various tasks. Depending on the actual needs, it can be added to the site, application or messenger. The process of developing chatbots aimed at ensuring the effectiveness of documentation and communication activities of an educational institution has been studied. Technical tasks for chatbot development are described. The purpose of the study is to consider IT tools and chatbots to activate the process of increasing the efficiency of the documentation and communication activities of the educational institution. The following methods were used: analysis method, analysis of electronic resources, comparative method of review of free online services, synthesis method. The practical significance of the study is in the description of the technical task for the development of chatbots of a modern educational institution using the example of an interactive program created for the department of management information systems of the Donetsk National University, which can be used as a comprehensive platform for interaction with students, applicants and teachers with the possibility of automating a large volume of document flow between the chatbot and its users. Disadvantages of chatbots are shown - limited reactions and the need to develop complex conversation scenarios. Such programs look for answers to customers' questions in a database prepared in advance and do not know how to improvise.

Прогноз противовоспалительной активности основных компонентов полыни метельчатой методами сетевой фармакологии

Of considerable value are "natural bioregulators - traditional herbal medicines with historically proven efficacy and safety." A potential source of biologically active compounds is Artemisiae scopariae herba. Purpose of the study. To predict the probable ways of implementing anti-inflammatory activity for the main active compounds of the extract based on the aerial part of Artemisia scoparia. Free online services, programs and databases: SwissTargetPrediction, GeneCards, DisGeNet, Venny 2.1, STRING, Cytoscape. Results. The anti-inflammatory effect of the studied compounds, described as the main active substances in the extract from the aerial part of Artemisia scoparia, can probably be realized both through well-known second messengers, primary targets, and through promising targets. Putative targets associated with the manifestation of the anti-inflammatory activity of the extract from Artemisiae scopariae herba have been identified.

A picture is worth a thousand words, or Visualization of learning information at informatics lessons

The principle of visibility is one of the most effective in teaching students. The use of diagrams, graphs, tables, drawings contributes to the rapid understanding and memorization of the material being studied. Taking into account modern technical capabilities, the idea of v isualizing information in the learning process acquires new features.The article discusses modern visualization techniques that can be used at informatics lessons. Programs and free online services for creating a timeline, mind maps, scribing and infographics are listed. The proposed services will be useful for teachers in creating high-quality visual material. The article demonstrates with specific examples how, using various visualization techniques, it is possible to present educational material on informatics at different stages of the lesson.

ONLINE DISCUSSION STRATRGIES TO FACILITATE STUDENTS DISCUSSION FOR A SPECIFIC ACADEMIC PURPOSES COURSE AT A TECHNICAL ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY

At higher education institutions, hybrid learning that incorporates digital classroom and online teaching and learning activities are becoming increasingly popular norms. Throughout the academia, the usage of online discussion forums is progressively making its way into language classroom as studies have shown that it contributes to a good learning environment if efficiently used by both learners and educators. This qualitative study investigated strategies used by undergraduates as purposive samples in planning and executing ideas for a project via online discussion mode. This simple case study involved 15 second semester undergraduates taking “Professional English 1” course in Bachelor in Engineering Technology program. A focus group interview and follow-up individual interviews were used to elicit information from the undergraduates. All these were also triangulated with document analysis of their reflective notes and drafts of writing works. Several questions were asked to the undergraduates during both interviews to determine their strategies when discussing online. The findings indicate that participants have tremendously benefited from online discussions and have employed three main strategies namely 1) asking for clarification, 2) going over previous responses and 3) using free online services and websites. This study provides useful insight and increases awareness among lecturers on the online discussion strategies used by students, allowing for more successful and meaningful planning of tasks involving online discussion.

OS-WALK-EU: An open-source tool to assess health-promoting residential walkability of European city structures

IntroductionThis paper introduces OS-WALK-EU, a new open-source walkability assessment tool developed specifically for urban neighbourhoods and using open-source spatial data. A free and open-source tool, OS-WALK-EU is accessible to the general public. It uses open data available worldwide and free online services to compute accessibility, while at the same time allowing users to integrate local datasets if available. Based on a review of existing measurement concepts, the paper adopts dimensions of walkability that were tested in European city environments and explains their conceptualization for software development. We invite the research community to collaboratively test, adopt and use the tool as part of the increasing need to monitor walkability as part of health-promoting urban development. MethodsTool development is based on spatial analysis methods to compute indicators for five dimensions of walkability: residential density, weighted proximities to amenities, pedestrian radius of activity, share of green and blue infrastructure, and slope. Sample uses in the cities of Dublin, Düsseldorf and Lisbon test the validity of input data and results, including scenarios for target groups like older people. ResultsOverall, application of the tool in Dublin, Düsseldorf and Lisbon shows conclusive results that conform to local knowledge. Shortcomings can be attributed to deficiencies in open source input data. Local administrative data, if available, is suitable to improve results. ConclusionsOS-WALK-EU is the first software tool that allows free and open walkability assessments with pedestrian routing capacities for ‘proximity to facilities’ calculations. Large scale implementation for 33 German city regions in an online application shows the value of comparative assessments of walkable neighbourhoods between urban and suburban neighbourhoods. Such assessments are important to monitor progress in a mobility transition towards improved walkability and public health.

VIRTUAL EXCURSION’S ROLE IN TRAINING FUTURE TOURISM EMPLOYEES

Historical and cultural tourist resources are often used in training future tourism specialists. Their use in virtual excursions is substantial. University research and teaching staff are trying to use the educational potential of virtual excursions. To help them be aware of the available virtual excursions, the article describes their assortment. The authors reveal the difficulties in understanding the terminology related to virtual excursions; the meaning of the term “virtual excursion” is specified to avoid any misunderstandings. There were analyzed the proposals of virtual excursions in the Ukrainian tourist services market and classified into thematic groups: museums, separate tourist attractions, and art. Each group was illustrated with examples of available virtual excursions. It was found out that in Ukraine the virtual excursions to ethnographic museums prevail over the other types. At the same time, new types are appearing with the help of free online services thanks to which the educational potential of virtual excursions increases greatly.

Priceless data: why the EU fundamental right to data protection is at odds with trade in personal data

Many free online services, including search engines and social media, use business models based on the collecting and processing of personal data of its users. The user data are analysed, leased or sold to generate profits. Basically, the users are not paying for the services with subscription fees or any kind of monetary payment, but with their personal data. In this paper, we argue that these business models, treating personal data as a commodity, are problematic under EU data protection law, which disqualifies personal data as a commodity. Both under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the legal rights to data protection are inalienable. This is at odds with the actual trade in personal data in the data economy, since the ‘payment’ cannot be a transfer of ownership of personal data. It could be argued that the ‘payment’ is not a transfer of ownership of personal data, but rather a transfer of personal data rights, i.e., granting a right to collect and process the data. However, even from that perspective, users would retain inalienable rights to stop or restrict the data processing, as the GDPR does not allow mandating data subject rights to others. Because the legal basis for the processing of personal data is often consent, people can invoke their data subject rights (and thus withdraw their ‘payment’) at any time and at will after having received (access to) online services. This causes considerable legal uncertainty in transactions, particularly on the side of data controllers, and may not contribute to the EU's envisioned data economy.

Thirty Years of Machine Translation in Language Teaching and Learning: A Review of the Literature

Although use of machine translation (MT) technologies by learners may seem like a relatively new issue in foreign language (FL) education, researchers have been investigating connections between MT tools and FL teaching and learning for more than three decades, years before learners had access to free online services such as Google Translate. This literature review summarizes this rapidly expanding research domain both chronologically and thematically, identifying key concepts, insights, and findings and mapping them onto a framework inspired by questions commonly asked by both researchers and practitioners: How do learners use MT tools? What do instructors and learners think about MT? How might MT use affect language learning? How should instructors respond to MT use by learners? By summarizing and drawing connections between the assumptions, methods, and findings of key studies in these categories, this review provides a historical perspective and suggests new directions for future research. 

DISINFORMATION AND FAKE NEWS: FEATURES AND METHODS OF DETECTION ON THE INTERNET

The development of the global Internet, the large-scale introduction of fast and free online services not only expanded the possibilities of access to information, but also changed the principles of communication of society. Due to the simplification of the mechanisms for creating and disseminating news via the Internet, as well as the physical impossibility to verify huge amounts of information circulating in the network, the spread of disinformation and fake news has increased dramatically. In view of this, detecting false news is an important task that not only ensures that users are provided with verified information and prevent manipulation of public consciousness, but also helps to maintain a reliable news ecosystem. According to the analysis of international organizations and scientific publications, disinformation is false, misleading, manipulative information created deliberately for the sake of economic, political or other benefits, and fake news is one of the methods of its dissemination. Fake news is characterized by the following features: false manipulative content; aiming to deliberately mislead, disorient the consumer; presenting information on behalf of false or anonymous sources; inconsistency with the content of the headline; use of rumors and satire; aiming to criticize social or political issues; imitation of legitimate news; dissemination on the Internet; economic or political motives of creation. As a result of the study, it was found that Internet users, through conscious perception of information and a responsible approach to its dissemination, can reduce the effectiveness of disinformation and fake news tools. It is noted that a proven method to avoid false information is to receive news from reliable sources. However, in order to identify fake news, it is advisable to use such methods as: analysis of the source, content and headline of the news; checking information about the author and sources referred to in the message; checking the "freshness" of the news; using fact-checking tools; consulting with an expert; analyzing own emotional reaction to the news, etc.

Методика картографування національних парків і заповідних зон України з використанням ГІС-технологій

Aim. The aim of the work is to create a thematic map of National Parks and protected areas of Ukraine using GIS technologies. The objectives of the work are to propose a technological scheme of mapping of National parks and protected areas of Ukraine using GIS technologies and to describe the methodology of this mapping. Method. The first step was to search for input data and analyze them. Since the data was obtained from free online services, their geometric correction did not make sense, as they were already bound in the coordinate system WGS_1984. The following 11 layers were then vectorized: nature reserves, biosphere reserves, nature parks, regional landscape parks, reserves, natural monuments, protected tracts, botanical gardens, dendrological parks, zoological parks, parks-monuments of landscape art. An attribute database with the following structure is created for each vector layer: Name – name of the protected area, Oblast – location (region of Ukraine), Area – area of the territory (ha), Type – type of protected area according to the classification. Different symbols of protected objects are designed for each vector layer. In the future, it is planned to compile an atlas of National Parks and Protected Areas of Ukraine based on the created GIS. Results. As a result of this goal, we obtained a thematic map of National Parks and protected areas of Ukraine, which consists of 11 vector layers according to the classification of nature reserves of Ukraine and contains 1204 objects for which the corresponding attribute tables have been created. Practical significance. The practical significance of this work is quite high, because orderly, systematized spatial and attributive information will: help in resolving issues of land management and recreation; improving management efficiency; to promote the provision and development of scientific activity; to improve the information and educational functioning of the objects of the nature reserve fund, etc.

IOTFlood: hardware and software platform using internet of things to monitor floods in real time

Floods are responsible for a high number of human and material losses every year. Monitoring of river levels is usually performed with radar and pre-configured sensors. However, a major flood can occur quickly. This justifies the implementation of a real-time monitoring system. This work presents a hardware and software platform that uses Internet of Things (IoTFlood) to generate flood alerts to agencies responsible for monitoring by sending automatic messages about the situation of rivers. Research design involved laboratory and field scenarios, simulating floods using mockups, and later tested on the Mundaú River, state of Alagoas, Brazil, where flooding episodes have already occurred. As a result, a low-cost, modular and scalable IoT platform was achieved, where sensor data can be accessed through a web interface or smartphone, without the need for existing infrastructure at the site where the IOTFlood solution was installed using affordable hardware, open source software and free online services for the viewing of collected data.

Discover - Communicate - Collaborate

EdNA Online is a unique national collaboration between the Australian Commonwealth government Department of Education, Training and Science and the state Education Departments. This collaboration unites learning communities as it provides free resources and online services to all education sectors, including tertiary, schools, vocational training and adult education. There is access to evaluated curriculum resources in a safe environment. The use of standards to enable sharing between states, territories and national education departments has extended knowledge networks. Free communication tools link teacher librarians, teachers and students and assist engagement in professional development.

Little history of CAPTCHA

This article traces the early history of CAPTCHA, the now ubiquitous cybersecurity tool that prompts users to “confirm their humanity” by solving word- and image-based puzzles before accessing free online services. CAPTCHA, and its many derivatives, are presented as content identification mechanisms: the user is asked to identify content in order for the computer to determine the identity of the user. This twofold process of content identification, however, has evolved significantly since CAPTCHA’s inception in the late 1990s. Pivoting away from a realist framework, largely dependent on the standard tenets [of] cryptography, toward a relational framework premised on aesthetic contingency and social consensus, CAPTCHA’s arc uniquely illustrates how contested notions of both “content” and “identity” become materialized in contemporary internet infrastructure. Inspired by Walter Benjamin’s exegetical study of early photography, this critical historicization aims to foreground CAPTCHA as a particularly fraught juncture of humans and computers, which, as with Benjamin’s intervention, productively troubles received ideas of humanism and automation, mediation and materiality.

Educational approaches to teaching specialist program “Сardiology and cardiovascular surgery” during lockdown

Distant-learning methods combined with the generally accepted methods of e-learning increase the involvement of medical students in the educational process. Aim. To describe interactive learning as a core component of distance education. Methods. We selected free educational tools and online services to support our distance learning. Results. The third-year students successfully completed the course using the selected methods. 81.9% of respondents preferred the uploaded educational material in the VKontakte social network. 75% of the respondents liked the interactive intermediate tests. 62.5% of respondents were satisfied with the resource book uploaded for them. Conclusion. The proposed tools support the use of the electronic educational environment and increase students’ involvement in the learning process.

QR Code as a Tool of the Marketing Library Activity

The article analyzes the scientific comprehension state of QR-coding technology in the domestic and foreign scientific literature. It has been revealed in which industries the QR-technology is most widely used. Two basic types of QR-codes are explored – dynamic and static, and the differences between them are identified. The possibilities of providing information services using QR-codes are outlined. The types of information and data that can be encoded (text and multimedia) are analyzed. Mobile applications of the new format (“smart” QR-code generators) have been considered to provide additional connectivity between smartphones, QR-codes, and content. The dynamics of the use of QR-codes and their popularity in foreign countries have been revealed.The advantages of QR-coding technology, which are easy to use and financially affordable due to the availability of free online services, are verified. Such advantages of QR-codes as versatility, flexibility, economy, environmental friendliness, tracking and analytics, user involvement are emphasized. It has been found that in order to get effective marketing results using QR-coding technology, certain recommendations are required, such as pre-testing QR-code readings, checking of the expediency of selecting their location, the relevance and importance of encoded content.On the basis of the experience of using QR-codes in library work, the prospect of QR-coding technology as a type of mobile service in library institutions from the point of view of modern marketing means of communication is substantiated. It has been established that today QR-codes in the library can be considered as a component of a mobile service, which makes it possible to increase the level of library service, as an effective way to provide additional information for the reader, to promote the books, authors and the library itself.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Carpooling Data

Abstract. Carpooling is a popular alternative to public transport in Hungary. The authors analysed data of the biggest Hungarian carpooling website containing all journeys in a one year interval. The data contains the origin and destination settlements, date/time and price of more than 600 000 journeys.The raw data was first cleaned from typos and misspellings, then geocoded and completed by route geometries using free online services (OpenStreetMap Nominatim and OpenRouteService). Then it was examined from several aspects:comparing the average prices and travel times of routes to available public transport meansanalysing the temporal distribution of the journeys through the days of the week, and through the yearcomparing the relative prices of domestic and international journeys -examining the price deviation of routes – how much does the “free market” standardize fares, and what is the percentage of free rides in various directionsThe results are visualised on thematic maps and various diagrams. The analysis revealed a great asymmetry between east and west – while the majority of the domestic journeys was realised in the eastern half of Hungary, the international destinations are mostly in Western Europe (Figure 1). The possible causes are that this is where majority of those Hungarians that work can be found, and that traveling from to Romanian cities (which is also very frequent because of the large number of Hungarian minorities there) is mostly realized with a well-developed system of minibus companies, so carpooling plays a little role in that direction. The temporal distribution is most interesting when examined through the days of the week: the busiest days are Fridays and Sundays, when college students and commuters travel home and back from/to the weekend. The asymmetry between travels from and to Budapest is also observable: on Friday people are leaving the capital for weekend, and on Sunday (and partly on Monday) they are coming back (Figure 2).

Targeted Advertising: The Modern Lemons Market

Free online content and services are increasingly important to our private, public, and professional lives. The business model which supports these services is the targeted advertising model and it has been hotly debated. However, the debate—which has largely focused on the consumer welfare benefits or lack thereof of the business model—is yet to come to a definitive conclusion on whether the business model should be regulated or not. In this article, I argue that, at present, it is not possible to determine whether targeted advertising increases consumer welfare or not. Nevertheless, I also argue that there is still a ground for regulating targeted advertising—through correcting the information asymmetry that exists between consumers and online platforms.

How much is social media worth? Estimating the value of Facebook by paying users to stop using it.

Facebook, the online social network, has more than 2 billion global users. Because those users do not pay for the service, its benefits are hard to measure. We report the results of a series of three non-hypothetical auction experiments where winners are paid to deactivate their Facebook accounts for up to one year. Though the populations sampled and the auction design differ across the experiments, we consistently find the average Facebook user would require more than $1000 to deactivate their account for one year. While the measurable impact Facebook and other free online services have on the economy may be small, our results show that the benefits these services provide for their users are large.

Data Transparency: Concerns and Prospects [Point of View

The question of “how far” technologies and business models of the web should go into collecting personal data of unassuming, or at best moderately informed citizens, appears to be one of the most timely questions of our times. Indeed, whenever we read a news article, “like” a page on a social network, or “check in” to a popular spot, our digital trace collected, processed, fused, and traded among myriads of tracking, analytics, advertising, and marketing companies becomes an ever more accurate descriptor of our lives, our beliefs, our desires, our likes and dislikes. The resulting revenue from marketing and advertising activities driven by the digital traces of millions of people is what funds the free online services we have come to rely upon.

Market Definition and Free Online Services: The Prospect of Personal Data as Price

The innovative new technology and business models of the new economy recurrently challenge established legal principles. In antitrust law, traditional tools of market definition, such as the price-based SSNIP test (small but significant non-transitory increase in price) cannot properly be applied as many online services are offered to a group of users for ‘free’. These issues are discussed in section I. It can be contested that a lack of monetary price truly means that a service is offered for free, as often users provide personal data when using the service. This paper puts forward the possibility of conceptualizing personal data as the price users pay for online services, for the purpose of market definition. To develop this thought experiment, the paper analyses the requirements personal data would have to meet to be considered as a price in section II. If users approach personal data as a medium of exchange, their sensitivity to increased demands of personal data could be used to measure demand-side substitutability. Section III assesses the extent to which personal data could be incorporated as the price in the SSNIP test, acknowledging both its limitations and its potential.