We want to touch IT. Are hybrid laptops just new fancy gadgets or a new revolution?

While the number of traditional laptops and computers sold has dipped slightly year over year, manufacturers have developed new hybrid laptops with touch screens to build on the tactile trend. This market is moving quickly to make touch the rule rather than the exception and the sales of these devices have tripled since the launch of Windows 8 in 2012, to reach more than sixty million units sold in 2015. Unlike tablets, that benefit from easy-to-use applications specially designed for tactile interactions, hybrid laptops are intended to be used with regular user-interfaces. Hence, one could ask whether tactile interactions are suited for every task and activity performed with such interfaces. Since hybrid laptops are increasingly used in educational situations, this study focuses on information search tasks which are commonly performed for learning purposes. It is hypothesized that tasks that require complex and/or less common gestures will increase user's cognitive load and impair task performance in terms of efficacy and efficiency. A study was carried out in a usability laboratory with 30 participants for whom prior experience with tactile devices has been controlled. They were asked to perform information search tasks on an online encyclopaedia by using only the touch screen of and hybrid laptop. Tasks were selected with respect to their level of cognitive demand (amount of information that had to be maintained in working memory) and the complexity of gestures needed (left and/or right clicks, zoom, text selection and/or input.), and grouped into 4 sets accordingly. Task performance was measured by the number of tasks succeeded (efficacy) and time spent on each task (efficiency). Perceived cognitive load was assessed thanks to a questionnaire given after each set of tasks. An eye tracking device was used to monitor users' attention allocation and to provide objective cognitive load measures based on pupil dilation and the Index of Cognitive Activity. Each experimental run took approximately one hour. The results of this within-subjects design indicate that tasks involving complex gestures led to a lower efficacy, especially when the tasks were cognitively demanding. Regarding efficacy, there is no significant differences between sets of tasks excepted for tasks with low cognitive demand and complex gestures that required more time to be achieved. Surprisingly, users that declared the biggest experience with tactile devices spent more time than less frequent users. Cognitive load measures indicate that participants reported having devoted more mental effort in the interaction when they had to use complex gestures.

Controlo de um sistema domótico KNX

Esta dissertação descreve o estudo, concepção e desenvolvimento de uma aplicação baseada no sistema operativo Windows 8 que interage com um sistema domótico KNX, permitindo ao utilizador controlar a sua instalação domótica. Esta proposta, que combina a área de integração/instalação de sistemas domóticos e a de desenvolvimento de aplicações para Windows 8 e Windows 8 Phone, constitui um desafio particularmente interessante para quem tem experiência profissional nas duas áreas. A domótica surgiu na década de 70 como uma aplicação da eletrónica e das tecnologias da informação às instalações residenciais, comerciais e industriais. Esta nova área desencadeou uma revolução, não só, ao nível da produção e comercialização, mas, também, do ponto de vista do utilizador, ao promover a comodidade, segurança, personalização e o controlo de pessoas e bens. Os smartphones e tablets vieram permitir que o desenvolvimento de aplicações móveis de interacção com os sistemas domóticos. Ao longo desta dissertação são descritas e analisadas as múltiplas áreas de intervenção da domótica assim como as diferentes tecnologias de aplicação e mercados. Também são analisados os sistemas operativos que existentes, as respetivas cotas de mercado e os tipos de dispositivos disponíveis. Por último, a aplicação foi concebida, implementada e testada para verificar a correcta interacção com o sistema domótico KNX e as funcionalidades de controlo da instalação domótica.

Siawise Audit

Intitulada SIAWISE AUDIT, esta dissertação pretende apresentar o desenvolvimento de uma aplicação informática com o mesmo nome, e o conceito que esta defende e de que forma pode simplificar e reduzir o trabalho dos seus utilizadores. O SIAWISE AUDIT surge da necessidade de modernizar, informatizar e acelerar o processo de auditoria de conformidade legal prestado pela empresa acolhedora e mentora do projeto – a SIA. Sucintamente, o projeto visava a implementação de uma aplicação desenvolvida inicialmente tendo como alvo o Windows 8.1 mas que atualmente já é compatível com o novo Windows 10. A solução tem como principal característica o funcionamento em modo offline, essencial ao trabalho no terreno e em instalações de recursos frequentemente limitados no que refere à utilização de Internet. A aplicação tem como fonte de dados o software de gestão de legislação da SIA – o SIAWISE – que contém todos os dados relativos à legislação aplicável a cada cliente. Por se tratar de uma ferramenta exclusivamente para uso interno da organização, a interação e comunicações são sempre efetuadas através do BackOffice – o SIAWISE MASTER – este permite a importação e exportação de dados referentes à auditoria para o SIAWISE AUDIT. O resultado do processo de auditoria com recurso ao SIAWISE AUDIT tem como principal output a geração automática de um relatório de auditoria pronto a entregar ao cliente.

Aplicación para la configuración automática del certificado digital en un ordenador personal

[ES] Programa de escritorio compatible con sistemas operativos Windows 7 y Windows 8.1. El programa configura el ordenador personal del usuario de modo que la firma electrónica de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria funcione correctamente en los navegadores web elegidos por el usuario. Al iniciarse la aplicación, el usuario elige dichos navegadores. El programa incorpora dos modos de instalación. La primera forma es la instalación automática, todos los componentes requeridos, que no estén instalados en el equipo, se instalarán automáticamente con una mínima intervención del usuario. La segunda forma es la instalación personalizada, se muestra una lista de los componentes requeridos y el usuario puede instalar de forma individual cada uno de éstos, si no están ya instalados. El programa también puede desinstalar los cambios realizados en el equipo, también incorpora dos formas de realizar esta operación. De forma automática, todos los componentes instalados por el programa serán desinstalados con una mínima intervención del usuario. De forma personalizada, el usuario podrá elegir el componente que se desinstala de forma individual. Siempre teniendo en cuenta que los cambios que se deshacen, son cambios realizados por el propio configurador. El programa también es capaz de analizar si un equipo cumple o no los requerimientos para que funcione correctamente la firma electrónica en su ordenador. Para analizar un equipo no se instala ningún componente. Se requiere acceso a Internet para usar este programa ya que se descargan diferentes archivos desde el servidor de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

A CAD development strategy for the next years

This paper suggests a new strategy to develop CAD applications taking into account some of the most interesting proposals which have recently appeared in the technology development arena. Programming languages, operating systems, user devices, software architecture, user interfaces and user experience are among the elements which are considered for a new development framework. This strategy considers the organizational and architectural aspects of the CAD application together with the development framework. The architectural and organizational aspects are based on the programmed design concept, which can be implemented by means of a three-level software architecture. These levels are the conceptual level based on a declarative language, the mathematical level based on the geometric formulation of the product model and the visual level based on the polyhedral representation of the model as required by the graphic card. The development framework which has been considered is Windows 8. This operating system offers three development environments, one for web pplications (HTML5 + CSS3 + JavaScript), and other for native applications C/C++) and of course yet another for .NET applications (C#, VB, F#, etc.). The use rinterface and user experience for non-web application is described ith XAML (a well known declarative XML language) and the 3D API for games and design applications is DirectX. Additionally, Windows 8 facilitates the use of hybrid solutions, in which native and managed code can interoperate easily. Some of the most remarkable advantages of this strategy are the possibility of targeting both desktop and touch screen devices with the same development framework, the usage of several programming paradigms to apply the most appropriate language to each domain and the multilevel segmentation of developers and designers to facilitate the implementation of an open network of collaborators.

Are academics messy? Testing the broken windows theory with a field experiment in the work environment

We test the broken windows theory using a field experiment in a shared area of an academic workplace(the department common room). More specifically, we explore academics’ and postgraduate students’ behavior under an order condition (a clean environment) and a disorder condition (a messy environment). We find strong evidence that signs of disorderly behavior trigger littering: In 59% of the cases, subjects litter in the disorder treatment as compared to 18% in the order condition. These results remain robust in a multivariate analysis even when controlling for a large set of factors not directly examined by previous studies. Overall, when academic staff and postgraduate students observe that others have violated the social norm of keeping the common room clean, all else being equal, the probability of littering increases by around 40%.

Autoconcepto y calidad de vida en niños entre 8 y 12 años que concurren a los hogares de tránsito de la ciudad de Concepción del Uruguay, Entre Ríos

Resumen: La presente investigación, de tipo descriptiva-correlacional y transversal, se centró en conocer la relación que existe entre el autoconcepto y la calidad de vida de los niños entre 8 y 12 años que concurren a los hogares de tránsito, en la ciudad de Concepción del Uruguay, Entre Ríos. La muestra (no probabilística, intencional) estuvo conformada por 64 niños, de ambos sexos, 33 varones y 31 mujeres. Los mismos tenían entre 8 y 12 años. Los individuos evaluados eran asistentes a los hogares de tránsito mencionados anteriormente. Las técnicas de recolección de datos utilizadas fueron las siguientes: la Escala Verbal para Niños y Adolescentes del Autoconcepto de Martina Casullo, adaptación de Piers-Harris (1964) y el Cuestionario para Calidad de Vida Kidscreen-27. La Escala Verbal para Niños y Adolescentes del Autoconcepto (Casullo, 1990), cuenta con seis dimensiones: comportamiento, estatus intelectual y escolar, imagen corporal, sentimientos de ansiedad, percepciones acerca del reconocimiento que otros hacen de la propia conducta (popularidad) y bienestar y satisfacción personal. El cuestionario Kidscreen-27 (Quintero, Lugo, García, y Sánchez, 2011) consta de cinco dimensiones: actividad física y salud, estado de ánimo y sentimientos, vida familiar y tiempo libre, apoyo social y amigos, y entorno escolar. Los datos fueron recabados por medio de la concurrencia a ambos hogares, solicitando previamente las autorizaciones correspondientes a los directivos, como así también a los padres y/o tutores de los niños. Respecto a los procedimientos de análisis de los datos, se utilizó el programa estadístico informático SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) versión 15.0 para Windows. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de las dos variables principales de esta investigación (autoconcepto y calidad de vida) con el objetivo de conocer los niveles con que se presentan en niños. Además, para conocer la relación entre ambas variables, se llevó a cabo el análisis de correlación de Pearson. Para estudiar si existe diferencia en el autoconcepto y la calidad de vida en función del sexo de los niños, se realizó análisis multivariados de varianza (MANOVA). Los resultados obtenidos indicaron niveles elevados en la mayoría de las dimensiones de las variables estudiadas (autoconcepto y calidad de vida). En cuanto a las distinciones según el sexo en dichas variables, no se encontraron diferencias significativas, sólo una variación mínima en dos dimensiones del autoconcepto, donde se visualiza que el comportamiento social y la popularidad es más elevada en los niños que en las niñas.Se hallaron, por otro lado, correlaciones estadísticamente significativas en la mayoría de las dimensiones de ambas variables, las mismas son: entre comportamiento y actividad física/salud; entre comportamiento y apoyo social/amigos; entre comportamiento y entorno escolar; entre estatus intelectual/escolar y actividad física/salud; entre estatus intelectual/escolar y estado de ánimo/sentimientos; entre estatus intelectual/escolar y entorno escolar; entre imagen corporal con apoyo social/amigos; entre sentimientos de ansiedad y actividad física/salud; entre sentimientos de ansiedad y estado de ánimo/sentimientos; entre sentimientos de ansiedad y apoyo social/amigos; entre popularidad y estado de ánimo/sentimientos; entre popularidad y apoyo social/amigos; entre bienestar/satisfacción vital y actividad física/salud; entre bienestar/satisfacción vital y estado de ánimo/sentimientos; entre bienestar/satisfacción vital y apoyo social/amigos; entre bienestar/satisfacción vital y entorno escolar; entre el total global del autoconcepto y actividad física/salud; entre el total global del autoconcepto y estado de ánimo/sentimientos; entre el total global del autoconcepto y apoyo social/amigos; entre el total global del autoconcepto y entorno escolar. Sólo una dimensión de la calidad de vida no se relaciona con ninguna de las dimensiones del autoconcepto, a saber, vida familiar/tiempo libre. En lo que respecta a las conclusiones, puede considerarse que los resultados de esta investigación verifican que existe correlación entre el autoconcepto y la calidad de vida de los niños concurrentes a los hogares de tránsito Santa Clara de Asís y la Casa del Menor

Quantum well infrared photodetector simultaneously working in two atmospheric windows

We have demonstrated a two-contact quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) exhibiting simultaneous photoresponse in both the mid- and the long-wavelength atmospheric windows of 3-5 mu m and of 8-12 mu m. The structure of the device was achieved by sequentially growing a mid-wavelength QWIP part followed by a long-wavelength QWIP part separated by an n-doped layer. Compared with the conventional dual-band QWIP device utilizing three ohmic contacts, our QWIP is promising to greatly facilitate two-color focal plane array (FPA) fabrication by reducing the number of the indium bumps per pixel from three to one just like a monochromatic FPA fabrication and to increase the FPA fill factor by reducing one contact per pixel; another advantage may be that this QWIP FPA boasts broadband detection capability in the two atmospheric windows while using only a monochromatic readout integrated circuit. We attributed this simultaneous broadband detection to the different distributions of the total bias voltage between the mid- and long-wavelength QWIP parts.

Using Zappers in a Common Learning Space (Windows 7)

This 8 minute video provides a step-by-step guide for tutors wishing to use zappers (Turning Point) in a Common Learning Space with Windows 7 and Office 2010.

Interference filters and coatings for mid-infrared astronomy (8-30µm)

The VISIR instrument for the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) is a thermal-infrared imager and spectrometer currently being developed by the French Service d'Astrophysique of CEA Saclay, and Dutch NFRA ASTRON Dwingeloo consortium. This cryogenic instrument will employ precision infrared bandpass filters in the N-( =7.5-14µm) and Q-( =16-28µm) band mid-IR atmospheric windows to study interstellar and circumstellar environments crucial for star and planetary formation theories. As the filters in these mid-IR wavelength ranges are of interest to many astronomical cryogenic instruments, a worldwide astronomical filter consortium was set up with participation from 12 differing institutes, each requiring instrument specific filter operating environments and optical metrology. This paper describes the design and fabrication methods used to manufacture these astronomical consortium filters, including the rationale for the selection of multilayer coating designs, temperature-dependant optical properties of the filter materials and FTIR spectral measurements showing the changes in passband and blocking performance on cooling to <50K. We also describe the development of a 7-14µm broadband antireflection coating deposited on Ge lenses and KRS-5 grisms for cryogenic operation at 40K