Interactive Processes among Babies at a Daycare Center

The paper presents a study regarding babies' interactive processes with peers, which aimed to apprehend some of their qualitative aspects, considering babies' peculiarities. An empirical work was conducted with video recording scenes and interviews, regarding the "Babies' Adaptation to a Daycare Center" project, which followed up 21 babies (4-13 months) at a daycare center. Data analysis was based on the Network of Meanings perspective. Five episodes are here presented regarding three focal subjects and their peers. Analysis indicates the occurrence of interactions; among them it can be highlighted the role of the glance, presence of triadic relations (even among babies younger than nine months old), abbreviation of communicative resources and empathy. Moreover, despite verbal language absence at this age, it was verified meaning processes. Some practical-theoretical implications are pointed out as well.

Interactive quadrangulation with reeb atlases and connectivity textures

Creating high-quality quad meshes from triangulated surfaces is a highly nontrivial task that necessitates consideration of various application specific metrics of quality. In our work, we follow the premise that automatic reconstruction techniques may not generate outputs meeting all the subjective quality expectations of the user. Instead, we put the user at the center of the process by providing a flexible, interactive approach to quadrangulation design. By combining scalar field topology and combinatorial connectivity techniques, we present a new framework, following a coarse to fine design philosophy, which allows for explicit control of the subjective quality criteria on the output quad mesh, at interactive rates. Our quadrangulation framework uses the new notion of Reeb atlas editing, to define with a small amount of interactions a coarse quadrangulation of the model, capturing the main features of the shape, with user prescribed extraordinary vertices and alignment. Fine grain tuning is easily achieved with the notion of connectivity texturing, which allows for additional extraordinary vertices specification and explicit feature alignment, to capture the high-frequency geometries. Experiments demonstrate the interactivity and flexibility of our approach, as well as its ability to generate quad meshes of arbitrary resolution with high-quality statistics, while meeting the user's own subjective requirements.

Interactive application in spanish sign language for a public transport environment

[ES] En este trabajo se presenta el diseño de una herramienta multimedia que traduce a la lengua de signos españolas los mensajes de avisos que puede proporcionar un sistema de megafonía. El objetivo del trabajo es proporcionar una herramienta que mejore la inclusión social de las personas con discapacidades auditivas. Con este propósito, se han seleccionado el entorno y los mensajes de audio habituales en un aeropuerto para desarrollar este proyecto piloto. Por último, los audios se han traducido a lengua de signos españolas sintetizando un avatar usando la técnica de animación de rotoscopía a partir de la grabación en vídeo de un traductor. Los resultados finales han sido evaluados por personas sordas.

User interaction widgets for interactive theorem proving

Matita (that means pencil in Italian) is a new interactive theorem prover under development at the University of Bologna. When compared with state-of-the-art proof assistants, Matita presents both traditional and innovative aspects. The underlying calculus of the system, namely the Calculus of (Co)Inductive Constructions (CIC for short), is well-known and is used as the basis of another mainstream proof assistant—Coq—with which Matita is to some extent compatible. In the same spirit of several other systems, proof authoring is conducted by the user as a goal directed proof search, using a script for storing textual commands for the system. In the tradition of LCF, the proof language of Matita is procedural and relies on tactic and tacticals to proceed toward proof completion. The interaction paradigm offered to the user is based on the script management technique at the basis of the popularity of the Proof General generic interface for interactive theorem provers: while editing a script the user can move forth the execution point to deliver commands to the system, or back to retract (or “undo”) past commands. Matita has been developed from scratch in the past 8 years by several members of the Helm research group, this thesis author is one of such members. Matita is now a full-fledged proof assistant with a library of about 1.000 concepts. Several innovative solutions spun-off from this development effort. This thesis is about the design and implementation of some of those solutions, in particular those relevant for the topic of user interaction with theorem provers, and of which this thesis author was a major contributor. Joint work with other members of the research group is pointed out where needed. The main topics discussed in this thesis are briefly summarized below. Disambiguation. Most activities connected with interactive proving require the user to input mathematical formulae. Being mathematical notation ambiguous, parsing formulae typeset as mathematicians like to write down on paper is a challenging task; a challenge neglected by several theorem provers which usually prefer to fix an unambiguous input syntax. Exploiting features of the underlying calculus, Matita offers an efficient disambiguation engine which permit to type formulae in the familiar mathematical notation. Step-by-step tacticals. Tacticals are higher-order constructs used in proof scripts to combine tactics together. With tacticals scripts can be made shorter, readable, and more resilient to changes. Unfortunately they are de facto incompatible with state-of-the-art user interfaces based on script management. Such interfaces indeed do not permit to position the execution point inside complex tacticals, thus introducing a trade-off between the usefulness of structuring scripts and a tedious big step execution behavior during script replaying. In Matita we break this trade-off with tinycals: an alternative to a subset of LCF tacticals which can be evaluated in a more fine-grained manner. Extensible yet meaningful notation. Proof assistant users often face the need of creating new mathematical notation in order to ease the use of new concepts. The framework used in Matita for dealing with extensible notation both accounts for high quality bidimensional rendering of formulae (with the expressivity of MathMLPresentation) and provides meaningful notation, where presentational fragments are kept synchronized with semantic representation of terms. Using our approach interoperability with other systems can be achieved at the content level, and direct manipulation of formulae acting on their rendered forms is possible too. Publish/subscribe hints. Automation plays an important role in interactive proving as users like to delegate tedious proving sub-tasks to decision procedures or external reasoners. Exploiting the Web-friendliness of Matita we experimented with a broker and a network of web services (called tutors) which can try independently to complete open sub-goals of a proof, currently being authored in Matita. The user receives hints from the tutors on how to complete sub-goals and can interactively or automatically apply them to the current proof. Another innovative aspect of Matita, only marginally touched by this thesis, is the embedded content-based search engine Whelp which is exploited to various ends, from automatic theorem proving to avoiding duplicate work for the user. We also discuss the (potential) reusability in other systems of the widgets presented in this thesis and how we envisage the evolution of user interfaces for interactive theorem provers in the Web 2.0 era.

Interactive simulation of flexible parts

Computer simulations play an ever growing role for the development of automotive products. Assembly simulation, as well as many other processes, are used systematically even before the first physical prototype of a vehicle is built in order to check whether particular components can be assembled easily or whether another part is in the way. Usually, this kind of simulation is limited to rigid bodies. However, a vehicle contains a multitude of flexible parts of various types: cables, hoses, carpets, seat surfaces, insulations, weatherstrips... Since most of the problems using these simulations concern one-dimensional components and since an intuitive tool for cable routing is still needed, we have chosen to concentrate on this category, which includes cables, hoses and wiring harnesses. In this thesis, we present a system for simulating one dimensional flexible parts such as cables or hoses. The modeling of bending and torsion follows the Cosserat model. For this purpose we use a generalized spring-mass system and describe its configuration by a carefully chosen set of coordinates. Gravity and contact forces as well as the forces responsible for length conservation are expressed in Cartesian coordinates. But bending and torsion effects can be dealt with more effectively by using quaternions to represent the orientation of the segments joining two neighboring mass points. This augmented system allows an easy formulation of all interactions with the best appropriate coordinate type and yields a strongly banded Hessian matrix. An energy minimizing process accounts for a solution exempt from the oscillations that are typical of spring-mass systems. The use of integral forces, similar to an integral controller, allows to enforce exactly the constraints. The whole system is numerically stable and can be solved at interactive frame rates. It is integrated in the DaimlerChrysler in-house Virtual Reality Software veo for use in applications such as cable routing and assembly simulation and has been well received by users. Parts of this work have been published at the ACM Solid and Physical Modeling Conference 2006 and have been selected for the special issue of the Computer-Aided-Design Journal to the conference.

Video Composer and Live Video Conductor: Future Professions for the Interactive Digital Broadcasting Industry

Innovations in hardware and network technologies lead to an exploding number of non-interrelated parallel media streams. Per se this does not mean any additional value for consumers. Broadcasting and advertisement industries have not yet found new formats to reach the individual user with their content. In this work we propose and describe a novel digital broadcasting framework, which allows for the live staging of (mass) media events and improved consumer personalisation. In addition new professions for future TV production workflows which will emerge are described, namely the 'video composer' and the 'live video conductor'.

Interactive Curriculum Based on Models of Mind & Brain

What does it mean for curriculum to be interactive? It encourages student engagement and active participation in both individual and group work. It offers teachers a coherent set of materials to choose from that can enhance their classes. It is the product of on-going development and continuous improvement based on research and feedback from the field. This paper will introduce work in progress from the Center for Excellence in Education, Science, and Technology (CELEST), an NSF Science of Learning Center. Among its many goals, CELEST is developing a unique educational curriculum, an interactive curriculum based upon models of mind and brain. Teachers, administrators, and governments are naturally concerned with how students learn. Students are greatly concerned about how minds work, including how to learn. CELEST aims to introduce curricula that not only meet current U.S. standards in mathematics, science, and psychology but also influence plans to improve those standards. Software and support materials are in development and available at http://cns.bu.edu/celest/private/. Interested parties are invited to contact the author for access.

A Fast Platform for Interactive E-Learning Systems

Modern e-learning systems represent a special type of web information systems. By definition, information systems are special computerized systems used to perform data operations by multiple users simultaneously. Each active user consumes an amount of hardware resources. A shortage of hardware resources can be caused by growing number of simultaneous users. Such situation can result in overall malfunctioning or slowed-down system. In order to avoid this problem, the underlying hardware system gets usually continuously upgraded. These upgrades, typically accompanied with various software updates, usually result in a temporarily increased amount of available resources. This work deals with the problem in a different way by proposing an implementation of a web e-learning system with a modified software architecture reducing resource usage of the server part to the bare minimum. In order to implement a full-scale e-learning system that could be used as a substitute to a conventional web e-learning system, a Rich Internet Application framework was used as basis. The technology allowed implementation of advanced interactivity features and provided an easy transfer of a substantial part of the application logic from server to clients. In combination with a special server application, the server part of the new system is able to run with a reasonable performance on a hardware with very limited computing resources.

Interactive free viewpoint video streaming using prioritized network coding

In free viewpoint applications, the images are captured by an array of cameras that acquire a scene of interest from different perspectives. Any intermediate viewpoint not included in the camera array can be virtually synthesized by the decoder, at a quality that depends on the distance between the virtual view and the camera views available at decoder. Hence, it is beneficial for any user to receive camera views that are close to each other for synthesis. This is however not always feasible in bandwidth-limited overlay networks, where every node may ask for different camera views. In this work, we propose an optimized delivery strategy for free viewpoint streaming over overlay networks. We introduce the concept of layered quality-of-experience (QoE), which describes the level of interactivity offered to clients. Based on these levels of QoE, camera views are organized into layered subsets. These subsets are then delivered to clients through a prioritized network coding streaming scheme, which accommodates for the network and clients heterogeneity and effectively exploit the resources of the overlay network. Simulation results show that, in a scenario with limited bandwidth or channel reliability, the proposed method outperforms baseline network coding approaches, where the different levels of QoE are not taken into account in the delivery strategy optimization.

Interactive Segmentation of MR Images from Brain Tumor Patients

Medical doctors often do not trust the result of fully automatic segmentations because they have no possibility to make corrections if necessary. On the other hand, manual corrections can introduce a user bias. In this work, we propose to integrate the possibility for quick manual corrections into a fully automatic segmentation method for brain tumor images. This allows for necessary corrections while maintaining a high objectiveness. The underlying idea is similar to the well-known Grab-Cut algorithm, but here we combine decision forest classification with conditional random field regularization for interactive segmentation of 3D medical images. The approach has been evaluated by two different users on the BraTS2012 dataset. Accuracy and robustness improved compared to a fully automatic method and our interactive approach was ranked among the top performing methods. Time for computation including manual interaction was less than 10 minutes per patient, which makes it attractive for clinical use.

Timely Reporting and Interactive Visualization of Animal Health and Slaughterhouse Surveillance Data in Switzerland

The reporting of outputs from health surveillance systems should be done in a near real-time and interactive manner in order to provide decision makers with powerful means to identify, assess, and manage health hazards as early and efficiently as possible. While this is currently rarely the case in veterinary public health surveillance, reporting tools do exist for the visual exploration and interactive interrogation of health data. In this work, we used tools freely available from the Google Maps and Charts library to develop a web application reporting health-related data derived from slaughterhouse surveillance and from a newly established web-based equine surveillance system in Switzerland. Both sets of tools allowed entry-level usage without or with minimal programing skills while being flexible enough to cater for more complex scenarios for users with greater programing skills. In particular, interfaces linking statistical softwares and Google tools provide additional analytical functionality (such as algorithms for the detection of unusually high case occurrences) for inclusion in the reporting process. We show that such powerful approaches could improve timely dissemination and communication of technical information to decision makers and other stakeholders and could foster the early-warning capacity of animal health surveillance systems.

Work instability. Presentation of an empirical model about its psychological impact

Research on the impact that work instability has on workers has the limitation of assess the relations among different variables separately, without examining the possible mediation relationships that can exists between them. The aim of this article is to test a conceptual model of the mediating relations between the uneasiness due to work instability and the psychological impact, in the framework of interactive stress theory, conducting a Path Analysis. 191 workers participated on the study, with a mean age of 31 years-old (SD = 11). Results showed that the proposed model didn't fit to the data. Alternative models were explored, consistent with the original conceptual model and the empiric evidence. A new causal model is proposed, where Uneasiness due to Work Instability as an independent variable, Personal Strain and Personal Resources as intervenient variables, and Anger, Hopelessness, and Satisfaction as dependent ones. The theoretical and empirical importance of the resulting model is discussed.

Work instability. Presentation of an empirical model about its psychological impact

Research on the impact that work instability has on workers has the limitation of assess the relations among different variables separately, without examining the possible mediation relationships that can exists between them. The aim of this article is to test a conceptual model of the mediating relations between the uneasiness due to work instability and the psychological impact, in the framework of interactive stress theory, conducting a Path Analysis. 191 workers participated on the study, with a mean age of 31 years-old (SD = 11). Results showed that the proposed model didn't fit to the data. Alternative models were explored, consistent with the original conceptual model and the empiric evidence. A new causal model is proposed, where Uneasiness due to Work Instability as an independent variable, Personal Strain and Personal Resources as intervenient variables, and Anger, Hopelessness, and Satisfaction as dependent ones. The theoretical and empirical importance of the resulting model is discussed.

Work instability. Presentation of an empirical model about its psychological impact

Research on the impact that work instability has on workers has the limitation of assess the relations among different variables separately, without examining the possible mediation relationships that can exists between them. The aim of this article is to test a conceptual model of the mediating relations between the uneasiness due to work instability and the psychological impact, in the framework of interactive stress theory, conducting a Path Analysis. 191 workers participated on the study, with a mean age of 31 years-old (SD = 11). Results showed that the proposed model didn't fit to the data. Alternative models were explored, consistent with the original conceptual model and the empiric evidence. A new causal model is proposed, where Uneasiness due to Work Instability as an independent variable, Personal Strain and Personal Resources as intervenient variables, and Anger, Hopelessness, and Satisfaction as dependent ones. The theoretical and empirical importance of the resulting model is discussed.

Education and Training of Future Nuclear Engineers Through the use of an Interactive Plant Simulator

The successful experience of the Jose Cabrera Nuclear Power Plant Interactive Graphical Simulator implementation in the Nuclear Engineering Department in the Universidad Polite´cnica de Madrid, for the Education and Training of nuclear engineers is shown in this paper. The paper starts with the objectives and the description of the Simulator Aula, and the methodology of work following the recommendations of the IAEA for the use of nuclear reactor simulators for education. The practices and material prepared for the students, as well as the operational and accident situations simulated are provided.