18,395 research outputs found
Affective games:a multimodal classification system
Affective gaming is a relatively new field of research that exploits human emotions to influence gameplay for an enhanced player experience. Changes in playerâs psychology reflect on their behaviour and physiology, hence recognition of such variation is a core element in affective games. Complementary sources of affect offer more reliable recognition, especially in contexts where one modality is partial or unavailable. As a multimodal recognition system, affect-aware games are subject to the practical difficulties met by traditional trained classifiers. In addition, inherited game-related challenges in terms of data collection and performance arise while attempting to sustain an acceptable level of immersion. Most existing scenarios employ sensors that offer limited freedom of movement resulting in less realistic experiences. Recent advances now offer technology that allows players to communicate more freely and naturally with the game, and furthermore, control it without the use of input devices. However, the affective game industry is still in its infancy and definitely needs to catch up with the current life-like level of adaptation provided by graphics and animation
Industrial strategy and the UK regions: Sectorally narrow and spatially blind
The UK government's new Industrial Strategy could have a significant impact on the country's regions and localities. However, this has received little attention to date. The analysis presented here examines the existing location of the sectors targeted by the first phase of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and the location of the R&D laboratories likely to be first in line for funding. In focusing on an extremely narrow range of sectors, the Fund is likely to have limited impact on the UK's persistent regional inequalities. The activities eligible for support account for relatively little of manufacturing or the rest of the economy and the basis of this targeting and its potential distributional consequences are spatially blind. As such, it runs the risk of widening regional divides in prosperity
Democracy and Digital Authoritarianism: An Assessment of the EUâs External Engagement in the Promotion and Protection of Internet Freedom. College of Europe EU Diplomacy Paper 01/2020
The past decade has seen a gradual global increase in digital authoritarianism. Internet shutdowns, online censorship, mass surveillance and violations of privacy rights have all become more frequent in parts of the world where citizens are not guaranteed sufficient digital rights. The task of defending, promoting and protecting internet freedom is becoming increasingly relevant for the European Union (EU) â for internal digital and cybersecurity policies as well as for the EUâs external promotion of democracy and human rights. Whilst much has been written about the various internal policies which establish and protect internet freedom within the European Union and its member states, the EUâs external engagement in this field remains critically under-researched. To what extent does the EU engage externally in the promotion and protection of internet freedom? This paper answers this question by covering a wide variety of policy fields including human rights and democracy promotion, digital policy, enlargement and neighbourhood policy, development cooperation and trade policy. Whereas the EU faces a limited opportunity to shape global norms with regard to internet freedom or to change the course of digitally authoritarian states, it has demonstrated several strengths which deserve not to be overlooked. These include, for example, the externalisation of internal data protection and policies and the provision of direct support and protection for civil society. Despite facing significant obstacles, the promotion and protection of internet freedom has become an important area of the EUâs external action which is only set to become more relevant in the coming years
Transportation, Terrorism and Crime: Deterrence, Disruption and Resilience
Abstract: Terrorists likely have adopted vehicle ramming as a tactic because it can be carried out by an individual (or âlone wolf terroristâ), and because the skills required are minimal (e.g. the ability to drive a car and determine locations for creating maximum carnage). Studies of terrorist activities against transportation assets have been conducted to help law enforcement agencies prepare their communities, create mitigation measures, conduct effective surveillance and respond quickly to attacks.
This study reviews current research on terrorist tactics against transportation assets, with an emphasis on vehicle ramming attacks. It evaluates some of the current attack strategies, and the possible mitigation or response tactics that may be effective in deterring attacks or saving lives in the event of an attack. It includes case studies that can be used as educational tools for understanding terrorist methodologies, as well as ordinary emergencies that might become a terroristâs blueprint
Evaluating the Response of Mediterranean-Atlantic Saltmarshes to Sea-Level Rise
Saltmarshes provide high-value ecological services and play an important role in coastal
ecosystems and populations. As the rate of sea level rise accelerates in response to climate change,
saltmarshes and tidal environments and the ecosystem services that they provide could be lost in those
areas that lack sediment supply for vertical accretion or space for landward migration. Predictive
models could play an important role in foreseeing those impacts, and to guide the implementation
of suitable management plans that increase the adaptive capacity of these valuable ecosystems.
The SLAMM (sea-level affecting marshes model) has been extensively used to evaluate coastal
wetland habitat response to sea-level rise. However, uncertainties in predicted response will also
reflect the accuracy and quality of primary inputs such as elevation and habitat coverage. Here,
we assessed the potential of SLAMM for investigating the response of Atlantic-Mediterranean
saltmarshes to future sea-level rise and its application in managerial schemes. Our findings show
that SLAMM is sensitive to elevation and habitat maps resolution and that historical sea-level trend
and saltmarsh accretion rates are the predominant input parameters that influence uncertainty in
predictions of change in saltmarsh habitats. The understanding of the past evolution of the system,
as well as the contemporary situation, is crucial to providing accurate uncertainty distributions and
thus to set a robust baseline for future prediction
Linearized model Fokker-Planck collision operators for gyrokinetic simulations. II. Numerical implementation and tests
A set of key properties for an ideal dissipation scheme in gyrokinetic
simulations is proposed, and implementation of a model collision operator
satisfying these properties is described. This operator is based on the exact
linearized test-particle collision operator, with approximations to the
field-particle terms that preserve conservation laws and an H-Theorem. It
includes energy diffusion, pitch-angle scattering, and finite Larmor radius
effects corresponding to classical (real-space) diffusion. The numerical
implementation in the continuum gyrokinetic code GS2 is fully implicit and
guarantees exact satisfaction of conservation properties. Numerical results are
presented showing that the correct physics is captured over the entire range of
collisionalities, from the collisionless to the strongly collisional regimes,
without recourse to artificial dissipation.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Physics of Plasmas; typos fixe
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