Serious Games for use in a Higher Education Environment.

This paper presents a serious game that covers the teaching of some basic concepts of computer networks, which has been specifically designed for educating university level students. User requirements are collected through an expert user evaluation with academics as well as with a quantitative evaluation with university students. Based on these results, an online serious game was designed and implemented. The effectiveness of the serious game when applied for teaching purposes is quantified through an end-user evaluation with 30 users. Initial evaluation results show that online serious games can be an effective and useful pedagogic tool in teaching computer networks in a higher education environment

Machine-assisted mixed methods: augmenting humanities and social sciences with artificial intelligence

The increasing capacities of large language models (LLMs) present an unprecedented opportunity to scale up data analytics in the humanities and social sciences, augmenting and automating qualitative analytic tasks previously typically allocated to human labor. This contribution proposes a systematic mixed methods framework to harness qualitative analytic expertise, machine scalability, and rigorous quantification, with attention to transparency and replicability. 16 machine-assisted case studies are showcased as proof of concept. Tasks include linguistic and discourse analysis, lexical semantic change detection, interview analysis, historical event cause inference and text mining, detection of political stance, text and idea reuse, genre composition in literature and film; social network inference, automated lexicography, missing metadata augmentation, and multimodal visual cultural analytics. In contrast to the focus on English in the emerging LLM applicability literature, many examples here deal with scenarios involving smaller languages and historical texts prone to digitization distortions. In all but the most difficult tasks requiring expert knowledge, generative LLMs can demonstrably serve as viable research instruments. LLM (and human) annotations may contain errors and variation, but the agreement rate can and should be accounted for in subsequent statistical modeling; a bootstrapping approach is discussed. The replications among the case studies illustrate how tasks previously requiring potentially months of team effort and complex computational pipelines, can now be accomplished by an LLM-assisted scholar in a fraction of the time. Importantly, this approach is not intended to replace, but to augment researcher knowledge and skills. With these opportunities in sight, qualitative expertise and the ability to pose insightful questions have arguably never been more critical

Rethinking the risk matrix

So far risk has been mostly defined as the expected value of a loss, mathematically PL (being P the probability of an adverse event and L the loss incurred as a consequence of the adverse event). The so called risk matrix follows from such definition. This definition of risk is justified in a long term “managerial” perspective, in which it is conceivable to distribute the effects of an adverse event on a large number of subjects or a large number of recurrences. In other words, this definition is mostly justified on frequentist terms. Moreover, according to this definition, in two extreme situations (high-probability/low-consequence and low-probability/high-consequence), the estimated risk is low. This logic is against the principles of sustainability and continuous improvement, which should impose instead both a continuous search for lower probabilities of adverse events (higher and higher reliability) and a continuous search for lower impact of adverse events (in accordance with the fail-safe principle). In this work a different definition of risk is proposed, which stems from the idea of safeguard: (1Risk)=(1P)(1L). According to this definition, the risk levels can be considered low only when both the probability of the adverse event and the loss are small. Such perspective, in which the calculation of safeguard is privileged to the calculation of risk, would possibly avoid exposing the Society to catastrophic consequences, sometimes due to wrong or oversimplified use of probabilistic models. Therefore, it can be seen as the citizen’s perspective to the definition of risk

Assessment of Renewable Energy Resources with Remote Sensing

The development of renewable energy sources plays a fundamental role in the transition towards a low carbon economy. Considering that renewable energy resources have an intrinsic relationship with meteorological conditions and climate patterns, methodologies based on the remote sensing of the atmosphere are fundamental sources of information to support the energy sector in planning and operation procedures. This Special Issue is intended to provide a highly recognized international forum to present recent advances in remote sensing to data acquisition required by the energy sector. After a review, a total of eleven papers were accepted for publication. The contributions focus on solar, wind, and geothermal energy resource. This editorial presents a brief overview of each contribution.About the Editor .............................................. vii Fernando Ramos Martins Editorial for the Special Issue: Assessment of Renewable Energy Resources with Remote Sensing Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 3748, doi:10.3390/rs12223748 ................. 1 André R. Gonçalves, Arcilan T. Assireu, Fernando R. Martins, Madeleine S. G. Casagrande, Enrique V. Mattos, Rodrigo S. Costa, Robson B. Passos, Silvia V. Pereira, Marcelo P. Pes, Francisco J. L. Lima and Enio B. Pereira Enhancement of Cloudless Skies Frequency over a Large Tropical Reservoir in Brazil Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 2793, doi:10.3390/rs12172793 ................. 7 Anders V. Lindfors, Axel Hertsberg, Aku Riihelä, Thomas Carlund, Jörg Trentmann and Richard Müller On the Land-Sea Contrast in the Surface Solar Radiation (SSR) in the Baltic Region Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 3509, doi:10.3390/rs12213509 ................. 33 Joaquín Alonso-Montesinos Real-Time Automatic Cloud Detection Using a Low-Cost Sky Camera Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 1382, doi:10.3390/rs12091382 ................. 43 Román Mondragón, Joaquín Alonso-Montesinos, David Riveros-Rosas, Mauro Valdés, Héctor Estévez, Adriana E. González-Cabrera and Wolfgang Stremme Attenuation Factor Estimation of Direct Normal Irradiance Combining Sky Camera Images and Mathematical Models in an Inter-Tropical Area Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 1212, doi:10.3390/rs12071212 ................. 61 Jinwoong Park, Jihoon Moon, Seungmin Jung and Eenjun Hwang Multistep-Ahead Solar Radiation Forecasting Scheme Based on the Light Gradient Boosting Machine: A Case Study of Jeju Island Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 2271, doi:10.3390/rs12142271 ................. 79 Guojiang Xiong, Jing Zhang, Dongyuan Shi, Lin Zhu, Xufeng Yuan and Gang Yao Modified Search Strategies Assisted Crossover Whale Optimization Algorithm with Selection Operator for Parameter Extraction of Solar Photovoltaic Models Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2019, 11, 2795, doi:10.3390/rs11232795 ................. 101 Alexandra I. Khalyasmaa, Stanislav A. Eroshenko, Valeriy A. Tashchilin, Hariprakash Ramachandran, Teja Piepur Chakravarthi and Denis N. Butusov Industry Experience of Developing Day-Ahead Photovoltaic Plant Forecasting System Based on Machine Learning Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 3420, doi:10.3390/rs12203420 ................. 125 Ian R. Young, Ebru Kirezci and Agustinus Ribal The Global Wind Resource Observed by Scatterometer Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 2920, doi:10.3390/rs12182920 ................. 147 Susumu Shimada, Jay Prakash Goit, Teruo Ohsawa, Tetsuya Kogaki and Satoshi Nakamura Coastal Wind Measurements Using a Single Scanning LiDAR Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 1347, doi:10.3390/rs12081347 ................. 165 Cristina Sáez Blázquez, Pedro Carrasco García, Ignacio Martín Nieto, MiguelAngel ´ Maté-González, Arturo Farfán Martín and Diego González-Aguilera Characterizing Geological Heterogeneities for Geothermal Purposes through Combined Geophysical Prospecting Methods Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 1948, doi:10.3390/rs12121948 ................. 189 Miktha Farid Alkadri, Francesco De Luca, Michela Turrin and Sevil Sariyildiz A Computational Workflow for Generating A Voxel-Based Design Approach Based on Subtractive Shading Envelopes and Attribute Information of Point Cloud Data Reprinted from: Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 2561, doi:10.3390/rs12162561 ................. 207Instituto do Ma

Interactive advertising displays

Interactive public displays are the latest development in the field of out-of-home advertising. Throughout history characteristic shapes for billboards evolved such as flat rectangular displays, long displays or cylindrical advertising columns. This work presents novel interactive display designs that are based on these historical role models and allow passers-by to interact with them in a natural, touchless manner. It further pursues a vision where interactive public displays become more active themselves and actively influence passer-by behavior in order to increase their effectiveness, better attract attention and improve public interaction in front of them. First, to overcome the challenge that passers-by often do not expect public displays to be interactive and thus pay no attention to them, this work presents a solution called unaware initial interaction that surprises passers-by and communicates interactivity by giving visual feedback to their initial movements. To be effective, the visual feedback has to be designed considering the specific display shapes, their requirements to contents and the typical approaching trajectories. Second, to overcome the challenge that larger groups of passers-by often crowd together in front of wide public displays or do not take optimal positions for interaction, this work presents a solution to subtly and actively guide users by dynamic and interactive visual cues on the screen in order to better distribute them. To explore these concepts and following an initial analysis of the out-of-home domain and of typical display qualities, interactive counterparts to the classical display shapes are designed such as interactive advertising columns, long banner displays and life-size screens. Then interactive contents and visual feedbacks are designed which implement the presented interactivity concepts, and audience behavior around them is analyzed in several long-term field studies in public space. Finally the observed passer-by and user behavior and the effectiveness of the display and content designs are discussed and takeaways given that are useful for practitioners and researchers in the field of public interaction with out-of-home displays.Interaktive öffentliche Displays sind die neueste Entwicklung im Bereich der Außenwerbung. Im Laufe der Geschichte bildeten sich charakteristische Formen für Werbetafeln heraus wie flache rechteckige Displays, lange Displays oder zylindrische Werbesäulen. Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt neuartige Designs für Displays vor, die auf diesen historischen Vorbildern aufbauen und den Passanten erlauben, mit ihnen auf eine natürliche, berührungslose Art und Weise zu interagieren. Darüber hinaus verfolgt sie eine Vision, in der interaktive öffentliche Displays aktiver werden und entsprechend das Passantenverhalten beeinflussen, um ihre Wirksamkeit zu erhöhen, mehr Aufmerksamkeit auf sich zu ziehen und die öffentliche Interaktion mit ihnen zu verbessern. Zunächst stellt diese Arbeit eine als Unbewusste Initialinteraktion bezeichnete Lösung vor, welche die Passanten überrascht und mittels visuellem Feedback auf ihre anfänglichen Bewegungen Interaktivität übermittelt, um die Herausforderung zu bewältigen, dass Passanten oft nicht erwarten, dass öffentliche Displays interaktiv sind und sie ihnen somit keine Aufmerksamkeit schenken. Um effektiv zu sein, muss das visuelle Feedback dabei so gestaltet werden, dass es die spezifischen Displayformen, ihre Anforderungen an die dargestellten Inhalte und ihre typischen Annäherungswege berücksichtigt. Zweitens stellt sie eine Lösung vor, bei der die Nutzer auf subtile Weise und durch auf dem Bildschirm dargestellte dynamische und interaktive visuelle Reize aktiv geführt werden, um sie besser vor dem Display zu verteilen, um die Herausforderung zu bewältigen, dass größere Gruppen von Passanten sich oft vor breiten öffentlichen Displays zusammendrängen oder keine optimalen Positionen für die Interaktion einnehmen. Zur Erforschung dieser Konzepte werden im Anschluss an eine einführende Analyse von Außenwerbedisplays und ihrer typischen Eigenschaften interaktive Entsprechungen der klassischen Displayformen entwickelt wie interaktive Litfaßsäulen, lange Bannerdisplays und Life-size Screens. Weiter werden für diese Displays interaktive Inhalte und visuelle Feedbacks entwickelt, welche die vorgestellten Interaktivitätskonzepte umsetzen und das Verhalten des anwesenden Publikums in mehreren Langzeit-Feldstudien im öffentlichen Raum untersucht. Schließlich werden das beobachtete Passanten- und Nutzerverhalten und die Effektivität der entwickelten Display-Designs und Inhalte bewertet und nützliche Empfehlungen für Praktiker und Forscher auf dem Gebiet der öffentlichen Interaktion mit Außenwerbedisplays gegeben