Artificial Immune Systems - Models, algorithms and applications

Copyright © 2010 Academic Research Publishing Agency.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Artificial Immune Systems (AIS) are computational paradigms that belong to the computational intelligence family and are inspired by the biological immune system. During the past decade, they have attracted a lot of interest from researchers aiming to develop immune-based models and techniques to solve complex computational or engineering problems. This work presents a survey of existing AIS models and algorithms with a focus on the last five years.This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fun

ELVIS: Entertainment-led video summaries

© ACM, 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in ACM Transactions on Multimedia Computing, Communications, and Applications, 6(3): Article no. 17 (2010) http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1823746.1823751Video summaries present the user with a condensed and succinct representation of the content of a video stream. Usually this is achieved by attaching degrees of importance to low-level image, audio and text features. However, video content elicits strong and measurable physiological responses in the user, which are potentially rich indicators of what video content is memorable to or emotionally engaging for an individual user. This article proposes a technique that exploits such physiological responses to a given video stream by a given user to produce Entertainment-Led VIdeo Summaries (ELVIS). ELVIS is made up of five analysis phases which correspond to the analyses of five physiological response measures: electro-dermal response (EDR), heart rate (HR), blood volume pulse (BVP), respiration rate (RR), and respiration amplitude (RA). Through these analyses, the temporal locations of the most entertaining video subsegments, as they occur within the video stream as a whole, are automatically identified. The effectiveness of the ELVIS technique is verified through a statistical analysis of data collected during a set of user trials. Our results show that ELVIS is more consistent than RANDOM, EDR, HR, BVP, RR and RA selections in identifying the most entertaining video subsegments for content in the comedy, horror/comedy, and horror genres. Subjective user reports also reveal that ELVIS video summaries are comparatively easy to understand, enjoyable, and informative

Instructors’ Digital Competencies for Innovative Learning: Human Resource Management Perspectives

Purpose: This paper reviews related literature, including models and frameworks that focus on the skills of the digital instructor in the innovative learning environment. The study also tries to identify, key areas and missing factors, and thus locate digital skills and future avenues for education and satisfy the needs of digital-age learners.   Theoretical framework: Information technology will  have  a  significant  impact  on education  if  operated  properly  by  competent  and  capable  instructors. The accelerated application and investment in technology have altered education, and instructors play a crucial role in the transition to 21st-century learning standards and methods. This is especially important because the future will be dominated by artificial intelligence (AI), advanced technology, and automation, which will require the next generation of employees to be tech-savvy. Therefore, this study will locate digital skills for instructors and provide recommendations and a road map that support both the advanced technological tools and the new innovative learning strategies in the context of human resource management.   Design/Methodology/Approach: The researchers took a literature review as a method to determine the current situation, success factors of online learning, instructors’ skills in the context of HRM. In addition, a qualitative analysis was conducted in the form of a focus group discussion, to spotlights on issues related to instructors needs to practice their roles in the e-learning environment.   Findings: The results of this study have provided evidence that instructors' proficiency in IT “Digital Instructors” will transform teaching and learning to satisfy the 4th industrial revolution which is based on digital skills and contribute to the digital economy.   Originality/Value: The results of this  study  are  expected  to  be  useful  input  for policymakers in education  to  be  more  courageous in  making  decisions  when  investing  in  IT resources and human resources “Instructors” in order to create superior and competitive teaching and learning environment.  A framework is proposed in this study with consideration of HRM issues that will work effectively to enhance the role of digital education in society and contribute to the development of the educational process

Learning with Video in Hypermedia

The potential for education of the motion picture was early recognized by many, but technological and use constraints have limited, or perhaps just postponed, the fulfilment of this vision. Significant technological advances and the new tendencies for media convergence and integration are transforming video into a dominant medium, suggesting new ways to support learning activities. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the effective use of video in education, in particular by discussing the role of hypervideo in learning environments. Our approach is based on human cognition concepts, the way media relates to learning, and hypervideo characteristics. These concepts and ideas are being developed and experimented in the context of the Unibase project on interactive and multimedia distance learnin

Explaining and Predicting Psychological Problems: The Joint Importance of Positive and Negative Constructs

Positive Clinical Psychology (PCP) argues that positive and negative psychological constructs are jointly important for explaining psychological problems. “Positive” constructs have been explicitly focused on by positive psychology researchers and “negative” constructs have been explicitly focused on by mental health researchers. This thesis examines the relationship between positive and negative constructs in relation to four psychological problems: depressive symptoms (Chapter 2), anxiety-problems (Chapter 3), suicide attempts (SAs) (Chapter 4 and 5), and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) (Chapter 4 and 5). Clarifying how psychological problems are most appropriately conceptualised has implications for definitions, diagnostic criteria, measurement, and clinical interventions. This thesis provides evidence that some constructs form bipolar continua, having a positive pole and a negative pole, whilst other constructs do not. Chapters 2 and 3 demonstrate that well-being and calmness respectively form continua with depressive and anxiety symptoms. In contrast, Chapters 4 and 5 demonstrate that SA and NSSI cognitions do not form a continuum with another construct. Results indicate that positive and negative constructs appear to have different relationships to one-another depending on the construct under investigation. Constructs that are common in the general population – such as depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, well-being symptoms, and calmness symptoms – appear to be bipolar, having a positive and a negative pole. Psychological constructs that are rare in the general population and which specifically characterise psychological problems (rather than being an extreme manifestation of a common psychological experience) – such as SA and NSSI cognitions – appear to be unipolar. The replication of scientific findings also features strongly throughout this thesis. Each chapter may therefore have a timely bearing on the emerging “replication crisis” literature

Humanity is being driven ashore : a juridical and political essay on marine plastic pollution

Since its invention, in the 1950s, plastic can be found in almost every object or structure. It has created numerous opportunities in many fields, boosting markedly mankind’s development and even its life span. However, combined with modern consumption patterns, in a world that is more and more urban and technological, plastic amounts have reached proportions never seen before. Consequently, plastic waste quantities are also exceeding all the limits reached so far and it is ending in our oceans for two main reasons: reckless behaviour of consumers and improper waste management. National waste management systems worldwide are facing severe challenges, especially at the moments of collection and disposal. That happens particularly in Asia and the causes are lack of money and structures, and governments and citizens lack of interest. Marine plastic pollution has been affecting all humanity for several decades but only recently it has been recognised. Each year, at least eight million tonnes of plastics leak into the oceans. Its sources are numerous and can be land-based (80%) – dumps, littering, sewage, industrial activities – or sea-based (20%) – commercial fisheries and offshore oil and gas platforms. Ironically, the characteristics that make plastic so useful – lightness, durability, low cost and malleability – are the same that transform plastic in a long-term problem for the environment. Once in nature, plastics never disappear, they just disintegrate into smaller and smaller particles, while they quickly spread across all the geographic divisions and layers of the ocean. Plastics from all sizes can entangle marine animals and/or can be ingested by them, causing injuries, gut obstructions and death. Plastic waste is even responsible for heavy economic losses. Furthermore, microplastics are entering the human food chain and the consequences are unknown. Several existing legal instruments, of regional and international scope, are capable of addressing different aspects of marine litter. Some national initiatives are of utility as well. Nevertheless, few countries or regions have an overarching legal framework to tackle the problem. It is clear though that it is impossible to maintain the actual production and consumption patterns, and that is imperative to implement effective plastic waste management