Semi-structured capture and display of telephone conversations

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1992.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-85).by Debby Hindus.M.S

Multimedia data capture with multicast dissemination for online distance learning

Distance Learning Environments (DLEs) are elusive to define, difficult to successfully implement and costly due to their proprietary nature. With few open-source solutions, organizations are forced to invest large amounts of their resources in the procurement and support of proprietary products. Once an organization has chosen a particular solution, it becomes prohibitively expensive to choose another path later in the development process. The resolution to these challenges is realized in the use of open-standards, non-proprietary solutions. This thesis explores the multiple definitions of DLEs, defines metrics of successful implementation and develops open-source solutions for the delivery of multimedia in the Distance Learning Environment. Through the use of the Java Media Framework API, multiple tools are created to increase the transmission, capture and availability of multimedia content. Development of this technology, through the use of case studies, leaves a legacy of lectures and knowledge on the Internet to entertain and enlighten future generations.http://archive.org/details/multimedidatcapt109456185US Navy (USN) autho

Viewing and reviewing the Thai economic crisis: Culture and context

For many, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is seen as an inconsiderate dictatorial institution forced upon the struggling emerging economies of this world, yet influenced by Washington! The 1997 economic crisis in Thailand, of which the key feature was the collapse of the Thai Baht on July 2nd 1997， is often argued to not only have been caused by the IMF through its extensive liberalisation conditions recommended in the 1980ร, but further exacerbated by a complex strategy of mismatched policies forced upon the Thai economy after the crisis itself. This research provides an in-depth analysis of the IMF-policy prescription process, to clarify why IMF-policies did not stimulate a quicker economic recovery in Thailand, and why in many cases the policies they prescribed in the aftermath of the crisis have-not come into fruition. This research also offers an understanding of the necessities required for efficient and effective post-crisis recoveries, on a larger scale, not simply in Thailand. Most controversially of all, this research explores the extent of governmental twisting and manipulation of prescribed policies as they infiltrate both the political and cultural economies, a key issue for global development agencies for future policy promotion. The Thai banking sector is used as an industry case-study to analyse how IMF policies were channelled to the grass roots of a sector, and how efficiently; demonstrating the complexities of this process: informational, cultural and political. Whilst this project focuses solely on the experience in Thailand, this research aims to illustrate the complexity of policy implementation, and demonstrate that barriers and constraints to policy execution arise in many different guises. This research does not, however, seek to offer a panacea for the execution of recovery policies for global institutions. From one perspective this research may suggest that in fact no such thing exists, as a key lesson to be learnt from any crisis experience is that the local specificities necessitate tailor-made solutions requiring acute attention to be paid to the local culture and the political system. Thus one of the main outcomes of this research is to demonstrate whether the problems of crisis recovery lie in the reform policies themselves, or their domestic implementation, based on the experiences of the Thai banking sector

Designing for the Cooperative Use of Multi-user, Multi-device Museum Exhibits.

This work explores software-based museum exhibits that allow groups of visitors to employ their own personal mobile devices as impromptu user interfaces to the exhibits. Personal devices commandeered into service in this fashion are dubbed Opportunistic User Interfaces (O-UIs). Because visitors usually prefer to engage in shared learning experiences, emphasis is placed on how to design software interfaces to support collaborative learning. To study the issue, a Design-Based Research approach was taken to construct an externally valid exemplar of this type of exhibit, while also conducting more traditional experiments on specific features of the O-UI design. Three analyses, of – (1) museums as a context, (2) existing computer-based museum exhibits, and (3) computer support of collaborative processes in both work and classroom contexts – produced guidelines that informed the design of the software-based exhibit created as a testbed for O-UI design. The exhibit was refined via extensive formative testing on a museum floor. The experimental phase of this work examined the impact of O-UI design on (1) the visual attention and (2) collaborative learning behaviors of visitors. Specifically, an O-UI design that did not display any graphical output (the “simple” condition) was contrasted against an O-UI design that displayed multi-element, dynamically animated graphics (the “complex” condition). The “complex” O-UIs promoted poor visual attention management, an effect known as the heads-down phenomenon, wherein visitors get so enmeshed with their O-UIs that they miss out on the shared context, to the detriment of group outcomes. Despite this shortcoming, the “complex” O-UIs better promoted goal awareness, on-task interactions between visitors, and equity in participation and performance. The tight output coupling (visitors see only one shared display) of the “simple” O-UI condition promoted emergent competition, and it encouraged some visitors (especially males) to become more engaged than others. Two design recommendations emerge: (1) incorporating devices with private displays (O-UIs with output) as interfaces to a single large display better promotes collaboration (especially equity), and (2) O-UIs with “complex” displays may be used in museum exhibits, but visitors would benefit from mechanisms to encourage them to direct their attention to the shared display periodically.Ph.D.Computer Science & EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61771/1/ltoth_1.pd