22,350 research outputs found
Tangible user interfaces : past, present and future directions
In the last two decades, Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) have emerged as a new interface type that interlinks the digital and physical worlds. Drawing upon users' knowledge and skills of interaction with the real non-digital world, TUIs show a potential to enhance the way in which people interact with and leverage digital information. However, TUI research is still in its infancy and extensive research is required in or- der to fully understand the implications of tangible user interfaces, to develop technologies that further bridge the digital and the physical, and to guide TUI design with empirical knowledge. This paper examines the existing body of work on Tangible User In- terfaces. We start by sketching the history of tangible user interfaces, examining the intellectual origins of this ïŹeld. We then present TUIs in a broader context, survey application domains, and review frame- works and taxonomies. We also discuss conceptual foundations of TUIs including perspectives from cognitive sciences, phycology, and philoso- phy. Methods and technologies for designing, building, and evaluating TUIs are also addressed. Finally, we discuss the strengths and limita- tions of TUIs and chart directions for future research
Visual and Textual Programming Languages: A Systematic Review of the Literature
It is well documented, and has been the topic of much research, that Computer
Science courses tend to have higher than average drop out rates at third level.
This is a problem that needs to be addressed with urgency but also caution. The
required number of Computer Science graduates is growing every year but the
number of graduates is not meeting this demand and one way that this problem
can be alleviated is to encourage students at an early age towards studying
Computer Science courses.
This paper presents a systematic literature review on the role of visual and
textual programming languages when learning to program, particularly as a first
programming language. The approach is systematic, in that a structured search
of electronic resources has been conducted, and the results are presented and
quantitatively analysed. This study will give insight into whether or not the
current approaches to teaching young learners programming are viable, and
examines what we can do to increase the interest and retention of these
students as they progress through their education.Comment: 18 pages (including 2 bibliography pages), 3 figure
A Programming Environment Evaluation Methodology for Object-Oriented Systems
The object-oriented design strategy as both a problem decomposition and system development paradigm has made impressive inroads into the various areas of the computing sciences. Substantial development productivity improvements have been demonstrated in areas ranging from artificial intelligence to user interface design. However, there has been very little progress in the formal characterization of these productivity improvements and in the identification of the underlying cognitive mechanisms. The development and validation of models and metrics of this sort require large amounts of systematically-gathered structural and productivity data. There has, however, been a notable lack of systematically-gathered information on these development environments. A large part of this problem is attributable to the lack of a systematic programming environment evaluation methodology that is appropriate to the evaluation of object-oriented systems
Visual iconic object-oriented programming to advance computer science education and novice programming
Learning how to program a computer is difficult for most people. Computer programming is a cognitively challenging, time consuming, labor intensive, and frustrating endeavor. Years of formal study and training are required to learn a programming language\u27s world of algorithms and data structures. Instructions are coded in advance before the computer demonstrates the desired behavior. Seeing all the programming steps and instruction code is complicated. There exists a tremendous gap between the representations the human brain uses when thinking about a problem and the representations used in programming a computer. Often people are much better at dealing with specific, concrete objects than working with abstract ideas. Concrete and specific programming examples and demonstrations can be very useful. When cleverly chosen and properly used, programming examples and demonstrations help people understand the abstract concepts. Programming by example or demonstration attempts to extend these novel ideas to novice programming
Agent-Based Models and Simulations in Economics and Social Sciences: from conceptual exploration to distinct ways of experimenting
Now that complex Agent-Based Models and computer simulations
spread over economics and social sciences - as in most sciences of complex
systems -, epistemological puzzles (re)emerge. We introduce new
epistemological tools so as to show to what precise extent each author is right
when he focuses on some empirical, instrumental or conceptual significance of
his model or simulation. By distinguishing between models and simulations,
between types of models, between types of computer simulations and between
types of empiricity, section 2 gives conceptual tools to explain the rationale of
the diverse epistemological positions presented in section 1. Finally, we claim
that a careful attention to the real multiplicity of denotational powers of
symbols at stake and then to the implicit routes of references operated by
models and computer simulations is necessary to determine, in each case, the
proper epistemic status and credibility of a given model and/or simulation
Homogenization studies for optical sensors based on sculptured thin films
In this thesis we investigate theoretically various types of sculptured thin film (STF) enviïżœsioned as platforms for optical sensing. A STF consists of an array of parallel nanowires which
can be grown on a substrate using vapour deposition techniques. Typically, each nanowire
has a diameter in the range from ⌠10â300 nm while the film thickness is . 1”m. Through
careful control of the fabrication process, both the optical properties and the porosity of
the STF can be tailored to order. These abilities make STFs promising for optical sensing
applications, wherein it is envisaged that the material to be sensed infiltrates the void reïżœgion in between the parallel nanowires and hence changes the optical properties of the STF.
Various homogenization formalisms can be used to estimate the constitutive parameters of
the infiltrated STFs. In this thesis two different homogenization formalisms were used: the
Bruggeman formalism (extended and nonâextended versions) and the strong-permittivityïżœfluctuation theory (SPFT). These were used in investigations of the following opticalâsensing
scenarios: (i) Electromagnetic radiation emitted by a dipole source inside an infiltrated chiral
STF. The effects of using the extended Bruggeman homogenization formalism, which takes
into account the nonzero size of the component particles, were studied. (ii) Surfaceâplasmonâ
polariton waves on a metalâcoated, infiltrated columnar thin film. The influences of using
the extended SPFT formalism, which takes into account the nonzero size of the component
particles and their statistical distributions, were explored. (iii) A metal-coated infiltrated
chiral STF which supports both surface-plasmon-polariton waves and the circular Bragg pheïżœnomenon. The possibility of using in parallel both surface-plasmon-polariton waves and the
circular Bragg phenomenon was investigated using the nonâextended Bruggeman formalism.
Our numerical studies revealed that the design performance parameters of the infiltrated STF
are bode well for these opticalâsensing scenarios. The use of inverse Bruggeman formalism
was also investigated: this was found to be problematic in certain constitutive parameter
regimes, but not those for opticalâsensing scenarios considered in this thesis
Innovation and communication technologies + Problem based learning: a new approach for teaching architecture
This article presents the results obtained during its first year of application in the educational innovation project called âNew frameworks of teaching: ICT applied to problem based learning in technical bachelorsâ (PIE 15-166) developed at the School of Architecture in the University of Malaga. This has been focused on the development of educational strategies based on exploiting the potential of ICT, taking as a framework the ABP. Its application on subjects from different areas of knowledge (architectural composition, urban planning, projects and architectural constructions) has allowed assessing the adaptability of this methodology depending on the content. Among the obtained results can be highlighted the improvement in cross curricular coordination between subjects from different fields of studies, providing different ways of synchronous and asynchronous communication between students and teachers to generate a greater interaction between all the involved subjects; increasing in addition the interest and an improvement of the results.Universidad de MĂĄlaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucĂa Tec
17 ways to say yes:Toward nuanced tone of voice in AAC and speech technology
People with complex communication needs who use speech-generating devices have very little expressive control over their tone of voice. Despite its importance in human interaction, the issue of tone of voice remains all but absent from AAC research and development however. In this paper, we describe three interdisciplinary projects, past, present and future: The critical design collection Six Speaking Chairs has provoked deeper discussion and inspired a social model of tone of voice; the speculative concept Speech Hedge illustrates challenges and opportunities in designing more expressive user interfaces; the pilot project Tonetable could enable participatory research and seed a research network around tone of voice. We speculate that more radical interactions might expand frontiers of AAC and disrupt speech technology as a whole
Innovative Teaching and Digital Literacy in Preschool. App Content Analysis and Experimental Case Studies in a Sociological Perspective
The objective of this article is to illustrate, from the theoretical and methodological perspective, the construction of an experimental process of a âdigital education appâ in several preschools in the municipality of Rome. The general objective the project fits into is related to a sociological analysis, based on the relationship between theory and empirical research, of the effects of introducing digital media into preschool didactics. Preschools are a privileged site for observing and analyzing the formation and development of childrenâs capabilities (Nussbaum, 2000), since the plasticity of the childâs thought begins to be configured as early as preschool and evolves progressively taking into account the perceptive, sociocultural and behavioural conditions emerging from different educational agencies (Piaget, Inhelder, 1950). The article refers to the research project of the Mediamonitor Minori Observatory of the Sapienza University of Rome entitled âMedia Usage in Pre-school. Analysis and Evaluation of the Influence of Digital Media on the Socialization of Children between 0-6â. The article retraces in particular the stages of the research strategy designed to structure a formative, experimental protocol to be experimented in some case studies in Rome and illustrates the main results
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