7,494 research outputs found
A Tangible Construction Kit for Exploring Graph Theory
ABSTRACT Graphs are a versatile representation of many systems in computer science, the social sciences, and mathematics, but graph theory is not taught in schools. We present our work on Graphmaster, a computationally enhanced construction kit that enables children to build graphs of their own and investigate their properties by experimenting with algorithms that operate on them. The system is distributed; microcontrollers inside each node execute an interpreted language in parallel. Graphmaster, with its magnetic connectors, illuminated edges, and capacitive sensing, encourages children to develop intuitions about connectivity long before they are introduced to the notation and formulas of graph theory
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
Materialising memories: exploring the stories of people with dementia through dress
In this article, we use clothes as a tool for exploring the life stories and narratives of people with dementia, eliciting memories through the sensory and material dimensions of dress. The article draws on an Economic and Social Research Councilfunded study, âDementia and Dressâ, which explored everyday experiences of clothing for carers, care workers and people with dementia, using qualitative and ethnographic methods including: âwardrobe interviewsâ, observations, and visual and sensory approaches. In our analysis, we use three dimensions of dress as a device for exploring the experiences of people with dementia: kept clothes, as a way of retaining connections to memories and identity; discarded clothes, and their implications for understanding change and loss in relation to the âdementia journeyâ; and absent clothes, invoked through the sensory imagination, recalling images of former selves, and carrying identity forward into the context of care. The article contributes to understandings of narrative, identity and dementia, drawing attention to the potential ofmaterial objects for evoking narratives, and maintaining biographical continuity for both men and women. The paper has larger implications for understandings of ageing and care practice; as well as contributing to the wider Material Turn in gerontology, showing how cultural analyses can be applied even to frail older groups who are often excluded from such approaches
Assessing the Competitive Behaviour of Firms in the Single Market: A Micro-based Approach
This Report analyses and compares a number of indicators related to the evolution of the competitive behaviour of firms in the Single Market, from 1999 to 2007, in a selected number of both manufacturing and services industries and eight EU countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain and Sweden. A novelty of the approach is that the analysis is derived from firm-level observable data, which allow to grasp not only information on the average changes taking place in each industry and across countries, but also the distribution and sources of these changes in terms of individual firms' pricing behaviour and market shares, an information which is impossible to gather in detail from aggregate, traditional sector-level measure
Assessing the Competitive Behaviour of Firms in the Single Market: A Micro-based Approach
This Report analyses and compares a number of indicators related to the evolution of the competitive behaviour of firms in the Single Market, from 1999 to 2007, in a selected number of both manufacturing and services industries and eight EU countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain and Sweden. A novelty of the approach is that the analysis is derived from firm-level observable data, which allow to grasp not only information on the average changes taking place in each industry and across countries, but also the distribution and sources of these changes in terms of individual firms' pricing behaviour and market shares, an information which is impossible to gather in detail from aggregate, traditional sector-level measure
Assessing the Competitive Behaviour of Firms in the Single Market: A Micro-based Approach
This Report analyses and compares a number of indicators related to the evolution of the competitive behaviour of firms in the Single Market, from 1999 to 2007, in a selected number of both manufacturing and services industries and eight EU countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain and Sweden. A novelty of the approach is that the analysis is derived from firm-level observable data, which allow to grasp not only information on the average changes taking place in each industry and across countries, but also the distribution and sources of these changes in terms of individual firms' pricing behaviour and market shares, an information which is impossible to gather in detail from aggregate, traditional sector-level measures.european union,eu,setzer,wolff,van den Noord,euro area,money,heterogeneity,money holdings
Investigating the usability and utility of tangible modelling of socio-technical architectures
Socio-technical models are models that represent social as well as technical elements of the modeling subject, where the technical part consists of both physical and digital elements. Examples are enterprise models and models of the target of assessment used in risk assessment. Constructing and validating these models often implies a challenging task of extracting and integrating information from a multitude of stakeholders which are rarely modelling experts and donât usually have the time or desire to engage in modelling activities.\ud
We investigate a promising approach to overcome this challenge by using physical tokens to represent the model. We call the resulting models tangible models.\ud
In this paper we illustrate this idea by creating a tangible representations of a socio-technical modelling language used in Risk Assessment and provide an initial validation of the relative usability and utility of tangible versus abstract modelling by an experiment and a focus group, respectively. We discuss possible psychological and social mechanisms that could explain the enhanced usability and utility of tangible modelling approaches for domain experts. Finally, we discuss the generalizability of this approach to other languages and modelling purposes
Interactive Technologies for the Public Sphere Toward a Theory of Critical Creative Technology
Digital media cultural practices continue to address the social, cultural and aesthetic
contexts of the global information economy, perhaps better called ecology, by inventing
new methods and genres that encourage interactive engagement, collaboration, exploration
and learning. The theoretical framework for creative critical technology evolved from the
confluence of the arts, human computer interaction, and critical theories of technology.
Molding this nascent theoretical framework from these seemingly disparate disciplines was
a reflexive process where the influence of each component on each other spiraled into the
theory and practice as illustrated through the Constructed Narratives project. Research
that evolves from an arts perspective encourages experimental processes of making as a
method for defining research principles. The traditional reductionist approach to research
requires that all confounding variables are eliminated or silenced using methods of
statistics. However, that noise in the data, those confounding variables provide the rich
context, media, and processes by which creative practices thrive. As research in the arts
gains recognition for its contributions of new knowledge, the traditional reductive practice
in search of general principles will be respectfully joined by methodologies for defining
living principles that celebrate and build from the confounding variables, the data noise.
The movement to develop research methodologies from the noisy edges of human
interaction have been explored in the research and practices of ludic design and ambiguity
(Gaver, 2003); affective gap (Sengers et al., 2005b; 2006); embodied interaction (Dourish,
2001); the felt life (McCarthy & Wright, 2004); and reflective HCI (Dourish, et al., 2004).
The theory of critical creative technology examines the relationships between critical
theories of technology, society and aesthetics, information technologies and contemporary
practices in interaction design and creative digital media. The theory of critical creative
technology is aligned with theories and practices in social navigation (Dourish, 1999) and
community-based interactive systems (Stathis, 1999) in the development of smart
appliances and network systems that support people in engaging in social activities,
promoting communication and enhancing the potential for learning in a community-based
environment. The theory of critical creative technology amends these community-based
and collaborative design theories by emphasizing methods to facilitate face-to-face
dialogical interaction when the exchange of ideas, observations, dreams, concerns, and
celebrations may be silenced by societal norms about how to engage others in public
spaces.
The Constructed Narratives project is an experiment in the design of a critical creative
technology that emphasizes the collaborative construction of new knowledge about one's
lived world through computer-supported collaborative play (CSCP). To construct is to
creatively invent one's world by engaging in creative decision-making, problem solving
and acts of negotiation. The metaphor of construction is used to demonstrate how a simple
artefact - a building block - can provide an interactive platform to support discourse
between collaborating participants. The technical goal for this project was the development
of a software and hardware platform for the design of critical creative technology
applications that can process a dynamic flow of logistical and profile data from multiple
users to be used in applications that facilitate dialogue between people in a real-time
playful interactive experience
Decoding learning: the proof, promise and potential of digital education
With hundreds of millions of pounds spent on digital technology for education every year â from interactive whiteboards to the rise of oneâtoâone tablet computers â every new technology seems to offer unlimited promise to learning. many sectors have benefitted immensely from harnessing innovative uses of technology. cloud computing, mobile communications and internet applications have changed the way manufacturing, finance, business services, the media and retailers operate.
But key questions remain in education: has the range of technologies helped improve learnersâ experiences and the standards they achieve? or is this investment just languishing as kit in the cupboard? and what more can decision makers, schools, teachers, parents and the technology industry do to ensure the full potential of innovative technology is exploited? There is no doubt that digital technologies have had a profound impact upon the management of learning. institutions can now recruit, register, monitor, and report on students with a new economy, efficiency, and (sometimes) creativity. yet, evidence of digital technologies producing real transformation in learning and teaching remains elusive. The education sector has invested heavily in digital technology; but this investment has not yet resulted in the radical improvements to learning experiences and educational attainment. in 2011, the Review of Education Capital found that maintained schools spent ÂŁ487 million on icT equipment and services in 2009-2010.
1 since then, the education system has entered a state of flux with changes to the curriculum, shifts in funding, and increasing school autonomy. While ring-fenced funding for icT equipment and services has since ceased, a survey of 1,317 schools in July 2012 by the british educational suppliers association found they were assigning an increasing amount of their budget to technology. With greater freedom and enthusiasm towards technology in education, schools and teachers have become more discerning and are beginning to demand more evidence to justify their spending and strategies. This is both a challenge and an opportunity as it puts schools in greater charge of their spending and use of technolog
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