An Intuitive Control API for Catroid

In this research, the main objective is to develop an intuitive control API in Catroid to enhance its usability as a graphical programming tool for children and study the human-mobile interaction and experience made possible with this control API. Another objective is to develop this control API in open source development method and benchmark it with the typical software development method. It would greatly enrich user experience if Catroid can provide support for implementing intuitive control concepts to enhance its usability for children. But currently Catroid do not have control API support to develop intuitive user interaction with the application. In brief, an intuitive control API is missing in Catroid. Without such an API, the potential of Catroid as a programming tool cannot be unleashed. This research studies the maximization programming power of Catroid and advancement of control API in Catroid into a more intuitive form. This research studies the Open Source Development Model used to develop the control API. The scope of prototype will only covers locating direction, tilting, turning, and shaking motions as the new intuitive control made possible in Catroid The research methodology is Open Source Development Methodology (OSDM) and the Test-Driven Development Method with Extreme Programming is used for code development. The objective of OSDM is to utilize the online community who is the user and developers of Catroid to review and test source code to improve the software quality. The intuitive control API where phone sensors are integrated will further improve the user interaction and experience both in using Catroid and its application. The intuitive control API consists of sensor variables and If-Then-Else Command Block. The If-Then-Else Command Block acts as the control and the sensor variables make the control become intuitive. Accelerometer and orientation sensor are implemented in this control API where each of the sensors contributed 3 different values acted as the sensor variables: X-Sensor Acceleration, Y-Sensor Acceleration, Z-Sensor Acceleration, Azimuth, Pitch, and Roll. These sensor variables can be assigned to or removed from any text field in the Command Blocks using the Formula Editor. The usage of the intuitive control API is simple and straight forward. When a sensor variable is assigned to one of the fields in If-Then-Else Command Blocks, the intuitive control is developed. The Command Blocks in between the If-Statement Command Block and End of If Command Block will be executed whenever the logic condition in the If-Statement is true. Various intuitive user interactions could be developed depending on the creativity of users. The most popular intuitive user interactions are through locating direction, tilting, turning and shaking motions. Open Source Development Method allows developers to redefine the user requirements along with the software development which reduce the risk of software failure in the end of development

Design and implementation of a generalized laboratory data model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Investigators in the biological sciences continue to exploit laboratory automation methods and have dramatically increased the rates at which they can generate data. In many environments, the methods themselves also evolve in a rapid and fluid manner. These observations point to the importance of robust information management systems in the modern laboratory. Designing and implementing such systems is non-trivial and it appears that in many cases a database project ultimately proves unserviceable.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We describe a general modeling framework for laboratory data and its implementation as an information management system. The model utilizes several abstraction techniques, focusing especially on the concepts of inheritance and meta-data. Traditional approaches commingle event-oriented data with regular entity data in <it>ad hoc </it>ways. Instead, we define distinct regular entity and event schemas, but fully integrate these via a standardized interface. The design allows straightforward definition of a "processing pipeline" as a sequence of events, obviating the need for separate workflow management systems. A layer above the event-oriented schema integrates events into a workflow by defining "processing directives", which act as automated project managers of items in the system. Directives can be added or modified in an almost trivial fashion, i.e., without the need for schema modification or re-certification of applications. Association between regular entities and events is managed via simple "many-to-many" relationships. We describe the programming interface, as well as techniques for handling input/output, process control, and state transitions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The implementation described here has served as the Washington University Genome Sequencing Center's primary information system for several years. It handles all transactions underlying a throughput rate of about 9 million sequencing reactions of various kinds per month and has handily weathered a number of major pipeline reconfigurations. The basic data model can be readily adapted to other high-volume processing environments.</p

Dynamic Composite Data Physicalization Using Wheeled Micro-Robots

This paper introduces dynamic composite physicalizations, a new class of physical visualizations that use collections of self-propelled objects to represent data. Dynamic composite physicalizations can be used both to give physical form to well-known interactive visualization techniques, and to explore new visualizations and interaction paradigms. We first propose a design space characterizing composite physicalizations based on previous work in the fields of Information Visualization and Human Computer Interaction. We illustrate dynamic composite physicalizations in two scenarios demonstrating potential benefits for collaboration and decision making, as well as new opportunities for physical interaction. We then describe our implementation using wheeled micro-robots capable of locating themselves and sensing user input, before discussing limitations and opportunities for future work

Executing Strategic Product Planning - A Subject-Oriented Analysis and New Referential Process Model for IT-Tool Support and Agile Execution of Strategic Product Planning

The origin of this research was the failed attempt or rather the impossibility of creating a working and effective information system to support the processes of Strategic Product Planning, based on existing process descriptions for that domain. This work explores the origins of the according problems. As is discovered, the problems do not originate in error containing models or simple programming failures. Rather, as is explored, the origin of the encountered problems lies in fundament

Design and semantics of form and movement (DeSForM 2006)

Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM) grew from applied research exploring emerging design methods and practices to support new generation product and interface design. The products and interfaces are concerned with: the context of ubiquitous computing and ambient technologies and the need for greater empathy in the pre-programmed behaviour of the ‘machines’ that populate our lives. Such explorative research in the CfDR has been led by Young, supported by Kyffin, Visiting Professor from Philips Design and sponsored by Philips Design over a period of four years (research funding £87k). DeSForM1 was the first of a series of three conferences that enable the presentation and debate of international work within this field: • 1st European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM1), Baltic, Gateshead, 2005, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 2nd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM2), Evoluon, Eindhoven, 2006, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 3rd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM3), New Design School Building, Newcastle, 2007, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. Philips sponsorship of practice-based enquiry led to research by three teams of research students over three years and on-going sponsorship of research through the Northumbria University Design and Innovation Laboratory (nuDIL). Young has been invited on the steering panel of the UK Thinking Digital Conference concerning the latest developments in digital and media technologies. Informed by this research is the work of PhD student Yukie Nakano who examines new technologies in relation to eco-design textiles

An aesthetics of touch: investigating the language of design relating to form

How well can designers communicate qualities of touch? This paper presents evidence that they have some capability to do so, much of which appears to have been learned, but at present make limited use of such language. Interviews with graduate designer-makers suggest that they are aware of and value the importance of touch and materiality in their work, but lack a vocabulary to fully relate to their detailed explanations of other aspects such as their intent or selection of materials. We believe that more attention should be paid to the verbal dialogue that happens in the design process, particularly as other researchers show that even making-based learning also has a strong verbal element to it. However, verbal language alone does not appear to be adequate for a comprehensive language of touch. Graduate designers-makers’ descriptive practices combined non-verbal manipulation within verbal accounts. We thus argue that haptic vocabularies do not simply describe material qualities, but rather are situated competences that physically demonstrate the presence of haptic qualities. Such competencies are more important than groups of verbal vocabularies in isolation. Design support for developing and extending haptic competences must take this wide range of considerations into account to comprehensively improve designers’ capabilities

The Sound of the hallmarks of cancer

The objective of this research is to create a mixed portfolio of data-driven composition and performance interfaces, fixed Electroacoustic/Computer music compositions, and live-improvised musical and audiovisual works reflecting cancer as a disease. The main methodology in generating the raw sonic material is the sonification of high-throughput, protein/RNA fold-change data, derived from the bio- molecular research of cancer cells. This data and relevant insight into the field are obtained as part of a collaboration with Barts Cancer Institute, in London, UK. Furthermore, for the purpose of musical effectiveness and reaching wider audiences, a focus has been placed on balancing the use of data-driven sonic material with composer-driven musical choices, by drawing upon the narrative of the Hallmarks of Cancer (Hanahan and Weinberg, 2011) which is a widely accepted conceptual framework in the field of cancer research for understanding the various biomolecular processes responsible for causing cancer. This method is adopted in order to inspire musical form, and guide some of the syntactic and aesthetic choices within both fixed and improvised works. In addition, this research also reflects upon the use of data sonification as an artistic tool and practice, while also addressing the contradictions and contention that arise as a result of scientific aims and expectations regarding sonification, resulting in a proposed original model for framing and classifying artistic works incorporating this approach

D 3.1 'Qualitative report on the impact and effectiveness of communication strategies from the semi structured interviews with cohesion policy practitioners (including third-party partners in the consortium), written by each partner'

This document is a comparative synthesis of the reports on regional case studies written by PERCEIVE's partners. Each report is based both on an original data collection and on the analysis of the focus group's section that addresses communication issues. Each partner collected national and/or regional communication plans, which were mostly used for the first chapter of this report: "Communication strategy at different levels and LMAs' organization.