28,559 research outputs found

    Towards a Theory Grounded Theory of Language

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    In this paper, we build upon the idea of theory grounding and propose one specific form of theory grounding, a theory of language. Theory grounding is the idea that we can imbue our embodied artificially intelligent systems with theories by modeling the way humans, and specifically young children, develop skills with theories. Modeling theory development promises to increase the conceptual and behavioral flexibility of these systems. An example of theory development in children is the social understanding referred to as “theory of mind.” Language is a natural task for theory grounding because it is vital in symbolic skills and apparently necessary in developing theories. Word learning, and specifically developing a concept of words, is proposed as the first step in a theory grounded theory of language

    Survey and Systematization of Secure Device Pairing

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    Secure Device Pairing (SDP) schemes have been developed to facilitate secure communications among smart devices, both personal mobile devices and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Comparison and assessment of SDP schemes is troublesome, because each scheme makes different assumptions about out-of-band channels and adversary models, and are driven by their particular use-cases. A conceptual model that facilitates meaningful comparison among SDP schemes is missing. We provide such a model. In this article, we survey and analyze a wide range of SDP schemes that are described in the literature, including a number that have been adopted as standards. A system model and consistent terminology for SDP schemes are built on the foundation of this survey, which are then used to classify existing SDP schemes into a taxonomy that, for the first time, enables their meaningful comparison and analysis.The existing SDP schemes are analyzed using this model, revealing common systemic security weaknesses among the surveyed SDP schemes that should become priority areas for future SDP research, such as improving the integration of privacy requirements into the design of SDP schemes. Our results allow SDP scheme designers to create schemes that are more easily comparable with one another, and to assist the prevention of persisting the weaknesses common to the current generation of SDP schemes.Comment: 34 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables, accepted at IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials 2017 (Volume: PP, Issue: 99

    Indicators for urban quality evaluation at district scale and relationships with health and wellness perception

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    The paper is related with a research that was aimed to better define urban quality and sustainability at a district scale (4000-10000 inhabitants), specifically referred to European towns and settlements. An innovative set of indicators (72) has been developed, starting from and taking into consideration also existing literature, both in terms of indicators and sets of indicators (OECD, UN, Agenda 21, and existing European databases as CRISP), four “thematic” areas have been defined dealing with architectural quality, accessibility, environment and services. Within each of these areas some macroindicators and micro-indicators have been defined. The aim is to translate something that is usually considered subjective into something “objective” and finally defined with a number (0-100). Microindicators and macro-indicators are weighted thanks to a mathematical method based on symmetrical matrixes, so that there is a correct balance between different areas. Indicators are both qualitative and quantitative, so they are not just referred to urban planning procedures. The research has been already successfully applied to some Italian districts in towns as Lodi, Genova and Milano. The set of indicators was needed also to work within a multi disciplinary team that has already included engineers, architects, planners as well as doctors and physicians. As a matter of fact the results in terms of urban quality have been compared with medical results concerning health and wellness perception (using SF-36 international recognized questionnaires) by users (inhabitants), finding (non linear) relationships between urban quality and well being perception by inhabitants. The results of this research can be used to: better define design strategies (by designers) accordingly to users wellness, or evaluate ex-post the results of design activities (by municipalities or public authorities)

    Language ecology and photographic sound in the McWorld

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    The unique sounds of the world’s small-scale languages are being extinguished at an alarming rate. This article explores links between acoustic ecology and language ecology and outlines an approach to the creation of archive material as both source for and useful by-product of sound art practice and research. Through my work with endangered clicklanguages in the Kalahari Desert, it considers the boundaries between language and music and discusses the use of flat speaker technology to explore new relations between sound and image, portrait and soundscape in a cross-cultural context

    Analysis of Field Data to Describe the Effect of Context (Acoustic and Non-Acoustic Factors) on Urban Soundscapes

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    The need to improve acoustic environments in our cities has led to increased interest in correcting or minimising noise pollution in urban environments, something that has been associated with the resurgence of the soundscape approach. This line of research highlights the importance of context in the perception of acoustic environments. Despite this, few studies consider together a wide number of variables relating to the context, and analyse the relative importance of each. The purpose of this paper is therefore to identify the acoustic and non-acoustic characteristics of a place (context) that influence an individual’s perception of the sound environment and the relative importance of these factors in soundscape. The aim is to continue advancing in the definition of an acoustic comfort indicator for urban places. The data used here were collected in various soundscape campaigns carried out by Tecnalia in Bilbao (Spain) between 2011 and 2014. These studies involved 534 evaluations of 10 different places. The results indicate that many diverse contextual factors determine soundscape, the most important being the congruence between soundscape and landscape. The limitations of the findings and suggestions for further research are also discussed.The research presented in this manuscript has been developed with the financial support of the Basque Government, the Bilbao City council, and within the framework of the LIFE QUADMAP project (LIFE 10/ENV/IT/407
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