Improving the performance of GIS/spatial analysts though novel applications of the Emotiv EPOC EEG headset

Geospatial information systems are used to analyze spatial data to provide decision makers with relevant, up-to-date, information. The processing time required for this information is a critical component to response time. Despite advances in algorithms and processing power, we still have many “human-in-the-loop” factors. Given the limited number of geospatial professionals, analysts using their time effectively is very important. The automation and faster humancomputer interactions of common tasks that will not disrupt their workflow or attention is something that is very desirable. The following research describes a novel approach to increase productivity with a wireless, wearable, electroencephalograph (EEG) headset within the geospatial workflow

Learning discrete word embeddings to achieve better interpretability and processing efficiency

L’omniprésente utilisation des plongements de mot dans le traitement des langues naturellesest la preuve de leur utilité et de leur capacité d’adaptation a une multitude de tâches. Ce-pendant, leur nature continue est une importante limite en terme de calculs, de stockage enmémoire et d’interprétation. Dans ce travail de recherche, nous proposons une méthode pourapprendre directement des plongements de mot discrets. Notre modèle est une adaptationd’une nouvelle méthode de recherche pour base de données avec des techniques dernier crien traitement des langues naturelles comme les Transformers et les LSTM. En plus d’obtenirdes plongements nécessitant une fraction des ressources informatiques nécéssaire à leur sto-ckage et leur traitement, nos expérimentations suggèrent fortement que nos représentationsapprennent des unités de bases pour le sens dans l’espace latent qui sont analogues à desmorphèmes. Nous appelons ces unités dessememes, qui, de l’anglaissemantic morphemes,veut dire morphèmes sémantiques. Nous montrons que notre modèle a un grand potentielde généralisation et qu’il produit des représentations latentes montrant de fortes relationssémantiques et conceptuelles entre les mots apparentés.The ubiquitous use of word embeddings in Natural Language Processing is proof of theirusefulness and adaptivity to a multitude of tasks. However, their continuous nature is pro-hibitive in terms of computation, storage and interpretation. In this work, we propose amethod of learning discrete word embeddings directly. The model is an adaptation of anovel database searching method using state of the art natural language processing tech-niques like Transformers and LSTM. On top of obtaining embeddings requiring a fractionof the resources to store and process, our experiments strongly suggest that our representa-tions learn basic units of meaning in latent space akin to lexical morphemes. We call theseunitssememes, i.e., semantic morphemes. We demonstrate that our model has a greatgeneralization potential and outputs representation showing strong semantic and conceptualrelations between related words

Inducers and Authorisers: A Comparison of the US Supreme Court\u27s \u3ci\u3eGrokster\u3c/i\u3e Decision and the Australian Federal Court\u27s \u3ci\u3eKaZaa\u3c/i\u3e Ruling

On June 27, 2005, the US Supreme Court announced its much-awaited decision in MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster Ltd. A few months after this, the Federal Court of Australia handed down its decision at first instance in relation to parallel litigation in that country concerning the KaZaa file sharing system. Both decisions repay careful consideration of the way in which the respective courts have addressed the relationship between the protection of authors\u27 rights and the advent of new technologies, particularly in relation to peer-to-peer networks. In the Grokster case, songwriters, record producers and motion picture producers alleged that two popular \u27file-sharing\u27 networks, Grokster and Streamcast (dba Morpheus) should be held liable for facilitating the commission of massive amounts of copyright infringement by the end-users who employed the defendants\u27 peer-to-peer (P2P) software to copy and redistribute films and sound recordings to each others\u27 hard drives. The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit\u27s grant of summary judgment for defendants, holding that the technology entrepreneurs could be held liable for \u27actively inducing\u27 the end-users\u27 acts of infringement. A similar decision was reached in Australia with respect to the KaZaa software, albeit in this proceeding the court had the advantage of much greater factual material as to the operation of the KaZaa system than did the US Supreme Court in Grokster. Nonetheless, both cases illustrate the difficulties that arise as consumer-wielded digital media increasingly supplant the traditional intermediaries who made copyrighted works available to the public (and who traditionally were the targets of copyright enforcement) and as courts struggle to balance meaningful protection for works of authorship against the progress of technological innovation. For some, the weakening of copyright control is the necessary price to pay for technological advancement. For others, authors\u27 ability to maintain exclusive rights remains a cornerstone of any copyright system as it adapts to accommodate new modes of exploitation. Grokster is the latest, and most important, in a series of US decisions to address that balance by articulating the liability of an enterprise which does not itself commit copyright infringement, but instead makes it possible for others to infringe. To appreciate the Supreme Court\u27s analysis, it helps to set the case in both domestic and international doctrinal context. Because unauthorized P2P distribution of copyrighted works extends well beyond the US, copyright owners have pursued legal actions in other countries, including the Netherlands and Australia. While the Australian case still awaits full appellate consideration, it provides a useful example of how another common law jurisdiction (Australia) analyses the liability of those who provide goods or services to facilitate infringement. In this regard, it is also useful to consider what obligations, if any, exist at the international level with respect to the liability of infringement-facilitators. We will conclude with some (perhaps foolhardy) forecasts for the post-Grokster/KaZaa future of copyright enforcement

Some problems of designing for augmentative and alternative communication users: an enquiry through practical design activity

The submission is concerned with, and addresses, problems of designing for people with disabilities, with specific reference to people who are illiterate and cannot speak. People with such disabilities often depend on electronic AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) devices for interpersonal communication. A central theme of the thesis, however, is that such products, and products intended for people with disabilities more generally, have characteristics that inadequately attend to users' needs. Through a combination of practical product development and literature reviews, the thesis demonstrates how improvements to AAC devices 'can be made through user-participatory, usercentred and more sensitive and perceptive design. Literature reviews in the following subjects are reported: AAC; the operational knowledge base for design and disability; user participatory design; and wearable computing. At the core of the thesis is the presentation and discussion of an empirical case study, carried out by the researcher, to design and develop the Portland Communication Aid (PCA). The PCA was conceived as an AAC product that would attempt to redress the inadequacies of predecessor devices. The design activity for the PCA is traced in the thesis, from initial concepts and development models through to a working prototype. Key ideas and essential principles of the design are illustrated. Throughout the work on the PCA, many problems associated with designing for people with severe communication disabilities were encountered. These problems, as with their resolutions, comprised matters of both designing (as an activity) and design (as product specification). The thesis contains comprehensive exposure and analysis of these problems and resolutions. In particular, the value of shaping meaning, metaphor, and other product semantics into devices intended for use by people with disabilities is explored. The study provides two substantive conclusions. First, that both the activity and the outcomes of Industrial Design have a valuable role in the empowerment and rehabilitation of AAC users. And second, that key principles have been identified that will enable designers to better identify, articulate and respond to the needs of people with communication disabilities (and the needs of people with disabilities more generally