SNAP : the social network adaptive portal

Since the boom of social networking lead to people using multiple account on many platforms in order to keep in touch with hundreds of contacts, managing one's contacts risks becoming a burden for many users. Following and finding information about friends and family has become an issue too. Guided by these observations and by careful research of existing adaptive web technologies, our team worked on the development of SNAP - an adaptive social network integrator which aimed to amalgamate four social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Buzz) in one adaptive environment, which to unobtrusively sort the users' feed according to his/her preference. To achieve data transfer and authorisation, SNAP used APIs and the newest version of the OAuth protocol. Adaptivity was achieved through statistical filtering. Despite efforts, the initial field tests show that the system is not as yet ready to be launched for wider use. However, there is room for improvement in terms of Social Network Integration, and tester users expressed an interest in the idea of using an adaptive social integrator such as SNAP.peer-reviewe

Taking social networks to the next level

Since the boom of social networking lead to people using multiple account on many platforms in order to keep in touch with hundreds of contacts, managing one's contacts risks becoming a burden for many users. Following and finding information about friends and family has become an issue too. Guided by these observations and by careful research of existing adaptive web technologies, our team worked on the development of SNAP - an adaptive social network integrator which aimed to amalgamate various social networks (Facebook, Twitter and Flickr) in one adaptive environment, which unobtrusively sorts the users' feed according to his/her preference. To achieve data transfer and authorisation, SNAP uses the newest version of the OAuth protocol. Adaptivity was achieved through statistical filtering. The initial field tests show that the system works, however there is definitely room for improvement in terms of Social Network Integration, and testers generally expressed an interest in the idea of using an adaptive social integrator such as SNAP. On top of this, we will be suggesting a number of improvements which will change the way we use social networks forever.peer-reviewe

Chess software and its impact on chess players

Computer-aided chess is an important teaching method, as it allows a student to play under every condition possible, and regulates the speed of his/her development at an incremental pace, measured against actual players in the rated chess community. It is also relatively inexpensive, and pervasive, and allows players to match themselves against competitors from across the world. The learning process extends beyond games, as interactive software has shown it teaches several skills, such as opening, strategy, tactics, and chess-problem solving. Furthermore, current applications allow chess players to establish rankings via online chess tournaments, meet international grandmasters, and have access to training tools based on strategies from chess masters. Using 250 chess software packages, this research classifies them into distinct categories based mainly on the Gobet and Jansen's organization of the chess knowledge. This is followed by extensive discussion that analyzes these training tools, in order to identify the best training techniques available building on a research on human computer interaction, cognitive psychology, and chess theory. --P.ii.The original print copy of this thesis may be available here: http://wizard.unbc.ca/record=b151379