Speaker-following Video Subtitles

We propose a new method for improving the presentation of subtitles in video (e.g. TV and movies). With conventional subtitles, the viewer has to constantly look away from the main viewing area to read the subtitles at the bottom of the screen, which disrupts the viewing experience and causes unnecessary eyestrain. Our method places on-screen subtitles next to the respective speakers to allow the viewer to follow the visual content while simultaneously reading the subtitles. We use novel identification algorithms to detect the speakers based on audio and visual information. Then the placement of the subtitles is determined using global optimization. A comprehensive usability study indicated that our subtitle placement method outperformed both conventional fixed-position subtitling and another previous dynamic subtitling method in terms of enhancing the overall viewing experience and reducing eyestrain

TechNews digests: Jan - Nov 2009

TechNews is a technology, news and analysis service aimed at anyone in the education sector keen to stay informed about technology developments, trends and issues. TechNews focuses on emerging technologies and other technology news. TechNews service : digests september 2004 till May 2010 Analysis pieces and News combined publish every 2 to 3 month

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Metaverse

Non peer reviewe

Learning About Metadata and Machines: Teaching Students Using a Novel Structured Database Activity

Machines produce and operate using complex systems of metadata that need to be catalogued, sorted, and processed. Many students lack the experience with metadata and sufficient knowledge about it to understand it as part of their data literacy skills. This paper describes an educational and interactive database activity designed for teaching undergraduate communication students about the creation, value, and logic of structured data. Through a set of virtual instructional videos and interactive visualizations, the paper describes how students can gain experience with structured data and apply that knowledge to successfully find, curate, and classify a digital archive of media artifacts. The pedagogical activity, teaching materials, and archives are facilitated through and housed in an online resource called Fabric of Digital Life (fabricofdigitallife.com). We end by discussing the activity’s relevance for the emerging field of human-machine communication

“No powers, man!”: A student perspective on designing university smart building interactions

Smart buildings offer an opportunity for better performance and enhanced experience by contextualising services and interactions to the needs and practices of occupants. Yet, this vision is limited by established approaches to building management, delivered top-down through professional facilities management teams, opening up an interaction-gap between occupants and the spaces they inhabit. To address the challenge of how smart buildings might be more inclusively managed, we present the results of a qualitative study with student occupants of a smart building, with design workshops including building walks and speculative futuring. We develop new understandings of how student occupants conceptualise and evaluate spaces as they experience them, and of how building management practices might evolve with new sociotechnical systems that better leverage occupant agency. Our findings point to important directions for HCI research in this nascent area, including the need for HBI (Human-Building Interaction) design to challenge entrenched roles in building management

Understanding controversies in digital platform innovation processes: The Google Glass case

Due to their scaling potential and complexity, digital platforms tend to generate public interest, and in some cases significant controversies and paradoxes. Previous research has generated knowledge about controversies in digital platform innovations. However, this work mainly focuses on the types of controversies and their effects rather than on the process of controversy emergence. In this article, we analyze how controversies related to digital platform innovation emerge and how they unfold over the innovation process. We analyze the case of the Google Glass failure to establish this ARSG (Augmented Reality Smart Glasses) extension to Google's digital platform. The paper contributes to the study of controversies by analyzing the digital platform innovation process as a process of translation, in which there are possible controversy emergence points originated in types of disagreements among the different human actors involved and their interactions with non-human elements. These disagreements are related to specific features of digital platforms: the digital platform generativity, the multisided market arrangements in the platform; the loosely coupled layers of technologies and applications involved, and the opaqueness that results from these arrangements. The framework proposed can support digital platform scholars and practitioners to in better understand and manage controversies

TechNews digests: Jan - Nov 2008

TechNews is a technology, news and analysis service aimed at anyone in the education sector keen to stay informed about technology developments, trends and issues. TechNews focuses on emerging technologies and other technology news. TechNews service : digests september 2004 till May 2010 Analysis pieces and News combined publish every 2 to 3 month

Reducing the Risk: Psychological and Technological Approaches for Improving Handwashing Practices in the Foodservice Industry

As Americans are spending greater portions of their dollar on food consumed outside the home, the foodservice industry plays more of an integral part of daily existence compared to previous generations. Given the numerous annual foodborne illness outbreaks that threaten human lives while undermining confidence in the food supply, food safety is a pertinent issue for industry stakeholders, government regulators, and consumers. Food worker handwashing reduces the risk of foodborne illness transmission, yet compliance with this simple behavior is a complex problem. This dissertation addresses, predominantly, the issue of sub-optimal handwashing practices through applying psychology and technology, including wearable computers and a video game. Chapter one discusses prior efforts to improve handwashing compliance, while providing a theoretical framework to guide industry professionals through strategies that consider the potentially negative psychological effects of interventions on employees. Chapter two highlights handwashing practices of early childhood center food handlers. While average compliance was 22%, strict adherence to the guidelines would have required 12 minutes/hour devoted to handwashing. Chapter three explores handwashing in relation to organizational climate factors; managerial commitment was the only significant predictor of handwashing. Chapter four shows wearable technology-based training is preferred by food handlers. Chapter five indicates how participants who viewed strictly video-based training were four times as likely to wash hands compared to participants trained with smart glasses. Chapter six highlights the efficiency of handwashing training with smart glasses. Chapter seven includes the design and development of a video game played while washing hands. Perceptions of the device were only slightly positive, showing the need for either improved reward mechanisms or alternative strategies to motivate handwashing. Chapter eight evaluates the relationship between risk classification of foodservice establishments and food safety violation rates. High priority facilities had significantly higher food safety violation rates compared to medium and low priority facilities. In looking to the future of foodservice, many jobs are highly susceptible to automation; emotional intelligence may translate to greater job security in the coming years. Chapter nine evaluated perceptions of job insecurity rendered by automation in relation to emotional intelligence. There was no correlation between the two variables

Phone vs. Tangible in museums: A comparative study

Despite years of HCI research on digital technology in museums, it is still unclear how different interactions impact on visitors’. A comparative evaluation of smart replicas, phone app and smart cards looked at the personal preferences, behavioural change, and the appeal of mobiles in museums. 76 participants used all three interaction modes and gave their opinions in a questionnaire; participants interaction was also observed. The results show the phone is the most disliked interaction mode while tangible interaction (smart card and replica combined) is the most liked. Preference for the phone favour mobility to the detriment of engagement with the exhibition. Different behaviours when interacting with the phone or the tangibles where observed. The personal visiting style appeared to be only marginally affected by the device. Visitors also expect museums to provide the phones against the current trend of developing apps in a “bring your own device” approach

Six emerging trends in media and communications - occasional paper

This paper examines six emerging trends in media and communications, which highlight that consumers are increasingly using personalised access pathways to communications and content services that cut across different networks, devices and services. Introduction The ACMA monitors industry and consumer data to identify changes in the media and communications environment and their impact on regulatory settings. Previous ACMA research, such as Broken concepts1 and the Emerging issues2 series of papers, has identified areas of regulatory strain resulting from changes in this environment. The ACMA’s 2014 data collection program highlighted six further trends that are of particular interest as they indicate challenges to the regulatory frameworks within which the ACMA works. These trends illustrate how developments in communications device technologies and over-the-top (OTT) services and content offer both: new opportunities for businesses and individuals as consumers and citizens potential challenges to confident and optimal use of these new services. The evolving media and communications environment offers new ways to understand and achieve policy objectives, and may expose alternatives to ’black-letter’ regulation. However, changes in media and communications can also strain the effectiveness and efficiency of existing regulatory settings designed in an environment where content and communication services have been delivered by network owners over dedicated networks and devices. The selected trends highlight that consumers are increasingly using personalised access pathways to communications and content services that cut across different networks, devices and services. This paper looks at the implications of these six trends for existing regulatory settings