Interfacing Agents with Natural Language

Technology is leading us to a world where computers are everywhere. A new breed of machines capable of sensing and reacting to stimuli in the real world is under development. Unfortunately, these new, powerful devices can oftentimes be difficult for the average person to understand. It is imperative that an easy to use interface be implemented to usher in this new world. Natural language (speech) would be an ideal solution. However, it has proven implausible on a large scale. A Menu-Based Natural Language Interface (MBNLI) could retain the intuitiveness of speech, while eliminating the obstacles impeding implementation. This research paper describes the development and applications of a MBNLI

Simulating the New Economy

The IT, the Internet, or the Computing & Communications (C&C) technology revolution has been central to the economic discussion for several decades. Before the mid-1990s the catchword was the “productivity paradox” coined by Robert Solow, who stated in 1987 that “computers are everywhere visible, except in the productivity statistics”. Then the New Economy and fast productivity growth fueled by C&C technology suddenly became the catchword of the very late 1990s. Its luster however, faded almost as fast as it arrived with the dot.com deaths of the first years of the new millennium. With this paper we demonstrate that the two paradoxes above are perfectly compatible within a consistent micro (firm) based macro theoretical framework of endogenous growth. Within the same model framework also a third paradox can be resolved, namely the fact that the previous major New Industry creation, the Industrial Revolution, only involved a handful of Western nations that had got their institutions in order. If the New Economy is a potential reality, one cannot take for granted that all industrial economies will participate successfully in its introduction. It all depends on the local receiver competence to build industry on the new technology. We, hence, also demonstrate within the same model the existence of the risk of failing altogether to capture the opportunities of a New Economy.Industrial simulation; Innovation and growth; The New Economy; Non-linear dynamics

Solving the Training Divide

The information society is all very well, but the trouble is ensuring everyone can be trained up for it, especially those who need it most. Countries still do not appear to invest enough in the education of under-skilled adults, although the extent of the problem is difficult to quantify and may be eased somewhat by the presence of informal training. Still, more needs to be done to encourage a more efficient sharing of the costs and benefits of training between employers and employees, thereby increasing the incentives to invest in human capital. Another, more intractable problem, is how to get training to those who need it most. As it is, vulnerable workers have fewer opportunities to acquire new skills. For this reason, some countries are experimenting with co-financing policies for individual investments in human capital, to help workers pay for training themselves when they are not supported by their employer. Despite these measures, without support from their employer, individuals often find training courses unaffordable, not only because of their direct costs but also because of time constraints.demand for skills; training; co-financing; time constraints

The Current State of e-Learning in Higher Education in the U.S. : An Observational Study

If you visit any college campus in the US., you will find computers are everywhere. They are in every library, classroom, office and dorm room. Most college campuses have been wired for the last 10 years or more and many now have wireless connections in certain designated areas on campus. The U.S. has always been at the forefront of developing and implementing new technologies. This paper focuses on how e-Learning is progressing at three institutions of higher learning in a small community in Illinois and compares them to national trends in online learning

A reality for any firm – the Information Technology

In a fast moving economy, no organization can expect good results without implementing new technologies. Computers, networks, software systems are a reality and denying it will eventually lead to a negative impact on the organizations’ results. In this, we refer to some aspects of information technology and the advantages and disadvantages that software systems can provide to a manager or management team and, in the end, to an organization.informational system, informatics system, DSS

Why the optimism?

In spite of the recent recession, hopes for the New Economy have been little daunted. Surprisingly robust productivity growth during the recent downturn provides compelling new evidence that something truly fundamental is going on. This Commentary argues that advances in information technology, and their diffusion through the economy, justify our optimism. Higher productivity growth is not an ephemeral phenomenon but one likely to persist for some time into the future, perhaps even accelerating further.Economic conditions - United States ; Labor productivity

Where IT's @: technology and the economy

Productivity ; Venture capital ; Information technology

On the run? Growing up in modern mobile societies. John Urry interviewt von Claus J. Tully

Das hier veröffentlichte Interview wurde am Rande des 32. Kongresses der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie am 7. Oktober 2004 in München geführt. Thema des Gesprächs ist die Ausformung sozialer Bezüge unter dem Eindruck einer modernen, netzwerkmäßig organisierten mobilen und kommunikativen Gesellschaft. Im Interview wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie sich das Aufwachsen von Kindern und Jugendlichen im Kontext von Familie und lokalen Bezügen unter diesen Bedingungen verändert. In seinen Büchern "The Tourist Gaze" von 1990 und "Consuming Places" (1995) thematisiert er die gewandelte Bedeutung von Orten. 1994 expliziert er gemeinsam mit Lash in "Economies of Signs and Space" die These der generellen Mobilisierung von Symbolen und der Menschen, die der mobilen Ökonomie dienen. In "Sociology beyond Society" (1999) argumentiert John Urry im Sinne der Castells\u27schen Netzgesellschaften, dass wir soziales Leben nicht länger mit den vertrauten und letztlich statischen Kategorien beschreiben können. Auch in seinem jüngsten Buch "Global Complexity" (2004) plädiert er für eine neue Sichtweise auf Nationen, Orte, Regionen im Dienste sozialwissenschaftlicher Begriffsbildung vor dem Hintergrund globaler Verschränkung. (DIPF/Orig.

Explaining trends in wages, work, and occupations

The inequality of labor market earnings in the U.S. has increased dramatically in recent decades. However, closer examination of the data reveals two distinct periods of rising inequality: 1973–89 and 1989–2005. The first period was one of diverging wages throughout the distribution, while the second period was one of polarizing wage growth.Labor market ; Wages ; Employment

Big Data Privacy Context: Literature Effects On Secure Informational Assets

This article's objective is the identification of research opportunities in the current big data privacy domain, evaluating literature effects on secure informational assets. Until now, no study has analyzed such relation. Its results can foster science, technologies and businesses. To achieve these objectives, a big data privacy Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is performed on the main scientific peer reviewed journals in Scopus database. Bibliometrics and text mining analysis complement the SLR. This study provides support to big data privacy researchers on: most and least researched themes, research novelty, most cited works and authors, themes evolution through time and many others. In addition, TOPSIS and VIKOR ranks were developed to evaluate literature effects versus informational assets indicators. Secure Internet Servers (SIS) was chosen as decision criteria. Results show that big data privacy literature is strongly focused on computational aspects. However, individuals, societies, organizations and governments face a technological change that has just started to be investigated, with growing concerns on law and regulation aspects. TOPSIS and VIKOR Ranks differed in several positions and the only consistent country between literature and SIS adoption is the United States. Countries in the lowest ranking positions represent future research opportunities.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figure