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SPIN-ning Software Architectures: A Method for Exploring Complex Systems
When designing complex software systems that provide multiple non-functional properties, it is usual to try to reuse (and finally compose) simpler existing designs, which deal with each of these properties in solitude. The paper describes a method for automatically and quickly identifying all the different ways one can compose such designs, with the aid of a model checke
Designing ambient intelligent scenarios to promote discussion of human values
Ambient technology evokes a near future in which humans will be surrounded by ‘always-on’, unobtrusive, interconnected intelligent objects. Always connected raises concern over human values. This study uses a privacy and trust framework to evaluate two Aml scenarios one health related and the other to the everyday task of shopping. Findings are discussed in relation to dimensions of trust, privacy and the impact upon human values
Toward the Environmental Design of Library Buildings
published or submitted for publicatio
The Family Window: Perceived Usage and Privacy Concerns
Families have a strong need to connect with their loved ones over distance. However, most technologies do not provide the same feelings of connectedness that one feels from seeing remote family members. Hence our goal was to understand if a video connection, in the form of a media space, could help families feel more connected. To answer this, we designed a video media space called the Family Window and deployed it within the homes of two families for eight months and four families for five weeks. We also interviewed 16 individuals to obtain additional feedback about the system and to learn about their privacy concerns
Public officials and their institutional environment - an analytical model for assessing the impact of institutional change on public sector performance
To perform well, public officials must be confident enough about the future, to be able to see a relationship between their efforts, and an eventual outcome. Their expectations are shaped by their institutional environment. If the rules are not credible, or are unlikely to be enforced, of if they expect policies to be contradicted, or resources to flow unpredictably, results will be uncertain, so there is little point in working purposefully. The authors present an analytical framework, used to design a series of surveys of public officials'views of their institutional environment, and to analyze the information generated in fifteen countries. They describe how survey results help map public sector's strengths, and weaknesses, and offer an approach to identifying potential payoffs from reforms. The framework emphasizes how heterogeneous incentives, and institutional arrangements are within he public sector. It emphasizes how important it is for policymakers to base decisions on information (not generalizations) that suggests what is most likely to work, and where. In building on the premise that public officials'actions - and hence their organization's performance - depend on the institutional environment in which they find themselves, this framework avoids simplistic anti-government positions, bur doesn't defend poor performance. Some public officials perform poorly, and engage in rent seeking, but some selfless, and determined public officials, work hard under extremely difficult conditions. This framework offers an approach for understanding both bad performance, and good, and for presenting the results to policymakers in a format that leadsto more informed choices, about public sector reform. Types of reforms discussed include strengthening the credibility of rules for evaluation, for record management, for training, and for recruitment; ensuring that staff support government policy; preventing political interference, or micro-management; assuring staff that they will be treated fairly; and, making government policies consistent.Public Health Promotion,Decentralization,Educational Sciences,Enterprise Development&Reform,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Educational Sciences,National Governance,Governance Indicators,Poverty Assessment,Health Monitoring&Evaluation
Visitor profiling for cable car mountain destinations as a basis for protected area management : a case study of the summer season in the Tatra Mountains at Kasprowy Wierch (Poland) and Skalnaté Pleso (Slovakia)
Protected areas play a crucial role in the conservation of vulnerable mountain ecosystems, but at the same time they may serve as tourist destinations and attract large numbers of visitors. Areas located in close proximity to cable cars belong to some of the most challenging sites for mountain protected area management. This study focuses on two cable car areas: Kasprowy Wierch (Tatra National Park, Poland) and Skalnaté Pleso (Tatra National Park, Slovakia). Both sites belong to the most heavily used leisure destinations in the Tatra Mountains. The study focused on the summer, snow-free tourist peak-season, for which there is an ongoing discussion concerning the development of cable car services. In 2014 and 2015, on-site interviews were conducted in the two study areas (n = 3 304). In order to better understand visitors’ needs and goals, visitor profiling using K-means clustering was performed. Four
distinct segments based on visitor motivations were identified: nature oriented (32 %), family / friends & well-being oriented (23 %), sports oriented (14 %), and a mixed segment with multiple motivations (31 %). The results show that two tourist segments were not particularly interested in nature experience, although they visited protected
areas. A significant relationship between motivational segments and trip characteristics was identified. The visitor segments defined can be used practically in the management of cable car destinations located within protected areas
A Trip to the Moon: Personalized Animated Movies for Self-reflection
Self-tracking physiological and psychological data poses the challenge of
presentation and interpretation. Insightful narratives for self-tracking data
can motivate the user towards constructive self-reflection. One powerful form
of narrative that engages audience across various culture and age groups is
animated movies. We collected a week of self-reported mood and behavior data
from each user and created in Unity a personalized animation based on their
data. We evaluated the impact of their video in a randomized control trial with
a non-personalized animated video as control. We found that personalized videos
tend to be more emotionally engaging, encouraging greater and lengthier writing
that indicated self-reflection about moods and behaviors, compared to
non-personalized control videos
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