Measuring the impact of temporal context on video retrieval

In this paper we describe the findings from the K-Space interactive video search experiments in TRECVid 2007, which examined the effects of including temporal context in video retrieval. The traditional approach to presenting video search results is to maximise recall by offering a user as many potentially relevant shots as possible within a limited amount of time. ‘Context’-oriented systems opt to allocate a portion of theresults presentation space to providing additional contextual cues about the returned results. In video retrieval these cues often include temporal information such as a shot’s location within the overall video broadcast and/or its neighbouring shots. We developed two interfaces with identical retrieval functionality in order to measure the effects of such context on user performance. The first system had a ‘recall-oriented’ interface, where results from a query were presented as a ranked list of shots. The second was ‘contextoriented’, with results presented as a ranked list of broadcasts. 10 users participated in the experiments, of which 8 were novices and 2 experts. Participants completed a number of retrieval topics using both the recall-oriented and context-oriented systems

Affective feedback: an investigation into the role of emotions in the information seeking process

User feedback is considered to be a critical element in the information seeking process, especially in relation to relevance assessment. Current feedback techniques determine content relevance with respect to the cognitive and situational levels of interaction that occurs between the user and the retrieval system. However, apart from real-life problems and information objects, users interact with intentions, motivations and feelings, which can be seen as critical aspects of cognition and decision-making. The study presented in this paper serves as a starting point to the exploration of the role of emotions in the information seeking process. Results show that the latter not only interweave with different physiological, psychological and cognitive processes, but also form distinctive patterns, according to specific task, and according to specific user

An investigation into weighted data fusion for content-based multimedia information retrieval

Content Based Multimedia Information Retrieval (CBMIR) is characterised by the combination of noisy sources of information which, in unison, are able to achieve strong performance. In this thesis we focus on the combination of ranked results from the independent retrieval experts which comprise a CBMIR system through linearly weighted data fusion. The independent retrieval experts are low-level multimedia features, each of which contains an indexing function and ranking algorithm. This thesis is comprised of two halves. In the first half, we perform a rigorous empirical investigation into the factors which impact upon performance in linearly weighted data fusion. In the second half, we leverage these finding to create a new class of weight generation algorithms for data fusion which are capable of determining weights at query-time, such that the weights are topic dependent

Una teoría cognitiva integral para la recuperación de información: saliendo del entorno del laboratorio

The paper demonstrates how the Laboratory Research Framework fits into the integrated Cognitive Framework for IR. It first discusses the Laboratory Framework with emphasis on its underlying assumptions and known limitations. This is followed by a view of interaction and relevance phenomena associated with IR evaluation and central to the understanding of IR. The ensuing section outlines how interactive IR is viewed from a Cognitive Framework, and ‘light’ interactive IR experiments are suggested performed by drawing on the latter framework’s contextual possibilities. These include independent variables drawn from a collection, matching principles in a retrieval system, and the searcher’s situation and task context. The paper ends with concluding points of summarization of issues encountered.Este artículo demuestra cómo el marco de investigación en laboratorio encaja bien dentro del marco cognitivo integral para la Recuperación de información. Se discute primero el marco de investigación en laboratorio, con énfasis en sus asunciones y limitaciones. Se analizan los fenómenos de la interacción y relevancia asociados con la evaluación en RI., así como el modo de desarrollar experimentos interactivos de Recuperación de información dentro del marco cognitivo, considerando la situación del investigador y el contexto de la tarea llevada a cabo

Proceedings of the International Workshop on EuroPLOT Persuasive Technology for Learning, Education and Teaching (IWEPLET 2013)

"This book contains the proceedings of the International Workshop on EuroPLOT Persuasive Technology for Learning, Education and Teaching (IWEPLET) 2013 which was held on 16.-17.September 2013 in Paphos (Cyprus) in conjunction with the EC-TEL conference. The workshop and hence the proceedings are divided in two parts: on Day 1 the EuroPLOT project and its results are introduced, with papers about the specific case studies and their evaluation. On Day 2, peer-reviewed papers are presented which address specific topics and issues going beyond the EuroPLOT scope. This workshop is one of the deliverables (D 2.6) of the EuroPLOT project, which has been funded from November 2010 – October 2013 by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission through the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLL) by grant #511633. The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate Persuasive Learning Objects and Technologies (PLOTS), based on ideas of BJ Fogg. The purpose of this workshop is to summarize the findings obtained during this project and disseminate them to an interested audience. Furthermore, it shall foster discussions about the future of persuasive technology and design in the context of learning, education and teaching. The international community working in this area of research is relatively small. Nevertheless, we have received a number of high-quality submissions which went through a peer-review process before being selected for presentation and publication. We hope that the information found in this book is useful to the reader and that more interest in this novel approach of persuasive design for teaching/education/learning is stimulated. We are very grateful to the organisers of EC-TEL 2013 for allowing to host IWEPLET 2013 within their organisational facilities which helped us a lot in preparing this event. I am also very grateful to everyone in the EuroPLOT team for collaborating so effectively in these three years towards creating excellent outputs, and for being such a nice group with a very positive spirit also beyond work. And finally I would like to thank the EACEA for providing the financial resources for the EuroPLOT project and for being very helpful when needed. This funding made it possible to organise the IWEPLET workshop without charging a fee from the participants.