Three applications for mobile epidemic algorithms

This paper presents a framework for the pervasive sharing of data using wireless networks. 'FarCry' uses the mobility of users to carry files between separated networks. Through a mix of ad-hoc and infrastructure-based wireless networking, files are transferred between users without their direct involvement. As users move to different locations, files are then transmitted on to other users, spreading and sharing information. We examine three applications of this framework. Each of these exploits the physically proximate nature of social gatherings. As people group together in, for example, business meetings and cafés, this can be taken as an indication of similar interests, e.g. in the same presentation or in a type of music. MediaNet affords sharing of media files between strangers or friends, MeetingNet shares business documents in meetings, and NewsNet shares RSS feeds between mobile users. NewsNet also develops the use of pre-emptive caching: collecting information from others not for oneself, but for the predicted later sharing with others. We offer observations on developing this system for a mobile, multi-user, multi-device environment

Using the Crytek Game Engine in the Technological University Dublin

It is envisaged that within the next 10 years. the Technological University Dublin (DIT), Ireland’s largest third level university, will move to a new campus in Grangegorman, located in the north inner city of Dublin This site is currently being used as a hospital. It has twelve listed buildings and is located in a densely populated urban community. This paper describes how the Crytek 3D Game engine is being used to create a game MOD (modification) of the current hospital site, how it will be used in the construction and public consultation process of the new campus and how students in the DIT are learning computer science in an new way

Contextual mobile adaptation

Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) involves systems that attempt to fit in with users’ context and interaction. Researchers agree that system adaptation is a key issue in ubicomp because it can be hard to predict changes in contexts, needs and uses. Even with the best planning, it is impossible to foresee all uses of software at the design stage. In order for software to continue to be helpful and appropriate it should, ideally, be as dynamic as the environment in which it operates. Changes in user requirements, contexts of use and system resources mean software should also adapt to better support these changes. An area in which adaptation is clearly lacking is in ubicomp systems, especially those designed for mobile devices. By improving techniques and infrastructure to support adaptation it is possible for ubicomp systems to not only sense and adapt to the environments they are running in, but also retrieve and install new functionality so as to better support the dynamic context and needs of users in such environments. Dynamic adaptation of software refers to the act of changing the structure of some part of a software system as it executes, without stopping or restarting it. One of the core goals of this thesis is to discover if such adaptation is feasible, useful and appropriate in the mobile environment, and how designers can create more adaptive and flexible ubicomp systems and associated user experiences. Through a detailed study of existing literature and experience of several early systems, this thesis presents design issues and requirements for adaptive ubicomp systems. This thesis presents the Domino framework, and demonstrates that a mobile collaborative software adaptation framework is achievable. This system can recommend future adaptations based on a history of use. The framework demonstrates that wireless network connections between mobile devices can be used to transport usage logs and software components, with such connections made either in chance encounters or in designed multi–user interactions. Another aim of the thesis is to discover if users can comprehend and smoothly interact with systems that are adapting. To evaluate Domino, a multiplayer game called Castles has been developed, in which game buildings are in fact software modules that are recommended and transferred between players. This evaluation showed that people are comfortable receiving semi–automated software recommendations; these complement traditional recommendation methods such as word of mouth and online forums, with the system’s support freeing users to discuss more in–depth aspects of the system, such as tactics and strategies for use, rather than forcing them to discover, acquire and integrate software by themselves

Group emotion modelling and the use of middleware for virtual crowds in video-games

In this paper we discuss the use of crowd simulation in video-games to augment their realism. Using previous works on emotion modelling and virtual crowds we define a game world in an urban context. To achieve that, we explore a biologically inspired human emotion model, investigate the formation of groups in crowds, and examine the use of physics middleware for crowds. Furthermore, we assess the realism and computational performance of the proposed approach. Our system runs at interactive frame-rate and can generate large crowds which demonstrate complex behaviour

"Land without God" : interview with Gerard Mannix Flynn and Maedhbh McMahon

Wywiad z twórcami filmu dokumentalnego pt. "Land without God" (Kraina bez Boga) Gerardem Mannixem Flynnem i Maedhbh McMahon. Film opowiada historię jednej z robotniczych rodzin, której czternastu członków przeszło przez kilka „poprawczaków” i tzw. "szkół przemysłowych", gdzie doświadczyli brutalnego traktowania i wykorzystywanie seksualnego. Wywiad wyjaśnia, w jaki sposób film oddaje głos ocalałym, którzy wreszcie mają szansę opowiedzieć własnymi słowami koszmar, przez który przeszli, i jak systemowa przemoc wpłynęła na ich życie.The interview with the authors of a documentary "Land Without God" Gerard Mannix Flynn, and Maedhbh McMahon, which tells a story of one working-class family whose fourteen members went through several “reform” and industrial schools, where they suffered from brutal treatment and sexual abuse. The interview disucsses how the documentary gives voice to survivors who are finally able to tell in their own words what happened to them, and how the systemic violence has affected their life

“Land without God”: Interview with Gerard Mannix Flynn and Maedhbh McMahon

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Prosuming, or when customers turn collaborators: coordination and motivation of customer contribution

This article investigates the phenomenon of increasing integration of customers and users into the organizational creation of value, focusing primarily on the dissolving boundaries between production and consumption. Concepts such as "prosuming", the "working customer", "produsing" and "interactive value creation" have been used to describe this phenomenon. Within the framework of a research project at the Goethe-University Frankfurt/Main, this debate was investigated theoretically as well as empirically in three case studies. The research question is as follows: Why do customers participate in "new types of prosuming" or "interactive value creation" and how are these processes coordinated by the firms? The results show a considerable range of motives and forms of coordination: The customers’ primary motives to voluntarily assume tasks and activities were both intrinsic and extrinsic in nature. The organizational models identified range from strategies of rationalization to prosuming as a basic business model to the collaborative and interactive value creation between the company and the web-community