Urban management revolution: intelligent management systems for ubiquitous cities

A successful urban management support system requires an integrated approach. This integration includes bringing together economic, socio-cultural and urban development with a well orchestrated transparent and open decision making mechanism. The paper emphasises the importance of integrated urban management to better tackle the climate change, and to achieve sustainable urban development and sound urban growth management. This paper introduces recent approaches on urban management systems, such as intelligent urban management systems, that are suitable for ubiquitous cities. The paper discusses the essential role of online collaborative decision making in urban and infrastructure planning, development and management, and advocates transparent, fully democratic and participatory mechanisms for an effective urban management system that is particularly suitable for ubiquitous cities. This paper also sheds light on some of the unclear processes of urban management of ubiquitous cities and online collaborative decision making, and reveals the key benefits of integrated and participatory mechanisms in successfully constructing sustainable ubiquitous cities

The Experience of Immersive Virtual Reality: A Phenomenology Inspired Inquiry

Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) technology is becoming central for Information Systems (IS) research. However, existing studies in IS fall short in providing insights about how the IVR experience becomes meaningful for end-users. To increase granularity and specificity in this regard, researchers have suggested that the IVR experience can become meaningful due to its fleeting feeling of escapism. In this paper, I explore and characterize how individuals use the IVR experience to create meaning in the context of meaningful escapism, by undertaking a phenomenology inspired inquiry, based on Heideggerian views on meaning, meaningfulness, and world. Interviews and analysis were conducted within an empirical case of IVR fire safety training. As a result, four characteristics of the IVR experience as a meaningful form of escapism were unveiled: a sense of content, a sense of familiarity, a sense of mood, and a sense of care. Throughout this study, I offer a nuanced perspective on how the characteristics contribute to clarify the distinctions and relationship between meaning and meaningfulness, as well as how the IVR experience becomes a meaningful escapism that provides an alternative of individual’s being-in-the-world, into a being-in-the-virtual-world, also known as Virtual Dasein. Further, this study contributes to the IS field by advancing the current discourse on IVR research and escapism, from a phenomenological perspective

Computer Science's Digest Volume 3

This series of textbooks was created for the students of the Systems Engineering Program at the University of Nariño. They have been intentionally written in English to promote reading in a foreign language. The textbooks are a collection of reflections and workshops on specific situations in the field of computer science, based on the authors’ experiences. The main purpose of these textbooks is essentially academic. The way in which the reflections and workshops were constructed follows a didactic structure, to facilitate teaching and learning, making use of English as a second language. This book covers Professional Issues in Computing and Programming the Interne

An investigation of smartphone applications: Exploring usability aspects related to wireless personal area networks, context-awareness, and remote information access

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.In this thesis we look into usability in the context of smartphone applications. We selected three research areas to investigate, namely Wireless Personal Area Networks, Context-awareness, and Remote Information Access. These areas are investigated through a series of experiments, which focuses on important aspects of usability within software applications. Additionally, we mainly use smartphone devices in the experiments. In experiment 1, Multi-Platform Bluetooth Remote Control, we investigated Wireless Personal Area Networks. Specifically, we implemented a system consisting of two clients, which were created for Java ME and Windows Mobile, and integrated with a server application installed on a Bluetooth-enabled laptop. For experiments 2 and 3, Context-aware Meeting Room and PainDroid: an Android Application for Pain Management, we looked closely at the research area of Contextawareness. The Context-aware Meeting Room was created to automatically send meeting participants useful meeting notes during presentations. In experiment 3, we investigated the use of on-device sensors for the Android platform, providing an additional input mechanism for a pain management application, where the accelerometer and magnetometer were used. Finally, the last research area we investigated was Remote Information Access, where we conducted experiment 4, Customised Android Home Screen. We created a system that integrated both a cloud-based server application and a mobile client running on the Android platform. We used the cloud-computing platform to provide context management features, such as the ability to store the user configuration that was automatically pushed to the mobile devices

Designing physical-digital artefacts for the public realm

The exploration of new types of everyday interactions enabled by the increasing integration of digital technologies with the physical world is a major research direction for interaction design research (Dourish, 2004), and a focus on materials and materiality is also of growing significance, e.g.: Internet of Things; interactive architecture; the intersection of craft and technology. Increasingly, designer-researchers from a range of material-focused creative design disciplines are starting to address these themes. Previous studies indicate that new approaches, methods and concepts are required to investigate the evolving field of physical-digital synthesis in the built environment. Addressing this, the thesis asks one central question: What resources for design research can help practitioners and researchers from multiple creative design disciplines improve the design of physical-digital artefacts located in the public realm? A detailed Scoping Study explored experimental research methods for this thesis and produced an overview of physical-digital artefacts in outdoor public space. This scoping influenced the subsequent research: an in-depth field study of the design culture and practices of fifty material-focused designer-researchers; four case studies of physical-digital artefacts in outdoor public spaces; a formative creative design workshop with fourteen participants to test the findings from the research. The chief contribution of this thesis to interaction design research is the development of two resources for design research (the Experiential Framework and the Conceptual Materials for Design Research) and the practical application of these new tools as a method for design research in a simulated ‘real-world’ creative workshop setting. Both resources are intended to co-exist and be integrated with established design research methods and emerging approaches. Hence, the outputs from this thesis are intended to support designer-researchers from a range of creative design backgrounds to conceptualise and design physical-digital artefacts for urban outdoor public spaces that provide richer interaction paradigms for future city dwellers

Understanding Technology Decision Making

Recent innovations have integrated information and communication technology (ICT) into the fabric of people’s daily lives. Wireless technology, with its constant presence and transcendence of geographical boundaries, has profoundly influenced people’s behavior and the consumption of technology and related services. During the past few years, wireless technologies have shifted from simple devices offering mobile phone calling to multipurpose devices that incorporate the capabilities of other devices. The multiple uses of these devices, coupled with the blurring of the work-home and utilitarianhedonic technology, creates the need for a new understanding of technology adoption and use...

Abordagem crítica de robótica educacional: Àlvaro Vieira Pinto e estudos de ciência, tecnologia e sociedade

With purpose of stimulate one critical and conscientious education while the computation tends to ubiquity, this text proposes that robotics at schools observes social and engaged questions about technology, like the opening of black boxes and more visibility of objects from the point of view of the conscious and active contact with the devices and components that pervades the actual environments. To this end, this dissertation discusses a critical view of use of devices for educational purposes, especially of free resources here considered more suitable for the open view of technology than those with purely commercial objectives. This paper presents elements inspired by works of the philosopher Álvaro Vieira Pinto, by Studies of Science, Technology and Society and by other authours traditionally associated with educational robotics. This paper discusses critically the educational robotics and, in a general level, the use of technological artifacts in education. Considering that there are free and open elements suitable for the practice of robotics in schools, this work prefers conceptual discussions to stimulate a critical, engaged, less alienated view about the devices used in education.Com propósito de estimular uma educação consciente e critica enquanto a computação ruma à ubiquidade, propõe-se que a robótica nas escolas observe questões sociais e engajadas sobre tecnologia, da abertura da caixa-preta e da maior visibilidade dos objetos a partir da experiência de contato ativo e consciente com o aparelho e componentes que pervadem os ambientes da atualidade. Para este fim, discute-se nesta dissertação uma visão crítica de uso de aparatos com finalidade educacional, especialmente de recursos livres, aqui considerados mais adequados para a visão aberta de tecnologia do que aqueles com objetivos meramente comerciais. Apresentam-se elementos inspirados em obras do filósofo Álvaro Vieira Pinto, em estudos em Ciência, Tecnologia e Sociedade e em outros autores tradicionalmente ligados à robótica educacional. O trabalho discute criticamente a robótica educacional e, em um nível geral, o uso de artefatos tecnológicos na educação. Por considerar que há elementos livres e abertos adequados para a prática de robótica nas escolas, prima por discussões conceituais a fim de estimular uma visão crítica, engajada e menos alienada sobre os dispositivos utilizados na Educação

An investigation of smartphone applications : exploring usability aspects related to wireless personal area networks, context-awareness, and remote information access

In this thesis we look into usability in the context of smartphone applications. We selected three research areas to investigate, namely Wireless Personal Area Networks, Context-awareness, and Remote Information Access. These areas are investigated through a series of experiments, which focuses on important aspects of usability within software applications. Additionally, we mainly use smartphone devices in the experiments. In experiment 1, Multi-Platform Bluetooth Remote Control, we investigated Wireless Personal Area Networks. Specifically, we implemented a system consisting of two clients, which were created for Java ME and Windows Mobile, and integrated with a server application installed on a Bluetooth-enabled laptop. For experiments 2 and 3, Context-aware Meeting Room and PainDroid: an Android Application for Pain Management, we looked closely at the research area of Contextawareness. The Context-aware Meeting Room was created to automatically send meeting participants useful meeting notes during presentations. In experiment 3, we investigated the use of on-device sensors for the Android platform, providing an additional input mechanism for a pain management application, where the accelerometer and magnetometer were used. Finally, the last research area we investigated was Remote Information Access, where we conducted experiment 4, Customised Android Home Screen. We created a system that integrated both a cloud-based server application and a mobile client running on the Android platform. We used the cloud-computing platform to provide context management features, such as the ability to store the user configuration that was automatically pushed to the mobile devices.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

An investigation of smartphone applications : exploring usability aspects related to wireless personal area networks, context-awareness, and remote information access

In this thesis we look into usability in the context of smartphone applications. We selected three research areas to investigate, namely Wireless Personal Area Networks, Context-awareness, and Remote Information Access. These areas are investigated through a series of experiments, which focuses on important aspects of usability within software applications. Additionally, we mainly use smartphone devices in the experiments. In experiment 1, Multi-Platform Bluetooth Remote Control, we investigated Wireless Personal Area Networks. Specifically, we implemented a system consisting of two clients, which were created for Java ME and Windows Mobile, and integrated with a server application installed on a Bluetooth-enabled laptop. For experiments 2 and 3, Context-aware Meeting Room and PainDroid: an Android Application for Pain Management, we looked closely at the research area of Contextawareness. The Context-aware Meeting Room was created to automatically send meeting participants useful meeting notes during presentations. In experiment 3, we investigated the use of on-device sensors for the Android platform, providing an additional input mechanism for a pain management application, where the accelerometer and magnetometer were used. Finally, the last research area we investigated was Remote Information Access, where we conducted experiment 4, Customised Android Home Screen. We created a system that integrated both a cloud-based server application and a mobile client running on the Android platform. We used the cloud-computing platform to provide context management features, such as the ability to store the user configuration that was automatically pushed to the mobile devices.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Making ubiquitous computing available

This article explores a new way of thinking about how computing artifacts can assist us in living.  The field of ubiquitous computing was inspired by Mark Weiser\u27s vision of computing artifacts that disappear. “They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it.” Although Weiser cautioned that achieving the vision of ubiquitous computing would require a new way of thinking about computers, that takes into account the natural human environment, to date no one has articulated this new way of thinking.  Here, we address this gap, making the argument that ubiquitous computing artifacts need to be physically and cognitively available. We show what this means in practice, translating our conceptual findings into principles for design. Examples and a specific application scenario show how ubiquitous computing that depends on these principles is both physically and cognitively available, seamlessly supporting living