A nonuniform popularity-similarity optimization (nPSO) model to efficiently generate realistic complex networks with communities

The hidden metric space behind complex network topologies is a fervid topic in current network science and the hyperbolic space is one of the most studied, because it seems associated to the structural organization of many real complex systems. The Popularity-Similarity-Optimization (PSO) model simulates how random geometric graphs grow in the hyperbolic space, reproducing strong clustering and scale-free degree distribution, however it misses to reproduce an important feature of real complex networks, which is the community organization. The Geometrical-Preferential-Attachment (GPA) model was recently developed to confer to the PSO also a community structure, which is obtained by forcing different angular regions of the hyperbolic disk to have variable level of attractiveness. However, the number and size of the communities cannot be explicitly controlled in the GPA, which is a clear limitation for real applications. Here, we introduce the nonuniform PSO (nPSO) model that, differently from GPA, forces heterogeneous angular node attractiveness by sampling the angular coordinates from a tailored nonuniform probability distribution, for instance a mixture of Gaussians. The nPSO differs from GPA in other three aspects: it allows to explicitly fix the number and size of communities; it allows to tune their mixing property through the network temperature; it is efficient to generate networks with high clustering. After several tests we propose the nPSO as a valid and efficient model to generate networks with communities in the hyperbolic space, which can be adopted as a realistic benchmark for different tasks such as community detection and link prediction

Music, skill and artifact: The Pursuit of physical opportunities

As a musician being faced with the option to create music on a primarily digital and intangible level, I found this new digital experience to be problematic when compared to the experience of playing a physical instrument. This thesis explores this idea on a macro scale extending it to examine our everyday lives and the effects technology in the digital age have had upon us specifically in the United States. We live in a country where our jobs primarily involve sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Having once worked on farms or made a living as a craftsperson, we now find ourselves confined to cubicles or offices. Because of these shifts in both our work and home environments, we have now have fewer physical opportunities, that is, specifically the opportunities to discover, practice and use skill in a physical manner. Seeing how the advent of digitization has threatened to remove physical opportunities from our lives, including the physical experience of playing music, this thesis explores the possibility that these experiences can be brought back by incorporating them into furniture. I define criteria from my experience as a musician and apply that criteria to furniture, creating seating that incorporates physical skill as part of the experience

Phrasing Bimanual Interaction for Visual Design

Architects and other visual thinkers create external representations of their ideas to support early-stage design. They compose visual imagery with sketching to form abstract diagrams as representations. When working with digital media, they apply various visual operations to transform representations, often engaging in complex sequences. This research investigates how to build interactive capabilities to support designers in putting together, that is phrasing, sequences of operations using both hands. In particular, we examine how phrasing interactions with pen and multi-touch input can support modal switching among different visual operations that in many commercial design tools require using menus and tool palettes—techniques originally designed for the mouse, not pen and touch. We develop an interactive bimanual pen+touch diagramming environment and study its use in landscape architecture design studio education. We observe interesting forms of interaction that emerge, and how our bimanual interaction techniques support visual design processes. Based on the needs of architects, we develop LayerFish, a new bimanual technique for layering overlapping content. We conduct a controlled experiment to evaluate its efficacy. We explore the use of wearables to identify which user, and distinguish what hand, is touching to support phrasing together direct-touch interactions on large displays. From design and development of the environment and both field and controlled studies, we derive a set methods, based upon human bimanual specialization theory, for phrasing modal operations through bimanual interactions without menus or tool palettes

Automation and Control

Advances in automation and control today cover many areas of technology where human input is minimized. This book discusses numerous types and applications of automation and control. Chapters address topics such as building information modeling (BIM)–based automated code compliance checking (ACCC), control algorithms useful for military operations and video games, rescue competitions using unmanned aerial-ground robots, and stochastic control systems

Management and display of four-dimensional environmental data sets using McIDAS

Over the past four years, great strides have been made in the areas of data management and display of 4-D meteorological data sets. A survey was conducted of available and planned 4-D meteorological data sources. The data types were evaluated for their impact on the data management and display system. The requirements were analyzed for data base management generated by the 4-D data display system. The suitability of the existing data base management procedures and file structure were evaluated in light of the new requirements. Where needed, new data base management tools and file procedures were designed and implemented. The quality of the basic 4-D data sets was assured. The interpolation and extrapolation techniques of the 4-D data were investigated. The 4-D data from various sources were combined to make a uniform and consistent data set for display purposes. Data display software was designed to create abstract line graphic 3-D displays. Realistic shaded 3-D displays were created. Animation routines for these displays were developed in order to produce a dynamic 4-D presentation. A prototype dynamic color stereo workstation was implemented. A computer functional design specification was produced based on interactive studies and user feedback

Embodied Cognition and Perception: Dewey, Science and Skepticism

This article examines how Modern theories of mind remain even in some materialistic and hence ontologically anti-dualistic views; and shows how Dewey, anticipating Merleau-Ponty and 4E cognitive scientists, repudiates these theories. Throughout I place Dewey’s thought in the context of scientific inquiry, both recent and historical and including the cognitive as well as traditional sciences; and I show how he incorporated sciences of his day into his thought, while also anticipating enactive cognitive science. While emphasizing Dewey’s continued relevance, my main goal is to show how his scientifically informed account of perception and cognition combats skepticism propagated by certain scientific visions, exacerbated by commonplace notions about mind, that jointly suggest that human beings lack genuine access to reality

Paraglide: Interactive Parameter Space Partitioning for Computer Simulations

In this paper we introduce paraglide, a visualization system designed for interactive exploration of parameter spaces of multi-variate simulation models. To get the right parameter configuration, model developers frequently have to go back and forth between setting parameters and qualitatively judging the outcomes of their model. During this process, they build up a grounded understanding of the parameter effects in order to pick the right setting. Current state-of-the-art tools and practices, however, fail to provide a systematic way of exploring these parameter spaces, making informed decisions about parameter settings a tedious and workload-intensive task. Paraglide endeavors to overcome this shortcoming by assisting the sampling of the parameter space and the discovery of qualitatively different model outcomes. This results in a decomposition of the model parameter space into regions of distinct behaviour. We developed paraglide in close collaboration with experts from three different domains, who all were involved in developing new models for their domain. We first analyzed current practices of six domain experts and derived a set of design requirements, then engaged in a longitudinal user-centered design process, and finally conducted three in-depth case studies underlining the usefulness of our approach