First GIS analysis of modern stone tools used by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Bossou, Guinea, West Africa

Stone tool use by wild chimpanzees of West Africa offers a unique opportunity to explore the evolutionary roots of technology during human evolution. However, detailed analyses of chimpanzee stone artifacts are still lacking, thus precluding a comparison with the earliest archaeological record. This paper presents the first systematic study of stone tools used by wild chimpanzees to crack open nuts in Bossou (Guinea-Conakry), and applies pioneering analytical techniques to such artifacts. Automatic morphometric GIS classification enabled to create maps of use wear over the stone tools (anvils, hammers, and hammers/anvils), which were blind tested with GIS spatial analysis of damage patterns identified visually. Our analysis shows that chimpanzee stone tool use wear can be systematized and specific damage patterns discerned, allowing to discriminate between active and passive pounders in lithic assemblages. In summary, our results demonstrate the heuristic potential of combined suites of GIS techniques for the analysis of battered artifacts, and have enabled creating a referential framework of analysis in which wild chimpanzee battered tools can for the first time be directly compared to the early archaeological record.Leverhulme Trust [IN-052]; MEXT [20002001, 24000001]; JSPS-U04-PWS; FCT-Portugal [SFRH/BD/36169/2007]; Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Researc

An eMath Teacher TOOL for ACTIVE LEARNING FLEURY'S ALGORITHM

An eMathTeacher [Sánchez-Torrubia 2007a] is an eLearning on line self assessment tool that help students to active learning math algorithms by themselves, correcting their mistakes and providing them with clues to find the right solution. The tool presented in this paper is an example of this new concept on Computer Aided Instruction (CAI) resources and has been implemented as a Java applet and designed as an auxiliary instrument for both classroom teaching and individual practicing of Fleury’s algorithm. This tool, included within a set of eMathTeacher tools, has been designed as educational complement of Graph Algorithm active learning for first course students. Its characteristics of visualization, simplicity and interactivity, make this tutorial a great value pedagogical instrument

GPU Accelerated Particle Visualization with Splotch

Splotch is a rendering algorithm for exploration and visual discovery in particle-based datasets coming from astronomical observations or numerical simulations. The strengths of the approach are production of high quality imagery and support for very large-scale datasets through an effective mix of the OpenMP and MPI parallel programming paradigms. This article reports our experiences in re-designing Splotch for exploiting emerging HPC architectures nowadays increasingly populated with GPUs. A performance model is introduced for data transfers, computations and memory access, to guide our re-factoring of Splotch. A number of parallelization issues are discussed, in particular relating to race conditions and workload balancing, towards achieving optimal performances. Our implementation was accomplished by using the CUDA programming paradigm. Our strategy is founded on novel schemes achieving optimized data organisation and classification of particles. We deploy a reference simulation to present performance results on acceleration gains and scalability. We finally outline our vision for future work developments including possibilities for further optimisations and exploitation of emerging technologies.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures. Astronomy and Computing (2014

A Colour Design Tool Based on Empirical Studies

A colour design tool targeted at both unskilled consumers and professional designers is currently under development, on the basis of psychophysical studies into semantic associations of colour, the cultural influences and colour harmony. From experimental results for single-colour associations, 3 underlying factors were identified: “warm-cool”, “heavy-light” and “active-passive”, which were found to agree well with those identified by earlier research. For colour-combination associations, an “additive property” of colour association was discovered: the semantic score of a colour combination can be determined by averaging semantic scores of each constituent colour in that combination. According to the experimental results, there were 4 general patterns of colour harmony: similarity in hue and chroma, difference in lightness, high lightness and the hue effects. While the proposed colour design tool is still in its development stage and has a number of shortcomings, the system is believed to provide practical assistance and support not only for unskilled users but also for designers. Keywords: colour design; colour harmony; colour association; cross-cultural study; e-shopping; colour decision-making; design process; psychophysical method</p

Teaching Cartography with Comics: Some Examples from BeccoGiallo\u2019s Graphic Novel Series

This article suggests the use of comics, particularly of graphic novels, as valuable instructional tools for teaching cartography. Of particular interest is the idea that comics can be used to develop students\u2019 geographical competencies, their ability to think actively about cartographical issues, and their capacity to interact with \u201cmaps as mappings\u201d (Dodge, Kitchin and Perkins, 2009). The theoretical references used to conduct the deep interdisciplinary proposal and analysis include: the growing field of literary cartography, recent post-representational theories in cartography, and the emerging field of \u201ccomic book geography\u201d (Dittmer, 2014). The article reads comics as maps and analyzes their map-like features to demonstrate that both maps and comics ask the reader-user to be actively engaged to decipher, orient, and practice them. Proposing to read \u201cmaps as comics\u201d, \u201cmaps of comics\u201d, \u201cmaps and mappings in comics\u201d, and \u201ccomics as maps and mappings\u201d, the article suggests the possible practical employment of comics in cartography classes. Furthermore, this study uses examples from BeccoGiallo\u2019s comic series to demonstrate that graphic novels may help students become more aware map readers and users, by being involved in an active spatial practice. Finally, this article focuses on the unexplored educational potential of graphic novels by exploring the improvement of students\u2019 understanding of post-representational cartographical approaches through comic use

Museum Experience Design: A Modern Storytelling Methodology

In this paper we propose a new direction for design, in the context of the theme “Next Digital Technologies in Arts and Culture”, by employing modern methods based on Interaction Design, Interactive Storytelling and Artificial Intelligence. Focusing on Cultural Heritage, we propose a new paradigm for Museum Experience Design, facilitating on the one hand traditional visual and multimedia communication and, on the other, a new type of interaction with artefacts, in the form of a Storytelling Experience. Museums are increasingly being transformed into hybrid spaces, where virtual (digital) information coexists with tangible artefacts. In this context, “Next Digital Technologies” play a new role, providing methods to increase cultural accessibility and enhance experience. Not only is the goal to convey stories hidden inside artefacts, as well as items or objects connected to them, but it is also to pave the way for the creation of new ones through an interactive museum experience that continues after the museum visit ends. Social sharing, in particular, can greatly increase the value of dissemination

A Study of the Role of Visual Information in Supporting Ideation in Graphic Design

Existing computer technologies poorly support the ideation phase common to graphic design practice. Finding and indexing visual material to assist the process of ideation often fall on the designer, leading to user experiences that are less than ideal. To inform development of computer systems to assist graphic designers in the ideation phase of the design process, we conducted interviews with 15 professional graphic designers about their design process and visual information needs. Based on the study, we propose a set of requirements for an ideation-support system for graphic design