Deaf, Dumb, and Chatting Robots, Enabling Distributed Computation and Fault-Tolerance Among Stigmergic Robot

We investigate ways for the exchange of information (explicit communication) among deaf and dumb mobile robots scattered in the plane. We introduce the use of movement-signals (analogously to flight signals and bees waggle) as a mean to transfer messages, enabling the use of distributed algorithms among the robots. We propose one-to-one deterministic movement protocols that implement explicit communication. We first present protocols for synchronous robots. We begin with a very simple coding protocol for two robots. Based on on this protocol, we provide one-to-one communication for any system of n \geq 2 robots equipped with observable IDs that agree on a common direction (sense of direction). We then propose two solutions enabling one-to-one communication among anonymous robots. Since the robots are devoid of observable IDs, both protocols build recognition mechanisms using the (weak) capabilities offered to the robots. The first protocol assumes that the robots agree on a common direction and a common handedness (chirality), while the second protocol assumes chirality only. Next, we show how the movements of robots can provide implicit acknowledgments in asynchronous systems. We use this result to design asynchronous one-to-one communication with two robots only. Finally, we combine this solution with the schemes developed in synchronous settings to fit the general case of asynchronous one-to-one communication among any number of robots. Our protocols enable the use of distributing algorithms based on message exchanges among swarms of Stigmergic robots. Furthermore, they provides robots equipped with means of communication to overcome faults of their communication device

Music as Communication: A Rhetorical Perspective Based on Susanne Langer\u27s Theory of Aesthetic Symbolism

The purpose of this dissertation is to create a rhetorical perspective by which to understand and analyze music as aesthetic communication. Specifically, this study extends Susanne Langer\u27s theory of aesthetic symbolism as it relates to music as a mode of communication. Once the rhetorical perspective for analyzing music as communication has been depicted, the perspective is operationalized to analyze music from two contemporary social movements in the United States. The music analyzed in this dissertation comes from the Neo-Nazi Skinhead movement and the New Age movement. By approaching music as aesthetic communication in this way, the reader is able to determine how music can communicate, as well as how it is used as a mode of communication in these two social movements. Further, the value of this rhetorical perspective as a means by which to understand and analyze music as communication is ascertained. Several conclusions may be drawn from this study. First, this study furthers the inquiry offered in existing literature with regard to analyzing music as communication. By approaching the procedure from an aesthetic perspective, this dissertation provides a means by which to analyze music as it may communicate using both lyrical content and musical score, as well as how music can communicate without lyrical content. In addition, based on the data in this dissertation, this author confirms the ideas presented in the existing literature that music communicates for social movements. Finally, this author concludes that music does communicate for the Neo-Nazi Skinhead movement and for the New Age movement

Impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on construction projects

The changing face of construction projects has resulted in a movement towards the use of technology as a primary means of communication. The consequences of this rise in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) is a loss of interpersonal communication skills. A number of resulting issues within the human – electronic and human – human interfaces are identified in an attempt to define the efficiency of communication in projects. The research shows how ICT effects the social environment of construction project teams and the project outcome. The study seeks to confirm the need for further work in order to develop new forms of communication protocols and behaviour. An initial literature review was undertaken to develop a theoretical review of the impacts of ICT on construction project teams. This review identified a number of issues that were then tested in the field through an observation and two verification interviews. The research confirms the existence of tensions and conflicts in the human – electronic and human - human communication interfaces within the studies environment. It is proposed that the increasing use of ICT occur at the expense of soft system communication. The principal impact of this is a form of ‘human distraction’ which adversely affects the performance of project teams. There is limited theory exploring these issues that suggests the problems identified are not well understood and consequently indicates a gap in knowledge

Social Media and Civil Society in the Governor’s Election of North Sumatera 2018

The phenomenon of democratization, civil society and the use of social media in North Sumatra found its momentum in the North Sumatra Gubernatorial Election (Pilkada) 2018. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method by presenting descriptive data about the civil society movement that uses social media in the North Sumatra Gubernatorial Election. The results of the research show that the emergence of functional civil society movement has given different colors to local politics in North Sumatra. The movement that served as a means of channeling the community’s aspirations, has become a driving factor for the victory of one of the candidates for North Sumatra governor in 2018. The use of social media as a means of interaction, communication, and information forms a pattern in new social movement

Bridging the Gap: Using the Body as a Conduit within Dance/Movement Therapy to Enhance Holistic and Integrative Development in Early Childhood

This paper presents development and learning in early childhood as a fully integrated and embodied experience, which is available for use in dance/movement therapy to help pre-school aged children bridge the gap between non-verbal expression and verbal communication. Cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of intelligence begin to accumulate in infancy by physically interacting with the environment. These interactions are enacted and refined through developmental patterns of movement and expression that have been laid out in the frameworks of the Kestenberg Movement Profile, Body-Mind Centering, Laban Movement Analysis, and Bartenieff Fundamentals. The wealth of knowledge, which is accumulated through bodily sensations and interactions with the environment and is initially non-verbal, becomes the foundation for communication with self and others. The gap to be bridged pertains to the transition from the non-verbal and embodied means of growth, learning, and communication of the first three years of life to the verbal manner of expression and learning utilized in formal education. Dance/movement therapy is a modality that taps into embodied knowledge. It can help young children to cognitively understand their emotional experiences in social contexts through the exploration of their movement patterns and rhythms, which express needs to themselves and others non-verbally. Once a child understands, and can verbalize their embodied experience, dance/movement therapy then offers a chance to practice using their words to communicate these thoughts, feelings, and needs more effectively through verbal means

Rhetorical Invention, Leadership, And Dialogue: Dorothy Day\u27s Extemporaneous Encounters

Dorothy Day, the co-founder and pragmatic leader of The Catholic Worker Movement, delivered extemporaneous speeches from the inception of the movement in 1933 until her death in 1980. Selected digitized, archival copies of her public discourse are analyzed for the first time through a newly developed framework for rhetorical communication and leadership entitledEncounter Rhetoric. A hybrid model synthesizing the theory of invitational rhetoric, transformational leadership theory, and social movement theory is developed and employed to conduct a critical analysis of 17 speeches delivered by Day between 1958 and 1975. This analysis reveals the rhetorical strategies employed by Day as a social movement leader. The framework is comprised of five constructs: (1.) principled persuasion as an ethical means to communicate and to lead, (2.) unconditional regard for the value of process, mutuality, and voice, (3.) tentativeness in understanding and concluding, (4.) acknowledgment of paradox in perceptions and conditions, and (5.) collaborative action. These constructs inform Dorothy Day\u27s charismatic eloquence and leadership. Even as a self-admitted apprehensive speaker, Dorothy Day\u27s public discourse reveals The Catholic Worker Movement\u27s communication strategy as well as a discernible format for extemporaneous dialogical exchange. As an analytical framework and as a rubric for communication practitioners and leaders in other settings, encounter rhetoric is offered as a means for dismantling binary positions and potentially providing relief to otherwise marginalized voices and communities. In addition, the potential relevance of the framework is considered in relation to new and social media, including reflections upon those parties unwilling or unable to respectfully or safely engage in encounters of mutual regard. The usefulness of encounter rhetoric may be further considered as a tool for analyzing the rhetorical acumen of communicators as leaders and leaders as communicators, especially those orators, reluctant or charismatic, who traditionally have not been included as subjects for study in academic scholarship

Developing non-verbal ways of knowing in dance: Collaborative school / university action research.

Gardner (1983, 1993) has long argued that education privileges certain intelligences, primarily the linguistic and the logical-mathematical. As the arts tend to emphasise ways of knowing outside these intelligences, their marginalised status is exacerbated. A recent two-year project in eight primary schools on dance, drama, music and visual art found that the non-verbal aspects of each art form warranted serious attention to investigate what it means to learn in the arts. In this paper we describe and discuss the results of an aspect of action research in dance from this larger research project. We demonstrate how movement can be used as the primary expressive mode of communication, as opposed to privileging the spoken word. Through the use of powerpoint and video, we provide an intriguing and innovative model for providing non-verbal feedback and feed forward in the dance classroom

Internet, Identity and Islamic Movements: The Case of Salafi Movement in Indonesia

The revolution of information and communication technology has transformed the world into different shape, including Muslim world. This technology in the form of internet does not merely have the democratizing potential for Muslim world, but also has created a new public sphere and new Islamic authority. This paper discusses the role of internet as played by Muslim religious movement, especially Salafism in Indonesia. Using textual analysis of data collected from their websites, this article argues that the internet as modern technology of information and communication has helped Salafism rise to the public to show their ideological and doctrinal stances as well as to challenge their enemies such as Liberal Islam Network (Jaringan Islam Liberat), Shiah, and so on. Through the internet too, this movement respond to such contemporary issues as terrorism, earthquake and others. This means that although orthodox in doctrine and attitude, this movement can benefit from the internet very much for its missionary purposes

Monitoring functional arm movement for home-based therapy after stroke.

The goal of this project is to develop a means for individuals with stroke to practice arm movement therapy at home with remote monitoring. We previously developed a Web-based system for repetitive movement training (Java Therapy). This paper describes a new input device for the system that measures and assists in naturalistic arm movement, as well as software enhancements. The new input device is an instrumented, adult-sized version of Wilmington robotic exoskeleton (WREX), which is a five degrees-of-freedom orthosis that counterbalances the weight of the arm using elastic bands. To test the ability of the new device (Training-WREX or "T-WREX") to measure and assist in functional arm movements, we measured five chronic stroke subjects' movement ability while wearing the orthosis without gravity balance compared to wearing the orthosis with gravity balance. T-WREX's gravity balance function improved a clinical measure of arm movement (Fugl-Meyer Score), range of motion of reaching movements, and accuracy of drawing movements. Coupled with an enhanced version of Java Therapy, T-WREX will thus provide a means to assist functional arm movement training at home, either over the Web in real-time, or stand-alone with periodic communication with a remote site

Physical ability of the individual as a needed market factor in the European Union

According to the criterion of physical ability any state considers a person as a source of wealth and economic growth, industry and economic sector – as a personification of productive power and profit, and business – as a resource for productive activities and super income. Such a perception of an individual implies the existence of his three constituents, namely: the function of movement, the means of exchange activity, and, finally, the complex of motives to join the interaction environment and the development environment. These constituents also define the motion trajectory of an individual who is involved in the reproductive process, and the result of such a movement expected by the society. At all stages of movement of an individual there are different environments which have leading value for him, such as education, family growth and bringing up, physical training and sport, communication and interaction which develop desire for learning, curiosity, inquisitiveness and other qualities. To trace the emergence of an individual as the product of bringing up, education, and activities, we have to examine the overall situation and the target system environment, which contributes to the development of physical abilities. The systems of physical education and development of physical abilities take the leading part in this environment; more and more people in post industrial society of our planet pay attention to these issues. However, many of the conceptual basics and the position of the perception of these systems and their significance for the individual, who has his own spiritual and cultural values, their role in providing vital activities are not studied enough yet. For example, a person’s entering into the environment of sports activities, which is based on his physical abilities, at any age transfers him into a group of factors of productive forces of the society and an individual becomes a business object