The Visual Exploration of Insurance Data in Google Earth

Visualisation and geovisualisation techniques can both complement and help communicate the results of GIS and other analyses in the exploration of multivariate datasets and may provide insights and solutions for managing exposure and potential loss. Graphical techniques and the use of geobrowsers such as Google Earth are also being used in a communicative role to engage a variety of different audiences within insurance companies with information about policies, exposure and potential losses. In this paper, we focus on one particular geo-browser, Google Earth, which provides access to a rich array of datasets including aerial imagery, roads, administrative boundaries and photographs and, importantly, allows additional data to be added through the welldocumented KML format

Voice-Controlled In-Vehicle Systems: Effects of Voice-Recognition Accuracy in the Presence of Background Noise

This paper presents initial findings from a driving simulator studyThis paper presents initial findings from a driving simulator studycomparing user responses to a noise-robust voice-controlled system while drivingto a noise-sensitive one in the presence of background noise. Twenty participantsinteracted with both noise-sensitive and noise-robust simulated voice-controlledinfotainment systems while driving under three background noise conditions (nonoise, music, and children). While both systems were viewed as useful andsatisfying, user acceptance was affected by background noise with the noisesensitivesystem, but not the noise-robust one. There was also no evidence that useracceptance was calibrated by having background noise as a context for varyinglevels of accuracy. No significant differences were observed between the twosystems in driving performance metrics analyzed (average speed, speed variability,and standard deviation of lane position), but the use of either system affecteddriving performance compared to baseline driving. A larger sample size at the endof this study along with the analysis of a larger set of performance metrics willprovide further insights

Northern Sparks

An “episode of light” in Canada sparked by Expo 67 when new art forms, innovative technologies, and novel institutional and policy frameworks emerged together. Understanding how experimental art catalyzes technological innovation is often prized yet typically reduced to the magic formula of “creativity.” In Northern Sparks, Michael Century emphasizes the role of policy and institutions by showing how novel art forms and media technologies in Canada emerged during a period of political and social reinvention, starting in the 1960s with the energies unleashed by Expo 67. Debunking conventional wisdom, Century reclaims innovation from both its present-day devotees and detractors by revealing how experimental artists critically challenge as well as discover and extend the capacities of new technologies. Century offers a series of detailed cross-media case studies that illustrate the cross-fertilization of art, technology, and policy. These cases span animation, music, sound art and acoustic ecology, cybernetic cinema, interactive installation art, virtual reality, telecommunications art, software applications, and the emergent metadiscipline of human-computer interaction. They include Norman McLaren's “proto-computational” film animations; projects in which the computer itself became an agent, as in computer-aided musical composition and choreography; an ill-fated government foray into interactive networking, the videotext system Telidon; and the beginnings of virtual reality at the Banff Centre. Century shows how Canadian artists approached new media technologies as malleable creative materials, while Canada undertook a political reinvention alongside its centennial celebrations. Northern Sparks offers a uniquely nuanced account of innovation in art and technology illuminated by critical policy analysis

Weather and Climate Information for Tourism

The tourism sector is one of the largest and fastest growing global industries and is a significant contributor to national and local economies around the world. The interface between climate and tourism is multifaceted and complex, as climate represents both a vital resource to be exploited and an important limiting factor that poses risks to be managed by the tourism industry and tourists alike. All tourism destinations and operators are climate-sensitive to a degree and climate is a key influence on travel planning and the travel experience. This chapter provides a synopsis of the capacities and needs for climate services in the tourism sector, including current and emerging applications of climate services by diverse tourism end-users, and a discussion of key knowledge gaps, research and capacity-building needs and partnerships that are required to accelerate the application of climate information to manage risks to climate variability and facilitate successful adaptation to climate change

Weather and Climate Information for Tourism

The tourism sector is one of the largest and fastest growing global industries and is a significant contributor to national and local economies around the world. The interface between climate and tourism is multifaceted and complex, as climate represents both a vital resource to be exploited and an important limiting factor that poses risks to be managed by the tourism industry and tourists alike. All tourism destinations and operators are climate-sensitive to a degree and climate is a key influence on travel planning and the travel experience. This chapter provides a synopsis of the capacities and needs for climate services in the tourism sector, including current and emerging applications of climate services by diverse tourism end-users, and a discussion of key knowledge gaps, research and capacity-building needs and partnerships that are required to accelerate the application of climate information to manage risks to climate variability and facilitate successful adaptation to climate change

Weather and Climate Information for Tourism

The tourism sector is one of the largest and fastest growing global industries and is a significant contributor to national and local economies around the world. The interface between climate and tourism is multifaceted and complex, as climate represents both a vital resource to be exploited and an important limiting factor that poses risks to be managed by the tourism industry and tourists alike. All tourism destinations and operators are climate-sensitive to a degree and climate is a key influence on travel planning and the travel experience. This chapter provides a synopsis of the capacities and needs for climate services in the tourism sector, including current and emerging applications of climate services by diverse tourism end-users, and a discussion of key knowledge gaps, research and capacity-building needs and partnerships that are required to accelerate the application of climate information to manage risks to climate variability and facilitate successful adaptation to climate change

GPU-Based One-Dimensional Convolution for Real-Time Spatial Sound Generation

Incorporating spatialized (3D) sound cues in dynamic and interactive videogames and immersive virtual environment applications is beneficial for a number of reasons, ultimately leading to an increase in presence and immersion. Despite the benefits of spatial sound cues, they are often overlooked in videogames and virtual environments where typically, emphasis is placed on the visual cues. Fundamental to the generation of spatial sound is the one-dimensional convolution operation which is computationally expensive, not lending itself to such real-time, dynamic applications. Driven by the gaming industry and the great emphasis placed on the visual sense, consumer computer graphics hardware, and the graphics processing unit (GPU) in particular, has greatly advanced in recent years, even outperforming the computational capacity of CPUs. This has allowed for real-time, interactive realistic graphics-based applications on typical consumer- level PCs. Given the widespread use and availability of computer graphics hardware and the similarities that exist between the fields of spatial audio and image synthesis, here we describe the development of a GPU-based, one-dimensional convolution algorithm whose efficiency is superior to the conventional CPU-based convolution method. The primary purpose of the developed GPU-based convolution method is the computationally efficient generation of real- time spatial audio for dynamic and interactive videogames and virtual environments

End-user adoption of animated interface agents in everyday work applications

Recognizing the potential contribution that interactive software agents bring to everyday work applications, this paper reports on end-user adoption of animated interface agents in one particular work application environment: Microsoft 1 Office. The paper develops and empirically tests a theoretical model of the factors affecting an end-user’s choice to adopt and utilize such interface agents. From this theoretical model, a survey instrument was adapted and administered to 261 participants, familiar with animated interface agents. Results from a partial least squares (PLS) analysis indicates that a variety of factors are at play, which inhibit or foster a person’s choice to utilize and adopt animated interface agents. Of significance is that: (a) both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment are important influencing factors; (b) users with high scores in innovativeness toward information technology are less likely to find animated interface agents enjoyable; (c) individuals with high animation predisposition scores perceive animated interface agents to be more enjoyable; and (d) users who perceive animated interface agents to be more enjoyable also perceive them to be more useful. Such insights can be used to leverage the introduction and rollout of animated interface agents in everyday work applications in ways that promote their avid adoption and use