Challenges and opportunities of context-aware information access

Ubiquitous computing environments embedding a wide range of pervasive computing technologies provide a challenging and exciting new domain for information access. Individuals working in these environments are increasingly permanently connected to rich information resources. An appealing opportunity of these environments is the potential to deliver useful information to individuals either from their previous information experiences or external sources. This information should enrich their life experiences or make them more effective in their endeavours. Information access in ubiquitous computing environments can be made "context-aware" by exploiting the wide range context data available describing the environment, the searcher and the information itself. Realizing such a vision of reliable, timely and appropriate identification and delivery of information in this way poses numerous challenges. A central theme in achieving context-aware information access is the combination of information retrieval with multiple dimensions of available context data. Potential context data sources, include the user's current task, inputs from environmental and biometric sensors, associated with the user's current context, previous contexts, and document context, which can be exploited using a variety of technologies to create new and exciting possibilities for information access

Mapping Big Data into Knowledge Space with Cognitive Cyber-Infrastructure

Big data research has attracted great attention in science, technology, industry and society. It is developing with the evolving scientific paradigm, the fourth industrial revolution, and the transformational innovation of technologies. However, its nature and fundamental challenge have not been recognized, and its own methodology has not been formed. This paper explores and answers the following questions: What is big data? What are the basic methods for representing, managing and analyzing big data? What is the relationship between big data and knowledge? Can we find a mapping from big data into knowledge space? What kind of infrastructure is required to support not only big data management and analysis but also knowledge discovery, sharing and management? What is the relationship between big data and science paradigm? What is the nature and fundamental challenge of big data computing? A multi-dimensional perspective is presented toward a methodology of big data computing.Comment: 59 page

Finding the way : navigation in hypermedia

If navigation is recognized as a fundamental problem experienced by hypermedia users, then navigation merits further investigation. This review will identify observed navigational problems, suspected causes, and proposed solutions. To investigate the problem, it is necessary to examine methods used to sequence hypermedia components and to identify the various schemes used for navigation. Information resulting from the review of literature will serve as the basis for a project evaluating current multimedia software packages designed to develop reading skills. The findings will also provide the media specialist or professional educator with a framework for evaluation and subsequent utilization of multimedia learning materials. Additionally, the information compiled can serve as a guide to professionals endeavoring to create their own hypermedia materials

Digital Attribution: Copyright and the Right to Credit

In a 1951 article in Science magazine, librarian Ralph Shaw argued that copyright law paid insufficient attention to the attribution interests of authors. Shaw observed that the straightforward pecuniary interests of publishers diverged from the more complex reputation-based interests of authors. He noted how authors and publishers might have differing views regarding the benefits of providing thousands of copies of a work for “free distribution.” Of course, since Shaw had pointed out that no sensible publisher would be interested in giving away such free works, the example he used was fanciful at the time. Today times have changed. The World Wide Web delivers a hyperlinked high-speed information environment that Shaw could not have imagined. Most importantly, just as Shaw predicted, authors are now giving away thousands—even millions—of free “reprints” and realizing what Shaw described as “a great additional profit… in terms of professional credit.” Copyright law, for various reasons, has largely ignored this fact. Shaw\u27s “right to credit” is still as much a fantasy as the World Wide Web was half a century ago. This article takes up Ralph Shaw\u27s call for a right to credit in a new era of networked information systems. Copyright law should be adjusted to take into account the growing importance of open access forms of copyright creation and reputation economies. Prioritizing the legal importance of attribution in copyright is a change that is long overdue. The contemporary digital environment provides an opportunity and an important additional reason to revisit Shaw\u27s salient distinction between the motivations of authors and publishers

A holistic multi-purpose life logging framework

Die Paradigm des Life-Loggings verspricht durch den Vorschlag eines elektronisches Gedächtnisses dem menschlichem Gedächtnis eine komplementäre Assistenz. Life-Logs sind Werkzeuge oder Systeme, die automatisch Ereignisse des Lebens des Benutzers aufnehmen. Im technischem Sinne sind es Systeme, die den Alltag durchdringen und kontinuierlich konzeptuelle Informationen aus der Umgebung des Benutzers erfassen. Teile eines so gesammelten Datensatzes könnten aufbewahrt und für die nächsten Generationen zugänglich gemacht werden. Einige Teile sind es wert zusätzlich auch noch mit der Gesellschaft geteilt zu werden, z.B. in sozialen Netzwerken. Vom Teilen solcher Informationen profitiert sowohl der Benutzer als auch die Gesellschaft, beispielsweise durch die Verbesserung der sozialen Interaktion des Users, das ermöglichen neuer Gruppenverhaltensstudien usw. Anderseits, im Sinne der individuellen Privatsphäre, sind Life-log Informationen sehr sensibel und entsprechender Datenschutz sollte schon beim Design solcher Systeme in Betracht gezogen werden. Momentan sind Life-Logs hauptsächlich für den spezifischen Gebrauch als Gedächtnisstützen vorgesehen. Sie sind konfiguriert um nur mit einem vordefinierten Sensorset zu arbeiten. Das bedeutet sie sind nicht flexibel genug um neue Sensoren zu akzeptieren. Sensoren sind Kernkomponenten von Life-Logs und mit steigender Sensoranzahl wächst auch die Menge der Daten die für die Erfassung verfügbar sind. Zusätzlich bietet die Anordnung von mehreren Sensordaten bessere qualitative und quantitative Informationen über den Status und die Umgebung (Kontext) des Benutzers. Offenheit für Sensoren wirkt sich also sowohl für den User als auch für die Gemeinschaft positiv aus, indem es Potential für multidisziplinnäre Studien bietet. Zum Beispiel können Benutzer Sensoren konfigurieren um ihren Gesundheitszustand in einem gewissen Zeitraum zu überwachen und das System danach ändern um es wieder als Gedächtnisstütze zu verwenden. In dieser Dissertation stelle ich ein Life-Log Framework vor, das offen für die Erweiterung und Konfiguration von Sensoren ist. Die Offenheit und Erweiterbarkeit des Frameworks wird durch eine Sensorklassiffzierung und ein flexibles Model für die Speicherung der Life-Log Informationen unterstützt. Das Framework ermöglicht es den Benützern ihre Life-logs mit anderen zu teilen und unterstützt die notwendigen Merkmale vom Life Logging. Diese beinhalten Informationssuche (durch Annotation), langfristige digitale Erhaltung, digitales Vergessen, Sicherheit und Datenschutz.The paradigm of life-logging promises a complimentary assistance to the human memory by proposing an electronic memory. Life-logs are tools or systems, which automatically record users' life events in digital format. In a technical sense, they are pervasive tools or systems which continuously sense and capture contextual information from the user's environment. A dataset will be created from the collected information and some records of this dataset are worth preserving in the long-term and enable others, in future generations, to access them. Additionally, some parts are worth sharing with society e.g. through social networks. Sharing this information with society benefits both users and society in many ways, such as augmenting users' social interaction, group behavior studies, etc. However, in terms of individual privacy, life-log information is very sensitive and during the design of such a system privacy and security should be taken into account. Currently life-logs are designed for specific purposes such as memory augmentation, but they are not flexible enough to accept new sensors. This means that they have been configured to work only with a predefined set of sensors. Sensors are the core component of life-logs and increasing the number of sensors causes more data to be available for acquisition. Moreover a composition of multiple sensor data provides better qualitative and quantitative information about users' status and their environment (context). On the other hand, sensor openness benefits both users and communities by providing appropriate capabilities for multidisciplinary studies. For instance, users can configure sensors to monitor their health status for a specific period, after which they can change the system to use it for memory augmentation. In this dissertation I propose a life-log framework which is open to extension and configuration of its sensors. Openness and extendibility, which makes the framework holistic and multi-purpose, is supported by a sensor classification and a flexible model for storing life-log information. The framework enables users to share their life-log information and supports required features for life logging. These features include digital forgetting, facilitating information retrieval (through annotation), long-term digital preservation, security and privacy

Virtual Cultural Heritage: Virtual Reality Navigation of Cultural Heritage Environments

With the plethora of digital devices that can provide information about almost anything anywhere the Virtual Cultural Heritage project implements a prototype for the integration of personal computers and o the shelf new media accessories functioning in concert in order to deliver cultural heritage information. The virtual experience is navigated through the use of Microsoft Kinect motion control technology, integrating both gesture recognition and full body control, giving an element of realism and control previously not available in VR simulations. The interactive VR environment explores the possibilities of Le Musee Imaginaire, or the Museum Without Walls. The short-term goal is to draw upon scholarly research in areas of history and archaeological interpretation in order to distribute that knowledge to a general public in a non-traditional, engaging and entertaining manner. The long-range goal is to develop collaborative interdisciplinary projects that explore developing technologies and their new media applications in matters of cultural heritage, education and tourism.M.S., Digital Media -- Drexel University, 201

Self-knowledge through self-tracking devices: design guidelines for usability and a socio-technical examination from posthumanity perspective

The Digital Era introduces emerging product categories that have evolved around certain habits and concepts. One tendency in the Information Age is recording and storing quantitative and qualitative data based on an individual's life by using ubiquitous computing devices. Such products, bringing self-observation and autobiographical memory capabilities to an extreme level, have the potential to morph human beings by augmenting and altering their self-understanding through presenting previously nonexistent information regarding their lives. The diversity found in this product range is increasing parallel to the growing demand. However, the meaning of these products for human life is rarely discussed. It remains a question whether these personal logs lead to an enriched self-knowledge for their users or not. This thesis aims to investigate the design principles and the influences of self-tracking products and services on daily life within a socio-technical framework in order to establish a connection between selftracking by ubiquitous computing devices and the notion of self-concept

Scientific and technological progress. Advantages and disadvantages

The theme under consideration is divided into two parts: The History of Telephone and Innovations in Telephone Communications. In the past, people relied on letters to learn about what was going on in the lives of their friends or family members. The first electrical telegraph was constructed by Sir William Cooke. Another telegraph was developed and patented in the USA in 1837 by Samuel Morse. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/2807

Cooperative innovation in the commons : rethinking distributed collaboration and intellectual property for sustainable design innovation

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-127).Addressing global design challenges in the environment and underserved communities requires a cooperative approach towards sustainable design innovation, one that embraces multidisciplinary expertise, participatory design and rapid dissemination of critical innovations in the field. How can a rural farmer in Botswana cooperatively develop appropriate solutions for his community with external research expertise? How can a doctor in Sao Paulo access a network of medical device companies to help manufacture her design innovation? While there is a great emphasis on large breakthrough R&D innovations, there is often little support for developing and disseminating small-scale, affordable, and locally sustainable designs. The open source phenomenon has been influential in the software community, however distributed collaboration in engineering design requires awareness and sharing of physical artifacts, design tools and working environments as well as novel mechanisms to support social norms, communities of practice, and intellectual property rights for product innovations. ThinkCycle was created as a web-based collaboration platform with tools and shared online spaces for designers, domain experts and stakeholders to discuss, develop and peer-review evolving design solutions in critical domains. Over 2000 users worldwide access and contribute hundreds of concepts, resources, projects and publications on the site. ThinkCycle is emerging as a collaborative platform, open design repository and global community for innovations in sustainable design: http.//www. thinkcycle.org. Studies were conducted on the nature of design interaction, learning and intellectual property emerging from studio courses run at MIT in 2001-2002.(cont.) Cooperative design is best understood when viewed as a "social process", which is better sustained in online settings by peer-review from remote participants. There is a need for lightweight asynchronous interfaces with existing modes of communication like email. Social inquiry into notions of intellectual property reveal a typology of patterns with distinct forms of protection and disclosure, including patents and open source, adopted under different conditions. However, there is much ambiguity and conflict regarding how to deal with cooperative innovations as they evolve from being subpatentable learning experiments to functional and commercially viable solutions with potentially great social impact. The thesis provides a framework within which we can begin to explore these challenges.by Nitin Sawhney.Ph.D

Analytical review of the library of the future

This is the report of a project supported by the Council on Library Resources. The four project objectives are: 1. To identify and retrieve published literature on the library of the future. 2. To formulate document surrogates for this literature and add them to a computerized database. 3. To generate an analytical bibliography of published library of the future literature. And 4. To synthesize literature in the bibliography with a thinkpiece on the library of the future.The Council on Library Resourceshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58006/1/Analytical_review_of_the_library_of_the_future.pd