10,077 research outputs found

    The Metaverse: Survey, Trends, Novel Pipeline Ecosystem & Future Directions

    Full text link
    The Metaverse offers a second world beyond reality, where boundaries are non-existent, and possibilities are endless through engagement and immersive experiences using the virtual reality (VR) technology. Many disciplines can benefit from the advancement of the Metaverse when accurately developed, including the fields of technology, gaming, education, art, and culture. Nevertheless, developing the Metaverse environment to its full potential is an ambiguous task that needs proper guidance and directions. Existing surveys on the Metaverse focus only on a specific aspect and discipline of the Metaverse and lack a holistic view of the entire process. To this end, a more holistic, multi-disciplinary, in-depth, and academic and industry-oriented review is required to provide a thorough study of the Metaverse development pipeline. To address these issues, we present in this survey a novel multi-layered pipeline ecosystem composed of (1) the Metaverse computing, networking, communications and hardware infrastructure, (2) environment digitization, and (3) user interactions. For every layer, we discuss the components that detail the steps of its development. Also, for each of these components, we examine the impact of a set of enabling technologies and empowering domains (e.g., Artificial Intelligence, Security & Privacy, Blockchain, Business, Ethics, and Social) on its advancement. In addition, we explain the importance of these technologies to support decentralization, interoperability, user experiences, interactions, and monetization. Our presented study highlights the existing challenges for each component, followed by research directions and potential solutions. To the best of our knowledge, this survey is the most comprehensive and allows users, scholars, and entrepreneurs to get an in-depth understanding of the Metaverse ecosystem to find their opportunities and potentials for contribution

    Machine Learning Research Trends in Africa: A 30 Years Overview with Bibliometric Analysis Review

    Full text link
    In this paper, a critical bibliometric analysis study is conducted, coupled with an extensive literature survey on recent developments and associated applications in machine learning research with a perspective on Africa. The presented bibliometric analysis study consists of 2761 machine learning-related documents, of which 98% were articles with at least 482 citations published in 903 journals during the past 30 years. Furthermore, the collated documents were retrieved from the Science Citation Index EXPANDED, comprising research publications from 54 African countries between 1993 and 2021. The bibliometric study shows the visualization of the current landscape and future trends in machine learning research and its application to facilitate future collaborative research and knowledge exchange among authors from different research institutions scattered across the African continent

    Bridging technology and educational psychology: an exploration of individual differences in technology-assisted language learning within an Algerian EFL setting

    Get PDF
    The implementation of technology in language learning and teaching has a great influence onthe teaching and learning process as a whole and its impact on the learners’ psychological state seems of paramount significance, since it could be either an aid or a barrier to students’ academic performance. This thesis therefore explores individual learner differences in technology-assisted language learning (TALL) and when using educational technologies in higher education within an Algerian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting. Although I initially intended to investigate the relationship between TALL and certain affective variables mainly motivation, anxiety, self-confidence, and learning styles inside the classroom, the collection and analysis of data shifted my focus to a holistic view of individual learner differences in TALL environments and when using educational technologies within and beyond the classroom. In an attempt to bridge technology and educational psychology, this ethnographic case study considers the nature of the impact of technology integration in language teaching and learning on the psychology of individual language learners inside and outside the classroom. The study considers the reality constructed by participants and reveals multiple and distinctive views about the relationship between the use of educational technologies in higher education and individual learner differences. It took place in a university in the north-west of Algeria and involved 27 main and secondary student and teacher participants. It consisted of focus-group discussions, follow-up discussions, teachers’ interviews, learners’ diaries, observation, and field notes. It was initially conducted within the classroom but gradually expanded to other settings outside the classroom depending on the availability of participants, their actions, and activities. The study indicates that the impact of technology integration in EFL learning on individual learner differences is both complex and dynamic. It is complex in the sense that it is shown in multiple aspects and reflected on the students and their differences. In addition to various positive and different negative influences of different technology uses and the different psychological reactions among students to the same technology scenario, the study reveals the unrecognised different manifestations of similar psychological traits in the same ELT technology scenario. It is also dynamic since it is characterised by constant change according to contextual approaches to and practical realities of technology integration in language teaching and learning in the setting, including discrepancies between students’ attitudes and teacher’ actions, mismatches between technological experiences inside and outside the classroom, local concerns and generalised beliefs about TALL in the context, and the rapid and unplanned shift to online educational delivery during the Covid-19 pandemic situation. The study may therefore be of interest, not only to Algerian teachers and students, but also to academics and institutions in other contexts through considering the complex and dynamic impact of TALL and technology integration at higher education on individual differences, and to academics in similar low-resource contexts by undertaking a context approach to technology integration

    A Case Study Examining Japanese University Students' Digital Literacy and Perceptions of Digital Tools for Academic English learning

    Get PDF
    Current Japanese youth are constantly connected to the Internet and using digital devices, but predominantly for social media and entertainment. According to literature on the Japanese digital native, tertiary students do not—and cannot—use technology with any reasonable fluency, but the likely reasons are rarely addressed. To fill the gap in the literature, this study, by employing a case study methodology, explores students’ experience with technology for English learning through the introduction of digital tools. First-year Japanese university students in an Academic English Program (AEP) were introduced to a variety of easily available digital tools. The instruction was administered online, and each tool was accompanied by a task directly related to classwork. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in the form of a pre-course Computer Literacy Survey, a post-course open-ended Reflection Activity survey, and interviews. The qualitative data was reviewed drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and its educational variants as an analytical framework. Educational, social, and cultural factors were also examined to help identify underlying factors that would influence students’ perceptions. The results suggest that the subjects’ lack of awareness of, and experience with, the use of technology for learning are the fundamental causes of their perceptions of initial difficulty. Based on these findings, this study proposes a possible technology integration model that enhances digital literacy for more effective language learning in the context of Japanese education

    The Adirondack Chronology

    Get PDF
    The Adirondack Chronology is intended to be a useful resource for researchers and others interested in the Adirondacks and Adirondack history.https://digitalworks.union.edu/arlpublications/1000/thumbnail.jp

    The Future of Work and Digital Skills

    Get PDF
    The theme for the events was "The Future of Work and Digital Skills". The 4IR caused a hollowing out of middle-income jobs (Frey & Osborne, 2017) but COVID-19 exposed the digital gap as survival depended mainly on digital infrastructure and connectivity. Almost overnight, organizations that had not invested in a digital strategy suddenly realized the need for such a strategy and the associated digital skills. The effects have been profound for those who struggled to adapt, while those who stepped up have reaped quite the reward.Therefore, there are no longer certainties about what the world will look like in a few years from now. However, there are certain ways to anticipate the changes that are occurring and plan on how to continually adapt to an increasingly changing world. Certain jobs will soon be lost and will not come back; other new jobs will however be created. Using data science and other predictive sciences, it is possible to anticipate, to the extent possible, the rate at which certain jobs will be replaced and new jobs created in different industries. Accordingly, the collocated events sought to bring together government, international organizations, academia, industry, organized labour and civil society to deliberate on how these changes are occurring in South Africa, how fast they are occurring and what needs to change in order to prepare society for the changes.Deutsche Gesellschaft fĂĽr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) British High Commission (BHC)School of Computin

    AIUCD 2022 - Proceedings

    Get PDF
    L’undicesima edizione del Convegno Nazionale dell’AIUCD-Associazione di Informatica Umanistica ha per titolo Culture digitali. Intersezioni: filosofia, arti, media. Nel titolo è presente, in maniera esplicita, la richiesta di una riflessione, metodologica e teorica, sull’interrelazione tra tecnologie digitali, scienze dell’informazione, discipline filosofiche, mondo delle arti e cultural studies

    Novel strategies for the modulation and investigation of memories in the hippocampus

    Full text link
    Disruptions of the memory systems in the brain are linked to the manifestation of many neuropsychiatric diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The limited efficacy of current treatments necessities the development of more effective therapies. Neuromodulation has proven effective in a variety of neurological diseases and could be an attractive solution for memory disorders. However, the application of neuromodulation requires a more detailed understanding of the network dynamics associated with memory formation and recall. In this work, we applied a combination of optical and computational tools in the development of a novel strategy for the modulation of memories, and have expanded its application for interrogation of the hippocampal circuitry underlying memory processing in mice. First, we developed a closed-loop optogenetic stimulation platform to activate neurons implicated in memory processing (engram neurons) with a high temporal resolution. We applied this platform to modulate the activity of engram neurons and assess memory processing with respect to synchronous network activity. The results of our investigation support the proposal that encoding new information and recalling stored memories occur during distinct epochs of hippocampal network-wide oscillations. Having established the high efficacy of the modulation of engram neurons’ activity in a closed-loop fashion, we sought to combine it with two-photon imaging to enable high spatial resolution interrogation of hippocampal circuitry. We developed a behavioral apparatus for head-fixed engram modulation and the assessment of memory recall in immobile animals. Moreover, through the optimization of dual color two-photon imaging, we improved the ability to monitor activity of neurons in the subfields of the hippocampus with cellular specificity. The platform created here will be applied to investigate the effects of engram reactivation on downstream projections targets with high spatial and cell subtype specificity. Following these lines of investigations will enhance our understanding of memory modulation and could lead to novel neuromodulation treatments for neurological disorders associated with memory malfunctioning
    • …
    corecore