Extending Knowledge Management to Mobile Workplaces

Knowledge and Knowledge Management (KM) are evolving into an increasingly eminent source of competitive advantage. However,for the time being, the potential of KM is usually limited to stationary workplaces. This excludes a multiplicity of mobile workers, many of them in charge of knowledge-intensive activities.This paper examines the capabilities and limitations of mobile technology usage in order to support KM. After a general overview of KM, the relevant mobile technology is introduced.Subsequently, the theory of mobile added values is employed to analyze the contributions of mobile technology for supporting KM in the different phases of the KM process. Especially the process of knowledge distribution is qualified to be supported through mobile technology.Knowledge Management; Mobile Commerce; Mobile Knowledge; Management; Mobile Business Processes; Mobile Added Values

Augmented Dissection

Dissection has long been the primary method to gain greater insight into the structures and functions of the human body. It requires careful step-by-step analysis, retrieval of stored information, and spatial navigation to successfully explore our inner makings. Many facilities and campuses nationwide are not equipped for cadavers, and in particular, online laboratory settings are often devoid of hands-on dissection altogether. Anatomy 4D is an augmented reality (AR) mobile application that allows for human body exploration through enhanced dissection. Its application in laboratory settings may be a viable means of resolving hands-on dissection limitations. To investigate this idea, college anatomy students utilized the AR mobile application to dissect the heart organ in an action research study. Students performed activities individually, by creating personalized deliverables to share, and collaboratively, by contemplating connections through discussion. In better determining the impact of AR dissection in enhancing identification of human body structures among learners, pre and post assessments were conducted. Overall results indicated AR utilization for human organ exploration was positive with a marked increase of recognition after lesson activities and numerous indications of personal satisfaction from the use of mobile learning technology, constructivist design, and peer collaboration

Augmented reality and mobile learning: the state of the art

In this paper, we examine the state of the art in augmented reality (AR) for mobile learning. Previous work in the field of mobile learning has included AR as a component of a wider toolkit for mobile learning but, to date, little has been done that discusses the phenomenon in detail or that examines its potential for learning, in a balanced fashion that identifies both positive and negative aspects of AR. We seek to provide a working definition of AR and examine how it is embedded within situated learning in outdoor settings. We also attempt to classify AR according to several key aspects (device/technology; mode of interaction; type of media involved; personal or shared experiences; if the experience is portable or static; and the learning activities/outcomes). We discuss the technical and pedagogical challenges presented by AR before looking at ways in which AR can be used for learning. Lastly, the paper looks ahead to what AR technologies may be on the horizon in the near future

Sanity and mental health in an age of augmented and virtual realities.

In this paper I discuss an approach to examining the boundary and border crossings and breakdown between the real and the virtual. To address questions like "How do gamers and inhabitants of virtual worlds manage these transitions? What are the short and long term effects of these border crossings?" I report on the development of two survey instruments to begin to investigate these questions. The results of these studies have implications concerning how virtual realities may induce dissociative experiences or lead to a blurring of boundaries of the real, of the virtual, of dreams and even identity

Installation Art as a Means of Exploring Place and Activity Fragmentation in Interior Environments Resulting from Contemporary Digital Technology

This thesis explores how information and communication technology creates activity fragmentation within the interior built environment. This paper analyzes the work of psychologists, philosophers, architects, artists, designers, and others who have considered our relationship to physical space as well as how technological advancements alter our behavior and perspective. In addition to reviewing current thinking on the topic, the research conducted also looks at how architects, artists, and designers, particularly of the late 20th century, responded to notions of fragmentation and disconnectedness often spawned by modernization. Through precedent analysis, a strong relationship between architectural design and installation art emerges. This thesis paper provides a foundation for a gallery installation that creates an experience for visitors, challenging their relationship to interior space

Workspaces of Mediation: How Digital Platforms Shape Practices, Spaces and Places of Creative Work

This paper investigates how online platforms co-construct spatialities of fashion design. Advancing the notion of workspaces of mediation, the article interlinks research on the geographies of creative work with debates on digital geography. It demonstrates that humans, online platforms, and spatiality are interrelated and come together in the constitution of everyday spatial encounters and experiences. Applying methods from digital ethnography, in-depth interviews, on/offline participant observations, and an analysis of Instagram accounts were conducted. The article demonstrates that Instagram has become a powerful non-human actor that reconfigures (i) practices, (ii) spaces, and (iii) places of work. With the notion of workspaces of mediation, the paper argues that spaces of work must go beyond concepts of hybrid space and beyond the geotag. Instead, mediated workspaces are constituted as a complex entanglement of online and offline socio-spatial relations and practices.Peer Reviewe

Query-by-Pointing: Algorithms and Pointing Error Compensation

People typically communicate by pointing, talking, sketching, writing, and typing. Pointing can be used to visualize or exchange information about an object when there is no other mutually understood way of communication. Despite its proven expressiveness, however, it has not yet become a frequently used modality to interact with computer systems. With the rapid move towards the adoption of mobile technologies, geographic information systems (GISs) have a particular need for advanced forms of interaction that enable users to query the geographic world directly. To enable pointing-based query system on a handheld device, a number of fundamental technical challenges have to be overcome. For such a system to materialize we need models stored in the device\u27s knowledge base that can be used as surrogate of real world objects. These computations, however, assume that (1) the pointing direction matches with the line-of-sight and (2) the observations about location and direction are precise enough so that a computational model will determine the same object as what the user points at. Both assumptions are not true. This thesis, therefore, develops an efficient error compensation model to reduce the discrepancy between the line-of-sight of the eye and the pointer direction. The model is based on a coordinate system centered at the neck and distances measured from neck to eye, neck to shoulder, shoulder to handheld pointer, and the pointing direction. An experiment was conducted using a gyro-enhanced sensor and three subjects who pointed at marked targets in a given room. It showed that the error compensation algorithm significantly reduces errors in pointing with arms outstretched

Quality of Context in Context-Aware Systems

Context-aware Systems (CASs) are becoming increasingly popular and can be found in the areas of wearable computing, mobile computing, robotics, adaptive and intelligent user interfaces. Sensors are the corner stone of context capturing however, sensed context data are commonly prone to imperfection due to the technical limitations of sensors, their availability, dysfunction, and highly dynamic nature of environment. Consequently, sensed context data might be imprecise, erroneous, conflicting, or simply missing. To limit the impact of context imperfection on the behavior of a context-aware system, a notion of Quality of Context (QoC) is used to measure quality of any information that is used as context information. Adaptation is performed only if the context data used in the decision-making has an appropriate quality level. This paper reports an analytical review for state of the art quality of context in context-aware systems and points to future research directions