Can We Work Together?

People have a versatility to adapt to various situations in order to communicate with each other regardless of a person's disability. We research separate computer interfaces to support remote synchronous collaboration in two situations. First, a deaf person collaborating with a hearing person uses a shared workspace with video conferencing, such as the Facetop system. Second, a blind person collaborating with a sighted person uses our loosely coupled custom shared workspace called Deep View. The design features of the respective interfaces accommodate the disability of a deaf person or a blind person and enable communication with a person without a disability. The interfaces expand the ways in which people with disabilities participate in a collaborative task to a level of detail not possible without our interfaces. The design features of our user interfaces provide alternative channels for the collaborators with disabilities to communicate ideas or coordinate actions that collaborators without disabilities would otherwise do verbally or visually. We evaluate the interfaces through three user studies where collaborators complete full fledged tasks that require managing all aspects of communication to complete the task. Throughout the research we collaborated with members of the Deaf community and members of the blind community. We incorporated the feedback from members of these communities into the implementation of our interfaces. The members participated in our user studies to evaluate the interfaces

Sistema Híbrido Baseado em Geometria e Vídeo 360º 3D para Realidade Virtual em Dispositivos Móveis

A realidade virtual tem vindo a ganhar popularidade na sociedade devido ao facto de facultar uma experiência imersiva com menor custo e melhor usabilidade do que teve no passado. Porém, verifica-se que o desenvolvimento dos dispositivos utilizados para difundir essa tecnologia tende a divergir em dois caminhos diferentes. Por um lado, existem dispositivos que usam o poder computacional de computadores fixos permitindo uma experiência com alta qualidade mas que limitam a capacidade de movimento do utilizador pelo facto de usarem cabos. Por outro lado, assiste-se ao crescimento de dispositivos móveis que possibilitam uma maior liberdade de movimento mas que limitam a experiência pelo facto de possuírem menor capacidade de processamento.Para promover a realidade virtual em dispositivos móveis com alta qualidade e fidelidade visual sem quebras na taxa de refrescamento e sem prejuízo na experiência imersiva, é necessário simplificar os ambientes virtuais visualizados, reduzindo assim os requisitos computacionais.Um possível compromisso passa pela combinação de objetos com geometria tridimensional sobrepostos a uma imagem ou vídeo 360º que cobre a área de visualização do utilizador. Essa imagem ou vídeo 360º gerados previamente num sistema com elevado poder de processamento, apresentam assim os detalhes necessários para oferecer uma boa qualidade visual. A imagem ou vídeo 360º não permitem a interação que normalmente é necessária em ambientes de realidade virtual, mas a sobreposição de geometria em tempo real pode permitir a interatividade com determinados objetos do cenário.Porém, esta solução acarreta problemas de coerência entre os objetos 3D e o fundo pré-gerado como a manutenção de colisões, oclusões, iluminação, sombras e transparências juntamente com problemas relacionados com o fluxo de dados e compressão do vídeo de fundo. Por isso, deve ser preservado um conjunto de meta-dados bem definido provenientes da cena que originou o vídeo de fundo, e estes devem ser utilizados no dispositivo final com técnicas apropriadas para resolver os problemas de coerência.Neste trabalho propõe-se uma tecnologia destinada a criar um sistema híbrido baseado em objetos 3D sobrepostos a imagem ou vídeo 360º para proporcionar ambientes de realidade virtual de alta qualidade em dispositivos com baixa capacidade de processamento.A solução proposta foi devidamente testada e validada através de medidas quantitativas e qualitativas.Espera-se que esta abordagem permita uma maior qualidade das experiências baseadas em dispositivos móveis, o que por sua vez, terá um impacto no custo dos sistemas e na progressão da nova tecnologia numa maior parcela da sociedade.Nowadays virtual reality is becoming popular in society because it provides an immersive experience at lower costs and better usability that it had in the past. However, it turns out that the development of the devices used to spread this technology tends to diverge in two different ways. On the one hand, there are devices that use the computing power of fixed computers allowing a high-quality experience but that limit the user's ability to move due to the necessary cables. On the other hand, there is the growth of mobile devices that allow greater freedom of movement but limit the experience due to the fact that they have less processing capacity.To promote virtual reality in mobile devices with high quality and visual fidelity without frame rate losses and without prejudice in the immersive experience, it is necessary to simplify the virtual environments visualized, thus reducing the computational requirements.A possible compromise is the combination of objects with three-dimensional geometry superimposed on a 360º image or video that covers the user's viewing area. This 360º image or video is previously generated on a high-processing power system, thus containing the details needed to provide good visual quality. The generated 360º image or video cannot provide the interaction that is typically needed in virtual reality environments, but overlapping real-time geometry may allow for interactivity with specific objects of the scenario.However, this solution causes coherence problems between 3D objects and the pre-generated background, such as collisions, occlusions, lighting, shadows, and transparency maintenance along with problems with data streaming and background video compression. Therefore, a set of well-defined metadata must be preserved from the scene that originated the background video, and used in the final device with appropriate techniques to tackle the problems of coherence.In this work we propose a technology aimed at creating a hybrid system based on 3D objects superimposed on the 360º image or video to provide virtual reality environments in devices with low processing capacity.The proposed solution was duly tested and validated through quantitative and qualitative measures.It is expected that such an approach will enable higher quality on mobile-based experiences, which in turn will have an impact on the cost of systems and the progression of the new technology in a larger part of society

A framework for digital archiving at selected public universities in Kenya.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietemaritzburg.Archival records are knowledge assets that preserve the overall historical scholarship, memory and identity of organisations and institutions of higher learning. The rapid transformations witnessed on the digital landscape today have led to the increased generation of digital records, prompting the growing interest by universities to adopt sustainable digital archiving implementations to ensure the continued access of archives. This research investigated digital archives management practices in selected public universities in Kenya. The objective of the study was to develop a digital archiving framework for the archival repositories at the institutions. To achieve this objective, the study sought to answer five research questions which were: what is the state of digital archiving readiness of public universities in Kenya? How are digital archives identified and administered in Kenyan public universities? Which legal and regulatory frameworks govern digital archives management in Kenyan public universities? Which risk factors are digital archives exposed to in these universities? What possible solutions can be adopted to mitigate the identified risks and support sustainable digital archiving implementations in Kenyan public universities? The study subscribed to the pragmatic school of thought which formed the basis for adopting a mixed methods approach that prompted the use of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, with a qualitative priority. The study was underpinned by the records continuum (RC) model, Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference model and the Archives and Records Management Association (ARMA) Records Management Maturity model which were triangulated to coin a conceptual framework for the study. The study adopted a multiple-case (embedded) design using cross-sectional survey. Six universities were purposively selected from 23 fully accredited public universities in Kenya namely: the University of Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Moi, Kenyatta, Maseno and Egerton Universities. Purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 205 respondents comprising of deputy vice-chancellors, finance officers, legal officers, ICT directors, archivists, records managers, records officers, ICT staff and administrative staff. Questionnaires were administered to 169 respondents; 36 participants were targeted for interviews, and document review was used to confirm the data. Quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented using inferential and descriptive statistics. Qualitative data was analysed thematically using NVivo and presented using charts, graphs and tables as applicable. The key findings suggested that public universities in Kenya have not attained the desired optimal state of readiness for digital archiving. This was evidenced by the absence of functional archival repositories in five of the universities, insufficient harnessing of the available ICTs for d-archiving, inadequate skilled and competent staff, low prioritization for the education and training of recordkeeping staff and absence of dedicated budgets for records and archives management functions in the institutions. Furthermore, there were no formal processes guiding the lifecycle management of digital records and the generated metadata. The situation was exacerbated by weak and/or non-existent legal and regulatory frameworks for recordkeeping at national and institutional levels. Subsequently, digital records were exposed to risks at various stages of their lifecycle which included records technology risks, legal and regulatory risks, administrative risks and records control risks. The risks further occasioned a cocktail of challenges that called for urgent interventions. The overall conclusion of the study was that even though the institutions have instigated various approaches and strategies to mitigate the identified risks, a lot needed to be done to improve the state of digital archives management in the universities. Taking into consideration the study findings, this research recommends a framework for digital archiving that brings into perspective a collaborative approach, whose core focus is to enhance d-archiving practices in archival repositories of collaborating institutions