The value of handhelds in smart environments

The severe resource restrictions of computer-augmented everyday artifacts imply substantial problems for the design of applications in smart environments. Some of these problems can be overcome by exploiting the resources, I/O interfaces, and computing capabilities of nearby mobile devices in an ad-hoc fashion. We identify the means by which smart objects can make use of handheld devices such as PDAs and mobile phones, and derive the following major roles of handhelds in smart environments: (1) mobile infrastructure access point; (2) user interface; (3) remote sensor; (4) mobile storage medium; (5) remote resource provider; and (6) weak user identifier. We present concrete applications that illustrate these roles, and describe how handhelds can serve as mobile mediators between computer-augmented everyday artifacts, their users, and background infrastructure services. The presented applications include a remote interaction scenario, a smart medicine cabinet, and an inventory monitoring applicatio

The Industry and Policy Context for Digital Games for Empowerment and Inclusion:Market Analysis, Future Prospects and Key Challenges in Videogames, Serious Games and Gamification

The effective use of digital games for empowerment and social inclusion (DGEI) of people and communities at risk of exclusion will be shaped by, and may influence the development of a range of sectors that supply products, services, technology and research. The principal industries that would appear to be implicated are the 'videogames' industry, and an emerging 'serious games' industry. The videogames industry is an ecosystem of developers, publishers and other service providers drawn from the interactive media, software and broader ICT industry that services the mainstream leisure market in games, The 'serious games' industry is a rather fragmented and growing network of firms, users, research and policy makers from a variety of sectors. This emerging industry is are trying to develop knowledge, products, services and a market for the use of digital games, and products inspired by digital games, for a range of non-leisure applications. This report provides a summary of the state of play of these industries, their trajectories and the challenges they face. It also analyses the contribution they could make to exploiting digital games for empowerment and social inclusion. Finally, it explores existing policy towards activities in these industries and markets, and draws conclusions as to the future policy relevance of engaging with them to support innovation and uptake of effective digital game-based approaches to empowerment and social inclusion.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

Swisscom offers smartphone WiFi service and mobile communication solution to hotels.

Bruce Grant-Braham examines the latest hositality information technology applications

Towards developing smart environment using wireless sensor and ad hoc networks

The miniaturization process of various sensing devices has become a reality by enormous research and advancements accomplished in MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems) and VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) lithography. With the advancements of such optimization techniques for hardware, algorithms, and protocols for networking, various wireless technologies have also emerged. The attractive features of these modern technologies have attracted many researchers to work on the design, application and utilization of systems benefited by these high-tech equipments. As a consequence, the idea of smart environment has been come into vision. The focus of this paper is to propose a framework for developing a smart environment aided with the wireless technologies which not only aims at smartening the surrounding environment but also could facilitate the use of a number of smart systems

Landscaping Locally: Fostering Stewardship with Real Science in High School Curricula

The Igniting Streams of Learning in Science (ISLS) academy engages 11th and 12th grade students and their teachers in a year long learning community (LC) experience. ISLS transforms attitudes about science in school curricula, local communities, college classrooms, and government agencies. While the goals of ISLS are ambitious: (1) to increase student interest in teaching high school science; (2) to increase the number of students pursing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors in college, and (3) to connect students to their local environments using methods of scientific investigation, the challenges for STEM education have never been greater. The ISLS Academy uses a four-part model that can be replicated. The model is centered on a twelve day summer institute: (1) pre-institute formation of seven member learning communities, (2) immersion of LC members in the summer institute where they are introduced to bio-monitoring protocols while being mentored by college professors, graduate students, and professional scientists from government agencies and private industry, (3) post-institute adaptation of protocols in the development of learning objects (LOs) (elements of a curriculum) to address local environmental issues, and (4) follow-up activities with LC members using their LOs in teaching peers and others. This paper is a mid-project report on a three-year program. It concerns fourteen school districts from urban, suburban and rural areas where students and teachers demonstrate the applicability of real science curricula across districts. By using real science , i.e. the bio-monitoring protocols of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, students recognize that they themselves can use science to assess and improve the health of their local environments. The success and applicability of the ISLS program to other regions is dependent upon fostering ownership in the use of scientific protocols and methods of learning that invite all students to become citizen scientists. Results thus far indicate a high level of success in increasing student interest and understanding of science and in developing LOs that (1) are aligned with state science standards, (2) utilize current technologies already embraced by students, and (3) incorporate ecosystem approaches for addressing issues of local landscapes

The use of personal digital assistants in the K-8 classrooms

The purpose of this study was to determine if Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are being used in the K-8 classrooms and if so to what extent. By way of a stratified random sample, four counties in central and southern New Jersey were selected. A survey was developed and sent to the participating districts. Two hundred seventy-five surveys were mailed to eight districts, with a return rate of sixty-eight percent (68%). Data was collected from the surveys and calculated into percentages. Although seventy-two percent (72%) of the respondents report using some form of technology on a daily basis, only three percent (3%) report using PDAs. Those who report using PDAs agree with the experts on a number of areas. One hundred percent (100%) of the respondents agree that PDAs can do the following: help children to become more technologically literate; help teachers to differentiate instruction; and help motivate students to want to learn. This study found that PDAs are being used in the classrooms, but by very few teachers and/or districts. Recommendations for further studies are suggested

Towards Digital Transformation in Fashion Retailing: A Design-Oriented IS Research Study of Automated Checkout Systems

Automated checkout systems promise greater sales due to an improved customer experience and cost savings because less store personnel is needed. The present design-oriented IS research study is concerned with an automated checkout solution in fashion retail stores. The implementation of such a cyberphysical system in established retail environments is challenging as architectural constraints, well-established customer processes, and customer expectations regarding privacy and convenience impose limits on system design. To overcome these challenges, the authors design an IT artifact that leverages an RFID sensor infrastructure and software components (data processing and prediction routines) to jointly address the central problems of detecting purchases in a reliable and timely fashion and assigning these purchases to individual shopping baskets. The system is implemented and evaluated in a research laboratory under real-world conditions. The evaluation indicates that shopping baskets can indeed be detected reliably (precision and recall rates greater than 99%) and in an expeditious manner (median detection time of 1.03 s). Moreover, purchase assignment reliability is 100% for most standard scenarios but falls to 42% in the most challenging scenario

Study of affordances of iPads and teacher's private theories

Post-PC TouchPad mobile devices are increasingly being used in educational contexts. Growing investment isplanned by higher education institutions in Hong Kong and by the HKSAR Education Bureau in relation to educational uses ofTouchPad technology. However, current research intoeducational applications of this technology is limited. This paper reports an ongoing qualitative study that investigates how higher education teachers use iPad technology to facilitate their practice. The emergent study results provide insight intoboth the educational affordances of iPad technology and theways in which teachers’ personal or private theories mediate these affordances and transform through the process. The studyoutcomes will contribute to theoretical understanding of higher education teacher changes through adoption of technology. Furthermore, the outcomes will provide a set of recommendations for applications of TouchPad technology inhigher education and ways to support teachers to effectively adopt such technology in their practices.published_or_final_versio