Material shifts in praxis: Projections of digital humanities embodied within space and place

The essential problem of man in a computerized age remains the same as it has always been. That problem is not to solely how to be more productive, more comfortable, more content, but how to be more sensitive, more proportionate, more alive (Cousins,1966). Through communication in physical proximity; the researchers’ experienced human connexions exploring the interplay between the real and the virtual. And these connexions became the potentiality of co-creative spaces, opening us to see, reflect and make new opportunities for exploring and developing innovative approaches. Therefore we experienced a deeper inquiry into encountering the relationships between theory and practice led research methodologies and pedagogic praxis in and across art, design & architecture. “For art practices to be considered research, artists-theorists need to engage directly with theoretical concerns that can be investigated in studio contexts as well as through other mediated forms and methods” (Sullivan, 2005) As a playful testament to the rapidly changing digital landscape, as practitioners, we observed a nascent desire to visualise our ever-evolving digital society. In this Transitional setting for Re-thinking Textiles and Surfaces; Taylor, Unver and Benincasa-Sharman, share evolving specular projections of praxis through re-transitions of megalithic materials, pre-historic digital surfaces, historical contexts, space and place theories, archive point cloud data, human population tools and 3D fabrication. “The question persists and indeed grows whether the computer will make it easier or harder for human beings to know who they really are, to identify their real problems, to respond more fully to beauty, to place adequate value on life, and to make their world safer than it now is.” (Cousins, 1966) References: Cousins, N.(1966).The Poet and the Computer. In Pylyshyn, Z.W., & Bannon, L. (Eds.) Perspectives on the Computer Revolution. Intellect Books, 1989. Sullivan, G.(2005). Art Practice as Research. Inquiry in the Visual Arts. Sage, 2005

Elastic Business Process Management: State of the Art and Open Challenges for BPM in the Cloud

With the advent of cloud computing, organizations are nowadays able to react rapidly to changing demands for computational resources. Not only individual applications can be hosted on virtual cloud infrastructures, but also complete business processes. This allows the realization of so-called elastic processes, i.e., processes which are carried out using elastic cloud resources. Despite the manifold benefits of elastic processes, there is still a lack of solutions supporting them. In this paper, we identify the state of the art of elastic Business Process Management with a focus on infrastructural challenges. We conceptualize an architecture for an elastic Business Process Management System and discuss existing work on scheduling, resource allocation, monitoring, decentralized coordination, and state management for elastic processes. Furthermore, we present two representative elastic Business Process Management Systems which are intended to counter these challenges. Based on our findings, we identify open issues and outline possible research directions for the realization of elastic processes and elastic Business Process Management.Comment: Please cite as: S. Schulte, C. Janiesch, S. Venugopal, I. Weber, and P. Hoenisch (2015). Elastic Business Process Management: State of the Art and Open Challenges for BPM in the Cloud. Future Generation Computer Systems, Volume NN, Number N, NN-NN., http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2014.09.00

Measuring the Business Value of Cloud Computing

The importance of demonstrating the value achieved from IT investments is long established in the Computer Science (CS) and Information Systems (IS) literature. However, emerging technologies such as the ever-changing complex area of cloud computing present new challenges and opportunities for demonstrating how IT investments lead to business value. Recent reviews of extant literature highlights the need for multi-disciplinary research. This research should explore and further develops the conceptualization of value in cloud computing research. In addition, there is a need for research which investigates how IT value manifests itself across the chain of service provision and in inter-organizational scenarios. This open access book will review the state of the art from an IS, Computer Science and Accounting perspective, will introduce and discuss the main techniques for measuring business value for cloud computing in a variety of scenarios, and illustrate these with mini-case studies

Processpatching: defining new methods in aRt&D

In the context of a rapidly changing domain of contemporary electronic art practice- where the speed of technological innovation and the topicality of art 'process as research' methods are both under constant revision- the process of collaboration between art, computer science and engineering is an important addition to existing 'R&D'. Scholarly as well as practical exploration of artistic methods, viewed in relation to the field of new technology, can be seen to enable and foster innovation in both the conceptualisation and practice of the electronic arts. At the same time, citing new media art in the context of technological innovation brings a mix of scientific and engineering issues to the fore and thereby demands an extended functionality that may lead to R&D, as technology attempts to take account of aesthetic and social considerations in its re-development. This new field of new media or electronic art R&D is different from research and development aimed at practical applications of new technologies as we see them in everyday life. A next step for Research and Development in Art (aRt&D) is a formalisation of the associated work methods, as an essential ingredient for interdisciplinary collaboration. This study investigates how electronic art patches together processes and methods from the arts, engineering and computer science environments. It provides a framework describing the electronic art methods to improve collaboration by informing others about one's artistic research and development approach. This investigation is positioned in the electronic art laboratory where new alliances with other disciplines are established. It provides information about the practical and theoretical aspects of the research and development processes of artists. The investigation addresses fundamental questions about the 'research and development methods' (discussed and defined at length in these pages), of artists who are involved in interdisciplinary collaborations amongst and between the fields of Art, Computer Science, and Engineering. The breadth of the fields studied necessarily forced a tight focus on specific issues in the literature, addressed herein through a series of focused case studies which demonstrate the points of synergy and divergence between the fields of artistic research and development, in a wider art&D' context. The artistic methods proposed in this research include references from a broad set of fields (e. g. Technology, Media Arts, Theatre and Performance, Systems Theories, the Humanities, and Design Practice) relevant to and intrinsically intertwined with this project and its placement in an interdisciplinary knowledge domain. The aRt&D Matrix provides a complete overview of the observed research and development methods in electronic arts, including references to related disciplines and methods from other fields. The new Matrix developed and offered in this thesis also provides an instrument for analysing the interdisciplinary collaboration process that exclusively reflects the information we need for the overview of the team constellation. The tool is used to inform the collaborators about the backgrounds of the other participants and thus about the expected methods and approaches. It provides a map of the bodies of knowledge and expertise represented in any given cross-disciplinary team, and thus aims to lay the groundwork for a future aRt&D framework of use to future scholars and practitioners alike

Measuring the Business Value of Cloud Computing

The importance of demonstrating the value achieved from IT investments is long established in the Computer Science (CS) and Information Systems (IS) literature. However, emerging technologies such as the ever-changing complex area of cloud computing present new challenges and opportunities for demonstrating how IT investments lead to business value. Recent reviews of extant literature highlights the need for multi-disciplinary research. This research should explore and further develops the conceptualization of value in cloud computing research. In addition, there is a need for research which investigates how IT value manifests itself across the chain of service provision and in inter-organizational scenarios. This open access book will review the state of the art from an IS, Computer Science and Accounting perspective, will introduce and discuss the main techniques for measuring business value for cloud computing in a variety of scenarios, and illustrate these with mini-case studies

Technology in Second Language Writing: Advances in Composing, Translation, Writing Pedagogy and Data-Driven Learning

This edited volume showcases state-of-the-art research in technological applications in second language writing. It examines multimodal composing, digital feedback, data-driven learning, machine translation, and technological applications in writing pedagogy. Technology in Second Language Writing reflects the rapidly changing field of technology in second language learning and highlights technological advances across different areas relevant to L2 writing. Composed of empirical studies, reviews, and descriptive essays, this book covers a variety of topics across the areas of composing, pedagogy, and writing research. It includes discussion of computer-mediated communication, language learners’ perceptions about using technology in their writing, the use of social media in writing, corpus learning, translation software, and the use of electronic feedback in language classrooms. Offering a multifaceted approach to technology in a wide variety of second language writing contexts, this cutting-edge book serves as essential reading for scholars and postgraduate students in the field of language teaching, applied linguistics, and TESOL

Libraries as Bridges across the Digital Divide: Partnerships and Approaches Used in the U.S. Technology Opportunities Program, 1994-2005

The purpose of the poster is to show how libraries used government funds and community partnerships to close the digital divide in the United States. Part of the mission of libraries is to bridge the digital divide. As an answer to the digital divide, the U.S. government started a grant program in 1994. Over ten years, the Technologies Opportunities Program (TOP) awarded $230 million to 600 communities to promote network technology and community partnership. The digital divide is a rich concept rather than a simple binary divide. It?s something that is nuanced, multidimensional and ever-changing. Everyone is immersed in the digital divide in one respect or another because none of us are on the same plane of learning and expertise. We have learned much from the plethora of research that has taken place in communities in the United States and abroad. This study sheds like on the digital divide and how libraries have addressed it. Of the 600 projects funded by TOP, 25 were library-led: approximately 10 took place in public libraries, three in academic libraries, and 12 in library networks or other settings. This research uses the TOP Data Archive, which we created with the help of others including the U.S. Department of Commerce itself, to examine these 25 projects. We have constructed tables and word clouds to find trends and analyze the projects and partnerships and will use established network analytical methods as well. Interviews with key leaders in each of the projects will help ascertain how each project developed over time. Our governing theory is that social capital and social networks contribute to ICT use. Our questions include: How did the partnerships between the library and other organizations affect each project? How did they define success, and did they achieve it? Our first finding is that libraries adapted the grant program to their own strategic activities and did not set library work aside. Second, the libraries took three main approaches: to build computer networks with wires and fiber-optics, to build the human-computer infrastructure known as a Freenet, or to create new library programs to help their community use technology. We will also present data on the programs and the size and shape of the partnerships that carried them out. Our research has found a total of 80 partnerships across 25 separate library-led TOP projects. Each project had an average of 4.3 partnerships; with the maximum being 11 and the minimum number of partnership being one. Our analysis included a typology of partners: education, corporations, government, and organization. Educational partners include schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Corporate entities are defined as businesses or companies. Government partners maybe municipal, city, state or national government entities. Lastly, organization is a broad category that fits every type of non-profit organization, whether it be community, environmental, educational, etc. There are also four sub-categories: library, health, art, and communications. Library partners may be local, state, college, or university libraries. Health institutions are any health organization, whether government or community, or hospitals. Art partners involve art museums, local art organizations, etc. Lastly, communications partners are communication corporations, TV or radio stations, or government communication entities. The categories will allow us to investigate the relationship between the type of partners in each project and the scope and outcome of each project. The data includes 33 education partners, 28 government, 23 organization, 8 libraries, 8 communications 6 corporation, 5 health, and 3 art. In December and January we will use NetDraw to create a visual representation of the egocentric network of a library and its partners, and look for patterns. We will also carry out telephone interviews with the leaders of each project. The phone interviews will tell us about long-term projects outcomes and how the partnerships advanced or impeded each project. This poster will provide insights and suggestions to libraries that are working on the digital divide or on building partnerships. Since the U.S. has yet to catch up with the rest of the world in terms of broadband speed and utilization, the government has started another round of grants called the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program; our findings will also inform that work. Libraries have the responsibility to serve increasingly disparate populations and our poster provides an analysis of an important group of library projects which have never been presented to an international audience. This topic will be of interest to many people in the library profession, especially those dedicated to serving the public through the use of innovative technology. Relevant links: TOP archive at the University of Michigan: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=sclead&idno=umich-spc-Power-Top Broadband Technology Opportunities Program: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants

An investigation of Nebraska art teachers\u27 perceptions and usage of internet technology.

In order to prepare students to be life long learners in a rapidly changing global and technological society, educators need to promote the use of appropriate technology to support quality learning. Art students, as well as all of today\u27s students, need to be effective communicators, creative problem solvers, and be able to access and manage information in an electronic world. Although Nebraska is already a national leader in telecommunications and telecomputing, the extent to which technology is used and will be used in specific disciplines is as yet unclear. An important first step in supporting the future use of Internet in the art classrooms of Nebraska is to determine the current use and perceptions by art teachers. The purpose of the present study is to explore the perceptions and usage of the Internet by current art teachers in the state of Nebraska. A survey was distributed in March 1995 to approximately 588 public school art teachers who were certified in the state of Nebraska. All participants were presently teaching art all or part of the day. The survey combined a series of Likert scale and open ended questions to determine usage and perceptions of the Internet, as well as some more traditional computer tools. By March 24, 1995, a total of 294 surveys were returned, which represented a 50 percent return rate. To help validate the survey responses, 20 structured interviews were conducted. Survey and interview data revealed positive perceptions of Internet; but low usage, limited access, frustration with using this new technology, and a general lack of knowledge on how to successfully integrate Internet technology into the art curriculum. The study results also indicated greater need for Internet access in the classroom, enhanced and specialized Internet training for art teachers, and more specialized curriculum development that reflects the potential use of the Internet in the art classroom. This study also revealed positive perceptions towards Internet implementation despite teacher frustration in learning and using these new technologies. If effective training is provided for Art and Internet integration, art teachers seem willing to use Internet in the classroom to enhance student learning. The results of this study encourage longitudinal research regarding perceptions and usage of Internet in the art classroom, as well as research investigating Internet usage in all academic disciplines

STaDA: Style Transfer as Data Augmentation

The success of training deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) heavily depends on a significant amount of labelled data. Recent research has found that neural style transfer algorithms can apply the artistic style of one image to another image without changing the latter's high-level semantic content, which makes it feasible to employ neural style transfer as a data augmentation method to add more variation to the training dataset. The contribution of this paper is a thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of the neural style transfer as a data augmentation method for image classification tasks. We explore the state-of-the-art neural style transfer algorithms and apply them as a data augmentation method on Caltech 101 and Caltech 256 dataset, where we found around 2% improvement from 83% to 85% of the image classification accuracy with VGG16, compared with traditional data augmentation strategies. We also combine this new method with conventional data augmentation approaches to further improve the performance of image classification. This work shows the potential of neural style transfer in computer vision field, such as helping us to reduce the difficulty of collecting sufficient labelled data and improve the performance of generic image-based deep learning algorithms.Comment: 14th International Conference on Computer Vision Theory and Applications, 201