Research on Effective Designs and Evaluation for Speech Interface Systems

制度:新 ; 報告番号:乙2305号 ; 学位の種類:博士(工学) ; 授与年月日:2011/2/25 ; 早大学位記番号:新564

Modern Socio-Technical Perspectives on Privacy

This open access book provides researchers and professionals with a foundational understanding of online privacy as well as insight into the socio-technical privacy issues that are most pertinent to modern information systems, covering several modern topics (e.g., privacy in social media, IoT) and underexplored areas (e.g., privacy accessibility, privacy for vulnerable populations, cross-cultural privacy). The book is structured in four parts, which follow after an introduction to privacy on both a technical and social level: Privacy Theory and Methods covers a range of theoretical lenses through which one can view the concept of privacy. The chapters in this part relate to modern privacy phenomena, thus emphasizing its relevance to our digital, networked lives. Next, Domains covers a number of areas in which privacy concerns and implications are particularly salient, including among others social media, healthcare, smart cities, wearable IT, and trackers. The Audiences section then highlights audiences that have traditionally been ignored when creating privacy-preserving experiences: people from other (non-Western) cultures, people with accessibility needs, adolescents, and people who are underrepresented in terms of their race, class, gender or sexual identity, religion or some combination. Finally, the chapters in Moving Forward outline approaches to privacy that move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions, explore ethical considerations, and describe the regulatory landscape that governs privacy through laws and policies. Perhaps even more so than the other chapters in this book, these chapters are forward-looking by using current personalized, ethical and legal approaches as a starting point for re-conceptualizations of privacy to serve the modern technological landscape. The book’s primary goal is to inform IT students, researchers, and professionals about both the fundamentals of online privacy and the issues that are most pertinent to modern information systems. Lecturers or teacherscan assign (parts of) the book for a “professional issues” course. IT professionals may select chapters covering domains and audiences relevant to their field of work, as well as the Moving Forward chapters that cover ethical and legal aspects. Academicswho are interested in studying privacy or privacy-related topics will find a broad introduction in both technical and social aspects

Modern Socio-Technical Perspectives on Privacy

This open access book provides researchers and professionals with a foundational understanding of online privacy as well as insight into the socio-technical privacy issues that are most pertinent to modern information systems, covering several modern topics (e.g., privacy in social media, IoT) and underexplored areas (e.g., privacy accessibility, privacy for vulnerable populations, cross-cultural privacy). The book is structured in four parts, which follow after an introduction to privacy on both a technical and social level: Privacy Theory and Methods covers a range of theoretical lenses through which one can view the concept of privacy. The chapters in this part relate to modern privacy phenomena, thus emphasizing its relevance to our digital, networked lives. Next, Domains covers a number of areas in which privacy concerns and implications are particularly salient, including among others social media, healthcare, smart cities, wearable IT, and trackers. The Audiences section then highlights audiences that have traditionally been ignored when creating privacy-preserving experiences: people from other (non-Western) cultures, people with accessibility needs, adolescents, and people who are underrepresented in terms of their race, class, gender or sexual identity, religion or some combination. Finally, the chapters in Moving Forward outline approaches to privacy that move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions, explore ethical considerations, and describe the regulatory landscape that governs privacy through laws and policies. Perhaps even more so than the other chapters in this book, these chapters are forward-looking by using current personalized, ethical and legal approaches as a starting point for re-conceptualizations of privacy to serve the modern technological landscape. The book’s primary goal is to inform IT students, researchers, and professionals about both the fundamentals of online privacy and the issues that are most pertinent to modern information systems. Lecturers or teacherscan assign (parts of) the book for a “professional issues” course. IT professionals may select chapters covering domains and audiences relevant to their field of work, as well as the Moving Forward chapters that cover ethical and legal aspects. Academicswho are interested in studying privacy or privacy-related topics will find a broad introduction in both technical and social aspects

Crowd-powered systems

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-237).Crowd-powered systems combine computation with human intelligence, drawn from large groups of people connecting and coordinating online. These hybrid systems enable applications and experiences that neither crowds nor computation could support alone. Unfortunately, crowd work is error-prone and slow, making it difficult to incorporate crowds as first-order building blocks in software systems. I introduce computational techniques that decompose complex tasks into simpler, verifiable steps to improve quality, and optimize work to return results in seconds. These techniques develop crowdsourcing as a platform so that it is reliable and responsive enough to be used in interactive systems. This thesis develops these ideas through a series of crowd-powered systems. The first, Soylent, is a word processor that uses paid micro-contributions to aid writing tasks such as text shortening and proofreading. Using Soylent is like having access to an entire editorial staff as you write. The second system, Adrenaline, is a camera that uses crowds to help amateur photographers capture the exact right moment for a photo. It finds the best smile and catches subjects in mid-air jumps, all in realtime. Moving beyond generic knowledge and paid crowds, I introduce techniques to motivate a social network that has specific expertise, and techniques to data mine crowd activity traces in support of a large number of uncommon user goals. These systems point to a future where social and crowd intelligence are central elements of interaction, software, and computation.by Michael Scott Bernstein.Ph.D

Towards internet voting in the state of Qatar

Qatar is a small country in the Middle East which has used its oil wealth to invest in the country's infrastructure and education. The technology for Internet voting now exists or can be developed, but are the people of Qatar willing to take part in Internet voting for national elections?. This research identifies the willingness of government and citizens to introduce and participate in Internet voting (I-voting) in Qatar and the barriers that may be encountered when doing so. A secure I voting model for the Qatar government is then proposed that address issues of I-voting which might arise due to the introduction of such new technology. Recommendations are made for the Qatar government to assist in the introduction of I-voting. The research identifies the feasibility of I-voting and the government s readiness and willingness to introduce it. Multiple factors are examined: the voting experience, educational development, telecommunication development, the large number of Internet users, Qatar law which does not bar the use of I-voting and Qatar culture which supports I-voting introduction. It is shown that there is a willingness amongst both the people and the government to introduce I-voting, and there is appropriate accessibility, availability of IT infrastructure, availability of Internet law to protect online consumers and the existence of the e government project. However, many Qataris have concerns of security, privacy, usability, transparency and other issues that would need to be addressed before any voting system could be considered to be a quality system in the eyes of the voters. Also, the need to consider the security threat associated on client-side machines is identified where a lack of user awareness on information security is an important factor. The proposed model attempts to satisfy voting principles, introducing a secure platform for I-voting using best practices and solutions such as the smart card, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificates. The model was reviewed by a number of experts on Information Technology, and the Qatari culture and law who found that the system would, generally, satisfy voting principles, but pointed out the need to consider the scalability of the model, the possible cyber-attacks and the risks associated with voters computers. which could be reduced by enhancing user awareness on security and using secure operating systems or Internet browsers. From these findings, a set of recommendations were proposed to encourage the government to introduce I-voting which consider different aspects of I-voting, including the digital divide, e-literacy, I voting infrastructure, legal aspects, transparency, security and privacy. These recommendations were also reviewed by experts who found them to be both valuable and effective. Since literature on Internet voting in Qatar is sparse, empirical and non-empirical studies were carried out in a variety of surveys, interviews and experiments. The research successfully achieved its aim and objectives and is now being considered by the Qatari Government

Disconnection Notices: Networks and Power at the Intersection of Technology, Biology, and Finance

This dissertation argues that the concept of the network has brought together technology, economics, biology, and the social under a feigned logic of totality. This study examines the origins and everyday implications of this totalizing network discourse. When networks are taken to describe all relations, the connections and flows of the above four areas define all that exists. But we are not connected thanks to the material structure of new technological and social networks. Instead, we have been made to think of ourselves as connected through the naturalization of an ideology. That which does not connect properly is rendered an aberration from existence. This dissertation is comprised of two parts. The first part argues that the academic theorization of networks emphasizes materiality and nature in such a way as to assume there are no alternatives to networks. Connectivity and flow inevitably ground all possibilities for our contemporary moment, if not all eternity. This reading of networks is ahistorical. When the history of network discourse is acknowledged, it is clear that our understanding of networks has cultural origins that are centuries old. Networks, connectivity, and flow are contingent assumptions about reality, naturalized through technology and discourse. The second part examines how the naturalization of network ideology produces subjects that are compelled to manage connectivity and flow throughout the network as a whole. Connection management does not stop at the individual. Managing the self is equated to the management of the network--and the management of the entire network is impossible. Thus, individual human beings are rendered insignificant or dangerous to the management of connection and flow. The two case studies discussed in this part, which examine various forms of social networks, together present how the empowerment produced through connectivity becomes disempowerment when individuals must manage both their own personal connections and flows along with the connectivity and flow of the networked totality

On Personal Storage Systems: Architecture and Design Considerations

Actualment, els usuaris necessiten grans quantitats d’espai d’emmagatzematge remot per guardar la seva informació personal. En aquesta dissertació, estudiarem dues arquitectures emergents de sistemes d’emmagatzematge d’informació personal: els Núvols Personals (centralitzats) i els sistemes d’emmagatzematge social (descentralitzats). A la Part I d'aquesta tesi, contribuïm desvelant l’operació interna d’un Núvol Personal d’escala global, anomenat UbuntuOne (U1), incloent-hi la seva arquitectura, el seu servei de metadades i les interaccions d’emmagatzematge de dades. A més, proporcionem una anàlisi de la part de servidor d’U1 on estudiem la càrrega del sistema, el comportament dels usuaris i el rendiment del seu servei de metadades. També suggerim tota una sèrie de millores potencials al sistema que poden beneficiar sistemes similars. D'altra banda, en aquesta tesi també contribuïm mesurant i analitzant la qualitat de servei (p.e., velocitat, variabilitat) de les transferències sobre les REST APIs oferides pels Núvols Personals. A més, durant aquest estudi, ens hem adonat que aquestes interfícies poden ser objecte d’abús quan són utilitzades sobre els comptes gratuïts que normalment ofereixen aquests serveis. Això ha motivat l’estudi d’aquesta vulnerabilitat, així com de potencials contramesures. A la Part II d'aquesta dissertació, la nostra primera contribució és analitzar la qualitat de servei que els sistemes d’emmagatzematge social poden proporcionar en termes de disponibilitat de dades, velocitat de transferència i balanceig de la càrrega. El nostre interès principal és entendre com fenòmens intrínsecs, com les dinàmiques de connexió dels usuaris o l’estructura de la xarxa social, limiten el rendiment d’aquests sistemes. També proposem nous mecanismes de manegament de dades per millorar aquestes limitacions. Finalment, dissenyem una arquitectura híbrida que combina recursos del Núvol i dels usuaris. Aquesta arquitectura té com a objectiu millorar la qualitat de servei del sistema i deixa als usuaris decidir la quantitat de recursos utilitzats del Núvol, o en altres paraules, és una decisió entre control de les seves dades i rendiment.Los usuarios cada vez necesitan espacios mayores de almacenamiento en línea para guardar su información personal. Este reto motiva a los investigadores a diseñar y evaluar nuevas infraestructuras de almacenamiento de datos personales. En esta tesis, nos centramos en dos arquitecturas emergentes de almacenamiento de datos personales: las Nubes Personales (centralización) y los sistemas de almacenamiento social (descentralización). Creemos que, pese a su creciente popularidad, estos sistemas requieren de un mayor estudio científico. En la Parte I de esta disertación, examinamos aspectos referentes a la operación interna y el rendimiento de varias Nubes Personales. Concretamente, nuestra primera contribución es desvelar la operación interna e infraestructura de una Nube Personal de gran escala (UbuntuOne, U1). Además, proporcionamos un estudio de la actividad interna de U1 que incluye la carga diaria soportada, el comportamiento de los usuarios y el rendimiento de su sistema de metadatos. También sugerimos mejoras sobre U1 que pueden ser de utilidad en sistemas similares. Por otra parte, en esta tesis medimos y caracterizamos el rendimiento del servicio de REST APIs ofrecido por varias Nubes Personales (velocidad de transferencia, variabilidad, etc.). También demostramos que la combinación de REST APIs sobre cuentas gratuitas de usuario puede dar lugar a abusos por parte de usuarios malintencionados. Esto nos motiva a proponer mecanismos para limitar el impacto de esta vulnerabilidad. En la Parte II de esta tesis, estudiamos la calidad de servicio que pueden ofrecer los sistemas de almacenamiento social en términos de disponibilidad de datos, balanceo de carga y tiempos de transferencia. Nuestro interés principal es entender la manera en que fenómenos intrínsecos, como las dinámicas de conexión de los usuarios o la estructura de su red social, limitan el rendimiento de estos sistemas. También proponemos nuevos mecanismos de gestión de datos para mejorar esas limitaciones. Finalmente, diseñamos y evaluamos una arquitectura híbrida para mejorar la calidad de servicio de los sistemas de almacenamiento social que combina recursos de usuarios y de la Nube. Esta arquitectura permite al usuario decidir su equilibrio entre control de sus datos y rendimiento.Increasingly, end-users demand larger amounts of online storage space to store their personal information. This challenge motivates researchers to devise novel personal storage infrastructures. In this thesis, we focus on two popular personal storage architectures: Personal Clouds (centralized) and social storage systems (decentralized). In our view, despite their growing popularity among users and researchers, there still remain some critical aspects to address regarding these systems. In the Part I of this dissertation, we examine various aspects of the internal operation and performance of various Personal Clouds. Concretely, we first contribute by unveiling the internal structure of a global-scale Personal Cloud, namely UbuntuOne (U1). Moreover, we provide a back-end analysis of U1 that includes the study of the storage workload, the user behavior and the performance of the U1 metadata store. We also suggest improvements to U1 (storage optimizations, user behavior detection and security) that can also benefit similar systems. From an external viewpoint, we actively measure various Personal Clouds through their REST APIs for characterizing their QoS, such as transfer speed, variability and failure rate. We also demonstrate that combining open APIs and free accounts may lead to abuse by malicious parties, which motivates us to propose countermeasures to limit the impact of abusive applications in this scenario. In the Part II of this thesis, we study the storage QoS of social storage systems in terms of data availability, load balancing and transfer times. Our main interest is to understand the way intrinsic phenomena, such as the dynamics of users and the structure of their social relationships, limit the storage QoS of these systems, as well as to research novel mechanisms to ameliorate these limitations. Finally, we design and evaluate a hybrid architecture to enhance the QoS achieved by a social storage system that combines user resources and cloud storage to let users infer the right balance between user control and QoS

Crowdsource Annotation and Automatic Reconstruction of Online Discussion Threads

Modern communication relies on electronic messages organized in the form of discussion threads. Emails, IMs, SMS, website comments, and forums are all composed of threads, which consist of individual user messages connected by metadata and discourse coherence to messages from other users. Threads are used to display user messages effectively in a GUI such as an email client, providing a background context for understanding a single message. Many messages are meaningless without the context provided by their thread. However, a number of factors may result in missing thread structure, ranging from user mistake (replying to the wrong message), to missing metadata (some email clients do not produce/save headers that fully encapsulate thread structure; and, conversion of archived threads from over repository to another may also result in lost metadata), to covert use (users may avoid metadata to render discussions difficult for third parties to understand). In the field of security, law enforcement agencies may obtain vast collections of discussion turns that require automatic thread reconstruction to understand. For example, the Enron Email Corpus, obtained by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during its investigation of the Enron Corporation, has no inherent thread structure. In this thesis, we will use natural language processing approaches to reconstruct threads from message content. Reconstruction based on message content sidesteps the problem of missing metadata, permitting post hoc reorganization and discussion understanding. We will investigate corpora of email threads and Wikipedia discussions. However, there is a scarcity of annotated corpora for this task. For example, the Enron Emails Corpus contains no inherent thread structure. Therefore, we also investigate issues faced when creating crowdsourced datasets and learning statistical models of them. Several of our findings are applicable for other natural language machine classification tasks, beyond thread reconstruction. We will divide our investigation of discussion thread reconstruction into two parts. First, we explore techniques needed to create a corpus for our thread reconstruction research. Like other NLP pairwise classification tasks such as Wikipedia discussion turn/edit alignment and sentence pair text similarity rating, email thread disentanglement is a heavily class-imbalanced problem, and although the advent of crowdsourcing has reduced annotation costs, the common practice of crowdsourcing redundancy is too expensive for class-imbalanced tasks. As the first contribution of this thesis, we evaluate alternative strategies for reducing crowdsourcing annotation redundancy for class-imbalanced NLP tasks. We also examine techniques to learn the best machine classifier from our crowdsourced labels. In order to reduce noise in training data, most natural language crowdsourcing annotation tasks gather redundant labels and aggregate them into an integrated label, which is provided to the classifier. However, aggregation discards potentially useful information from linguistically ambiguous instances. For the second contribution of this thesis, we show that, for four of five natural language tasks, filtering of the training dataset based on crowdsource annotation item agreement improves task performance, while soft labeling based on crowdsource annotations does not improve task performance. Second, we investigate thread reconstruction as divided into the tasks of thread disentanglement and adjacency recognition. We present the Enron Threads Corpus, a newly-extracted corpus of 70,178 multi-email threads with emails from the Enron Email Corpus. In the original Enron Emails Corpus, emails are not sorted by thread. To disentangle these threads, and as the third contribution of this thesis, we perform pairwise classification, using text similarity measures on non-quoted texts in emails. We show that i) content text similarity metrics outperform style and structure text similarity metrics in both a class-balanced and class-imbalanced setting, and ii) although feature performance is dependent on the semantic similarity of the corpus, content features are still effective even when controlling for semantic similarity. To reconstruct threads, it is also necessary to identify adjacency relations among pairs. For the forum of Wikipedia discussions, metadata is not available, and dialogue act typologies, helpful for other domains, are inapplicable. As our fourth contribution, via our experiments, we show that adjacency pair recognition can be performed using lexical pair features, without a dialogue act typology or metadata, and that this is robust to controlling for topic bias of the discussions. Yet, lexical pair features do not effectively model the lexical semantic relations between adjacency pairs. To model lexical semantic relations, and as our fifth contribution, we perform adjacency recognition using extracted keyphrases enhanced with semantically related terms. While this technique outperforms a most frequent class baseline, it fails to outperform lexical pair features or tf-idf weighted cosine similarity. Our investigation shows that this is the result of poor word sense disambiguation and poor keyphrase extraction causing spurious false positive semantic connections. In concluding this thesis, we also reflect on open issues and unanswered questions remaining after our research contributions, discuss applications for thread reconstruction, and suggest some directions for future work

Externalities and Enterprise Software: Helping and Hindering Legal Compliance

Enterprise software helps organizations comply with laws and regulations, yet software itself creates negative externalities that can undermine rights and laws. Software developers are an important regulatory force, yet many know little about how law and software interact. This work examines developer understanding of legal concepts and examples of the software code and law relationship: payroll, Sarbanes Oxley Act, web accessibility, and data protection