10,854 research outputs found
Privacy Issues of the W3C Geolocation API
The W3C's Geolocation API may rapidly standardize the transmission of
location information on the Web, but, in dealing with such sensitive
information, it also raises serious privacy concerns. We analyze the manner and
extent to which the current W3C Geolocation API provides mechanisms to support
privacy. We propose a privacy framework for the consideration of location
information and use it to evaluate the W3C Geolocation API, both the
specification and its use in the wild, and recommend some modifications to the
API as a result of our analysis
BIBS: A Lecture Webcasting System
The Berkeley Internet Broadcasting System (BIBS) is a lecture webcasting system developed and operated by the Berkeley Multimedia Research Center. The system offers live remote viewing and on-demand replay of course lectures using streaming audio and video over the Internet. During the Fall 2000 semester 14 classes were webcast, including several large lower division classes, with a total enrollment of over 4,000 students. Lectures were played over 15,000 times per month during the semester. The primary use of the webcasts is to study for examinations. Students report they watch BIBS lectures because they did not understand material presented in lecture, because they wanted to review what the instructor said about selected topics, because they missed a lecture, and/or because they had difficulty understanding the speaker (e.g., non-native English speakers). Analysis of various survey data suggests that more than 50% of the students enrolled in some large classes view lectures and that as many as 75% of the lectures are played by members of the Berkeley community. Faculty attitudes vary about the virtues of lecture webcasting. Some question the use of this technology while others believe it is a valuable aid to education. Further study is required to accurately assess the pedagogical impact that lecture webcasts have on student learning
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Enhancing Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase Activity on Substrates with 3' Terminal Structures for Enzymatic De Novo DNA Synthesis.
Enzymatic oligonucleotide synthesis methods based on the template-independent polymerase terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) promise to enable the de novo synthesis of long oligonucleotides under mild, aqueous conditions. Intermediates with a 3' terminal structure (hairpins) will inevitably arise during synthesis, but TdT has poor activity on these structured substrates, limiting its usefulness for oligonucleotide synthesis. Here, we described two parallel efforts to improve the activity of TdT on hairpins: (1) optimization of the concentrations of the divalent cation cofactors and (2) engineering TdT for enhanced thermostability, enabling reactions at elevated temperatures. By combining both of these improvements, we obtained a ~10-fold increase in the elongation rate of a guanine-cytosine hairpin
Enabling Micro-level Demand-Side Grid Flexiblity in Resource Constrained Environments
The increased penetration of uncertain and variable renewable energy presents
various resource and operational electric grid challenges. Micro-level
(household and small commercial) demand-side grid flexibility could be a
cost-effective strategy to integrate high penetrations of wind and solar
energy, but literature and field deployments exploring the necessary
information and communication technologies (ICTs) are scant. This paper
presents an exploratory framework for enabling information driven grid
flexibility through the Internet of Things (IoT), and a proof-of-concept
wireless sensor gateway (FlexBox) to collect the necessary parameters for
adequately monitoring and actuating the micro-level demand-side. In the summer
of 2015, thirty sensor gateways were deployed in the city of Managua
(Nicaragua) to develop a baseline for a near future small-scale demand response
pilot implementation. FlexBox field data has begun shedding light on
relationships between ambient temperature and load energy consumption, load and
building envelope energy efficiency challenges, latency communication network
challenges, and opportunities to engage existing demand-side user behavioral
patterns. Information driven grid flexibility strategies present great
opportunity to develop new technologies, system architectures, and
implementation approaches that can easily scale across regions, incomes, and
levels of development
Current and Nascent SETI Instruments
Here we describe our ongoing efforts to develop high-performance and
sensitive instrumentation for use in the search for extra-terrestrial
intelligence (SETI). These efforts include our recently deployed Search for
Extraterrestrial Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations
Spectrometer (SERENDIP V.v) and two instruments currently under development;
the Heterogeneous Radio SETI Spectrometer (HRSS) for SETI observations in the
radio spectrum and the Optical SETI Fast Photometer (OSFP) for SETI
observations in the optical band. We will discuss the basic SERENDIP V.v
instrument design and initial analysis methodology, along with instrument
architectures and observation strategies for OSFP and HRSS. In addition, we
will demonstrate how these instruments may be built using low-cost, modular
components and programmed and operated by students using common languages, e.g.
ANSI C.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, Original version appears as Chapter 2 in "The
Proceedings of SETI Sessions at the 2010 Astrobiology Science Conference:
Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CETI)," Douglas A. Vakoch,
Edito
The University as Publisher: Summary of a Meeting Held at UC Berkeley on November 1, 2007
With the advent of electronic publishing, the scholarly communication landscape at universities has become increasingly diverse. Multiple stakeholders including university presses, libraries, and central IT departments are challenged by the increasing volume and the rapidity of production of these new forms of publication in an environment of economic uncertainties. As a response to these increasing pressures, as well as the recent publication of important reports and papers on the topic, the Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) convened a meeting of experts titled, The University as Publisher. The event was sponsored as part of the A.W. Mellon Foundation-funded Future of Scholarly Communication project at CSHE.Our goal was to explore among stakeholders -- faculty, publishers, CIOs, librarians, and researchers -- the implications of the academic community, in some structure, taking over many, if not all, aspects of scholarly publishing. Two themes were the focus of the public panels: Institutional Roles in Evaluation, Quality Assessment, and Selection and Structuring and Budgeting Models for Publishing within the University Community. Our discussions included the importance of distinguishing between informal dissemination and formal publishing and the challenges that each presents to the university community. The harsh economic realities of high-quality formal scholarly publication, not least of which are managing peer review and editorial processes, were emphasized. Understanding disciplinary needs was cited as paramount throughout the discussions; the needs and traditions of scholars in the sciences and humanities, as well as among myriad disciplines, will likely demand different dissemination and publishing models and solutions. An additional theme that emerged was acknowledging the diverse forms electronic dissemination takes in the academy and the need to foster a spectrum of alternatives in publication forms, business models, and the peer review process. Budgetary and academic freedom concerns were explored as well. Regarding the expensive infrastructure required for electronic dissemination and publishing, it was agreed that there is enormous duplication among the university press, IT, and the library
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Open Software-Architecture for Building Monitoring and Control
Information technology can increase energy efficiency by improving the control of energy-using devices and systems. Awareness of this potential is not new—ideas for applications of information technology for energy efficiency have been promoted for more than 20 years. But much of the potential gain from the application of information technology has not yet been realized. Today a combination of new requirements for the operation of the electricity system and the development of new technology has the potential to cause a rapid increase in the pace of adoption of improved controls. In this paper we discuss one promising avenue for technology advancement. First, we review some basic concepts with emphasis on open software-architecture. Then we describe the components of XBOS, a realization of this open software-architecture. XBOS has the ability to monitor and control many different sensors and devices using both wired and wireless communication and a variety of communication protocols. Finally, we illustrate the capabilities of XBOS with examples from an XBOS installation in a small commercial office building in Berkeley California
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