No Grice: Computers that Lie, Deceive and Conceal

In the future our daily life interactions with other people, with computers, robots and smart environments will be recorded and interpreted by computers or embedded intelligence in environments, furniture, robots, displays, and wearables. These sensors record our activities, our behavior, and our interactions. Fusion of such information and reasoning about such information makes it possible, using computational models of human behavior and activities, to provide context- and person-aware interpretations of human behavior and activities, including determination of attitudes, moods, and emotions. Sensors include cameras, microphones, eye trackers, position and proximity sensors, tactile or smell sensors, et cetera. Sensors can be embedded in an environment, but they can also move around, for example, if they are part of a mobile social robot or if they are part of devices we carry around or are embedded in our clothes or body. \ud \ud Our daily life behavior and daily life interactions are recorded and interpreted. How can we use such environments and how can such environments use us? Do we always want to cooperate with these environments; do these environments always want to cooperate with us? In this paper we argue that there are many reasons that users or rather human partners of these environments do want to keep information about their intentions and their emotions hidden from these smart environments. On the other hand, their artificial interaction partner may have similar reasons to not give away all information they have or to treat their human partner as an opponent rather than someone that has to be supported by smart technology.\ud \ud This will be elaborated in this paper. We will survey examples of human-computer interactions where there is not necessarily a goal to be explicit about intentions and feelings. In subsequent sections we will look at (1) the computer as a conversational partner, (2) the computer as a butler or diary companion, (3) the computer as a teacher or a trainer, acting in a virtual training environment (a serious game), (4) sports applications (that are not necessarily different from serious game or education environments), and games and entertainment applications

I Can Parse You: Grammars for Dialogs

Humans and computers increasingly converse via natural language. Those conversations are moving from today\u27s simple question answering and command-and-control to more complex dialogs. Developers must specify those dialogs. This paper explores how to assist developers in this specification. We map out the staggering variety of applications for human-computer dialogs and distill it into a catalog of flow patterns. Based on that, we articulate the requirements for dialog programming models and offer our vision for satisfying these requirements using grammars. If our approach catches on, computers will soon parse you to better assist you in your daily life

Electricity, Light and Semiconductors

As technology advanced these days, computers are playing a more and more important role in our daily life; especially in those areas that requires higher technology, for example, aerospace. And as computers keep developing, they tend to be smaller and lighter but much more sufficient. It is the base stone of modern information era. A CPU is the brain of a computer, and as the computers get smaller and smaller, the CPUs are getting smaller and smaller, using semiconductors. Semiconductors have many properties that is extremely useful to human, their conductivity are controlled by their environment, and therefore are adaptable and controllable However, computers are not the only area that requires semiconductors, solar energy and even streetlights are using them to make our life easier. This project is focusing on the basic semiconductor usages and the properties of them. Since streetlights are everywhere in our life, it would make a very good example and it\u27s easy to demonstrate. However, as the width of the semiconductor area, the experience turns out pretty complicated to explain, one explanation can leads to more. This project will be talking about the main types of semiconductors, especially the most widely used ones, for example, silicone. A model of streetlight which is photosensitive is constructed in this project. As mentioned previously, semiconductors are the back bone of modern information era, they play the most important role in our highest technology and will be leading us to the next level of knowledge. This project will focus on the different types of semiconductors, including PNP and NPN, as well as their advantages and disadvantages

Second Language Acquisition and Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication

Before personal computers became popular, social scientists had discussed the potential effects of new forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on society. Hiltz and Turoff (1978) claimed that computerized conferencing would exert a dramatic psychological and sociological influence on various types of group communication in the future. They correctly predicted that computers and the Internet have become a necessity for daily life, and they have greatly changed our lives during just the last decade or so. Computers play a significant role in teaching and learning today. The use of computers in the classroom is becoming ever more popular in first language (L1) acquisition settings and in content-based classrooms. While computers are not seen as a substitute for the teacher, they are considered a new medium that has profoundly changed the ways in which we write, read, and in some cases, even the way we think (Selfe, 1989). Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has received a great deal of attention in the field of second language acquisition (SLA), and every year an increasing number of teachers are using computers in their second language (L2) and foreign language classrooms

Ctrl‐Alt‐Recycle: E‐waste and the intersections between culture and technology

The information and telecommunication revolution has led to a very real change in the behavior of people in developed nations, specifically their increasing dependency on technological tools. We not only use these electronics for work and communication, but they have also become an essential part of our culture and a source of daily entertainment for many people all over the world. But what are the results on the environment of people constantly upgrading and replacing their computers and cell phones? For example, where do discarded electronics end up? Further how has over-consumption in our society—at both the personal and industry level—contributed to the multiplying of electronic waste? In addition, especially in North America, are consumers' attitudes influencing the burgeoning of this waste? Are most people aware of what happens to their rejected phones and computers or are they detached from and indifferent to the increasingly critical problems surrounding the disposal of their end-of-life tools? In this paper I explore what electronic waste is and its dimensions. As well as going deeper into the intersections between culture and technology and how these connections in turn contribute to the quandary of electronic waste. Using research from scholarly journals, statistics, and analysis, I cover the avenues in which culture and electronic waste overlap. Further, I explore the issue of electronic waste and how it is inherently affected by our culture, our attitudes and our lifestyle

Building Information Modelling (BIM): Benefits for Small Scale Construction Industry

While time passes and life changes, the development of technology is taking place in every part of our life quickly, also it affects daily life. it creates new tools, procedures, and methods for all sectors, and simplifies many operations. Nowadays, design tools that depend on computers have been used in the construction industry, it has a direct effect on the whole project life, and it has made a revolution in the construction sector. Building information modeling (BIM) simply refers to the development of a building model generated by using the computer, that model is rich of data, object-oriented, smart and also a parametric digital representation of the building. This paper discusses the advantages of implementation of BIM technology for the small scale construction industry, it will mainly focus on quantity takeoff and accuracy of projects, firstly it presents the definition and the main concept of BIM. Then, a case study of a 3-storey building project in Baghdad is done to evaluate the effect of BIM quantity takeoff, tendering, and other effects on the project. At the end, results and challenges will be discussed

'A study on the service performance of "on-call-maintenance services" by DiGiCITY (M) Sdn Bhd.' / Mohd Izral Mohd Nazir

Nowadays, as we lived in the 22nd centuries, computers have emerged as one of the important things in our day life. People were using computers to assist them in their work and their task. They are trying to acquire more knowledge and skills of computers in order to make their life easier. Even big companies looked for computers now as their competitive advantage. As many party used computers daily, it create an opportunities for DiGiCITY (M) Sdn. Bhd. to take. If the computers fails to function as usual or breakdown, these people needs an expert to solve the problems and DiGiCITY are prepared to provide these expert by hired and trained their technician to take the job. Even though DiGiCITY have hired and trained their technician well, it doesn't mean that their service performance is good. So, this research is conducted to look the service performance of on-call-maintenance services provided by DiGiCITY (M) Sdn. Bhd. DiGiCITY service performance will be determine by their own customer where it will be looked from many criteria such as effectiveness, efficiency, response time, etc. We will look whether DiGiCITY have availability of human resource to take all the job that had been offered to them and whether they have the knowledge and skills to complete the task

Networked Families

Presents survey results on the use of the Internet and ownership of cell phones and computers, by household type. Examines how technology ownership affects the frequency, form, purpose, and quality of communications among family members and friends

Technology use in everyday life: Implications for designing for older users

This study examines the experience and attitudes of older adults towards technology and how they compare with younger age groups. Two hundred and thirty seven participants completed an extensive questionnaire exploring their daily lifestyle, use of technology, attitudes towards technology, and perceived difficulty of household devices. The main findings from the study were; (1) there was a strong motivation to learn or to continue learning to use computers by the older group; (2) social connectedness influenced how the older group used or would like to use technology and also why some preferred not to use it; and finally (3) there was an age-related increase in perceived difficulty for many household devices, however some devices maintained intergenerational usability. These finding can be used to inform the design of future intergenerational household technologies