Enabling smartphone-based HD video chats by cooperative transmissions in CRNs

Smartphones have been equipped with the cameras that can shoot HD videos, and the video chat apps such as Skype are becoming popular. We can, therefore, intuitively predict the trend that users are expecting to enjoy HD video chats via utilizing their smartphones. Most of the current Internet services, however, cannot support the live HD video transmissions because of their low uplink rate. In order to overcome this limit, we propose to offload the uplink transmissions to cooperative users via cognitive radio networks. Specifically, we first divide the video stream into several substreams according to the H.264/SVC standard and the cooperative users’ uplink rates. Then, the cooperative users are selected by employing our proposed optimal multiple stopping method. Finally, the substreams are assigned to the selected cooperative users by a 0-1 Knapsack-based allocation algorithm. The simulation results demonstrate that our proposed scheme can successfully support 720P HD video chats

Reality TV and the Entrapment of Predators

Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator”(2006-08) involved NBC staff working with police and a watchdog group called “Perverted Justice” to televise “special intensity” arrests of men who were lured into meeting adult decoys posing as young children, presumably for a sexual encounter. As reality television, “To Catch a Predator” facilitates public shaming of those caught in front of the cameras, which distinguishes it from fictional representations. In one case, a Texas District Attorney, Louis Conradt, shot himself on film, unable to bear the public humiliation of cameras airing his arrest. The show engenders conflicting responses: Did the show fulfill a public service by informing the public about real dangers and deterring potential predators, or was it an insensitive effort to garner ratings by taking advantage of human weaknesses? Is the sort of public shaming it imposes an appropriate form of punishment given the legitimate purposes of punishment? Did the show portray justice, or did it entrap victims? How did NBC’s working relationship with local police bear on the answer to that question? This paper addresses these questions and develops three objections to the show: that NBC in effect metes out unjust punishment; that it invades privacy; and that it entraps

Analysing video and audio data: existing approaches and new innovations

Across many subject disciplines, video and audio data are recorded in order to document processes, procedures or interactions. These video and audio data are consequently analysed using a number of techniques, in order to try and make sense of what was happening at the time of the recording, sometimes in relation to initial hypotheses or sometimes in terms of a 'post hoc' analysis where a more grounded approach is used. This paper contains an overview of tools and techniques for examining video data and looks at potential new methods borrowed from the field of learning analytics, related to discourse analysis. Discourse analysis, where conversations and the spoken word are explored and dissected in detail, can provide us with information about the learning context and the ways in which learners interact with people and other resources in their environment

Examining the role of smart TVs and VR HMDs in synchronous at-a-distance media consumption

This article examines synchronous at-a-distance media consumption from two perspectives: How it can be facilitated using existing consumer displays (through TVs combined with smartphones), and imminently available consumer displays (through virtual reality (VR) HMDs combined with RGBD sensing). First, we discuss results from an initial evaluation of a synchronous shared at-a-distance smart TV system, CastAway. Through week-long in-home deployments with five couples, we gain formative insights into the adoption and usage of at-a-distance media consumption and how couples communicated during said consumption. We then examine how the imminent availability and potential adoption of consumer VR HMDs could affect preferences toward how synchronous at-a-distance media consumption is conducted, in a laboratory study of 12 pairs, by enhancing media immersion and supporting embodied telepresence for communication. Finally, we discuss the implications these studies have for the near-future of consumer synchronous at-a-distance media consumption. When combined, these studies begin to explore a design space regarding the varying ways in which at-a-distance media consumption can be supported and experienced (through music, TV content, augmenting existing TV content for immersion, and immersive VR content), what factors might influence usage and adoption and the implications for supporting communication and telepresence during media consumption

Ambient video awareness: “It’s great, but I still don’t want it”

Video instant messaging tools are not as widely used as we would have predicted and have so far failed to fulfill their promise to become an indispensable tool of social presence, interacting within the workgroup environment and creating a sense of community. Whilst users are becoming comfortable with videoconferencing and software video meetings, the use of video in “awareness” is still very uncommon. Over a 2-year period, we have run 8 discrete Hexagon room studies on naturalistic “ambient video awareness”. Only one of these studies can be considered to be a (limited) success. This paper discusses some of the factors inhibiting the use of such tools in e-learning environments, based on users’ feedback on issues, such as the tool promotion, user interface, size of community and visibility concerns

Are digital natives a myth or reality?: Students’ use of technologies for learning

This paper outlines the findings of a study investigating the extent and nature of use of digital technologies by undergraduate students in Social Work and Engineering, in two British universities. The study involved a questionnaire survey of students (n=160) followed by in-depth interviews with students (n=8) and lecturers and support staff (n=8) in both institutions. Firstly, the findings suggest that students use a limited range of technologies for both learning and socialisation. For learning, mainly established ICTs are used- institutional VLE, Google and Wikipedia and mobile phones. Students make limited, recreational use of social technologies such as media sharing tools and social networking sites. Secondly, the findings point to a low level of use of and familiarity with collaborative knowledge creation tools, virtual worlds, personal web publishing, and other emergent social technologies. Thirdly, the study did not find evidence to support the claims regarding students adopting radically different patterns of knowledge creation and sharing suggested by some previous studies. The study shows that students’ attitudes to learning appear to be influenced by the approaches adopted by their lecturers. Far from demanding lecturers change their practice, students appear to conform to fairly traditional pedagogies, albeit with minor uses of technology tools that deliver content. Despite both groups clearly using a rather limited range of technologies for learning, the results point to some age differences, with younger, engineering students making somewhat more active, albeit limited, use of tools than the older ones. The outcomes suggest that although the calls for radical transformations in educational approaches may be legitimate it would be misleading to ground the arguments for such change solely in students’ shifting expectations and patterns of learning and technology use

TechNews digests: Jan - Nov 2006

TechNews is a technology, news and analysis service aimed at anyone in the education sector keen to stay informed about technology developments, trends and issues. TechNews focuses on emerging technologies and other technology news. TechNews service : digests september 2004 till May 2010 Analysis pieces and News combined publish every 2 to 3 month

E-Science in the classroom - Towards viability

E-Science has the potential to transform school science by enabling learners, teachers and research scientists to engage together in authentic scientific enquiry, collaboration and learning. However, if we are to reap the benefits of this potential as part of everyday teaching and learning, we need to explicitly think about and support the work required to set up and run e-Science experiences within any particular educational context. In this paper, we present a framework for identifying and describing the resources, tools and services necessary to move e-Science into the classroom together with examples of these. This framework is derived from previous experiences conducting educational e-Science projects and systematic analysis of the categories of ‘hidden work’ needed to run these projects (Smith, Underwood, Fitzpatrick, & Luckin, forthcoming). The articulation of resources, tools and services based on these categories provides a starting point for more methodical design and deployment of future educational e- Science projects, reflection on which can also help further develop the framework. It also points to the technological infrastructure from which such tools and services could be built. As such it provides an agenda of work to develop both processes and technologies that would make it practical for teachers to deliver active, and collaborative e-Science learning experiences on a larger scale within and across schools. Routine school e- Science will only be possible if such support is specified, implemented and made available to teachers within their work contexts in an appropriate and usable form