An authoring tool for structuring and annotating on-line educational courses : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science at Massey University

This thesis studies the design and prototype implementation of a new web-based course authoring system for the Technology Integrated Learning Environment (TILE) project. The TILE authoring system edits the course structure and allows the author to annotate the course structure with meta-data. It makes extensive use of XML technology to communicate structured data across the Internet, as well as for both local and web-side databases. The Authoring tool is designed to support development by multiple authors and has check-in and check - out, as well as version control facilities. It also provides an interface for adopting other multimedia tools such as AudioGraph. The tool has an easy-to-use graphical user interface. The technical problems that have been solved in this project include issues such as cross-platform support, drag and drop functionality using JDK l.l.8, etc. System environments, such as relational database set up, XML database set up, Java swing set up in Mac also have been discussed. The authoring system interface analysis, database analysis and function analysis have been completed for the complete the system as specified. An intermediate system, designed to a reduced specification, has been implemented as a prototype and details of this system, which can work independently of the TILE delivery system, are included. The Full TILE authoring system including InstantDB database access also has been partially implemented. The prototype application has also has been tested on the PC platform

Make it so! Jean-Luc Picard, Bart Simpson and the design of e-public services

In this paper, we report on a project applying participatory design methods to include people who have experience of social exclusion (in one form or another) in designing possible technologies for e-(local)-government services. The work was part of a project for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the UK, and was concerned with ‘access tokens’ that can provide personal identification for individuals accessing public services, based on technologies such as multi-functional smartcards, flash memory sticks, mobile phone SIMs or similar devices. In particular we report on our experience using the ‘pastiche scenarios’ technique recently developed by Mark Blythe. Our findings indicate that the technique can be effective and engaging in helping people to create realistic scenarios of future technology use and highlight some possible pitfalls to consider when using this technique.</p

What's Most Fun: A Framework To Protect Creativity in the Age of Instagram

The online world offers the tantalizing promise of exposure for a new generation of artists, with animators flocking to Instagram to form the latest virtual art sharing space. For women, like me, working in commercial animation, Instagram offers a venue to be seen in an industry with chauvinist and industrial roots. By empowering new creators to surmount the studio monolith, social media platforms present an opportunity to forge a personal creative identity online. There are complexities with this new visibility, as sharing platforms encourage sameness by reinforcing linear trajectories that commodify the creative self. Online sharing culture affects creative practice in numerous ways; with a focus on the experience of women in animation, this thesis examines a particular subset of the Instagram phenomenon. Through the creation and facilitation of a participatory workshop, this paper presents a framework to address the developmental needs of the new generation of artists raised on social media. In the workshop, participants are asked to put aside their devices and reflect through a series of drawing activities that raise questions about social media performativity in order to reignite the lost creative self. Further, they investigate ways to maintain a creatively sustainable art practice online. As part of a feminist discourse this project favours a participatory approach to workshop facilitation that uses play as a way for participants to imagine and design their art practice for the digital future

Human factors workplace considerations

Computer workstations assume many different forms and play different functions today. In order for them to assume the effective interface role which they should play they must be properly designed to take into account the ubiguitous human factor. In addition, the entire workplace in which they are used should be properly configured so as to enhance the operational features of the individual workstation where possible. A number of general human factors workplace considerations are presented. This ongoing series of notes covers such topics as achieving comfort and good screen visibility, hardware issues (e.g., mouse maintenance), screen symbology features (e.g., labels, cursors, prompts), and various miscellaneous subjects. These notes are presented here in order to: (1) illustrate how one's workstation can be used to support telescience activities of many other people working within an organization, and (2) provide a single complete set of considerations for future reference

The busy coder's guide to Android development

380 p. ; il. , Indice.Libro ElectrónicoIf you are interested in programming for Android, you will need at least basic understanding of how to program in Java. Android programming is done using Java syntax, plus a class library that resembles a subset of the Java SE library (plus Android-specific extensions). If you have not programmed in Java before, you probably should quick learn how that works before attempting to dive into programming for Android. The book does not cover in any detail how to download or install the Android development tools, either the Eclipse IDE flavor or the standalone flavor. The Android Web site covers this quite nicely. The material in the book should be relevant whether you use the IDE or not. You should download, install, and test out the Android development tools from the Android Web site before trying any of the examples listed in this book.Welcome to the Warescription!xiii Prefacexv Welcome to the Book!xv Prerequisitesxv Warescriptionxvi Book Bug Bountyxvii Source Code Licensexviii Creative Commons and the Four-to-Free (42F) Guaranteexviii The Big Picture1 What Androids Are Made Of3 Activities3 Content Providers4 Intents4 Services4 Stuff At Your Disposal5 Storage5 Network5 Multimedia5 GPS5 Phone Services6 Project Structure7 Root Contents7 The Sweat Off Your Brow8 iii Subscribe to updates at http://commonswarecom Special Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 30 License Edition And Now, The Rest of the Story8 What You Get Out Of It9 Inside the Manifest11 In The Beginning, There Was the Root, And It Was Good11 Permissions, Instrumentations, and Applications (Oh, My!)12 Your Application Does Something, Right?13 Creating a Skeleton Application17 Begin at the Beginning17 The Activity18 Dissecting the Activity19 Building and Running the Activity21 Using XML-Based Layouts23 What Is an XML-Based Layout?23 Why Use XML-Based Layouts?24 OK, So What Does It Look Like?25 What's With the @ Signs?26 And We Attach These to the JavaHow?26 The Rest of the Story27 Employing Basic Widgets29 Assigning Labels29 Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?30 Fleeting Images31 Fields of Green Or Other Colors31 Just Another Box to Check34 Turn the Radio Up37 It's Quite a View39 Useful Properties39 Useful Methods39 Working with Containers41 Thinking Linearly42 Concepts and Properties42 Example45 All Things Are Relative50 iv Subscribe to updates at http://commonswarecom Special Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 30 License Edition Concepts and Properties50 Example53 Tabula Rasa56 Concepts and Properties56 Example59 Scrollwork60 Using Selection Widgets65 Adapting to the Circumstances65 Using ArrayAdapter66 Other Key Adapters67 Lists of Naughty and Nice68 Spin Control70 Grid Your Lions (Or Something Like That)74 Fields: Now With 35% Less Typing!78 Galleries, Give Or Take The Art82 Employing Fancy Widgets and Containers83 Pick and Choose83 Time Keeps Flowing Like a River88 Making Progress89 Putting It On My Tab90 The Pieces91 The Idiosyncrasies91 Wiring It Together93 Other Containers of Note96 Applying Menus97 Flavors of Menu97 Menus of Options98 Menus in Context100 Taking a Peek102 Embedding the WebKit Browser107 A Browser, Writ Small107 Loading It Up109 Navigating the Waters111 v Subscribe to updates at http://commonswarecom Special Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 30 License Edition Entertaining the Client111 Settings, Preferences, and Options (Oh, My!)114 Showing Pop-Up Messages117 Raising Toasts117 Alert! Alert!118 Checking Them Out119 Dealing with Threads123 Getting Through the Handlers123 Messages124 Runnables127 Running In Place127 Utilities (And I Don't Mean Water Works)128 And Now, The Caveats128 Handling Activity Lifecycle Events131 Schroedinger's Activity131 Life, Death, and Your Activity132 onCreate() and onCompleteThaw()132 onStart(), onRestart(), and onResume()133 onPause(), onFreeze(), onStop(), and onDestroy()134 Using Preferences137 Getting What You Want137 Stating Your Preference138 A Preference For Action138 Accessing Files143 You And The Horse You Rode In On143 Readin' 'n Writin'147 Working with Resources151 The Resource Lineup151 String Theory152 Plain Strings152 String Formats153 Styled Text153 Styled Formats154 vi Subscribe to updates at http://commonswarecom Special Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 30 License Edition Got the Picture?158 XML: The Resource Way160 Miscellaneous Values163 Dimensions163 Colors164 Arrays165 Different Strokes for Different Folks166 Managing and Accessing Local Databases171 A Quick SQLite Primer172 Start at the Beginning173 Setting the Table174 Makin' Data174 What Goes Around, Comes Around176 Raw Queries176 Regular Queries177 Building with Builders177 Using Cursors179 Change for the Sake of Change179 Making Your Own Cursors180 Data, Data, Everywhere180 Leveraging Java Libraries183 The Outer Limits183 Ants and Jars184 Communicating via the Internet187 REST and Relaxation187 HTTP Operations via Apache Commons188 Parsing Responses190 Stuff To Consider192 Email over Java193 Creating Intent Filters199 What's Your Intent?200 Pieces of Intents200 Stock Options201 vii Subscribe to updates at http://commonswarecom Special Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 30 License Edition Intent Routing202 Stating Your Intent(ions)203 Narrow Receivers205 Launching Activities and Sub-Activities207 Peers and Subs208 Start 'Em Up208 Make an Intent209 Make the Call209 Finding Available Actions via Introspection215 Pick 'Em216 Adaptable Adapters220 Would You Like to See the Menu?223 Asking Around225 Using a Content Provider229 Pieces of Me229 Getting a Handle230 Makin' Queries231 Adapting to the Circumstances233 Doing It By Hand235 Position235 Getting Properties236 Setting Properties237 Give and Take238 Beware of the BLOB!239 Building a Content Provider241 First, Some Dissection241 Next, Some Typing242 Step #1: Create a Provider Class243 ContentProvider243 DatabaseContentProvider252 Step #2: Supply a Uri252 Step #3: Declare the Properties252 Step #4: Update the Manifest253 viii Subscribe to updates at http://commonswarecom Special Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 30 License Edition Notify-On-Change Support254 Requesting and Requiring Permissions257 Mother, May I?258 Halt! Who Goes There?259 Enforcing Permissions via the Manifest260 Enforcing Permissions Elsewhere261 May I See Your Documents?262 Creating a Service263 Getting Buzzed264 Service with Class264 When IPC Attacks!266 Write the AIDL267 Implement the Interface268 Manifest Destiny270 Where's the Remote?271 Invoking a Service273 Bound for Success274 Request for Service276 Prometheus Unbound276 Manual Transmission276 Alerting Users Via Notifications279 Types of Pestering279 Hardware Notifications280 Icons281 Letting Your Presence Be Felt281 Accessing Location-Based Services287 Location Providers: They Know Where You're Hiding288 Finding Yourself288 On the Move292 Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet?292 TestingTesting296 Mapping with MapView and MapActivity299 The Bare Bones299 ix Subscribe to updates at http://commonswarecom Special Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 30 License Edition Exercising Your Control301 Zoom301 Center302 Reticle303 Traffic and Terrain303 Follow You, Follow Me305 Layers Upon Layers307 Overlay Classes308 Drawing the Overlay308 Handling Screen Taps310 Playing Media313 Get Your Media On314 Making Noise315 Moving Pictures321 Handling Telephone Calls325 No, No, No – Not That IPhone326 What's Our Status?326 You Make the Call!326 Searching with SearchManager333 Hunting Season333 Search Yourself335 Craft the Search Activity336 Update the Manifest340 Try It Out342 The TourIt Sample Application347 Installing TourIt347 Demo Location Provider347 SD Card Image with Sample Tour348 Running TourIt349 Main Activity350 Configuration Activity352 Cue Sheet Activity354 Map Activity355 x Subscribe to updates at http://commonswarecom Special Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 30 License Edition Tour Update Activity357 Help Activity358 TourIt's Manifest359 TourIt's Content360 Data Storage361 Content Provider361 Model Classes361 TourIt's Activities362 TourListActivity362 TourViewActivity363 TourMapActivity367 TourEditActivity367 HelpActivity367 ConfigActivity36

In defense of a "grammar" in the visual language of comics

Visual Language Theory (VLT) argues that the structure of drawn images is guided by similar cognitive principles as language, foremost a "narrative grammar" that guides the ways in which sequences of images convey meaning. Recent works have critiqued this linguistic orientation, such as Bateman and Wildfeuer's (2014) arguments that a grammar for sequential images is unnecessary. They assert that the notion of a grammar governing sequential images is problematic, and that the same information can be captured in a "discourse" based approach that dynamically updates meaningful information across juxtaposed images. This paper reviews these assertions, addresses their critiques about a grammar of sequential images, and then details the shortcomings of their own claims. Such discussion is directly grounded in the empirical evidence about how people comprehend sequences of images. In doing so, it reviews the assumptions and basic principles of the narrative grammar of the visual language used in comics, and it aims to demonstrate the empirical standards by which theories of comics' structure should adhere to. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The historical development and basis of human factors guidelines for automated systems in aeronautical operations

In order to derive general design guidelines for automated systems a study was conducted on the utilization and acceptance of existing automated systems as currently employed in several commercial fields. Four principal study area were investigated by means of structured interviews, and in some cases questionnaires. The study areas were aviation, a both scheduled airline and general commercial aviation; process control and factory applications; office automation; and automation in the power industry. The results of over eighty structured interviews were analyzed and responses categoried as various human factors issues for use by both designers and users of automated equipment. These guidelines address such items as general physical features of automated equipment; personnel orientation, acceptance, and training; and both personnel and system reliability

Intentional Friction in the User Interface of Digital Games

Embora projetar fricção intencionalmente em interfaces do utilizador de jogos possa ser uma estratégia adequada para desafiar as crenças dos jogadores e estimular a reflexão, as práticas convencionais de interface do utilizador são frequentemente influenciadas por um paradigma abrangente de facilidade de uso e prazer. Esta dissertação investiga como designers podem empregar fricção intencional em interfaces do utilizador de jogos digitais para criar experiências significativas e inspirar reflexão nos seus jogadores. Primeiro, revimos a literatura para enquadrar o que constitui elementos de interface no game design, o paradigma de usabilidade e diversão e outras perspetivas que oferecem contexto para o uso da fricção como estratégia. Depois, exploramos instâncias de jogos que usam fricção na interface do utilizador quando apropriado como estratégia para expressar um ponto de vista, desafiar sistemas atuais ou fomentar a reflexão crítica. O ponto de partida para nossas observações são os sete princípios de design de Donald Norman e as heurísticas de usabilidade de Jakob Nielsen. Como resultado, identificamos seis estratégias de fricção intencional distintas. Em seguida, realizamos duas sessões de workshop de co-criação com um total de sete participantes com experiência em interface de utilizador ou design de jogos para identificar estratégias e perspetivas adicionais. As estratégias coletadas foram reunidas numa ferramenta de cartas. Por fim, realizamos uma sessão inicial de validação da ferramenta com quatro participantes com resultados promissores, sugerindo que as estratégias de fricção da ferramenta conseguiram impulsionar a expressividade como um componente importante do processo de discussão e ideação dos participantes. Embora este trabalho não esteja focado em coletar todas as abordagens de design de fricção indiscriminadamente, as estratégias identificadas sugerem técnicas mais subtis do que apenas enquadrar em reverso os princípios para criar um design amigável.  While intentionally designing friction in gaming user interfaces may be a suitable strategy for challenging players' beliefs and prompting reflection, conventional user interface practices are frequently influenced by an overarching paradigm of user-friendliness and enjoyment. This dissertation investigates how designers might employ intentional friction in digital game user interfaces to create meaningful experiences and inspire reflection in its players. First, we review the literature to frame what constitutes interface elements in game design, the user-friendly and enjoyment paradigm, and other perspectives that offer context to using friction as a strategy. Afterward, we explore game instances that use user interface friction when appropriate as a strategy to express a point of view, to challenge current systems, or to foment critical reflection. The starting point for our observations is Donald Norman's seven design principles and Jakob Nielsen's usability heuristics. As a result, we identify six distinct intentional friction strategies. Next, we ran two co-creation workshop sessions with a total of seven participants with user interface or game design backgrounds to identify additional strategies and perspectives. The strategies gathered were collected in a deck-based tool. Finally, we ran an initial tool validation session with four participants with promising results, suggesting that the tool's friction strategies were able to drive expressiveness as an important component of the participant's discussion and ideation process. Although this work is not focused on collecting all friction design approaches indiscriminately, the identified strategies suggest more nuanced techniques than just framing the principles to create a friendly design in reverse

Quo vadimus? The 21st Century and multimedia

The concept is related of computer driven multimedia to the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Program (STIP). Multimedia is defined here as computer integration and output of text, animation, audio, video, and graphics. Multimedia is the stage of computer based information that allows access to experience. The concepts are also drawn in of hypermedia, intermedia, interactive multimedia, hypertext, imaging, cyberspace, and virtual reality. Examples of these technology developments are given for NASA, private industry, and academia. Examples of concurrent technology developments and implementations are given to show how these technologies, along with multimedia, have put us at the threshold of the 21st century. The STI Program sees multimedia as an opportunity for revolutionizing the way STI is managed

Cognition and Technology: Effectiveness of intelligent tutoring systems for software training

This study addresses the potential of using an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) to tutor on off-the-shelf (OTS) software. ITSs have been successfully used to tutor on a variety of learning domains, but there has been little research comparing ITS-based training on an OTS application with traditional software training approaches such as books or interactive software simulations. The work presented here includes procedures and results for Paint.NET training and evaluation using three methods: book-based, interactive simulation, and an ITS. It is reported that there were some associations between the training method and training experiences. Book-based training exhibited higher scores on both task performance and system usability perception, while better times were recorded for the simulation approach. Concept acquisition score was not found to significantly correlate with training method, however. Additionally, it was found that interactions between training mode and spatial ability or general self-efficacy (GSE) significantly affected system usability perception. It was also learned that within ITS high computer self-efficacy (CSE) learners outperformed these with low CSE on task performance measure. Similar findings were reported for simulation group where high-spatial learners recorded better training times than low-spatial learners. Overall, results indicated that four individual characteristics to succeed indicators explored in this study significantly correlated with total training time and system usability measures. It is concluded that if an ITS is to be a tutor on OTS application then further refinements are needed