Virtual reality training for Hajj pilgrims as an innovative community translation dissemination medium

During the Islamic pilgrimage known as Hajj, Muslim pilgrims from all over the world, with many different backgrounds, gather together and coexist in the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Managing a large and diverse congregation for the safe and successful completion of Hajj requires effective communication channels between speakers of the mainstream languages and international pilgrims or non-Arabic-speaking pilgrims. The focus of the study is on the use of innovative media in community translation (CT) dissemination methods and will determine which CT dissemination media are the most effective for English-speaking Hajj pilgrims. The study compares three forms of media: the booklet and video guides from the official Mnask Academy media produced by Hajj authorities; and the prototype of this study, an immersive virtual reality-based Hajj training media “VR-Hajj”. The methodology of the study consisted of three stages, starting with the development of assessment tools. Community translation usability (CTX) and medium usability (MX) for the different community translation dissemination media, which were based on the literature on CT studies and user-centred translation (UCT) studies, as well as usability studies (UX). The next stage was prototyping, which involved the collaboration between the researcher and virtual reality experts (developers and designers). The final stage was testing the three community translation dissemination media mentioned earlier with English-speaking Muslim users. A total of 96 Muslim respondents were surveyed, three groups were formed, and each participant evaluated a community translation dissemination medium. The self-administered questionnaire elicited perceptions and feedback about CTX and MX from the three groups. Quantitative data was processed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), while qualitative data was analysed using the Thematic Analysis (TA) method. The results of the present study revealed significant differences between the levels of community translation perception and medium usability achieved by participants from each group. In addition, the results revealed the shortcomings of the conventional Mnask Academy training media currently in use, as well as the promising advantages of using innovative immersive virtual reality technology for Hajj training. The study concludes that immersive virtual reality technology, which allows pilgrims to mentally travel to the Hajj area, is more effective for understanding community translation, Hajj rituals and related cultural aspects than passively-created community translation media

Proceedings of the 9th Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD) international conference 2021 (ASCAAD 2021): architecture in the age of disruptive technologies: transformation and challenges.

The ASCAAD 2021 conference theme is Architecture in the age of disruptive technologies: transformation and challenges. The theme addresses the gradual shift in computational design from prototypical morphogenetic-centered associations in the architectural discourse. This imminent shift of focus is increasingly stirring a debate in the architectural community and is provoking a much needed critical questioning of the role of computation in architecture as a sole embodiment and enactment of technical dimensions, into one that rather deliberately pursues and embraces the humanities as an ultimate aspiration

Towards enabling cross-layer information sharing to improve today's content delivery systems

Content is omnipresent and without content the Internet would not be what it is today. End users consume content throughout the day, from checking the latest news on Twitter in the morning, to streaming music in the background (while working), to streaming movies or playing online games in the evening, and to using apps (e.g., sleep trackers) even while we sleep in the night. All of these different kinds of content have very specific and different requirements on a transport—on one end, online gaming often requires a low latency connection but needs little throughput, and, on the other, streaming a video requires high throughput, but it performs quite poorly under packet loss. Yet, all content is transferred opaquely over the same transport, adhering to a strict separation of network layers. Even a modern transport protocol such as Multi-Path TCP, which is capable of utilizing multiple paths, cannot take the (above) requirements or needs of that content into account for its path selection. In this work we challenge the layer separation and show that sharing information across the layers is beneficial for consuming web and video content. To this end, we created an event-based simulator for evaluating how applications can make informed decisions about which interfaces to use delivering different content based on a set of pre-defined policies that encode the (performance) requirements or needs of that content. Our policies achieve speedups of a factor of two in 20% of our cases, have benefits in more than 50%, and create no overhead in any of the cases. For video content we created a full streaming system that allows an even finer grained information sharing between the transport and the application. Our streaming system, called VOXEL, enables applications to select dynamically and on a frame granularity which video data to transfer based on the current network conditions. VOXEL drastically reduces video stalls in the 90th-percentile by up to 97% while not sacrificing the stream's visual fidelity. We confirmed our performance improvements in a real-user study where 84% of the participants clearly preferred watching videos streamed with VOXEL over the state-of-the-art.Inhalte sind allgegenwärtig und ohne Inhalte wäre das Internet nicht das, was es heute ist. Endbenutzer konsumieren Inhalte von früh bis spät - es beginnt am Morgen mit dem Lesen der neusten Nachrichten auf Twitter, dem online hören von Musik während der Arbeit, wird fortgeführt mit dem Schauen von Filmen über Online-Streaming Dienste oder dem spielen von Mehrspieler Online Spielen am Abend, und sogar dem, mit dem Internet synchronisierten, Überwachens des eigenen Schlafes in der Nacht. All diese verschiedenen Arten von Inhalten haben sehr spezifische und unterschiedliche Ansprüche an den Transport über das Internet - auf der einen Seite sind es Online Spiele, die eine sehr geringe Latenz, aber kaum Durchsatz benötigen, auf der Anderen gibt es Video-Streaming Dienste, die einen sehr hohen Datendurchsatz benötigen, aber, sehr nur schlecht mit Paketverlust umgehen können. Jedoch werden all diese Inhalte über den selben, undurchsichtigen, Transportweg übertragen, weil an eine strikte Unterteilung der Netzwerk- und Transportschicht festgehalten wird. Sogar ein modernes Übertragungsprotokoll wie MPTCP, welches es ermöglicht mehrere Netzwerkpfade zu nutzen, kann die (oben genannten) Anforderungen oder Bedürfnisse des Inhaltes, nicht für die Pfadselektierung, in Betracht ziehen. In dieser Arbeit fordern wir die Trennung der Schichten heraus und zeigen, dass ein Informationsaustausch zwischen den Netzwerkschichten von großem Vorteil für das Konsumieren von Webseiten und Video Inhalten sein kann. Hierzu haben wir einen Ereignisorientierten Simulator entwickelt, mit dem wir untersuchten wie Applikationen eine informierte Entscheidung darüber treffen können, welche Netzwerkschnittstellen für verschiedene Inhalte, basierend auf vordefinierten Regeln, welche die Leistungsvorgaben oder Bedürfnisse eines Inhalts kodieren, benutzt werden sollen. Unsere Regeln erreichen eine Verbesserung um einen Faktor von Zwei in 20% unserer Testfälle, haben einen Vorteil in mehr als 50% der Fälle und erzeugen in keinem Fall einen Mehraufwand. Für Video Inhalte haben wir ein komplettes Video-Streaming System entwickelt, welches einen noch feingranulareren Informationsaustausch zwischen der Applikation und des Transportes ermöglicht. Unser, VOXEL genanntes, System ermöglicht es Applikationen dynamisch und auf Videobild Granularität zu bestimmen welche Videodaten, entsprechend der aktuellen Netzwerksituation, übertragen werden sollen. VOXEL kann das stehenbleiben von Videos im 90%-Perzentil drastisch, um bis zu 97%, reduzieren, ohne dabei die visuelle Qualität des übertragenen Videos zu beeinträchtigen. Wir haben unsere Leistungsverbesserung in einer Studie mit echten Benutzern bestätigt, bei der 84% der Befragten es, im vergleich zum aktuellen Stand der Technik, klar bevorzugten Videos zu schauen, die über VOXEL übertragen wurden

The impact of implementation of VOIP in call centres : A Western Australia perspective

By fostering the finalization of open standards and the convergence of voice, video and data, the internet protocol provides an ideal driver for the definition of the infrastructure of new multimedia and advanced communications applications (Adams & Bhalla, 2005). The key advantages of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP) for enterprises have been the promise of lower costs, infrastructure consolidation and increased flexibility. Carriers are also positioning VoiP as a cost-saving business solution. It is an application which seemed like a godsend to business and people alike who rely on telephony services (Blood, 2005). The aim of this study was to investigate what factors may influence the adoption of VoiP as a technology as a West Australia context. Specifically the research undertook a case study using an establish call centre in a government agency, City of Melville. The company is a provider of wide range of services including recreation centres, aquatic centres, libraries, creches, pre-school centres, community centres, food inspection services, citizenships, recycling, planning and building services, maintenance, streetscapes, landscaping disability services, immunisation clinics, cultural and educational centres, environmental preservation and management. This study analysed the steps through to adoption of VoiP and IP telephony from the original technology for the Melville City Council call centre. Also, the procedures towards acquisition and installation of the supporting framework that eases the implementation and day to day running are depicted. The main impacts on the company as a result of the implementation in terms of cost reduction and implications, staff satisfaction and benefits, ease of business operations has been reported in this study. Statistics of the business functions and operations based on VoiP solutions were critically analyzed. Results from the research suggested further research needs to be undertaken on factor affecting the adoption of VoiP in a Western Australia context

Proceedings, MSVSCC 2015

The Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) of Old Dominion University hosted the 2015 Modeling, Simulation, & Visualization Student capstone Conference on April 16th. The Capstone Conference features students in Modeling and Simulation, undergraduates and graduate degree programs, and fields from many colleges and/or universities. Students present their research to an audience of fellow students, faculty, judges, and other distinguished guests. For the students, these presentations afford them the opportunity to impart their innovative research to members of the M&S community from academic, industry, and government backgrounds. Also participating in the conference are faculty and judges who have volunteered their time to impart direct support to their students’ research, facilitate the various conference tracks, serve as judges for each of the tracks, and provide overall assistance to this conference. 2015 marks the ninth year of the VMASC Capstone Conference for Modeling, Simulation and Visualization. This year our conference attracted a number of fine student written papers and presentations, resulting in a total of 51 research works that were presented. This year’s conference had record attendance thanks to the support from the various different departments at Old Dominion University, other local Universities, and the United States Military Academy, at West Point. We greatly appreciated all of the work and energy that has gone into this year’s conference, it truly was a highly collaborative effort that has resulted in a very successful symposium for the M&S community and all of those involved. Below you will find a brief summary of the best papers and best presentations with some simple statistics of the overall conference contribution. Followed by that is a table of contents that breaks down by conference track category with a copy of each included body of work. Thank you again for your time and your contribution as this conference is designed to continuously evolve and adapt to better suit the authors and M&S supporters. Dr.Yuzhong Shen Graduate Program Director, MSVE Capstone Conference Chair John ShullGraduate Student, MSVE Capstone Conference Student Chai

Design and Analysis of Decoy Systems for Computer Security

This dissertation is aimed at defending against a range of internal threats, including eaves-dropping on network taps, placement of malware to capture sensitive information, and general insider threats to exfiltrate sensitive information. Although the threats and adversaries may vary, in each context where a system is threatened, decoys can be used to deny critical information to adversaries making it harder for them to achieve their target goal. The approach leverages deception and the use of decoy technologies to deceive adversaries and trap nefarious acts. This dissertation proposes a novel set of properties for decoys to serve as design goals in the development of decoy-based infrastructures. To demonstrate their applicability, we designed and prototyped network and host-based decoy systems. These systems are used to evaluate the hypothesis that network and host decoys can be used to detect inside attackers and malware. We introduce a novel, large-scale automated creation and management system for deploying decoys. Decoys may be created in various forms including bogus documents with embedded beacons, credentials for various web and email accounts, and bogus financial in- formation that is monitored for misuse. The decoy management system supplies decoys for the network and host-based decoy systems. We conjecture that the utility of the decoys depends on the believability of the bogus information; we demonstrate the believability through experimentation with human judges. For the network decoys, we developed a novel trap-based architecture for enterprise networks that detects "silent" attackers who are eavesdropping network traffic. The primary contributions of this system is the ease of injecting, automatically, large amounts of believable bait, and the integration of various detection mechanisms in the back-end. We demonstrate our methodology in a prototype platform that uses our decoy injection API to dynamically create and dispense network traps on a subset of our campus wireless network. We present results of a user study that demonstrates the believability of our automatically generated decoy traffic. We present results from a statistical and information theoretic analysis to show the believability of the traffic when automated tools are used. For host-based decoys, we introduce BotSwindler, a novel host-based bait injection sys- tem designed to delude and detect crimeware by forcing it to reveal itself during the ex- ploitation of monitored information. Our implementation of BotSwindler relies upon an out-of-host software agent to drive user-like interactions in a virtual machine, seeking to convince malware residing within the guest OS that it has captured legitimate credentials. To aid in the accuracy and realism of the simulations, we introduce a novel, low overhead approach, called virtual machine verification, for verifying whether the guest OS is in one of a predefined set of states. We provide empirical evidence to show that BotSwindler can be used to induce malware into performing observable actions and demonstrate how this approach is superior to that used in other tools. We present results from a user to study to illustrate the believability of the simulations and show that financial bait infor- mation can be used to effectively detect compromises through experimentation with real credential-collecting malware. We present results from a statistical and information theo- retic analysis to show the believability of simulated keystrokes when automated tools are used to distinguish them. Finally, we introduce and demonstrate an expanded role for decoys in educating users and measuring organizational security through experiments with approximately 4000 university students and staff

The Effect of Device When Using Smartphones and Computers to Answer Multiple-Choice and Open-Response Questions in Distance Education

Traditionally in higher education, online courses have been designed for computer users. However, the advent of mobile learning (m-learning) and the proliferation of smartphones have created two challenges for online students and instructional designers. First, instruction designed for a larger computer screen often loses its effectiveness when displayed on a smaller smartphone screen. Second, requiring students to write remains a hallmark of higher education, but miniature keyboards might restrict how thoroughly smartphone users respond to open- response test questions. The present study addressed both challenges by featuring m-learning’s greatest strength (multimedia) and by investigating its greatest weakness (text input). The purpose of the current study was to extend previous research associated with m- learning. The first goal was to determine the effect of device (computer vs. smartphone) on performance when answering multiple-choice and open-response questions. The second goal was to determine whether computers and smartphones would receive significantly different usability ratings when used by participants to answer multiple-choice and open-response questions. The construct of usability was defined as a composite score based on ratings of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. This comparative study used a between-subjects, posttest, experimental design. The study randomly assigned 70 adults to either the computer treatment group or the smartphone treatment group. Both treatment groups received the same narrated multimedia lesson on how a solar cell works. Participants accessed the lesson using either their personal computers (computer treatment group) or their personal smartphones (smartphone treatment group) at the time and location of their choice. After viewing the multimedia lesson, all participants answered the same multiple-choice and open-response posttest questions. In the current study, computer users and smartphone users had no significant difference in their scores on multiple-choice recall questions. On open-response questions, smartphone users performed better than predicted, which resulted in no significant difference between scores of the two treatment groups. Regarding usability, participants gave computers and smartphones high usability ratings when answering multiple-choice items. However, for answering open-response items, smartphones received significantly lower usability ratings than computers