Multi-touch Interaction Data Analysis System (MIDAS) for 2-D tactile display research

The study of haptic perception and cognition requires data about how humans interact with tactile surfaces in the context of performing cognitive tasks. MIDAS is a set of three tools for the digital capture, coding, analysis, and interpretation of timeseries, multitouch, interactive behaviors on a tactile surface. The MIDAS-logger uses the current screen technology of tablet computers to capture touches (up to ten fingers at high spatial and temporal resolution) through conventional tactile graphics that are overlaid on the screen. The MIDAS-analyser is a software program for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of MIDASlogger touch data, which includes a fully interactive visualization of the data and a yoked display of a conventional simultaneous video recording made of the interactions. MIDAS-tactile protocol analysis (TPA) provides a scheme and a method to enable the rich coding and interpretation of tactile behaviors over multiple spatial and temporal scales. The efficacy of MIDAS was assessed against a set of criteria drawn from the successes and limitations of prior approaches to the study of tactile interactions. To demonstrate the functions of MIDAS, its three components were used to capture, analyze, code, and interpret the behavior of an experienced user and an inexperienced user of tactile graphics as they performed a shape-matching task

Visions, Values, and Videos: Revisiting Envisionings in Service of UbiComp Design for the Home

UbiComp has been envisioned to bring about a future dominated by calm computing technologies making our everyday lives ever more convenient. Yet the same vision has also attracted criticism for encouraging a solitary and passive lifestyle. The aim of this paper is to explore and elaborate these tensions further by examining the human values surrounding future domestic UbiComp solutions. Drawing on envisioning and contravisioning, we probe members of the public (N=28) through the presentation and focus group discussion of two contrasting animated video scenarios, where one is inspired by "calm" and the other by "engaging" visions of future UbiComp technology. By analysing the reasoning of our participants, we identify and elaborate a number of relevant values involved in balancing the two perspectives. In conclusion, we articulate practically applicable takeaways in the form of a set of key design questions and challenges.Comment: DIS'20, July 6-10, 2020, Eindhoven, Netherland

The Iowa Homemaker vol.23, no.5

Moire, Keith Shillington, page 2 Keeping Up With Today, Margaret Ralston, page 3 Christmas Suggestions, Pfc. Schwanz, AS Greenburg, page 4 Navy Menus on Review, Eileen Cooper, page 6 Creating the Holiday Spirit, Joan Miller, page 7 For Christmas I’d Like, Betty Aldrich, page 8 For Use – Peanut Substitutes, Norma Dale, page 10 Wartime Cards Marked by Individuality, Julie Johnston, page 11 What’s New in Home Economics, Lily Houseman, page 12 Iowa Staters Go Caroling, Frances Kerekes, page 16 For the Christmas Stocking¸ Lois Stewart, page 17 European Rationing, Catherine Tidemanson, page 18 Supervise Army Hospital Diets, Virginia Brainard, page 19 Originality Expressed in Festive Wrappings, Doris Gregg, page 20 Across Alumnae Desks, Virginia Carter, page 22 Alums in the News, Rachel Ann Lusher, page 2

Tactile Presentation of Network Data: Text, Matrix or Diagram?

Visualisations are commonly used to understand social, biological and other kinds of networks. Currently, we do not know how to effectively present network data to people who are blind or have low-vision (BLV). We ran a controlled study with 8 BLV participants comparing four tactile representations: organic node-link diagram, grid node-link diagram, adjacency matrix and braille list. We found that the node-link representations were preferred and more effective for path following and cluster identification while the matrix and list were better for adjacency tasks. This is broadly in line with findings for the corresponding visual representations.Comment: To appear in the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2020

Through a Glass, Darkly:The CIA and Oral History

This article broaches the thorny issue of how we may study the history of the CIA by utilizing oral history interviews. This article argues that while oral history interviews impose particular demands upon the researcher, they are particularly pronounced in relation to studying the history of intelligence services. This article, nevertheless, also argues that while intelligence history and oral history each harbour their own epistemological perils and biases, pitfalls which may in fact be pronounced when they are conjoined, the relationship between them may nevertheless be a productive one. Indeed, each field may enrich the other provided we have thought carefully about the linkages between them: this article's point of departure. The first part of this article outlines some of the problems encountered in studying the CIA by relating them to the author's own work. This involved researching the CIA's role in US foreign policy towards Afghanistan since a landmark year in the history of the late Cold War, 1979 (i.e. the year the Soviet Union invaded that country). The second part of this article then considers some of the issues historians must confront when applying oral history to the study of the CIA. To bring this within the sphere of cognition of the reader the author recounts some of his own experiences interviewing CIA officers in and around Washington DC. The third part then looks at some of the contributions oral history in particular can make towards a better understanding of the history of intelligence services and the CIA

The Soft Power of Anglia: British Cold War Cultural Diplomacy in the USSR

This article contributes to the growing literature on the cultural Cold War through an exploration of the British national projection magazine Anglia, produced by the Foreign Office for distribution in the USSR from 1962 to 1992. As well as drawing attention to the significance of national magazines in general, the article sheds light on Britain's distinctive approach to propaganda and cultural diplomacy during the Cold War. It considers why the magazine was set up and endured for so long, despite considerable reservations about its value. It examines how Britain was projected in a manner that accorded with British understandings about the need for ‘subtle’ propaganda. Finally, it addresses the question of the magazine's impact in the USSR

Protein-altering germline mutations implicate novel genes related to lung cancer development

Few germline mutations are known to affect lung cancer risk. We performed analyses of rare variants from 39,146 individuals of European ancestry and investigated gene expression levels in 7,773 samples. We find a large-effect association with an ATM L2307F (rs56009889) mutation in adenocarcinoma for discovery (adjusted Odds Ratio = 8.82, P = 1.18 × 10−15) and replication (adjusted OR = 2.93, P = 2.22 × 10−3) that is more pronounced in females (adjusted OR = 6.81 and 3.19 and for discovery and replication). We observe an excess loss of heterozygosity in lung tumors among ATM L2307F allele carriers. L2307F is more frequent (4%) among Ashkenazi Jewish populations. We also observe an association in discovery (adjusted OR = 2.61, P = 7.98 × 10−22) and replication datasets (adjusted OR = 1.55, P = 0.06) with a loss-of-function mutation, Q4X (rs150665432) of an uncharacterized gene, KIAA0930. Our findings implicate germline genetic variants in ATM with lung cancer susceptibility and suggest KIAA0930 as a novel candidate gene for lung cancer risk

Large-scale association analysis identifies new lung cancer susceptibility loci and heterogeneity in genetic susceptibility across histological subtypes.

Although several lung cancer susceptibility loci have been identified, much of the heritability for lung cancer remains unexplained. Here 14,803 cases and 12,262 controls of European descent were genotyped on the OncoArray and combined with existing data for an aggregated genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis of lung cancer in 29,266 cases and 56,450 controls. We identified 18 susceptibility loci achieving genome-wide significance, including 10 new loci. The new loci highlight the striking heterogeneity in genetic susceptibility across the histological subtypes of lung cancer, with four loci associated with lung cancer overall and six loci associated with lung adenocarcinoma. Gene expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis in 1,425 normal lung tissue samples highlights RNASET2, SECISBP2L and NRG1 as candidate genes. Other loci include genes such as a cholinergic nicotinic receptor, CHRNA2, and the telomere-related genes OFBC1 and RTEL1. Further exploration of the target genes will continue to provide new insights into the etiology of lung cancer