A comparison of feedback cues for enhancing pointing efficiency in interaction with spatial audio displays

An empirical study that compared six different feedback cue types to enhance pointing efficiency in deictic spatial audio displays is presented. Participants were asked to select a sound using a physical pointing gesture, with the help of a loudness cue, a timbre cue and an orientation update cue as well as with combinations of these cues. Display content was varied systematically to investigate the effect of increasing display population. Speed, accuracy and throughput ratings are provided as well as effective target widths that allow for minimal error rates. The results showed direct pointing to be the most efficient interaction technique; however large effective target widths reduce the applicability of this technique. Movement-coupled cues were found to significantly reduce display element size, but resulted in slower interaction and were affected by display content due to the requirement of continuous target attainment. The results show that, with appropriate design, it is possible to overcome interaction uncertainty and provide solutions that are effective in mobile human computer interaction

Designing non-speech sounds to support navigation in mobile phone menus

This paper describes a framework for integrating non-speech audio to hierarchical menu structures where the visual feedback is limited. In the first part of this paper, emphasis is put on how to extract sound design principles from actual navigation problems. These design principles are then applied in the second part, through the design, implementation and evaluation of a set of sounds in a computer-based simulation of the Nokia 6110 mobile phone. The evaluation indicates that non-speech sound improves the performance of navigational tasks in terms of the number of errors made and the number of keypresses taken to complete the given tasks. This study provides both theoretical and practical insights about the design of audio cues intended to support navigation in complex menu structures

Sonically-enhanced widgets: comments on Brewster and Clarke, ICAD 1997

This paper presents a review of the research surrounding the paper “The Design and Evaluation of a Sonically Enhanced Tool Palette” by Brewster and Clarke from ICAD 1997. A historical perspective is given followed by a discussion of how this work has fed into current developments in the area

Breeding Waterfowl Populations in South Dakota

Breeding waterfowl in South Dakota were censused on 500 legal quarter sections within 125 clusters representing a proportional stratified random sample of 0.16 percent of the state area. Two breeding pair counts, one in May and second in June, were conducted each year on the sample units in 1973 and 1974. Densities of total breeding pairs averaged 5.58 and 2.30 pairs per km2 in 1973 and 1974, respectively. Estimated populations based upon these densities were 1,067,500 breeding pairs in 1973 and 439,600 breeding pairs in 1974. The 58.8 percent decrease in the population occurred concurrently with intensification of drought conditions throughout South Dakota in 1974. Blue-winged teal (Anas discors), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), pintail (Anas acuta), and gadwall (Anas strepera) were, in that order, the most abundant species. Diving ducks constituted less than 5 percent of the population each year. Highest diving duck densities were restricted to the northern periphery of the Coteau des Prairies. Most of the remaining diving duck pairs occurred in the central Coteau des Prairies and in the Coteau du Missouri. Highest dabbling duck densities were found in the northern Coteau des Prairies and in the major portion of the Coteau du Missouri. Median densities occurred in the Minnesota River-Red River Lowland and the major portion of the James River Lowland. Low densities were found in the remainder of the state. Population estimates from this method compared favorably with those obtained by aerial transect methods used by the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service

Policing the Police: Establishing the Right to Record and Civilian Oversight Boards to Oversee America’s Police

Police misconduct is a persistent issue in the United States that undermines public trust in law enforcement and the criminal justice system as a whole. The video of George Floyd’s arrest and murder played an irreplaceable role in bringing attention to the case and sparking nationwide discussions about the state of policing in America. The video, showing former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck for several minutes, also helped convict Mr. Chauvin of murder at trial. Recording police activity is an important means of holding officers accountable for their actions and protecting citizens from abuse of power. Despite this, many people are hesitant to record the police due to fear of retaliation or legal consequences. While there been an increase in the number of videos of police misconduct being recorded and shared, police officers are rarely held accountable. Democratizing investigation procedures, establishing civilian oversight boards with independent prosecutors, is crucial in ensuring police accountability and building public trust. This note posits that a legislative solution be enacted to provide a uniform framework for affirming the right to record police and establishing civilian oversight boards. Its goal is to flip the current surveillance state, which prioritizes the privacy rights of police officers over those of citizens, on its head and provide civilians a meaningful tool with which they may hold their law enforcement officers accountable. In light of the lack of accountability, transparency, and systemic bias resulting from internal investigations, the civilian oversight boards will be tasked with overseeing misconduct investigations. Such oversight boards should be granted broad investigatory power and equipped with an independent prosecutor. By empowering citizens, this solution will help address the surveillance imbalance and hold our government officials accountable

Similarity, isomorphism or duality? Recent survey evidence on the human resource management policies of multinational corporations

There is considerable debate as to the determinants of the human resource policies of human resource management: do they reflect national institutional or cultural realities, emerging common global practices, parent country effects or the dual effects of transnational and national realities? We use an extensive international database to explore these differences, assessing variations in a range of human resource practices. We find new evidence of national differences in the manner in which indigenous firms manage their people, but also evidence of a similarity in practice amongst multinational corporations. In other words, multinational corporations tend to manage their human resources in ways that are distinct from those of their host country; at the same time, country of origin effects seem relatively weak. Whilst there is some evidence of common global practices, sufficient diversity in practice persists to suggest that duality theories may provide the most appropriate explanation

Constructing sonified haptic line graphs for the blind student: first steps

Line graphs stand as an established information visualisation and analysis technique taught at various levels of difficulty according to standard Mathematics curricula. It has been argued that blind individuals cannot use line graphs as a visualisation and analytic tool because they currently primarily exist in the visual medium. The research described in this paper aims at making line graphs accessible to blind students through auditory and haptic media. We describe (1) our design space for representing line graphs, (2) the technology we use to develop our prototypes and (3) the insights from our preliminary work

Azimuth axis optical alignment system Final report

Azimuth axis optical alignment system to monitor and measure attitude or angular position of remote object about azimuth axis using phase information imposed on returning beam of ligh