Mixed Reality Architecture: Concept, Construction, Use

Mixed Reality Architecture (MRA) dynamically links and overlays physical and virtual spaces. This paper investigates the topology of and the relationships between the components of MRA. As a phenomenon, MRA takes its place in a long history of technologies that have influenced conditions for social interaction as well as the environment we build around us. However, by providing a flexible spatial topology spanning physical and virtual environments it presents new opportunities for social interaction across electronic media. An experimental MRA is described that allowed us to study some of the emerging issues in this field. It provided material for the development of a framework describing virtual and physical spaces, the links between those and the types of mixed reality structure that we can envisage it being possible to design using these elements. We propose that by re-introducing a level of spatiality into communication across physical and virtual environments MRA will support everyday social interaction, and may convert digital communication media from being socially conservative to a more generative form familiar from physical space

ON THE CATEGORY OF DIMINUTIVENESS IN ENGLISH, RUSSIAN AND BULGARIAN

In my paper I will present the results of the research I made for my doctoral thesis based on the formation and usage of diminutive forms in English, Russian and Bulgarian. I have made a contrastive analysis of the means of diminutive expression and the frequency of usage of the patterns of diminutive meaning in the three studied languages. Due to the extensive length of my research, I will focus on the four most frequent diminutive patterns in English, Russian and Bulgarian. The contrastive analysis of the differences and similarities of diminutive formation in English, Russian and Bulgarian is based on the theoretical framework of James (1980) and Danchev (2001). For the purposes of my contrastive analysis I chose English as a source language and Russian and Bulgarian as target languages. The reason to do this is that English is considered as a language which has very few diminutives, whereas Bulgarian and Russian, as Slavic languages, both have a huge number of diminutive forms. My aim was to investigate and analyze the quantity of diminutive forms in a language in which diminutives are rather limited and languages which are rich in various diminutive forms. I have used statistical methods to calculate the frequency of appearance of diminutive forms in English, Russian and Bulgarian. The conclusions I arrived at are based on my research data.In my paper I will present the results of the research I made for my doctoral thesis based on the formation and usage of diminutive forms in English, Russian and Bulgarian. I have made a contrastive analysis of the means of diminutive expression and the frequency of usage of the patterns of diminutive meaning in the three studied languages. Due to the extensive length of my research, I will focus on the four most frequent diminutive patterns in English, Russian and Bulgarian. The contrastive analysis of the differences and similarities of diminutive formation in English, Russian and Bulgarian is based on the theoretical framework of James (1980) and Danchev (2001). For the purposes of my contrastive analysis I chose English as a source language and Russian and Bulgarian as target languages. The reason to do this is that English is considered as a language which has very few diminutives, whereas Bulgarian and Russian, as Slavic languages, both have a huge number of diminutive forms. My aim was to investigate and analyze the quantity of diminutive forms in a language in which diminutives are rather limited and languages which are rich in various diminutive forms. I have used statistical methods to calculate the frequency of appearance of diminutive forms in English, Russian and Bulgarian. The conclusions I arrived at are based on my research data

Single Stellar Populations in the Near-Infrared - I. Preparation of the IRTF spectral stellar library

We present a detailed study of the stars of the IRTF spectral library to understand its full extent and reliability for use with Stellar Population (SP) modeling. The library consist of 210 stars, with a total of 292 spectra, covering the wavelength range of 0.94 to 2.41 micron at a resolution R = 2000. For every star we infer the effective temperature (Teff), gravity (logg) and metallicity ([Z/Zsun]) using a full-spectrum fitting approach in a section of the K band (2.19 to 2.34 micron) and temperature-NIR colour relations. We test the flux calibration of these stars by calculating their integrated colours and comparing them with the Pickles library colour-temperature relations. We also investigate the NIR colours as a function of the calculated effective temperature and compared them in colour-colour diagrams with the Pickles library. This latter test shows a good broad-band flux calibration, important for the SP models. Finally, we measure the resolution R as a function of wavelength. We find that the resolution increases as a function of lambda from about 6 angstrom in J to 10 angstrom in the red part of the K-band. With these tests we establish that the IRTF library, the largest currently available general library of stars at intermediate resolution in the NIR, is an excellent candidate to be used in stellar population models. We present these models in the next paper of this series.Comment: 17 pages, 19 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

On the origin of bursts in blue compact dwarf galaxies: clues from kinematics and stellar populations

Blue compact dwarf galaxies (BCDs) form stars at, for their sizes, extraordinarily high rates. In this paper, we study what triggers this starburst and what is the fate of the galaxy once its gas fuel is exhausted. We select four BCDs with smooth outer regions, indicating them as possible progenitors of dwarf elliptical galaxies. We have obtained photometric and spectroscopic data with the FORS and ISAAC instruments on the VLT. We analyse their infrared spectra using a full spectrum fitting technique, which yields the kinematics of their stars and ionized gas together with their stellar population characteristics. We find that the stellar velocity to velocity dispersion ratio ((nu/sigma)(star)) of our BCDs is of the order of 1.5, similar to that of dwarf elliptical galaxies. Thus, those objects do not require significant (if any) loss of angular momentum to fade into early-type dwarfs. This finding is in discordance with previous studies, which however compared the stellar kinematics of dwarf elliptical galaxies with the gaseous kinematics of star-forming dwarfs. The stellar velocity fields of our objects are very disturbed and the star formation regions are often kinematically decoupled from the rest of the galaxy. These regions can be more or less metal rich with respect to the galactic body and sometimes they are long lived. These characteristics prevent us from pinpointing a unique trigger of the star formation, even within the same galaxy. Gas impacts, mergers, and in-spiraling gas clumps are all possible star formation igniters for our targets

From interaction to trajectories: designing coherent journeys through user experience

notes: Best of CHI 2009 Awardpublication-status: PublishedThe idea of interactional trajectories through interfaces has emerged as a sensitizing concept from recent studies of tangible interfaces and interaction in museums and galleries. We put this concept to work as a lens to reflect on published studies of complex user experiences that extend over space and time and involve multiple roles and interfaces. We develop a conceptual framework in which trajectories explain these user experiences as journeys through hybrid structures, punctuated by transitions, and in which interactivity and collaboration are orchestrated. Our framework is intended to sensitize future studies, help distill craft knowledge into design guidelines and patterns, identify technology requirements, and provide a boundary object to connect HCI with performance studies

Are All Types of Morality Compromised in Psychopathy

A long-standing puzzle for moral philosophers and psychologists alike is the concept of psychopathy, a personality disorder marked by tendencies to defy moral norms despite cognitive knowledge about right and wrong. Previously, discussions of the moral deficits of psychopathy have focused on willingness to harm and cheat others as well as reasoning about rule-based transgressions. Yet recent research in moral psychology has begun to more clearly define the domains of morality, en- compassing issues of harm, fairness, loyalty, authority, and spiritual purity. Clinical descriptions and theories of psychopathy suggest that deficits may exist primarily in the areas of harm and fairness, although quantitative evidence is scarce. Within a broad sample of participants, we found that scores on a measure of psychopathy predicted sharply lower scores on the harm and fairness subscales of a measure of moral concern, but showed no relationship with authority, and very small relationships with ingroup and purity. On a measure of willingness to violate moral standards for money, psychopathy scores predicted greater willingness to violate moral concerns of any type. Results are further explored via potential mediators and analyses of the two factors of psychopathy