TVTM: A case study and analysis of 3 virtual representations to support remote collaboration within the fashion industry

This paper investigates whether or not virtual representations can support remote collaboration within the fashion industry using a Textual Virtual Tangible Multi-touch (TVTM) system. The software interface for the TVTM system was developed from the results and feedback from a previous study. Two different types of multi-touch technology were deployed for the case study. The paper then covers the nature of the user testing and how it addresses the hypothesis developed from our pilot study, and team expectations of the participants’ selections of a variety of methods to complete their task. The paper presents the data we collected from the user testing including correlation between various different representations, time taken to finish the task and the difficulty ratings for the three levels of representation. The paper concludes by validating our hypothesis against our findings, and looks at some improvements to the current system and some potential features that might be considered for our next prototype

Influencing the perceived emotions of music with intent

Music is an immensely powerful affective medium that pervades our everyday life. With ever advancing technology, the reproduction and application of music for emotive and information transfer purposes has never been more prevalent. In this paper we introduce a rule-based engine for influencing the perceived emotions of music. Based on empirical music psychology, we attempt to formalise the relationship between musical elements and their perceived emotion. We examine the modification to structural aspects of music to allow for a graduated transition between perceived emotive states. This engine is intended to provide music reproduction systems with a finer grained control over this affective medium; where perceived musical emotion can be influenced with intent. This intent comes from both an external application and the audience. Using a series of affective computing technologies, an audience’s response metrics and attitudes can be incorporated to model this intent. A generative feedback loop is set up between the external application, the influencing process and the audience’s response to this, which together shape the modification of musical structure. The effectiveness of our rule system for influencing perceived musical emotion was examined in earlier work, with a small test study providing generally encouraging results

Exploring virtual representations of physical artefacts on collaboration in the clothing industry

This paper explores the issues and potential future directions of remote collaboration within the field of clothing design and manufacturing. We examine the potential of developing a computer system that supports multiple levels of virtual representation (textual, visual and tangible). We first identified the methods and processes of collaboration within the manufacturing and design industries, and evaluate current methods of remote collaboration designed for these environments. From this we conducted an ethnographic study with fashion design students, to examine what forms of collaboration are important when discussing design and manufacturing techniques. From these findings, we have designed, developed and performed a pilot study with a multi-touch interface, utilizing a gestural interface (rather than a traditional GUI), to explore whether collocated natural interactions can be extended remotely via technology

Reflections on reflection: blogging in undergraduate design studios

In this paper we describe our experiences introducing weblogs as an online design journal into two design-based IT degrees. We introduced weblogs to support reflection by the students within a studio process. We view this introduction as successful and we have continued using blogs in the subsequent academic year, although we have made some changes to take account of problems with scale, sophistication and effort

Changing musical emotion: A computational rule system for modifying score and performance

CMERS system architecture has been implemented in the programming language scheme, and it uses the improvised music programming environment with the objective to provide researchers with a tool for testing the relationships between musical features and emotion. A music work represented in CMERS uses the music object hierarchy that is based on GTTM's grouping structure and is automatically generated from the phrase boundary markup and MIDI file. The Mode rule type of CMERS converts a note into those of the parallel mode and no change in pitch height occurs when converting to the parallel mode. It is reported that the odds of correctness with CMERS are approximately five times greater than that of DM. The repeated-measures analysis of variance for valence shows a significant difference between systems with F (1, 17) = 45.49, p < .0005 and the interaction between system and quadrant is significant with F (3, 51) = 4.23, p = .01, which indicates that CMERS is extensively more effective at correctly influencing valence than DM. c 2010 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Effects of Aversive Stimuli on Prospective Memory. An Event-Related fMRI Study

Prospective memory (PM) describes the ability to execute a previously planned action at the appropriate point in time. Although behavioral studies clearly showed that prospective memory performance is affected by the emotional significance attributed to the intended action, no study so far investigated the brain mechanisms subserving the modulatory effect of emotional salience on PM performance. The general aim of the present study was to explore brain regions involved in prospective memory processes when PM cues are associated with emotional stimuli. In particular, based on the hypothesised critical role of the prefrontal cortex in prospective memory in the presence of emotionally salient stimuli, we expected a stronger involvement of aPFC when the retrieval and execution of the intended action is cued by an aversive stimulus. To this aim BOLD responses of PM trials cued by aversive facial expressions were compared to PM trials cued by neutral facial expressions. Whole brain analysis showed that PM task cued by aversive stimuli is differentially associated with activity in the right lateral prefrontal area (BA 10) and in the left caudate nucleus. Moreover a temporal shift between the response of the caudate nucleus that preceded that of aPFC was observed. These findings suggest that the caudate nucleus might provide an early analysis of the affective properties of the stimuli, whereas the anterior lateral prefrontal cortex (BA10) would be involved in a slower and more deliberative analysis to guide goal-directed behaviour

2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales.

In March 2021, following the annual International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) ratification vote on newly proposed taxa, the phylum Negarnaviricota was amended and emended. The phylum was expanded by four families (Aliusviridae, Crepuscuviridae, Myriaviridae, and Natareviridae), three subfamilies (Alpharhabdovirinae, Betarhabdovirinae, and Gammarhabdovirinae), 42 genera, and 200 species. Thirty-nine species were renamed and/or moved and seven species were abolished. This article presents the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota as now accepted by the ICTV

Playing with affect: music performance with awareness of score and audience

An exquisite music performance can move an audience to tears of joy, or those of sorrow. The job of a good performer then is to convey not just the music’s notated structure, but also its emotional metadata. In time, the performer will also learn to respond musically to the state of a live audience; matching their emotional ebb and flow to maintain interest for the concert’s entirety. This work will discuss an Affective Performance framework in which compositions are marked up with emotional intent, or narrative. This mark-up directs the emotive adaptation of the symbolic score’s reproduction, enhancing the computer music’s realism. Examining the cognitive model of emotions appraisal theory, we highlight some key evidence underlying the principle of music expectancy and its central role in maintaining a listener’s musical interest. This knowledge will play a significant role in developing an adaptive music engine in which the traditionally static score is manipulated in real time. We will also show how new Affective Computing technologies for reading the emotional state of users can be employed to further adapt the performance to account for audience emotional state. We end with an illustration of the framework, with examples in computer gaming engines and enhanced live performances for a distributed audience