Assessing haptic properties for data representation

This paper describes the results of a series of forced choice design experiments investigating the discrimination of material properties using a PHANToM haptic device. Research has shown that the PHANToM is effective at displaying graphical information to blind people, but the techniques used so far have been very simple. Our experiments showed that subjects' discrimination of friction was significantly better than that of stiffness or the spatial period of sinusoidal textures, over the range of stimuli investigated. Thus, it is proposed that graphical data could be made more easily accessible to blind users by scaling the data values to friction rather than shape or size, as in traditional bar charts

Writer Identification Using Inexpensive Signal Processing Techniques

We propose to use novel and classical audio and text signal-processing and otherwise techniques for "inexpensive" fast writer identification tasks of scanned hand-written documents "visually". The "inexpensive" refers to the efficiency of the identification process in terms of CPU cycles while preserving decent accuracy for preliminary identification. This is a comparative study of multiple algorithm combinations in a pattern recognition pipeline implemented in Java around an open-source Modular Audio Recognition Framework (MARF) that can do a lot more beyond audio. We present our preliminary experimental findings in such an identification task. We simulate "visual" identification by "looking" at the hand-written document as a whole rather than trying to extract fine-grained features out of it prior classification.Comment: 9 pages; 1 figure; presented at CISSE'09 at http://conference.cisse2009.org/proceedings.aspx ; includes the the application source code; based on MARF described in arXiv:0905.123

Tac-tiles: multimodal pie charts for visually impaired users

Tac-tiles is an accessible interface that allows visually impaired users to browse graphical information using tactile and audio feedback. The system uses a graphics tablet which is augmented with a tangible overlay tile to guide user exploration. Dynamic feedback is provided by a tactile pin-array at the fingertips, and through speech/non-speech audio cues. In designing the system, we seek to preserve the affordances and metaphors of traditional, low-tech teaching media for the blind, and combine this with the benefits of a digital representation. Traditional tangible media allow rapid, non-sequential access to data, promote easy and unambiguous access to resources such as axes and gridlines, allow the use of external memory, and preserve visual conventions, thus promoting collaboration with sighted colleagues. A prototype system was evaluated with visually impaired users, and recommendations for multimodal design were derived

The anonymous matrix : human rights violations by "private" transnational actors

Plenarvortrag Weltkongress der Rechtsphilosophie und Sozialphilosophie, 24.-29. Mai, Granada 2005. S.a. die deutsche Fassung: "Die anonyme Matrix: Menschenrechtsverletzungen durch "private" transnationale Akteure". Spanische Fassung: Sociedad global, justicia fragmentada: sobre la violatión de los derechos humanos por actores transnacionales 'privados'. In: Manuel Escamilla and Modesto Saavedra (eds.), Law and Justice in a global society, International Association for philosophy of law and social philosophy, Granada 2005, S. 547-562 und in "Anales de öa Catedra Francisco Suarez 2005". S.a. Teubner, Gunther: Globalized Justice - Fragmented Justice. Human Rights Violations by "Private" Transnational Actor

Case Summary: Star S.A. (Honduras)

WRC report on its investigation of labor violations at a Star S.A. factory in Honduras. Includes a description of the company’s response to the charges

Хирургическая коррекция сопутствующей патологии органов брюшной полости при лапароскопической холецистэктомии

Автором приводится опыт выполнения 162 симультанных операций с использованием лапароскопических технологий при сочетании холецистолитиаза с другими заболеваниями органов брюшной полости. Автором сделаны следующие выводы: при сочетании холецистолитиаза с другой патологией со стороны органов брюшной полости возможно выполнение симультанной лапароскопической операции, что позволяет избавить больного от риска повторной хирургической агрессии. Разработанные методы лапароскопической криоваготомии и трансплантации островковых клеток поджелудочной железы являются эффективными в лечении язвенной болезни двенадцатиперстной кишки и достижении длительной компенсации сахарного диабета. Автором наводиться досвід виконання 162 симультанних оперативних втручань із застосуванням лапароскопічних технологій при наявності холецистолітіазу та інших захворювань органів черевної порожнини. Автором зроблені наступні висновки: при поєднанні холецистолітіазу з іншою патологією з боку органів черевної порожнини можливе виконання симультанних лапароскопічних операцій, що дає змогу позбавити хворого від ризика повторної хірургічної агресії; розроблені методи лапароскопічної кріоваготомії та трансплантації острівцевих клітин підшлункової залози є ефективними в лікуванні виразкової хвороби дванадцятипалої кишки та досягненні тривалої компенсації цукрового діабету. Author brings the experience of making 162 simultaneous operations with the use of laparoscopic technologies at combination of cholecystolithiasis with other diseases the organs of abdominal cavity. Author made the following conclusions: at combination of cholecystolitiasis with other pathology from the part of abdominal cavity there is a possibility of making simultaneous laparoscopic operation that allow to relieve the patient from risk of repeated surgical aggression; the invented methods of laparoscopic criovagotomy and transplantations of islandal cells of pancreas are efficient in treatment of peptic ulcer of duodenum and in achievement of durable compensation of diabetes mellitus

The Virtual Correction to Bremsstrahlung in High-Energy e+ e- Annihilation: Comparison of Exact Results

We have compared the virtual corrections to single hard bremsstrahlung as calculated by S. Jadach, M. Melles, B.F.L. Ward and S.A. Yost to several other expressions. The most recent of these comparisons is to the leptonic tensor calculated by J.H. Kuhn and G. Rodrigo for radiative return. Agreement is found to within a part in 10^5 or better, as a fraction of the Born cross section, for most of the range of photon energies. The massless limits have been shown to agree analytically to NLL order.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures. Presented by S.A. Yost at ICHEP 2004, International Conference on High Energy Physics, Beijing, August 16-22, 200

Debussey's Lyric Scene: L'Enfant Prodigue

The musical "L'Enfant Prodigue" was presented in conjunction with The S.A. Ballet Club under the direction of Jean Cook. It was staged at The Hut on 22 March 1947