Smart Sensing Systems for the Daily Drive

When driving, you might sometimes wonder, "Are there any disruptions on my regular route that might delay me, and will I be able to find a parking space when I arrive?" Two smartphone-based prototype systems can help answer these questions. The first is ParkSense, which can be used to sense on-street parking-space occupancy when coupled with electronic parking payment systems. The second system can sense and recognize a user's repeated car journeys, which can be used to provide personalized alerts to the user. Both systems aim to minimize the impact of sensing tasks on the device's lifetime so that the user can continue to use the device for its primary purpose. This department is part of a special issue on smart vehicle spaces

The pyogenic streptococci of Lancefield group C and group G as pathogens in man

A collection of Lancefield group C and group G streptococci was examined for biochemical or serological properties that could provide the basis for their subdivision beyond species and serological group

Agios Petros and the Neolithic pottery-making traditions of the deserted islands, Northern Sporades, Greece

The Neolithic sites of the Cyclops Cave and Agios Petros provide insights into a once flourishing culture that inhabited the ‘Deserted Islands’ of the northern Sporades in the Greek north Aegean. Building on scientific analysis of ceramics from the seasonally inhabited Cyclops Cave, the present study examines in detail 39 sherds from the permanently settled site of Agios Petros on the adjacent island of Kyra Panagia, using a combination of thin section petrography, geochemistry, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The two ceramic assemblages have been directly compared, revealing close similarities and differences that provide insights into the relationship between the neighbouring sites and their functions. The chaîne opératoire of the dominant local pottery-making tradition of the Deserted Islands is reconstructed and its implications for the identity of the Agios Petros-Yioura/Northern Sporades Culture are considered

Adherence to Misinformation on Social Media Through Socio-Cognitive and Group-Based Processes

Previous work suggests that people's preference for different kinds of information depends on more than just accuracy. This could happen because the messages contained within different pieces of information may either be well-liked or repulsive. Whereas factual information must often convey uncomfortable truths, misinformation can have little regard for veracity and leverage psychological processes which increase its attractiveness and proliferation on social media. In this review, we argue that when misinformation proliferates, this happens because the social media environment enables adherence to misinformation by reducing, rather than increasing, the psychological cost of doing so. We cover how attention may often be shifted away from accuracy and towards other goals, how social and individual cognition is affected by misinformation and the cases under which debunking it is most effective, and how the formation of online groups affects information consumption patterns, often leading to more polarization and radicalization. Throughout, we make the case that polarization and misinformation adherence are closely tied. We identify ways in which the psychological cost of adhering to misinformation can be increased when designing anti-misinformation interventions or resilient affordances, and we outline open research questions that the CSCW community can take up in further understanding this cost

Exploring the Design of Pay-Per-Use Objects in the Construction Domain

Equipment used in the construction domain is often hired in order to reduce cost and maintenance overhead. The cost of hire is dependent on the time period involved and does not take into account the actual use equipment has received. This paper presents our initial investigation into how physical objects augmented with sensing and communication technologies can measure use in order to enable new pay-per-use payment models for equipment hire. We also explore user interaction with pay-per-use objects via mobile devices. The user interactions that take place within our prototype scenario range from simple information access to transactions involving multiple users. This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a prototype pay-per-use system motivated by a real world equipment hire scenario. We also provide insights into the various challenges introduced by supporting a pay-per-use model, including data storage and data security in addition to user interaction issues