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This study investigated whether reading comprehension would differ when the texts are studied and tested on screen or on paper. Participants were 69 college students who were attending a college in midwestern United States. Participants read two expository texts each, under comparable paper and screen conditions and answered comprehension questions. Test forms and the order of the conditions were counterbalanced. The correlations between reading outcomes and reader characteristics were examined. Participants also completed a survey on their views on the two media (paper or screen). The results did not indicate a significant difference on students' reading comprehension as a function of medium and reader characteristics. However, students reported preferring paper-based reading for complex material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though a computer professional, Meredith Broussard feels "that the way people talk about technology is out of touch with what digital technology can actually do", and that seeing the latter as a panacea has "resulted in a tremendous amount of poorly designed technology" (6), which needlessly complicates instead of improving or making life easier. Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World: by Meredith Broussard, Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 2019, 248 pp., $15.95T/£12.99 (paper) Supported by extensive research, I Artificial Unintelligence i cogently challenges the prevailing technophile hype extolling the unlimited ways in which technology supposedly can "change the world for the better" and create a digital utopia with infinite benefits in every area of life. [Extracted from the article]

The use of computers and the role of women in radio astronomy and X-ray crystallography research at the Cavendish Laboratory between 1949 and 1975 have been investigated. We recorded examples of when computers were used, what they were used for and who used them from hundreds of papers published during these years. The use of the EDSAC, EDSAC 2 and TITAN computers was found to increase considerably over this time-scale and they were used for a diverse range of applications. The majority of references to computer operators and programmers referred to women, 57% for astronomy and 62% for crystallography, in contrast to a very small proportion, 4% and 13% respectively, of female authors of papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to increased use of computer-based assessments, comparability studies are moving beyond paper-and-pencil versus computer-based assessments to analyze variances with computers. It is therefore practically important to determine whether screen size and definition of the device affect students' performance. Using data from a large school district giving tests on either Macs with large, high-definition screens or Chromebooks with standard 14-inch screens, this study compared assessment results between devices by grade, subject, and item type. Results showed no significant evidence supporting a large and high-definition screen's positive impact on students' performance. Likewise, there was no relationship between the impact of screen size and grade level as well as item types. Limitations and future studies were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare data based on computerized and paper versions of health status questionnaires (HSQs) for sampling patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with fibromyalgia (FM). In addition, to examine associations between patient characteristics (age, education, computer experience) and differences between versions. Finally, to evaluate the acceptability of computer-based questionnaires among patients with FM.Method: The study population comprised female patients diagnosed with FM. All patients completed six HSQs: the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Major Depression Inventory (MDI), the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the painDETECT questionnaire (PDQ), the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Self-Assessment Questionnaire (GAD-10), both on paper and using a touch screen. One HSQ was tested at a time in a repeated randomized cross-over design. The two versions were completed with a 5-min interval and between each HSQ the participants had a 5-min break. Means, mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), medians, median differences, and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated for all HSQs, including relevant subscales. Associations between patient characteristics and differences between versions were explored using Spearman's correlation coefficients.Results: Twenty women, mean age 48.4 years, participated in the study. Except for one item, ICCs between touch-screen and paper versions of the HSQs examined indicated acceptable agreement (ICC = 0.71-0.99). Overall, mean and median differences revealed no differences between versions. No significant associations were observed for patient characteristics. None of the participants preferred paper questionnaires over computerized versions.Conclusions: The computerized HSQs using a touch screen gave comparable results to answers given on paper and were generally preferred by the participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of remote sensing technology and computing science, remote sensing data present typical big data characteristics. The rapid development of remote sensing big data has brought a large number of data processing tasks, which bring huge challenges to computing. Distributed computing is the primary means to process remote sensing big data, and task scheduling plays a key role in this process. This study analyzes the characteristics of batch processing of remote sensing big data. This paper uses the Hungarian algorithm as a basis for proposing a novel strategy for task assignment optimization of remote sensing big data batch workflow, called optimal sequence dynamic assignment algorithm, which is applicable to heterogeneously distributed computing environments. This strategy has two core contents: the improved Hungarian algorithm model and the multi-level optimal assignment task queue mechanism. Moreover, the strategy solves the dependency, mismatch, and computational resource idleness problems in the optimal scheduling of remote sensing batch processing tasks. The proposed strategy likewise effectively improves data processing efficiency without increasing computer hardware resources and without optimizing the computational algorithm. We experimented with the aerosol optical depth retrieval algorithm workflow using this strategy. Compared with the processing before optimization, the makespan of the proposed method was shortened by at least 20%. Compared with popular scheduling algorithm, the proposed method has evident competitiveness in acceleration effect and large-scale task scheduling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop a tablet-based participation measure and to evaluate its reliability and acceptability to an older Chinese population in rehabilitation settings. Method: A multidimensional, self-reported participation measure, the Participation Measure–3 Domains, 4 Dimensions (PM-3D4D), was programed into mobile application software and presented on tablet computers. To explore the reliability of the tablet-based PM-3D4D, 80 adults in rehabilitation outpatient settings aged ≥65 years completed the tablet and the paper versions of the measure at baseline and at 1-week follow-up. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated for concordance and test-retest reliability. Participants' acceptability toward the two versions of the measure was described. Results: The tablet-based PM-3D4D showed good to excellent test-retest reliability (Intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.79 ∼ 0.96) and high concordance with the paper-form (Intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.74–1.00). Approximately, 44% participants reported preference for the tablet-based measure, and 20% reported preference for the paper-form measure. Many participants found the tablet-based measure user-friendly, convenient, and environmentally-friendly. Conclusions: Findings of this study provide supportive evidence for administering the tablet-based PM-3D4D to an older Chinese population in rehabilitation settings and suggest a promising measurement methodology for future clinical practice. The developed tablet-based participation measure, the Participation Measure–3 Domains, 4 Dimensions (PM-3D4D), fills a critical void for an efficient and reliable rehabilitation outcome measure tailored to the needs of older adults in rehabilitation settings. The tablet-based PM-3D4D is a reliable outcome measure. Most of the older adults in rehabilitation settings preferred to use the tablet-based participation measure than the paper-form measure; and very few of them reported difficulty with using the tablet-version measure. A high concordance was found between data collected by the tablet version PM-3D4D and data collected by the paper version PM-3D4D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to highlight the role that perceived cost, computer self-efficacy and the technology acceptance model (TAM) constructs have in e-training adoption in the Nigerian civil service. With the use of the SmartPLS 2.0 M3 software, a framework that included perceived cost, computer self-efficacy and TAM constructs (perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU)) was tested on 450 heads of departments. Scales on perceived cost, computer self-efficacy, PU and PEOU developed by previous studies were modified accordingly and used. This paper found perceived cost to have a significant effect on e-training adoption. Computer self-efficacy was statistically insignificant through PEOU. In addition, PEOU had an indirect effect through PU. Therefore, only PU of the TAM constructs indicated strong predictive strength in e-training adoption. This paper showed that with e-training adoption, facilities such as computers can be put in place, which can improve the outlook of the civil service. In addition, the cost that is usually associated with traditional training can be reduced, increasing the opportunity to invest in other aspects of the civil service which can help in adding to the overall performance. Relationships were examined in this paper, which were shown to be favourable to e-training adoption in the Nigerian civil service. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: The advances in artificial intelligence have started to reach a level where autonomous systems are becoming increasingly popular as a way to aid people in their everyday life. Such intelligent systems may especially be beneficially for people struggling to complete common everyday tasks, such as individuals with movement-related disabilities. The focus of this paper is hence to review recent work in using computer vision for semi-autonomous control of assistive robotic manipulators (ARMs). Methods: Four databases were searched using a block search, yielding 257 papers which were reduced to 14 papers after applying various filtering criteria. Each paper was reviewed with focus on the hardware used, the autonomous behaviour achieved using computer vision and the scheme for semi-autonomous control of the system. Each of the reviewed systems were also sought characterized by grading their level of autonomy on a pre-defined scale. Conclusions: A re-occurring issue in the reviewed systems was the inability to handle arbitrary objects. This makes the systems unlikely to perform well outside a controlled environment, such as a lab. This issue could be addressed by having the systems recognize good grasping points or primitive shapes instead of specific pre-defined objects. Most of the reviewed systems did also use a rather simple strategy for the semi-autonomous control, where they switch either between full manual control or full automatic control. An alternative could be a control scheme relying on adaptive blending which could provide a more seamless experience for the user. Assistive robotic manipulators (ARMs) have the potential to empower individuals with disabilities by enabling them to complete common everyday tasks. This potential can be further enhanced by making the ARM semi-autonomous in order to actively aid the user. The scheme used for the semi-autonomous control of the ARM is crucial as it may be a hindrance if done incorrectly. Especially the ability to customize the semi-autonomous behaviour of the ARM is found to be important. Further research is needed to make the final move from the lab to the homes of the users. Most of the reviewed systems suffer from a rather fixed scheme for the semi-autonomous control and an inability to handle arbitrary objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of computers in Indian schools runs parallel with the development of a digital divide in the country. In addition to the formal ways in which government policies shape access to computers in schools, deeper informal cultures of the state and schools shape opinion about these technologies. In this paper, we examine three levels of these informal cultures: political cultures and their perceptions of technology; bureaucratic cultures, which are distanced from schooling realities; and classroom teaching-learning practices, where digital inequalities add to pre-existing educational inequalities. For examining the interplay of the informal cultures, we scale down from the national level to examine the case of West Bengal, a state in eastern India. The state has been one of the strongholds of Left politics in India. Drawing upon its experiences, we explore the linkage between political ideology and the social embedding of resistance to computers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological interventions have been sold as improving student understanding of economics for decades. Yet despite the panoply of ways to incorporate technology, it is not clear which types of interventions consistently result in statistically significant improvements in learning outcomes. Of 145 papers devoted to the technology in collegiate economics courses, less than one third quantitatively assess the impact of technology on student learning outcomes. Of the regressions reported, 60 percent find a positive relationship between a technology intervention and a student-learning outcome; in only 42 percent is the relationship statistically significant. Meta-analysis indicates (a) no technology intervention routinely produces estimates of improved learning outcomes across studies, despite evidence of (b) publication bias that favors papers with statistically significant results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coding of facial expressions is a simple, fast, inexpensive, and straightforward method to complement self-report research. This approach is particularly relevant for assessing psychological factors such as positive emotion that may be particularly susceptible to self-report biases. The goals of this paper are to 1) provide convincing evidence that this well-validated method should be used in emotion research and 2) provide information about specific facial coding techniques to investigators who are looking to incorporate these methods into their research. We discuss the value, strengths, weaknesses, and applications of four techniques: facial electromyography (EMG), the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), computerized approaches, and modified/simplified hand coding techniques. Taken together, this paper provides a foundation from which researchers can integrate comprehensive and objective assessments of positive emotion into their investigations of human behavior and lays the groundwork for future research to build upon these facial analysis techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Industry 5.0 initiative seeks the sustainability and resilience of production systems through digital technologies. Derived from such an initiative, the Operator 5.0 concept surged to place the operator as the main value-creation contributor of sustainable and resilient human-machine systems. Smart service systems are data-driven services that provide intelligent capabilities to support decision-making in business processes. Despite previous research on smart services driven by multiple technologies in different contexts, further studies approaching Digital Twins as enablers of smart services in machine use phases are yet to be explored. Digital Twin, an Industry 5.0 enabler, is a technology that virtually represents physical assets that collect and analyze data from actual operations to make predictions for decision-making. Simulation-based Digital Twins generate simulation models that are continuously upgraded with asset data in real time, improving the accuracy of predictions. This paper aims to investigate how the Simulation-based Digital Twins (SDT) can enable the development of smart services in the Operator 5.0 context. We build on a multiple case study of 13 interviews from nine heavy mobile machinery manufacturers. We capture our results in categorizing SDT-enabled smart services for the use phases of the machine lifecycle. The categorization identifies the capabilities of each smart service for decision-making support and value co-creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research delves into the contemporary utilization of digital technology within the context of the material cultural heritage associated with traditional Chinese furniture. Digital technology refers to the use of computers and electronic devices to process, store, transmit, and display information, which can be used to restore and protect traditional furniture. Valuable informational resources relevant to Chinese traditional furniture, for example, can be preserved through data integration for further utilization and development. Such applications of digital technology are still in the exploratory stage and as research content is relatively scattered, a systematic understanding is still lacking. The current applications of digital technologies in the field of traditional furniture are separated into four categories in this paper: database technology, digital restoration, digital identification, and digital exhibition. Each is described systematically. Database technology includes data acquisition, data pretreatment, model building, and platform construction; digital restoration technology mainly centers on the restoration of furniture structures and patterns. Digital identification includes the identification of age, wood, lacquer film composition, and structural mechanical performance. Digital exhibition includes digital museums, virtual reality, augmented reality, and the use of holographic projection technology. Additionally, an in-depth exploration was conducted into a comprehensive range of admonitions, constraints, and focal points that may ensue from the integration of digital technology, and a concise synthesis was presented regarding the digitization applications in the realm of traditional furniture, along with a critical assessment of their inherent deficiencies. We seek to analyze these technical features to establish a comprehensive understanding of digital technology application and development trends relevant to Chinese traditional furniture. This work is geared towards the conservation professional and may provide a reference for improving the utilization and application of digital systems for the effective preservation of traditional furniture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The keyboard, in a physical or virtual form, is one of the most popular and available communication mediums for computers and mobile devices. In this paper, we introduce the Keydrop, a novel virtual keyboard layout for a touchscreen that dynamically changes the keys' labels. The results collected from 54 participants showed that Keydrop outperforms the usual QWERTY virtual keyboard in terms of typing speed and the number of typos. The solution gained positive feedback from participants, and the empirical results showed that users type 6% faster, making 33% fewer typos. The proposed solution achieves a speed of 25.17 words per minute (WPM) and 1.20 keystrokes per character (KSPC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents some recent efforts carried out on the expansion of the scalability of TermoFluids multi-physics Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code, aiming to achieve petascale capacity for a single simulation. We describe different aspects that we have improved in our code in order to efficiently run it on 131,072 CPU-cores. This work has been developed using the BlueGene/Q Mira supercomputer of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, where we have obtained feedback at the targeted scale. In summary, this is a practical paper showing our experience at reaching the petascale paradigm for a single simulation with TermoFluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maximin distance designs and orthogonal designs are two attractive classes of space-filling designs for computer experiments, but their theoretical constructions are challenging, especially the construction of optimal designs in terms of both the maximin distance and orthogonality criteria. This paper presents a systematic method for constructing orthogonal maximin distance designs with flexible numbers of runs and factors. The method is carried out by rotating the subarrays of a saturated two-level regular design in Yates order or its circular shifting version. The principal objective is to construct high-level designs from two-level designs, and the method is effective because the performance of high-level designs is determined by that of two-level designs under both the maximin distance and orthogonality criteria. The proposed method is also generalized by rotating the subarrays of a saturated two-level nonregular design such that the resulting designs have flexible run sizes. Comparison results reveal that the resulting orthogonal designs are well worthy of recommendation under the maximin distance criterion. An illustrative example is provided to show that the proposed designs have a good two-dimensional stratification property. An application is given to present the effectiveness of the proposed designs in building statistical surrogate models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to analyze the current literature on the use of machine learning in glaucoma, comparing the characteristics and citations received by articles on computer science focus or medical focus. We performed a search using the Scopus database on 28th of January 2021 using appropriate keywords for journal articles and conference articles that discussed glaucoma in the context of machine and deep learning. We used Scopus-based field classification and compared different characteristics and citation metrics between articles classified as belonging to the computer science field, medical field, or both fields combined. A total of 858 documents resulted from the search. Upon comparing the mean citation received by publications in the computer science field and medical field, we found a significant difference (p = 0.013). The highest mean citation received was for articles in the combined fields with a mean of 26.2 (SD 41.7), and the least mean citations received by articles in computer science field with a mean of 13.7 (SD 34.6). Most articles related to machine learning assessment of glaucoma were classified as computer science articles. Articles that belong to medical or both fields combined received higher number of citations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese companies in the computer and telecommunications sectors have been able to climb the value-added chain and become more innovative and globally competitive in part due to their ability to access global technology supply chains, many with a heavy US company presence. China's globally active players in these sectors are reliant to some degree on US technology inputs that have now been put in jeopardy by the increasing willingness of the US government to target Chinese firms, and weaponize US company dominance of key supply chains such as software, semiconductors, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. This paper examines prospects for Chinese companies to continue to innovate and compete globally in the computer and telecommunications sectors given the worsening geopolitical tensions centering on the technology sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In human--computer co-creativity, humans and creative computational algorithms create together. Too often, only the creative algorithms and their outcomes are evaluated when studying these co-creative processes, leaving the human participants to little attention. This paper presents a case study emphasising the human experiences when evaluating the use of a co-creative poetry writing system called the Poetry Machine. The co-creative process was evaluated using seven metrics: Fun, Enjoyment, Expressiveness, Outcome satisfaction, Collaboration, Ease of writing, and Ownership. The metrics were studied in a comparative setting using three co-creation processes: a human--computer, a human--human, and a human--human--computer co-creation process. Twelve pupils of age 10-11 attended the studies in six pairs trying out all the alternative writing processes. The study methods included observation in paired-user testing, questionnaires, and interview. The observations were complemented with analyses of the video recordings of the evaluation sessions. According to statistical analyses, Collaboration was the strongest in human--human--computer co-creation, and weakest in human--computer co-creation. Ownership was just the opposite: weakest in human--human--computer co-creation, and strongest in human--computer co-creation. Other metrics did not produce statistically significant results. In addition to the results, this paper presents the lessons learned in the evaluations with children using the selected methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the different insider employee-led cyber frauds (IECF) based on the recent large-scale fraud events of prominent Indian banking institutions. Examining the different types of fraud and appropriate control measures will protect the banking industry from fraudsters. In this study, we identify and classify Cyber Fraud (CF), map the severity of the fraud on a scale of priority, test the mitigation effectiveness, and propose optimal mitigation measures. The identification and classification of CF losses were based on a literature review and focus group discussions with risk and vigilance officers and cyber cell experts. The CF was analyzed using secondary data. We predicted and prioritized CF based on machine learning-derived Random Forest (RF). An efficient fraud mitigation model was developed based on an offender-victim-centric approach. Mitigation is advised both before and after fraud occurs. Through the findings of this research, banks and fraud investigators can prevent CF by detecting it quickly and controlling it on time. This study proposes a structured, sustainable CF mitigation plan that protects banks, employees, regulators, customers, and the economy, thus saving time, resources, and money. Further, these mitigation measures will improve the reputation of the Indian banking industry and ensure its survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper inquires into the dynamic imaginaries of the Ethereum project. We present Ethereum as animated by three such imaginaries: the world computer (technical), productive money (economic) and public goods (political). We examine how these imaginaries are materialized, carried forward and evolve through the Ethereum ecosystem, focusing on how Ethereum's prefigurative logic underpins this dynamism. In our analysis, we pay particular attention to how the imaginaries overlap and often generate contradictions that nonetheless do not seem to undermine the cohesion of the project. We introduce the concept of 'prefigurative imaginaries' to describe how prefiguration works to create multiple, mutually entangled but distinct imaginaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Project-based learning is among the most common learning approaches aimed at conveying professional standards and best practices to students in programming courses. However, team projects commonly impose problems related to responsibility sharing, such as low effort or inequality in contributions. This paper presents a collaborative programming assessment system featuring a code quality assessment function with specific metrics to measure individual contributions. Student engagement data is used to detect nonconformities in collaboration using a learning analytical approach. Latent profile analysis was used to detect four theoretical team profiles differentiated by team effort (2 levels) and within-team collaboration (2 levels). We demonstrated the efficacy of assessing code to evaluate team dynamics and student behaviour, wherein efforts to resolve coding style failures can be used as a proxy by which to estimate the taskwork awareness of team members. Submission data from 146 students in 41 web-programming projects revealed four behavioural patterns that could potentially hinder the effective functioning of programming teams: free-riding, social loafing, the bystander effect, and lone wolves. We also demonstrated the applicability of automated programming assessment systems to the monitoring of learning progress, thereby facilitating timely interventions to correct difficulties at the team level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores a new form of epistemic injustice related to computers and data mining in our interconnected world. I argue that data mining, as it is currently practiced, not only perpetuates but also contributes to a moral injustice primarily driven by economic factors. By employing Gaile Pohlhaus's theoretical framework, the paper establishes criteria that classify data mining as a form of epistemic injustice (P1) and demonstrates its differentiation from other known forms in existing literature (P2). Through a comprehensive analysis of data mining's alignment with these criteria, the article highlights its unique nature and draws attention to its previously overlooked manifestation of epistemic injustice. By comparing data mining to established forms of epistemic injustice, this research underscores the urgent need for a critical examination of this ethical dilemma arising from technological advancements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software developers use various methods to evaluate usability and identify usability issues that exist in systems they develop. Cognitive dimensions framework (CDF) based usability evaluation is one of the popular usability evaluation methods. It uses an open-ended questionnaire to collect qualitative feedback from users after using a system. To identify usability issues, evaluators should analyse this qualitative feedback. However, the approach to follow when performing this analysis is not explored in detail. We conducted a systematic literature review and reviewed 70 studies that used various CDF questionnaires for usability evaluations and investigated how those studies have analysed CDF questionnaire responses to identify usability issues. This revealed five methods that previous research has used for data analysis and four methods for identifying usability issues from CDF questionnaire responses. We applied the results of the literature review to develop a methodology and a set of guidelines to analyse qualitative feedback collected via a CDF questionnaire that targets evaluating security application programming interfaces. We tested the developed guidelines by conducting an empirical investigation. The results of the experiment revealed that using the proposed guidelines helps to identify significantly more usability issues with a higher validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies projection pursuit emulation for computer experiments with many input variables. This method aims at capturing the most influential directions of the inputs to the response, and thus the active dimensionality is reduced. Its interpolation property is proved under certain conditions. We also propose a two-stage method to handle the case where the projection pursuit method does not converge. Simulation studies show that the proposed methods are more efficient than the traditional Kriging methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As reading and reading assessment become increasingly implemented on electronic devices, the question arises whether reading on screen is comparable with reading on paper. To examine potential differences, we studied reading processes on different proficiency and complexity levels. Specifically, we used data from the standardization sample of the German reading comprehension test ELFE II (n= 2,807), which assesses reading at word, sentence, and text level with separate speeded subtests. Children from grades 1 to 6 completed either a test version on paper or via computer under time constraints. In general, children in the screen condition worked faster but at the expense of accuracy. This difference was more pronounced for younger children and at the word level. Based on our results, we suggest that remedial education and interventions for younger children using computer-based approaches should likewise foster speed and accuracy in a balanced way. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper asks whether, for the sake of human dignity, regulators should adopt a precautionary approach to the development of smart machines. Having identified a set of essential (or commons’) conditions for the existence of human social agents, including respect for human dignity in both foundational and non-foundational senses, consideration is given to human reliance on personal digital assistants, to the development of autonomous vehicles and lethal autonomous weapons systems, and to the use of smart machines in the criminal justice system. The paper concludes that, while smart machines should not be destroyed, a degree of precaution for the sake of human dignity is warranted. In particular, it is recommended that international agencies should monitor the impact of smart machines on the commons’ conditions; and that national commissions should facilitate the articulation of the local social licence for the development and application of such machines. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Seismic data interpolation techniques are extremely economical for removing negative effects resulting from insufficient spatial sampling. In recent years, self-learning mechanism-based methods (relatively intelligent methods), such as machine learning (ML) and deep learning, have increasingly attracted the attention of many scholars. Support vector regression machine (SVR), a kind of ML method, can obtain good reconstructed performance for seismic data interpolation. However, the performance is influenced directly by the kernel function, which controls the map from the input space to the feature space. In other words, a good and suitable kernel function can contribute to the extraction of good features and improve the self-learning ability. In this paper, Ricker kernel function suitable for seismic data, rather than the traditional Gaussian kernel function, will be introduced and applied in the new SVR-based interpolation method. In detail, the Ricker wavelet is widely used to simulate seismic data. And the Ricker kernel function can be used specially for the seismic data process. Under the guarantee of the special kernel function, the input time-space vector series are trained as a better model for future prediction of missing seismic data. Numerical experiments on synthetic and real field data show better reconstruction ability than that of SVR based on the traditional kernel function. Furthermore, we discuss the difference between the relatively shallow ML method (SVR) and the deep learning neural networks method. Except for the computer hardware, deep neural learning methods will impose stringent requirements on the training data, not only with respect to quantity but also including data quality. From this perspective, SVR shows more flexibility in the self-learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer aided optimization and quality improvement of the performance of industrial machinery, without changing the original design, is one of the important challenges of intelligent manufacturing science, especially for robotic systems. In this paper, improving the performance of the new C4 robot serving as a coordinate measuring system (CMM) was considered. Since the efficiency of a robot is directly related to its work-space, calculating the quality improved work-space of this mechanism was studied. The new inverse and forward error models considering 48 error parameters were obtained using inverse kinematics. Afterward, a sensitivity analysis of the mechanism was implemented. Using the inverse kinematics and the discretization method, the work-space was calculated. Applying a new method, singularity tolerance, singular and quasi-singular points of the work-space were determined. In this proposal of a new computer integrated quality improvement algorithm, the work-space was investigated in various aspects including singularity, dexterity, and sensitivity analysis. The comparison between various indices for dexterity analysis was implemented and reliability and accuracy index was presented. Finally, the quality improved work-space was achieved without any physical changes to the structure. Selecting high-quality regions of work-space for operational intelligently can help to gain accurate results in industrial applications especially measuring tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machining errors in parallel kinematic machines primarily depend on their extent of kinematic nonlinearity. In this paper, a computer integrated model of the kinematic nonlinearity and trajectory interpolation method for a 4DOF parallel milling machine is developed. The nonlinear errors prompted during various trajectory modes are analyzed. It is proved that in order to avoid significant non-linearity, the actuator and the end-effector space must possess identical order of trajectory. The effects of tool path length, its spatial location, and the Jacobian matrix properties on the kinematic nonlinearity error, are studied. Results showed that the path length is the governing factor for the nonlinear behavior of the mechanism. Moreover, the kinematic error is illustrated to have a reverse relationship with maximum singular values of the inverse Jacobian matrix. Experiments are conducted using digital dial indicators. Experimental results verified the accuracy of the proposed mathematical approach and confirmed its applicability in actual machining processes. Moreover, the proposed interpolation algorithm successfully limits the kinematic error under the machining tolerance by minimal segmentation. Finally, it is demonstrated that the proposed method is superior in terms of accuracy, to the median osculating circle (MOC) method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the associations between computer use in schools and at home and test scores by using TIMSS data covering over 900,000 children in fourth grade. When controlling for school fixed effects, pupils who use computers at school, especially those who use them frequently are found to achieve less than students who never use computers. Daily computer use at home is negatively associated with test scores, although monthly, and sometimes weekly, use is positively associated with pupil performance. There is no significant difference between subjects and only small gender and country differences are observed. Moreover, the result suggests that the negative association of computer use at school is larger among low-performing pupils than for high-performing pupils. The findings suggest a negative association of computer use at school and test scores but do not reject the possibility that computers have a positive impact on test scores if computers are used optimally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles within the issue on topics including augmented reality smartphone used to improve clinician knowledge, Cognitive Work Analysis for sociotechnical systems model development, and mapping of interrelations of healthcare outcomes.

An editorial is presented on research in learning, media, and technology. Topics include use of computers in schools maintaining and exaggerating inequities, with poor, minority, and female students having less access; and revolutionising open and distance learning being developed in feminist, radical, and anti-racist classrooms.

Lack of access to visual cues can cause challenges and sometimes make social interaction difficult for many visually impaired persons in face-to-face situations. The loss of vision, therefore, demands adjustments––not only for the individual's adaptation with sight loss for independent living but also for communication. While recognizing that older adults with vision impairment face challenges when communicating with others due to inability to perceive visual cues, this study examines the challenges and opportunities presented to them when using a computer to communicate with others. The study employed a case study approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with 20 visually impaired older adults aged 60–87 years. Findings suggest that the lack of visual cues in text-based computer-mediated communications (CMCs) supported their daily social communication. The paper discussed how, within online communication, people with vision impairment compensate for sight loss through CMC. Implications of findings for broader issues that may steer the use of Information communication technologies among visually impaired older people are discussed. This paper adds novel understanding to the field of CMC, in highlighting the need for more attentive rehabilitation than the need for circumventing face-to-face interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the pricing of reused personal computers that are discarded and sold on the secondary market. We first extract the main components affecting the performance of a reused computer. We then use quality function deployment to compare the weights of the main components against what reusable computer customers require. Third, we use TOPSIS to rank the selected reused computers. Finally, we price every reused computer according to relative monopoly power and perform an accumulated depreciation analysis on each one at various sale periods. The results show that each reused computer can be easily evaluated and priced on the secondary market. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The growing spread of mobile phones and internet has some practitioners and scholars arguing about the possible irrelevance of community technology centers (CTCs) serving low-income communities. However, although mobile internet is making great strides, it does not yet substitute for public access; in actuality, mobile phones and computers at CTCs complement each other in providing those who face digital inequalities with a broader sociotechnical experience. In order to explore this problem, this paper explores this experience by investigating how favela residents appropriate mobile phones, posing the question, “how do marginalized populations perceive CTCs in the mobile internet era?” To address this question, I draw on a 10-month ethnography in the favelas of Vitória, Brazil which examines slum residents’ uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as computers and smartphones. Through this research, I demonstrate how marginalized people take advantage of smartphones and computers in a complementary way, using these ICTs to best meet their needs as they experience daily life in a relatively severe environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years many schools have begun to incorporate virtual reality tools and programs into their curriculum. This paper relates the results of a library pilot project on the usefulness of virtual reality headsets and programming for graduate students studying physical therapy and medicine. Authors review the existing literature on virtual reality use in education with a specific focus on libraries. This information is incorporated into lessons learned by researchers regarding hardware and software choice, attracting students, and potential deterrents or safety issues relating to virtual reality use in libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been several calls for more transparency in realist methods, particularly in the complex process of programme theory development and refinement. This paper will describe the way in which Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software, specifically, NUD*IST Vivo (NVivo), was used to build and refine programme theories (using literature and interview data) in a realist evaluation. This article presents the evolving and complex process of coding several data sources to nodes and child nodes, whilst writing 'attached memos' to highlight the process of theory generation. In this project, NVivo helped create an explicitly documented and evidenced audit trail of the process of programme theory refinement, answering to calls for further transparency in realist analysis. RAMESES I and II have provided a platform to improve transparency in reporting realist research, by developing consensus and evidence-based reporting guidelines. We propose that the use of NVivo in realist approaches can help structure the iterative and by nature 'messy' process of generating, refining and testing complex programme theories when drawing on multiple data sources simultaneously. This effectively creates a structured track record of the analytical process, which increases its rigour and transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined younger and older adults’ error detection accuracy, prediction calibration, and postdiction calibration on a proofreading task, to determine if age-related differences would be present in this type of common error detection task. Participants were given text passages, and were first asked to predict the percentage of errors they would detect in the passage. They then read the passage and circled errors (which varied in complexity and locality), and made postdictions regarding their performance, before repeating this with another passage and answering a comprehension test of both passages. There were no age-related differences in error detection accuracy, text comprehension, or metacognitive calibration, though participants in both age groups were overconfident overall in their metacognitive judgments. Both groups gave similar ratings of motivation to complete the task. The older adults rated the passages as more interesting than younger adults did, although this level of interest did not appear to influence error-detection performance. The age equivalence in both proofreading ability and calibration suggests that the ability to proofread text passages and the associated metacognitive monitoring used in judging one’s own performance are maintained in aging. These age-related similarities persisted when younger adults completed the proofreading tasks on a computer screen, rather than with paper and pencil. The findings provide novel insights regarding the influence that cognitive aging may have on metacognitive accuracy and text processing in an everyday task. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: This work aims at providing a tool for supporting cognitive rehabilitation. This is a wide field, that includes a variety of diseases and related clinical pictures; for this reason the need arises to have a tool available that overcomes the difficulties entailed by what currently is the most common approach, that is, the so-called pen and paper rehabilitation.Methods: We first organized a big number of stimuli in an ontology that represents concepts, attributes and a set of relationships among concepts. Stimuli may be words, sounds, 2D and 3D images. Then, we developed an engine that automatically generates exercises by exploiting that ontology. The design of exercises has been carried on in synergy with neuropsychologists and speech therapists. Solutions have been devised aimed at personalizing the exercises according to both patients’ preferences and performance.Results: Exercises addressed to rehabilitation of executive functions and aphasia-related diseases have been implemented. The system has been tested on both healthy volunteers (n = 38) and patients (n = 9), obtaining a favourable rating and suggestions for improvements.Conclusions: We created a tool able to automate the execution of cognitive rehabilitation tasks. We hope the variety and personalization of exercises will allow to increase compliance, particularly from elderly people, usually neither familiar with technology nor particularly willing to rely on it. The next step involves the creation of a telerehabilitation tool, to allow therapy sessions to be undergone from home, thus guaranteeing continuity of care and advantages in terms of time and costs for the patients and the National Healthcare System (NHS).Implications for rehabilitationCognitive impairments can greatly impact an individual's existence, appreciably reducing his abilities and autonomy, as well as sensibly lowering his quality of life. Cognitive rehabilitation can be used to restore lost brain function or slow down degenerative diseases.Computerization of rehabilitation entails many advantages, but patients – especially elderly people – might be less prone to the use of technology and consequently reluctant towards this innovative therapeutic approach.Our software system, CoRe, supports a therapist during the administration of rehabilitation sessions: exercises can be generated dynamically, thus reducing repetitivity, and patients' performance trends automatically analysed to facilitate the assessment of their progress.Tests performed on both healthy subjects and patients provided useful information that allowed us to define an implementation strategy able to reduce patients' resistance to computerized rehabilitation as much as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Open Science (OS) movement promises nothing less than a revolution in the availability of scientific knowledge around the globe. By removing barriers to online data and encouraging publication in Open Access formats and Open Data archives, OS seeks to expand the role, reach and value of research. The promises of OS imply a set of expectations about what different publics hope to gain from research, how accountability and participation can be enhanced, and what makes science public in the first place. This paper presents empirical material from fieldwork undertaken in (bio)chemistry laboratories in Kenya and South Africa to examine the extent to which these ideals can be realized in a sub-Saharan context. To analyse the challenges African researchers face in making use of freely available data, we draw from Amartya Sen’s Capabilities Approach. His theorisations of ‘conversion factors’ helps to understand how seemingly minor economic and social contingencies can hamper the production and (re-)use of online data. In contrast to initiatives that seek to make more data available, we suggest the need to facilitate a more egalitarian engagement with online data resources. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Top500 supercomputers ranking has been held twice a year according to Linpack performance for more than 20 years, which greatly stimulates the development of high-performance computing. However, it is still not clear how to determine the scale limit of supercomputers. It will undoubtedly cause a waste of resources if we build bigger and bigger supercomputers without caring about other aspects of cost, energy, reliability. Thus, this paper analyses the scalability and scale limit for parallel computing with a reliability requirement. We use a Markov chain to model the state transition process of a parallel computing system, so the probability of parallel tasks running on machines successfully can be evaluated, that is the reliability of parallel computing. When parallel computing carries out an iso-speed efficiency extension under specific reliability requirements, we present an approach to calculate the maximum number of processing nodes and the maximum workload of parallel tasks, which actually reveals the function relation between the scale limit and the speed efficiency of parallel computing. Taking “Tianhe-2”, which is the current No. 1 supercomputer, as an example, we utilize our methods to do a case study and predict its scale limit. Finally, a simulation experiment is conducted to verify our theory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We believe that the special issue will encourage further research in the area of Sleptsov nets and practical implementation of a Sleptsov net computer. So this was the beginning of my fruitful 25 year friendship with Prof Dimity Zaitsev & Prof Anatoly Sleptsov. And so Prof Sleptsov recommended Prof Dimitry Zaitsev for the upcoming training that was held in November 1995 in the Russian Academic Town of Apatity in the Arctic Kola Peninsula. [Extracted from the article]

Under the tendency of mass individualization demands, social manufacturing has been proposed as a new paradigm. This paper proposes a contextual process configuration model for realizing the mass individualized manufacturing. The Social Internet of Things (SIoT) strategy is introduced to boost sociality and narrow down the contextual computing complexity based on situational awareness in a cyber-physical-social connected space. SIoT monitors spatiotemporal situations in a spontaneous social network of relationships and interactions, and induces relevant smart machines depending on prosumers' individual demands. Four key enabling techniques of SIoT are detailed, and then a demonstrative implementation together with a case study are presented to address the decentralized intelligence in proactive decision making for mass individualization. It is expected that this study can help readers to gain more understanding on the characteristics and configuration logics of contextual self-organizing of manufacturing process for mass individualization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent machine-tools generate a large amount of digital data. Data mining can support decision-making for operational management. The first step in a data mining approach is the selection of relevant data. Raw data must, therefore, be classified into different groups of contexts. This paper proposes an original contextual classification of data for smart machining based on unsupervised machine learning by Gaussian mixture model. The optimal number of classes is determined by the silhouette method based on the Bayesian information criterion. This method is validated on real data from four different machine-tools in the aerospace industry. Manual data mining and k-fold cross-validation confirm that the proposed method provides good contextual classification results. Then, several key performance indicators are calculated using this contextual classification. They show the relevancy of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel framework to efficiently calculate a large-scale finite element (FE) numerical substructure in real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS). It is composed of a non-real-time Windows computer and a real-time Target Computer. The Windows computer is used to solve the FE numerical substructure by parallel computing in soft real-time, while the real-time Target Computer generates displacement signals for the controller in real time. Based on the proposed framework, a RTHS with numerical substructure simulated in Windows environment is developed. It is demonstrated that the computational efficiency of the RTHS could be greatly improved by parallel programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports findings and introduces an innovative methodological approach deployed to explore how complex visual imagery on Pinterest represents Thailand and how commercial and private users differ in this respect. For this purpose, visual content analysis of 300 images was performed in which computer vision labelling and a subsequent manual thematic analysis were deployed during a two-step procedure. The obtained findings reveal that significant differences exist among both types of users regarding some frequently depicted themes (architecture, animals) and regarding textual, graphic and substantive content. These differences in turn inform the theoretical and practical implications for improved communication on social media. The limitations of the study are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]