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• Optimal decentralized operation of a multi-carrier energy system is considered. • A multi-agent system is used for decentralized modeling. • Effective presence of renewable agent in an electrical transaction. • A priced based demand response program is used for both electrical and thermal loads. • Using the proposed MAS simplifies the optimal operation problem of the proposed multi-carrier energy system. • Operational results are compared in centralized and decentralized approaches. Using a multi-agent system (MAS), the present research offers a model for an interactive decentralized operation of a multi-carrier energy system which includes electrical, thermal, and cooling loads. The novelty of the proposed model is that the photovoltaic (PV) agent as a renewable energy producer can directly influence the clearing price of electrical interaction without any supervisory control and only through communicating with other agents. Using battery storage status and upper grid energy price, this agent calculates its own power generation for each hour which results in optimization of social welfare and personal profit. In the current work, using decentralized private ownership in a multi-energy system leads to a plug and play feature which makes system development and scaling easier. Then, to evaluate decentralized approach, the proposed model is simulated with Any Logic programming package and its numerical results are compared to those of the centralized model. The results show that the effective presence of PV agent in electrical interaction decreases the social welfare while increases personal profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current computing platforms, including HPC, Grid and Cloud computing, offer many computational resources. These platforms can provide the scientific world with on-demand and scalable computing power. However, their use requires advanced computer skills. In our work, we summarize the main problems found by research scientists when they attempt to execute complex software on one or several of these platforms. As a solution to these problems, we propose the Science for Everyone (ScifE) framework, and an intuitive and easy-to-use web interface, to perform scientific experiments on HPC or Cloud platforms. The Community Earth System Model (CESM) has been used to test our proof-of-concept framework as it is a complex scientific software used by many climate researchers. Using our framework, a user can execute CESM with custom parameters with only a few clicks on the web interface. As ScifE is generic, other software can be imported relatively easy to our framework. Additional collaborative tools are being developed for successive versions of ScifE, enhancing the practice of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose INDIANA, a system conceived to support a novel paradigm of database exploration. INDIANA assists the users who are interested in gaining insights about a database though an interactive and incremental process, like a conversation that does not happen in natural language. During this process, the system iteratively provides the user with some features of the data that might be "interesting" from the statistical viewpoint, receiving some feedbacks that are later used by the system to refine the features provided to the user in the next step. A key ability of INDIANA is to assist "data enthusiastic" users (i.e., inexperienced or casual users) in the exploration of transactional databases in an interactive way. For this purpose, we develop a number of novel, statistically-grounded algorithms to support the interactive exploration of the database. We report an in-depth experimental evaluation to show that the proposed system guarantees a very good trade-off between accuracy and scalability, and a user study that supports the claim that the system is effective in real-world database-exploration tasks. • A model for database exploration. • A statistical notion of relevance to identify relevant features. • Different strategies for the interaction between the user and the system. • A working prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • An interactive mechanism is proposed for smart distribution networks with microgrids. • The interaction process is formulated as Stackelberg game under a market framework. • The uncertainty of microgrids is handled by two-stage robust method. • A collaborative strategy is established to promote the trading among microgrids. Abstract This paper proposes a two-level interactive mechanism to address the day-ahead scheduling optimization of smart distribution networks with multi-microgrids. Each microgrid realizes the economic dispatch in the lower level interactive model, where the uncertainties caused by renewable energy integration and loads as well as the coordination of controllable distributed generator, energy storage and demand response are handled through a two-stage robust model. In the upper level interactive model, the distribution network operator (DNO) guarantees the operational quality by considering the power flow constraints and decides the transaction price and quantity with each microgrid based on the solutions of the lower level problem, to minimize the operation cost. The interaction process is formulated as a Stackelberg game, in which the trading strategies of coupled microgrids, acted as followers, are influenced by price incentive mechanism of DNO and affect the decision of DNO in turn. A collaborative strategy promoting the internal power trading among microgrids is also presented to deal with the market power of DNO, such that the participating microgrids can benefit from the internal trading and further reduce the cost. Numerical cases on an improved IEEE 33-bus system show the effectiveness of the proposed model and solution strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Object Constraint Language (OCL) is commonly used for specifying additional constraints on models, in addition, to the ones enforced by the semantics of the models. However, a lot of practitioners and even researchers are reluctant in using OCL to some extent due to the lack of sufficient familiarity with OCL. To facilitate practitioners and researchers in specifying OCL constraints, we designed and developed a web-based tool called interactive OCL (iOCL) for interactively specifying constraints on a given model. The core idea behind iOCL is to present and display only relevant details (e.g., operations) of OCL to users at a given step of constraint specification process, in addition to helping modelers with its syntax. We evaluated iOCL using a real-world case study from Cancer Registry of Norway and the results showed that iOCL can significantly reduce the time required to specify OCL constraints and decrease the possibility of making syntactic errors during the specification process. Thus, we conclude that iOCL can facilitate the process of OCL constraint specification. Interested users can try iOCL at: http://iocl.zen-tools.com/ . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactive Pattern Recognition (IPR) is an emergent framework in which the user is involved actively in the recognition process by giving feedback to the system when an error is detected. Although this framework is expected to reduce the number of errors to correct, it may increase the time required to complete the task since the machine needs to recompute its proposal after each interaction. Therefore, a fast computation is required to make the interactive system profitable and user-friendly. This work presents an efficient approach to deal with IPR tasks when data has a sequential nature. Our approach includes some computation at the very beginning of the task but it then achieves a linear complexity after user corrections. We also show how these tasks can be effectively carried out if the solution space is defined with a Regular Language. This fact has indeed proven to be the most relevant factor to improve the efficiency of the approach. Several experiments are carried out in which our proposal is faced against a classical search. Results show a reduction in time in all experiments considered, solving efficiently some complex IPR tasks thanks to our proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we show the potential of machine learning regarding the task of underwater source localization through a fluctuating ocean. Underwater source localization is classically addressed under the angle of inversion techniques. However, because an inversion scheme is necessarily based on the knowledge of the environmental parameters, it may be not well adapted to a random and fluctuating underwater channel. Conversely, machine learning only requires using a training database, the environmental characteristics underlying the regression models. This makes machine learning adapted to fluctuating channels. In this paper, we propose to use non linear regressions for source localization in fluctuating oceans. The kernel regression as well as the local linear regression are compared to typical inversion techniques, namely Matched Field Beamforming and the algorithm MUSIC. Our experiments use both real tank-based and simulated data, introduced in the works of Real et al. Based on Monte Carlo iterations, we show that the machine learning approaches may outperform the inversion techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally accepted that the geomagnetic K indices derived by experienced observers are of great value. The interactive method (IM) based on the traditional hand-scaling methodology is tested in this study. The tests are performed utilising the data from the Hurbanovo and Budkov magnetic observatories. These data include both digital records of the geomagnetic field and hand-scaled K indices that had been derived by experienced observers. The authentic K indices from Hurbanovo cover the year 1997 and the same kind of data from Budkov covers the years 1994–1999. In addition to these data, hand-scaled K indices are used which were derived by the experienced observer from printed digital magnetograms for both of the observatories for the years 2000–2003. The results of this study indicate that for high values of K indices (the values being at least 5) the tested method follows the traditional hand-scaling better than the widely used computer methods FMI and AS. On the other hand, for the K indices less than 5 the tested method turns out to be the worst when compared with the FMI and AS methods. For very low geomagnetic activity ( K -index values equal to 0) the performance of the tested method is comparable to the two computer methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grid-based Bayesian tracker employs a novel sample generation and weighting mechanism that achieves significantly improved visual tracking performance (in terms of accuracy, robustness, and computational burden) over existing active contour trackers and Monte Carlo trackers. This paper presents a method to enhance its capability in accommodating the tracking of targets in video with erratic motion, by introducing adaptation in the motion model and iterative position estimation. Tracking performance of the resulting algorithm is compared with the grid-based Bayesian tracker in the context of leukocyte tracking, UAV-based vehicle tracking, and Drosophila larva tracking to demonstrate its effectiveness in dealing with erratic target movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present an association based tracking approach to track multiple insect body parts in a set of low frame-rate videos. The association is formulated as a MAP problem and solved by the Hungarian algorithm. Different from a traditional track-and-then-rectification scheme, this framework refines the tracking hypotheses in an interactive fashion: it integrates a key frame selection approach to minimize the number of frames for user correction while optimizing the final hypotheses. Given user correction, it takes user inputs to rectify the incorrect hypotheses on the other frames. Thus, the framework improves the tracking accuracy by introducing active key frame selection and interactive components, enabling a flexible strategy to achieve a trade-off between human effort and tracking precision. Given the refined tracks at a bounding box (BB) level, the tip of each body part is estimated, and multiple body parts in a BB are further differentiated. The efficiency and the effectiveness of the framework are verified on challenging video datasets for insect behavioral experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactive classification aims at introducing user preferences in the learning process to produce individualized outcomes more adapted to each user’s behavior than the fully automatic approaches. The current interactive classification systems generally adopt a single-label classification paradigm that constrains items to span one label at a time and consequently limit the user’s expressiveness while he/she interacts with data that are inherently multi-label. Moreover, the experimental evaluations are mainly subjective and closely depend on the targeted use cases and the interface characteristics. This paper presents the first extensive study of the impact of the interactivity constraints on the performances of a large set of twelve well-established multi-label learning methods. We restrict ourselves to the evaluation of the classifier predictive and time-computation performances while the number of training examples regularly increases and we focus on the beginning of the classification task where few examples are available. The classifier performances are evaluated with an experimental protocol independent of any implementation environment on a set of twelve multi-label benchmarks of various sizes from different domains. Our comparison shows that four classifiers can be distinguished for the prediction quality: RF-PCT (Random Forest of Predictive Clustering Trees, (Kocev, 2011)), EBR (Ensemble of Binary Relevance, (Read et al., 2011)), CLR (Calibrated Label Ranking, (Fürnkranz et al., 2008)) and ML k NN (Multi-label k NN, (Zhang and Zhou, 2007)) with an advantage for the first two ensemble classifiers. Moreover, only RF-PCT competes with the fastest classifiers and is therefore considered as the most promising classifier for an interactive multi-label learning system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consensus clustering and interactive feature selection are very useful methods to extract and manage knowledge from texts. While consensus clustering allows the aggregation of different clustering solutions into a single robust clustering solution, the interactive feature selection facilitates the incorporation of the users’ experience in the clustering tasks by selecting a set of textual features, i.e. , including user’s supervision at the term-level. We propose an approach for incorporating interactive textual feature selection into consensus clustering. Experimental results on several text collections demonstrate that our approach significantly improves consensus clustering accuracy, even when only few textual features are selected by the users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To describe the acceptability of an interactive computer kiosk that provides environmental health education to low-income Latina prenatal patients. Methods A mixed-methods approach was used to assess the acceptability of the Prenatal Environmental Health Kiosk pregnant Latina women in Salinas, CA ( n = 152). The kiosk is a low literacy, interactive touch-screen computer program with an audio component and includes graphics and an interactive game. Results The majority had never used a kiosk before. Over 90% of women reported that they learned something new while using the kiosk. Prior to using the kiosk, 22% of women reported their preference of receiving health education from a kiosk over a pamphlet or video compared with 57% after using the kiosk ( p < 0.01). Qualitative data revealed: (1) benefit of exposure to computer use; (2) reinforcing strategy of health education; and (3) popularity of the interactive game. Conclusion The Prenatal Environmental Health Kiosk is an innovative patient health education modality that was shown to be acceptable among a population of low-income Latino pregnant women in a prenatal care clinic. Practice implications This pilot study demonstrated that a health education kiosk was an acceptable strategy for providing Latina prenatal patients with information on pertinent environmental exposures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) is a complex communication phenomenon involving human beings and computer systems that gained large attention from industry and academia with the advent of new types of interactive systems (mobile applications, smart cities, smart homes, ubiquitous systems and so on). Despite of its importance, there is still a lack of formal and explicit representations of what the HCI phenomenon is. In this paper, we intend to clarify the main notions involved in the HCI phenomenon, by establishing an explicit conceptualization of it. To do so, we need to understand what interactive computer systems are, which types of actions users perform when interacting with an interactive computer system, and finally what human–computer interaction itself is. The conceptualization is presented as a core reference ontology, called HCIO (HCI Ontology), which is grounded in the Unified Foundational Ontology (UFO). HCIO was evaluated using ontology verification and validation techniques and has been used as core ontology of an HCI ontology network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents a novel object–object affordance learning approach that enables intelligent robots to learn the interactive functionalities of objects from human demonstrations in everyday environments. Instead of considering a single object, we model the interactive motions between paired objects in a human–object–object way. The innate interaction-affordance knowledge of the paired objects are learned from a labeled training dataset that contains a set of relative motions of the paired objects, human actions, and object labels. The learned knowledge is represented with a Bayesian Network, and the network can be used to improve the recognition reliability of both objects and human actions and to generate proper manipulation motion for a robot if a pair of objects is recognized. This paper also presents an image-based visual servoing approach that uses the learned motion features of the affordance in interaction as the control goals to control a robot to perform manipulation tasks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] We describe a new process-based biodiversity assessment model. [•] The model utilized vegetation community and condition mapped surrogates inputs. [•] Model assesses biodiversity capacity and maps potential conservation benefits. [•] The model incorporates user friendly interactive reporting capabilities. [•] Results report on successful applications of model for a variety of functions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: A user-interface using the human body to navigate in a virtual environment in the context of urban planning is developed.A developed user-interface is non-demanding and easy to use and better in relation to mouse/keyboard interaction.The user-interface supports on-demand switching between different proposals, affecting learning, understanding positively.Human body navigation during spatial reasoning enhances understanding of virtual space. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Crystallography and X-ray diffraction techniques are essential topics in geosciences and other solid-state sciences. Their fundamentals, which include point symmetry groups, are taught in the corresponding university courses. In-depth meaningful learning of symmetry concepts is difficult and requires capacity for abstraction and spatial vision. Traditionally, wooden crystallographic models are used as support material. In this paper, we describe a new interactive tool, freely available, inspired in such models. Thirty-two PDF files containing embedded 3D models have been created. Each file illustrates a point symmetry group and can be used to teach/learn essential symmetry concepts and the International Hermann–Mauguin notation of point symmetry groups. Most interactive computer-aided tools devoted to symmetry deal with molecular symmetry and disregard crystal symmetry so we have developed a tool that fills the existing gap. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Constrained isometric planar parameterizations are central to a broad spectrum of applications. In this work, we present a non linear solver developed on OpenCL that is efficiently parallelizable on modern massively parallel architectures. We establish how parameterization relates to mesh smoothing and show how to efficiently and robustly solve the planar mesh parameterization problem with constraints. Furthermore, we demonstrate the applicability of our approach to real-time cut-and-paste editing and interactive mesh deformation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is evidence that people expect to be able to play games with autonomous robots, so that robogames could be one of the next killer applications for Robotics. Physically Interactive RoboGames (PIRG) is a new application field where autonomous robots are involved in games requiring physical interaction with people. Since research in this field is taking its first steps, definitions and design guidelines are still largely missing. In this paper, a definition for PIRG is proposed, together with guidelines for their design. Physically Interactive, Competitive RoboGames (PICoRG) are also introduced. They are a particular kind of PIRG where human players are involved in a challenging, highly interactive and competitive game activity with autonomous robots. The development process of a PICoRG, Jedi Trainer, is presented to show a practical application of the proposed guidelines. The game has been successfully played in different unstructured environments, by the general public; feedback is reported and analyzed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recent results in geometry processing have shown that shape segmentation, comparison, and analysis can be successfully addressed through the spectral properties of the Laplace–Beltrami operator, which is involved in the harmonic equation, the Laplacian eigenproblem, the heat diffusion equation, and the definition of spectral distances, such as the bi-harmonic, commute time, and diffusion distances. In this paper, we study the discretization and the main properties of the solutions to these equations on 3D surfaces and their applications to shape analysis. Among the main factors that influence their computation, as well as the corresponding distances, we focus our attention on the choice of different Laplacian matrices, initial boundary conditions, and input shapes. These degrees of freedom motivate our choice to address this study through the executable paper, which allows the user to perform a large set of experiments and select his/her own parameters. Finally, we represent these distances in a unified way and provide a simple procedure to generate new distances on 3D shapes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Newer interaction techniques enable users to explore interfaces in a more natural and intuitive way. However, we do not yet have a scientific understanding of their contribution to user experience and theoretical mechanisms underlying the impact. This study examines how a naturally mapped interface, page-flipping interface, can influence user learning and attitudes. An online experiment with two conditions (page flipping vs. clicking) tests the impact of this naturally mapped interaction technique on user learning and attitudes. The result shows that the page-flipping feature creates more positive evaluations of the website in terms of usability and engagement, as well as greater behavioral intention towards the website by evoking greater perception of natural mapping and greater feeling of presence. In terms of learning outcomes, however, participants who flip through the online magazine show less recall and recognition memory, unless they perceive page flipping as more natural and intuitive to interact with. Participants perceive the same content as more credible when they flip through the content, but only if they appreciate the coolness of the medium. Theoretical and practical implications will be discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Interactive multiobjective optimization (IMO) is a subfield of multiple criteria decision making. In multiobjective optimization, the optimization problem is formulated with a mathematical model containing several conflicting objectives and constraints depending on decision variables. By using IMO methods, a decision maker progressively provides preference information in order to find the most satisfactory compromise between the conflicting objectives. In this paper, we consider implementation challenges of IMO methods. In particular, we consider what kind of interaction techniques can support the decision making process and information exchange between IMO methods and the decision maker. The implementation of an IMO method called Pareto Navigator is used as an example to demonstrate concrete challenges of interaction design. This paper focuses on describing the incremental development of the user interface for Pareto Navigator including empirical validation by user testing evaluation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hydrological transport models are a vital tool in understanding and improving the health of water ecosystems. However, there are significant barriers that prevent the sharing and re-use of the modelling software and the outputs from modelling various scenarios. Technical barriers to providing models on the Web include: the volume of data involved, the complexity of the software that executes the models, and the computational demands of model execution. In this paper, we describe a Web-based repository developed to provide high-speed, interactive access to online simulations of hydrological models. The models are executed in advance and the results cached to expedite delivery. The adoption of an open-source geospatial platform minimises latency and allows streaming of animated model results. Interactive access to such visualisations enables users to rapidly understand the impact of alternative management actions on water quality. We demonstrate our system in terms of the Receiving Water Quality Model applied to the Moreton Bay system of South-East Queensland by local water authorities. By adopting a Web-based platform and open standards, we enable previously inaccessible models and datasets to be made available for exploration and re-use by a wider set of stakeholders and decision makers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of web-based interactive virtual tours on the development of prospective mathematics teachers'' spatial skills. The study was designed based on experimental method. The “one-group pre-test post-test design” of this method was taken as the research model. The study was conducted with 3rd year students of department of mathematics teaching for primary schools in a state university, who had taken computer courses for two terms but hadn't been involved in a web-based interactive virtual tour before. A total of 60 teacher candidates were included in the study. The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test (PSVT) was administered as the pre-test and the post-test. This test was developed so as to consist of 36 multiple choice items and include the skills of mental visualization of objects based on their surface developments, mental rotation of objects and mental visualization of rotated views of objects. In conclusion, according to the findings, the greatest increase occurred in developments part of prospective primary school mathematics teachers'' spatial skills. Secondly, there was an increase in the rotations part. Next, the lowest increase was found in the views part. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Low cost and significant advances in technology now allow instructors to create their own virtual learning environments. Creating social interactions within a virtual space that emulates the physical classroom remains challenging. While students are familiar with virtual worlds and video meetings, they are inexperienced as virtual learners. Over a nine year period we applied iterative cycles of action research through numerous large classes to systematically uncover attributes of success when executing synchronous learning in distributed environments. Findings show technology is not the source of problems; rather, difficulties emerge from human behaviors and their interactions with system features. We conclude with practical takeaway guidelines for video conferencing and immersive virtual environments and a model of nexus of control that elaborates software and classroom management attributes that can lead to successful execution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present an approach for interactively generating pen-and-ink hatching renderings based on hand-drawn examples. We aim to overcome the regular and synthetic appearance of the results of existing methods by incorporating human virtuosity and illustration skills in the computer generation of such imagery. To achieve this goal, we propose to integrate an automatic style transfer with user interactions. This approach leverages the potential of example-based hatching while giving users the control and creative freedom to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the results. Using a scanned-in hatching illustration as input, we use image processing and machine learning methods to learn a model of the drawing style in the example illustration. We then apply this model to semi-automatically synthesize hatching illustrations of 3D meshes in the learned drawing style. In the learning stage, we first establish an analytical description of the hand-drawn example illustration using image processing. A 3D scene registered with the example drawing allows us to infer object-space information related to the 2D drawing elements. We employ a hierarchical style transfer model that captures drawing characteristics on four levels of abstraction, which are global, patch, stroke, and pixel levels. In the synthesis stage, an explicit representation of hatching strokes and hatching patches enables us to synthesize the learned hierarchical drawing characteristics. Our representation makes it possible to directly and intuitively interact with the hatching illustration. Amongst other interactions, users of our system can brush with patches of hatching strokes onto a 3D mesh. This interaction capability allows illustrators who are working with our system to make use of their artistic skills. Furthermore, the proposed interactions allow people without a background in hatching to interactively generate visually appealing hatching illustrations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The capacities of the Internet provide a flexible platform for learning that has overcome the limitations of time and space. To compensate for the lack of face-to-face communication in online education, interactivity design has become an important factor affecting online learning. This study examines how different levels of interactivity in Web-based instruction (WBI) influence learners’ perceptions of using WBI systems with a comprehensive interaction design. Three WBI systems were developed with low, medium, and high levels of interactivity, and the effect of interactivity on learners’ perceptions was investigated in a real class. The findings suggest a relationship between the interactivity level and learners’ attitudes, learning, and satisfaction, but not perceived interactivity. The results indicated that the learners required a certain amount of mental effort to access the system initially; however, repeated exposure to the WBI systems increased their ability to operate the systems, which in turn increased the similarity of the interactivity perceptions of the three groups. Although the learners felt no differences in the interactivity toward the end of the 6-week class owing to familiarity with the system, the benefits of higher interactivity remained. This indicates that learners’ interactivity perceptions may change as their experience increases, but different interactivity designs do indeed influence their performance and attitudes in learning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Selfishness vs. fairness are basic dimensions of relating to others, and many computer-mediated communications among young people involve subtle decisions balancing selfishness vs. fairness. We report five experiments investigating the influence of affect on interpersonal decisions in CMC in strategic games such as the dictator game and the ultimatum game. In the dictator game, proposers have unlimited power to make selfish or fair allocations. In the ultimatum game, decisions by proposers are subject to the veto powers of responders. These experiments predicted and found that negative mood consistently increased, and positive mood reduced concern with the fairness of allocations. Proposers in a negative mood showed greater fairness and offered more resources to a partner than did those in a positive mood, and such decisions also took longer confirming mood-induced processing differences. The results are discussed in terms recent affect-cognition theories, suggesting that positive affect recruits more assimilative, internally focused processing promoting selfishness, while negative affect induces more externally oriented, accommodative thinking and greater concern with social norms. The implications of the findings for everyday interpersonal behaviors and computer-mediated interactions involving selfishness vs. fairness are considered. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a semi-automatic tool, called IGAnn (Interactive image ANNotation), that assists users in annotating textual labels with images. IGAnn performs an interactive retrieval-like procedure: the system presents the user with images that have higher confidences, and then the user determines which images are actually relevant or irrelevant for a specified label. By collecting relevant and irrelevant images of iterations, a hierarchical classifier associated with the specified label is built using our proposed semi-supervised approach to compute confidence values of unlabeled images. This paper describes the system interface of IGAnn and also demonstrates quantitative experiments of our proposed approach. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We propose a real-time solution for modeling and tracking multiple 3D objects in unknown environments for Augmented Reality. The proposed solution consists of both scalable tracking and interactive modeling. Our contribution is twofold: First, we show how to scale with the number of objects using keyframes. This is done by combining recent techniques for image retrieval and online Structure from Motion, which can be run in parallel. As a result, tracking 50 objects in 3D can be done within 6–35ms per frame, even under difficult conditions for tracking. Second, we propose a method to let the user add new objects very quickly. The user simply has to select in an image a 2D region lying on the object. A 3D primitive is then fitted to the features within this region, and adjusted to create the object 3D model. We demonstrate the modeling of polygonal and circular-based objects. In practice, this procedure takes less than a minute. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The ability to solve complex scientific problems is regarded as one of the key competencies in science education. Until now, research on problem solving focused on the relationship between analytical and complex problem solving, but rarely took into account the structure of problem-solving processes and metacognitive aspects. This paper, therefore, presents a theoretical framework, which describes the relationship between the components of problem solving and strategy knowledge. In order to assess the constructs, we developed a virtual environment which allows students to solve interactive and static problems. 162 students of grade 10 and the upper secondary level completed the tests within a cross-sectional survey. In order to investigate the structure of problem-solving competency, we established measurement models representing different theoretical assumptions, and evaluated model fit statistics by using confirmatory factor analyses. Results show that problem-solving competency in virtual environments comprises to three correlated abilities: achieving a goal state, systematical handling of variables, and solving analytical tasks. Furthermore, our study provides empirical evidence on the distinction between analytical and complex problem solving. Additionally, we found significant differences between students of grades 10 and 12 within the problem-solving subscales, which could be explained by gaming experience and prior knowledge. These findings are discussed from a measurement perspective. Implications for assessing complex problem solving are given. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper focuses on interactive decision making methods for random fuzzy two-level linear programming problems. Considering the probabilities that the decision makers’ objective function values are smaller than or equal to target variables, fuzzy goals of the decision makers are introduced. Using the fractile model to optimize the target variables under the condition that the degrees of possibility with respect to the attained probabilities are greater than or equal to certain permissible levels, the original random fuzzy two-level programming problems are reduced to deterministic ones. Interactive fuzzy nonlinear programming to obtain a satisfactory solution for the decision maker at the upper level in consideration of the cooperative relation between decision makers is presented. An illustrative numerical example demonstrates the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study combined discursive and imagery processing streams of research to propose an integrated model of virtual experience as it relates to the strength of brand attitude. The model assumes that both cognitive elaboration (representing the discursive process) and imagery vividness (reflecting the imagery process) are responsible for the effectiveness of virtual experience in the form of 3-D product visualization regarding attitude accessibility and attitude confidence. The results indicate that a brand attitude formed via an interactive 3-D product interface was more accessible and confident than via a static 2-D presentation. Imagery vividness contributed to creating a strong brand attitude. However, effects transmitted via cognitive elaboration were either negative (for accessibility) or nonsignificant (for confidence). Findings suggest that although the two processes are compensatory rather than complementary in the context of virtual experience, the imagery process dominates the discursive process. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The development and specification of interactive systems is a complex process. The use of notations, methods and their respective technological support is necessary for obtaining user interfaces in a purely engineering manner and not in a manner of craftsmanship, as has been the case thus far. In the field of Software Engineering, an interest is currently being taken in the Model-Driven Development (MDD) paradigm. MDD permits simplification and automation in the process of software development by defining models and transformations of those models. This paradigm can be successfully applied to the problem of obtaining Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) from declarative models (Model-Based User Interface Development; MBUID). With the aim of solving the issue of obtaining a GUI by following a model-driven process, we propose a method, and a tool that implements that method called CIAT-GUI. In developing this tool we have made use of relevant technologies in the field of MDD such as EMF, GMF, ATL and MofScript. This proposed method, in contrast to other proposals existing in the literature, allows the visualization and modification of intermediate prototypes of the GUI and permits an executable GUI (in XAML language) to be obtained. Finally, an initial study was conducted with the aim of verifying the suitability of this approach and of the implemented tool, as well as assessing the perception of software engineers regarding its usefulness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Procedural modeling is a promising approach to create complex and detailed 3D objects and scenes. Based on the concept of split grammars, e.g., construction rules can be defined textually in order to describe a hierarchical build-up of a scene. Unfortunately, creating or even just reading such grammars can become very challenging for non-programmers. Recent approaches have demonstrated ideas to interactively control basic split operations for boxes, however, designers need to have a deep understanding of how to express a certain object by just using box splitting. Moreover, the degrees of freedom of a certain model are typically very high and thus the adjustment of parameters remains more or less a trial-and-error process. In our paper, we therefore present novel concepts for the intuitive and interactive handling of complex procedural grammars allowing even amateurs and non-programmers to easily modify and combine existing procedural models that are not limited to the subdivision of boxes. In our grammar 3D manipulators can be defined in order to spawn a visual representation of adjustable parameters directly in model space to reveal the influence of a parameter. Additionally, modules of the procedural grammar can be associated with a set of camera views which draw the user''s attention to a specific subset of relevant parameters and manipulators. All these concepts are encapsulated into procedural high-level primitives that effectively support the efficient creation of complex procedural 3D scenes. Since our target group are mainly users without any experience in 3D modeling, we prove the usability of our system by letting some untrained students perform a modeling task from scratch. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite the massive body of research on the effect of media and entertainment on children’s development, especially through computer that clearly stands as the most interactive and appealing medium not only between children but also among people, the research, up to date, still lacks a true understanding of the powerful effect of the communication between children, generally all users, and the content of the entertainment. Thus, the present reflection paper was conducted towards clarifying the directions of the future research concerning the effect of media and entertainment on young children’s development based on the literature’s theoretical critiques. However, the present paper only paid attention to the most effective studies in the literature given the fact that many and many studies are just repeating what already available in the literature. The conclusion came up with two main directions of the future research on children’s development, (1) media as a quasi-human’s external regulator and (2) entertainment as a context of the learning process. Both directions yielded a new phase of learning (Self-Arousal Learning (SAL)) that the future research has to take it into account and consideration. The main topics of the SAL were stated as guidance for the main two directions of the future research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We present an interactive tool for browsing course requisites as a case study of dependency visualization. This tool uses multiple interactive visualizations to allow the user to explore the dependencies between courses. A usability study revealed that the proposed browser provides significant advantages over traditional methods, in terms of learnability, efficiency and user confidence. The results are discussed within a general framework for interactive visualization of dependencies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Conducting Risk Management of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) projects is an ambitious task. ERP projects are complex undertakings for business enterprises, as the associated risk factors include myriad technological, managerial, psychological and sociological aspects. Moreover, such factors are often tightly interconnected and can have indirect effects on projects. Such features make Risk Management more difficult, uncertain and important than in traditional projects, especially in the Assessment stage. The aim of this paper is to propose an innovative technique to support Risk Analysis in order to provide a better, more structured and systematic understanding of the major relations amongst various risk factors, on the one hand, and between risk factors and the specific effects associated with ERP projects, on the other. A real case study regarding a multinational company and involving a panel of experts and practitioners is presented to illustrate application of the method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Within agent-based Ambient Intelligence applications agents react to humans based on information obtained by sensoring and their knowledge about human functioning. Appropriate types of reactions depend on the extent to which an agent understands the human and is able to interpret the available information (which is often incomplete, and hence multi-interpretable) in order to create a more complete internal image of the environment, including humans. Such an understanding requires that the agent has knowledge to a certain depth about the human’s physiological and mental processes in the form of an explicitly represented model of the causal and dynamic relations describing these processes. In addition, given such a model representation, the agent needs reasoning methods to derive conclusions from the model and interpret the (partial) information available by sensoring. This paper presents the development of a toolbox that can be used by a modeller to design Ambient Intelligence applications. This toolbox contains a number of model-based reasoning methods and approaches to control such reasoning methods. Formal specifications in an executable temporal format are offered, which allows for simulation of reasoning processes and automated verification of the resulting reasoning traces in a dedicated software environment. A number of such simulation experiments and their formal analysis are described. The main contribution of this paper is that the reasoning methods in the toolbox have the possibility to reason using both quantitative and qualitative aspects in combination with a temporal dimension, and the possibility to perform focused reasoning based upon certain heuristic information. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Rehabilitation researchers who investigate complex interventions are challenged to describe the “active ingredients” of their interventions: the reason(s) why a treatment is expected to be effective. Interactive Computer Play (ICP) is an emerging complex intervention in rehabilitation practice and research. The purpose of this scoping review is to identify the active ingredients of ICP interventions that are designed to improve motor outcomes in children with neuromotor impairments. Eleven potential active ingredients were identified with the following foci: ICP system or game properties; intervention effects on the user; and therapist roles. However, few studies explicitly evaluate the impact of particular ingredients on outcomes. Identification of active ingredients in ICP interventions can inform trial design and clinical decision-making. Research and clinical practice will benefit from studies that utilize a framework such as motor learning theory to guide hypotheses and measurement of the active ingredients of complex interventions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines some aspects of the usefulness of interactive tabletop systems, if and how these impact collaboration. We chose creative problem solving such as brainstorming as an application framework to test several collaborative media: the use of pen-and-paper tools, the “around-the-table” form factor, the digital tabletop interface, the attractiveness of interaction styles. Eighty subjects in total (20 groups of four members) participated in the experiments. The evaluation criteria were task performance, collaboration patterns (especially equity of contributions), and users’ subjective experience. The “around-the-table” form factor, which is hypothesized to promote social comparison, increased performance and improved collaboration through an increase of equity. Moreover, the attractiveness of the tabletop device improved subjective experience and increased motivation to engage in the task. However, designing attractiveness seems a highly challenging issue, since overly attractive interfaces may distract users from the task. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: When developers need to improve the performance of their applications, they usually use one of the many existing profilers. These profilers generally capture a profile that represents the execution time spent in each method. The developer can thus focus her optimization efforts on the methods that consume the most time. In this paper we argue that this type of profile is insufficient for tuning interactive applications. Interactive applications respond to user events, such as mouse clicks and key presses. The perceived performance of interactive applications is directly related to the response time of the program. In this paper we present listener latency profiling, a profiling approach with two distinctive characteristics. First, we call it latency profiling because it helps developers to find long latency operations. Second, we call it listener profiling because it abstracts away from method-level profiles to compute the latency of the various listeners. This allows a developer to reason about performance with respect to listeners, also called observers, the high level abstraction at the core of any interactive Java application. We present our listener latency profiling approach, describe LiLa, our implementation, validate it on a set of microbenchmarks, and evaluate it on a complex real-world interactive application. We then perform case studies where we use LiLa to tune the perceptible performance of two interactive applications, and we show that LiLa is able to pinpoint performance problems even if their causes are embedded in the largest interactive Java application we are aware of. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This research was designed to explore the impact of a wiki-based international collaboration project on pre-service teachers'' 1) cultural competencies, 2) comfort using technology, including Web 2.0 tools, to interact and collaborate with unknown colleagues, and 3) perceptions of ideas for using technology, including Web 2.0 tools, in their future classrooms. Survey results showed significant changes in cultural competency and perceived ideas for using technology from pre- to post-semester while interview data provided support for, and greater insights into, survey results. Furthermore, students'' perceived comfort for participating in Web 2.0-based international collaborations was the best predictor of changes in cultural competency. Implications for the integration of international collaborations into on-campus courses, using Web 2.0 technologies, are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Purpose: To develop, implement and test a novel audience response system (ARS) that allows image based interaction for radiology education. Methods: The ARS developed in this project is based on standard Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) (HP iPAQ 114 classic handheld) running Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6 Classic with a large 3.5in. TFT touch screen (320×240 pixel resolution), high luminance and integrated IEEE 802.11b/g wireless. For software development Visual Studio 2008 professional (Microsoft) was used and all components were written in C#. Two test sessions were conducted to test the software technically followed by two real classroom tests in a radiology class for medical students on thoracic radiology. Results: The novel ARS, called I2Vote, was successfully implemented and provided an easy to use, stable setup. The acceptance of both students and teachers was very high and the interaction with the students improved because of the anonymous interaction possibility. Conclusion: An easy to use handheld based ARS that enables interactive, image-based, teaching is achieved. The system effectively adds an extra dimension to the use of an ARS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Design for All principles define the characteristics which a device should possess in order for it be utilised by every type of user, independent of his or her sensory disabilities or technological competency. These principles are realised in the current work as an integrative tool with which to facilitate universal access to museums via multimedia and portable guides, making access available to all. Based on these principles, this article describes the main findings of the design and use of the MGA (Multimedia Guides for All) approach proposed in this paper. This approach involves a series of recommendations for the selection, application, preparation of content, and maintenance of this type of computerized device, in order to achieve these principles. Firstly, a comparative analysis of the principal types of electronic guides available in museums which incorporate accessibility criteria is provided. Subsequently, a real case study case is presented which conforms to the MGA approach. The MGA approach can be applied to other domains, which should be explored in further research. The conclusions in this article have been drawn from two R&D projects financed by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology supported by the EC FEDER R&D Program. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Unit-selection speech synthesis is one of the current corpus-based text-to-speech synthesis techniques. The quality of the generated speech depends on the accuracy of the unit selection process, which in turn relies on the cost function definition. This function should map the user perceptual preferences when selecting synthesis units, which is still an open research issue. This paper proposes a complete methodology for the tuning of the cost function weights by fusing the human judgments with the cost function, through efficient and reliable interactive weight tuning. To that effect, active interactive genetic algorithms (aiGAs) are used to guide the subjective weight adjustments. The application of aiGAs to this process allows mitigating user fatigue and frustration by improving user consistency. However, it is still unfeasible to subjectively adjust the weights of the whole corpus units (diphones and triphones in this work). This makes it mandatory to perform unit clustering before conducting the tuning process. The aiGA-based weight tuning proposal is evaluated in a small speech corpus as a proof-of-concept and results in more natural synthetic speech when compared to previous objective and subjective-based approaches. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Growing emphasis is currently given in decision modeling on process data to capture behavioral mechanisms that ground decision-making processes. Nevertheless, advanced applications to elicit such data are still lacking. The Causal Network Elicitation Technique interview and card-game, both face-to-face interviews, are examples of a behavioral process method to obtain individuals’ decision-making by eliciting temporary mental representations of particular problems. However, to portray and model these representations into formal modeling approaches, such as Bayesian decision networks, an extensive set of parameters has to be gathered for each individual. Thus, data collection procedures for large sample groups can be costly and time consuming. This paper reports on the methodological conversion and enhancement of the existing elicitation methods into a computer-based interface that allows to not only uncover individuals’ mental representations but also to automate the generation of preference parameter elicitation questions. Results of such studies can be used to understand individuals’ constructs and beliefs with respect to decision alternatives, predict individuals’ decision behavior at a disaggregate level, and to assess behavioral changes due to differences in contexts and constraints. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the framework of regional renewable energy policies, starting from 2008 the Tuscany Regional Authority promoted the “WIND-GIS” project aimed at assessing the large-scale wind potential of Tuscany region, Italy. This goal was achieved by developing an integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) based decision support system (DSS), compliant with Directive 2007/2/EC of European Commission (EC), which was designed to help public operators in the preliminary location of sites eligible for wind harness. To make the system an actually operative tool, it was conceived as a web-oriented interactive system that the public operators may freely access. The DSS was developed by using the MapServer open-source web-GIS application. Furthermore, the “p.mapper” front-end application developed in JavaScript and PHP/Mapscript was used, which enables a user-friendly interface to MapServer to be performed. System’s wind resource data are estimated by the 2-km resolution application over Tuscany of a meteorological model chain through a 4-year period (January 2004–December 2007) with a 1-h time-step. Wind estimations at 75 m were taken into account in order to be addressed to large-scale wind turbines according to the Tuscany Energy Plan objectives of 300 MW installed power derived from wind within 2012. Furthermore, to overcome the problems posed by all groups involved with initially opposing positions in the location for new wind farms (e.g., investors vs. environmentalist groups), the DSS also encompasses a number of layers such as landscape, ecological and archaeological constrained areas. This paper presents the description of the DSS, as well as the application results in terms of maps of wind resource and energy yield once a 2-MW wind turbine has been set as a sample. The developed DSS is currently in use by the Tuscany Regional Authority for planning the regional wind energy strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the extent to which blogs are used as interactive forums in which people can ask and share information. These activities were investigated as constituents of interaction taking place in blogs. The study draws on the analysis of the postings and comments submitted to eight Finnish blogs on slimming issues. The data were examined using the category system of Interaction Process Analysis. The findings indicate that blogs provide emotionally supportive forums that mainly serve the ends of sharing information and opinion. In contrast, blogs are seldom used for articulating information needs and seeking for information. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]