The International Workshop on "Human Interaction with Machines" is the sixth in a successful series of workshops that were established by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Technische Universitat Berlin. The goal of those workshops is to bring together researchers from both universities in order to present research results to an international community. The series of workshops started in 1990 with the International Workshop on "Artificial Intelligence" and was continued with the International Workshop on "Advanced Software Technology" in 1994. Both workshops have been hosted by Shanghai Jiaotong University. In 1998 the third wo- shop took place in Berlin. This International Workshop on "Communi- tion Based Systems" was essentially based on results from the Graduiertenkolleg on Communication Based Systems that was funded by the German Research Society (DFG) from 1991 to 2000. The fourth Int- national Workshop on "Robotics and its Applications" was held in Sha- hai in 2000. The fifth International Workshop on "The Internet Challenge: Technology and Applications" was hosted by TU Berlin in 2002."

An exploration of the effects of new technology on culture and psychology, this title demonstrates how society has been both enriched and challenged by these changes. It should be of interest to those who need to be aware of the psychological impact of new technology and responsive to issues of international communication and cooperation.

The practical task of building a talking robot requires a theory of how natural language communication works. Conversely, the best way to computationally verify a theory of natural language communication is to demonstrate its functioning concretely in the form of a talking robot, the epitome of human-machine communication. To build an actual robot requires hardware that provides appropriate recognition and action interfaces, and because such hardware is hard to develop the approach in this book is theoretical: the author presents an artificial cognitive agent with language as a software system called database semantics (DBS). Because a theoretical approach does not have to deal with the technical difficulties of hardware engineering there is no reason to simplify the system - instead the software components of DBS aim at completeness of function and of data coverage in word form recognition, syntactic-semantic interpretation and inferencing, leaving the procedural implementation of elementary concepts for later.

In this book the author first examines the universals of natural language and explains the Database Semantics approach. Then in Part I he examines the following natural language communication issues: using external surfaces; the cycle of natural language communication; memory structure; autonomous control; and learning. In Part II he analyzes the coding of content according to the aspects: semantic relations of structure; simultaneous amalgamation of content; graph-theoretical considerations; computing perspective in dialogue; and computing perspective in text. The book ends with a concluding chapter, a bibliography and an index.

The book will be of value to researchers, graduate students and engineers in the areas of artificial intelligence and robotics, in particular those who deal with natural language processing.

The goal of this book is to crystallize the emerging mobile computing technologies and trends by focusing on the most promising solutions in services computing. The book will provide clear proof that mobile technologies are playing an increasingly important and critical role in supporting toy computing. The goal of this book is to bring together academics and practitioners to describe the use and synergy between the above-mentioned technologies. This book is intended for researchers and students working in computer science and engineering, as well as toy industry technology providers, having particular interests in mobile services.

Digital Divide (DD) is a term that defines the division between people, commu- ties, states, countries, etc. with respect to the access to the new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Nowadays, it is essential to have tech- logical skills to work in a variety of jobs (i. e. administration, education, etc. ). Moreover, ICTs have become ubiquitous and they affect almost every aspect of our daily life. The way in which people face the task of using ICTs varies depending on a plethora of variables. The most analysed ones are the technological literacy and the educational level. These are two very important factors that strongly affect the success of the individuals in accessing ICTs. Unfortunately, these are not the only variables to consider. Some people suffer from mental and physical disabilities that are real impediments to access ICTs, and they must be studied in detail. How can we help disabled people to access ICTs? Can public telecentres deal with this task? Can the ICTs be used to improve the accessibility of disabled people? Which projects aim to reduce the digital divide? Are they addressed to disabled people? These are some of the questions that we will try to answer, at least partially, in this chapter. We believe that governments must invest to avert the DD, but they are not the only actors involved in this scenario.

The book discusses novel visualization techniques driven by the needs in medicine and life sciences as well as new application areas and challenges for visualization within these fields. It presents ideas and concepts for visual analysis of data from scientific studies of living organs or to the delivery of healthcare. Target scientific domains include the entire field of biology at all scales - from genes and proteins to organs and populations - as well as interdisciplinary research based on technological advances such as bioinformatics, biomedicine, biochemistry, or biophysics. Moreover, they comprise the field of medicine and the application of science and technology to healthcare problems. This book does not only present basic research pushing the state of the art in the field of visualization, but it also documents the impact in the fields of medicine and life sciences.

This edited volume with selected expanded papers from CELDA (Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age) 2011 (http://www.celda- -conf.org/) will focus on Ubiquitous and Mobile Informal and Formal Learning in the Digital Age, with sub-topics: Mobile and Ubiquitous Informal and Formal Learning Environments (Part I), Social Web Technologies for new knowledge representation, retrieval, creation and sharing in Informal and Formal Educational Settings (Part II), Virtual Worlds and Game- -based Informal and Formal Learning (Part III), Location- -based and Context- - Aware Environments for Formal and Informal Learning Integration (Part IV) There will be approximately twenty chapters selected for this edited volume from among peer- -reviewed papers presented at the CELDA (Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age) 2011 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in November, 2011.

COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS Becoming a pervasive paradigm In recent years the area of collaborative networks is being consolidated as a new discipline (Camarinha-Matos, Afsarmanesh, 2005) that encompasses and gives more structured support to a large diversity of collaboration forms. In terms of applications, besides the "traditional" sectors represented by the advanced supply chains, virtual enterprises, virtual organizations, virtual teams, and their breading environments, new forms of collaborative structures are emerging in all sectors of the society. Examples can be found in e-government, intelligent transportation systems, collaborative virtual laboratories, agribusiness, elderly care, silver economy, etc. In some cases those developments tend to adopt a terminology that is specific of that domain; often the involved actors in a given domain are not fully aware of the developments in the mainstream research on collaborative networks. For instance, the grid community adopted the term "virtual organization" but focused mainly on the resource sharing perspective, ignoring most of the other aspects involved in collaboration. The European enterprise interoperability community, which was initially focused on the intra-enterprise aspects, is moving towards inter-enterprise collaboration. Collaborative networks are thus becoming a pervasive paradigm giving basis to new socio-organizational structures.

Face Image Analysis by Unsupervised Learning explores adaptive approaches to image analysis. It draws upon principles of unsupervised learning and information theory to adapt processing to the immediate task environment. In contrast to more traditional approaches to image analysis in which relevant structure is determined in advance and extracted using hand-engineered techniques, Face Image Analysis by Unsupervised Learning explores methods that have roots in biological vision and/or learn about the image structure directly from the image ensemble. Particular attention is paid to unsupervised learning techniques for encoding the statistical dependencies in the image ensemble. The first part of this volume reviews unsupervised learning, information theory, independent component analysis, and their relation to biological vision. Next, a face image representation using independent component analysis (ICA) is developed, which is an unsupervised learning technique based on optimal information transfer between neurons. The ICA representation is compared to a number of other face representations including eigenfaces and Gabor wavelets on tasks of identity recognition and expression analysis. Finally, methods for learning features that are robust to changes in viewpoint and lighting are presented. These studies provide evidence that encoding input dependencies through unsupervised learning is an effective strategy for face recognition. Face Image Analysis by Unsupervised Learning is suitable as a secondary text for a graduate-level course, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry.

Using mixed and augmented reality in communities is an emerging media practice that is reshaping how we interact with our cities and neighbors. From the politics of city hall to crosswalks and playgrounds, mixed and augmented reality will offer a diverse range of new ways to interact with our communities. In 2016, apps for augmented reality politics began to appear in app stores. Similarly, the blockbuster success of Pokémon Go illustrated how even forgotten street corners can become a magical space for play. In 2019, a court case in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, extended first amendment rights to augmented reality. For all the good that these emerging media provide, there will and have been consequences. Augmented and Mixed Reality for Communities will help students and practitioners navigate the ethical design and development of these kinds of experiences to transform their cities. As one of the first books of its kind, each chapter in the book prepares readers to contribute to the Augmented City. By providing insight into how these emerging media work, the book seeks to democratize the augmented and mixed reality space. Authors within this volume represent some of the leading scholars and practitioners working in the augmented and mixed reality space for civic media, cultural heritage, civic games, ethical design, and social justice. Readers will find practical insights for the design and development to create their own compelling experiences. Teachers will find that the text provides in-depth, critical analyses for thought-provoking classroom discussions.

This book presents reports and methods that demonstrate the ease with which cognitive applications can be built using IBM Watson application program interfaces (APIs). It includes application reports from two IBM Watson API-based competitions - Hackathon (24 hours) and a Challenge task (~3 months). It also features a selection of papers presented at I-CARE 2016, the IBM Collaborative Academia Research Exchange event, from the areas of "Theory and Cognitive Computing", "Data Platforms and Systems," and "Societal Applications." IBM has a long tradition of research collaboration with colleagues in academia, and I-CARE is an annual event initiated in 2009 to promote collaborative innovation and learning, and explore new ways of fostering a culture of innovation. I-CARE's main goal is to "amalgamate" the thought leadership in Indian academia with that in industry, and foster a symbiotic environment for establishing a rich research culture in India. The 8th edition of I-CARE presents a collection of thought-provoking ideas and novel Indian research projects related to three crucial areas: cognitive computing, systems and platforms that support large-scale data processing and practical systems that are designed for the public good.

This open access book offers an original interdisciplinary overview of the role of haptic feedback in musical interaction. Divided into two parts, part I examines the tactile aspects of music performance and perception, discussing how they affect user experience and performance in terms of usability, functionality and perceived quality of musical instruments. Part II presents engineering, computational, and design approaches and guidelines that have been applied to render and exploit haptic feedback in digital musical interfaces. Musical Haptics introduces an emerging field that brings together engineering, human-computer interaction, applied psychology, musical aesthetics, and music performance. The latter, defined as the complex system of sensory-motor interactions between musicians and their instruments, presents a well-defined framework in which to study basic psychophysical, perceptual, and biomechanical aspects of touch, all of which will inform the design of haptic musical interfaces. Tactile and proprioceptive cues enable embodied interaction and inform sophisticated control strategies that allow skilled musicians to achieve high performance and expressivity. The use of haptic feedback in digital musical interfaces is expected to enhance user experience and performance, improve accessibility for disabled persons, and provide an effective means for musical tuition and guidance.

This book gathers the outcomes of the 18th IEEE/ACIS International Conference on Computer and Information Science (ICIS 2019), which was held on June 12-14, 2019 in Beijing, China. The aim of the conference was to bring together researchers and scientists, businesspeople and entrepreneurs, teachers, engineers, computer users, and students to discuss the various fields of computer science and to share their experiences and exchange new ideas and information in a meaningful way. Further, they presented research results on all aspects (theory, applications and tools) of computer and information science, and discussed the practical challenges encountered in their work and the solutions they adopted to overcome them. The book highlights the best papers from those accepted for presentation at the conference. They were chosen based on review scores submitted by members of the program committee and underwent further rigorous rounds of review. From this second round, 15 of the conference's most promising papers were selected for this Springer (SCI) book and not the conference proceedings. We eagerly await the important contributions that we know these authors will make to the field of computer and information science.

An increasing number of systems are exploiting mixed reality but to date there are no systematic methods, techniques or guidelines for the development of such systems. In bringing together contributions on a broad range of mixed reality development issues this book provides a sound theoretical foundation for a disciplined approach to mixed reality engineering.

Divided into three parts: interaction design, software design and implementation, the first section covers generic and specific mixed reality design elements and provides an overview of the design method; Part 2 addresses technical solutions for interaction techniques, development tools and a global view of the mixed reality software development process. The final section contains detailed case studies to highlight the application of mixed reality in a variety of fields including aviation, architecture, emergency management, games, and healthcare.

Proceedings of the 2012 International Conference on Information Technology and Software Engineering presents selected articles from this major event, which was held in Beijing, December 8-10, 2012. This book presents the latest research trends, methods and experimental results in the fields of information technology and software engineering, covering various state-of-the-art research theories and approaches. The subjects range from intelligent computing to information processing, software engineering, Web, unified modeling language (UML), multimedia, communication technologies, system identification, graphics and visualizing, etc. The proceedings provide a major interdisciplinary forum for researchers and engineers to present the most innovative studies and advances, which can serve as an excellent reference work for researchers and graduate students working on information technology and software engineering. Prof. Wei Lu, Dr. Guoqiang Cai, Prof. Weibin Liu and Dr. Weiwei Xing all work at Beijing Jiaotong University.

Software product lines represent perhaps the most exciting paradigm shift in software development since the advent of high-level programming languages. Nowhere else in software engineering have we seen such breathtaking improvements in cost, quality, time to market, and developer productivity, often registering in the order-of-magnitude range. Here, the authors combine academic research results with real-world industrial experiences, thus presenting a broad view on product line engineering so that both managers and technical specialists will benefit from exposure to this work. They capture the wealth of knowledge that eight companies have gathered during the introduction of the software product line engineering approach in their daily practice.

Networked learning is learning in which information and communications technology (ICT) is used to promote connections: between one learner and other learners; between learners and tutors; between a learning community and its learning resources. Networked learning is an area which has great practical and theoretical importance. It is a rapidly growing area of educational practice, particularly in higher education and the corporate sector.

This volume brings together some of the best research in the field, and uses it to signpost some directions for future work. The papers in this collection represent a major contribution to our collective sense of recent progress in research on networked learning. In addition, they serve to highlight some of the largest or most important gaps in our understanding of studentsa (TM) perspectives on networked learning, patterns of interaction and online discourse, and the role of contextual factors. The range of topics and methods addressed in these papers attests to the vitality of this important field of work. More significant yet is the complex understanding of the field that they combine to create. In combination, they help explain some of the key relationships between teachersa (TM) and learnersa (TM) intentions and experiences, the affordances of text-based communications technologies and processes of informed and intelligent educational change.

The IFIP World Computer Congress (WCC) is one of the most important conferences in the area of computer science at the worldwide level and it has a federated structure, which takes into account the rapidly growing and expanding interests in this area. Informatics is rapidly changing and becoming more and more connected to a number of human and social science disciplines. Human-computer interaction is now a mature and still dynamically evolving part of this area, which is represented in IFIP by the Technical Committee 13 on HCI. In this WCC edition it was interesting and useful to have again a Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction in order to p- sent and discuss a number of contributions in this field. There has been increasing awareness among designers of interactive systems of the importance of designing for usability, but we are still far from having products that are really usable, and usability can mean different things depending on the app- cation domain. We are all aware that too many users of current technology often feel frustrated because computer systems are not compatible with their abilities and needs in existing work practices. As designers of tomorrow's technology, we have the - sponsibility of creating computer artifacts that would permit better user experience with the various computing devices, so that users may enjoy more satisfying expe- ences with information and communications technologies.

One of the most important aspects of a comprehensive education involves teaching students to analyze arguments and form their own opinions based on available information. Visual and graphical mapping strategies are useful in helping students to consider problems from a variety of perspectives. Cases on Teaching Critical Thinking through Visual Representation Strategies brings together research from scholars and professionals in the field of education to provide new insights into the use of visual aids for student development in reasoning and critical thinking. This essential reference source will enable academics, researchers, and practitioners in fields such as education, business, and technology to more effectively foster students critical thinking skills."

The theme of the 1997 INTERACT conference, 'Discovering New Worlds ofHCI', signals major changes that are taking place with the expansion of new technologies into fresh areas of work and leisure throughout the world and new pervasive, powerful systems based on multimedia and the internet. HCI has a vital role to play in these new worlds, to ensure that people using the new technologies are empowered rather than subjugated to the technology that they increasingly have to use. In addition, outcomes from HCI research studies over the past 20 years are now finding their way into many organisations and helping to improve and enhance work practices. These factors have strongly influenced the INTERACT'97 Committee when creating the conference programme, with the result that, besides the more traditional HCI research and education focus found in previous INTERACT conferences, one strand of the 1997 conference has been devoted to industry and another to multimedia. The growth in the IFIP TCI3 committee itself reflects the expansion ofHCI into new worlds. Membership oflFIP TC13 has risen to now include representatives of 24 IFIP member country societies from many parts of the world. In 1997, IFIP TCl3 breaks new ground by holding its sixth INTERACT conference in the Asia-Pacific region. This is a significant departure from previous INTERACT conferences, that were all held in Europe, and is especially important for the Asia-Pacific region, as HCI expands beyond its traditional base.

This book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 15th IFIP WG 5.1 International Conference on Product Lifecycle Management, PLM 2018, held in Turin, Spain, in July 2018. The 72 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 82 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: building information modeling; collaborative environments and new product development; PLM for digital factories and cyber physical systems; ontologies and data models; education in the field of industry 4.0; product-service systems and smart products; lean organization for industry 4.0; knowledge management and information sharing; PLM infrastructure and implementation; PLM maturity, implementation and adoption; 3D printing and additive manufacturing; and modular design and products and configuration and change management.

It is widely accepted that organizations and individuals must be innovative and continually create new knowledge and ideas to deal with rapid change. Innovation plays an important role in not only the development of new business, process and products, but also in competitiveness and success of any organization. Technology for Creativity and Innovation: Tools, Techniques and Applications provides empirical research findings and best practices on creativity and innovation in business, organizational, and social environments. It is written for educators, academics and professionals who want to improve their understanding of creativity and innovation as well as the role technology has in shaping this discipline.

This book presents details of a text-to-speech synthesis procedure using epoch synchronous overlap add (ESOLA), and provides a solution for development of a text-to-speech system using minimum data resources compared to existing solutions. It also examines most natural speech signals including random perturbation in synthesis. The book is intended for students, researchers and industrial practitioners in the field of text-to-speech synthesis.