More and more educational scenarios and learning landscapes are developed using blogs, wikis, podcasts and e-portfolios. Web 2.0 tools give learners more control, by allowing them to easily create, share or reuse their own learning materials, and these tools also enable social learning networks that bridge the border between formal and informal learning. However, practices of strategic innovation of universities, faculty development, assessment, evaluation and quality assurance have not fully accommodated these changes in technology and teaching. Ehlers and Schneckenberg present strategic approaches for innovation in universities. The contributions explore new models for developing and engaging faculty in technology-enhanced education, and they detail underlying reasons for why quality assessment and evaluation in new - and often informal - learning scenarios have to change. Their book is a practical guide for educators, aimed at answering these questions. It describes what E-learning 2.0 is, which basic elements of Web 2.0 it builds on, and how E-learning 2.0 differs from Learning 1.0. The book also details a number of quality methods and examples, such as self-assessment, peer-review, social recommendation, and peer-learning, using illustrative cases and giving practical recommendations. Overall, it offers a step-by-step guide for educators so that they can choose their own quality assurance or assessment methods, or develop their own evaluation methodology for specific learning scenarios. The book addresses everyone involved in higher education - university leaders, chief information officers, change and quality assurance managers, and faculty developers. Pedagogical advisers and consultants will find new insights and practices for the integration and management of novel learning technologies in higher education. The volume fosters in lecturers and teachers a sound understanding of the need and strategy for change, and it provides them with practical recommendations on competence and quality methodologies.

Learning spaces offer a rigorous mathematical foundation for practical systems of educational technology. Learning spaces generalize partially ordered sets and are special cases of knowledge spaces. The various structures are investigated from the standpoints of combinatorial properties and stochastic processes. Leaning spaces have become the essential structures to be used in assessing students' competence of various topics. A practical example is offered by ALEKS, a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system in mathematics and other scholarly fields. At the heart of ALEKS is an artificial intelligence engine that assesses each student individually and continously. The book is of interest to mathematically oriented readers in education, computer science, engineering, and combinatorics at research and graduate levels. Numerous examples and exercises are included, together with an extensive bibliography.

The unprecedented growth in the range of multimedia services offered these days by modern telecommunication systems has been made possible only because of the advancements in signal processing technologies and algorithms. In the area of telecommunications, application of signal processing allows for new generations of systems to achieve performance close to theoretical limits, while in the area of multimedia, signal processing the underlying technology making possible realization of such applications that not so long ago were considered just a science fiction or were not even dreamed about. We all learnt to adopt those achievements very quickly, but often the research enabling their introduction takes many years and a lot of efforts. This book presents a group of invited contributions, some of which have been based on the papers presented at the International Symposium on DSP for Communication Systems held in Coolangatta on the Gold Coast, Australia, in December 2003. Part 1 of the book deals with applications of signal processing to transform what we hear or see to the form that is most suitable for transmission or storage for a future retrieval. The first three chapters in this part are devoted to processing of speech and other audio signals. The next two chapters consider image coding and compression, while the last chapter of this part describes classification of video sequences in the MPEG domain.

This book gathers the latest experience of experts, research teams and leading organizations involved in computer-aided design of user interfaces of interactive applications. This area investigates how it is desirable and possible to support, to facilitate and to speed up the development life cycle of any interactive system. In particular, it stresses how the design activity could be better understood for different types of advanced interactive systems.

This proceedings is a representation of decades of reasearch, teaching and application in the field. Image Processing, Fusion and Information Technology areas, Digital radio Communication, Wimax, Electrical engg, VLSI approach to processor design, embedded systems design are dealt in detail through models and illustrative techniques.

KES International (KES) is a worldwide organisation that provides a professional community and association for researchers, originally in the discipline of Knowledge Based and Intelligent Engineering Systems, but now extending into other related areas. Through this, KES provides its members with opportunities for publication and beneficial interaction. The focus of KES is research and technology transfer in the area of Intelligent S- tems, i.e. computer-based software systems that operate in a manner analogous to the human brain, in order to perform advanced tasks. Recently KES has started to extend its area of interest to encompass the contribution that intelligent systems can make to sustainability and renewable energy, and also the knowledge transfer, innovation and enterprise agenda. Involving several thousand researchers, managers and engineers drawn from u- versities and companies world-wide, KES is in an excellent position to facilitate - ternational research co-operation and generate synergy in the area of artificial intel- gence applied to real-world 'Smart' systems and the underlying related theory. The KES annual conference covers a broad spectrum of intelligent systems topics and attracts several hundred delegates from a range of countries round the world. KES also organises symposia on specific technical topics, for example, Agent and Multi Agent Systems, Intelligent Decision Technologies, Intelligent Interactive M- timedia Systems and Services, Sustainability in Energy and Buildings and Innovations through Knowledge Transfer. KES is responsible for two peer-reviewed journals, the International Journal of Knowledge based and Intelligent Engineering Systems, and Intelligent Decision Technologies: an International Journal.

KES International (KES) is a worldwide organisation that provides a professional community and association for researchers, originally in the discipline of Kno- edge Based and Intelligent Engineering Systems, but now extending into other related areas. Through this, KES provides its members with opportunities for publication and beneficial interaction. The focus of KES is research and technology transfer in the area of Intelligent Systems, i.e. computer-based software systems that operate in a manner analogous to the human brain, in order to perform advanced tasks. Recently KES has started to extend its area of interest to encompass the contribution that intelligent systems can make to sustainability and renewable energy, and also the knowledge transfer, innovation and enterprise agenda. Involving several thousand researchers, managers and engineers drawn from universities and companies world-wide, KES is in an excellent position to faci- tate international research co-operation and generate synergy in the area of arti- cial intelligence applied to real-world 'Smart' systems and the underlying related theory. The KES annual conference covers a broad spectrum of intelligent systems t- ics and attracts several hundred delegates from a range of countries round the world. KES also organises symposia on specific technical topics, for example, Agent and Multi Agent Systems, Intelligent Decision Technologies, Intelligent Interactive Multimedia Systems and Services, Sustainability in Energy and Bui- ings and Innovations through Knowledge Transfer. KES is responsible for two peer-reviewed journals, the International Journal of Knowledge based and Intel- gent Engineering Systems, and Intelligent Decision Technologies: an International Journal.

Covers the transmission of real-time video and audio for internet experimentation. Provides detailed descriptions of how the various hardware and software systems can be seamlessly integrated for a complete internet remote experimentation system. Contains examples of real working experiments that are currently running.

This brief will explore topics in computer science through the lens of Two Bit Circus, an engineering entertainment company based out of downtown Los Angeles. This brief examines the ways they apply computer science to a wide variety of applications, including interactive games, immersive adventures, and virtual reality. The authors demonstrate how technology can encourage children and adults to become more comfortable with the STEAM field. Educators and people interested in the ways that innovation and technology can solve current problems in entertainment, healthcare, education, and business will find this brief a valuable resource. Two Bit Circus creates unique productions that encourage playful collaboration across multiple platforms in interactive and meaningful ways. The company produces high tech games and immersive entertainment experiences that merge physical and digital play.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the Second International Conference on E-Learning, E-Education, and Online Training, eLEOT 2015, held in Novedrate, Italy, in September 2015. The 26 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 52 submissions. They focus on e-learning and distance education in science, technology, engineering and math.

Riding on the success of 3D cinema blockbusters and advances in stereoscopic display technology, 3D video applications have gathered momentum in recent years. 3D-TV System with Depth-Image-Based Rendering: Architectures, Techniques and Challenges surveys depth-image-based 3D-TV systems, which are expected to be put into applications in the near future. Depth-image-based rendering (DIBR) significantly enhances the 3D visual experience compared to stereoscopic systems currently in use. DIBR techniques make it possible to generate additional viewpoints using 3D warping techniques to adjust the perceived depth of stereoscopic videos and provide for auto-stereoscopic displays that do not require glasses for viewing the 3D image. The material includes a technical review and literature survey of components and complete systems, solutions for technical issues, and implementation of prototypes. The book is organized into four sections: System Overview, Content Generation, Data Compression and Transmission, and 3D Visualization and Quality Assessment. This book will benefit researchers, developers, engineers, and innovators, as well as advanced undergraduate and graduate students working in relevant areas.

Over the past decade the field of Human-Computer Interaction has evolved from the study of the usability of interactive products towards a more holistic understanding of how they may mediate desired human experiences. This book identifies the notion of diversity in users' experiences with interactive products and proposes methods and tools for modeling this along two levels: (a) interpersonal diversity in users' responses to early conceptual designs, and (b) the dynamics of users' experiences over time. The Repertory Grid Technique is proposed as an alternative to standardized psychometric scales for modeling interpersonal diversity in users' responses to early concepts in the design process, and new Multi-Dimensional Scaling procedures are introduced for modeling such complex quantitative data. iScale, a tool for the retrospective assessment of users' experiences over time is proposed as an alternative to longitudinal field studies, and a semi-automated technique for the analysis of the elicited experience narratives is introduced. Through these two methodological contributions, this book argues against averaging in the subjective evaluation of interactive products. It proposes the development of interactive tools that can assist designers in moving across multiple levels of abstraction of empirical data, as design-relevant knowledge might be found on all these levels. Foreword by Jean-Bernard Martens and Closing Note by Marc Hassenzahl.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 16th Asia-Pacific Conference APWeb 2014 held in Changsha, China, in September 2014. The 34 full papers and 23 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 134 submissions. The papers address research, development and advanced applications of large-scale data management, web and search technologies, and information processing.

This timely text/reference presents the latest advances in various aspects of social media modeling and social media computing research. Gathering together superb research from a range of established international conferences and workshops, the editors coherently organize and present each of the topics in relation to the basic principles and practices of social media modeling and computing. Individual chapters can be also be used as self-contained references on the material covered. Topics and features: presents contributions from an international selection of preeminent experts in the field; discusses topics on social-media content analysis; examines social-media system design and analysis, and visual analytic tools for event analysis; investigates access control for privacy and security issues in social networks; describes emerging applications of social media, for music recommendation, automatic image annotation, and the analysis and improvement of photo-books.

One of the important issues of Scientific Visualization is the utilization of the broad bandwidth of the human sensory system in steering and interpreting complex processes and simulations involving voluminous data sets across diverse scientific disciplines. This book presents the state-of-the-art in visualization techniques both as an overview for the inquiring scientist, and as a solid platform from which developers may extend existing techniques or devise new ones to meet the specific needs of their problems. A secondary goal in crafting this volume has been to provide a vehicle for teaching of state-of-the-art techniques in scientific visualization. The first part of the book covers the application areas fluid flow visualization in medicine, and environmental protection. The second set of chapters explain fundamentals of scientific visualization. It comprises contributions on data structuring and data administration, data modeling, and rendering. A final section is devoted to auditory representation of scientific data.

In a chaotic world, we all crave simplicity. We don't want to waste time reconfiguring our smartphones, fumbling over digital printers, or plodding through online forms while deadlines bear down on us. We want technology that works. Yet the harder we try to create simple user experiences, the more we tie ourselves up in knots. We are undermined by demands to cram in more features, or lured into approaches that turn out to be more complex than ever. Simplicity is a discipline that can be learned. This book shows you how-with humor, powerful examples, quotes, and case studies. This new edition has been updated to provide fresh advice for teams struggling to satisfy the conflicting demands of their stakeholders; it addresses important trends in technology; and it shows how four simple rules of simplicity can be applied to new and emerging types of interaction. More information at: www.simpleandusable.com

The concept generation process seems like an intuitional thought: difficult to capture and perform, although everyone is capable of it. It is not an analytical process but a synthetic process which has yet to be clarified. Furthermore, new research methods for investigating the concept generation process-a very difficult task since the concept generation process is driven by inner feelings deeply etched in the mind-are necessary to establish its theory and methodology. Concept Generation for Design Creativity - A Systematized Theory and Methodology presents the concept generation process both theoretically and methodologically. Theoretically, the concept generation process is discussed by comparing metaphor, abduction, and General Design Theory from the notions of similarities and dissimilarities. Analogy, blending, and integration by thematic relation have been explained methodologically. So far, these theories and methods have been discussed independently, and the relations among them have not been clarified. Two newly developed research methods to investigate the concept generation process are clearly explained: the explanation-based protocol analysis and constructive simulation. By reading Concept Generation for Design Creativity - A Systematized Theory and Methodology, students, researchers and lecturers in design disciplines (including engineering design, industrial design, software design, CHI, design education, and cognitive science ) can obtain a clear picture of the advanced research findings and the outline of the theories and methods for concept generation. Furthermore, readers are expected to achieve the competence to generate new concepts.

The two-volume set LNCS 8525-8526 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality, VAMR 2014, held as part of the 16th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI 2014, in Heraklion, Crete, Greece, in June 2014, jointly with 13 other thematically similar conferences. The total of 1476 papers and 220 posters presented at the HCII 2014 conferences were carefully reviewed and selected from 4766 submissions. These papers address the latest research and development efforts and highlight the human aspects of design and use of computing systems. The papers thoroughly cover the entire field of human-computer interaction, addressing major advances in knowledge and effective use of computers in a variety of application areas. The total of 82 contributions included in the VAMR proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in this two-volume set. The 39 papers included in this volume are organized in the following topical sections: interaction devices, displays and techniques in VAMR; designing virtual and augmented environments; avatars and virtual characters; developing virtual and augmented environments.

The advances in computer entertainment, multi-player and online games, technology-enabled art, culture and performance have created a new form of entertainment and art. The success of this new field has influenced the development of the digital entertainment industry and related products/services, which has impacted every aspect of our lives. Handbook of Multimedia for Digital Entertainment and Arts is an edited volume contributed by worldwide experts in the field of the new digital and interactive media, and their applications in entertainment and arts. This handbook covers leading edge media technologies, and the latest research applied to digital entertainment and arts. The main focus of Handbook of Multimedia for Digital Entertainment and Arts targets interactive and online games, edutainment, e-performance, personal broadcasting, innovative technologies for digital arts, digital visual and auditory media, augmented reality, moving media, and other advanced topics. The final chapters of this book present future trends and developments within this explosive field. Handbook of Multimedia for Digital Entertainment and Arts serves as a primary reference for advanced-level students, researchers and professors studying computer science and electrical engineering. With the dramatic growth of interactive digital entertainment and art applications, this handbook is also suitable as a reference for practitioners, programmers, and engineers working in this field.

Content protection and digital rights management (DRM) are fields that receive a lot of attention: content owners require systems that protect and maximize their revenues; consumers want backwards compatibility, while they fear that content owners will spy on their viewing habits; and academics are afraid that DRM may be a barrier to knowledge sharing. DRM technologies have a poor reputation and are not yet trusted. This book describes the key aspects of content protection and DRM systems, the objective being to demystify the technology and techniques. In the first part of the book, the author builds the foundations, with sections that cover the rationale for protecting digital video content; video piracy; current toolboxes that employ cryptography, watermarking, tamper resistance, and rights expression languages; different ways to model video content protection; and DRM. In the second part, he describes the main existing deployed solutions, including video ecosystems; how video is protected in broadcasting; descriptions of DRM systems, such as Microsoft's DRM and Apple's FairPlay; techniques for protecting prerecorded content distributed using DVDs or Blu-ray; and future methods used to protect content within the home network. The final part of the book looks towards future research topics, and the key problem of interoperability. While the book focuses on protecting video content, the DRM principles and technologies described are also used to protect many other types of content, such as ebooks, documents and games. The book will be of value to industrial researchers and engineers developing related technologies, academics and students in information security, cryptography and media systems, and engaged consumers.

Creativity and rationale comprise an essential tension in design. They are two sides of the coin; contrary, complementary, but perhaps also interdependent. Designs always serve purposes. They always have an internal logic. They can be queried, explained, and evaluated. These characteristics are what design rationale is about. But at the same time designs always provoke experiences and insights. They open up possibilities, raise questions, and engage human sense making. Design is always about creativity. Creativity and Rationale: Enhancing Human Experience by Design comprises 19 complementary chapters by leading experts in the areas of human-computer interaction design, sociotechnical systems design, requirements engineering, information systems, and artificial intelligence. Researchers, research students and practitioners in human-computer interaction and software design will find this state of the art volume invaluable.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third Iberoamerican Conference on Applications and Usability of Interactive TV, jAUTI 2014, and the Third Workshop on Interactive Digital TV, WTVDI 2014, held as part of Webmedia 2014, Joao Pessoa, Brazil, in November 2014. The 10 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 26 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on IDTV overview; IDTV development tools; IDTV evaluation and testing; IDTV accessibility and usability.

This is the second of a two-volume set (CCIS 434 and CCIS 435) that constitutes the extended abstracts of the posters presented during the 16th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2014, held in Heraklion, Crete, Greece in June 2014, and consisting of 14 thematic conferences. The total of 1476 papers and 220 posters presented at the HCII 2014 conferences were carefully reviewed and selected from 4766 submissions. These papers address the latest research and development efforts and highlight the human aspects of design and use of computing systems. The papers accepted for presentation thoroughly cover the entire field of Human-Computer Interaction, addressing major advances in knowledge and effective use of computers in a variety of application areas. The extended abstracts were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in this two-volume set. This volume contains posters extended abstracts addressing the following major topics: social media and social networks; learning and education; design for all; accessibility and assistive environments; design for aging; games and exergames; health and well-being; ergonomics and safety; HCI in business, tourism and transport; human-human and human-agent communication; user experience case studies."

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th European Immersive Education Summit, EiED 2014, held in Vienna, Austria, in November 2014. The 11 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 30 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on innovation and technological advancements in e-learning; immersive and emerging technologies for cultural and digital heritage.

Consumer electronics (CE) devices, providing multimedia entertainment and enabling communication, have become ubiquitous in daily life. However, consumer interaction with such equipment currently requires the use of devices such as remote controls and keyboards, which are often inconvenient, ambiguous and non-interactive. An important challenge for the modern CE industry is the design of user interfaces for CE products that enable interactions which are natural, intuitive and fun. As many CE products are supplied with microphones and cameras, the exploitation of both audio and visual information for interactive multimedia is a growing field of research. Collecting together contributions from an international selection of experts, including leading researchers in industry, this unique text presents the latest advances in applications of multimedia interaction and user interfaces for consumer electronics. Covering issues of both multimedia content analysis and human-machine interaction, the book examines a wide range of techniques from computer vision, machine learning, audio and speech processing, communications, artificial intelligence and media technology. Topics and features: introduces novel computationally efficient algorithms to extract semantically meaningful audio-visual events; investigates modality allocation in intelligent multimodal presentation systems, taking into account the cognitive impacts of modality on human information processing; provides an overview on gesture control technologies for CE; presents systems for natural human-computer interaction, virtual content insertion, and human action retrieval; examines techniques for 3D face pose estimation, physical activity recognition, and video summary quality evaluation; discusses the features that characterize the new generation of CE and examines how web services can be integrated with CE products for improved user experience. This book is an essential resource for researchers and practitioners from both academia and industry working in areas of multimedia analysis, human-computer interaction and interactive user interfaces. Graduate students studying computer vision, pattern recognition and multimedia will also find this a useful reference.