Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing the user experience when using mobile augmented reality in advertising

Li, Shanshan. M.S., Purdue University, May 2014. Assessing the User Experience When Using Mobile Augmented Reality in Advertising. Major Professor: Mihaela Vorvoreanu. Facing huge profits brought by applying augmented reality (AR) to advertising on mobile devices, this study investigated the user experience from four dimensions as emotional, instrumental, motivational and social experience when using AR as an advertising tool. It aims to help designers understand that how the user experience emerges during the use of AR advertising tool. In addition, providing some design suggestions to AR designer. Eighteen participants were recruited and the data were collected through observation and interviews. According to the results, users evaluated their emotional experience higher than the other three dimensions. The AR’s value in building brand awareness was more effective than persuading users to buy a product. Social functions were advised by users but should be more diverse than just share function. Participants hoped to see how creatively and widely AR can be used in future. Results also indicated that novice and experienced AR users evaluate this AR advertising tool differently, which could be a future direction for this research. Finally, suggestions are provided to AR developers on three categories: contents and interface, interaction and functionality.
Strongly-Typed Language Support for Internet- Scale Information Sources

A growing trend in both the theory and practice of programming is the interaction between programming and rich information spaces. From databases to web services to the semantic web to cloud-based data, the need to integrate programming with heterogeneous, connected, richly structured, streaming and evolving information sources is ever-increasing. Most modern applications incorporate one or more external information sources as integral components. Providing strongly typed access to these sources is a key consideration for strongly-typed programming languages, to insure low impedance mismatch in information access. At this scale, information integration strategies based on library design and code generation are manual, clumsy, and do not handle the internet-scale information sources now encountered in enterprise, web and cloud environments. In this report we describe the design and implementation of the type provider mechanism in F# 3.0 and its applications to typed programming with web ontologies, web-services, systems management information, database mappings, data markets, content management systems, economic data and hosted scripting. Type soundness becomes relative to the soundness of the type providers and the schema change in information sources, but the role of types in information-rich programming tasks is massively expanded, especially through tooling that benefits from rich types in explorative programming.
Domain knowledge to support the discovery process: user preferences

The goal of data mining is to discover useful knowledge (or rules) for the user. Past research has produced many efficient techniques for rule discovery from databases. However, these techniques often generate too many rules, which makes it very difficult for the user to analyze them in order to find those truly interesting/useful rules. In this article, we first discuss some issues involved in assisting the user to analyze the discovered rules. We then review a number of existing techniques that employ the user's preferences and knowledge about the domain to identify those potentially interesting/useful rules for the user.
A network interface for enabling visualization with FPGAs.

Visualization in scientific computing refers to the process of transforming data produced by a simulation into graphical representations that help scientific users interpret the results. While the back-end rendering phase of this work can be performed efficiently in graphics card hardware, the front-end 'post processing' portion of visualization is currently performed entirely in software. Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are an attractive option for accelerating post-processing operations because they enable users to offload computations into reconfigurable hardware. A key challenge in utilizing FPGAs for this work is developing an infrastructure that allows FPGAs to be integrated into a distributed visualization system. We propose a networked approach, where each post-processing FPGA is equipped with specialized network interface (NI) hardware that is capable of transporting graphics commands across the network to existing rendering resources. In this paper we discuss a NI for FPGAs that is comprised of a Chromium OpenGL interface, a TCP Offload Engine, and a Gigabit Ethernet module. A prototype system has been tested for a distributed isosurfacing application.
Adaptive routing in ad hoc networks

The dynamics of an ad hoc network are a challenge to protocol design because mobility inevitably leads to unstable routing, and consequently flows encounter fluctuations in resource availability on various paths during the lifetime of a session. This has become serious, especially for those protocols based on single-path reservation, as frequent reservation and restoration of reservation-based flows increase the instability of connections. Advances in wireless research are focusing more and more on the adaptation capability of routing protocols due to the interrelationship among various performance measures such as those related to topological changes (link breakages, node mobility, etc.) and quality of service (QoS) parameters (load, delay, etc). After giving a more detailed discussion of the existing work in adaptive routing, we summarize our work on Multipath Source Routing (MSR) in order to introduce our latest work on QoS-MSR.Multipath Source Routing (MSR) is an extension of DSR (Dynamic Source Routing) that incorporates the multipath mechanism into DSR. MSR is an adaptive routing for ad hoc networks. It considers the two fundamental issues in its design. MSR may adapt to topology changes by retaining the route discovery and route maintenance mechanism of DSR. In addition, MSR employs a probing-based load-balancing mechanism. Simulation results show that MSR can improve the packet delivery ratio and the throughput of TCP and UDP, and it reduces the end-to-end delay and the average queue size while adding little overhead. As a result, MSR decreases network congestion and increases the path fault tolerance quite well.As a multipath QoS routing protocol, QoS-MSR can collect QoS information through a route discovery mechanism and establish a QoS route with reserved bandwidth by using Multipath Bandwidth Splitting Reservation (MBSR). MBSR allows a bandwidth request to be split into several smaller bandwidth requests among multiple paths. According to our simulation results, QoS-MSR with MBSR decreases network congestion and improves the packet delivery ratio and end-to-end delay of all connections. In addition, the reserved packet ratio indicates that MBSR can improve QoS of reservation-based flows and can be made adaptive to ad hoc networks with high mobility.
A study of gestural feedback expressions

The aim of this study is to explore the realization of gestures related to verbal feedback expressions. Distributional, functional, typological and acoustic analyses of verbal and gestural feedback were carried out on spontaneous dialogues between a travel agent and some customers recorded in a travel agency in Sweden. The investigation addresses in particular the following research questions: Do gestural feedback expressions always co-occur with vocal/verbal feedback expressions? Or can they occur on their own? What is the function of feedback gestures? The results show that feedback is mostly expressed simultaneously by vocal/verbal and gestural means. The gestures accompanying verbal and vocal feedback expressions can be broadly categorized according to their function in the given context. Single head nods or jerks are the most frequent head movements accompanying feedback expressions in the Swedish dialogues we analysed.
What You See Is Not What I See: Subjectivity in Virtual Environments

This paper discusses the issue of subjectivity in collaborative virtual environments. First, we identify current uses of subjectivity in virtual reality systems. We then examine three existing and representative collaborative applications to identify potential benefits of subjectivity. A framework for describing subjectivity based on networks of shared data and transformations is introduced. This framework is then used as a vehicle for discussing issues of subjectivity, mutual awareness, representation and embodiment. Finally, we touch on a number of further issues including notions of evolving consensus views and some possible problems caused by subjectivity.
HABITS: A History Aware Based Wi-Fi Indoor Tracking System

Location Aware Computing (LAC) has become an important area in the field of Telecommunications. The need for computing devices to have knowledge of their surroundings has many applications in the modern world. These range from medical and military to logistical and social. The positioning algorithms that are used are still in a period of rapid innovation with a necessary trade off between accuracy and time consuming calibration. This study will consider movement history along with antenna EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power) as a means of improving Wi-Fi indoor location estimates. An algorithm for use in 802.11 Wi-Fi networks will be developed with two main aims. Firstly, it will be able to learn from the movement history of the mobile device. This knowledge should improve accuracy when signals are scarce. Secondly it will use prior knowledge of the building structure and of antenna EIRP to differentiate between room and floors.
CodeCrawler - An Extensible and Language Independent 2D and 3D Software Visualization Tool

CodeCrawler is an extensible and language independent software visualization tool. It has been validated in several industrial case studies over the past years. CodeCrawler enables the fast exploration of new visualization ideas. It implements and visualizes polymetric views, visualizations of software enriched with information such as software metrics and other source code semantics. It provides a rich set of views that can be customized using a large set of metrics. While CodeCrawler is mainly targeted at visualizing object-oriented software, in its latest implementation it has become a general information visualization tool.
Remote vital signs monitoring based on wireless sensor networks

Governmental and private institutions face a major challenge to provide quality health care to a population consisting of a growing number of elderly and chronically ill patients. According to the World Health Organization, in 2006, the total global health expenditures exceeded US$ 4 trillion and are rising in the majority of countries including Portugal which, during 2006, expended 9.9% of its gross domestic product in health care. The use of remote vital signs monitoring systems increases the probability of early detection of risky situations, allows frequent monitoring of in-patients, elderly and chronically ill patients, and streamlines the work of health professionals. However, at present, these systems are expensive, complex and employ obtrusive sensors, which limit their application to intensive care units and cardiac intermediate care units. This work is part of a project that aims to design, prototype and evaluate a remote vital signs monitoring system based on the IEEE 802.15. 4 and ZigBee protocols, which allow the development of small low-power sensors. The prototype system comprises electrocardiogram/heart rate and axillary thermometer sensors, networking devices and three informatics applications that collect, process, and exhibit medical data. The wireless sensors, the networking devices and one of the applications were developed under this work. Additionally, the wireless sensor network was evaluated through simulations at the MAC level and experimental and field tests. Field tests were performed at an in-patient floor of Hospital Privado de Guimarães, a Portuguese hospital. Finally, questionnaires were used to measure the satisfaction of users and catalog their critics and suggestions for improvement.
Investigation of the impact of cohesion on the change-proneness of Java interfaces:

A lack of cohesion is often associated with bad software quality, and could lead to more changes and bugs in software. In this thesis the impact of cohesion on the change-proneness of Java interfaces is investigated. Showing the existence of a relation between these concepts can lead to better change prediction models that can support software developers in defect prediction and prevention tasks. An empirical study is performed on several open source projects to test three hypotheses. The first hypothesis investigates whether cohesion metrics correlate with the number of fine-grained source code changes. The results of the correlation analysis show a correlation between two cohesion metrics and the number of changes in Java interfaces. The confounding effect of class size is a possible explanation for the correlation between the cohesion metrics and the number of fine-grained changes. This idea is investigated through the second hypothesis, which studies the correlation between the cohesion metrics and interface size metrics. The hypothesis is accepted for the same two metrics. The third hypothesis of this thesis tries to answer whether cohesion metrics can improve change prediction models based on size. By performing three different experiments with multiple classification algorithms, we have found no evidence that supports the final hypothesis. Concluding, cohesion metrics can be used to predict changes in source code. However, they are not better predictors than size metrics, and we have found no evidence to support the idea that they can improve change prediction models based on size.
Spatial interference reduction for multi-robot systems using rational and team-based aggression

A team of robots with no centralized control performing a transportation task in a confined environment frequently interfere with each other. Previous work has shown that stereotyped robot-robot competition, inspired by aggressive displays in animals, can be used to effectively reduce such interference and improve overall system performance. Two principled approaches to determining aggression for robots are described in this thesis. The first, global investment, is based on the concept of 'economical investment'. The second, team-based aggression, extends and improves upon the economical investment scheme by increasing the coordination between robots. Simulation results show that both approaches improve the system efficiency compared to the approach of setting robots' aggression at random, and team-based aggression provides the best performance yet observed. The thesis also introduces a new scheme for implementing aggression functions using a simple network model. Further, the effects of interference-reduction methods over a range of population sizes are studied. To my parents and all of my friends, who have been showing their support for the past 26 years. To Dr. Richard Vaughan, who has been a wonderful supervisor and a n extraordinary source of knowledge. "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. I t always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. " 1 Corinthians 13: 6-7, NEW TESTAMENT
Building an Information Technology Security Awareness and Training Program

(NIST) promotes the U.S. economy and public welfare by providing technical leadership for the Nation's measurement and standards infrastructure. ITL develops tests, test methods, reference data, proof of concept implementations, and technical analyses to advance the development and productive use of information technology. ITL's responsibilities include the development of technical, physical, administrative, and management standards and guidelines for the cost-effective security and privacy of sensitive unclassified information in Federal computer systems. This Special Publication 800-series reports on ITL's research, guidance, and outreach efforts in computer security, and its collaborative activities with industry, government, and academic organizations. Authority This document has been developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in furtherance of its statutory responsibilities under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002, Public Law 107-347. NIST is responsible for developing standards and guidelines, including minimum requirements, for providing adequate information security for all agency operations and assets, but such standards and guidelines shall not apply to national security systems. This guideline is consistent with the requirements This guideline has been prepared for use by federal agencies. It may be used by nongovernmental organizations on a voluntary basis and is not subject to copyright. (Attribution would be appreciated by NIST.) Nothing in this document should be taken to contradict standards and guidelines made mandatory and binding on federal agencies by the Secretary of Commerce under statutory authority. Nor should these guidelines be interpreted as altering or superseding the existing authorities of the Secretary of Commerce, Director of the OMB, or any other federal official. Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the purpose.
Software-Based Route Cache Algorithm for Network Processors

Routers require fast and flexible route table lookup for incoming packets at relatively low cost. This paper describes a software-based route cache algorithm for network processors. Part of the on-chip high-speed memory space is allocated and programmed into a caching table for temporal storage of route lookup results. A suitable hash function can make a good balance between cache miss rate and update complexity, which shortens the average search time, reduces the contentions on memory bus and leaves more headroom for other network applications. Experiments with real-life packet traces show that the packet throughput of a network processor can be greatly improved with only a small number of route cache entries per processing element.
Video-Mediated Communication

From the Publisher: Decades after their introduction, video communication systems are beginning to realize their potential to support working from home, conferencing at a distance, and collaborating and communicating in general. In the face of an upsurge in interest, important questions are being asked: What function does video really serve, and what advantages over the telephone does it provide? How and why is video-mediated interaction different from face-to-face interaction? How can we best configure video technology to support different kinds of work at a distance? What is the role of video technology in the future? People from a variety of disciplines have now produced a substantial body of research addressing these questions from a wide range of analytic perspectives. But their results and conclusions are scattered through journals, conference proceedings, and corporate technical papers. Drawing together the ideas and findings of the major researchers in the field, this volume offers the first comprehensive overview of what we currently know about video-mediated communication. Authors include psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, engineers, and computer scientists.
Semantic Integration Technonolgies Survey

The \underline{University of Southampton} and \underline{Hewlett Packard Laboratories at Bristol} are collaborating in a joint project, CROSI, to investigate semantic integration. \textbf{CROSI}, which stands for Capturing, Representing, and Operationalising Semantic Integration, aims to advance the state-of-the-art for semantic integration technologies. Semantic integration has become a much debated topic in today's research agenda, especially with the advent of the Semantic Web. Its roots, however, go long time back in history of computer science with early attempts to resolve the problem found in the database literature of the eighties. It is concerned with the use of explicit semantic descriptions to facilitate information and systems integration. Due to the widespread importance of integration, many disparate communities have tackled this problem. They have developed a wide variety of overlapping but complementary technologies and approaches. In this deliverable we present a comprehensive survey of the technological landscape in this area. As it is broadly defined and practiced by a number of diverse communities we aim to highlight this diversity. We complement and enhance previously published surveys in this area by focussing on convergence issues and techniques that can be carried over to similar problems. We also aim to identify concrete semantic integration cases which help us to inform a practical set of semantic integration criteria. These could be used to define desiderata for future semantic integration systems.
Exponential Multiplication Schemes

We present an idea to describe a polynomial with 2 distinct integer zeros by an n-tuple of integers via a scheme of n recurring equations. We call such an n-tuple an exponential multiplication scheme of size n. Exponential multiplication schemes of size 1, 2, 3, and 4 are presented. Under the assumption that fast exponential multiplication scheme generators exist we suggest a fast randomized heuristic for the factorization problem. 1 Exponential Multiplication Schemes Consider the following value x3, defined on x via two intermediate values x1 and x2: x1 := x(x− 11) x2 := x1(x1 − 28) x3 := x2(x2 − 180) The term x3, seen as an polynomial in x, is of degree 8 and has 8 different integer zeros: 0, 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11. In other words: x3 = x(x− 1)(x− 2)(x− 4)(x− 7)(x− 9)(x− 10)(x− 11). This can be checked by comparing the two expansions of the two sides of the equation. More efficiently, this can be checked the following way: x3 = 0 implies by the last equation either case (A) x2 = 0 or case (B) x2 = 180. The case (A) together with the second equation leads to the case distinction case (A.A) x1 = 0 or case (A.B) x1 = 28. Case (A.A) leads via the first equation to the first two zeros: x = 0 and x = 11, and case (A.B) leads together with the first equation to the quadratic equation 28 = x(x− 11) which is solved by x = 11/2± √ (112 − 4 ∗ 28)/4, which gives the next two zeros: x = 4 and x = 7. Case (B) together with the second equation gives the quadratic equation 180 = x1(x1 − 28) which has the solutions x1 = 10 (call this case (B.A)) and x1 = 18 (case (B.B)). Together with the first equation case (B.A) gives the quadratic equation 10 = x(x − 11) solved by x = 1 and x = 10, and case (B.B) gives the quadratic equation 18 = x(x − 11) solved by x = 2 and x = 9. This way, we have found all 8 zeros of x3. The following picture shows the case distinction tree.