bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reconstruction of discrete resistivity targets using coupled artificial neural networks and watershed algorithms
Authors: Elwaseif Mehrez , Slater Lee
Published: August 2014

Estimating the dimensions (defined here as width, height and depth of burial) of discrete targets within resistivity models produced as a result of applying smoothness constraints in most inversion algorithms is difficult, especially when targets are closely spaced. Here we couple an image processing technique (watershed algorithm) with a trained Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model to arrive at predictions of the geometry and resistivity of discrete targets from an initial smoothness constraint resistivity model. These predictions are compared with those obtained from (1) applying the watershed algorithm alone, (2) inversion using the regular L1 norm and (3) when a smoothing disconnect is defined using image processing with data subsequently reinverted to arrive at a revised model estimate. Synthetic studies were conducted on a single cavity model, a model for two widely spaced cavities (spacing >> unit electrode spacing), a model for two closely spaced cavities (spacing < unit electrode spacing) and a model for three closely spaced cavities (spacing < unit electrode spacing). In all model scenarios, the average root mean square (RMS) model error using our ANN approach is below 1 whilst the average combined RMS model error when including target resistivity is 35 for the single cavity, 30 for widely spaced targets and 75 for the closely spaced targets. Despite the higher errors in the closely spaced cavity models, application of the algorithm confirms the presence of multiple features, which is not ascertainable from the smooth inversion, or even when using a disconnect constraint. The ANN derived model significantly reduces the RMS misfit between synthetic and inverted models. We demonstrate the approach using field measurements collected over a precisely known void and also apply the method to smooth resistivity images obtained from measurements collected over an archaeological site at Qurnet Murai, Luxor city, Egypt.
An object oriented approach to automatic classification of archaeological features in magnetic prospection data
Authors: Pregesbauer Michael , Trinks Immo , Neubauer Wolfgang
Published: August 2014

Magnetometer prospection is commonly used in archaeology for the non‐invasive detection, mapping and investigation of buried prehistoric sites. The recorded data can contain numerous anomalies caused by archaeological structures in the ground. State‐of‐the‐art geomagnetic data processing results in geo‐referenced maps that traditionally are interpreted within Geographical Information Systems. With the increasing size of surveyed areas, the manual outlining and classification of magnetic anomalies becomes a highly time consuming process. Possibilities for automated classification of the magnetic prospection data prior to the actual archaeological interpretation would considerably enhance the productivity of the archaeological interpretation process regarding magnetic prospection data. Object oriented image processing methods known from remote sensing applications offer a large spectrum of readily available procedures for the automatic and semi‐automatic analysis of raster data sets. Suitable algorithms have been adapted and utilized in order to exemplarily analyse a magnetic archaeological prospection data set with the goal of automatically mapping magnetic features, facilitating further archaeological interpretation. This article shows that the presented semi‐automated classification procedure is able to replace the manual drawing of anomalies based on the expert knowledge and experience of the interpreter to a large degree.
Characterization of organic‐contaminated ground by a combination of electromagnetic mapping and direct‐push in situ measurements
Authors: Mitsuhata Yuji , Ando Dai , Imasato Takehiko , Takagi Kazushige
Published: August 2014

Contamination of soil and groundwater by synthetic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hydrocarbons has recently raised public concern. Geophysical techniques are frequently used to characterize contaminated sites and to specify subsurface contaminant plumes in Europe and America, but there have been very few such surveys in Japan. Electromagnetic (EM) induction mapping was applied to investigate a contaminated site on reclaimed land near a harbour in central Japan. The use of EM mapping enabled efficient coverage of a study area in the site and imaging of the subsurface resistivity distribution down to approximately 10 m. In situ direct‐push membrane interface probe (MIP) and electrical conductivity (EC) in situ measurements were also performed as more direct sensing techniques, and the results were compared with soil core samples. The results suggest that the first and second conductive zones mapped by this investigation correspond to clayey soil zones that act as barriers to prevent the infiltration of contaminants. In addition, the in situ MIP measurements and laboratory analyses indicate multiple occurrences of contamination by VOCs and oil. Although EM mapping was not able to clearly specify a contaminant plume, it was demonstrated as a useful technique to delineate the infiltration pathways of contaminants by illustrating the subsurface distributions of clayey zones. In addition, the combination of direct‐push in situ measurements and EM mapping is demonstrated as an essential characterization strategy to verify the interpreted resistivity structure and to determine the relationship between the heterogeneous resistivity and contaminant distribution.
3D complex resistivity tomography on cylindrical models using EIDORS
Authors: De Donno Giorgio , Cardarelli Ettore
Published: August 2014

Complex resistivity imaging is a relatively new geophysical technique, developed in the last few decades mainly for hydrogeological and environmental applications. The aim of this work is to present an EIDORS application of the 3D complex resistivity tomography on cylindrical laboratory models. EIDORS is an open‐source numerical environment developed with the aim of sharing data and promoting collaboration between groups working in these fields. In spite of being a well‐recognised software for forward modelling and inversion for medical tomographies, EIDORS still needs to be adapted for geophysical purposes. We discuss the role played by the mesh choice and the contact impedances on the accuracy of the finite‐element solution achieved by tetrahedral elements. When a 3D tomography is performed on a standard machine with limited local memory, the dual reconstruction can help to retain a sufficient accuracy without increasing the allocated memory. Although for medical applications on the human body a linear inversion can effectively represent the slight changes in resistivity magnitude, when a subsoil has to be investigated resistivity can vary substantially. Thus we develop an algorithm to add to the non‐linear inversion for complex resistivity data, through the integration of the EIDORS basic functions. The algorithm has been validated through four synthetic examples. The reconstructed models, having a growing degree of complexity, are similar to the true ones. We highlight the role played by phase and resolution to detect the anomalies. When the dipole length is enlarged and the embedded anomalies decrease in size, the reconstruction becomes more difficult. We show that EIDORS could act as a base code for tomographic inversion of frequency‐domain data (and also of time‐domain real‐valued data) for laboratory problems, because of its high flexibility and reliability reached by the forward and inversion routines.
Theoretical approach for the depth of penetration of in situ magnetic susceptibility measurements
Authors: Esparza Francisco J. , Méndez‐Delgado Sóstenes , Gómez‐Treviño Enrique
Published: August 2014

We present a mathematical approach for analysing in‐situ magnetic susceptibility measurements in terms of elementary contributions from different depths within the soil. Our analysis leads to a compact integral formula that relates the actual measurements to the depth profile of magnetic susceptibility within the soil, in such a way that the former is simply a weighted spatial average of the latter. The degree of penetration of a given measurement is then readily quantified by the weighting function of the corresponding instrument. Our results match and complement the experimental determinations of other workers to currently used susceptibility meters. We provide theoretical curves for the depth of penetration of four instruments that have been studied in the literature, and also refine previous estimations of the characteristic depths intrinsic to each instrument.
The influence on sample preparation on spectral induced polarization of unconsolidated sediments
Authors: Bairlein K. , Hördt A. , Nordsiek S.
Published: August 2014

Spectral induced polarization (SIP) measurements in the laboratory are in many cases intended to provide representative and comparable results of complex electrical conductivity. This is not invariably the case when using unconsolidated sediments, as the sample preparation influences several SIP‐relevant properties of the samples, including the pore geometry. The pore space is supposed to control the polarization effect and therefore a change in the pore space will change the measured parameters. We analysed the influence of the sample preparation on SIP measurements by testing various filling methods, each defined by a sequence of particular steps, with regard to the reproducibility of the spectra. The measurements were performed on three different sample materials. Variations of the spectra due to different filling methods were obtained, indicating the importance of considering the sample preparation. Methods that improved the reproducibility compared to loose packing of the samples were found, but the most suitable packing procedure depended on the material properties. The mean relaxation times and normalized chargeabilities were obtained from a Debye decomposition. Although unidentified processes caused scattering of the measured parameters, a relation of the IP‐parameters to the porosities was present. A decrease of the porosity reduced both the relaxation times and the normalized chargeabilities.
Iterative modelling of AEM data based on a priori information from seismic and borehole data
Authors: Høyer Anne‐Sophie , Jørgensen Flemming , Lykke‐Andersen Holger , Christiansen Anders Vest
Published: August 2014

Airborne electromagnetic methods (AEM) have become an important part of groundwater mapping in a wide range of geological settings. However, as for all geophysical methods, the results of the inversions are non‐unique and it is therefore relevant to include a priori information in order to obtain the most realistic geological inversion outcome. Despite the extensive use of AEM, only a few studies describe the effect of including a priori information in large‐scale AEM surveys. In this study, ancillary information from seismic and borehole data are used as a priori information. The basis for the study is a densely spaced airborne transient electromagnetic dataset (SkyTEM) from a 100 km2 area in the western part of Denmark. Six different inversions are performed, and these are formulated as blocky and smooth inversions with different amounts of a priori information in the deepest part of the sections. The use of a priori information has a significant influence on the interpretation of the sections in the lowermost part of the sequence. Furthermore, the middle part of the sections, which are not constrained by the a priori information, show a significant change through the different inversions. Thus, the study shows that the inclusion of a priori information to the deeper part, significantly enhances the understanding of the geology both in the intermediate and deep levels.
Shear‐wave velocity based seismic microzonation of Lorca city (SE Spain) from MASW analysis
Authors: Martínez‐Pagán P. , Navarro M. , Pérez‐Cuevas J. , Alcalá F.J. , García‐Jerez A. , Sandoval‐Castaño S.
Published: August 2014

Many populated areas located in moderate seismic risk regions have been hit by earthquakes of moderate magnitude which, surprisingly, have caused very serious damage to buildings and led to the loss of human life. The city of Lorca (SE Spain) is a clear example. On 11 May 2011, two main shocks occurred in the vicinity of Lorca city with a maximum magnitude of 5.1 Mw causing some casualties and serious widespread damage in the city and its surroundings.

Most of the damage was concentrated in certain districts in the city, while other parts remained intact. Actually, in Lorca, investigators detected both a clear example of seismic site effect and a seismic wave amplification occurrence due to the type of geological materials on which the city is located. For this reason, several studies are being carried out in Lorca city to assess the actual contribution of the soil conditions to the seismic amplification phenomena.

In these studies, the shear wave velocity plays a key role as a parameter for evaluating the dynamic behaviour of the shallowest geological materials. Consequently, site characterization applied to calculating seismic hazard is usually based on the near surface shear‐wave velocity distribution. This study looked at the average shear‐wave velocity for the uppermost 30 m of ground, which is referred to as Vs30. The Vs30 values obtained from multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) were used to create a new soil classification map of Lorca city. Thus, the derived Vs30 map was transformed into the NEHRP and Eurocode 8 (EC8) standards. In Lorca city, the softness and the thickness of shallow geological formations have been observed as two important factors that affected the level of ground shaking and the degree of damage. The results show that there is a significant correlation between the Vs30 values and the damage distribution within the city.
Analysis of fluvial, lacustrine and anthropogenic landforms by means of ground‐penetrating radar (GPR): field experiment
Authors: Słowik Marcin
Published: August 2014

A field experiment aiming to study the influence of measurement conditions on depths of penetration and resolution of GPR surveys was conducted in the middle Obra valley (western Poland). The tests were carried out along five profile lines in three sites representing fluvial, lacustrine and anthropogenic landforms. The GPR surveys were conducted at various hydrogeological conditions: high and low groundwater levels, and in winter conditions when the ground was under snow/ice cover and frozen. The best measurement conditions for imaging the internal structure of fluvial landforms were found during a period of low groundwater levels. At high groundwater levels the bottom parts of radar profiles were obscured by reverberations originating from the differences in the water content between unsaturated and saturated parts of the studied sections. Some sedimentary structures within lacustrine landforms were better seen at high levels when all the deposits were saturated. In winter conditions, high quality radar profiles were obtained only when measurements were conducted on an elevated, anthropogenic landform, unaffected by dispersion and attenuation of the radar signal in the other landforms due to a water layer situated between the ice cover and land surface. It was also shown that it is possible to image sedimentary structures of landforms built of deposits with significant admixtures of silts, although the depths of penetration are reduced in such cases.
Using Watermarking Techniques to Prove Rightful Ownership of Web Images
Authors: Al-Nu’aimi Abdallah Al-Tahan
Published: August 2014

This article introduces intelligent watermarking scheme to protect Web images from attackers who try to counterfeit the copyright to damage the rightful ownership. Using secret signs and logos that are embedded within the digital images, the technique can investigate technically the ownership claim. Also, the nature of each individual image is taken into consideration which gives more reliable results. The colour channel used was chosen depending on the value of its standard deviation to compromise between robustness and invisibility of the watermarks. Several types of test images, logos, attacks and evaluation metrics were used to examine the performance of the techniques used. Subjective and objective tests were used to check visually and mathematically the solidity and weakness of the used scheme.
Searching and Generating Authoring Information
Authors: Alkhateeb Faisal , Alzubi Amal , Abu Doush Iyad , Aljawarneh Shadi , Al Maghayreh Eslam
Published: August 2014

In this paper, the authors propose a novel approach to search and retrieve authoring information from online authoring databases. The proposed approach combines keywords and semantic-based methods. In this approach, the user can retrieve such information considering some specified keywords and ignore how the internal semantic search is being processed. The keywords entered by the user are internally converted by the system to a semantic query that will be used to search the requested information. The authors then use (X)HTML-based templates for the automatic construction of BibTeX elements from the query results.
Convergence Aspects of Autonomic Cooperative Networks
Authors: Wódczak Michal
Published: August 2014

The current efforts across industry and academia are to develop new paradigms that enable ubiquitous on-demand service provision. This aim may be achievable because of the envisaged deployment of cutting-edge technologies such as cooperative transmission. However, a real advancement is only attainable when autonomic system design principles are taken into account. Looking at the concept of the Relay Enhanced Cell, one may come across commonalities with Mobile Ad-hoc Networks. Especially in Local Area scenarios, Base Stations seem to resemble advanced Access Points, while fixed and movable Relay Nodes might be replaced by powerful mobile User Terminals. On top of it, Generic Autonomic Network Architecture would help accommodate the fact that network devices may expose autonomic cooperative behaviors, allowing them to play certain roles. Finally, such a network must interact with Operations Support System deployed by the network operator for uninterrupted, continued operation.
How Do You Know If It Is Any Good?
Authors: Lee Kerry , Perger Pamela , Dunn Monique , O'Sullivan Jess
Published: August 2014

Thousands of books are published every year both in paper form and online. For a parent or a teacher who is new to the profession, relying on the classics or well-known authors is one way to ensure the books children are reading have literary merit. Yet not all books stand the test of time, and are these traditional choices appropriate for 21st century children? With such a plethora of material now available, how can parents and teachers evaluate the material they are buying or reading to children? This chapter is not written for literacy specialists but rather for those who are keen to make informed book selection choices. It identifies key elements of quality contemporary children's books and provides guidance for their assessment.
The Role of Computerized Personality Assessments in Students with Disabilities' School-to-Work Transition
Authors: Heikkila Mia R. , Reio, Jr. Thomas G.
Published: August 2014

The use of personality measures for pre-employment selection continues to be decidedly strong. Nationwide retailers have opted to administer these assessments increasingly via computer for prospective employees ranging from entry-level worker to upper-level manager positions. School-to-Work transition students with mental and physical disabilities are among the individuals completing these assessments. Nonetheless, the validity evidence supporting their use with this population remains unclear. Because school-to-work transition programs are designed to enhance students' work competence and ultimately employability, schools need to not only develop students' technical knowledge, but also prepare students to handle taking the personality assessments. This is explored in this chapter.
Defining Quality Standards, Guidelines, and Strategies for the Delivery of Successful Online Education in a Changing Society
Authors: Skinner Leane , Witte Maria Martinez , Wohleb Elisha
Published: August 2014

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a framework for defining quality standards, guidelines, and strategies for the delivery of successful online education in a changing society. Online education is one of the most prevalent outcomes of the influence of technology and economic and competitive pressures. Continued growth in the demand for online education has forced many traditional educational institutions to re-evaluate their historically defined quality standards, guidelines, and strategies relating to the delivery of courses and programs. As the trend toward online education continues, it is imperative to have a framework that will provide guidance to educational institutions when designing the successful delivery of online education. Research over the last two decades has provided information that can be used as a foundation for developing a framework for the strategic planning of online education at the state, institutional, program, and course levels.
The Impact of Technology on PK-12 Teacher Preparation Programs
Authors: Sedivy-Benton Amy L. , Leland Katina M.
Published: August 2014

Technology is becoming more and more ubiquitous in our daily activities. There has been a drastic change in the technology skills that PK-20 students have acquired prior to enrolling in school. In order to be successful in the classroom, teachers need to know how to integrate technology in a way that benefits student learning and teacher effectiveness. Teacher preparation programs need to put a concentrated effort into teaching pre-service teachers the use of technology and the integration of technology into their teaching to assist in student learning. This chapter provides an overview of what the technology expectations are of pre-service teachers as they enter the profession of teaching and what pre-service teacher preparation programs are offering these candidates. The chapter concludes with recommendations and future trends with technology and its use in teacher preparation programs.
Pedagogy vs Andragogy Organizations
Authors: Wang Victor X. , Dennett Susan K.
Published: August 2014

Human Resource practitioners have a responsibility to ensure quality learning occurs in their organizations. Therefore, it is important when organizations consider learning in their environment; what constitutes quality learning? Should they be considering a pedagogical approach to learning or should they consider an andragogical approach to learning? Having a better understanding of learning theories will help determine which learning methods may be successful. This chapter compares the pedagogical and the andragogical models. Knowles' self-directed learning theory is discussed, as well as Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgarnter (2007). Learning contracts are discussed as a way of adults taking responsibility for their learning. The authors describe how adults might take more of an active role for their learning and how educators become more of a facilitator. Reviewing these theories will help organizations maximize learning.
Building Education and Technology Competencies for a Changing Society
Authors: Witte Maria Martinez , Wohleb Elisha , Skinner Leane
Published: August 2014

This chapter provides an overview of needed competencies in the education and technology areas for a changing society. Advanced technology has changed the structure of the economy and should be changing the K-12 and postsecondary classrooms. Society is requiring higher levels of skills that schools were not initially designed to teach. Specific competencies are needed for educators and higher education students in order to prepare a college- and career-ready workforce. Educators must begin or continue incorporating digital tools and technology in their content in order to meet the demands of an increasingly technological world.
Involving Employers in Training Low-Skilled Workers for Technology Jobs
Authors: Schmidtke Carsten
Published: August 2014

Scholars, practitioners, and policy makers have for decades asserted a need for employer participation in workforce training but have at the same time lamented that such participation has been and still is lacking. This chapter identifies reasons why employers should have an interest in becoming active participants in training and developing the technology workforce of the future. To overcome the unique challenges of the next few decades brought on by globalization and international competition, employers must be more actively involved in the development of low-skilled workers for high-skill technology jobs. This chapter discusses why a highly educated, highly skilled technology workforce is needed and why low-skilled workers must be trained and developed, considers the particular challenges for low-skilled workers, presents commonly suggested solutions to the problem of preparing low-skilled workers for high-skill technology work, and finally reviews what employers should do, how they stand to benefit, and how they can be involved more effectively.
Tapping Social Capital through E-Mentoring
Authors: Wang Jia , Shirmohammadi Melika
Published: August 2014

The value of mentoring for career development is widely recognized by researchers and practitioners. For women, being mentored is particularly valuable for their career growth. However, the reality is that professional women continue to encounter challenges men do not, both in finding mentors and in building healthy mentoring relationships. In this chapter, the authors examine how e-mentoring can be used as an alternative tool to address some of the challenges facing women in mentoring relationships and to assist them with their career progression. They conduct an integrative literature review to identify research on e-mentoring in the context of women's career development, and they identify trends in current e-mentoring research and make recommendations for improving e-mentoring practice. The chapter concludes with directions for future research on e-mentoring.
Open Source Software to Enhance the STEM Learning Environment
Authors: Dawson Maurice , Al Saeed Imad , Wright Jorja , Onyegbula Festus
Published: August 2014

This chapter examines the use of Open Source Software (OSS) technologies that can be used to improve the learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Explored are the various methods that can be utilized to improve the percentage of STEM majors in the American educational system with resources such as: Open Source as Alternative (OSALT), virtualization, cloud computing, Linux distributions, open source programming, and open source hardware platforms. Increasing the amount of students that pursue STEM majors is important because the projected job growth in the STEM field compared to non-STEM jobs is 33%. OSALT provides cost-effective alternatives to commercial products such as Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe Photoshop. Second, creating Virtual Machines (VMs) is another avenue to teach complex concepts in computer science, engineering, and Information Technology (IT). Third, cloud computing is an inexpensive way for clients to access information from multiple locations and devices. Fourth, universities can use the Operating System (OS) Linux and its various distributions as replacements for commercial operating systems like Windows in order to reduce IT costs. Lastly, open source programming languages like Python and their associated Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) provide comprehensive facilities for software engineers for application development or testing.
Leading and Learning in the Digital Age
Authors: Maslin-Ostrowski Patricia , Drago-Severson Eleanor
Published: August 2014

This chapter investigates how Heifetz's (1994) model, applied to the work of school leaders, has led to key insights. The framework helps practitioners and education leadership faculty who teach aspiring and practicing school leaders better understand the nature of adaptive and technical challenges that leaders encounter day-to-day and their approach to making sense of them, managing them, and helping other adults to do the same. The authors employ the adaptive-technical analytic framework to examine a case that is representative of real world problems that leaders have been wrestling with, based on their prior research. Through Heifetz's lens, the authors deconstruct the case to illustrate how framing the problem as adaptive and/or technical directly informs the leader's work. Embedded reflective questions create opportunities for readers to pause and apply this model to Principal Georgina's case. The authors encourage leaders to apply a framework and questions like this in their unique milieus.
Using Technologies to Integrate Vocational Learning in Multiple Contexts
Authors: Cattaneo Alberto , Aprea Carmela
Published: August 2014

Due to various influences and developments, learning nowadays must be conceived as a lifelong process that occurs within and among different formal, non-formal, and informal contexts. However, learning poses new requirements for individuals as it urges them to cope with diverse and dynamically changing perspectives, articulate these diversities, and reconcile them into a meaningful whole. In this chapter, the authors present theoretical and empirical evidence that accounts for the potential of technologies as facilitators for connecting and integrating learning across different contexts. Given the authors' specific expertise, they particularly focus on learning in vocational and professional settings.
Factors Shaping Academics' Use of Technology in Teaching
Authors: Torrisi-Steele Geraldine
Published: August 2014

Whilst academics have generally adopted the use of new technologies in their teaching, literature indicates that only a minority is exploiting technology to provide pedagogically rich learning experiences. This is a significant issue for universities, many of which are making considerable strategic investment into technology-infused teaching, as one way of responding to the pressures of globalization and meeting the needs technology-savvy student cohorts. Providing appropriate support to assist academics to implement effective, technology-infused teaching strategies is thus critical. It is argued that development of appropriate academic support should be informed by an understanding of why academics use technology as they do in their teaching. Towards this end, a model of factors influencing how academics use technology in their teaching is proposed in the chapter. The model arises from a synthesis of relevant literature and the identification of pertinent conceptual frameworks.
E-Mentoring
Authors: Starr-Glass David
Published: August 2014

Mentoring involves the creation of a relational bond between a more and a less experienced person in order to advance the learning, socialization, and aspirations of the less experienced partner. Traditionally, mentoring has been conducted through face-to-face meetings, which promote optimal social connectedness, interpersonal attachment, and growing trust and confidence. The limited availability of local mentors, a desire for better mentor-mentee matching, and a concern for flexibility and inclusion have all resulted in attempts to distance the mentoring process. Electronic mentoring (e-mentoring), which uses computer-mediated communication technologies to link the partners, has provided logistical and pragmatic benefits. However, mentoring relies on strong relational bonds and social exchange dynamics, both of which are potentially weakened by social, psychological, and cognitive distance. This chapter explores the dynamics and process of mentoring and how these are altered in e-mentoring. Specifically, it examines transactional distance, distancing the locus of experience, and national culture differences between mentor and mentee. These impacts on e-mentoring are explored and recommendations for practice are presented, as are considerations for the future directions of e-mentoring in educational and organizational programs.
Theory and Application
Authors: Musgrove Ann , Bryan Valerie C.
Published: August 2014

Demand for online learning continues to grow at a strong pace as learners become more diverse in many ways. It is important that we use learning and design theories to shape this learning environment for success. This chapter discusses the use of multimodal design in the creation of online courses based on the science of human learning. Information processing, sensory, working, and long-term memory are discussed in terms of course design. Individual differences and similarities are explored. The question in education remains how we can match what we know about human learning to the technology modes around us to create better learner-centered environments. This chapter explores the theories applicable to multimodal eLearning and how to apply these theories in the creation of learning experiences.
Individual and Socio-Cultural Framing of E-Learning
Authors: Ertl Bernhard , Helling Kathrin
Published: August 2014

Considering e-learning as a socio-cultural system acknowledges that individuals are embedded within different contexts, influenced by the culture and the society the individual lives in. Designing beneficial e-learning scenarios means respecting these socio-cultural contexts and providing appropriate framing. This chapter introduces several aspects influencing e-learning from an individual and socio-cultural perspective. It firstly deals with the aspect of learners' collaborative knowledge construction in e-learning and introduces what this perspective means for the design and implementation of e-learning scenarios. The chapter looks at tools and shared external representations and shows how they can beneficially support learning processes and outcomes. In a third step, it looks at the individual's learning characteristics, for example an individual's prior knowledge, and socio-cultural biases relating to gender, ethnicity, and socio economic background, and discusses how these may be an obstacle for e-learning and how e-learning may help learners to overcome their biases. Finally, the chapter focuses on the issue on evaluation and provides suggestions to evaluate environments for e-learning from a socio-cultural perspective.
Technology-Enhanced Learning in Higher Education
Authors: Gordon Neil , Brayshaw Mike
Published: August 2014

This chapter explores issues that affect the uptake and integration of Technology in Higher Education, developing a framework to overcome some of the barriers. Technological adoption varies across disciplines. The authors consider disciplines as tribes, where some find technology acceptable and an enabler, whilst for others it is alien and deemed inappropriate. Some territories reflect technology as an area to defend and expand, whilst for others the imposition of technology and associated practices are considered a hostile intrusion into discipline practice. Within the framework, the authors reflect on various perspectives: practitioners', students', and support teams' perspectives within the wider eco-systems and structures. Practitioner concerns reflect discipline traditions and practices, from teaching through to assessment and how to manage the Wikipedia generation. Students' needs in a technological age reflect the demands of the Netizen as student, and the rise and challenge of MOOCs to the teacher and the learner. Institutional mechanisms provide the situation for the use of technology. The authors provide a framework within which to explore the above concerns and describe mechanisms to unite the academic tribes, to see the territorial boundaries as artificial and counter-productive, and to enable the utilisation of E-Learning in current and future Higher Education settings.
Digital Mobilisation and Identity after Smart Turn
Authors: Fehér Katalin
Published: August 2014

Users have digital and digitally mobilised footprints. The online data sets are defined and identified within their different networks. These result in data sets and interactive markers via personal media such as digital/mobile/smart devices. The compass-devices support to manage everyday life and to define digitally mobilised identities in online networking society, culture, and business. This chapter studies the digitally mobilised identitiy in a multitasking context, digital trends that shape personal/organizational mobile identity, and emerging technologies, services, and cases that support these changes and challenges.
Mobile Technologies and Gender Rituals
Authors: Soriano Cheryll Ruth R.
Published: August 2014

This chapter explores the implications of mobile technologies on gender through the lens of gender rituals. While maintaining social order and social roles, rituals also legitimate key category differences, ideologies, and inequalities. The increasing convergence of media and content in mobile devices, and the blurring of the spaces for work, family, and leisure amidst the landscape of globalization and mobility have important implications for the enactment of rituals, and in the performance of gender. The chapter discusses this mutual shaping of gender rituals and mobile technologies through a case study of the Philippines, with some broad implications for other contexts. The study finds that the personalization, mobility, and multitude of applications afforded by mobile devices offer many opportunities for the exploration of new possibilities for subjectivity that challenge particular gender stereotypes and restrictions while simultaneously affirming particular gender rituals. While exploring the implications of the mobile device on gender in a developing society, the chapter in turn highlights the importance of culturally embedded rituals in shaping and understanding the mobile device's place in society.
Mobile Media and Youth Engagement in Malaysia
Authors: Lim Joanne B. Y.
Published: August 2014

Youth engagement is often said to be at the heart of democracy, though the extent of such efforts in affecting policymaking remains highly debatable. Nonetheless, there have been heightened attempts by “ordinary citizens” to reform the country's state of politics and to improve society's living conditions. Malaysia's authoritarian democracy has been a crucial motivation for young adults to “have their say” in challenging the current regime. This chapter highlights the various ways in which young adults use mobile media to activate and participate in civic, community, and political engagement whilst taking into account the many restrictions that are set up by the ruling government to monitor and control such engagements. Discussed alongside youth definitions of nationalism, citizenship, and activism that are embedded within the interviews, the findings are juxtaposed with present post-election discourses taking place within the country. The relationship between mobile media and youth engagement further affirms the idea of a new generation of mobile users that are not just technologically savvy but are using their knowledge to affect significant societal changes.
Mobile Communication and Children
Authors: Giovanna Mascheroni
Published: August 2014

The shift from mobile phones to smartphones, which integrate mobile communication, social media, and geo-locative services, expands the scope of mobile communication and opens up new opportunities for young people, as well as new risks. However, research on the adoption and use of smartphones among young people is still sparse. Therefore, the consequences of smartphone use on children's communicative cultures and relational practices remain yet to be explored. Drawing on the consistent literature on children and mobile communication and on the findings of preliminary research on younger users' domestication of smart mobile devices, the present chapter discusses the implications of mobile media use amongst young people in the light of the changes associated with smartphones and the mobile Internet.
Mobile Parenting and Global Mobility
Authors: San Pascual Ma. Rosel S.
Published: August 2014

This chapter focuses its attention on Filipino mothers in diaspora and their mediated parenting as it tackles the centrality of mobile communication in transnational parenting. Apart from describing Filipino migrant mothers' mobile parenting practice in terms of the occurrence and content of their mediated parenting efforts, this chapter discusses mobile parenting by looking into the intersections of the socio-demographic, socio-economic, and socio-political landscapes of Filipino migrant mothers' mobile parenting with the social and technological dimensions of mobile parenting. In describing the landscapes, dimensions, and practice of Filipino migrant mothers' mobile parenting, evidence from interviews of 32 Singapore-based Filipino migrant mothers were supplemented by evidence from the literature on Filipino migrant parents and their transnational parenting efforts, their children left behind, and their children's caregivers.
Mobile Location Based Services
Authors: Jiow Hee Jhee
Published: August 2014

Mobile Location Based Services (MLBS) have been in operation since the 1970s. Conceived initially for military use, the Global Positioning System technology was later released to the world for other applications. As usage of the technology increased, mobile network points, developed by mobile service operators, supplemented its usage in various applications of MLBS. This chapter charts the trajectory of MLBS applications in the mass market, afforded by the evolution of technology, digital, and mobility cultures. Assimilating various MLBS classifications, it then situates examples into four quadrants according to the measures of user-position or device-position focus, and alert-aware or active-aware applications. The privacy implications of MLBS are captured on the economic, social, and political fronts, and its future is discussed.
Including Dyslexic Users in the Early Design of the LITERACY Portal
Authors: Motschnig Renate , Hagelkruys Domink , Struhár Ján , Balharová Kamila
Published: August 2014

Human-Centered Design requires end-user consideration and involvement in all steps of the human-computer interface design, but how can this be accomplished if the primary user group is users with special cognitive and affective needs? Would “classical” tools and techniques be sufficient or would they need to be adapted and complemented with special effort? This chapter shares the strategies the authors adopt and the experiences they are gradually gaining in including users with dyslexia in the design of the LITERACY Web-Portal. LITERACY is a project of the European Union aiming at improving social inclusion of youth and adults with dyslexia. The authors hope this case study provides insight on and gives courage for inclusion of end-users even though—or particularly because—they have special needs.
Designing with Vulnerable Children
Authors: Culén Alma Leora , Karpova Anna
Published: August 2014

In this chapter, the authors consider a researcher's perspective in projects involving design of assistive technologies for and with children who have moderate to severe limitations, such as cognitive impairments, impulse control issues, strongly reduced vision, or speech problems. The secondary objective is to introduce the concept of vulnerability in such complex design contexts, exploring it in relation to researchers, the user group, and other stakeholders. They argue that awareness of diverse risks can lead to a design process that reduces or even eliminates some of these risks, empowering both researchers and users in the process. The case used as a basis for discussion is that of an iPad app design for and with children in a special education class, and later, with children in occupational therapy.
Teaching Design of Emerging Embodied Technologies
Authors: Majgaard Gunver
Published: August 2014

How does design of emerging embodied technologies enrich the HCI learning processes? The authors introduce a model for embodied interaction and use it in the development of a painting app for children based on the motion sensor Asus Xtion Pro (similar to Kinect). The development of the app was part of a HCI course for engineering students. The motion sensor was interesting as a design tool, because it appealed to full body interaction. The development exemplified and unfolded the embodied elements: multiple modalities, physical, bodily, social, and symbolic interaction in a situated environment. Subsequently, the authors introduce a physical-digital toolbox, illustrating the span of parameters within the model for embodied interaction: robot technology, tangibles, wearables, interactive surroundings, and bigger objects.
Research of Speech Recognition Based on Neural Network
Authors: Zhang Jing Zhai , Qiao Xiang Dong , Zhang Peng Zhou
Published: August 2014

As a newly cross subject which began in the 1940 s, the neural network plays an important part in human intelligencehuman intelligencehuman intelligence studies, has been a attention and research hotspot in many subjects such as information science, brain science, psychology, mathematics and physics. The neural network has well aabstract categoriesabstract categoriesaaa bstract categories capability, which has been applied to the research and development of speech recognition system, and become an effective tool for resolving the identification problem. This paper mainly analyzes the philosophy and procedures of speech recognition, and modeling theory and characteristics of the neural network, discusses the application of neural network in speech recognition.
Precise Measurement of Temperature Based on Self-Correcting Technique
Authors: Xi Dong He , Du Juan
Published: August 2014

On the basis of the analysis of the difficulties in the meteorological measurement, this paper proposes a three resistance measurement method based on the self-correcting technique, through comparing the relative size of the three groups of measuring signal for the desired measuring value. The advantage of this method is to counteract the effects of drift in the measurement circuit, which can achieve high precision results in the bad external environment. This paper gives a comparison of measured data. The method has been verified in practical application.
Design of High Precision Temperature Sensor Based on Platinum Resistance
Authors: Nie Yi Zhen
Published: August 2014

for Pt100 platinum resistance temperature measurement system has low accuracy, duplicate hardware circuit design and other issues, the articles design a high-precision temperature measurement system with Pt100 platinum resistance. With Pt100 temperature sensor, article takes STM32F103 as the control center through filtering, amplification and other signal conditioning circuit and a method of combining software look-up table to compensate the nonlinear compensation, thus achieving high-precision temperature measurement. Research results show that the system has a measurement accuracy high stability, scalability, and other characteristics.
Research on Dynamic Model of Rotors with Bearing Misalignment
Authors: Ren De Xin , Hong Jie , Wang Cun
Published: August 2014

Based on the structural and mechanics analysis of aero-engines rotor system, the dynamic model of the flexible rotor system with multi-supports are presented in order to solve the bearing misalignment problem of rotor system in aero-engines. The motion equations are derived through Lagrange method. The relationship between structural and mechanics characteristics parameters are built up. Finally, the dynamic influence of bearing misalignment on rotor system is divided into three kinds: additional rotor bending rigidity, additional bearing misalignment excitation force and additional imbalance. The equations suggest that additional imbalance excitation force activates the nonlinearity on rotor system and an additional 2× excitation force might appear.