bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Urban Sound Planning
Authors: Sanchez Gemma Maria Echevarria , Alves Sonia , Botteldooren Dick
Published: January 2018

In this chapter, examples of the application of urbanism approaches are described not only to reduce unwanted noise but also to improve the quality of the sonic environment. By considering different architectonic elements existent in the urban environment, it is possible to highly reduce traffic noise levels. The shape of the buildings, the street configurations, or the urban furniture are effective for urban sound-friendly architecture. Additionally, it has been proven that human perception is multisensorial; thus, the visual elements are also influential to the perception of urban sound environments. The way visual elements can support the sonic coherence of a space and its relation to the urban functionality is discussed. Finally, Virtual Reality Technology is proposed as a tool for the design and appraisal of future urban development where both visual and audio can be simultaneously assessed. The implementation within a smart city is also considered.
Activity as a Mediator Between Users and Their Auditory Environment in an Urban Pocket Park
Authors: Bild Edda , Steele Daniel , Pfeffer Karin , Bertolini Luca , Guastavino Catherine
Published: January 2018

Sound is receiving increasing attention in urban planning and design due to its effects on human health and quality of life. Soundscape researchers have sought ecologically valid measures to describe and explain the complex relationship between people and their auditory environments, largely employing laboratory studies and neglecting the active role of activity. This chapter proposes a situated cognition approach to study the relationship between context, use of space, and the ways in which users describe and evaluate sounds and their auditory environments in an urban pocket park. It draws on empirical data gathered in Parc du Portugal in Montreal, Canada using a mixed-methods research design that integrates ethnographic observations, on-site questionnaires, and behavioral mapping using a geo-spatial app to offer a situated understanding of the human auditory experience in its full complexity, with an emphasis on the mediating role of activity on the user-auditory environment relationship.
Sensitive Bodies in the Cityscape
Authors: Sánchez Javier Ruiz , Sánchez María José Martínez
Published: January 2018

Cities evolve to just possible, always uncertain urban futures, achieving complexity so this complexity becomes itself the best tool to face uncertainty. The main operation in urban systems evolution is difference, the establishment of traces indicating differences, differences themselves consisting of increasingly more complex systems of rules, like a game board. Differences operate both in space and time, conforming to a cultural landscape, a cityscape. It is in this context where the authors present the concept of sensitive bodies. Urban spaces highly internalise processes due to a collective memory of past events, whose complexity can be read through both a hermeneutical approach to form and a sensitive approach to topology, the underlying system of rules that can be read just by playing the game, using techniques borrowed out of performing arts, making bodies interact with living bodies whose behaviour is just the main component of the cityscape.
Towards a Virtual Soundwalk
Authors: Oberman Tin , Šćitaroci Bojana Bojanić Obad , Jambrošić Kristian
Published: January 2018

This chapter presents the debate on the conceptual framework for the virtual soundwalk as a tool for soundscape assessment for use within urban design tasks and the management of urban open spaces. A hybrid model between a soundwalk in situ and a listening test in laboratory conditions is needed to gain benefits from both methods by simulating links between spatial relations and soundscape changes in actual urban open spaces. This link is vital due to the widely accepted architectural theory background on the urban open space experience. A prototype of a virtual soundwalk tool is described. It was used by the authors during laboratory research conducted in 2014 and 2015 and developed further in 2017. The prototype was based on partial virtual reality reconstruction of visual and aural field recordings. Its potential use is illustrated using a case study of the waterfront promenade in the historical centre of Zadar, Croatia. The future prospects for the method described are debated according to the most recent developments within the field of soundscape research.
Eye-Tracking in the Real World
Authors: Uttley Jim , Simpson James , Qasem Hussain
Published: January 2018

Visual behaviour provides an objective and measurable indication of cognitive processes and perceptions that may otherwise be difficult to assess. The development of eye-tracking technology has allowed the accurate and relatively convenient measurement of visual behaviour. Most research using this technology has been based in a laboratory setting. This is not without good reason, as eye-tracking ‘in the wild'—in real, naturalistic, and outdoor settings—poses logistical and methodological difficulties. One particular limitation that afflicts eye-tracking research, including real-world eye-tracking, is the difficulty in directly attributing attention to what is being looked at. This chapter presents three case studies that illustrate the use of eye-tracking in real-world settings with attempts to overcome this limitation. The chapter concludes by discussing the future direction of eye-tracking research, including how to integrate it with multisensory experiences, its use in conjunction with virtual reality technology, and its implications for urban planning and environmental design.
Virtualizing Network Functions in Software-Defined Networks
Authors: Kaushik Vishal , Sharma Ajay , Tomar Ravi
Published: January 2018

Software-defined networking (SDN) is an emerging network architecture that facilitates the network administrator to control and manage network behavior dynamically. Different from traditional networks, software-defined networks support dynamic and scalable computing. The dynamic behavior is achieved by decoupling or disassociating the system. The swing of control from tightly bound individual networks to assessable computing devices enables infrastructure abstraction. Due to the abstraction, the network can be considered as a logical or virtual entity. In this chapter, relation between network function virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) has been outlined. This chapter focuses on describing the pros and cons of NFV technologies. network functions virtualization (NFV) was founded under the work of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).
Introduction to OpenFlow
Authors: Jaiswal Mohit Kumar
Published: January 2018

The SDN controller is interfaced with the hardware of the network (i.e., with switches and routers) using OpenFlow. Basically, OpenFlow is an open interface used for configuring the forwarding tables of network switch according to the desired path derived by the SDN controller. OpenFlow enables more innovation in controller platforms and applications, and describes a solution for each frame or packet flow. OpenFlow is based on an ethernet switch with an internal flow-table and a standardized interface to add and remove flow entries of forwarding table of the system. The control mechanism from each one of the switch and router up to SDN controller are encrypted with the transport layer security (TLS) and secure socket layer (SSL) OpenFlow protocols to provide the additional security inside the network.
NFV Practical Implementation
Authors: Pandey Lalit
Published: January 2018

This chapter is focused on the traditional network architecture limitations with NFV benefits. Discussion of NFV architecture and framework as well as management and orchestration has been discussed in this chapter. Cisco VNF portfolio and virtual network functions implementation is included with software implementation of the architecture of NFV (network function virtualization). Management and orchestration functional layers as per ETSI standard. The challenges in NFV implementation is also a concern today, which is a part of this chapter.
Learning With Software-Defined Area
Authors: Tiwari Anurag , Gupta Suneet
Published: January 2018

The idea of software-defined networking (SDN) is a paradigm shift in computer networking. There are various advantages of SDN (e.g., network automation, fostering innovation in network using software, minimizing the CAPEX and OPEX cost with minimizing the power consumption in the network). SDN is one of the recently developed network-driven methodologies where the core of all lower-level services is operated by one centralized device. Developers tried to develop such approaches to make it easy for an administrator to control information flow from one node to another node. To obtain these services, lower-level static architecture is decoupled for the higher level. This chapter introduces a new approach that is based on complex network processing and forecasting for an event.
Journalism in the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Canavilhas João
Published: January 2018

Transmedia content has been the subject of several studies in the field of fiction, sustaining relative unanimity about the characteristics that this kind of content should have. In the field of journalism, the situation is fairly different due to its particular specificities. Multimedia, intermedia, or cross-media are often wrongly used as synonymous of transmedia, although there are important differences between all these concepts. In part, this misunderstanding is motivated by the fact that all of them relate to convergence processes in journalism, but a more detailed analysis allows us to find differences, highlighting transmedia as the most complete concept. This chapter proposes a framework that can support journalists in the production of transmedia contents that conveniently explore the characteristics of the involved media, using formats and languages that better fit the story, and enabling the user to engage in the interpretation, change, and distribution of these contents.
A Matter of Time
Authors: Pase André Fagundes , Goss Bruna Marcon , Tietzmann Roberto
Published: January 2018

Among all factors that compose the journalistic routine, time plays an important role. It delimitates the period to produce content. Transmedia projects often need a faster pace than usual articles, mostly because the reporters need to plan before they leave newsrooms to capture content and, depending on the media used, work on different platforms to deliver the whole content. This chapter discusses the process behind three transmedia journalistic cases: Black Hawk Down (published by Philadelphia Enquirer, in 1997), Inside Disaster (released by PTV, in 2010), and Harvest of Change (published by Des Moines Register, in 2014). Using the case study method, they will be discussed, analyzing the process behind their publication. This reflection highlights how the adoption of tools and usage of paths to connect or publicize content on different media increased the relevance not only of time to create but the effort dedicated to plan the transmedia strategy.
Representation in Architecture as Idea, Physical Model, 3D Modeling, BIM
Authors: Empler Tommaso
Published: January 2018

This chapter describes that representation in architecture has over time been evolving, moving from the concept of idea to physical model to digital model and today to BIM. Historically, from the Renaissance onwards, physical models have been used to document the project, in an effort to make the project more comprehensible to clients and more easily interpretable by those who execute it. A step to 3D modeling has been the most recent change, recording data inside a computer, where the model is made up of geometrical entities. With this advancement, each one has a precise position, size and relation to other elements. The evolution of 3D modeling led to a computer-controlled output (CAM). In order to better understand the CAD/CAM procedure, reference is made to the design path followed by Gehry, a forerunner in using this kind of procedure, from the “Barcelona” Fish to the latest work, where we can find BIM solutions. Thanks to 3D modeling and BIM, the project today has acquired a new central role, implicitly entails the need of sharing the information support (model and database) among those involved in processes affecting the whole building life cycle.
Dynamic Generative Systems
Authors: Chiarella Mauro , Costa Matias Dalla
Published: January 2018

This chapter describes that in recent decades, international architecture has used complex geometric systems and experimented widely with building form in an attempt to integrate new concepts and technological tools into spatial exploration. These design processes put forward non-linear multiplicity as an alternative to traditional design methods. The forms and spaces conceived arise out of design approaches whose results are more characteristic of the process itself than of the adoption of compositional categories (order, type, element) or functional-rational categories (system, typology, structure). Parametric design is an algorithmic mathematical technique that enables the user to alter determined characteristics of the model at any point in the process without having to recalculate other characteristics that would be affected by such changes. Dynamic generative systems are a vehicle for thought that can be modified and interrelated over time. Their principles are closer to dynamic performance, contextual adaptability and interface and open processes than to the definition of simple finished objects
Interaction and Intersection Between Digital Modelling and Design in Architecture
Authors: Vanossi Andrea
Published: January 2018

Parametric modeling, usually considered modeling tools, has been analyzed in this chapter in a different way: as design tools for architect. First the use of parametric design has been considered from different approaches. Starting from the approach of Kas Oosterhuis Architect, in the Saltwater pavilion (1997), or Peter Cook Architect in the Kunsthaus (2003), in which the parametric tools have been used as shapes generation tools. Until the approach of the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, in the Sunny Hills building (2013), where the parametric tools have been used to rethink traditional construction techniques in a parametric way, known as chidori. After the analysis of the different parametric approaches, a new perception on the architectural design will be provided. In particular, the analytic way and the creative way, are usually separated in the architectural design, and it will enhance their interaction, in some cases, they become the same thing. This approach makes explicit and evaluable parts of the design process, reducing the gap between concept and goal in the design.
The Future is Analog
Authors: Gourdoukis Dimitris
Published: January 2018

This chapter traces the parallel development of the concept of standardization in architecture and of the idea of the architect as an artist / individual. The juxtaposition between the two goes back to Leon Batista Alberti, underlines modern architecture and reaches the current day where it still defines two different approaches for the production of architectural form through with the aid of digital media. The chapter proposes a third direction that breaks free from the dialectical opposition of the two and follows Deleuze's idea of the analog as a way to operate through modulation. That new direction is illustrated through an example in digital fabrication.
Representation, Design, and Management of Generative Algorithms for Architecture
Authors: Lo Turco Massimiliano , Pagliero Yoseph Bausola
Published: January 2018

This chapter critically analyses free-form generative parametric design techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of VPL (Visual Programming Language) systems, applied to existing high-geometric/formal complexity artefacts. The paneling of the South facade of the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris, designed by J. Nouvel, was chosen as a case history. This is to examine how through a complex kinematic modelling, the sunshine of indoor environments can be effectively controlled. The chapter focuses on reproduction, through reverse engineering techniques of the façade-type panel, through the most widely-used VPL platforms that determine algorithmic relationships. The generative parametric algorithms developed for the IMA Moucharabieh, indicate that identical rules can govern different geometries; in contrast, identical geometries can arise from completely different algorithmic formulae. Finally, the integration with the most widely-used BIM applications, is used to critically evaluate interoperable workflows.
Parametric Morphogenesis, Robotic Fabrication, and Construction of Novel Stereotomic Hypar Morphologies
Authors: Fallacara Giuseppe , Barberio Maurizio
Published: January 2018

The chapter explains the studies the New Fundamentals Research Group is carrying out on the digital update of stereotomy. Between the various experiments, the chapter focuses on the group or prototypes designed by the geometry of the hyperbolic paraboloid, both at the macro (architectural organism) and micro scale (architectural elements). Several full-scale prototypes have been designed and built, using specific parametric codes, to define the geometrical morphogenesis properties of the built structural morphologies. Consequent theoretical reflections are fully explained.
The Fabrication of “The Cloud”
Authors: Converso Stefano
Published: January 2018

The chapter shows the optimization, rationalization, and design development process of the doubly curved wooden cladding of the main auditorium for the New Congress Center of Rome (mostly known as “the cloud”: “la nuvola”), designed by Massimiliano Fuksas, and completed in 2016. The author has been hired by the subcontractors to perform the design development of the original project and to develop a precise geometry of tessellation and a strategy for fabricating efficiently the wooden panels and the corresponding metal substructure of the cladding surfaces by preparing the geometry for direct CNC fabrication of both for a total amount of approximately 4,800 unique interior panels and 2,400 unique exterior panels. The optimization process of geometry has been conducted in parallel on rebuilding the original surface for curvature continuity and on verifying local conditions through custom tools developed within Rhinoceros to control and generate several tessellation options and compute dynamically the deformation of panels.
Energy/Form/Rule
Authors: Giostra Simone
Published: January 2018

After nearly three decades since their first appearance in architectural practice, digital design tools are increasingly pervasive in nearly every aspect of the profession and throughout the building life cycle, from project development to construction administration to demolition and recycling. While an integrated approach to building information management is becoming the key to winning projects, the creative attitude of an earlier generation of computational designers is being quickly replaced by new tools and protocols geared toward achieving efficiency targets and boosting profitability. The author reflects on the evolving nature of the digital practice and the potential for a new generation of architects to resolve diverging aspirations towards creative freedom and efficient use of resources. The chapter draws on a few experimental projects by the author that combine traditional design tools with computational techniques to explore a direct correlation between building form and energy performance while forging a new vocabulary for sustainable design.
An Inventory of Employment Protection Legislation in France
Authors: Charmettant Hervé
Published: January 2018

This chapter presents an inventory of the employment protection legislation (EPL) in France. As shown by the OECD indicators, legal provisions have met with an overall stability since the 1980s, despite some reforms weighing in favor of flexibility. Simultaneously, France has been faced with a high rate of unemployment, especially long-term unemployment, as well as with a phenomenon of dualization of its job market. Precariousness remains limited to a part of workers whose situation tends, however, to worsen. This twofold observation leads us to the conclusion that current employment protection is relatively powerless, with a bleak future. Therefore, an adaptation to current circumstances is required, such adaptation being coupled with an improvement of the training system. Flexicurity is the direction that seems unavoidable in order to guide future reforms in France.
Regulating Occupational Health and Safety in EU and China
Authors: Liu Kai
Published: January 2018

Occupational health and safety (OHS) is an important aspect of the labour protection field. This chapter compares OHS legal regimes of China and EU. Comprehensive workplace health and safety legislations of the two systems are described, and the different aspects, including for example, legislative aim, the legislation structure, general obligation, OHS insurance, moral harassment, law enforcement, etc., are detailed. Based on the analysis, conclusions are made and policy recommendations from both legislation aspect and enforcement aspect are provided.
Economic Variations and Their Impact on Labor Legislation Throughout History in Argentina
Authors: Franconi Andrea Isabel
Published: January 2018

Throughout history, Argentina has undergone a series of profound economic variations, which, as such, have produced a strong impact on labor legislation and social security. The access key in Argentina to labour law protection is the existence of a relationship of dependence. This turns to be an inclusive and exclusive condition because it divides strictly the labour market and the labour force inherent in two different areas, namely, the subordinate workers (who are included in the labour protection system) and the rest of the employees, including among the latest, the ones involved in non-typical forms of employment contracts. For such purposes, it is important to analyze different periods of time, selecting the more significant ones to see the evolution of Argentinean labour legislation. It is also relevant to describe the consequences caused by economic and political variations on collective bargaining in order to understand the composition of the actual labour force in Argentina.
Brazil's Employment Regulation and Outsourcing
Authors: Sivolella Roberta Ferme
Published: January 2018

This chapter analyzes the evolution of employment regulation in Brazil in order to understand the current moment that it is experiencing. In the current political, economic, and social crisis scenario, the protection system, which is historically valid and justified by the intense social inequalities, is questioned as the country is trying to deal with the urgencies of a big economic downturn without trust of local and international investors in internal market. An intensely advanced legal and judicial system in terms of constitutional principles and guarantees faces a number of structural problems that affect its effectiveness, while at the same time, in the middle of the scenario, the effectiveness and immediacy of the legal and judicial solutions becomes urgent. This chapter finally aims to analyze, in a historical and systematic way, and through statistical data related to employability, GDP and litigation linked to the subject of labor relations, how this Latin “giant” stands and seeks the solution between proposals for legislative reform.
Workforce Trends and Challenges
Authors: Joshi Mihir
Published: January 2018

In this chapter, the author has reviewed the human workforce of the previous generations by taking into account the features and characteristics of the workforce, which is getting older. The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate the future of the current workforce. The future generation is still unexplored, but it is clear that the coming generation will be a blend of advanced technology and ultra-advanced simulations. The coming years will introduce more advanced artificial intelligence into the workforce that will not just be cognitively intelligent in a retrospective way but also emotionally intelligent. The future human workforce will face a challenge to maintain the requisite skill sets to cope with the constant change.
The Elements of Work Environment
Authors: Pavlovic Nebojsa
Published: January 2018

One of the biggest issues facing every organization is how to keep and recruit skilled employees. This chapter deals with work environment because there is a widespread belief that it is one of the most significant factors affecting the development of job satisfaction. The goal of this chapter is to dig deeper into the important factors that exert influence on a positive work environment. The author uses meta-analysis to assesses primary sources, which are believed to contain necessary information about certain terms that describe work environment. The results of the research indicate that a positive work environment is closely connected to employee satisfaction. It is incumbent upon managers and leaders to intensively work on improving a workplace for every employee. Further research is necessary because of the dynamics of organizational structure and inevitable, rapid technological changes. This means that managers have to put in an enormous effort so as to produce in-depth analyses of their work environments and to determine how to improve them.
Thinking Globally, Leading Locally
Authors: Singh Gursimranjit , Singh Priyanka , Singh Maninder
Published: January 2018

Global leadership effectiveness has become one of the major issues in human resource management. It is very important for cross-cultural managers to take into consideration the paradigm shift in the business world, keeping in mind the opportunity for organizational growth and individual development. The key issue that the present corporate leaders have to face is to formulate action plans to tackle diversity in the workforce covering the broader spectrum of dimensions, vis-à-vis, ethnicity, age, gender, educational background, economic status, marital status, and skill sets. Since the corporate environment is greatly accelerated by the globalization and advancements in technology, global leaders need to attain a set of competencies that would facilitate them to realize their vision and thus enhance their performance efficiency and competitiveness. The chapter deals with the specific paradigms of the leadership styles and the management of workforce diversity so as to establish the linkages between leadership style and diversity management.
Developing Strategic Leadership in the Indian Context
Authors: Gupta Minisha
Published: January 2018

With intense competition, it has become quite challenging for organizations to continuously create and innovate. Since leadership has been identified as an effective key factor in attaining sustainable competitive edge, there remains a lack of research to assess the role of leadership most likely to cause creativity and innovation. This chapter tries to conceptualize the impact of developing strategic leadership in Indian organizations. This has a significant impact on organizational creativity and innovation. Firms facing recession need to develop their leaders as strategic leaders who can generate a positive wave in the organization, provide direction to employees, generate genuine interest among employees to learn and grow. Strategic leaders develop commitment among employees by providing a vision and goal to them. They think strategically and frame policies as per employees' needs and expectations. This study demonstrates the impact of strategic leadership style to generate creativity and innovation among their subordinates.
Human Resource Management in Indian Microfinance Institutions
Authors: Das Richa
Published: January 2018

Over the years, microfinance has assumed a great importance all over the world. The reason behind the increasing importance of microfinance in poverty alleviation is considered a prime objective in all developing and underdeveloped countries. Traditionally, MFIs did not have a defined HR policy or structure, since the size of the organization was always very small. The last few years have seen an upswing in the size of the organizations and also in the margins generated by MFIs. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the human resource management issues and challenges faced in microfinance industry in India.
A Microanalysis of Text's Interactional Functions in Text-and-Voice SCMC Chat for Language Learning
Authors: Nguyen Hanh thi , Vicentini Cristiane , Langevin André
Published: January 2018

This chapter analyzes the functions of the text mode in an SCMC English tutoring session. Conversation analysis of the sequential and holistic unfolding of both text and voice turns reveals that the bimodal text-and-voice mode was employed in repair, Initiation-Response-Feedback, assessment, and topical talk sequences. Within these sequences, text turns often reinforced voice turns to focus on language forms but also sometimes contributed to rapport-building. In addition to supporting voice turns, text turns also performed distinct actions in conjunction with the actions in the voice turns such as initiating repair, presenting language examples as objects for consideration, achieving humor, and signaling discourse structure. The findings shed light on the interactional processes in bimodal SCMC for second language teaching and learning.
Understanding the Value of Website Design and Analysis in a Comprehensive CALL Environment
Authors: Roy Debopriyo
Published: January 2018

Website design, analysis, and related critical thinking in a CALL context are rather unique. This chapter presents an in-depth exploration of how website analysis and design pedagogy could help support analytical thinking and English language production in an EFL context. The study investigated if students could analyze English websites and comprehend and produce responses in English for eight open-ended questions, divided into two sets of design and inference-based queries. Additionally, students answered a questionnaire on their own awareness about the use of metacognitive reading strategies during website analysis and questionnaire responses. Results have demonstrated the reasonable ability for students to answer most design and inference set queries. This chapter also introduces the idea of a project-based CALL environment. This was created through 3D-printing-related processes and in-class design, and manufacturing of digital prototypes of products, that culminated in procedural documentation in a computer-mediated collaborative environment and with related website production.
Designing Interactive Cross-Cultural Mobile-Assisted Language Learning
Authors: Wu Pin-Hsiang Natalie , Marek Michael W.
Published: January 2018

Using communication technology for learning is a path to new patterns of thinking. This chapter examines the affordances provided by using smartphone technology in English for cross-cultural understanding. University students from Japan and Taiwan used the popular app LINE collaboratively for five weeks, culminating in jointly-written essays. Data collection used a survey, open-ended questions, and analysis of the essays. The students saw English as an important international language in which they need competency, strongly favored use of technology to assist language learning, appreciated the study's cross-cultural experience, and found the dynamics of the group to be interesting and motivating. The authors provide four best practices for using LINE and similar applications for English learning: that they be thought of as communication tools, that students need strong support concerning required tasks, that students must understand how tasks using technology benefit them, and that true online communities may include multiple platforms.
MALL and CALL Audiotaped Oral Dialogue Journal From Iranian EFL Learners' and Teachers' Perspectives
Authors: Moladoust Elahe
Published: January 2018

This chapter investigates an effective example of tasks for mobile language learning attempting to mitigate the problem of lack of meaningful oral interaction in face-to-face settings. It examines audiotaped oral dialogue journals (ATODJs) as a MALL and CALL task from the EFL teachers' and learners' perspectives. The data gathered was 202 entries of ATODJs, using Bluetooth or email, from 15 female Iranian intermediate EFL learners. The teachers' and learners' evaluations of the whole program comprised of the qualitative part of the research. The results, a result of content analysis, revealed the merits, demerits, and challenges faced by the teacher and learners: ATODJs aided the learners to produce output, were effective for tasks concerning interaction and negotiation, involved meaningful interaction, involved the learners to a great extent, were fluency tasks, and assisted language learners' identity reconstruction. EFL teachers and materials developers are highly recommended to incorporate ATODJs into the language learning curriculum.
Moving Towards an Ecological View of Second Language Learning in Multiplayer Online Games
Authors: Zhao Jinjing
Published: January 2018

Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) are perceived to afford informal, contextualized L2 interaction. While earlier CALL research examined MMOGs as a tool for interaction and negotiation, more recent research is moving towards a game-as-ecology view, showing that L2 learning in MMOGs is a complex, interconnected, and dynamic process that is highly contingent on context. This chapter presents an ethnographic study of informal ESL learning mediated by multiplayer gameplay. Drawing on data from questionnaires, interviews, gaming sessions, and gaming journals, the author argues that L2 learners, when playing MMOGs at their own discretion, engage with those game discourses that align with their preferences of gameplay and goals of language learning. The study presented here adds to the growing evidence that affordances of MMOGs must be understood in relation to the learner's history, ability, and preference within the social context of gameplay. These components are interconnected and change dynamically in a coherent learning-gaming ecology.
A Methodological Approach to Analyzing Digital Game-Based FL Use and Learning
Authors: Ibrahim Karim Hesham Shaker
Published: January 2018

The potential of digital gaming to facilitate foreign language (FL) learning has been established in many empirical investigations; however, the pedagogical implications of these investigations remain rather limited. A potential reason for this limitation is that the FL learning potential of digital games is embedded in the gaming ecology and shaped by different forces in that ecology. However, to date most empirical studies in the field have focused primarily on the linguistic behavior of gamers rather than the gaming ecology. A potential reason for this is the lack of a robust methodological approach to examining game-based language use as an ecological, multidimensional activity. To address this research gap, this chapter proposes the diamond reconstruction model, a dynamic, multidimensional, and ecology-sensitive approach to de- and re-constructing game-based FL use. Grounded in theories of gameplay, and informed by a conceptual model of game-based FL use, the model reconstructs gameplay episodes by gathering detail-rich data on social, cognitive, and virtual dimensions.
Teaching Grammar in Virtual Worlds
Authors: Kruk Mariusz
Published: January 2018

The main aims of the chapter are to investigate the use of ActiveWorlds (AW) for teaching the English simple present tense as compared to traditional instruction and to find out the difference between the use of AW and traditional teaching when it comes to individual students. In the theoretical part, issues concerning virtual worlds are highlighted and some germane studies are discussed. The empirical part presents the outcome of the quasi-experimental study. It comprised three lessons and two groups of Polish senior high school students: the experimental group was subjected to instruction in AW and the control group was taught in a traditional way. The data were obtained by means of grammar tests and a post-questionnaire. The results show that both groups benefited from the instruction they received; however, the experimental learners' retention of the said grammar item turned out to be much superior when compared with the controls. In addition, the experimental students expressed more positive opinions on the lessons. Implications and future research directions are also offered.
Automatically Augmenting Academic Text for Language Learning
Authors: Wu Shaoqun , Fitzgerald Alannah , Witten Ian H. , Yu Alex
Published: January 2018

This chapter describes the automated FLAX language system (flax.nzdl.org) that extracts salient linguistic features from academic text and presents them in an interface designed for L2 students who are learning academic writing. Typical lexico-grammatical features of any word or phrase, collocations, and lexical bundles are automatically identified and extracted in a corpus; learners can explore them by searching and browsing, and inspect them along with contextual information. This chapter uses a single running example, the PhD abstracts corpus of 9.8 million words derived from the open access Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS) at the British Library, but the approach is fully automated and can be applied to any collection of English writing. Implications for reusing open access publications for non-commercial educational and research purposes are presented for discussion. Design considerations for developing teaching and learning applications that focus on the rhetorical and lexico-grammatical patterns found in the abstract genre are also discussed.
A Community-Driven Mobile System to Support Foreign Language Learning
Authors: Palomo-Duarte Manuel , Berns Anke , Cejas Alberto , Dodero Juan Manuel , Caballero-Hernández Juan Antonio , Ruiz-Rube Iván
Published: January 2018

The acquisition of foreign language competencies has become one of the main concerns of current ICT educational policies. Mobile smart devices allow teachers to provide students with personalized learning environments in line with their needs. However, most of the available apps, especially in the area of foreign language learning, still focus on form-based learning supporting mainly one-way interaction. In this chapter, the authors designed a learning system based on a dynamic, asynchronous and constructive learning approach. The chapter illustrates how the system helped students to get involved in their learning process by creating, sharing, and assessing their own learning resources and how teachers could benefit from students' logs to retrieve indicators for assessment processes. Finally, two algorithms that guide students' learning processes are compared: the first algorithm is based on community-driven behaviour, the second one on students' individual behaviour. Results show that both algorithms provide similar outcomes.
A Research on Students' Perceptions on a B-Learning English Environment to Improve Written Skills
Authors: Pinto-Llorente Ana María , Sánchez-Gómez Mª Cruz , García-Peñalvo Francisco José
Published: January 2018

The aim of the chapter is to explore university students' perceptions about the effectiveness of interactive and collaborative tools to improve written skills in a blended-learning environment. Based on this goal, a mixed methods research approach was adopted to enhance the mutual invigoration of the two types of methods, and the validity and reliability of data. Three-hundred-fifty-eight learners participated in the quantitative study and 91 in the qualitative one. All of them were enrolled in the subject English I. The instruments used to collect data were two tests and semi-structured interviews. The findings suggested students' positive perspective towards the possibilities offered by online glossaries, online quizzes, wikis, and forums to improve written skills and foster effective written communication in different contexts. It highlights their potentiality to create a learning community in which students could participate actively in the construction of knowledge, abandoning their passive role as simple observers.
An Empirical Study of the Indian IT Sector on Typologies of Workaholism as Predictors of HR Crisis
Authors: Pandey Shivani
Published: January 2018

Workaholism, in recent years, has become a regular behaviour pattern among professionals. While self-negligence is assumed as a hallmark of workaholism, empirical data in this case stands to be both narrow and paradoxical. Modern developments like high-speed data connections add more to this belief, as this makes it possible for employees who would like to work at any place and at any given point of time to work. Workaholism is found to affect several important domains of life. With regards to work domain, workaholics commonly seem to have poor associations with their peer/colleagues, most likely on the grounds that they often feel the need to control them and experience issues with delegating work. Given that the amount of time they invested in their work leaves little energy for them for other activities, also the social life outside work gets hampered. This chapter explores the relationship between workaholism, perceived work-related stress, different job conditions, and intensifying anxiety among IT professionals in Delhi/NCR.
Determinants of Job Satisfaction and Its Impact on Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment of Employees
Authors: Singh Anita , Singh Lata Bajpai
Published: January 2018

This chapter aims to identify different factors of job satisfaction responsible for different types of commitment (i.e. affective, continuance, and normative commitment among the employees of IT organizations). The primary data was collected from 401 respondents of IT organizations using validated scales on organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify different factors of job satisfaction and scale reliability of organizational commitment scale. The reliability and validity of all the constructs were further done through confirmatory factor analysis. Then related hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling through AMOS 21.0. Three factors of job satisfaction were extracted, namely growth opportunities and management practices, working condition, and fair treatment. Growth opportunities and management practices are the prominent reasons for affective commitment, whereas fair treatment ensures continuance and normative commitment among the employees of IT organizations with the given sample.
Exploring Discourse and Creativity in Facebook Creative Writing by Non-Native Speakers
Authors: Al-Jarf Reima
Published: January 2018

Facebook and other social media sites have been used by young Arabs for many purposes such as exchanging ideas and information, reporting breaking news, posting special events, launching political campaigns, announcing family gatherings, and sending seasons' greetings. Another emerging type of timeline posts is creative writing in English. Some Arab Facebook users post lines of verse, short anecdotes or points of view, express emotions, personal experiences, and/or inspirational stories or sayings written in literary style. A sample of Facebook creative writing pages/clubs and creative timeline posts was collected and analyzed to find out the forms and themes of creative writing texts. A sample of Facebook Arab creative writers was also surveyed to find out the reasons for their creative writing activities in English. This chapter describes the data collection and analysis procedures and reports results quantitatively and qualitatively. Implications for developing creative writing skills in foreign/second language learners using Facebook and other social media are given.
Not Just a Pretty Face
Authors: Bockarova Mariana
Published: January 2018

The primary focus of the studies on adult beauty pageants involves their creation, negotiation, and implication vis-à-vis national and/or political identity within the pageant industry; or else they examine national pageants which are primarily scholarship-based. The present chapter is an attempt to understand the many psychological costs that come from practicing beauty within the realm of pageantry, and the rationale behind entering into an expensive venture for which there is little to gain, but much to lose emotionally. It will address two main questions: What are the physical and emotional (or metaphysical) costs of entering into and, later, winning, a beauty pageant? Who enters into beauty pageants and why? The objective is to examine the incentive to publicly parade oneself against dozens of other women, at the risk of simply being dismissed at the hands of quasi-objective opinion.
Riddle of the Sphinx Revisited
Authors: Marks-Tarlow Terry
Published: January 2018

Myth is a universal conveyor of culture whose stories capture the human heart and whose embodied set of guidelines serve to conduct everyday life. When Freud added the Oedipus myth to his theory of psychosexual development, his method of psychoanalysis subsequently launched worldwide. Whereas Freud viewed the myth of Oedipus quite literally as a prohibition against infanticide, patricide, and incest, this chapter views the myth more metaphorically to examine how the riddle of the Sphinx informs self-referential thinking as a collective stage of human consciousness. Two contemporary theoretical lenses are adopted: 1) interpersonal neurobiology, which proposes that mind, brain, and body develop from relational origins, and 2) second-order cybernetics, which examines how observers become entangled in their very processes under observation. From within these perspectives, the Sphinx's riddle appears as a paradox of self-reference whose solution requires humankind to leap from concrete to metaphorical thinking. Only upon retaining recursive loops in consciousness can humans attain full self-reflection as a beacon towards full actualization.
Meaning in the Age of Big Data
Authors: Nadin Mihai
Published: January 2018

The most fascinating semiotic applications of recent years came not from semioticians but from those who practice semiotics without knowing they do so (what the author calls the Monsieur Jourdain syndrome). Military and surveillance applications, genome sequencing, and the practice of phenotyping are immediate examples. The entire domain of digital computation, now settled in the big data paradigm, provides further proof of this state of affairs. After everything was turned into a matter of gamification, it is now an exercise in data acquisition (as much as possible) and processing at a scale never before imagined. The argument made in this chapter is that semiotic awareness could give to science and technology, in the forefront of human activity today, a sense of direction. Moreover, meaning, which is the subject matter of semiotics, would ground the impressive achievements we are experiencing within a context of checks-and-balances. In the absence of such a critical context, the promising can easily become the menacing. To help avoid digital dystopia, semiotics itself will have to change.
Orders of Experience
Authors: Rambhajan Aaron
Published: January 2018

Does art tend towards immersion? Positing James Turrell's Roden Crater (2015) as the modern epitome of the landscape art-object, the evolution of the medium is traced through prominent examples its transformations: Titian's Venus and the Organist with Dog (1550), De Loutherbourg's Eidophusikon (1781), and Barker's Panorama (1792). Discussion regarding Roden Crater's predecessors serve to illustrate distinct innovations that greatly influenced its construction of sensory experience, spanning the use of dialogue to the integration of physicality. This chronology is used to demonstrate an overarching tendency of media towards immersion, and to reflect how the development of contemporary culture evolves towards progressively psychological experiences.