bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Les soubresauts de l'imagination : Scorsese et le grand texte du cinéma
Authors: Lombardo Patrizia
Published: January 2012

Jolts of the Imagination: Scorsese and Cinema's Great Text

Scorsese's practice of cinematic quotation in his films turn them into a corpus of work which shares with the modern literary work its quality of boundlessness.
La profondeur spéculaire
Authors: Neefs Jacques
Published: January 2012

Specular Depth

The experience of literary works reveals two types of limitlessness, one dependent on the plurality of possible combinations it suggests, the other on the vertigo-inducing specularity it organises through its structure.
Recherches sur la « posture » : Rousseau
Authors: Meizoz Jérôme
Published: January 2012

Studies on "Posture": Rousseau

Alain Viala's concept of "posture" (1993), which designates the subjective way in which a writer occupies a specific position in the literary field, is useful in studying Rousseau's autobiographical urge, as it portrays, in an inaugural move, a writer of modest origins who insists on preserving these origins, by vindicating them with pride, maintaining his financial independence, and high-lighting a nationality at odds with that of his majority public.
Entre bruit et silence : Yves Bonnefoy, Maître de Chapelle ? (esquisses acroamatiques)
Authors: Quillier Patrick
Published: January 2012

Between Noise and Silence: Yves Bonnefoy Kappelmeister? ' (Acroamatic Sketches)

Bonnefoy's work presents many "acousmates", or sounds for which no objective cause can be found, of different order: philosophical echoes, but also inchoate sounds from the body. Attention to the latter allows a reader's ear to detect a poet in the various tasks of the Kappelmeister, working to disengage words from excess networks of meaning.
De l'empêchement lyrique de la nouvelle : nouvelle et livret d'opéra
Authors: Ozwald Thierry
Published: January 2012

Of the Lyrical Hitch to the Novella: Short Stories and Opera Librettos

A number of opera librettos are adapted from short stories, or from failed novels, that is novels which do not attain polyphony and stay at the level of the novella, whose essence is the confrontation of mimetic doubles. For opera -but not librettos - transcends the material of the novella, much as does a good novel (but differently).
Vie imaginaire et poétique du roman au XIXe siècle : la Notice biographique de Louis Lambert
Authors: Gefen Alexandre
Published: January 2012

"Louis Lambert's Biographical Note": Genesis of the Genre of the Imaginary Life and Poetics of the Novel in the 19th Century

In the 19th century, biography lost much of its rhetorical uses to the historical approach; and in France, it subsumed the individual under the collective. "Louis Lambert", as its initial title shows, respects the new norm of biography, while tending towards myth; yet it defends the individual and is as such literary.
Une année amoureuse de Virginia Woolf, ou la Fiction biographique multipliée
Authors: Dion Robert
Published: January 2012

"Une année amoureuse" de Virginia Woolf, or Biographical Fiction Multiplied

Christine Duhon's novel, which is a work of fiction based on the verifiable and reliably used biography of an author of fiction, serves to test a hypothesis concerning the high degree to which biographical fiction in general, as opposed to fictional biography, constitutes a critical discourse interested in the nature of creative fiction.
L'Éthique du biographique. Réflexions sur une tradition britannique
Authors: Regard Frédéric
Published: January 2012

Ethics of the Biographical: Reflections on a British Genre

French anglicists have not shown much interest in literary biography, or biographies of writers by writers. Yet French criticism in general and Foucault in particular suggest the possibility of understanding the literary biography as an ethical space opened out between two dependent subjectivities, a tool with which to re-read biography differently.
Roman et savoir avant Cervantès
Authors: Kibédi Varga Áron
Published: January 2012

Novel and Knowledge before Cervantes

Traditional narratives, whether epic narratives or romances, testify to a desire to control the passage of time. But closer examination, following Bakhtin, shows that Greek romances are already suffused by irony and by a lingering doubt that time can be vanquished - which is perhaps why Cervantes, criticising arthurian epic in Don Quichotte and imitating romances in Persiles, is a novelist.
Des histoires modèles
Authors: Bardèche Marie-Laure
Published: January 2012

Model (Hi) Stories

Some of both Duras's and Queneau's texts testify to a philosophy of Nature inspired by Greek philosophy and its Hegelian continuation. At issue are the relationships between natural phenomena, historical events, narration, and repetition, while the horizon of the texts, given the way they work with repetition and echoes, is the desire for an end confronted with the inevitability of repetition.
Le déserteur des bas pays
Authors: Vignes Sylvie
Published: January 2012

The "Déserteur" from the Low Country

The sublime is, according to Jean-Luc Nancy, our tradition since Boileau's translation of the pseudo-Longinus, and Giono inscribes himself within it. But for him and his characters the sublime is not transcendental, if it is an aspiration to be on high — it is a material, sensual sublime, in Stendhal's manner, a sublime which can be grasped by the human hand.
Altérité et Animalité dans les Fables de Marie de France
Authors: Bloch R. Howard
Published: January 2012

Otherness and Animality in Marie de France's Fables

Marie de France injects logic in relationships between animals: a logic which unveils the underlying power relation, but also suggests a higher form of rationality linking the strong and the weak in their own best interests, a logic of rationality, its transmissibility, and its pedagogy.
L'énumération et les chiffres : du Roman de la Rose au Tesoretto
Authors: Brusegan Rosanna
Published: January 2012

Enumerations and Numbers: from "the Roman de la Rose" to the "Tesoretto"

Medieval literature's pleasure in lists has to do with the dialectics of variety and unity, of concors discordia, which also commands the interplay of numbers with each other: their symbolic meanings and their relationships also both testify for and put in place such a dialectics.
Parler, penser, voir : le Roman de la Rose et l'étrange
Authors: Nichols Stephen G.
Published: January 2012

To Speak, To Think, To See: "the Roman de la Rose" and the Strange. The "Window" of the Manuscript in the 13th Century

The understanding of language changes in the 1 3th century, as shown in manuscript histories — each is a window onto a particular otherness of the "text" — but also in the text: emerges the idea of a universal structure of any language, and that of language as mediation between vision and knowledge.
Le simulacre du cérémonial : Les Nègres de Jean Genet
Authors: Brown Llewellyn
Published: January 2012

Ceremonial Enacted: Genet's "Les Nègres"

Genet's complex play depends on a double scene — that where whites are judging a black man for the rape and murder of a white woman, and that, invisible, where blacks are judging a black for betrayal — where all actors are actually black and the audience is white; if desire, hate and artifice enact themselves in the relationship between black and white thus set up, nonetheless it is articulated to the possibility of love through the characters of criminal, victim, and traitor.
Dante, science et innocence
Authors: Luzi Mario
Published: January 2012

Dante, Science and Innocence

Why doesn't Dante's poetry age? Because it is both eminently sophisticated (thus modern readings sui generis), yet completely steeped not only in its own time (thus the saw that Dante is essentially medieval) but also in the poet's authentic quest and expression of that quest. Poetry at its birth: both innocent and formidably informed.
Atelier de lecture
Authors: Deguy Michel
Published: January 2012

Creative Reading

What, do we ask despite or in the face of the enormous bibliography which concerns every detail of his work, is left of Dante? Given how different our poetry and our idea of poetry is from his... Dante's cosmology holds through comparison; and comparison is what he has left us with, what we are left with anyway - the true master of correspondences. . .
Ricorditi lettor : vision, imagination, mémoire
Authors: Graziani Françoise
Published: January 2012

"Ricorditi lettor" Vision, Imagination, Memory

The opening lines of the 17th Canto of "Purgatory", at the exact centre of "The Divine Comedy", ask the reader to remember what it is like when the sun disperses a mountain fog, so as to understand Dante's vision. Remembering a physical experience enables the reader to understand the poet's flash of imagination.
Dante, Léonard de Vinci... et après
Authors: Machiedo Mladen
Published: January 2012

Dante, Leonard de Vinci... And After

Dante could not say what he had not seen, and his work develops a theory of the relationship between poetry and vision that is also part of the "dolce stil nuovo". Similar problems will recur over the centuries, particularly with Leonardo da Vinci, in representative figures - until today's (over?) - abundance of riches.
Parmi les ombres. Chateaubriand et Dante
Authors: Costadura Edoardo
Published: January 2012

Among the Shadows. Chateaubriand and Dante

Dante for Chateaubriand exists along three axes: as object of literary criticism (where a marked evolution appears), as a figure of projection for the poet's ego, and finally as a compositional inspiration for Chateaubriand's own memories from beyond the grave — where many figures from the Divine comedy have their transpositions.
Romantiques ou romanesques ? Situer les romans de George Sand
Authors: Zanone Damien
Published: January 2012

Damien Zanone

Romantic Worlds or Worlds of Romance? Placing George Sand's Novels

In the thirties, Sand still applies romantique mainly to settings, while romanesque is both a psychological and literary term; thirty years later, romantique has come to mean romanesque, but connects to the literary thirties - so Sand uses romanesque to defy the new positivism without seeming passé.
Tocqueville écrivain. Le style dans De la Démocratie en Amérique
Authors: Campion Pierre
Published: January 2012

Tocqueville the Writer: Style in "Of Democracy" in America

Tocqueville's project is properly literary: acknowledging the doxa of equality developing in the modern world, against his own instincts. The resulting style is one of paradox, images and formulae, which adheres to its subject as it thinks it through.
L'apolitique de Maupassant
Authors: Dubreuil Laurent
Published: January 2012

Apolitics of Maupassant

Maupassant's reputation for "Frenchness" neglects his rejection of politics for a critique based in aesthetics and the individual, which makes say an anti- Semitic reading of the "Horla" impossible.
Autonomie de la vision et poésie de la ville. La prose blanche de Laforgue
Authors: Geinoz Philippe
Published: January 2012

Autonomy of Vision and Poetics of the City: Laforgue's "White Prose"

Laforgue' s title for Paris' lament is one of three where the first word is not "lament"; and its subtitle "white prose" signals Laforgue's knowledge of contemporary art, rather than simply alludes to "blank verse" - "white verse" in French.
Se taire à la limite. Conversation et intériorité dans Les petits chevaux de Tarquinia de Marguerite Duras
Authors: Xanthos Nicolas
Published: January 2012

Say Nothing When Things Verge. Conversation and Interiority in Marguerite Duras' "Little Horses of Tarquinia"

For Duras, language cannot explicit interiority, and to be avoided if one has to say what cannot be said. Meanwhile, it gets said anyway, through language use rather than in language.
De Buffon à Danton: « l'Homme même » et les cas d'espèce
Authors: Brasart Patrick
Published: January 2012

From Buffon to Danton: "Man Himself and Individual Cases

Danton, stealing a phrase from Buffon, considered the Revolution to deal only in species, not individuals; yet Danton, like Mirabeau, had a highly individual style, in a period of political cant. Another remark of Buffon' s — "style is Man Himself — clarifies things: for style for Buffon is like the unity of Nature, which produces multiplicities of individual species.
Lire à trois cents yeux. Réponses à treize questions de Jean-Marie Thomasseau
Authors: Novarina Valère
Published: January 2012

Reading With Three Hundred Eyes

Answers to thirteen questions from Jean-Marie Thomasseau

Contemporary theatrical writing is in its death throes, precisely through a surfeit of language; for the role of the theatrical performance is to resurrect the text, to get it read through three hundred eyes, to return to the spatial and visible character of language, of the theatrical text when such is, as it is supposed to be, the point of its performance.
Aux frontières de la mise en scène
Authors: Pavis Patrice
Published: January 2012

At the Limits of "Mise-en-Scène"

Because theatre seems to have experimented every scenic possibility, it seems to want itself closer to reading. But however minimalist the staging, any performed reading supposes some staging — reminding us that the Anglo-Saxon tradition speaks of performance where the Continental one speaks of theatricality, and that ultimately neither can be completely independent of the other.
Nausée de Venise
Authors: Jenny Laurent
Published: January 2012

Yenitian Nausea

Sartre's attachment to Venice is deep, enduring — and mysterious. For everything about Sartre seems opposed to Venice — and in point of fact, in Venice Sartre found the possibility of changing existential project, of being an-other Sartre, of writing, with great use of metaphor, the counter-nausea which is La reine Albermarle ou le dernier touriste, before getting out, and back to The Communists and peace.
L'Entre-moi : Le Horla de Maupassant, ou un monde sans frontières
Authors: Wickhorst Kiernan Katherine D.
Published: January 2012

The Entre-Moi: Maupassant's Horla, or a World Without Borders

The Horla deals with the difficulty of knowing who one is, and explores possible solutions through writing, which yields the differentiation of self into writer and reader, integrating thereby the temporal issue of the problem. But it is no solution to the real and present writer's predicament concerning his self now and there.
L'immeuble, la case vide, le roman
Authors: Chung Ye Young
Published: January 2012

The Apartment Building, the Empty Slot, the Novel

Perec or Robbe-Grillet use the architectural figure of the building textually, in a manner that shows that novelistic meaning depends on a missing slot, mirror image of a surplus, as Deleuze would say; such work leads to reconsidering buildings in 19th century works of Balzac, Zola, or Brontë - where "extra" but "empty" rooms figure prominently.
Sociocritique, rhétorique, pragmatique : le cas Vallès
Authors: Migozzi Jacques
Published: January 2012

Socio-criticism, Rhetoric, Pragmatics: the Vallès Case

In searching for tools for the study of Vallès' s trilogy, and developing such a study, the necessary convergence of two disciplines which have developed in suspicious parallel to each other, the study of argumentation in discourse

or the new rhetoric, and socio-criticism, has appeared and now appears

essential.
Approche statistique européenne de la culture
Authors: Deroin Valérie
Published: January 2012

Résumé Sous l’égide d’Eurostat, l’Office statistique de l’Union européenne, le réseau du système statistique européen sur la culture (ESSnet-Culture) a dirigé, de 2009 à 2011, quatre groupes de travail consacrés à la définition du cadre statistique de référence, au financement de la culture et aux dépenses culturelles, à la mesure des secteurs culturels et de l’emploi, et enfin aux pratiques culturelles et à leurs aspects sociaux. La définition de la culture, la prise en compte de ses différentes dimensions, la question de la mesure des activités culturelles ont été des questions préalables à l’exercice de mesure et de comparaison statistiques. ESSnet formule plusieurs recommandations méthodologiques pour garantir une meilleure comparabilité des statistiques culturelles entre États membres. Publié conjointement dans la collection « Culture méthodes », Conceptualisation statistique du champ de la culture revient sur les différentes nomenclatures statistiques existantes en France, en Europe et à l’échelon international, en précise les principes d’emboîtement, et vient compléter utilement la présente synthèse des travaux européens.
La guerre du Golfe ou l'introduction des moyens spatiaux dans l'art de la guerre
Authors: de Maack Marie-Madeleine
Published: January 2012

Résumé Desert Shield et Desert Storm sont les premières opérations à montrer avec éclat la valeur opérationnelle des systèmes spatiaux en faisant intervenir une gamme variée de satellites à la fois civils, militaires et commerciaux, et cela, dès la phase de planification. L’utilisation de ressources spatiales a pris alors une place tout à fait originale dans les opérations avec la révélation de leur potentiel d’« amplificateurs d’efficacité ». Cette guerre a ainsi mis en lumière le passage, révolutionnaire, d’une utilisation de niveau stratégique à une utilisation de niveau opératif et a ainsi indiqué qu’une utilisation de niveau tactique était, à terme, si ce n’est faisable, du moins envisageable. Elle a eu ainsi l’effet d’un catalyseur, accélérant le processus qui a conduit à un élargissement des missions dévolues aux satellites et qui a constitué l’événement générateur d’une doctrine spatiale menant vers une nouvelle manière de faire la guerre.
Europe politique : un espoir est-il raisonnable ?
Authors: Richard Alain
Published: January 2012

La crise européenne est d’abord le fruit des difficultés économiques et de leurs effets sociaux. Le projet européen d’une prospérité croissante et partagée est désormais vu avec défiance par les opinions publiques. À cela s’ajoute une gouvernance complexe depuis les élargissements de la précédente décennie. Un esprit collectif européen peut renaître du désir d’un rebond économique mais cette revitalisation dépendra beaucoup des élites médiatiques et politiques, ainsi que des nouvelles générations de citoyens européens.
Zone euro : les responsables de la crise de la dette
Authors: Artus Patrick
Published: January 2012

Qui est responsable de la crise des dettes souveraines ? Les concepteurs mêmes de la zone euro. Puis les gouvernements et la BCE, qui n’ont pas vu les dangers de l’alignement sur le bas des taux d’intérêt. Et les régulateurs des banques, qui ont laissé se coupler dette souveraine et risque bancaire. Les investisseurs enfin, qui ont acquis la dette des pays périphériques au même prix que la dette allemande. Seule une action sur tous ces mécanismes permettra de répondre aux défis de la crise.
L'Occident, exportateur de démocratie
Authors: Battistella Dario
Published: January 2012

Depuis une vingtaine d’années, les interventions militaires occidentales visant à protéger les populations, défendre les libertés fondamentales ou rétablir la démocratie se sont multipliées. Si elles sont facilitées et légitimées par une relecture du droit international, leurs racines idéologiques sont profondes et remontent au moins à la période des conquistadores . L’imposition de la démocratie par la force risque pourtant d’échouer, comme le montre l’exemple de l’Afghanistan.
Une démocratisation aux couleurs de la Chine
Authors: Frenkiel Émilie
Published: January 2012

Les élites intellectuelles du pays s’accordent sur un horizon politique démocratique pour la Chine. Mais la démocratie électorale n’apparaît plus comme le débouché naturel des réformes. Et les élites se divisent sur la nature institutionnelle d’une future démocratie, ainsi que sur le rythme de la marche qui y conduira. Cette démocratie ne saurait au demeurant se résumer à l’avènement institutionnel d’élections multipartites, comme en témoignent déjà les multiples expériences de démocratie locale.
CUSTOM-MADE BRACKETS FABRICATION BY AN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING PROCESS FOR ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT
Authors: Tsai Ming-June , Wu Ching-Tsai , Chen Chih-Yu
Published: January 2012

Brackets are basic elements of orthodontic systems. Traditionally, they are produced by a powder-injection mass production process, by which it is difficult to develop individualized products. This study applies computer-aided engineering techniques, including digitizing, virtual model design, and additive manufacturing (AM) to orthodontics for the production of customized brackets. First, a digital model of the teeth was obtained via a 3D scanning process, in which an individual teeth plaster mold was digitized; customized brackets were then designed based on the model, and physical brackets were rapidly fabricated by AM processing. Finally, key dimensional measurements of the brackets were taken to confirm whether the brackets fulfilled the functional requirements for clinical usage. By this process, brackets designed for different teeth pads were obtained by digital planning, CAD design and rapid manufacturing. The custom-made brackets include complete dental profile information, and increase the efficiency of treatment, save clinical setup time, and reduce the treatment duration and cost for the patient. The direct manufacture of metal brackets by an AM process is a modern method with great potential to be used in the generation of customized brackets for orthodontic treatment.
A RAPID AND CONVENIENT METHOD FOR DETERMINING LIMB COMPARTMENT PRESSURE
Authors: Chu William , Lin Jiun-Hung , Tang Shih-Tsang , Chu Woei-Chyn , Young Shuenn-Tsong , Chan Chia-Tai
Published: January 2012

Compartment syndrome (CS) is the pressure increasing within a confined anatomic space, which results in ischemia to the encompassed tissues and then leads to cells death. If left untreated, CS results in irreversible cell damage, further permanently postischemic scarring and contracture. The intracompartmental pressure is a major diagnostic consideration. Various methods of compartment pressure (CP) measurement have been developed since the late 1800s. They can be classified into invasive and noninvasive categories. Invasive methods are accurate but painful; whereas noninvasive approaches are more comfortable but less accurate. Both methods provide reproducible outcomes but also require specific CP measurement instrument to be performed. This research proposes a rapid and convenient method via examining ultrasonographic fascia wall displacement. For the viscoelastic nature of the compartment fascia, our experiment results have shown the ultrasonographic fascia displacement accurately reflects even small changes of the compartment diameter. There is a strong correlation between compartment pressure and fascia displacement ratio. It also recommends that the ratio of 1.4 could be chosen as the critical value for determining acute compartment syndrome. These results suggest that ultrasonography may serve as an adequate noninvasive tool to monitor CP variations.
BIM-Based Life-Cycle Management for Reinforced Concrete Buildings
Authors: Borrmann André , Lukas Katharina , Zintel Marc , Schießl Peter , Kluth Michael
Published: January 2012

This paper introduces the concept of a BIM-based life-cycle management system for reinforced concrete buildings. The system allows one to compute a prognosis of the building’s condition taking into account the material properties of individual components, the environmental load as well as measurement data from current inspections. This prognosis then forms foundations for scheduled maintenance and repair actions in an economically efficient way. A particularly important feature of the presented system is that all input data as well as the computational results are associated with a (full) 3D Building Information Model (BIM) of the construction. In this way, an easy localization of the information is achieved facilitating both the data collection and the estimation of the building condition for engineers involved in inspection planning, inspection or the scheduling of repair actions. To further facilitate data input and interpretation, a hierarchic level-of-detail approach is employed for structuring the building model, ranging from building level down to individual hot spots. Additionally, the integration of a meta-model allows the flexible adaption of the semantic data model to specific buildings types or the particular needs of the users.
Indoor Spatial Information
Authors: Winter Stephan
Published: January 2012

Geographic Information Science focuses traditionally on spatial information of geographic scale and associates this per default with outdoor environments. Systems, databases and models are designed for this primary purpose. In this paper, the author discusses the geographic information requirements in indoor environments and, in particular, their differences to ‘outdoor’ geographic information. The main difference, as argued, is that the third dimension is an essential factor for indoor spatial information, while this is not necessarily so for outdoor information. As a consequence, information technology designed for outdoors is not necessarily fit to model, analyze or communicate about indoor space.
Folding Theory for Fantastic Filters in BL-Algebras
Authors: Lele Celestin
Published: January 2012

In this paper, the author examines the notion of n-fold fantastic and fuzzy n-fold fantastic filters in BL-algebras. Several characterizations of fuzzy n-fold fantastic filters are given. The author shows that every n-fold (fuzzy n-fold) fantastic filter is a filter (fuzzy filter), but the converse is not true. Using a level set of a fuzzy set in a BL-algebra, the author gives a characterization of fuzzy n-fold fantastic filters. Finally, the author establishes the extension property for n-fold and fuzzy n-fold fantastic filters in BL-algebras. The author also constructs some algorithms for folding theory applied to fantastic filters in BL-algebras.
Emerging Areas of Research in Business Data Communications
Authors: Saha Debashis , Sridhar Varadharajan
Published: January 2012

Much like the financial crisis that precipitated a new world order, a quiet revolution of some sorts is happening in the telecom industry worldwide. The bankruptcy of stalwarts such as Nortel and the impregnation of Google and Apple into the mobile phone space at an amazing alacrity are changing the world order once dominated by the likes of biggies such as AT&T. What are these changes and what can we expect in the future? We explore in this article, the emerging technologies, market evolution, business models and regulatory interventions and indicate possible research directions in the area of data communications and networking in the coming days. 
Embracing Technology and Community Engagement as a Teaching and Learning Medium in Social Justice Education
Authors: Naidoo Loshini
Published: January 2012

This paper examines the varied learning experiences that integrated socio-cultural theory, community engagement and e-learning offered by the “Diversity, Social Justice and Schooling” subject at the University of Western Sydney. This subject engaged university students in the learning process in a reflective and critical way, by responding to a need identified by community. Together with education technology, subject content knowledge and community engagement, the social justice subject aimed to enhance the educational achievement of marginalised groups, while simultaneously supporting pre-service teachers in the context of their development as educators committed to a social justice ethos.
Teaching Cyberethics
Authors: Holtz Peter
Published: January 2012

The discussion of moral dilemmas is often proposed as one way to teach ethics. But can ethics be taught to everyone? Do participants’ value orientations predict the acquisition of moral competence in an educational context? This study presents data from an evaluation of a course on the social consequences of information technology (IT). IT-related dilemma discussions were used extensively in the course. The participants answered questionnaires at the beginning of the course and before their final exam at the end of term. Moral competence was measured with the Moral Judgment Test (MJT). A questionnaire on individual reflexive values was used for the assessment of value orientations. Although the participants’ average level of moral competence did not change significantly, there was evidence that participants with a high degree of materialistic values were less likely to acquire moral competence during the course.
Addressing Challenges in Web Accessibility for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Authors: Guercio Angela , Stirbens Kathleen A. , Williams Joseph , Haiber Charles
Published: January 2012

Searching for relevant information on the web is an important aspect of distance learning. This activity is a challenge for visually impaired distance learners. While sighted people have the ability to filter information in a fast and non sequential way, blind persons rely on tools that process the information in a sequential way. Learning is slowed by screen readers which do not interact well with web pages. This paper introduces WAVES, a tool for the fast retrieval of information in a web page for blind and visually impaired people. The paper describes the WAVES prototype, a system that performs a page restructuring of webpages. The system analyzes webpages, identifies elements of interests from a webpage, evaluates their importance by using semantic information and visual cues, sorts them by importance and uses them to restructure the webpage so that data from the original webpage are presented to the reader in a concise format. A preliminary evaluation test of the prototype system has been performed with a sample set of users. The results of the preliminary test show an increase in speed and accuracy when the WAVES system has been used.
An EUD Approach to the Design of Educational Games
Authors: Ardito Carmelo , Lanzilotti Rosa
Published: January 2012

Distance education has experienced profound changes due to the introduction of new technologies, especially mobile devices of different types. It is necessary to define new learning techniques which are able to capture students’ attention and to engage them in their learning activities, reducing problems like distraction generated by the use of the device itself and/or by the surrounding environment. Game-based learning is a valuable possibility. The excursion-game has been recently proposed to support pupils learning history during visits to historical sites; its goal is to make the visit and the overall experience of cultural heritage more engaging. This paper describes the approach followed in the design of the system implementing the excursion-game; it takes into account an end-user development perspective in order to allow domain experts, i.e., experts in history and cultural heritage, contributing to design excursion-games for a wide set of historical sites.
Developing an Appropriate Design for E-Learning with Web-Mediated Teaching Methods to Enhance Low-Achieving Students’ Computing Skills
Authors: Tsai Chia-Wen , Lee Tsang-Hsiung
Published: January 2012

Vocational education in Taiwan is highly competitive in that it must attract sufficient student enrollment in the environment with a rapidly increasing number of schools. Many students in this context tend to have lower levels of academic achievement, and do not adequately get involved in their schoolwork. Under such constraints but moving toward more practical orientation, the authors conducted five experiments, applying web-mediated problem-based learning (PBL), self-regulated learning (SRL), blended learning (BL), or their combinations to help low-achieving students improve their computing skills. This study further develops appropriate course design and online teaching methods for both teachers and schools. Each of the five studies addressed a different project whose goal was to develop students’ computing skills in online classes. The five studies: (a) provide demonstrations of the effects of web-based PBL and SRL, (b) illustrate how to design and implement web-based PBL and SRL for low-achieving students, (c) provide refined interventions of web-based PBL and SRL based on multiple-phase experiences of real practices and reflections, and (d) demonstrate the effects of BL and the relevant technologies to provide more channels and opportunities for students to review and practice their computing skills.
On the Exergy Content of an Isolated Body in Thermodynamic Disequilibrium
Authors: Grubbström Robert W.
Published: January 2012

Exergy is a concept that is gaining an increasingly wider recognition as a proper measure for the actual energy resources consumed, when energy is used. Energy as such is indestructible, but exergy is not. As entropy is generated while energy is used, exergy is consumed. Exergy can be interpreted as the qualitative content of energy, or as energy in its highest quality. Therefore, there is an interest in investigating this concept from as many theoretical aspects as possible. In earlier papers the author has developed formulae for the exergy potential of a system of finitely extended objects, not necessarily having any environment. It was shown that the classical formula for exergy obtains as one of the objects grows beyond all bounds thereby taking on the rôle as an environment. In this current paper formulae are derived for the exergy content of an isolated body in thermodynamic disequilibrium, viewed as a system of infinitely many objects each with infinitesimal extension and in microscopic equilibrium.
Transmission Service Cost Calculation with Power Loss and Congestion Considerations
Authors: Shooshtari Alireza Tavakoli , Joorabian Mahmood , Milani Armin Ebrahimi
Published: January 2012

One of the most challenging issues of transmission grids in restructured power networks is determining the real transmission service cost. In this paper, a method for calculating the transmission service in different grids is presented. In the proposed method, the cost of power loss and congestion of transmission services are considered. Using this integrated model, the strengths and weaknesses of a power grid can be straightforwardly analyzed. All simulations have been done on IEEE nine-bus test system. Computing the transmission service cost, the next step is to optimize power loss and congestion using NSGA-II which is a two objective genetic algorithm method in which optimal power flow is implemented and power loss and congestion are considered as objective functions. Numerical results prove the effectiveness of the proposed optimizing method in which decreasing the cost of power loss and congestion have a direct effect on improving the quality of transmission services.
Lagrangian Bounds and a Heuristic for the Two-Stage Capacitated Facility Location Problem
Authors: Litvinchev Igor , Ozuna Edith L.
Published: January 2012

In the two-stage capacitated facility location problem, a single product is produced at some plants in order to satisfy customer demands. The product is transported from these plants to some depots and then to the customers. The capacities of the plants and depots are limited. The aim is to select cost minimizing locations from a set of potential plants and depots. This cost includes fixed cost associated with opening plants and depots, and variable cost associated with both transportation stages. In this work, two different mixed integer linear programming formulations are considered for the problem. Several Lagrangian relaxations are analyzed and compared, and a Lagrangian heuristic producing feasible solutions is presented. The results of a computational study are reported.
Development and Investigation of a Proposed Voltage Sag Index
Authors: Polycarpou Alexis
Published: January 2012

A proposed voltage sag index based on power flow equations is developed and investigated in this paper. The index supervises the power quality of a system, through calculating the voltage sag profile caused by an increase in reactive demand due to induction motor starting. Mathematical equations representing the load angle of the system are also derived. The accuracy of the index is investigated for a range of load, transmission, and distribution line X/R ratio values as well as various motor loading levels. Results demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed index.
Accessing Knowledge, Information and Resources for Planning and Spatial Decision Support
Authors: Li Naicong
Published: January 2012

To help synthesize and systematically organize the information, knowledge and resources for spatial decision support (SDS), and to help researchers and practitioners engaged in an actual planning process find relevant information and resources for solving their specific planning problems, the SDS Consortium and University of Redlands have developed a conceptual framework for SDS and a collection of SDS resources, hosted on the SDS Knowledge Portal. The conceptual framework includes a set of defined, inter-connected concepts pertaining to planning and spatial decision support, such as planning and decision problem types, application domains, knowledge domains and planning process including phases and steps. This conceptual framework is further used to organize a representative set of SDS resources, such as planning process workflows, methods, tools and models, data sources, case studies, literature, and so forth. The SDS Knowledge Portal facilitates learning of SDS and accessing SDS resources, promotes semantic clarity by adopting a common vocabulary for the user community, and promotes interoperability among SDS resources by using a standard set of concepts to define and classify these resources.
Teachers’ Views on the Approach of Digital Games-Based Learning within the Curriculum for Excellence
Authors: Razak Aishah Abdul , Connolly Thomas , Hainey Thomas
Published: January 2012

A radical reform in education has happened in Scotland by introducing a new curriculum known as the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). This new curriculum promotes active learning, including use of digital games-based learning (DGBL) technology. This paper presents the findings from a survey which aimed to gauge the use of DGBL in Scottish primary schools and to assess how such an approach fits within the CfE from the teachers’ perspective. The trends identified from this survey are discussed in relation to the teachers’ views and motivation to DGBL. Despite obtaining positive responses on many aspects of DGBL, the survey shows that the application of this approach is still limited and requires an in-depth study on how to make it more popular and effective for primary school teachers. The findings from this research will make an important contribution to the empirical evidence of games-based learning particularly with regard to its application in primary school education.
PBL as a Framework for Implementing Video Games in the Classroom
Authors: Watson William R. , Fang Jun
Published: January 2012

Video games and problem-based learning (PBL) are both significant trends in progressive approaches to education. The literature demonstrates a fit between the two approaches, indicating they may be mutually beneficial. With limited literature on implementing games in the classroom, and a growing body of researchers highlighting the importance of the teacher in mediating game use and maximizing the effectiveness of games for learning, guidance is needed on the role teachers can play in utilizing games in structured environments. PBL has a richer literature base on its effective use, and with its similarities to game-based learning, can inform the effective use of games. In order to assist educators in integrating video games into their curriculum, a video game implementation framework based on PBL principles was developed. The efficacy of utilizing video games for learning in formal and structured learning environments may be improved by integrating PBL guidelines as a framework.
Strategic Management of Innovation Focusing on Confluence of Continuity and Change
Authors: Bhat J. S. A. , Sushil  , Jain P. K.
Published: January 2012

Production of world-class products and services amidst inevitable changes in business situations calls for a continual balance across current and future areas of focus. While innovation is accepted as an imperative, managing innovation effectively now, more than ever before, calls for a dynamic strategy to manage the resultant diverse forces that are in play at any point of time. The continuity forces, represented largely by elements denoting stability, such as an assured market base, access to technological and financial resources and availability of human capital, need to be balanced constantly versus change forces, represented by agents such as technology changes, environment changes and customer preferences. Literature survey indicates that successful organizations have demonstrated capabilities in adopting effective strategies to meet these different conditions. The attempt is to present the patterns and trends of research on both continuity and change management aspects, particularly in the context of management of innovation. While it has been possible to highlight only some of the exemplary work, the paper identifies significant gaps in research in this context and suggests a practical framework to address this issue.
Activity-Related Incentives as Motivators in Open Innovation Communities
Authors: Schattke Kaspar , Seeliger Jörg , Schiepe-Tiska Anja , Kehr Hugo M.
Published: January 2012

Many companies are using open innovation projects to create new and innovative ideas. Individuals who engage in open innovation usually participate voluntarily and without monetary rewards. What motivates these individuals and how can their motivation be increased? In two studies, the authors identify activity-related incentives as crucial. The authors find that achievement-related incentives and, with some limitations, power-related incentives positively correlate with optimal motivation, flow experience, and self-reported behaviour, when voluntarily working with an open innovation software platform. The authors conclude that open innovation projects should focus on activity-related incentives to enhance participants’ motivation for open innovation and their flow experience.
Open Innovation Maturity
Authors: Habicht Hagen , Möslein Kathrin M. , Reichwald Ralf
Published: January 2012

Many firms are eager to tackle the challenge of moving from good to great innovators with the help of open innovation. However, a considerable number of open innovation projects fail because firms are not ready to fully engage in open innovation. They lack knowledge about how to manage its multiple facets. Drawing on a capability maturity approach, the authors propose a competence management framework to support the development of open innovation maturity – an organization’s excellence in conducting open innovation. Management categories and maturity levels are inductively identified and reflected in the context of prominent literature. The resulting Open Innovation Maturity model is based on insights from 12 parallel case studies and two open innovation pilots covering the software and the airport industry. Empiric results show that competences on the process level and on the individual level impact the success of open innovation. Hence, Open Innovation Maturity is a multidimensional concept describing the overall capacity of a firm to successfully engage in and make use of open innovation.
Determination of Optimum Parameters for Multi-Performance Characteristic in Turning of Al 6061-6% ZrB2 in-situ Metal Matrix Composite Using Grey Relational Analysis
Authors: Mahamani A. , Muthukrishnan N. , Anandakrishnan V.
Published: January 2012

In-situ aluminum matrix composite is the innovation of high performance material technology and it has superior interfacial integrity and thermodynamic stability between the matrix and reinforcement. During synthesis, the ZrB2 particle is formed by exothermic reaction within the aluminum melt. As a result, small, fine and oxide free reinforcements are formed. Excessive temperature released from in-situ chemical reaction will facilitate the homogeneous distribution of particles in entire shape of the composites. Making the engineering components from this composite material require machining operations. Therefore, addressing the machinability issues of the composite is very important. This paper proposes an approach to optimize the machining parameters in turning of Al 6061-6% ZrB2 in-situ Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) with multiple performance characteristics by using grey relational analysis. The effect of in-situ ZrB2 reinforcement particles on machinability behavior need to be studied. The machining parameters, namely cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut are optimized with considerations of multiple performance characteristics including surface roughness, tool wear and cutting force. It is concluded that the feed rate has the strongest effect. The confirmation experiment indicates that there is a good agreement between the estimated value and experimental value of the Grey relational grade.
Shape Memory Alloy Based Actively Tuned Undamped Mass Absorber
Authors: Kumar M. Senthil , Kumar V. Raj , Shyamkirthi S.
Published: January 2012

An actively tuned undamped mass vibration absorber (ATVA) based on shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator is developed for attenuation of vibration in a cantilever beam. The design procedure of the ATVA is presented. The system consists of a cantilever beam mounted with shaker to generate the real-time vibration. The SMA spring with mass is attached at free end. The stiffness of SMA spring is varied dynamically in such a way to attenuate the vibration actively. Both simulation and experimentation are carried out. Simulation is carried out using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) package ANSYS software. The experiment was carried out by interfacing the experimental setup with computer along with LabVIEW software through data acquisition card (DAQ). In experimental setup, an accelerometer is used to measure the vibration which is fed to computer and in turn the SMA spring is actuated to change its stiffness which will control the vibration. The results illustrate that the developed ATVA using SMA is very effective in reducing structural response and having great potential to use as an active vibration control media.
Seismocardiogram and Ballistocardiogram Sensing
Authors: Postolache Octavian , Girão Pedro , Postolache Gabriela
Published: January 2012

The paper describes the latest development in seismocardiography and ballistocardiography, including sensors with or without mechanical contact with the body, for cardiac functions monitoring in common daily activity. The authors discuss the information related with the seismocardiogramn (SCG) and ballistocardiogram (BCG) and the work on SCG and BCG modeling. The latest advances reported on the devices aiming at BCG and SCG cardiovascular system evaluation are covered, highlighting their key features and novel concepts. The authors also underscore the applications of ElectroMechanical film (EMFi) sensors, MEMS accelerometers and radar sensing technology for vital signs monitoring. Discussion on the current developments and future improvements are included in the paper.
An Auction Mechanism Considering Seat Reservations in Movie Theater Services
Authors: Nishino Nariaki , Fukuya Koji , Ueda Kanji
Published: January 2012

This paper proposes a new auction mechanism with seat reservations in movie theaters using an interdisciplinary approach. In movie theater services, the movie price is generally fixed, not depending on the quality of contents or the theater seat. It implies that such a service mechanism by fixed pricing might not reflect the value of movie contents. In this study, a new mechanism of theater services is proposed introducing the Vickrey–Clarke–Groves (VCG) mechanism and Gale–Shapley (GS) mechanism, which present effectiveness in the field of mechanism design. First derived is the theoretical predictions of equilibrium and how the mechanism works using experiments with human subjects. In addition, agent-based simulation is conducted using agents that make the decisions observed in the experiments. Consequently, the results present the validity of the proposed mechanism, showing an increase in the social surplus.