title: The orienting mouse: An input device with attitude

authors: Apperley, Mark

subjects: computer science

abstract: This paper presents a modified computer mouse, the Orienting Mouse, which delivers orientation as an additional dimension of input; when the mouse is moved on a flat surface it reports, in addition to the conventional x, y translation, angular rotation of the device in the x, y plane.

The orienting mouse preserves important properties of the standard mouse; all measurements are relative and movement is tracked only while the mouse is on its flat surface. If the user lets go of the mouse, leaving it on the surface, its position and orientation do not change until it is touched again. Picking the mouse up and putting it down in a different orientation leaves the angle and position unchanged.

While the concept of sensing mouse rotation is not new, our work focuses on movement and navigation in 3D, rather than on precision positioning tasks. We describe a number of sample applications developed to test its effectiveness in this context. Specific features exploited and described include (i) an algorithm for calculating the mouse angle which cancels drift between the two sensors, and (ii) the use of angular gearing which avoids unnatural and uncomfortable hand positions when moving through large angles; informal user testing validates this idea.

text: The orienting mouse: An input device with attitude This paper presents a modified computer mouse, the Orienting Mouse, which delivers orientation as an additional dimension of input; when the mouse is moved on a flat surface it reports, in addition to the conventional x, y translation, angular rotation of the device in the x, y plane.

The orienting mouse preserves important properties of the standard mouse; all measurements are relative and movement is tracked only while the mouse is on its flat surface. If the user lets go of the mouse, leaving it on the surface, its position and orientation do not change until it is touched again. Picking the mouse up and putting it down in a different orientation leaves the angle and position unchanged.

While the concept of sensing mouse rotation is not new, our work focuses on movement and navigation in 3D, rather than on precision positioning tasks. We describe a number of sample applications developed to test its effectiveness in this context. Specific features exploited and described include (i) an algorithm for calculating the mouse angle which cancels drift between the two sensors, and (ii) the use of angular gearing which avoids unnatural and uncomfortable hand positions when moving through large angles; informal user testing validates this idea.

year: 2013-11

title: Understanding Christian-Muslim relations: Past and present [Book review]

authors: Pratt, Douglas

subjects: Christian

abstract: Clinton Bennett’s overview analysis of the history of relations between Islam and Christianity has been attempted with a view to shedding light on contemporary interfaith issues and the prospects for ongoing interreligious dialogue. After some 1,400 years of encounter and engagement, has there been any real progress? For that matter, as the introduction notes, ‘How is progress judged?’ (p. 1). The author is of the view that ‘the most meaningful dialogue . . . takes place when individuals or groups of Christians and Muslims meet face to face and discuss their faith, hopes and dreams, problems and successes’ (p. 8). At the same time, he acknowledges the rightful role of discursive dialogue where, in effect, the interlocutors are the abstract systems of ‘Islam’ and ‘Christianity’. Dialogue is as much inter-systemic as it is interpersonal; a view with which I fully concur. Taking a broad, chronological approach, Bennett visits significant contributions and contributors from both faith traditions. He shows how ‘arguments and counter-arguments used centuries ago remain popular today, on both sides’ (p. 8) and structures his work through the lens of a dual category analysis of conciliation and confrontation that he developed in an earlier work (Bennett, 1992).

text: Understanding Christian-Muslim relations: Past and present [Book review] Clinton Bennett’s overview analysis of the history of relations between Islam and Christianity has been attempted with a view to shedding light on contemporary interfaith issues and the prospects for ongoing interreligious dialogue. After some 1,400 years of encounter and engagement, has there been any real progress? For that matter, as the introduction notes, ‘How is progress judged?’ (p. 1). The author is of the view that ‘the most meaningful dialogue . . . takes place when individuals or groups of Christians and Muslims meet face to face and discuss their faith, hopes and dreams, problems and successes’ (p. 8). At the same time, he acknowledges the rightful role of discursive dialogue where, in effect, the interlocutors are the abstract systems of ‘Islam’ and ‘Christianity’. Dialogue is as much inter-systemic as it is interpersonal; a view with which I fully concur. Taking a broad, chronological approach, Bennett visits significant contributions and contributors from both faith traditions. He shows how ‘arguments and counter-arguments used centuries ago remain popular today, on both sides’ (p. 8) and structures his work through the lens of a dual category analysis of conciliation and confrontation that he developed in an earlier work (Bennett, 1992).

year: 2009

title: Microsoft Translator Hub for Māori language

authors: Keegan, Te Taka Adrian Gregory

subjects: computer science

abstract: Recent improvements in Machine Translation (MT) software has opened new possibilities for applications of automatic language translation. But can these opportunities exist for the smaller, minority languages of the world? Training data was collected for the language pair of Māori and English which was used to build an MT system using Microsoft’s Translator Hub software. A comparative analysis was undertaken with this system and Google Translate. Various MT metrics and analysis software was considered before deciding to use the Asiya toolkit to undertake the comparative analysis. Māori language experts were also used to provide a human perspective on the output translations. The overall results showed no significant difference in the translation quality produced by the two systems. Despite some misgivings around the accuracy of the translations these results do show promise for MT usage by minority languages.

text: Microsoft Translator Hub for Māori language Recent improvements in Machine Translation (MT) software has opened new possibilities for applications of automatic language translation. But can these opportunities exist for the smaller, minority languages of the world? Training data was collected for the language pair of Māori and English which was used to build an MT system using Microsoft’s Translator Hub software. A comparative analysis was undertaken with this system and Google Translate. Various MT metrics and analysis software was considered before deciding to use the Asiya toolkit to undertake the comparative analysis. Māori language experts were also used to provide a human perspective on the output translations. The overall results showed no significant difference in the translation quality produced by the two systems. Despite some misgivings around the accuracy of the translations these results do show promise for MT usage by minority languages.

year: 2018