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Todd Suomela

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) by John M. Carroll - Interaction-Design.org: HCI, Usab... - 0 views

  • The challenge of personal computing became manifest at an opportune time. The broad project of cognitive science, which incorporated cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, linguistics, cognitive anthropology, and the philosophy of mind, had formed at the end of the 1970s. Part of the programme of cognitive science was to articulate systematic and scientifically-informed applications to be known as "cognitive engineering". Thus, at just the point when personal computing presented the practical need for HCI, cognitive science presented people, concepts, skills, and a vision for addressing such needs. HCI was one of the first examples of cognitive engineering. Other historically fortuitous developments contributed to establishment of HCI. Software engineering, mired in unmanageable software complexity in the 1970s, was starting to focus on nonfunctional requirements, including usability and maintainability, and on non-linear software development processes that relied heavily on testing. Computer graphics and information retrieval had emerged in the 1970s, and rapidly came to recognize that interactive systems were the key to progressing beyond early achievements. All these threads of development in computer science pointed to the same conclusion: The way forward for computing entailed understanding and better empowering users.
  • One of the most significant achievements of HCI is its evolving model of the integration of science and practice. Initially this model was articulated as a reciprocal relation between cognitive science and cognitive engineering. Later, it ambitiously incorporated a diverse science foundation, notably Activity Theory, distributed cognition, and ethnomethodology, and a culturally embedded conception of human activity, including the activities of design and technology development. Currently, the model is incorporating design practices and research across a broad spectrum. In these developments, HCI provides a blueprint for a mutual relation between science and practice that is unprecedented.
  • In the latter 1980s and early 1990s, HCI assimilated ideas from Activity Theory, distributed cognition, and ethnomethodology. This comprised a fundamental epistemological realignment. For example, the representational theory of mind, a cornerstone of cognitive science, is no longer axiomatic for HCI science. Information processing psychology and laboratory user studies, once the kernel of HCI research, became important, but niche areas. The most canonical theory-base in HCI now is socio-cultural, Activity Theory. Field studies became typical, and eventually dominant as an empirical paradigm. Collaborative interactions, that is, groups of people working together through and around computer systems (in contrast to the early 1980s user-at-PC situation) have become the default unit of analysis. It is remarkable that such fundamental realignments were so easily assimilated by the HCI community.
Infogreen Global

UK scientists develop optimum piezoelectric energy harvesters - 2 views

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    Piezoelectric energy harvesters are typically vibrating cantilevers, covered with a piezoelectric layer that converts mechanical strain to an electrical charge to power devices. Most developers cover the entire length of the cantilever with piezoelectric material in an attempt to maximise the conversion efficiency.
thinkahol *

High-speed filter uses electrified nanostructures to purify water at low cost - 0 views

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    Researchers have developed a water-purifying filter that makes the process more than 80,000 times faster than existing filters. The key is coating the filter fabric -- ordinary cotton -- with nanotubes and silver nanowires, then electrifying it. The filter uses very little power, has no moving parts and could be used throughout the developing world.
thinkahol *

FORA.tv - Steve Chu: A New Energy Program - 0 views

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    A New Energy Program with Steve Chu speaking at the Climate Change and Global Politics Conference hosted by the World Affairs Council of Northern California.No one nation can effectively reverse the growing problems caused by our changing climate. Coordinated global efforts - between governments, corporations, and individuals - can help us conserve and develop energy resources, as well as ensure the continued growth of emerging and developed nations.What can political leaders do? What can businesses and investors do? nd what can you do? - World Affairs Council of Northern California
thinkahol *

New laser technology could revolutionize communications | KurzweilAI - 0 views

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    Engineers at Stevens Institute of Technology have developed a technique to optically modulate the frequency of a laser beam and create a signal that is disrupted significantly less by environmental factors, says Dr. Rainer Martini. The research provides for enhanced optical communications, allowing mobile units not tied to fiber optic cable to communicate in the range of 100 GHz and beyond, the equivalent of 100 gigabytes of data per second. Eventually, the team hopes to extend the reach into the terahertz spectrum. The frequency or amplitude modulation of middle infrared quantum cascade lasers has been limited by electronics, which are barely capable of accepting frequencies of up to 10 GHz by switching a signal on and off.  Marini and his team have developed a method to optically induce fast amplitude modulation in a quantum cascade laser to control the laser's intensity. Their amplitude modulation system employed a second laser to modulate the amplitude of the middle infrared laser, using light to control light. The current detector is only capable of detecting frequencies up to 10 GHz, but Dr. Martini is confident that a new detector will make the system capable of much higher frequencies. With an optical system that is stable enough, satellites may one day convert to laser technology, resulting in a more mobile military and super-sensitive scanners, as well as faster Internet for the masses, says Martini. Ref.: "Optically induced fast wavelength modulation in a quantum cascade laser," Applied Physics Letters, July 7, 2010.
thinkahol *

Algorithms identify and track the most important privately-held technology companies | ... - 0 views

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    A startup called Quid has developed algorithms that analyze Internet-based data from corporations to make fast-moving technology developments visible, navigable, and understandable. Quid has built a data set combining information about firms that succeeded and sank, patent documents, government grants, help wanted advertisements, and tweets. Its algorithms use the collection of information to analyze the prospects of around 35,000 firms and research groups working on new technologies. By extracting words and phrases from the collected documents, Quid constructs a "technology genome" that describes the primary focus of each of those 35,000 entities. A map of the connections between those genomes can be used by investors to find hints about interesting companies or ideas. Most companies cluster around established sectors, but a few will sit in the white spaces between the clusters and can represent the seeds of new technology sectors.
thinkahol *

Robots created that develop emotions in interaction with humans - 0 views

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    The first prototype robots capable of developing emotions as they interact with their human caregivers and expressing a whole range of emotions have been finalized by researchers.
thinkahol *

A $1.50 Lens-Free Microscope - Technology Review - 0 views

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    The device could diagnose disease in the developing world and enable rapid drug screening.
Infogreen Global

Low cost alternative for generating hydrogen gas from water - 1 views

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    A technique for creating a new molecule that structurally and chemically replicates the active part of the widely used industrial catalyst molybdenite has been developed by researchers with the U.S.
Glenda Chiong

COAL-TO-LIQUID FUEL AND SRI INTERNATIONAL'S ZERO EMISSIONS MANUFACTURING PROCESS - 0 views

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    Stanford Research International (SRI) claims to have developed a new method for creating liquid transportaion fuels that will result in zero emissions during the manufacturing process and is also less expensive compared to other types of laternative fuels. Too good to be true? Well, this is not only good but also true!
thinkahol *

A limitless power source for the indefinite future | KurzweilAI - 0 views

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    "The report  gets across one very basic message: in the eyes of the leading experts on aerospace technology worldwide: harvesting solar power in space and transmitting it to earth is no longer science fiction," says author Howard Bloom in a companion announcement by the Space Development Steering Committee. "It is sound, current-technology-based science fact.  And it is a green energy option we can't ignore.
thinkahol *

Scientists develop nose exam to detect Alzheimer's disease early - The Local - 0 views

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    Scientists in central Germany are working on a method with which they reckon they could diagnose Alzheimer's disease years before any symptoms are noticed - by looking up patients' noses.
thinkahol *

Face Recognition Moves From Sci-Fi to Social Media - NYTimes.com - 0 views

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    And this technology is spreading. Immersive Labs, a company in Manhattan, has developed software for digital billboards using cameras to gauge the age range, sex and attention level of a passer-by. The smart signs, scheduled to roll out this month in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, deliver ads based on consumers' demographics. In other words, the system is smart enough to display, say, a Gillette ad to a male passer-by rather than an ad for Tampax.
thinkahol *

Scientists invent first male contraceptive pill - Telegraph - 0 views

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    Scientists have developed the worlds male alternative to the female contraceptive pill.
thinkahol *

Students, Meet Your New Teacher, Mr. Robot - NYTimes.com - 0 views

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    Computer scientists are developing machines that can teach people simple skills, like household tasks and vocabulary.
thinkahol *

Thought-controlled prosthetic limb system to be tested on human subjects - 0 views

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    ""We've developed the enabling technologies to create upper-extremity prosthetics that are more natural in appearance and use, a truly revolutionary advancement in prosthetics," said APL's Michael McLoughlin, the program manager. "Now, in Phase 3, we are ready to test it with humans to demonstrate that the system can be operated with a patient's thoughts and that it can provide that patient with sensory feedback, restoring the sensation of touch.""
thinkahol *

China's 'big hole' marks scale of supercomputing race - 0 views

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    China and other nations are beginning to challenge U.S. supercomputing leadership, something that has implications for every aspect of U.S. leadership in science and product development, say experts.
thinkahol *

Benoît Mandelbrot, Novel Mathematician, Dies at 85 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTime... - 0 views

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    Dr. Mandelbrot, a maverick mathematician, developed an innovative theory to study uneven shapes and applied it to physics, biology and many other fields.
thinkahol *

Studying child-mother interactions to design robots with social skills | KurzweilAI - 0 views

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    University of Miami (UM) developmental psychologists and computer scientists from the University of California in San Diego (UC San Diego) are studying infant-mother interactions and working to implement their findings in a baby robot capable of learning social skills. The objectives are to help unravel the mysteries of human cognitive development and reach new the frontiers in robotics.
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