Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2015 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 5 Articles
Computer aided interactive narrative allows people to participate actively in a dynamically unfolding story, by playing a character\nor by exerting directorial control. Because of its potential for providing interesting stories as well as allowing user interaction,\ninteractive narrative has been recognized as a promising tool for providing both education and entertainment. This paper discusses\nthe challenges in creating interactive narratives for pedagogical applications and how the challenges can be addressed by using\nagent-based technologies. We argue that a rich model of characters and in particular aTheory of Mind capacity are needed. The\ncharacter architect in theThespian framework for interactive narrative is presented as an example of how decision-theoretic agents\ncan be used for encodingTheory of Mind and for creating pedagogical interactive narratives....
Large high-resolution displays combine high pixel density with ample physical dimensions.The combination of these factors creates\na multiscale workspace where interactive targeting of on-screen objects requires both high speed for distant targets and high\naccuracy for small targets. Modern operating systems support implicit dynamic control-display gain adjustment (i.e., a pointer\nacceleration curve) that helps to maintain both speed and accuracy. However, large high-resolution displays require a broader\nrange of control-display gains than a single acceleration curve can usably enable. Some interaction techniques attempt to solve the\nproblem by utilizing multiple explicit modes of interaction, where different modes provide different levels of pointer precision.\nHere, we investigate the alternative hypothesis of using a single mode of interaction for continuous pointing that enables both (1)\nstandard implicit granularity control via an acceleration curve and (2) explicit switching betweenmultiple acceleration curves in an\nefficient and dynamic way.We evaluate a sample solution that augments standard touchpad accelerated pointer manipulation with\nmultitouch capability, where the choice of acceleration curve dynamically changes depending on the number of fingers in contact\nwith the touchpad. Specifically, users can dynamically switch among three different acceleration curves by using one, two, or three\nfingers on the touchpad....
Software bugs discovered by end-users are inevitable consequences of a vendor�s lack of testing.While they frequently result in costly\nsystem failures, one way to detect and prevent them is to engage the customer in acceptance testing during the release process. Yet,\nthere is a considerable lack of empirical studies examining releasemanagement fromend-users� perspective. To address this gap, we\npropose and empirically test a release framework that positions the customer release manager in the center of the release process.\nUsing a participatory action research strategy, a twenty-seven-month study was conducted to evaluate and improve the effectiveness\nof the framework through seven major and 39 minor releases....
Smartphones have become indispensable computational tools. However, some tasks can be difficult to perform on a smartphone\nbecause these devices have small displays. Here, we explore methods for augmenting the display of a smartphone, or other PDA,\nusing interactive paper. Specifically, we present a prototype interface that enables a user to interactively interrogate technical\ndrawings using an Anoto-based smartpen and a PDA. Our software system, called PaperCAD, enables users to query geometric\ninformation from CAD drawings printed on Anoto dot-patterned paper. For example, the user can measure a distance by drawing\na dimension arrow.The system provides output to the user via a smartpen�s audio speaker and the dynamic video display of a PDA.\nThe user can select either verbose or concise audio feedback, and the PDA displays a video image of the portion of the drawing near\nthe pen tip. The project entails advances in the interpretation of pen input, such as a method that uses contextual information to\ninterpret ambiguous dimensions and a technique that uses a hiddenMarkov model to correct interpretation errors in handwritten\nequations. Results of a user study suggest that our user interface design and interpretation techniques are effective and that users\nare highly satisfied with the system....
With respect to inconsistent findings on the interplay between usability and aesthetics, the current paper aimed to further examine\nthe effect of these variables on perceived qualities of a mobile phone prototype. An experiment with four versions of the prototype\nvarying on two factors, (1) usability (high versus low) and (2) aesthetics (high versus low), was conducted with perceived usability\nand perceived beauty, as well as hedonic experience and the systemââ?¬â?¢s appeal as dependent variables. Participants of the experiment\n(N = 88) were instructed to complete four typical tasks with the prototype before assessing its quality. Results showed that the\nmobile phoneââ?¬â?¢s aesthetics does not affect its perceived usability, either directly or indirectly. Instead, results revealed an effect\nof usability on perceived beauty, which supports the ââ?¬Å?what is usable is beautifulââ?¬Â notion instead of ââ?¬Å?what is beautiful is usable.ââ?¬Â\nFurthermore, effects of aesthetics and of usability on hedonic experience in terms of endowing identity and appeal were found,\nindicating that both instrumental (usability) and noninstrumental (beauty) qualities contribute to a positive user experience....
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