Multilingual natural language generation for multilingual software: A functional linguistic approach

In this paper we present an implemented account of multilingual linguistic resources for multilingual text generation that improves significantly on the degree of reuse of resources both across languages and across applications. We argue that this is a necessary step for multilingual generation in order to reduce the high cost of constructing linguistic resources and to make natural language generation relevant for a wider range of applications particularly, in this paper, for multilingual software and user interfaces. We begin by contrasting a weak and a strong approach to multilinguality in the state of the art in multilingual text generation. Neither approach has provided sufficient principles for organizing multilingual work. We then introduce our framework , where multilingual variation is included as an intrinsic feature of all levels of representation. We provide an example of multilingual tactical generation using this approach and discuss some of the performance, maintenance, and development issues that arise.     

Parameterized Role-Based Access Control Policies for XML Documents

ABSTRACT

Role-based access control policies (RBAC) are often used to provide access to fragments of static XML documents. Existing implementations of such RBACs often disseminate a single document encrypted with multiple cryptographic keys. However, most existing approaches are subject to role proliferation, especially in the case of large organizations where the number of defined roles may be several hundred. In such circumstances, correctly administering access control becomes much more difficult and error-prone. In this article, we present a novel approach to RBACs, which supports role parameterization to mitigate the potential of role proliferation. Our approach supports the association of specific user and/or session-specific credentials (i.e., parameters) with roles. We first define parameterized RBAC (PRABC), and then provide an algorithm for generating the minimal set of keys required to enforce a particular parameterized policy. We present another algorithm for efficiently encrypting an XML document in a single pass, using a technique that disguises the original structure of hidden subtrees. Finally, we include a key distribution algorithm that ensures each user receives only those keys that are needed for decrypting accessible fragments of the document. We analyze the complexity of our implementation and provide experiments to demonstrate its scalability.     

面向浏览器的医学影像可视化系统

目的 当前各大商业公司和开源社区所提供的医学影像可视化系统依赖于各类平台以及与平台相关的插件,难以实现跨平台访问.为此提出并实现了基于HTML5的面向现代浏览器的医学影像可视化系统.方法 基于B/S(browers/server)模式进行系统整体架构与设计,设计自定义的传输协议提供各种定制的图像可视化服务.对于2维影像,采用HTML的canvas技术和WebGL技术进行浏览器端硬件加速.对于3维医学影像,采用前后端异步操作的策略以提供渐进式可视化.算法构造原始数据的多分辨率采样,并在用户交互过程中实现自适应可视化.结果 在不同的浏览器、多组临床医学影像肝脏数据上测试了系统,表明系统支持跨浏览器的可视化.测试2维和3维可视化的结果表明,系统支持2维影像的实时可视化(25帧/s),支持3维影像的交互可视化.对于512×512×154的医学体数据,低精度绘制模式的可视化效率可以达到60帧/s,高精度绘制模式的可视化效率可达到 1帧/s 的绘制效率.结论 本文面向浏览器的医学影像可视化系统利用当下新兴的WEB技术实现了跨浏览器、跨平台地对用户提供服务,为远程及移动医疗影像可视化系统提供了机会.     

Gestures and multimodal input

For users with motion impairments, the standard keyboard and mouse arrangement for computer access often presents problems. Other approaches have to be adopted to overcome this. In this paper, we will describe the development of a prototype multimodal input system based on two gestural input channels. Results from extensive user trials of this system are presented. These trials showed that the physical and cognitive loads on the user can quickly become excessive and detrimental to the interaction. Designers of multimodal input systems need to be aware of this and perform regular user trials to minimize the problem.     

Authenticating Users Inside and Outside the Library

ABSTRACT

Libraries supporting digital resources must provide access to proprietary databases for off-campus users. It is also often important to restrict access to given databases or to classes of users from within the library. Vendors usually control access through some combination of Internet Protocol (IP) address and user ID and password. The process of authenticating and authorizing users creates an access management system. One of the most effective means for implementing an access management system today is through a Web proxy server. The technique for setting up the Netscape Proxy Server is described, along with the proxy server's advantages and disadvantages.     

A multilingual knowledge management system: A case study of FAO and WAICENT

This paper provides a case study of a multilingual knowledge management system for a large organization. In so doing we elicit what it means for a system to be “multilingual” and how that changes some previous research on knowledge management. Some researchers have viewed multilingual as meaning a multilingual user interface. However, that is only a small part of the story. In this case we find multilingual also refers to a broad range of “multilingual,” including multilingual knowledge resources, multilingual feedback from users, multilingual search, multilingual ontologies and other concerns.     

Mobile IT in health – the case of short messaging service in an HIV awareness program

ABSTRACT

This study aims to augment our understanding of user intention to use mobile IT in health. Experiential dispositions and technology perceptions around a mobile service that is currently in use to access other value-seeking services are integrated to present an enriched characterization of intention to use m-health. Primary data from a pressing health context in a developing economy are collected to validate the model. The results demonstrate that previous experience from value services received on a mobile service enhances user attention, which in turn positively impacts the perceived usefulness of an incoming m-health program, which then influences user intention to adopt m-health services delivered on that mobile service. Overall, the findings provide a comprehensive understanding of user intention to accept m-health. Additionally, our results provide insights toward the choice of mobile technology and indicate aspects of message framing that may ensure practicable deployment and successful implementation of m-health programs.     

The Micro Gallery: an evaluation of the hypertext system in The National Gallery,London

Abstract

The paper reports on a user evaluation of the Micro Gallery hypertext system of Western European Paintings at The National Gallery in London. A combination of data collection methods was used, including questionnaires before and after the use of the system and direct observation with talk aloud, to examine the impact of the interface features on searching behaviour. The diagnostic analysis highlights difficulties encountered with starting off, access points, navigation, orientation and the touch screen interaction. Linear and non-linear approaches to searching arc compared for first time and experienced users and arc discussed in terms of the completeness of user mental models.     

A Study on User Experience of Automotive HUD Systems: Contexts of Information Use and User-Perceived Design Improvement Points

ABSTRACT

Despite three decades of use and related research efforts, how automotive HUD can be designed to best serve the driver is still an on-going research issue. For any human-machine system, studying the experiences of the existing users is an important first step towards design improvement and innovation. Nonetheless, surprisingly few studies have investigated the user experience of the existing commercial automotive HUD systems. In an effort to address the research gap, the current study conducted a user survey on the usage contexts and design improvement points of the existing automotive HUD systems focusing on eleven high-priority HUD information items selected among those displayed by the existing commercial HUD systems. A total of fifty-one drivers with significant prior HUD use experience participated. Design implications were derived from the survey responses. They may be useful for improving the existing automotive HUD systems in both the system functions and the interface/interaction design.     

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO USER-CENTERED PRIVACY FOR MOBILE INFORMATION SERVICES

The evolution of powerful portable networked devices allows nomadic users seamless access to business and leisure information any time and any where. This drives service infrastructures to similarly evolve to meet new service management challenges in order to adapt information delivery to a richer spatial, temporal, and user context whilst balancing the concerns of the different stakeholders. This paper presents the use of a multi-agent system service infrastructure and associated privacy model to maintain the balance between the service provider's need to maximize its knowledge of the user context against the need for the user's privacy to be protected.     

MASHED: Security and privacy-aware mutual authentication scheme for heterogeneous and distributed mobile cloud computing services

ABSTRACT

Rapid development in mobile devices and cloud computing technologies has increased the number of mobile services from different vendors on the cloud platform. However, users of these services are facing different security and access control challenges due to the nonexistence of security solutions capable of providing secure access to these services, which are from different vendors, using a single key. An effective security solution for heterogeneous Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) services should be able to guarantee confidentiality and integrity through single key-based authentication scheme. Meanwhile, a few of the existing authentication schemes for MCC services require different keys to access different services from different vendors on a cloud platform, thus increases complexity and overhead incurred through generation and storage of different keys for different services.

In this paper, an efficient mutual authentication scheme for accessing heterogeneous MCC services is proposed. The proposed scheme combines the user’s voice signature with cryptography operations to evolve efficient mutual authentication scheme devoid of key escrow problem and allows authorized users to use single key to access the heterogeneous MCC services at a reduced cost.     

Graphical user interface (GUI) testing: Systematic mapping and repository

ContextGUI testing is system testing of a software that has a graphical-user interface (GUI) front-end. Because system testing entails that the entire software system, including the user interface, be tested as a whole, during GUI testing, test cases—modeled as sequences of user input events—are developed and executed on the software by exercising the GUI’s widgets (e.g., text boxes and clickable buttons). More than 230 articles have appeared in the area of GUI testing since 1991.ObjectiveIn this paper, we study this existing body of knowledge using a systematic mapping (SM).MethodThe SM is conducted using the guidelines proposed by Petersen et al. We pose three sets of research questions. We define selection and exclusion criteria. From the initial pool of 230 articles, published in years 1991–2011, our final pool consisted of 136 articles. We systematically develop a classification scheme and map the selected articles to this scheme.ResultsWe present two types of results. First, we report the demographics and bibliometrics trends in this domain, including: top-cited articles, active researchers, top venues, and active countries in this research area. Moreover, we derive the trends, for instance, in terms of types of articles, sources of information to derive test cases, types of evaluations used in articles, etc. Our second major result is a publicly-accessible repository that contains all our mapping data. We plan to update this repository on a regular basis, making it a “live” resource for all researchers.ConclusionOur SM provides an overview of existing GUI testing approaches and helps spot areas in the field that require more attention from the research community. For example, much work is needed to connect academic model-based techniques with commercially available tools. To this end, studies are needed to compare the state-of-the-art in GUI testing in academic techniques and industrial tools.     

Control of data processing systems by voice commands

Abstract

A spoken dialogue between a user and a computer system has to be governed by the system because of: (i) the limited capabilities of present word-recognition apparatus; and (ii) the limited possibilities of the system for ‘understanding’ its user. The user's part of the dialogue therefore needs to be unobtrusively controlled by the system by carefully phrased and timed prompts. Short pauses in these prompts enable the experienced user to make shortcuts through the dialogue, without forsaking complete explanations for the inexperienced user. The user is also able to control the system by utilizing other pauses in the system utterances for corrective words or protests in case of incorrect recognition.     

多用户接入与SLT编码的二维喷泉系统及性能分析

在物联网时代,多用户接入系统的设计将迎来巨大的挑战。本文在现有系统基础上提出了一种多用户接入与SLT编码结合的二维喷泉系统。在时间层上对各用户原始信息进行SLT编码,在用户层上各用户通过接入概率竞争传输,从而构成一种二维喷泉形式,该系统充分利用喷泉编码能有效提高信号抗干扰能力。对于采用SLT编码的每个用户,可以简单地使用置信传播译码算法进行译码。仿真结果表明,与已有多用户接入系统相比,本文提出的系统明显能实现更好的吞吐性能,且解决了已有系统译码算法在较高接入概率下性能急剧下降的问题,从而能给更多的用户进行信息传输的机会,在多用户数据传输中有很好的实用性。     

Design and implementation of heterogeneous distributed multimedia system using mosaic GSQL

With more and more computer users having access to the Internet, it is important for them to access the vast amount of information in an efficient and easy manner. This project explores one of the possibilities for providing an integrated system to the user to access the different types of media like text, image, audio and video stored in different databases on remote machines without the user having to know about the underlying mechanism involved in accessing the database. Such a system must hide the location of the remote data, retrieve the information, process the results and present it to the user. We have used the National Center for Supercomputer Applications (NCSA) Mosaic's Gateway Structured Query Language (GSQL), which enables a system developer to build input forms, query to the remote database in a relatively easy manner and present the results to the user. With the help of this prototype, the development time to build such an application is considerably reduced as compared with developing the same application using the existing Graphical User Interface (GUI) tools like the X-Window system.     

An authorization-based trust model for multiagent systems

In this paper an authorization-based trust model (ABTM) is described which is designed for managing access to services in a semi-open distributed environment. This is called a multiagent-based smart office environment. In this model, "trust" is defined as a set of authorization attributes that are granted by the owner of a service to the user of the service. Central to this model is a trust manager that redelegates authorizations from the service owner to the requesting user, based on access control policies that are specified by role labels which are assigned to a set of agents. The ABTM scheme is different from a centralized scheme, in which authorizations are granted directly by an authority. It is also different from a fully distributed system,where authorizations are granted based solely on the discretion of the owner of the services. The design philosophy is the separation of trust management and trust application to allow efficient management of access control in large-scale and dynamic environment, such as those that exist in multiagent systems.     

Using Data Normalization Techniques for Effective Data Base Design

Abstract

Today's users want to access their data through fourth-generation languages, or 4GLs, and microcomputers. More flexible data bases are required to satisfy this growing need. These data bases must be based on the data as perceived by users, not as viewed by a system—the normalized approach to data base design provides for this. Data bases can be built that satisfy user needs and establish a logical design done only once regardless of the DBMS or computer system that will subsequently use the data.     

SQA-Mashup: A mashup framework for continuous integration

ContextContinuous Integration (CI) has become an established best practice of modern software development. Its philosophy of regularly integrating the changes of individual developers with the master code base saves the entire development team from descending into Integration Hell, a term coined in the field of extreme programming. In practice, CI is supported by automated tools to cope with this repeated integration of source code through automated builds and testing. One of the main problems, however, is that relevant information about the quality and health of a software system is both scattered across those tools and across multiple views.ObjectiveThis paper introduces a quality awareness framework for CI-data and its conceptional model used for the data integration and visualization. The framework called SQA-Mashup makes use of the service-based mashup paradigm and integrates information from the entire CI-toolchain into a single service.MethodThe research approach followed in our work consists out of (i) a conceptional model for data integration and visualization, (ii) a prototypical framework implementation based on tool requirements derived from literature, and (iii) a controlled user study to evaluate its usefulness.ResultsThe results of the controlled user study showed that SQA-Mashup’s single point of access allows users to answer questions regarding the state of a system more quickly (57%) and accurately (21.6%) than with standalone CI-tools.ConclusionsThe SQA-Mashup framework can serve as one-stop shop for software quality data monitoring in a software development project. It enables easy access to CI-data which otherwise is not integrated but scattered across multiple CI-tools. Our dynamic visualization approach allows for a tailoring of integrated CI-data according to information needs of different stakeholders such as developers or testers.     

Using a language independent domain model for multilingual information extraction

The volume of electronic text in different languages, particularly on the World Wide Web, is growing significantly, and the problem of users who are restricted in the number of languages they read obtaining information from this text is becoming more widespread. This article investigates some of the issues involved in achieving multilingual information extraction (IE), describes the approach adopted in the M-LaSIE-II IE system, which addresses these problems, and presents the results of evaluating the approach against a small parallel corpus of English/French newswire texts. The approach is based on the assumption that it is possible to construct a language independent representation of concepts relevant to the domain, at least for the small well-defined domains typical of IE tasks, allowing multilingual IE to be successfully carried out without requiring full machine translation.