DOM tree browsing of a very large XML document: Design and implementation

Browsing the DOM tree of an XML document is an act of following the links among the nodes of the DOM tree to find some desired nodes without any knowledge for search. When the structure of the XML document is not known to a user, browsing is the basic operation performed for referring the contents of the XML document. If the size of the XML document is very large, however, using a general-purpose XML parser for browsing the DOM tree of the XML document to access arbitrary node may suffer from the lack of memory space for constructing the large DOM tree. To alleviate this problem, we suggest a method to browse the DOM tree of a very large XML document by splitting the XML document into n small XML documents and generating sequentially the DOM tree of each of those small n XML documents. For later reference, the information of some nodes accessed from the DOM tree already generated has been also kept using the concept of their virtual nodes. With our suggested approach, the memory space necessary for browsing the DOM tree of a very large XML document is reduced such that it can be managed by a personal computer.     

A review of audio guides in the era of smart tourism

The tourism industry is intimately related to the development of technology. Currently, technology-integrated “smart tourism” provides convenience and interactivity, and offers personalized services to tourists. However, the use of the technology-mediated audio guides among tourists in cultural heritage sites is not as active as expected. The underutilization of the audio guides in palaces is confirmed by a survey at Gyeongbok-gung palace, and the underlying reasons are examined by interviewing visitors to Chateau de Versailles. This paper analyzes the low usage of audio guides as a case-study, utilizing Cohen’s basic concepts of tour guides, Dann’s tourist motivation theory and the museum ecology of Bell. Consequently, this paper confirms the multifunctional complexity of audio guides, and suggests improvement of them in functionality (user-friendliness, usability, interactivity and social functions) for program developers, and the strategic use of ICT in promotion of palaces as smart tourism destination in cultural heritage management.     

Team THOR's Entry in the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals 2015

This paper describes Team THOR's approach to human‐in‐the‐loop disaster response robotics for the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Finals. Under the duress of unpredictable networking and terrain, fluid operator interactions and dynamic disturbance rejection become major concerns for effective teleoperation. We present a humanoid robot designed to effectively traverse a disaster environment while allowing for a wide range of manipulation abilities. To complement the robot hardware, a hierarchical software foundation implements network strategies that provide real‐time feedback to an operator under restricted bandwidth using layered user interfaces. Our strategy for humanoid locomotion includes a backward‐facing knee configuration paired with specialized toe and heel lifting strategies that allow the robot to traverse difficult surfaces while rejecting external perturbations. With an upper body planner that encodes operator preferences, predictable motion plans are executed in unforeseen circumstances. These plans are critical for manipulation in unknown environments. Our approach was validated during the DRC Finals competition, where Team THOR scored three points in 18 min of operation time, and the results are presented along with an analysis of each task.     

Contour matching using epipolar geometry

Matching features computed in images is an important process in multiview image analysis. When the motion between two images is large, the matching problem becomes very difficult. In this paper, we propose a contour matching algorithm based on geometric constraints. With the assumption that the contours are obtained from images taken from a moving camera with static scenes, we apply the epipolar constraint between two sets of contours and compute the corresponding points on the contours. From the initial epipolar constraints obtained from corner point matching, candidate contours are selected according to the epipolar geometry, contour end point constraints, and contour distance measures. In order to reduce the possibility of false matches, the number of match points on a contour is also used as a selection measure. The initial epipolar constraint is refined from the matched sets of contours. The algorithm can be applied to a pair or two pairs of images. All of the processes are fully automatic and successfully implemented and tested with various real images     

Leveraging online communities in fostering adaptive schools

There has long been a call for schools to prepare students for the twenty-first century where skills and dispositions differ significantly from much of what has historically characterized formal education. The knowledge based economy calls for policy and pedagogical efforts that would transform schools. Schools are to foster communities of learners. This paper suggests that para-communities may be points of leverage in the fostering of adaptive schools. A critical analysis is done on the differences between para-communities (such as online communities) and schools; and an argument is made that they each serve differing goals and should be left distinct because they achieve different societal and economic demands.     

An Exploratory Study: Supporting Collaborative Multimedia Systems Design

Multimedia systems design generally requires a collaborative effort from a group of designers with a variety of backgrounds and tasks, such as content experts, instructional designers, media specialists, users, and so forth. However, currently available design tools on the market are mainly designed for a single user. Tools intended to support a collaborative design process should coordinate independent activities of individual designers.This research investigated support for work groups engaged in designing multimedia systems. Specifically, it discussed a new collaborative design environment, called the KMS (Knowledge Management System)-based design environment, in which multimedia designers could share their design knowledge freely. Through two experimental groups, the research investigated impacts of the KMS-based design environment on their collaborative design activities (knowledge creating, knowledge securing, knowledge distributing, and knowledge retrieving activities). The research findings showed that the KMS-based design environment was a promising environment for collaborative multimedia systems design. More specifically, the research findings indicated that the KMS-based design environment supported creating, securing, and retrieving knowledge, but it did not support distributing knowledge. In addition, the research found that the social interactions between group members played important roles in the success of the collaborative multimedia systems design and that the KMS-based design environment did not support the socialization of group members. Furthermore, the research found that the inability of the KMS-based design environment to support the socialization was linked to its low performance level in supporting the knowledge distributing activity. The research explored the desired features of a collaborative support tool for multimedia systems design.     

Run-to-run control of inductively coupled C2F6 plasma etching of SiO2: Construction of a numerical process with a computational fluid dynamics code

A numerical process to simulate SiO₂ dry etching with inductively coupled C₂F₆ plasmas has been constructed using a commercial CFD code as a first step to design a run-to-run control system. The simulator was found to reasonably predict the reactive ion etching behavior of C₂F₆ plasmas and used to investigate the effects of plasma operating variables on the etch rate and uniformity. The relationship between the operating variables and the etching characteristics was mathematically modeled through linear regression for future run-to-run control system design.     

Using online collaboration applications for group assignments: The interplay between design and human characteristics

In recent years, educators and students are increasingly employing online collaboration applications such as Google Docs™ and PBWorks™ for group projects and assignments. Yet, the effectiveness of these emerging technologies has not been rigorously examined. Anchoring upon and informed by the existing literature, two design characteristics – sociability and visibility, and two human characteristics – gender and age, are focused on, which are salient in online collaboration applications. A field experiment was conducted to examine the direct and moderating effects of design and human characteristics on learning outcomes. The research found that sociability improved process satisfaction and positive social environment while visibility enhanced academic performance and solution satisfaction of learners. Males had higher solution satisfaction while older learners had higher academic performance. Moderating effects were also found. Both theoretical and practical implications are drawn. In particular, a rubric for online collaboration application selection for academic performance is conceived. This study provides empirical support for online collaboration application effectiveness in education which will augur well for future adoption, use and evolution.     

Integration of evolutional BOMs for design of ship outfitting equipment

PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) as well as enterprise information systems commonly use the BOM (Bill of Material) as a means of communication during product development. BOM has been used for product design, production scheduling, procurement, manufacturing and maintenance as it contains the part list of a subassembly or assembly product. BOM currently plays a key role in the PLM environment because it is an essential product information platform in the industry. In practice, product data should be arranged based on the BOM and product structure. Many shipyards or PLM vendors have attempted to develop a PLM adequate for shipbuilding. However, it is always the premise of the successful PLM implementation to prepare the efficient product structure and BOM.This paper suggests an enterprise BOM which addresses the hierarchy of parts and assembly, product structure and product information of outfitting equipment in marine vessel design. In order to express the evolution of product structures and outfitting information during the ship design, the enterprise BOM is modeled by the structure BOM and the display BOM. Concepts are developed for modeling all levels of product relations with a uniform set of relationships supported by the enterprise BOM. It is shown that the architecture of the structure BOM can be used to define the relationships between assemblies, parts, and a multi-view of an evolutional BOM in ship design. The architecture of the outfitting BOM is also presented using an example of a piping system.     

In-plane directional mechanical properties of carbon fabric skins in sandwich structures after thermoforming

In this paper, a representative unit volume finite element (RUV FE) model was employed to simulate thermoforming process of carbon fabric-polymeric foam sandwich structures. Thermoforming simulations, which capture crimp angles and amplitude changes of carbon fabric with respect to different operational pressure, were conducted with the help of RUV FE model. Micro-deformation of tow structures after thermoforming was rigorously reflected in the second stage FE model to determine the in-plane directional stiffness of skin parts. Tensile tests were carried out to investigate mechanical properties of skin parts in sandwich structures for the potential usage of automotives, electronic housings or the satellite structure design.