Uncertainties of facial emotion recognition technologies and the automation of emotional labour

ABSTRACT

Automated detection and recognition of faces have been implemented in a broad range of media environments. Following that development, what concerns us in this article is the analysis of emotions from facial expressions using computer-based systems, in relation to which we critically investigate the use of theories of basic emotions. We explore in depth the company Affectiva’s attempts to translate, represent and schematize human emotions, as they raise a variety of problems and issues of uncertainty. We analyse the uncertainties concerning the processing of the human face ‘as image’ due to issues concerning temporality and static images as well as polyphony and modulations of the spectrum of expressions. One of our key arguments concerns the temporal character of human emotions, and we address how algorithmically regulated protocols of discretization may be said to prompt specific patterns of emotional responses and expressions based on an ideal of eliminating uncertainty. Through discussions via art pieces by Lauren McCarthy and Kyle McDonald, we question what happens when the protocols of computer systems start to perform aspects of emotional labour for us, making judgments by predicting adequate emotional responses based on the use of the strict metrics criticized in the article.     

Competence via the web

With the rapid growth and technical development of the internet, the interest in distributing education over the web has increased greatly during recent years. Educational systems and industry see the possibilities for more flexible and cost efficient solutions. At the same time, the internet industry is sensing a new market. The challenge lies in producing competence for the individual student through good teaching, while at the same time using technical solutions to create added value via the net. This article gives a short background to the new possibilities in distributed education over the internet, and discusses various factors for success in competence development efforts. The discussion focuses on the different aspects of educational design of web-based educational material.     

Verifying Temporal Properties of Reactive Systems: A STeP Tutorial

We review a number of formal verification techniques supported by STeP, the Stanford Temporal Prover, describing how the tool can be used to verify properties of several versions of the Bakery Mutual exclusion algorithm for mutual exclusion. We verify the classic two-process algorithm and simple variants, as well as an atomic parameterized version. The methods used include deductive verification rules, verification diagrams, automatic invariant generation, and finite-state model checking and abstraction.     

An Industrial Case Study on Distributed Prioritisation in Market-Driven Requirements Engineering for Packaged Software

When developing packaged software, which is sold ‘off-the-shelf’ on a worldwide marketplace, it is essential to collect needs and opportunities from different market segments and use this information in the prioritisation of requirements for the next software release. This paper presents an industrial case study where a distributed prioritisation process is proposed, observed and evaluated. The stakeholders in the requirements prioritisation process include marketing offices distributed around the world. A major objective of the distributed prioritisation is to gather and highlight the differences and similarities in the requirement priorities of the different market segments. The evaluation through questionnaires shows that the stakeholders found the process useful. The paper also presents novel approaches to visualise the priority distribution among stakeholders, together with measures on disagreement and satisfaction. Product management found the proposed charts valuable as decision support when selecting requirements for the next release, as they revealed unforeseen differences among stakeholder priorities. Conclusions on stakeholder tactics are provided and issues of further research are identified, including ways of addressing identified challenges.     

Predicting proteinase specificities from free energy calculations

The role of the primary binding residue (P1) in complexes between three different subtilases (subtilisin Carlsberg, thermitase and proteinase K) and their canonical protein inhibitor eglin c have been studied by free energy calculations. Based on the crystal structures of eglin c in complex with subtilisin Carlsberg and thermitase, and a homology model of the eglin c-proteinase K complex, a total of 57 mutants have been constructed and docked into their host proteins. The binding free energy was then calculated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations combined with the linear interaction energy (LIE) method for all complexes differing only in the nature of the amino acid at the P1 position. LIE calculations for 19 different complexes for each subtilase were thus carried out excluding proline. The effects of substitutions at the P1 position on the binding free energies are found to be very large, and positively charged residues (Arg, Lys and His) are particularly deleterious for all three enzymes. The charged variants of the acidic side chains are found to bind more favorably as compared to their protonated states in all three subtilases. Furthermore, hydrophobic amino acids are accommodated most favorably at the S1-site in all three enzymes. Comparison of the three series of binding free energies shows only minor differences in the 19 computed relative binding free energies among these subtilases. This is further reflected in the correlation coefficient between the 23 relative binding free energies obtained, including the possible protonation states of ionizable side chains, but excluding the P1 Pro, for subtilisin Carlsberg versus thermitase (0.95), subtilisin versus proteinase K (0.94) and thermitase versus proteinase K (0.96).     

Three tokens in Herman’s algorithm

Herman’s algorithm is a synchronous randomized protocol for achieving self-stabilization in a token ring consisting of N processes. The interaction of tokens makes the dynamics of the protocol very difficult to analyze. In this paper we study the distribution of the time to stabilization, assuming that there are three tokens in the initial configuration. We show for arbitrary N and for an arbitrary timeout t that the probability of stabilization within time t is minimized by choosing as the initial three-token configuration the configuration in which the tokens are placed equidistantly on the ring. Our result strengthens a corollary of a theorem of McIver and Morgan (Inf. Process Lett. 94(2): 79–84, 2005), which states that the expected stabilization time is minimized by the equidistant configuration.     

Effects of socio-emotional stressors on ventilation rate and subjective workload during simulated CPR by lay rescuers

Several studies have documented the occurrence of high ventilation rates during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but to date, there have been no scientific investigation of the causes of hyperventilation. The objective of the current study was to test the effects of socio-emotional stressors on lay rescuers' ventilation rate in a simulated resuscitation setting using a manikin model. A within-subjects experiment with randomized order of conditions tested lay rescuers' ventilation rate on an intubated manikin during exposure to socio-emotional stressors and during a control condition where no external stressors were present. Ventilation rates and subjective workload were significantly higher during exposure to socio-emotional stressors than during the control condition. All but one of the nine participants ventilated at a higher ventilation rate in the experimental condition. All nine participants rated the subjective workload to be higher during exposure to socio-emotional stressors. Hence, exposure to socio-emotional stressors is associated with increased ventilation rates performed by lay rescuers during simulated cardiac arrest using a manikin model. These findings might have implications for the understanding of the type of situations which hyperventilation may occur. Awareness of these situations may have implications for training of lay rescues.     

Material and bonding characteristics for dimensioning and modelling of textile reinforced concrete (TRC) elements

The collaborative research center “Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) – Development of a New Technology” (SFB 532) established at Aachen University (RWTH Aachen) is investigating the basic mechanisms of this new composite material. The use of technical textiles as reinforcement material in cementitious binder systems allows the production of thin-structured elements as will be dimensioned, modelled, and produced within the research project. For this reason the material properties of the single components have to be known and will be integrated in analytical and numerical simulations of textile reinforced structures. Thus key parameters on the meso-level are introduced. These are on the one hand the tensile strength and elastic modulus of filaments and rovings, on the other hand mechanical and fracture mechanical parameters of the matrix, and finally the bonding characteristics of filaments as well as rovings embedded in the cement based matrix.