Intelligent interaction design: the role of human-computer interaction research in the design of intelligent systems

As more intelligent systems are introduced into the marketplace, it is becoming increasingly urgent to consider usability for such systems. Historically, the two fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and human- computer interaction (HCI) have had little in common. In this paper, we consider how established HCI techniques can usefully be applied to the design and evaluation of intelligent systems, and where there is an urgent need for new approaches. Some techniques - notably those for requirements acquisition and empirical evaluation - can usefully be adopted, and indeed are, within many projects. However, many of the tools and techniques developed within HCI to support design and theory-based evaluation cannot be applied in their present forms to intelligent systems because they are based on inappropriate assumptions; there is consequently a need for new approaches. Conversely, there are approaches that have been developed within AI - e.g. in research on dialogue and on ontologies - that could usefully be adapted and encapsulated to respond to this need. These should form the core of a future research agenda for intelligent interaction design.     

Reinforcement Learning Rules in a Repeated Game

This paper examines the performance of simple reinforcement learningalgorithms in a stationary environment and in a repeated game where theenvironment evolves endogenously based on the actions of other agents. Sometypes of reinforcement learning rules can be extremely sensitive to smallchanges in the initial conditions, consequently, events early in a simulationcan affect the performance of the rule over a relatively long time horizon.However, when multiple adaptive agents interact, algorithms that performedpoorly in a stationary environment often converge rapidly to a stableaggregate behaviors despite the slow and erratic behavior of individuallearners. Algorithms that are robust in stationary environments can exhibitslow convergence in an evolving environment.     

A comment on the influence of substrates on the superfluid density of thin helium-four films atT=0

The influence of substrate potentials on the superfluid density in thin films of ⁴ He atT=0 is discussed. Estimates indicate that an observabl large reduction in _s is to be expected.     

The complexity of approximately counting stable roommate assignments

We investigate the complexity of approximately counting stable roommate assignments in two models: (i) the k-attribute model, in which the preference lists are determined by dot products of “preference vectors” with “attribute vectors” and (ii) the k-Euclidean model, in which the preference lists are determined by the closeness of the “positions” of the people to their “preferred positions”. Exactly counting the number of assignments is #P-complete, since Irving and Leather demonstrated #P-completeness for the special case of the stable marriage problem (Irving and Leather, 1986 [11]). We show that counting the number of stable roommate assignments in the k-attribute model (#k-attribute SR, $k?4$) and the 3-Euclidean model (#k-Euclidean SR, $k?3$) is interreducible, in an approximation-preserving sense, with counting independent sets (of all sizes) ($\mathrm{\#}\mathit{IS}$) in a graph, or counting the number of satisfying assignments of a Boolean formula ($\mathrm{\#}\mathit{SAT}$). This means that there can be no FPRAS for any of these problems unless NP = RP. As a consequence, we infer that there is no FPRAS for counting stable roommate assignments ($\mathrm{\#}\mathit{SR}$) unless NP = RP. Utilizing previous results by Chebolu, Goldberg and Martin (2010) [3], we give an approximation-preserving reduction from counting the number of independent sets in a bipartite graph ($\mathrm{\#}\mathit{BIS}$) to counting the number of stable roommate assignments both in the 3-attribute model and in the 2-Euclidean model. $\mathrm{\#}\mathit{BIS}$ is complete with respect to approximation-preserving reductions in the logically-defined complexity class $\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{RH}{\mathrm{\Pi }}_1$. Hence, our result shows that an FPRAS for counting stable roommate assignments in the 3-attribute model would give an FPRAS for all $\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{RH}{\mathrm{\Pi }}_1$. We also show that the 1-attribute stable roommate problem always has either one or two stable roommate assignments, so the number of assignments can be determined exactly in polynomial time.     

Thermal explosion in a hot gas mixture with organic gel fuel droplets

Recent experimental evidence has uncovered the peculiar behavior of certain gel droplets which, under appropriate ambient thermal conditions, evaporate and burn in an oscillatory fashion. In this work a preliminary foray is made into the theoretical analysis of the nature of the evolution of a hot gas mixture containing organic gel fuel droplets with oscillatory evaporation within the context of thermal-explosion theory. The problem is modeled as a system of highly nonlinear singularly perturbed ordinary differential equations. Non-dimensionalization of the equations enables identification of the parameters that play a major role in determining the dynamical regimes of the system of equations. The method of integral manifolds is exploited for the analysis and it is found, that for certain parametric regions, the system exhibits new dynamical behavior that is quite different from that found for conventional liquid droplets.     

The acculturation gap-distress hypothesis among high-risk Mexican American families.

The authors tested the acculturation gap-distress hypothesis by examining whether parent-adolescent acculturation gaps were associated with greater conflict and youth conduct problems among 260 high-risk Mexican American families. The authors operationalized acculturation gaps in 2 ways: parent-youth mismatches in acculturation style, and parent-youth discrepancies in acculturation toward both mainstream and heritage cultures. Acculturation gaps were common, but results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that parent-youth discrepancies in acculturation toward mainstream and heritage cultures were not related to increased conflict or youth conduct problems. Conduct problems were no higher in families in which the adolescent was more aligned with mainstream culture than the parent. Unexpectedly, the authors found more youth conduct problems in families in which the youth was more aligned with traditional culture than the parent. The results call into question the assumption that the more rapid acculturation of adolescents to American culture inevitably leads to distress in minority families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

THE IMPACT OF SPATIAL VERSUS ECONOMIC MEASURES IN AN URBAN TRANSPORTATION PLAN

A multimodal model for traffic was developed by the Flemish administration. For the first time an integrated set of measures was taken into account to forecast statistics on car-traffic and the use of public transport systems during evening peak-hours. The measures can be classified in four groups: planning, infrastructure, regulation and financial. Each input is forecasted for 2010 by means of two opposite scenarios: a trend scenario and a policy (sustainable) scenario. The model was first tested for the Antwerp region on a very detailed geographical level. We sought to identify which measures had a significant influence on the results. As a result of a sensitivity analysis we conclude that even in the long run planning measures are least effective, followed by infrastructure measures that may stimulate local people to make use of public transport. Regulatory measures and especially financial measures have clearly the most significant impact on generation of passenger kilometres and modal choice during the evening rush hour.     

Issues in the design and use of wearable computers

Wearable computers are fully functional, self-powered, self-contained computers that allow the user to access information anywhere and at any time. In this paper, design issues for wearable computers are discussed, including power considerations, use of input devices, image registration, and the use of wearable computers for the design of smart spaces. Application areas for wearable computers are presented, including medicine, manufacturing, maintenance, and as personal assistants. Finally, future research directions for wearable computers are indicated.     

An analytical framework for local feedforward networks

Interference in neural networks occurs when learning in one area of the input space causes unlearning in another area. Networks that are less susceptible to interference are referred to as spatially local networks. To obtain a better understanding of these properties, a theoretical framework, consisting of a measure of interference and a measure of network localization, is developed. These measures incorporate not only the network weights and architecture but also the learning algorithm. Using this framework to analyze sigmoidal, multilayer perceptron (MLP) networks that employ the backpropagation learning algorithm on the quadratic cost function, we address a familiar misconception that single-hidden-layer sigmoidal networks are inherently nonlocal by demonstrating that given a sufficiently large number of adjustable weights, single-hidden-layer sigmoidal MLPs exist that are arbitrarily local and retain the ability to approximate any continuous function on a compact domain.