Face detection based on skin color likelihood

We propose a face detection method based on skin color likelihood via a boosting algorithm which emphasizes skin color information while deemphasizing non-skin color information. A stochastic model is adapted to compute the similarity between a color region and the skin color. Both Haar-like features and Local Binary Pattern (LBP) features are utilized to build a cascaded classifier. The boosted classifier is implemented based on skin color emphasis to localize the face region from a color image. Based on our experiments, the proposed method shows good tolerance to face pose variation and complex background with significant improvements over classical boosting-based classifiers in terms of total error rate performance.     

Social virtual world continuance among teens: uncovering the moderating role of perceived aggregate network exposure

Engagement in virtual worlds has become pervasive, particularly among the young. At the same time, the number of virtual environments has increased rapidly. Due to intensifying competition, promoting sustained usage, i.e. continuance, has become a top priority for virtual world operators. Prior research has shown that network externalities play a key role in the adoption of communication technologies. However, a small amount of research has examined the role of network externalities in continued IT usage in general or with respect to the virtual world participation in particular. To fill in this gap, we examine how perceived network externalities affect the continuance of social virtual worlds. To this end, we introduce the concept of perceived aggregate network exposure (PANE). We extend the original information systems (IS) continuance model with perceived enjoyment and position PANE as a moderator. We test the model with data collected from 2134 Finnish Habbo Hotel users and employ structural equation modelling in the analysis. The results demonstrate that PANE moderates the influence of motivational factors on continued use intention and satisfaction.     

促进三峡库区和谐稳定发展评价方法研究

三峡库区已完成了百万移民的搬迁安置,进入了移民安稳致富的新阶段,库区社会和谐稳定对促进库区经济社会健康发展和实现全面建成小康社会的目标具有重要作用。本研究重点关注和谐库区建设思路及评价指标体系构建:一方面,从理论层面,重点论述与库区和谐社会相关的理论认识成果;另一方面,从实际管理运用层面,构建了库区和谐评价指标体系,可为移民动态管理提供有力的技术支撑。     

Expectations and Experiences With MyLabourParty: From Right to Know to Right to Participate?

Social media are often argued to change political communication, decreasing the distance between politicians and citizens, and increasing citizens' influence on policymaking. This paper presents findings from a study of how the Norwegian Labour Party uses social media, focusing on the community platform MyLabourParty. Interviews with politicians and a survey with citizens as respondents were conducted to examine the experiences of online political discussions. Findings show that citizens and politicians expect MyLabourParty to strengthen citizen participation. Yet, citizens still experience communication asymmetry and politicians may find it challenging to participate to the extent citizens expect. Means for bridging the gap between expectations and experiences are called for, in particular redefinition of the offering, changes of user‐practices, and system improvements.     

Tele‐Cocooning: Mobile Texting and Social Scope

The present study examines the tele‐cocooning hypothesis in the context of general trust using a nationally representative survey of Japanese youth. We find that although frequency of texting is positively correlated with general trust, this correlation is spuriously caused by how heavy mobile texters interpret the words “most people” in the general trust measurement. Heavy users assume that “most people” only refers to friends, family, and others going to the same school. When the effect of the “most people” assumption is controlled, the positive association between texting and general trust disappears. Further exploration of the data shows that heavy texting nevertheless has negative implications for social tolerance and social caution, both of which are theoretically proximate to general trust.     

Investigating Modern‐Day Talaria: Mobile Phones and the Mobility‐Impaired in Singapore

Revisiting the medical and social models of disability, this study adopted the integrated biopsychosocial approach to examine experiences of 25 mobility‐impaired respondents in Singapore with using mobile phones. We found that mobile phones provided respondents a greater degree of mobility, a sense of control, and opportunities to escape the stigma of disability, thus challenging the boundaries between the able‐bodied and the disabled. Mobile phone appropriation allowed the management of personal identities and social networks, leading to a sense of empowerment. However, mobile phone usage might act as a double‐edged sword for disabled people, creating mobile dependencies and a spatial narrowing of social connections. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Knowledge transfer in IT offshoring relationships: the roles of social capital,efficacy and outcome expectations

Information technology (IT) development in global organisations relies heavily on the transfer of tacit and complex knowledge from onshore units to offshore subsidiaries. A central concern of such organisations is the development of social capital, which is known to facilitate the smooth transfer of knowledge. However, only a few studies in IS research have explicitly examined the role of social capital for knowledge transfer in an IT offshoring context. In this paper, we argue that such knowledge transfer mechanisms can be understood better by considering social capital in concert with knowledge senders' efficacy and outcome expectations, two of the potentially key motivational drivers of knowledge transfer. We develop our arguments through a qualitative case study of a large German multinational company. German IT developers in this firm provided in‐depth accounts of their experience with offshore colleagues in an Indian captive subsidiary unit. Drawing on our analysis, we develop a model that depicts the influence of social capital, efficacy and outcome expectations on onshore IT developers' ability and willingness to transfer knowledge to offshore colleagues. Through the model, we also explain how social capital, efficacy and outcome expectations are interrelated and generate three interlocked, self‐reinforcing circles of knowledge transfer success in IT offshoring relationships.     

校园体育教育资源共享的研究

在当今社会,校园体育教育得到了社会各界的关注。21世纪是需要创新的年代,而校园体育教育需要更多的资源支持。简要介绍了校园体育教育资源共享的趋势,论述了校园体育教育资源共享的必要性,阐述了校园体育教育资源共享的必然性和可行性。     

智慧社保服务体系建设思考与实践

建立智慧型社会保障服务体系,是政府惠民工程的重要组成部分之一。以精确的人员基本信息库建设、经办业务下延、银行自助服务、网上自主经办等方面为依托,充分利用信息化手段打造一体化的社保经办体系,将业务经办突破时间、空间限制,构建完整的智慧社保服务体系。经信息系统上线近二年的实时运行,证明运用现代信息技术建立多层次、多渠道、差异化的服务体系,极大地提高了服务效率,产生了良好的社会效益。