Showing papers on "Personal computer published in 2011"

Green Cloud Computing: Balancing Energy in Processing, Storage, and Transport For processing large amounts of data, management and switching of communications may contribute significantly to energy consumption and cloud computing seems to be an alternative to office-based computing.

Abstract: Network-based cloud computing is rapidly expanding as an alternative to conventional office-based computing. As cloud computing becomes more widespread, the energy consumption of the network and computing resources that underpin the cloud will grow. This is happening at a time when there is increasing attention being paid to the need to manage energy consumption across the entire information and communications technology (ICT) sector. While data center energy use has received much attention recently, there has been less attention paid to the energy consumption of the transmission and switching networks that are key to connecting users to the cloud. In this paper, we present an analysis of energy consumption in cloud computing. The analysis considers both public and private clouds, and includes energy consumption in switching and transmission as well as data processing and data storage. We show that energy consumption in transport and switching can be a significant percentage of total energy consumption in cloud computing. Cloud computing can enable more energy-efficient use of computing power, especially when the computing tasks are of low intensity or infrequent. However, under some circum- stances cloud computing can consume more energy than conventional computing where each user performs all com- puting on their own personal computer (PC).

Green Cloud Computing: Balancing Energy in Processing, Storage, and Transport

Abstract: Network-based cloud computing is rapidly expanding as an alternative to conventional office-based computing. As cloud computing becomes more widespread, the energy consumption of the network and computing resources that underpin the cloud will grow. This is happening at a time when there is increasing attention being paid to the need to manage energy consumption across the entire information and communications technology (ICT) sector. While data center energy use has received much attention recently, there has been less attention paid to the energy consumption of the transmission and switching networks that are key to connecting users to the cloud. In this paper, we present an analysis of energy consumption in cloud computing. The analysis considers both public and private clouds, and includes energy consumption in switching and transmission as well as data processing and data storage. We show that energy consumption in transport and switching can be a significant percentage of total energy consumption in cloud computing. Cloud computing can enable more energy-efficient use of computing power, especially when the computing tasks are of low intensity or infrequent. However, under some circumstances cloud computing can consume more energy than conventional computing where each user performs all computing on their own personal computer (PC).

The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It

Abstract: The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It Jonathan Zittrain. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008. 342 pages. $30.00.Jonathan Zittrain's book, The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It, discusses the tension between generativity, the "capacity to produce unanticipated change through unfiltered contributions from a broad and varied audience" and the security problems inherent in today's personal computers and Internet system (70). This generativity, Zittrain argues, is the greatest strength of personal computers and the Internet and had led to great innovations, including creative software, peer-to-peer networking, blogs and content sites such as Wikipedia, and even the Internet itself. Yet this same generativity has also spawned security, legal, and social problems that may lead to the demise of personal computers and the Internet as they exist today (101). If we do not find solutions for these problems, Zittrain warns, we will be faced with government or corporate control of personal computers and the Internet, similar to current controls of cellular telephones and cable converter boxes, which will effectively shut down the innovations that personal computers and the Internet currently enable (245). Personal computers, according to Zittrain, will become nothing but appliances programmed by the manufacturer, capable only of limited tasks, and stripped of the tools and capabilities necessary for innovation.The first part of the book traces the history of personal computers, mainframes, proprietary servers, and the Internet. This section highlights how differences in technology and administration fostered generativity in personal computers and on the Internet and prohibited innovation on the mainframes and proprietary networks. Yet the innovations made possible by the generative nature of the Internet and personal computers also created its vulnerabilities: viruses, worms, malware, and spyware. Despite his obvious support of generativity, Zittrain admits that the current situation is "not sustainable" (43), but warns that the obvious solutions-such as limited functionality, governmental controls, and censorship-completely undermine the creativity made possible by personal computers and the Internet. The sec- ond part of the book defines generativity and explores its benefits and detriments. Here, Zittrain proposes that information technology functions best when generative, while admitting that we cannot ignore the problems caused by generativity (64), and warns equally of the dangers of controlled appliances: censorships, surveillance, forced legal compliance, and unannounced changes in machine functions. Chapter 6 in this section considers Wikikpedia as a self-regulating generative system that functions imperfectly but well. Part Three proposes technological, legal, and social solutions to the problems discussed earlier in the book.The Future of the Internet intertwines its analysis of current personal computer/Internet problems with current and historical examples from business, law, culture (Internet and otherwise), and technology. These examples, often worthwhile and interesting in and of themselves, underpin Zittrain's analysis rationally and support his conclusions. The examples show that the kind of sledgehammer solutions that Zittrain predicts are not merely possibilities or potentialities, but already have been and are being employed by various companies and governments. Perhaps best of all, Zittrain's use of these historical and current examples avoids the sensationalism often seen in other works that predict governmental and corporate control of options, behavior, and creativity. …

System and Method for Transmission of Data

Abstract: A system and method for data communication connecting on-line networks with on-line and off-line computers. The present system provides for broadcast of up to the minute notification centric information thereby providing an instant call to action for users who are provided with the ability to instantaneously retrieve further detailed information. The notification centric portions of information is wirelessly broadcast to wireless receiving devices which are attached to computing devices. Upon receipt of the information at the personal computer, the user is notified through different multimedia alerts that there is an incoming message. Wirelessly broadcasted URL's, associated with the data, are embedded in data packets and provide an automated wired or wireless connection back to the information source for obtaining detailed data.

Readings in Multiple Criteria Decision Aid

Abstract: Introductory Chapter.- Multiple Criteria Decision Aid: An Overview.- I Modelling Decision Situations.- Decision-Aid and Decision-Making.- Action Evaluation and Action Structuring: Different Decision Aid Situations Reviewed Through Two Actual Cases.- Building Criteria: A Prerequisite For MCDA.- Measurement Theory And Decision Aid.- Basic Concepts Of Preference Modelling.- Decision Making In Ill-Structured Environments And With Multiple Criteria.- II The Outranking Approach.- The Outranking Approach And The Foundations Of Electre Methods.- The Construction Of Prescriptions In Outranking Methods.- The Promethee Methods For MCDM The Promcalc, Gaia And Bankadviser Software.- A Pairwise Criterion Comparison Approach: The Mappac And Pragma Methods.- III Value And Utility Theory Approach.- Conjoint Measurement: Theory And Methods.- Multi Criteria Decision Making And The Analytic Hierarchy Process.- Use Of A Simple Multi-Attribute Value Function Incorporating Visual Interactive Sensitivity Analysis For Multiple Criteria Decision Making.- Interactive Assessment Of Preferences Using Holistic Judgments: The Prefcalc System.- An Additive Value Function Technique With A Fuzzy Outranking Relation For Dealing With Poor Intercriteria Preference Information.- Qualitative Multicriteria Methods In The Netherlands.- IV Interactive Multiple Objective Programming.- Interactive Multiple Objective Programming: Concepts, Current Status, And Future Directions.- A Comparison Of Microcomputer Implemented Interactive Molp Methods Based On A Case Study.- The Multiobjective Linear Programming Decision Support System Vig And Its Applications.- A Personal Computer Version Of The MCDA Approach Strange.- Interactive Multifactorial Planning: State Of The Art.- V Group Decision And Negotiation.- An Introduction To Group Decision And Negotiation Support.- Group Decision Making: Methodology And Applications.- Supporting Decision Processes: An Approach And Two Examples.- VI The School Case-Study.- Presentation Of The School Case-Study: Evaluation Of Personnel - How To Rank Officers For Promotion?.- A Report On The Study Of The Portuguese Navy Case.

Teaching and Learning with iPads, Ready or Not?

Abstract: Within weeks of becoming available, the iPad reportedly sold over 3 million units, a brisker pace than other tablets in the personal computer realm. Much of the early success might be attributed to the almost 250,000 applications that could run on the device and a similar interface to the popular iPod Touch and iPhone. This article considers whether the sales spark that has ignited a hardware revolution (numerous device manufacturers have launched–e.g., HP, RIM, Samsung, Motorola, and HTC–or have plans to launch tablet devices over the next year) is being matched on the software front, with a particular focus on K-12 teaching and learning. Authors consider the potential affect both the iPad and its applications might have on teaching and learning in K-12 settings and whether these technologies allow educators and students to accomplish what they otherwise could not, from a teaching and learning perspective.

Efficient and effective spam filtering and re-ranking for large web datasets

Abstract: The TREC 2009 web ad hoc and relevance feedback tasks used a new document collection, the ClueWeb09 dataset, which was crawled from the general web in early 2009. This dataset contains 1 billion web pages, a substantial fraction of which are spam--pages designed to deceive search engines so as to deliver an unwanted payload. We examine the effect of spam on the results of the TREC 2009 web ad hoc and relevance feedback tasks, which used the ClueWeb09 dataset. We show that a simple content-based classifier with minimal training is efficient enough to rank the "spamminess" of every page in the dataset using a standard personal computer in 48 hours, and effective enough to yield significant and substantive improvements in the fixed-cutoff precision (estP10) as well as rank measures (estR-Precision, StatMAP, MAP) of nearly all submitted runs. Moreover, using a set of "honeypot" queries the labeling of training data may be reduced to an entirely automatic process. The results of classical information retrieval methods are particularly enhanced by filtering--from among the worst to among the best.

Introducing Survival and Event History Analysis

Abstract: The Fundamentals of Survival and Event History Analysis Introduction: What Is Survival and Event History Analysis? Key Concepts and Terminology Censoring and Truncation Mathematical Expression and Relation of Basic Statistical Functions How Do the Survivor, Density and Hazard Function Relate? Why Use Survival and Event History Analysis? Overview of Survival and Event History Models Exercises Using R and Other Computer Programs for Survival and Event History Analysis Introduction: Computer Programs for Survival and Event History Analysis Conducting Serious Data Analysis: Life Lessons Why Use R? Downloading R on Your Personal Computer Add-On Packages Running R Determining and Setting your Working Directory Help and Documentation Importing Data Into R Working With Data: Opening and Accessing Variables from a Data Frame Saving Output as File, Workspace and History and Quitting R Exercises Your First Session: Using the Survival Package and Exploring Data Via Descriptive Statistics and Graphs Your First Session Using the 'Survival' Package In F Loading and Examining the Survival Package and Rcmdrplugin.Survival Plug-In Opening and Examining Data The Surv Object: Packaging the 'Survival Variable' Basic Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Data Exploration with Graphs Exercises Data and Data Reconstruction Introduction: Why Discuss Data and Data Preparation? Sources of Event History Data Single-Episode Data for Single Transition Analyses Multi-Episode Data for Recurrent Event and Frailty Analyses Subject-(Person)-Period Data for Discrete-Time Hazard Models The Counting Process and Episode Splitting A Note on Dates Exercises Non-Parametric Methods: Estimating and Comparing Survival Curves Using the Kaplan-Meier Estimator Introduction The Kaplan-Meier Estimator Producing Kaplan-Meier Estimates Plotting the Kaplan-Meier Survival Curve Testing Differences Between Two Groups Using Survdiff Stratifying the Analysis by a Covariate Exercises The Cox Proportional-Hazards Regression Introduction: Why is The Cox Model So Popular? The Cox Regression Model Estimating and Interpreting The Cox Model with Fixed Covariates The Cox Regression Model with Time-Varying Covariates Exercises Parametric Models Introduction: What are Parametric Models and Why Use Them? Proportional Hazards (Ph) Versus Accelerated Failure Time (Aft) Models The Path to Choosing a Model Estimating and Interpreting Parametric Survival Models Exponential and Piecewise Constant Exponential Model Weibull Model Log-Logistic and Log-Normal Models Additional Parametric Models Finding the Best Fitting Parametric Model Exercises Model Building and Diagnostics Introduction Model Building and Selection of Covariates Assessing the Overall Goodness of Fit of Your Model What is Residual Analysis? Testing Overall Model Adequacy: Cox-Snell Residuals Testing the Proportional Hazards Assumption: Schoenfeld Residuals Checking For Influential Observations: Score Residuals (Dfbeta Statistics) Assessing Nonlinearity: Martingale Residual and Component-Plus-Residual Plots Exercises Correlated and Discrete-Time Survival Data: Frailty, Recurrent Events and Discrete-Time Models Introduction Shared Frailty: Modeling Recurrent Events and Clustering In Groups Other Frailty Models: Unshared, Nested, Joint and Additive Models Estimating Frailty Models in R Example of Frailty Model Estimation and Interpretation Discrete-Time and Count Models Exercises Multiple Events and Entire Histories: Competing Risk, Multistate Models and Sequence Analysis Introduction Competing Risk Models Multistate Models Sequence Analysis: Modeling Entire Histories Exercises Appendix : Datasets Used in this Book

Free-Viewpoint TV

Abstract: Free-viewpoint television (FTV) is an innovative visual media that enables us to view a three-dimensional (3-D) scene by freely changing our viewpoints. We proposed the concept of FTV and constructed the world???s first real-time system including the complete chain of operation from image capture to display. We also carried out the FTV on a single personal computer (PC) and a mobile player. FTV is based on the ray-space method that represents one ray in real space with one point in the ray-space. We have developed several types of ray capture systems and interfaces such as a 360° capture/ray-reproducing display. FTV is regarded as the ultimate 3DTV, since it can generate infinite number of views. Thus, FTV is the key to immersive communication. Regarding FTV as the most challenging 3-D media, the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) has been conducting its international standardization activities. This article reviews FTV and its related technologies.

CloVR: A virtual machine for automated and portable sequence analysis from the desktop using cloud computing

Abstract: Next-generation sequencing technologies have decentralized sequence acquisition, increasing the demand for new bioinformatics tools that are easy to use, portable across multiple platforms, and scalable for high-throughput applications Cloud computing platforms provide on-demand access to computing infrastructure over the Internet and can be used in combination with custom built virtual machines to distribute pre-packaged with pre-configured software We describe the Cloud Virtual Resource, CloVR, a new desktop application for push-button automated sequence analysis that can utilize cloud computing resources CloVR is implemented as a single portable virtual machine (VM) that provides several automated analysis pipelines for microbial genomics, including 16S, whole genome and metagenome sequence analysis The CloVR VM runs on a personal computer, utilizes local computer resources and requires minimal installation, addressing key challenges in deploying bioinformatics workflows In addition CloVR supports use of remote cloud computing resources to improve performance for large-scale sequence processing In a case study, we demonstrate the use of CloVR to automatically process next-generation sequencing data on multiple cloud computing platforms The CloVR VM and associated architecture lowers the barrier of entry for utilizing complex analysis protocols on both local single- and multi-core computers and cloud systems for high throughput data processing

Smart Device User Authentication

Abstract: Techniques for simplifying an authentication process from the viewpoint of a user while providing improved security to the many users currently employing no or weak security techniques. In logging into a web site hosted by a web server, a session begins by a user connecting and logging in with a device, such as a personal computer. Rather than a user name and password approach which is presently typical, the personal computer communicates with another user device, such as a smart phone. In one approach, an encoded acoustic signal is employed for this communication. The smart phone securely communicates with an authentication server which informs the web server whether the user has been authenticated or not.

Automatic detection of appliances

Abstract: Devices and methods for identifying an electrical device, and its state, in a network of electrical devices are disclosed. An energy monitoring device is programmed to identify an electrical device coupled to a power supply, and a state of the electrical device, from a change in successive measurements of the power supply. Algorithms for determining a load signature for an electrical device and its state are disclosed. A stored table of load signatures for states is used to identify devices, and states. Energy monitoring information is collected and presented to the user on a display, a remote display, or is transmitted over a network to a remote device such as a personal computer, personal digital assistant, an iPhone®, a cell phone, voice mail, email, or text message.

User interface to facilitate exchanging files among processor-based devices

Abstract: A first processor-based device (PBD), such as a personal computer functioning as a host and containing digital media files, may share a selected file with a second PBD. Media file-sharing may be facilitated by an automated technique including graphical user interfaces (GUIs). In one embodiment, when a device user wishes to transfer a file to another device, the user hovers the file over a particular desktop icon and drops it, causing it to be automatically transmitted to a corresponding destination. Optionally, in response to hovering, a software program automatically generates a GUI indicating potential destinations. The user then selects a destination, and the system automatically transfers the file to that destination. In another embodiment, media sharing can be initiated from a digital appliance, such as a digital picture frame, and a file can be sent to another PBD, such as another digital picture frame via an intermediary PBD.

System and method for capturing hand annotations

Abstract: A capture device for remote, virtual on screen data input by hand annotation comprises at least three functional layers including a bottom rigid layer, a middle pressure sensor layer and a top flexible layer. The bottom rigid layer has a surface that provides a mechanical support for writing. The middle pressure sensor layer is adapted to measuring a pressure array or map on the capture active area and to send data representing the measured pressure to a personal computer. The top flexible touch-sensitive passive LCD display layer includes an LCD surface by which whatever is written down on the LCD is impressed graphically due to its liquid crystal physical properties wherein applied pressure changes the crystal particles orientation and light properties, such that when a stylus presses against a writing surface thereof, it leaves a visible trace allowing the user to produce a drawing though no real ink has flown.

Method and apparatus for transferring digital content from a personal computer to a mobile handset

Abstract: A system for synchronizing digital content stored on a user's mobile handset with digital content stored on the user's personal computer is disclosed.

Impact of unit commitment constraints on generation expansion planning with renewables

Abstract: Growing use of renewables pushes thermal generators against operating constraints — e.g. ramping, minimum output, and operating reserves — that are traditionally ignored in expansion planning models. We show how including such unit-commitment-derived details can significantly change energy production and optimal capacity mix. We introduce a method for efficiently combining unit commitment and generation expansion planning into a single mixed-integer optimization model. Our formulation groups generators into categories allowing integer commitment states from zero to the installed capacity. This formulation scales well, runs much faster (e.g. 5000×) than individual plant binary decisions, and makes the combined model computationally tractable for large systems (hundreds of generators) at hourly time resolutions (8760 hours) using modern solvers on a personal computer. We show that ignoring these constraints during planning can result in a sub-optimal capacity mix with significantly higher operating costs (17%) and carbon emissions (39%) and/or the inability to meet emissions targets.

Smart Phones, a Powerful Tool in the Chemistry Classroom.

Abstract: Cell phones, especially “smart phones”, seem to have become ubiquitous. Actually, it is misleading to call many of these devices phones, as they are actually a portable and powerful computer that can be very valuable in the chemistry classroom. Currently, there are three major ways in which smart phones can be used for education. Smart phones include a Web browser, which gives access to the wealth of material on the World Wide Web (WWW); inexpensive applications (commonly called apps) expand this usefulness even further; and two-dimensional barcode labels can be used to create “smart objects”. Taken together, these capabilities are creating a world of mobile computing that may have an impact on society, including chemical education, that may be even greater than the changes brought about by the personal computer.

Circuit breaker with integral meter and wireless communications

Abstract: A remote data collection for a circuit breaker panel is disclosed. Circuit panel current and/or time data is collected from one or more intelligent circuit breakers having built in data acquisition. The data are communicated to a host computer. Simultaneously the line voltage is measured and specific load power and energy usage of each breaker is calculated in real-time at the host computer. The specific load power and energy usage of each breaker is transmitted to a remote computer, which may be a homeowner's personal computer, for analysis and control.

Point-and-Click Cursor Control With an Intracortical Neural Interface System by Humans With Tetraplegia

Abstract: We present a point-and-click intracortical neural interface system (NIS) that enables humans with tetraplegia to volitionally move a 2-D computer cursor in any desired direction on a computer screen, hold it still, and click on the area of interest. This direct brain-computer interface extracts both discrete (click) and continuous (cursor velocity) signals from a single small population of neurons in human motor cortex. A key component of this system is a multi-state probabilistic decoding algorithm that simultaneously decodes neural spiking activity of a small population of neurons and outputs either a click signal or the velocity of the cursor. The algorithm combines a linear classifier, which determines whether the user is intending to click or move the cursor, with a Kalman filter that translates the neural population activity into cursor velocity. We present a paradigm for training the multi-state decoding algorithm using neural activity observed during imagined actions. Two human participants with tetraplegia (paralysis of the four limbs) performed a closed-loop radial target acquisition task using the point-and-click NIS over multiple sessions. We quantified point-and-click performance using various human-computer interaction measurements for pointing devices. We found that participants could control the cursor motion and click on specified targets with a small error rate (<; 3% in one participant). This study suggests that signals from a small ensemble of motor cortical neurons ( ~ 40) can be used for natural point-and-click 2-D cursor control of a personal computer.

Web GIS in practice X: a Microsoft Kinect natural user interface for Google Earth navigation.

Abstract: This paper covers the use of depth sensors such as Microsoft Kinect and ASUS Xtion to provide a natural user interface (NUI) for controlling 3-D (three-dimensional) virtual globes such as Google Earth (including its Street View mode), Bing Maps 3D, and NASA World Wind. The paper introduces the Microsoft Kinect device, briefly describing how it works (the underlying technology by PrimeSense), as well as its market uptake and application potential beyond its original intended purpose as a home entertainment and video game controller. The different software drivers available for connecting the Kinect device to a PC (Personal Computer) are also covered, and their comparative pros and cons briefly discussed. We survey a number of approaches and application examples for controlling 3-D virtual globes using the Kinect sensor, then describe Kinoogle, a Kinect interface for natural interaction with Google Earth, developed by students at Texas A&M University. Readers interested in trying out the application on their own hardware can download a Zip archive (included with the manuscript as additional files 1, 2, & 3) that contains a 'Kinnogle installation package for Windows PCs'. Finally, we discuss some usability aspects of Kinoogle and similar NUIs for controlling 3-D virtual globes (including possible future improvements), and propose a number of unique, practical 'use scenarios' where such NUIs could prove useful in navigating a 3-D virtual globe, compared to conventional mouse/3-D mouse and keyboard-based interfaces.

Does AMD Spur Intel to Innovate More

Abstract: We estimate an equilibrium model of dynamic oligopoly with durable goods and endogenous innovation to examine the effect of competition on innovation in the personal computer microprocessor industry. Firms make dynamic pricing and investment decisions while consumers make dynamic upgrade decisions, anticipating product improvements and price declines. Consistent with Schumpeter, we find that the rate of innovation in product quality would be 4.2 percent higher without AMD present, though higher prices would reduce consumer surplus by $12 billion per year. Comparative statics illustrate the role of product durability and provide implications of the model for other industries.

Treating disordered speech and voice in Parkinson's disease online: a randomized controlled non‐inferiority trial

Abstract: Background: Telerehabilitation may be a feasible solution to the current problems faced by people with Parkinson's disease in accessing speech pathology services. Aim: To investigate the validity and reliability of online delivery of the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT®) for the speech and voice disorder associated with Parkinson's disease. Method & Procedures: Thirty-four participants with Parkinson's disease and mild-to-moderate hypokinetic dysarthria took part in the randomized controlled non-inferiority laboratory trial and received the LSVT® in either the online or the face-to-face environment. Online sessions were conducted via two personal computer-based videoconferencing systems with real-time and store-and-forward capabilities operating on a 128 kbit/s Internet connection. Participants were assessed pre- and post-treatment on acoustic measures of mean vocal sound pressure level, phonation time, maximum fundamental frequency range, and perceptual measures of voice, articulatory precision and speech intelligibility. Outcomes & Results: Non-inferiority of the online LSVT® modality was confirmed for the primary outcome measure of mean change in sound pressure level on a monologue task. Additionally, non-significant main effects for the LSVT® environment, dysarthria severity, and interaction effects were obtained for all outcomes measures. Significant improvements following the LSVT® were also noted on the majority of measures. The LSVT® was successfully delivered online, although some networking difficulties were encountered on a few occasions. High participant satisfaction was reported overall. Conclusions & Implications: Online treatment for hypokinetic dysarthria associated with Parkinson's disease appears to be clinically valid and reliable. Suggestions for future research are outlined.

System and method for generating a restaurant order on a wireless mobile personal computer

Abstract: A wireless mobile personal computer is provided for enabling a customer to generate a restaurant order on the wireless mobile personal computer. The wireless mobile personal computer includes a restaurant order generating application configured to generate restaurant item selecting interface screens for generating the restaurant order comprising at least one restaurant item, to generate a machine-readable representation of the generated restaurant order, a processor for executing the restaurant order generating application, a memory for storing the restaurant order generating application and selectable restaurant items, and a display for displaying the restaurant item selecting interface screens, and the at least one restaurant item.

Does the Internet Reduce Corruption? Evidence from U.S. States and across Countries

Abstract: The authors test the hypothesis that the internet is a useful technology for controlling corruption. In order to do so, the authors develop a novel identification strategy for internet diffusion. Power disruptions damage digital equipment, which increases the user cost of information technology (IT) capital, and thus lowers the speed of internet diffusion. A natural phenomenon causing power disruptions is lightning activity, which makes lightning a viable instrument for internet diffusion. Using ground-based lightning detection censors as well as global satellite data, the authors construct lightning density data for the contiguous United States (U.S.) states and a large cross section of countries. Empirically, lightning density is a strong instrument for internet diffusion and the authors' fourth estimates suggest that the emergence of the internet has served to reduce the extent of corruption across U.S. states and across the world.

The Effect of Using E-Learning Tools in Online and Campus-based Classrooms on Student Performance

Abstract: Creating an integrative research framework that extends a model frequently used in the Information Systems field, the Technology Acceptance Model, together with variables used in the Education field, this empirical study investigates the factors influencing student performance as reflected by their final course grade. The Technology Acceptance Model explains computer acceptance in general terms. The model measures the impact of external variables on internal beliefs, attitudes, and intentions. Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use, two main constructs in the model, refer to an individual’s perception of how the adoption of a new technology will increase their efficiency, and the individual’s perception of how easy the technology will be to use. The lower the perceived effort is, the easier the technology will be to adopt. Thus, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Computer Self-Efficacy, and Computer Anxiety were measured to determine their effect on student performance. The proliferation of the personal computer was possible because of the applications written for it. The continuous creation of new applications has created ample ground to test the Technology Acceptance Model to determine how a user will decide to adopt such applications. The recent escalation of delivering online education via the Internet has again sparked a new dimension of information systems. This has given rise to research using the Technology Acceptance Model for applications in the Education field. Today’s modern classroom, whether online or campus-based, uses e-learning tools and Learning Management Systems that capture student cognition and engages them in the learning process via technology, while increasing their need for self-directedness. In view of this, the present study also considers the students’ ability to work independently. The results of the statistical analysis used in this study revealed marked differences in student perceptions of e-learning tools between students who chose to take an online course and students who preferred to take the campus-based section. Additionally, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and the students’ ability to work independently were all statistically significant factors in predicting students’ final grades.

User discomfort, work posture and muscle activity while using a touchscreen in a desktop PC setting

Abstract: An experimental study was conducted to evaluate physical risk factors associated with the use of touchscreen in a desktop personal computer (PC) setting. Subjective rating of visual/body discomfort, shoulder and neck muscle activity, elbow movement and user-preferred positions of the workstation were quantified from 24 participants during a standardised computer use task with a standard keyboard and a mouse (traditional setting), with a touchscreen and the standard keyboard (mixed-use condition) and with the touchscreen only. The use of a touchscreen was associated with a significant increase of subjective discomfort on the shoulder, neck and fingers, myoelectric activity of shoulder and neck muscles and percentage of task duration that arms were in the air. Participants placed the touchscreen closer and lower when using touch interfaces compared with the traditional setting. Results suggest that users would need more frequent breaks and proper armrests to reduce physical risks associated with the use of ...

Exploring Mobile-only Internet Use: Results of a Training Study in Urban South Africa

Abstract: Using an ethnographic action research approach, the study explores the challenges, practices, and emergent framings of mobile-only Internet use in a resource-constrained setting. We trained eight women in a nongovernmental organization’s collective in South Africa, none of whom had used a personal computer, how to access the Internet on mobile handsets they already owned. Six months after training, most continued to use the mobile Internet for a combination of utility, entertainment, and connection, but they had encountered barriers, including affordability and difficulty of use. Participants’ assessments mingled aspirational and actual utility of the channel with and against a background of socioeconomic constraints. Discussion links the digital literacy perspective to the broader theoretical frameworks of domestication, adaptive structuration, and appropriation.

Individual information systems as a research arena

Abstract: Evolution is what happens when you are not watching. An example is the personal computer. Computing for many individual persons has evolved from the ‘standalone desktop PC’ to a ‘networked PC’ to a...

System and method for communicating with a vehicle

Abstract: A system for communicating with a vehicle includes a control module equipped with a remote keyless entry (RKE) receiver and configured to control vehicle functions in response to a RKE signal. The system includes a fob equipped with a RKE transmitter and a short range transceiver, such as BLUETOOTH™, IEEE 802.11, or near field communication (NFC). The fob transmits a RKE signal in response to receiving a message from a consumer device, such as a cellular phone, smart phone, tablet computer, or personal computer equipped with a short range transceiver, enabling the user to control the vehicle from the consumer device. The system may be configured to transmit vehicle status information to the consumer device. The control module may include a third short range transceiver that communicates with the consumer device when the distance is between the vehicle and the consumer device is less than the distance threshold.