Abstract: In this paper, we describe a personalized e-learning system which can automatically adapt to the interests and levels of learners. The system is designed based on the IEEE Learning Technology Systems Architecture (IEEE LTSA) to achieve high scalability and reusability. A feedback extractor with fusion capability is proposed to combine multiple feedback measures to infer user preferences. User profile, which stores user preferences and levels of expertise, is collected by user profiler to deliver personalized information using the collaborative filtering algorithm.

Abstract: Developers often find themselves lost as they navigate around large programs, particularly when those programs are unfamiliar. This paper presents a new visualization, called a software terrain map, intended to keep a programmer oriented as she navigates around source code in the editor. The design is based on the metaphor of cartographic maps, which are continuous (no wasted space), have enough visual landmarks to allow the user to find her location perceptually rather than cognitively, and lend themselves to overlaying data. Although an optimal layout for software terrain maps is computationally intractable, the paper presents an efficient, heuristic algorithm that produces good

Abstract: Multimedia groupware systems provide rich support for distributed team work. Yet effective design of these systems is difficult because they must cater to complex human and social factors. Rapid prototyping partially mitigates this, for it allows designers to build, deploy, test and quickly evolve design ideas. The problem is that multimedia groupware is hard to prototype because distributed multimedia systems are complex to implement. To solve this problem, we offer the Collabrary, a toolkit designed to ease prototyping of multimedia groupware. The Collabrary blends real-time streaming multimedia, asynchronous shared application state, and novel multimedia analysis and manipulation algorithms to provide rich functionality for distributed teamwork. Implementing core functionality—multimedia capture, analysis, manipulation, transmission and rendering—is trivial. The Collabrary also affords lessons that inform the design of universally accepted toolkits for building distributed multimedia systems: we illustrate why toolkits should be accessible for learnability, lightweight so simple ideas are simple to build, and flexible so that novel unanticipated ideas are possible to implement.

Abstract: Bluetooth Location Network (BLN) is a Bluetooth radio network that is composed of some mobile Bluetooth devices and static Bluetooth units, and is established at the system initialization to form a spontaneous network topology. In a BLN, a multicast service is defined as the periodical delivering of messages from a Service Server to a set of mobile devices which are the multicast members predefined by the Service Server. Several multicast protocols have been proposed for the Ad-Hoc networks, but they create an inefficient multicast tree for the BLN due to the existing differences in the radio characteristics between Ad-Hoc and Bluetooth radio networks. The present paper analyzes these differences and proposes a novel multicasting protocol for constructing an efficient multicast tree in a BLN. The proposed protocol constructs a multicast tree with good features which include the shortest path, a higher degree of path sharing, and fewer forwarding nodes. Simulation results reveal that the proposed multicast protocol outperforms the existing multicast protocols in the BLN.

Abstract: Archiving, organizing, and searching multimedia data in an appropriate fashion is a task of increasing importance. The ontology theory may be appropriately extended in order to face with this challenging issue. In this paper we propose a novel multimedia ontology theory. We first describe the multimedia ontology concepts and then we adopt TAO XML as a suitable ontology description language. Eventually, we propose a general architecture for supporting creation and management of multimedia objects.

Abstract: Today, there is a growing interest in home entertainment systems consisting of various networked devices, such as set-top boxes, hi-fi systems, TV sets, or multimedia PCs However, available solutions only provide a very restricted set of features Dynamic routing of media streams between distributed devices and multi-user scenarios are typically not supported In this paper, we present an architecture for a distributed home entertainment system that overcomes these limitations We especially examine the most important tasks, namely watching and recording TV The overall system consists of various devices and allows for multiple users to perform different tasks in parallel Our architecture supports multi-room applications with a single media stream being presented synchronously on different distributed devices In addition, applications can be handed over to nearby systems Finally, we present an algorithm that dynamically determines the optimal media routing for such multi-user scenarios

Abstract: The use of forward error correction (FEC) coding is often proposed to combat the effects of network packet losses for error-resilient video transmission on packet-switched networks. On the other hand, path diversity has recently been proposed to improve network transport for both singledescription (SD) and multiple-description (MD) coded video. In this work we model and analyze an SD coded video transmission system employing packet-level FEC in combination with path diversity. In particular, we provide a precise analytical approach to evaluating the efficacy of path diversity in reducing the burstiness of network packet-loss processes. We use this approach to quantitatively demonstrate the advantages of path diversity in improving end-to-end video transport performance using packet-level FEC.

Abstract: Comics and programs both are static representations of something dynamic. While a comic book almost looks and feels like an animated cartoon, the source code of a program seldom resembles the visible runtime behaviour. By using comic strips to represent concurrent events, graphical programs that feature interactive, animated characters and objects can be expressed in a visually direct way, making it easier for both children and adults to create their own computer programs. Compared to graphical rewrite rules, comic strip programs have a potential for increased expressiveness and flexibility, because of how the semiotics of comics can be used to express a wide variety of situations. There are also challenges with using comics as a program representation, for example, comics have no signs for conditionals, concurrency, and generalisations.

Abstract: Diagrammatic notations, such as the Unified Modeling Language (UML), are in common use in software development. They allow many aspects of software systems to be described diagrammatically, but typically they rely on textual notations for logical constraints. In contrast, spider diagrams provide a visual notation for expressing a natural class of set- theoretic statements in a diagrammatic form. In this paper we present a tableau system for spider diagrams, and describe an implementation of the system. In a software development context, the system allows users to explore the implications of design choices, and thus to validate specifications; beyond this, the tableau algorithm and system are of general interest to visual reasoners.

Abstract: Many visual languages based on Euler diagrams have emerged for expressing relationships between sets. The expressive power of these languages varies, but the majority can only express statements involving unary relations and, sometimes, equality. We present a new visual language called Visual First Order Logic (VFOL) that was developed from work on constraint diagrams which are designed for software specification. VFOL is likely to be useful for software specification, because it is similar to constraint diagrams, and may also fit into a Z-like framework. We show that for every First Order Predicate Logic (FOPL) formula there exists a semantically equivalent VFOL diagram. The taranslation we give from FOPL to VFOL is natural and, as such, VFOL could also be used to teach FOPL, for example.

Abstract: Color is one of the most important image features used in content-based image retrieval (CBIR). This paper proposes a robust and effective color feature known as ring-based fuzzy histogram (RFH), which reduces noise sensitivity in conventional color histograms (CCH) by using two stages of fuzzy clustering. By partitioning images into rings, RFH can capture an image’s spatial information, and is robust to rotation and scale variations. This paper also presents details about the extraction of RFH. The fuzzy histogram extracted from the whole image is used to filter out highly dissimilar images during the image retrieval process, leading to a reduced query response time. Experiments results show that the proposed feature is, in general, compact; robust to changes due to images rotation or image scaling; and robust to illumination changes and quantization noise. It also outperforms CCH and other recently published proposal, such as fuzzy color histogram [6].

Abstract: This paper is aimed at presenting SSRI online: an e-learning initiative started at the University of Milan (Italy) for the academic year 2004/05. The initiative consisted in offering an already existing three-years academic degree course (“laurea in Sicurezza dei Sistemi e delle Reti Informatiche SSRI”: a post-bachelor course on security of computer systems and networks) not only in the “traditional” way (mainly based on classroom lectures and labs) but also online. Main aspects discussed in the following sections are: • the players of the initiative and their roles; • the adopted teaching model; • the technological solutions identified and/or implemented to support the initiative; • the characteristics of the student population choosing SSRI online; • the first results obtained after almost one year. 1. SSRI online: why and who The University of Milan has a significant experience in the usage of technologies for supporting teaching. Main player in this arena is an inter-departmental center (CTU) devoted to study and apply multimedia-based methodologies and technologies to teaching. During the last four years, CTU produced more than 300 e-learning modules complementing traditional lectures, and made available to students through a web platform (ARIEL) completely designed and implemented by CTU itself. Previous experiences at the University of Milan had been carried out, mainly by the computer science and technology departments, using synchronous virtual classes to give lectures to remote students and making video recording of lectures to offer asynchronous support to students occasionally missing classroom activities. However, all these previous experiences were designed to “support” traditional teaching, not intended as a “substitute” for it. Students working full time or living far away from Milan were supposed to integrate the elearning material whit books, notes from colleagues, etc., without explicit help from the university. Besides adopting a novel approach to e-learning, the SSRI course – launched in 2003 – is the first and unique threeyears university course centered on ICT Security available in Italy. This uniqueness makes the course interesting for students spread over the overall country, and for this reason it became an ideal candidate for an e-learning version. A further aspect making SSRI an ideal candidate for adopting e-learning was the fact that “traditional” version of it (i.e., the location were classes are given) is hosted at a campus located in Crema, a small town 40 km. Southeast of Milan, where the Information Technology Department is situated. While the location provides a nice and quite environment for students going to the Campus, the geographical distance and limited public transportation make it not easily reachable. An online version of SSRI would have then be interesting also for students living in Milan but having difficulties in reaching Crema (no highway from Milan to Crema, time-consuming public transportations, traffic jam, ...). Based on the observation above, and willing to experience a initiative completely online, one year ago the University of Milan decided to activate SSRI online, involving in the initiative: • the Department of Information Technologies in Crema, providing the courses and whose professors 1 Full professor, responsible for online version of SSRI 2 CTU director 3 Full professor, president of the University commission for ICT strategies 4 Full professor, president of the SSRI didactical coordination council 5 CTU project manager for SSRI online 6 Full professor, 1 year teacher in SSRI online agreed to: o re-design their lectures for the online version; o identify and train tutors for online interaction with students; o overview online learning and make examinations; • the inter-departmental center CTU, devoted to: o identify the best suited teaching model; o identify the technological tools allowing the production of the online version of SSRI; o drive the production of the online material, to ensure quality and homogeneity among the various courses; o implement and manage the platform offering SSRI online; o provide process tutoring (daily interaction with students, closely monitoring the student s’ progresses, etc.); o handle – in conjunction with the student secretariat in Crema – all the logistics aspects. To support the design of the didactical model and of the online material, the university team has been complemented by consultants from Isvor Knowledge System, a company specialized in the production of e-learning courses.

Abstract: Distributed multimedia streaming systems are increasingly popular due to technological advances, and numerous streaming services are available today. On servers or proxy caches, there is a huge scaling challenge in supporting thousands of concurrent users that request delivery of high-rate, time-dependent data like audio and video, because this requires transfers of large amounts of data through several sub-systems within a streaming node. Since the speed increase for memory accesses does not follow suite with the CPU speed, copy operations can be a severe limiting factor on the streaming performance of off-the-shelf operating systems, which still have only limited support for data paths that have been optimized for streaming despite previous research proposals. We observe furthermore that while CPU speed continues to increase, system call overhead has grown as well, adding to the cost of data movement. In this paper, we therefore revisit the data movement problem and provide a comprehensive evaluation of possible streaming data I/O paths in Linux 2.6 kernel. We have implemented and evaluated enhanced mechanisms and show how to provide support for more efficient memory usage and reduction of user/kernel space switches for streaming applications.

Abstract: The continuous increase of multimedia content on the Web and different device types that have access to this content, demands for an extensible approach to media adaptation. To deliver highly adapted content to a specific device, a flexible engine will need to understand the device’s constraints and adapt accordingly. In this paper, such an adaptation framework relying on Semantic Web and AI planning technologies is proposed. Semantic Web mechanisms like OWL and OWL-S enable us to describe the parties involved in the adaptation process: a multimedia document, adaptation components and a target device. Based on the available descriptions, a planning algorithm will create a chain of adaptation components, each modifying the original document until the result is suitable for publication on the target

Abstract: A problem in modern command and control situations is that much data is available from different sensors. Several sensor data sources also require that the user has knowledge about the specific sensor types to be able to interpret the data. To alleviate the working situation for a commander, we have designed and constructed a system that will take input from several different sensors and subsequently present the relevant combined information to the user. The users specify what kind of information is of interest at the moment by means of a query language. The main issues when designing this query language have been that (a) the users should not have to have any knowledge about sensors or sensor data analysis, and (b) that the query language should be powerful and flexible, yet easy to use. The solution has been to (a) use sensor data independence and (b) have a visual query language. A visual query language was developed with a two-step interface. First, the users pose a “rough”, simple query that is evaluated by the underlying knowledge system. The system returns the relevant information that can be found in the sensor data. Then, the users have the possibility to refine the result by setting conditions for this. These conditions are formulated by specifying attributes of objects or relations between objects. The problem of uncertainty in spatial data; (i.e. location, area) has been considered. The question of how to represent potential uncertainties is dealt with. An investigation has been carried out to find which relations are practically useful when dealing with uncertain spatial data. The query language has been evaluated by means of a scenario. The scenario was inspired by real events and was developed in cooperation with a military officer to assure that it was fairly realistic. The scenario was simulated using several tools where the query language was one of the more central ones. It proved that the query language can be of use in realistic situations.

Abstract: Coated beads which exhibit anti-lumping properties upon pre-expansion and which are useful in the formation of soft expanded articles are prepared by coating initial polystyrene beads, in suspension, with a coating composition comprising styrene and a macromonomer of styrene and isoprene or styrene and butadiene, the coating compositions added to the suspension as an aqueous emulsion containing a catalyst and a polyoxyethylene ether of nonylphenol or octylphenol as surfactant.

Abstract: Along with the success of the massively multiplayer role-playing gaming industry in Asia, online gaming-related crimes have grown at an amazing rate. Most of the criminal cases are related to virtual properties since markets have developed for the virtual properties giving them real world values. There has been little research and resulting technologies for MMRPG virtual property protection. In order to reduce the crimes and protect online gaming systems, one potential solution is protecting the virtual properties in online gaming systems. In this paper, we propose a virtual property management language to meter the use of virtual property. The language provides a framework for managing the use of virtual properties and recording the history of transactions to trace the life of virtual properties.

Abstract: Programmers have always been curious about what their programs are doing, especially when the behavior is not what they are expecting Since program execution is intricate and involved, visualization has long been used to provided the programmer with appropriate insights into program execution This paper looks at the evolution of visual representations of program execution, showing how they have moved from concrete representations of relatively small programs to abstract representations of larger systems Based on this, we describe the challenges implicit in future execution visualizations and methodologies that can meet these challenges

Abstract: Recently specific middlewares have been proposed while those with general capabilities are going to be integrated into the most diffused development platforms and operating systems. This trend has provoked the production of middlewares for industrial automation, home automation, multimedia, etc. In the paper a solution to model a Multimedia middleware is proposed as related to AXMEDIS EC R&D Project in which an MPEG21 compliant content factory is modeled. In that case, the middleware is used for sharing software components dedicated to the content processing and production. In the paper, the architecture of the DISIT-M3W is presented, depicting the general architecture, the class structure, the interactions among components and services, etc. by using the UML formalization.