VREED

The paper introduces a multimodal affective dataset named VREED (VR Eyes: Emotions Dataset) in which emotions were triggered using immersive 360° Video-Based Virtual Environments (360-VEs) delivered via Virtual Reality (VR) headset. Behavioural (eye tracking) and physiological signals (Electrocardiogram (ECG) and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)) were captured, together with self-reported responses, from healthy participants (n=34) experiencing 360-VEs (n=12, 1--3 min each) selected through focus groups and a pilot trial. Statistical analysis confirmed the validity of the selected 360-VEs in eliciting the desired emotions. Preliminary machine learning analysis was carried out, demonstrating state-of-the-art performance reported in affective computing literature using non-immersive modalities. VREED is among the first multimodal VR datasets in emotion recognition using behavioural and physiological signals. VREED is made publicly available on Kaggle1. We hope that this contribution encourages other researchers to utilise VREED further to understand emotional responses in VR and ultimately enhance VR experiences design in applications where emotional elicitation plays a key role, i.e. healthcare, gaming, education, etc.

Users’ perception of cybersecurity, trust and cloud computing providers’ performance

Purpose This study aims to develop a scale to measure the cloud provider’s performance and it investigates the factors that impact that performance from the users’ perspective. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a research framework, develops hypotheses and conducts a survey to test the framework. Findings The results from both ordinary least square regression and structural equation modeling analyzes indicate that information technology complexity negatively and significantly affects users’ perception of the cloud computing providers’ performance. Additionally, the trust in the supervisor significantly enhances the otherwise insignificant positive relationship between providers’ cybersecurity capability and users’ perception of their providers’ performance. Originality/value The research makes important contributions to the cloud computing literature, as it measures users’ perception of the cloud computing provider’s performance and links it with cybersecurity, technical complexity and incorporates both the trust in the client firm’s supervisor and the strength of cybersecurity offered by cloud computing provider.

Cloud Computing Adoption for Healthcare: An Empirical Study Using SEM Approach

Cloud computing has been adopted by many healthcare firms throughout the world especially in developed countries to enhance their service levels. The main objective of this study was to find the constructs from the prior literature review which influence the adoption of cloud computing from the prospering nation’s perspective. The main pillars of the theoretical framework are technology, organizational, environmental and ethical factors. The responses were collected from the employees or staff who were working in this sector with the help of a structured questionnaire. The analysis was performed utilizing SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 22.0. The hypothesis developed was tested utilizing a structural equation modelling approach. The findings indicated that the assumed variables each under technology, organization, environment and ethics have an impact on the dependent variable that is cloud computing adoption in the healthcare segment, thereby increasing the efficiency. The study is unique when compared to past studies as it considered ethical factors, thereby extending the cloud computing literature. It also provides a base for future studies and cloud technology development for a prospering nation perspective.

Audio dynamics automatic equalization inspired by visual perception

This paper explores the behavior of an algorithm called Audio Dynamics Automatic Equalization (ADAE). This algorithm has been inspired by research carried out in the context of image restoration: it is the adaptation of a contrast and color unsupervised equalizer for images, called Automatic Color Equalization (ACE), into the audio domain. Beside testing if the domain shift from image to audio processing can bring some interesting result, this work also investigates if ADAE behaves like already-known technologies for audio manipulation and restoration. To this end, after a description of the original and the derived algorithms, quantitative test are carried out using typical analyses from the Sound and Music Computing literature, such as frequency response, transfer function, and harmonic distortion. Finally, the paper discusses how the algorithm introduces dynamic range adjustments and non-linear distortions, thus behaving like a dynamics processor, a harmonic exciter, and a waveshaper.

Ethics and Cloud Computing

While the benefits of cloud computing are widely acknowledged, it raises a range of ethical concerns. The extant cloud computing literature reports specific ethical perspectives on focussed topics in this domain, but does not explicitly refer to a specific ethical conception or reference point. This chapter provides an overview of ethics and ethical theories, which can be used to analyse the use of cloud technology and the complex multi-stakeholder structure of the industry. It is critical that cloud providers and users recognise that they effectively shape the morality of the cloud computing context through their interactions with other providers and users, and with the platform itself. Both stakeholder sets must be accountable for the possibilities offered by the technology. While pertinent regulation is continuously evolving, it is unlikely to advance at a similar rapid pace to that of innovation in the cloud computing industry. It is therefore essential that ethics is carefully considered to orient cloud computing towards the good of society.

Understanding Trust and Cloud Computing: An Integrated Framework for Assurance and Accountability in the Cloud

Trust is regularly cited as one the main barriers for increased adoption of cloud computing, however conceptualisations of trust in cloud computing literature can be simplistic. This chapter briefly introduces the trust literature including definitions and antecedents of trust. Following an overview of cloud computing, we discuss some of the cited barriers to trust in cloud computing, and proposed mechanisms for building trust in the cloud. We present a high-level framework for exploring assurance (trust building) and accountability (trust repair) in the cloud and call for a more integrated multi-stakeholder approach to trust research in this multi-faceted context.

Literatura y tecnología: cuatro reuniones de mujeres en acción en #WomenTechLit

This is a note about #WomenTechLit, a book written in English, recently published (August 2017) by Computing Literature, and edited by María Mencia. The articles, divided in four parts, have been made entirely by women performing different roles such as historians, creators, artists, critics and practitioners of electronic literature.