Multimedia Communication Research Articles

Predicting physical distancing on recreational trails during COVID-19.

The emergence of Coronavirus 19 led to societal and behavioral changes, including intensified use of many public parks and trails for mental respite and leisure time physical activity. As visitors sought stress-relief in the great outdoors, they also encountered stressful situations as they navigated risk exposure. Recommendations to physically distance between parties was a key component to reduce risk, but compliance is unknown in the outdoor arena. This observational study of more than 10 000 trail user encounters documented distancing and enabled predictive analysis that revealed wider trails, smaller groups and signage led to greater distancing compliance. Managers and planners can integrate these findings immediately and in consideration of future trail designs to minimize risk exposure.Management implicationsSelect site features increase odds of distancing compliance and can inform management decisions and designs immediately and in addressing future use surges: wider trails, unpaved surfaces, and COVID-19 signage.As distancing compliance waned with time but signage increased compliance, innovative and dynamic signs may sustain compliance and multi-media communications should be considered.Both activity size and group type influence distancing so considering group size recommendations and activity separation are in order.

Multimedia Image Encryption Analysis Based on High-Dimensional Chaos Algorithm

With the development of network and multimedia technology, multimedia communication has attracted the attention of researchers. Image encryption has become an urgent need for secure multimedia communication. Compared with the traditional encryption system, encryption algorithms based on chaos are easier to implement, which makes them more suitable for large-scale data encryption. The calculation method of image encryption proposed in this paper is a combination of high-dimensional chaotic systems. This algorithm is mainly used for graph mapping and used the Lorenz system to expand and replace them one by one. Studies have shown that this calculation method causes mixed pixel values, good diffusion performance, and strong key performance with strong resistance. The pixel of the encrypted picture is distributed relatively random, and the characteristics of similar loudness are not relevant. It is proved through experiments that the above calculation methods have strong safety performance.

Gea2: A Serious Game for Technology-Enhanced Learning in STEM

Education and training are among the fields taking advantage of serious games (SGs). In this article, we present <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Gea 2: A New Earth</i> , a digital SG developed as an immersive 3-D virtual learning environment, integrating several educational resources, including multimedia learning material, communication tools, and intelligent tutoring support. The game aims to complement traditional classroom activities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), for high school students and teachers. It incorporates an intelligent pedagogical agent that can converse in natural language with the student and provides unsolicited hints during gameplay. This article presents the game and its evaluation based on experiments involving about 100 participants. We think that the results presented here add to the research on game-based learning for STEM, by proposing a complex game system, where artificial intelligence techniques are integrated to support students’ learning, and by confirming that the game experience can be attractive for the learners, also in very constrained classroom environments, such as those we operated in.

Secure and Sustainable Predictive Framework for IoT-Based Multimedia Services Using Machine Learning

In modern years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has gained tremendous growth and development in various sectors because of its scalability, self-configuring, and heterogeneous factors. It performs a vital role in improving multimedia communication and reducing production costs. The multimedia data consist of various types and formats (text, audio, videos, etc.), which are forwarded in the form of blocks of bits in the network layer of TCP/IP. Due to limited resources available to IoT-built devices, most of the Multimedia Internet of Things (MIoT)-based applications are delay constraints, especially for big data content. Similarly, multimedia-based applications are more vulnerable to security burdens and lower the trust of data processing. In this paper, we present a secure and sustainable prediction framework for MIoT data transmission using machine learning, which aims to offer intelligent behavior of the system with information protection. Firstly, the network edges exploit a regression analysis for a real-time multimedia routing scheme and achieve precise delivery towards the media servers. Secondly, an efficient and low-processing asymmetric process is proposed to provide secure data transmission between the IoT devices, edges, and data servers. Extensive experiments are performed over the OMNET++ network simulator, and its significance is achieved by an average for energy consumption by 71%, throughput by 30.5%, latency by 22%, bandwidth by 34.5%, packets overheads by 38.5%, computation time by 12.5%, and packet drop ratio by 35% in the comparison of existing schemes.

Media Convergence: Prospects and Challenges for Public Relations Practice in Nigeria

he impact of new media of communication is not felt only in the media space but across all strata of mass communication discipline. Public relations as an act of managing relationship between an organization and its various public depend largely on media of communication to succeed. As a result, the tactic, strategy and approach of public relations in terms of communication management largely depend on the media of communication. As such, the convergence of the traditional and new media has brought about drastic change in the public relations field. In Nigeria, public relations professionals are grappling with the new reality brought about by media convergence. This paper therefore explored the challenges the public relations practitioners are likely to encounter and how to surmount those challenges. The study argued that as a dynamic profession, public relations should embrace new skills in desktop publishing, multimedia communication and strategies. Convergence is ‘digital creative economy’ which comes with great opportunity for the practice of public relations. Convergence is about ‘blurring of boundaries’, Nigerian public relations practitioners should therefore adapt quickly to changes in the media sector in order to leverage on the opportunities in the convergence of the media. Keywords: Convergence: Public Relations: Communication: Mass Media: Nigeria

Correcting Errors in Color Image Encryption Algorithm Based on Fault Tolerance Technique

Security standards have been raised through modern multimedia communications technology, which allows for enormous progress in security. Modern multimedia communication technologies are concerned with fault tolerance technique and information security. As a primary method, there is widespread use of image encryption to protect image information security. Over the past few years, image encryption has paid more attention to combining DNA technologies in order to increase security. The objective here is to provide a new method for correcting color image encryption errors due to the uncertainty of DNA computing by using the fractional order hyperchaotic Lorenz system. To increase randomness, the proposed cryptosystem is applied to the three plain image channels: Red, Green, and Blue. Several methods were compared including the following: entropy, correlation, key sensitivity, key space, data loss attacks, speed computation, Number of Pixel changing rate (NPCR), and Unified Average Change Intensity randomness (UACI) tests. Consequently, the proposed scheme is very secure against a variety of cryptographic attacks.

The Effect of the Online and Offline Blended Teaching Mode on English as a Foreign Language Learners' Listening Performance in a Chinese Context.

With the rapid development of digitalisation, multimedia and network-based communication technology, all walks of life are undergoing change and development driven by the application of the internet to conventional industries. Especially because of the outbreak of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), English teaching and learning modes are undergoing revolutionary changes worldwide (Wong et al., 2020). Online courses and materials have become the norm for students, and combined with offline English learning activities, an online and offline blended learning mode has ultimately emerged (Graham, 2006; Whittaker, 2013). Whereas blended learning has been considered in several contexts, it has been less investigated in the field of blended English learning mode for the listening comprehension ability and emotional experiences of young learners of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) while doing the tasks. Thus, this study focussed on the achievement and experience of Chinese EFL junior high school students during blended learning using Quizlet software as the online learning tool. This study aimed to explore the following: (1) the effect of the online and offline blended mode on the learning outcomes of students and (2) the experience of students while engaging with blended tasks in terms of their learning interest, attitude, and strategy use in English listening learning. A 4-month teaching intervention involving the online and offline blended mode was conducted in English listening classes. Adopting mixed-methods qualitative and quantitative research, this study examined the engagement process of two classes of students and analysed data from their English listening tests and follow-up in-depth interviews. The results suggested that the blended activity was conducive to enhancing the listening performance of students. Moreover, the attitudes of students toward English listening learning shifted from a relatively negative engagement to a more positive one. Meanwhile, the interest of students grew and their learning strategies became more diversified. These findings have implications for English teaching and learning activity design for young learners.

A distributed soft sensors model for managing vague and uncertain multimedia communications using information fusion techniques

In wireless sensor networks it may occur that values cannot be measured directly by sensors or are costly. In those scenarios, the use of soft sensors is a promising solution, particularly when dealing with multimodal sensors that record multimedia information. In this paper we propose an approach in which soft sensors work by fusing the measured ozone level in outdoor air recorded by nearby hard sensors. We used a fusion technique based on the idea of favorite peer selection. The statistical indicators obtained indicate that our approach overcomes the baseline in 100% of cases analyzed in 3 different test scenarios.

Strengthening Human Resources as Lecturers Through the E-Learning Learning Method

Introduction: The concept of e-learning is an alternative for students who are unable to attend faceto-face lectures. The use of e-learning as an alternative learning is increasing in line with technologicaldevelopments. Aim: This study applies e-learning learning methods to strengthen educational humanresources as lecturers using Computer-based Multimedia Communication (CMC). Method: Thisresearch is a pre-experimental study. The research was conducted in STIKes Yarsi Mataram, Indonesiain 2020. The measuring instrument used a questionnaire. The study population was all students, witha total sample of 81 students. The independent variables include a method of learning. The dependentvariable in this study was knowledge. The analysis used was univariate and bivariate using paired t-test.Result and Discussion: frequency of e-learning based on CMC in the experimental group, namely 63%in the evaluation and 80% in the implementation process. While in the control group using conventionalmethods, 50% of the intervention and 23% of the implementation. Conclusion: Improving studentlearning outcomes in the community nursing process by using the CMC learning method is moreeffective than using conventional methods.

New technologies for inclusive education

Considerable changes on the methods of communication, as well as on the knowledge building and social interactions, are a result of innovations linked to the use of the mass media, of digital tools for information processing and on the massive diffusion of the Internet. One of the most significant technological innovations of the last few years is undeniably Internet, established thanks to the Web around the beginning of the nineties. Numerous authors have investigated the changes resulting from technological evolution and the intertwining that is generated between technological innovation and knowledge production processes is of particular relevance. A lot of research also highlights the advantages related to the use of new technologies in teaching. The features of the new technologies allow, therefore, the activation of numerous perceptual and sensory channels that can help improve the learning experience. In this regard, Teatino considers: “the new horizons opened by multimedia represent the synthesis of the characteristics on which the mechanism of motivation is triggered: novelty, attractiveness, functionality and feasibility are qualitative factors that stimulate cognitive processes” (Teatino, 2010). The fundamental aspect of multimedia communication is certainly the dynamism and multisensory involvement that digital devices are capable of conveying by allowing the creation of rich and stimulating learning environments within the teaching context. Moreover, it should be stressed how important technological innovations are for students with disabilities or with specific learning impairment. In particular, the use of assistive technologies is fundamental for pupils with disabilities: these technologies represent a very important link between the “functioning” of students and their participation in school activities, allowing to overcome those barriers (not just physical) that limit their full inclusion. In this paper we intend to analyze the main characteristics of assistive technologies and, in general, of new technologies for the purpose of school inclusion, starting from the premise that it is essential to guarantee disabled students the full development of their potential to achieve their educational success. In this work we intend to reflect on the possible methodologies and on the multiple uses of new technologies in the creation of inclusive learning paths.

Video steganography using 3D distance calculator based on YCbCr color components

Steganography techniques have taken a major role in the development in the field of transferring multimedia contents and communications. Therefore, field of steganography become interested as the need for security increased significantly. Steganography is a technique to hide information within cover media so that this media does not change significantly. Steganography process in a video is to hide the information from the intruder and prevent him access to that hidden information. This paper presents the algorithm of steganography in the video frames. The proposed algorithm selected the best frames to hide the message in video using 3D distance equation to increasing difficulty onto the intruder to detect and guess the location of the message in the video frames. As well as selected the best frames in this algorithm increased the difficulty and give us the best stego-video quality using structural similarity (SSIM). Also, the hash function was used to generate random positions to hide the message in the lines of video frames. The proposed algorithm evaluated with mean squared error (MSE), peak signalto-noise ratio (PSNR) and SSIM measurement. The results were acceptable and shows that is the difficulty of distinguishing the hidden message in stego-video with the human eye.

Modeling Of Subscriber Station Energy Consumption Network 802.16

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) technology that has high speed and wide access for multimedia communication. The reception of quality video or voice packets at the receiver is related to how efficient the energy consumption is sent by the Subscriber Station (SS). The more video or voice packets that are sent, the more energy consumption is needed. One way to calculate energy consumption at a WiMAX subscriber station is by using mathematical modeling. This final project is modeling energy consumption in WiMAX. From the simulation, it is found that the change in the bit rate affects the energy consumption of the subscriber station. Through simulation, training data is generated to obtain a mathematical model.The mathematical model contains the components of the state duration and the level of energy consumption. Mathematical models are then used to predict energy consumption in WiMAX. The model is tested through the generation of test data. The test results through simulation showthe percentage deviation of the average energy consumption of training data with mathematical modeling on average is 0.180%. Meanwhile, the energy consumption of test data and mathematical models has an average deviation of 0.187% and 0.191%. The least energy consumption is generated when the MAC Initialization state (state i0) is 0.001 Joule, while the highest energy consumption is the Uplink Frame state (state i14) of 101.017226 Joule.

A Perspective Review of Security Challenges in Body Area Networks for Healthcare Applications.

Body area network (BAN) connects sensors and actuators to the human body in order to collect patient’s information and transmitting it to doctors in a confined space with limited users. wireless body area network (WBAN) is derived from wireless sensor networks (WSN) and enables to transfer of the patient's information with a wide range of communication due to the limitations of the wired body area network. It plays a vital role in healthcare monitoring, healthcare systems, medical field, sports field, and multimedia communication. Sensors and actuators lead to high energy consumption due to their tiny size. WBAN facilitates in securely storing patient information and transmitting it to the doctor without data loss at a specific time. This review examines and summarizes methodological approaches in WBAN relating to security, safety, reliability, and the fastest transmission. Flying body area networks (FBAN) utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles for data transmission are recommended to promote rapid and secure communication in WBAN. FBAN improve the security, scalability, and speed in order to transmit patient’s information to the doctor due to high mobility.

The Construction of English Smart Classroom and the Innovation of Teaching Mode under the Background of Internet of Things Multimedia Communication

There are some problems in English smart classroom, such as slow response speed of related platforms and room for improvement of teaching effect. Therefore, it is necessary to construct English smart classroom and innovate teaching mode under the background of Internet of Things (IoT) multimedia communication. The teaching objectives are divided into classroom teaching objectives, curriculum objectives, and education and training objectives, so as to design the technical support for English smart classroom, that is, to build a smart classroom integrating cloud application platform (including students’ learning cloud and teachers’ teaching cloud), teaching platform, resource platform, learning space, and interactive classroom by using Internet of Things multimedia communication technology, and build an innovative teaching mode of English wisdom classroom. The fuzzy hierarchical evaluation model is used to design the fuzzy hierarchical evaluation algorithm. Through the fuzzy hierarchical evaluation algorithm, the teaching effect of smart classroom is evaluated, and the final evaluation result is obtained. The results show that the average platform login time of the proposed method is always below 0.3 s, the average score of the summative evaluation is high, the evaluation time is always below 0.4 s, the average communication delay is 0.54 s, and the user satisfaction is always above 9.2. The practical application effect is better.

Coherent Detection-Based Optical OFDM, 60 GHz Radio-over-Fiber Link Using Frequency Quadrupling, and Channel and Carrier Phase Estimation

The optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is proven to be a most promising technology for the next-generation high-capacity and ultra-wide bandwidth 5G communication systems. 60 GHz millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequency band is also becoming a most popular upcoming frequency spectrum due to today’s available dense frequency spectrum used for mobile, multimedia, and data communication, etc. We propose a system comprised of 60 GHz radio-over-fiber (RoF) model using optimized optical frequency quadrupling, coherent detection, channel estimation, and carrier phase correction techniques for ultra-wide bandwidth 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) OFDM baseband signal. The proposed RoF system’s outcomes have shown relatively better bit error rate (BER) of 3.1 × 10–3 to enable successful transmission of 110 Gbps data for more than 105 km optical link comprising of standard single-mode fiber (SSMF). System performance and obtained results show a potential to fulfill the requirements of 5G and cellular communication system.

High Capacity Reversible Steganography on CMY and HSI Color Images Using Image Interpolation

Steganography using image interpolation has created a new research area in multimedia communication. A reversible data concealing in HSI and CMY color models using image interpolation is proposed in this paper. The HSI and CMY image models are interpolated using High Capacity Reversible Steganography (CRS) technique. The median plane of both HSI and CMY color models are selected for secret message bit concealing. The secret message bits are concealed in the cover plane by Exclusive OR (XOR) operation. Since the cover image is recovered after secret message bit retrieval, this finds application in military and medical imaging applications. The experimental results of proposed scheme showed very high embedding capacity of about 16 bits in each pixel location of calculated pixel value, good image quality with a surface similarity index measure (SSIM) value 1 and high PSNR. Also, high robustness is achieved on comparing with the existing works.

Averting BER Floor with Iterative Source and Channel Decoding for Layered Steered Space-Time Codes.

The widespread development in wireless technologies and the advancements in multimedia communication have brought about a positive impact on the performance of wireless transceivers. We investigate the performance of our three-stage turbo detected system using state-of-the-art high efficiency video coding (HEVC), also known as the H.265 video standard. The system makes use of sphere packing (SP) modulation with the combinational gain technique of layered steered space-time code (LSSTC). The proposed three-stage system is simulated for the correlated Rayleigh fading channel and the bit-error rate (BER) curve obtained after simulation is free of any floor formation. The system employs low complexity source-bit coding (SBC) for protecting the H.265 coded stream. An intermediate recursive unity-rate code (URC) with an infinite impulse response is employed as an inner precoder. More specifically, the URC assists in the prevention of the BER floor by distributing the information across the decoders. There is an observable gain in the BER and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) performances with the increasing value of minimum Hamming distance () using the three-stage system. Convergence analysis of the proposed system is investigated through an extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) chart. Our proposed system demonstrates better performance of about 22 dB than the benchmarker utilizing LSSTC-SP for iterative source-channel detection, but without exploiting the optimized SBC schemes.

QoS–aware Mesh-based Multicast Routing Protocols in Edge Ad Hoc Networks: Concepts and Challenges

Multicast communication plays a pivotal role in Edge based Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs). MANETs can provide low-cost self-configuring devices for multimedia data communication that can be used in military battlefield, disaster management, connected living, and public safety networks. A Multicast communication should increase the network performance by decreasing the bandwidth consumption, battery power, and routing overhead. In recent years, a number of multicast routing protocols (MRPs) have been proposed to resolve above listed challenges. Some of them are used for dynamic establishment of reliable route for multimedia data communication. This article provides a detailed survey of the merits and demerits of the recently developed techniques. An ample study of various Quality of Service (QoS) techniques and enhancement is also presented. Later, mesh topology-based MRPs are classified according to enhancement in routing mechanism and QoS modification. This article covers the most recent, robust, and reliable QoS-aware mesh based MRPs, classified on the basis of their operational features, and pros and cons. Finally, a comparative study has been presented on the basis of their performance parameters on the proposed protocols.

A novel compact stair-shaped multiband fractal antenna for wireless communication systems

Abstract The growing demand for enhanced capacities, broadband services, and high transmission speeds to accommodate speech, image, multimedia, and data communication simultaneously puts a requirement for antenna to operate in multiple frequency bands. A novel compact fractal antenna based on self-similar stair-shaped fractal geometry is proposed in this paper. The fractal antenna is designed by modifying the patch antenna through the iterative process using stair-shaped fractal geometry. The third iteration results in a tri-band response, and the antenna resonate at 3.65, 4.825, and 6.325 GHz with impedance bandwidths of 75.6, 121.2, and 211.4 MHz, respectively. The antenna is designed in CST Microwave studio, and evaluated for operating bands and radiation characteristics. Prototype for the third iteration of the fractal antenna is fabricated on FR-4 substrate which is further tested for measured operating bands and radiation characteristics. The simulated and measured results show good agreement.

Full-Reference Quality Assessment for Screen Content Images Based on the Concept of Global-Guidance and Local-Adjustment

Benefiting from the development of multimedia communication terminals, the visual content presented to people on mobile devices is no longer a single form, but contains text, natural images, and other computer-generated graphics, which is called screen content images (SCIs). Inspired by the different visual stimuli that text and images bring to human eyes and the concept of global-guidance and local-adjustment, we design a novel full-reference image quality assessment (IQA) model using the structural features of the text, the perceptual features of pictures, and a score integration model (SPSIM) to evaluate SCIs quality. Firstly, we split the SCIs into textual and pictorial regions through a fully convolutional network (FCN) to conduct separate analyses. For textual regions, we take advantage of narrow edge extensions and high edge steps as structural features to compute the textual score. For pictorial regions, we extract the just noticeable difference (JND) features, which measure the human eye's ability to detect distortion as perceptual features to calculate the pictorial score. Finally, an innovative score integration method based on the global-guidance and local-adjustment is designed to better analyze the relationship between the above regional scores and the whole global SCIs score. Abundant experiments in SCIs databases have shown that the SPSIM model can achieve better consistency with the human eyes system (HVS) in predicting the visual quality of SCIs.