Non-interactive Communication Research Articles

CHANGE IN LEARNING PERCEPTION DURING PANDEMIC AND BEYOND

Since 2020, entire world adopted effective measures to counter the spread of deadly pandemic, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Restrictions, in terms of movement of people and goods, which was imposed by the governments, compelled various institutions to search for alternative approaches to maintain their stipulated work flow. Online platforms appeared to be best suited approach to cope-up with the altered and challenging environment. Education system was under the purview of these restrictive measures as well. As all the educational institutions were closed for a longer period of time, authorities tried online platforms, as a new avenue to provide education to the students. To provide effective and productive education, both the interactive (bidirectional) and non-interactive (unidirectional) communication strategies were adopted. In this longitudinal study, perception of three groups, i.e. Higher Secondary, Under Graduate and Post Graduate students were evaluated. Perception regarding online mode of education and gradual transition thereafter toward regular mode of education were taken into account while this study was conducted. To carry out this evaluation, two tier structured questionnaire survey was conducted amongst 320 students through the stratified random sampling. In the first tier, survey conducted through online mode, whereas, second tier of survey was carried out through off line/regular mode, that is after reopening of institutions from January,2022. This study suggested that, as far as access to the online mode of education is concerned, 87.50% students marked it to be the most positive factor whereas, 92% students considered network to be the major barrier. Study also revealed that there are perception wise differences amongst Higher Secondary and Under Graduate students. However, it could be opined from this study that after re-entering into offline mode, most of the students faced learning deterioration.

Bidirectional Connectivity Between Broca's Area and Wernicke's Area During Interactive Verbal Communication.

Aim: This investigation aims to advance the understanding of neural dynamics that underlies live and natural interactions during spoken dialogue between two individuals. Introduction: The underlying hypothesis is that functional connectivity between canonical speech areas in the human brain will be modulated by social interaction. Methods: Granger causality was applied to compare directional connectivity across Broca's and Wernicke's areas during verbal conditions consisting of interactive and noninteractive communication. Thirty-three pairs of healthy adult participants alternately talked and listened to each other while performing an object naming and description task that was either interactive or not during hyperscanning with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). In the noninteractive condition, the speaker named and described a picture-object without reference to the partner's description. In the interactive condition, the speaker performed the same task but included an interactive response about the preceding comments of the partner. Causality measures of hemodynamic responses from Broca's and Wernicke's areas were compared between real, surrogate, and shuffled trials within dyads. Results: The interactive communication was characterized by bidirectional connectivity between Wernicke's and Broca's areas of the listener's brain. Whereas this connectivity was unidirectional in the speaker's brain. In the case of the noninteractive condition, both speaker's and listener's brains showed unidirectional top-down (Broca's area to Wernicke's area) connectivity. Conclusion: Together, directional connectivity as determined by Granger analysis reveals bidirectional flow of neuronal information during dynamic two-person verbal interaction for processes that are active during listening (reception) and not during talking (production). Findings are consistent with prior contrast findings (general linear model) showing neural modulation of the receptive language system associated with Wernicke's area during a two-person live interaction. Impact statement The neural dynamics that underlies real-life social interactions is an emergent topic of interest. Dynamically coupled cross-brain neural mechanisms between interacting partners during verbal dialogue have been shown within Wernicke's area. However, it is not known how within-brain long-range neural mechanisms operate during these live social functions. Using Granger causality analysis, we show bidirectional neural activity between Broca's and Wernicke's areas during interactive dialogue compared with a noninteractive control task showing only unidirectional activity. Findings are consistent with an Interactive Brain Model where long-range neural mechanisms process interactive processes associated with rapid and spontaneous spoken social cues.

Impact of the Arrival Distribution of Primary User Traffic in Dynamic Spectrum Access

Abstract In dynamic spectrum access (DSA) a primary user shares the spectrum with one or more secondary users, with or without the primary user knowing the existence of the secondary users and offering assistance to the secondary users. When the primary user is inactive in the channel, the secondary users use the spectrum for data communication. When the primary user becomes active, the secondary users back off to return the spectrum back to the primary user. It is therefore that an arrival of the primary user traffic interrupts the ongoing communication among the secondary users. The arrivals of the primary user traffic are, in general, random, and thus secondary users cannot predict the arrivals accurately. However, when the primary user engages in non-interactive communications, it has a degree of flexibility in distributing its transmissions of data in the time domain. The paper studies the impact of the arrival distribution of primary user traffic on secondary users in terms of the secondary user network performance. Based on a state conservation scheme in DSA, the paper studies how the change of the arrival distribution of primary user traffic may affect the average network throughput, packet delay, and network power consumption of the secondary user network.

Clarity under cognitive constraint: Can a simple directive encourage busy speakers to avoid ambiguity?

abstractFailing to communicate a message in everyday settings can be a frustrating experience. However, miscommunication can lead to disaster in high-stakes situations. Yet in these contexts, under pressure to perform efficiently, speakers may also find themselves with limited resources to devote to message clarity. To understand how cognitive constraint affects communication and explore a possible low-cost solution, we investigated a method for moderating ambiguity production in the face of competing attentional demands: taking the perspective of the listener. Over two experiments, speakers labeled images (Experiment 1) or provided instructions (Experiment 2) to listeners in a non-interactive communication task. In both experiments, speakers were randomly assigned to cognitive constraint and perspective-taking conditions, such that some speakers were under higher cognitive constraint and some speakers received a simple perspective-taking directive. We replicated previous findings that additional cognitive constraint impairs speakers’ ability to avoid ambiguity. Additionally, we found that a simple directive can promote speaker clarity when labeling images, but not when providing instructions. These results suggest that a simple directive is likely insufficient to ensure speaker clarity in all cases.

Efficient machine learning over encrypted data with non-interactive communication

In this paper, we describe a protocol framework that can perform classification tasks in a privacy-preserving manner. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed framework, we implement two protocols supporting Naive Bayes classification. We overcome the heavy computational load of conventional fully homomorphic encryption-based privacy-preserving protocols by using various optimization techniques. The proposed method differs from previous techniques insofar as it requires no intermediate interactions between the server and the client while executing the protocol, except for the mandatory interaction to obtain the decryption result of the encrypted classification output. As a result of this minimal interaction, the proposed method is relatively stable. Furthermore, the decryption key is used only once during the execution of the protocol, overcoming a potential security issue caused by the frequent exposure of the decryption key in memory. The proposed implementation uses a cryptographic primitive that is secure against attacks with quantum computers. Therefore, the framework described in this paper is expected to be robust against future quantum computer attacks.

Patient's dignity in intensive care unit: A critical ethnography.

Maintaining patient's dignity in intensive care units is difficult because of the unique conditions of both critically-ill patients and intensive care units. The aim of this study was to uncover the cultural factors that impeded maintaining patients' dignity in the cardiac surgery intensive care unit. The study was conducted using a critical ethnographic method proposed by Carspecken. Participants included all physicians, nurses and staffs working in the study setting (two cardiac surgery intensive care units). Data collection methods included participant observations, formal and informal interviews, and documents assessment. In total, 200 hours of observation and 30 interviews were performed. Data were analyzed to uncover tacit cultural knowledge and to help healthcare providers to reconstruct the culture of their workplace. Ethical approval for the study from Ethics committee of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences was obtained. The findings of the study fell into the following main themes: "Presence: the guarantee for giving enough attention to patients' self-esteem", "Instrumental and objectified attitudes", "Adherence to the human equality principle: value-action gap", "Paternalistic conduct", "Improper language", and "Non-interactive communication". The final assertion was "Reductionism as a major barrier to the maintaining of patient's dignity". The prevailing atmosphere in subculture of the CSICU was reductionism and paternalism. This key finding is part of the biomedical discourse. As a matter of fact, it is in contrast with dignified care because the latter necessitate holistic attitudes and approaches. Changing an ICU culture is not easy; but through increasing awareness and critical self-reflections, the nurses, physicians and other healthcare providers, may be able to reaffirm dignified care and cure in their therapeutic relationships.

Dominance of paternalism on family-centered care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU): An ethnographic study

This article examines the culture of family-centered care (FCC) in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) using focused ethnography. Data collection strategy was participant observation, fieldwork, and interviews with main actors of the PICU, namely supervisors, nurses, and parents. This study took place in one PICU in a hospital in Tehran, Iran. The results were in the main named as paternalism and were presented as five themes: “non-possessed environment,” “separation of the children from their parents,” non-interactive communication,” “limited participation,” and “affection and sympathy combined with superiority.” In conclusion, the prevailing atmosphere in care was paternalistic as there was a huge gap between conceptually or theoretically accepted application of FCC in PICU and what is practically administrated. Bridging such a gap between theory and practice can be helpful in improving social, environment, and organizational culture for the children, their parents, and health care providers as well as their performance in the context of PICU.

E-Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Nigerian Experience

Background: On March 15, 2014, some 700,000 unemployed Nigerians gathered in sports arenas in various cities for a 0.07% chance of recruitment to one of 5,000 positions in the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). The candidates arrived with pens and papers to write tests in crowded venues. In one city, 100,000 candidates squeezed into a 60,000-capacity arena. By the end of the day, 20 of them, including a pregnant woman, had been trampled to death in a struggle for space (in its many dimensions). Hundreds of candidates sustained injuries. The tragedy generated heated debates in the country, much of which centered on the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in government. This focus was inevitable given that the NIS boasts extensive utilization of ICTs in its functions. Many then wondered why the agency did not perform online testing that would have reduced the number of candidates invited for face-to-face interviews.Research: Besides the public discourse, the incident generates scholarly interest on the conceptualization and status of e-government/e-governance in Nigeria with comparative application to other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. It compels an examination of the relationship between policymakers’ definitions of e-government/e-governance and practice. This research is therefore framed by the following questions: a) What does e-government/e-governance mean for Nigerian policymakers and public officials? b) To what degree are assumptions about ICTs as tools to bridge the gap between the state and citizens consistent with practice? c) What is the status of e-government/e-governance in key government agencies and departments in the country? d) Who benefits from the integration of ICTs in government practices? e) Are there lessons in the Nigerian experience for other Sub-Saharan African countries?Data: The research is based on primary and secondary data generated from: a) Examination of online services provided by six Nigerian government ministries and agencies: Ministry of Education, Ministry of Communication Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the NIS and the Presidency. These agencies are strategically selected either because their services have immediate and direct impact on the citizens, or their role is central to the diffusion of ICTs in the country. b) Review of the websites of the selected ministries and agencies to rate their currency (in content), interactivity and ease of use.c) Interviews with staff of the E-government Department at NITDA, the agency created to provide oversight to the development and utilization of ICTs in Nigeria. Contribution to the field: Early research on ICTs in African development focused on the socioeconomic dimension. However, policy and research interest has, in recent years, shifted to the integration of ICTs in governance with emphasis on the capacity to bridge the chasm between the state and citizens. However, it appears that for many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, e-governance/e-government is understood simply as the creation of information websites for government departments and agencies. Traditional methods of non-interactive and one-way communication are often ‘uploaded’ to the online environment without any transformative impact on state-citizen relational dynamics. An understanding of these practices as well as the political dimension of ICTs is therefore critical to policy and research. This research contributes to this understanding.

Audience Design through Social Interaction during Group Discussion

This paper contrasts two accounts of audience design during multiparty communication: audience design as a strategic individual-level message adjustment or as a non-strategic interaction-level message adjustment. Using a non-interactive communication task, Experiment 1 showed that people distinguish between messages designed for oneself and messages designed for another person; consistent with strategic message design, messages designed for another person/s were longer (number of words) than those designed for oneself. However, audience size did not affect message length (messages designed for different sized audiences were similar in length). Using an interactive communication task Experiment 2 showed that as group size increased so too did communicative effort (number of words exchanged between interlocutors). Consistent with a non-strategic account, as group members were added more social interaction was necessary to coordinate the group's collective situation model. Experiment 3 validates and extends the production measures used in Experiment 1 and 2 using a comprehension task. Taken together, our results indicate that audience design arises as a non-strategic outcome of social interaction during group discussion.

Supporting remote collaborative problem-solving

We propose a framework of individual problem-solving and communicative demands (IproCo) that bridges the gap between models from cognitive psychology and communication pragmatics. Furthermore, we present two experiments conducted to identify factors influencing the demands and to test possibilities for support. The experiments employed a remote collaborative picture-sorting task with concrete and abstract pictures and applied non-interactive conditions compared to interactive conditions. In a first experiment, the influence of the postulated demands on collaboration process and outcome was analysed, and the impact of shared applications was tested. In a second experiment, we evaluated instructional support measures consisting of model collaboration and a collaboration script. The collaboration process showed benefits of the support but the outcome did not. However, the support measures fostered the collaboration process even in the particularly difficult conditions with non-interactive communication. We discuss the impact of the IproCo framework and apply it to other tasks. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Secure Robust Hash Functions and Their Applications in Non-interactive Communications

A robust hash function allows different parties to extract a consistent key from a common fuzzy source, e.g., an image gone through noisy channels, which can then be used to establish a cryptographic session key among the parties without the need for interactions. These functions are useful in various communication scenarios, where the security notions are different. The authors study these different security notions in this paper and focus on forgery attacks, where the objective of the attack is to compute the extracted key (hash value) of a given message. This paper will examine information-theoretical security against forgery under chosen message attacks. The authors prove that it is not possible due to the entropy of the hash value of a given message can be reduced arbitrarily when sufficient message/hash pairs have been observed. In this regard, the authors give a computationally secure scheme, where it is computationally infeasible to compute the hash value even when its entropy may not be high.

Developing Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in online communities: a conceptual perspective from search, experience and credence segmentation

Consumers and marketers can jointly build online communities. Several properties of such communities are challenging the accumulated wisdom on how to produce Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and manage trust. This paper contributes to the development of IMC strategies in online communities from a Search, Experience and Credence (SEC) segmentation framework. Communication types in an online community are divided along three dimensions: individualisation (Personal/Impersonal), interactivity (Interactive/Non-interactive) and partiality (Impartial/Partial). This paper proposes that impersonal and non-interactive communications (partial or impartial) will work best in search segments; impersonal and interactive communications through the use of frequent retail promotion like free or inexpensive trials will work best in experience segments; heavy reliance on personal and interactive communications will work best in credence segments; and strong efforts to facilitate impartial sources such as educating consumers and developing a reputation reporting system and professional rating system will work best also in credence segments. This paper concludes by discussing the implications for the managers and users of current and future online communities and identifies some important open issues for future research.

‘Connecting Europe’: The Use of ‘New’ Information and Communication Technologies within European Parliament Standing Committees

The EP as the only directly elected EU institution, portrays itself as the forum that is open not only to input by lobby groups but to that of ‘average’ citizens. This paper probes the contribution of the Internet in this quest to connect Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) with citizens and here specifically we examine the role of the EP's Standing Committees. The analysis is rooted within the larger debate of the possible contribution of the Internet to encouraging the development of a European public space. The discussion focuses on the use of new technologies, including interactive and non-interactive communication methods such as email and discussion fora. It attempts to generate a series of topics for further investigation by outlining some initial results from interviews, carried out at the European level.

Realization of Web-based simulation services

Web-based simulation is a collective term used for various applications and with different meanings: simulation as hypermedia, simulation research methodology, Web-based access to simulation programs, distributed modeling and simulation, and simulation of the WWW (E. Page, http://www.mitre.org/news/the_edge/august_98/wbs.html, 1998). Here, the term Web-based simulation relates to the first three areas, where we see great potential in bringing simulation technology to the Web: exciting applications include the development of new MIME types for technical documents or the realization of standardized service building blocks, which make agile workflow modeling possible in the technical departments of many companies. The contributions of this paper are as follows. The different realization alternatives for Web-based simulation services are explained and discussed with respect to their advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, the prototypic implementation of a Web service is presented, which allows for the analysis and execution of technical models described in the well-known Modelica modeling language. While existing simulators use proprietary or non-interactive communication concepts for Web access, our service is built on the proposed W3C Web interface stack. In particular, it integrates the professional simulation engine YANOS, wich is employed among others in the simulation software FluidSIM of FESTO. Our Web service enables the electronic mailing of technical documents, which may contain model descriptions that can be simulated in the Web browser of the recipient.

Secrecy Capacities for Multiple Terminals

We derive single-letter characterizations of (strong) secrecy capacities for models with an arbitrary number of terminals, each of which observes a distinct component of a discrete memoryless multiple source, with unrestricted and interactive public communication permitted between the terminals. A subset of these terminals can serve as helpers for the remaining terminals in generating secrecy. According to the extent of an eavesdropper's knowledge, three kinds of secrecy capacity are considered: secret key (SK), private key (PK), and wiretap secret key (WSK) capacity. The characterizations of the SK and PK capacities highlight the innate connections between secrecy generation and multiterminal source coding without secrecy requirements. A general upper bound for WSK capacity is derived which is tight in the case when the eavesdropper can wiretap noisy versions of the components of the underlying multiple source, provided randomization is permitted at the terminals. These secrecy capacities are seen to be achievable with noninteractive communication between the terminals. The achievability results are also shown to be universal.

Design issues of protocols for computer mail

In this paper we present major design considerations for the development of international computer mail protocols. A simplified functional model for computer mail systems is introduced to serve as the basis of the discussion of the protocols. The general framework of the Reference Model for Open System Architecture proposed by the ISO is followed in the description of the computer mail protocol and design issues involved at each layer of the computer mail protocol are examined. The computer mail protocol is aimed at non-interactive communication between message system users.