Portable Media Research Articles

Evaluation of the iPad as a low vision aid for improving reading ability

PurposeTo evaluate the effect of the iPad as a low vision aid in improving the reading ability of low vision patients (LVPs).MethodsIn this study, 228 consecutive patients that came for their routine eye care examination at the University of Florida, Jacksonville eye clinic, were enrolled. Patients met inclusion criteria if they had best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/100 or worse in the best corrected eye and were willing to participate in the study. The patient’s reading ability was assessed both with the patient’s own spectacles and an iPad. Patients were encouraged to enlarge the reading material as well as change the contrast until they could read comfortably. The number of patients able to read the text comfortably was recorded.ResultsOut of the total 228 participants who qualified, 103 (45%) were male and 125 (55%) were female. Only 22% could read standard newsprint-sized text (N8) without the help of an iPad. With the help of an iPad, 94% participants with impaired vision were able to read standard newsprint-sized text (N8) or smaller text (P<0.01).ConclusionThe iPad, a new portable electronic media device, can be adapted by LVPs to improve their reading ability.

A Systematic Review of Tablet Computers and Portable Media Players as Speech Generating Devices for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Powerful, portable, off-the-shelf handheld devices, such as tablet based computers (i.e., iPad(®); Galaxy(®)) or portable multimedia players (i.e., iPod(®)), can be adapted to function as speech generating devices for individuals with autism spectrum disorders or related developmental disabilities. This paper reviews the research in this new and rapidly growing area and delineates an agenda for future investigations. In general, participants using these devices acquired verbal repertoires quickly. Studies comparing these devices to picture exchange or manual sign language found that acquisition was often quicker when using a tablet computer and that the vast majority of participants preferred using the device to picture exchange or manual sign language. Future research in interface design, user experience, and extended verbal repertoires is recommended.

Development of Android App for Smooth Multimedia Streaming Service via Portable Media File Format

Existing Android applications for streaming video in real time are dependent on the codec, which composes the encoding function, and the version of Android operating system. Also, for streaming video in real time, most applications should be connected with a separate desktop PC. In this paper, we propose a new application, which overcomes these disadvantages and thus, streams video in real time. Specifically, to overcome these disadvantages, the proposed application uses the flash video file format, which is the common media file format supported by various versions of Android operating system. Through experiments, we show that it is possible for the proposed application to stream video in real time while using the existing video encoding methods.

Mao's Little red book: a global history

Preface 1. Introduction: the spiritual atom bomb and its global fallout Alexander C. Cook 2. A single spark: origins and spread of the Little Red Book in China Daniel Leese 3. Quotations songs: portable media and the Maoist pop song Andrew F. Jones 4. Mao quotations in factional battles and their afterlives: episodes from Chongqing Guobin Yang 5. Translation and internationalism Lanjun Xu 6. Maoism in Tanzania: material connections and shared imaginaries Priya Lal 7. Empty symbol: the Little Red Book in India Sreemati Chakrbarti 8. The influence of Maoism in Peru David Scott Palmer 9. The book that bombed: Mao's Little Red Thing in the Soviet Union Elizabeth McGuire 10. Mao and the Albanians Elidor Mehilli 11. Partisan legacies and anti-imperialist ambitions: the Little Red Book in Italy and Yugoslavia Dominique Kirchner Reill 12. Badge books and brand books: the Mao bible in East and West Germany Quinn Slobodian 13. Principally contradiction: the flourishing of French Maoism Julian Bourg 14. By the book: Quotations from Chairman Mao and the making of Afro-Asian Radicalism, 1966-75 Bill V. Mullen 15. Conclusion: in the beginning is the word - popular democracy and Mao's Little Red Book Ban Wang Index.

Aplikasi M-Commerce Berbasis Android Pada Toko “Fani Bags”

Bags Fani store is one bag shop. Fani Bags store sells a wide range of bags such as backpacks, travel bags, briefcases etc. However, the mechanism of buying and selling or marketing is done manually, the buyer must come to the store to buy goods from Fani Bags. Then it becomes inefficient. M-commerce (mobile commerce) is a trading system that is performed by the method of trading is done with portable media or mobile devices such as smartphones, PDAs etc. This application is based Mobile Application (Android) using java programming and MySQL as the database and PHP as webserver. M-commerce to be a solution to solve the problems on the Fani Bags store due to m-commerce and smart phones as a media liaison, customers can easily access or purchase products Fani Bags store without having to come to the store. It can be concluded using mobile commerce applications of this transaction will be carried out more easily, efficiently, and of course the wider area coverage

Providing service assurance in mobile opportunistic networks

Concomitant to the growing popularity of Internet enabled mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, PDAs, portable media players etc., however, are the concerns about availability of Internet access points for these devices. Network traffic originating from these devices has marked a multi-fold increase over the past few years. This increase in network traffic has in turn resulted in increased content availability and maintainability cost to the cellular service providers. Major challenges faced by mobile Internet users are limited hardware resources (3G or LTE) or exhaustion of carrier enforced data plans. Thus, users often either overpay for service availability such as (3G or LTE) or suffer incapability of accessing Internet services. In this paper, we argue that the ad-hoc network comprising of spatio-temporally co-existing users, identified as “Familiar Strangers” could be harnessed for viral dissemination of mobile application data. We present the architecture of a collaborative data sharing framework which comprises of two services, namely SmartParcel and CollabAssure. “SmartParcel” allows users to share mobile application data with their spatio-temporally co-existing peers. This service allows a user to receive application specific data from its neighboring nodes instead of cloud infrastructure. This reduces the network overhead generated by a large number of devices and thus, reducing content maintainability and dissemination costs at the server side. This system, however, suffers from the “tragedy of commons” problem, to overcome which we present the design of CollabAssure”. “CollabAssure” is an auction based, ad-hoc market model, assuring service by giving users incentives to “sublet” their surplus data plans to the users without Internet access. CollabAssure service allows users to participate in ad hoc auctions with their spatio-temporally co-existing neighbors as buyers or sellers of the data bandwidth. This in turn reduces under utilization overhead of the overpaying mobile data users. Users with limited or no data plans also benefit from CollabAssure service by receiving services from ad-hoc peers. We perform trace based simulations by varying data refresh rates, allowed server connections, probability of user participation and analyze the data availability at different times of the day. Our simulation results advocate a higher Internet data service is ensured by using our proposed data sharing framework.

Could telemedicine enhance traditional medicine practices?

In developing countries, telemedicine and mobile health tools promise to enhance access to high-quality healthcare, to support communication of medical information and to assist pharmacovigilance processes. In this article, we provide some arguments on the potential of telemedicine and mobile health (mHealth) applications to improve the delivery of health care in rural African regions. Specifically, the development of mobile telemedicine could help to lay the foundations of a healthcare approach integrating modern medical knowledge with ancient medical practices on the African continent. Access to information and communication technology (ICT), technical devices or portable media in developing countries is increasingly widespread. This can foster a complementary approach to healthcare, namely in African home-based care (AHC), in which the practice of conventional medicine takes place in an environment where belief in traditional medicine is strong. In the AHC, there are community volunteers who provide primary care and link patients with qualified medical personnel working in the nearest clinics and hospitals. These volunteers have contextual knowledge that is at the frontier of modern and traditional medicine, strongly influencing their practical approach to healthcare. The article proposes an interesting holistic look at potential applications of telemedicine in this context and examines in particular therapeutic and preventive education of toxicological aspects of medicinal plants and communication about the potential side effects of these plants.

Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Extremities Due to Extensive Usage of Hand Held Devices

ObjectiveThe use of hand held devices (HHD) such as mobile phones, game controls, tablets, portable media players and personal digital assistants have increased dramatically in past decade. While sending a text message or using the controls of the HHD the users need to use their thumb and other palm muscles extensively. The objective of this study was to describe the risk factors and clinical features of the musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) arising due to usage of hand held devices and to evaluate the effectiveness of a sequenced rehabilitation protocol.MethodsA retrospective report analysis of 70 subjects, who were diagnosed to have a MSD affecting the upper extremities, was conducted. Medical charts from a tertiary level rehabilitation centre from 2005–2013 were analysed. All the subjects reported pain in their upper extremities following extensive usage of HHD and were examined and diagnosed to have a MSD by an orthopaedic and rehabilitation physician. After the assessment and diagnosis, all the patients underwent rehabilitation using a sequenced protocol.ResultsAll the subjects reported pain in the thumb and forearm with associated burning, numbness and tingling around the thenar aspect of the hand, and stiffness of wrist and hand. 43 subjects had symptoms on the right side; 9 on left and 18 had bilateral symptoms. Correlation was found between hand dominance and MSD. 33 subjects complained of onset of symptoms following extensive text messaging. All the subjects were diagnosed to have tendinosis of Extensor Pollicis Longus and Myofascial Pain Syndrome affecting the 1st interossei, thenar group of muscles and Extensor Digitorum Communis. 23 of the subjects were senior executives, among these 7 were CEO’s of major multinational companies in India. All the subjects recovered completely following the rehabilitation.ConclusionsThe study concluded that mobile phones and gadgets that promoted the predominant usage of thumb or only one finger while texting or using the controls were associated with a higher prevalence of MSDs. Treatment using a sequenced rehabilitation protocol was found to be effective.

Paradigm Shift

In order to meet the demands of an overcrowded computer lab, a technology instructor designs a plan that is outside the paradigm of what is considered to be “standard operating procedure” for implementing and integrating technology into a course in a teacher education program. To accommodate 125 students in a computer classroom that only has 20 seats and computers, portable media devices with Web 2.0 technology, micro-blogging and a social media network were incorporated as part of the course curriculum. These solutions were chosen because most social media networks are easily accessible via portable media devices and virtually every college-aged student already knows how to use them with little-to-no training. Additionally, Web 2.0 allows for on-line collaboration and sharing, and website interfaces behave like software, thus enabling students to work and communicate easily outside of class. Although the use of technology did facilitate innovation in course activities, there were many challenges throughout the semester and suggestions for improvement in the future.

Sleep Interference Effects of Pathological Electronic Media Use during Adolescence

Adolescents increasingly use electronic media as a night-time activity, amid concerns about the potential negative impact on sleep and daytime functioning. The present study examined electronic media use and pathological media use in relation to sleep activity in a normative sample of Australian adolescents. A total of 1,287 high school students aged 12–18 years (50 % female) were recruited from seven secondary schools in South Australia. Adolescents completed a questionnaire assessing electronic media use, pathological media use, and sleep factors. Adolescents reported non-optimal sleep duration on weekday (71 %) and weekend nights (53 %). One in five adolescents reported nightly bedtime delay as a consequence of electronic media use. Adolescent pathological media users reported significantly more sleep problems than their non-pathological peers. These data contribute to current knowledge of how electronic media use may negatively affect adolescent sleep patterns, particularly in regard to sleep displacement and sleep-onset latency effects. Further research is needed in light of the increasing accessibility and uptake of portable electronic media devices, as well as the growing use of media as a sleeping aid, among young people.

Impact of cross-enterprise data sharing on portable media with decentralised upload of DICOM data into PACS

ObjectivesTo evaluate portable media utilisation for image data sharing between enterprises. To predict the costs required to keep up with the trend. To identify related problems.MethodsA software package was developed to include patient image data from CD into our normal workflow. The trend in the workload of CDs that were uploaded into a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) over 89 months was analysed. The average number of images per month (and per investigation) was calculated to provide the estimation of storage and cost required in the whole process.ResultsAll Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) files can be read from compact disc (CD) on any workstation in the hospital, processed quickly to the central server and checked after storage using the software tool. A total of 33,982,404 images from 88,952 CDs have been stored into the PACS system. In recent years, the stored images have reached an average of 4.2 terabytes (TB) uncompressed annually.ConclusionIntegrated information about patients is clearly needed to provide easy and timely access to these data. The steadily growing storage can be solved by a more automated approach to portable media handling or the installation and acceptance of network-based transfer using cross-enterprise document sharing (XDS).Key points• Rapid assimilation of external imaging into a PACS system is essential.• But data distribution using portable media also carries some disadvantages.• A DICOM data uploader incorporates studies from portable media to hospital workflow.• Automated media handling or XDS should solve the steadily growing storage problem.• Software improvements will facilitate the steady increase in the amount of CDs processed.

An Android-based Remote Desktop for IOS Platforms

Thanks to globalization, mobile devices have become an inseparable entity of our daily life. We often expect our smart devices (mobile phone, tablet, portable media player) to possess the functionalities of a personal computer. As the technology is getting cheaper, owning multiple mobile devices, each for a specific purpose, is becoming the current trend. For instance, an Android smartphone to fulfill a user's communication needs on-the-go, an iPad could serve the user's reading hobby, and lastly, a laptop for productivity activities. As such, to switch among different devices could be the emerging problem of the current generation. With our proposed Android based remote control app, a user does not only able to control his Windows based office laptop, but he could access to his IOS based devices too. Besides click event and text input, this application also supports panning and zooming gesture inputs.

Digital Smart Pen: A Portable Media with Endless Benefits

The purpose of education and learning is often defeated when gadgets developed to assist in the process of learning is not user friendly or ends up becoming a distraction in the classroom due to its size. This work intends to describe a gadget known as smart pen which is a new and evolving technology that does not create distraction due to its portability, that is user friendly and above all its affordable nature. Just like any other pen, it is a writing device developed by the livescribe company. It is a digital and intelligent pen that is fast gaining recognition in synchronizing written notes with audio contents. General Terms Smart Pen, Livescribe

Special issue: wireless networking—some approaches to resources and QoS optimization

Looking back at the evolution of the communications in the past three decades, we see a trend in accommodating more enriched mobile services with better and better Quality of service (QoS) in delivering data to end users. The “anywhere anytime best connected” idea is becoming more and more a reality. Wireless and mobile devices connecting people to the Internet are changing our lives and societies every day. Such devices include laptops, PDA, cell phones, portable media players, body sensors, building and environment monitoring sensors, and localization devices (e.g. GPS). The integration of multiple wireless and mobile technologies will enable more and more mobile services and applications in almost all activity domains including transportation, health, emergency services, business and commerce, social networking, and entertainment. All these applications have quality of service requirements (mainly in terms of delay, bandwidth, loss rate, reliability, and robustness) and security. Consequently the performance of wireless networks with guaranteed QoS and protected privacy is a major factor that will determine the success of the deployment of such networks. While still there are many discussions on what the next generation wireless and mobile networks would look like, it is commonly accepted that future networks should be collaborative and interoperable in order to accommodate all existing and future mobile technologies. Even if there is an intense competition between telecom operators, between service providers, between application providers, between device manufacturers, and so on, the ubiquitous mo-

Sonic mediatization of the book: affordances of the audiobook

This article addresses cultural changes resulting from the growing number of audiobook users and changes in audiobook use emerging from digital technological developments of the past decade. The sonification of the written text is inscribed in the general transformation and mediatization of the printed book but offers radically different affordances than do visually perceived e-books. New portable digital audio media change the act of reading, moving it towards fields of practice in which reading has not been common before: the gym, the bicycle ride, gardening, resting in the dark, etc. From being a medium typically associated with children, the visually handicapped, or the dyslexic, the audiobook has developed into a popular phenomenon, which, we argue, has as much in common with other kinds of mediated mobile listening practices, like music and radio listening, as it has with the reading of printed books. Taking an inductive approach from the micro-level of the individual’s use, the term affordances will be used as a methodological tool within the concept of mediatization.

Feasibility of long-term patient reporting of toxicities from home via the internet during routine chemotherapy.

6575 Background: Patient-reported outcomes are increasingly used in routine outpatient cancer care to guide clinical decisions and enhance communication. Prior evidence suggests good patient compliance with reporting at scheduled clinic visits, but there is limited evidence about compliance with long-term longitudinal reporting between visits. Methods: Patients receiving chemotherapy for lung, gynecologic, genitourinary or breast cancer at a tertiary cancer center, with access to a home computer and prior email experience, were asked to self-report seven symptomatic toxicities via the web between visits. Email reminders were sent to participants weekly; patient-reported high-grade toxicities triggered email alerts to nurses; printed reports were provided to oncologists at visits. A priori threshold criteria were set to determine if this data collection approach merits further development, based on monthly compliance rates (75% or more participants reporting at least once per month on average) and weekly compliance rates (60% at least once per week). Results: Between September 2006 and November 2010, 286 patients were enrolled (64% female, 88% white, median age 58). Mean follow-up was 34 weeks (range 2-214). On average, monthly compliance was 83% and weekly compliance was 62%, without attrition until the month prior to death. Greater compliance was associated with older age and higher education, but not performance status. Compliance was greatest during the initial 12 weeks. Symptomatic illness and technical problems were rarely barriers to compliance. Conclusions: Monthly compliance with sustained home web reporting is high, even with only weekly email reminders, but weekly compliance is lower, warranting strategies to enhance compliance in routine care settings. Barriers are likely surmountable through further use of reminder systems and questionnaire access via portable media. Between-visit symptom reporting may lead to more patient-centered care, enhanced quality, and improved patient satisfaction. Clinical trial information: NCT00578006.

The Use of an iPad2 as a Leisure Activity for a Student with Multiple Disabilities

Participation in preferred leisure activities is intrinsically motivating and satisfying. Many individuals with and without disabilities enjoy informal leisure activities, such as watching movies, listening to music, shopping, and going out to eat (Dattilo, Estrella, Light, McNaughton, & Seabury, 2008). Sometimes leisure activities are provided to individuals with multiple disabilities without consideration for their preferences. This situation is problematic because preferences are essential to the ability to make choices and include a person's understanding that options exist, a person has certain likes and dislikes, and a person needs to have input about the options (Guess, Benson, & Siegel-Causey, 2008). Agran, Storey, and Krupp (2010) concluded that staff members did not teach the skills needed to make choices because they believed that individuals with multiple disabilities were incapable of doing so. One's quality of life is diminished when control of the environment is taken away (Jessup, Cornell, & Bundy, 2010). Therefore, leisure activities assist in establishing a meaningful quality of life if individuals are in control of their choices and are allowed to express their personal autonomy. Technology has been at the forefront of recent research in the field of multiple disabilities. Individuals with and without disabilities use computers and portable media devices to watch movies, play games, take pictures and videos, socialize with others, and much more. Portable media devices with built-in accessibility features can provide independence to all individuals, but especially those with disabilities, that they may not have experienced previously (Shah, 2011). If an individual has more than one disability, adaptations may be needed (Clark & McDonnell, 2008). In some situations, multiple adaptations may be necessary to make an activity accessible. Kagohara (2011) conducted a study on the use of the iPod Touch to watch videos by students with developmental disabilities that incorporated the use of a task analysis. The components of watching a video included turning on the iPod Touch, unlocking the screen, launching the video application, selecting a video, watching a video, leaving the video application, and turning off the iPod Touch (Kagohara, 2011). Students with developmental disabilities in that study learned the skills necessary to complete the seven steps and were then able to participate actively and independently in the leisure activity of watching videos. Kagohara, Sigafoos, Achmadi, Van der Meer, O'Reilly, and Lancioni (2011) concluded that individuals with disabilities could share a common interest with others by using the iPod Touch to listen to music. They believed that a common interest with others would promote inclusion and ultimately a sense of relatedness and belonging to the community. This is something that most individuals desire; thus, the use of technology can contribute to an improved quality of life (McIntyne, Kraemer, Blacher, & Simmerman, 2004). THE STUDY Purpose The primary purposes of the case study presented here were to determine preferred activities available on an iPad2 for a young woman, Ariel, who had multiple disabilities, teach her the necessary skills to make choices on the iPad2, make modifications if necessary, and then teach Ariel the skills that are necessary for her to participate in the desired activities as independently as possible. Participant and setting Ariel was a 17-year-old 11th-grade Caucasian girl with multiple disabilities. She was diagnosed with Joubert syndrome and retinitis pigmentosa. Ariel was legally blind and an emergent reader of 14-point large print. She was nonverbal and had limitations in her motor skills coupled with a moderate intellectual disability. She was taught how to use the iPad2 in her home by the first author, who is a certified teacher of students with visual impairments, as part of a university practicum course. …

Assessment of Automatic Volume Leveling for Automotive Sound Systems

This paper presents an assessment of competing algorithms for normalizing volume levels between tracks and/or sources in an automotive infotainment system. Portable media players such as smartphones and iPod® devices are extremely popular for listening to music collections or streaming content from the Internet. The lack of normalization is a source of dissatisfaction if the user experiences significant changes in audio level between tracks. Several commercially available algorithms exist to solve this problem. This research includes a double-blind listening test comparing an audio sample processed with the different leveling algorithms to an unprocessed reference. The listener preference rating is recorded and results indicate which algorithm is preferred. Language: en

Frequency Reconfigurable Microstrip Loop Antenna Covering LTE Bands With MIMO Implementation and Wideband Microstrip Slot Antenna all for Portable Wireless DTV Media Player

A microstrip slot antenna covering Digital TV (DTV) and frequency reconfigurable microstrip printed loop antenna operating at LTE bands 3 (1.8 GHz) and 7 (2.6 GHz) with multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) implementation are designed which can find applications in portable wireless DTV media players. The DTV antenna is matched from 496-862 MHz and LTE bands 3 and 7 from 1710-1880 MHz and 2500-2700 MHz, respectively, all considering S <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">11</sub> = -6 dB matching criterion. Further, the LTE bands antennas are frequency reconfigurable antennas and its MIMO implementation shows an envelope correlation (EC) below 0.22 for both the LTE bands. Prototype antennas were fabricated and experimental verification was performed.

LSF: a new buffer replacement scheme for flash memory-based portable media players

A portable media player is a consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, image, video, and etc. NAND flash memory has been widely deployed as a storage medium for these portable media players because of its small size, light weight and low power consumption. However, due to distinct characteristics of NAND flash memory such as no in-place update, asymmetric operation unit and speed, conventional disk-based buffer replacement scheme may not yield good performance on flash memory-based storage systems. In this work, we propose a novel buffer replacement scheme considering the features of metadata as well as multimedia data for portable media players. Our proposed scheme classifies the pages into a long sequential reference set and a short sequential reference set by checking the sequential continuity of pages in the buffer. And then, it mainly evicts long sequential reference sets first from the buffer and keeps short sequential reference sets in the buffer as long as possible to improve the hit ratio. By this strategy, we can efficiently reduce the number of write and erase operations to the flash memory when storing and playing digital media. Through various experiments, we show that our proposed scheme yields better performance than its related work <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sup> .