Computer Keyboard Research Articles

Development of an Ergonomically-Programmed Keyboard Layout for English, Tagalog, and Taglish Languages using Python Software

The use of computers, especially for school-works or office-related activities, has been vital in recent years. Nowadays, in the Philippines, English and Tagalog languages are alternately used for formal writing, while Taglish is often used for informal writing. Either means of type-written communication is highly dependent on the use of computer keyboards. The most used keyboard layout today is the QWERTY layout, which based on previous studies, was not designed ergonomically. Hence, this study aims to develop ergonomic keyboard layouts that are more fit than the QWERTY layout, in terms of utilizing finger strength and encouraging finger and hand alternation, for typing in English, Tagalog, and Taglish. The keyboard layouts were developed with the use of Python programming language. The layouts were developed considering factors such as finger strength, finger alternation, and hand alternation and were evaluated using the Text Analysis (TA) points computed based on the previously-mentioned factors and the distance travelled by each finger. Of the 12 proposed layouts, layouts 2 and 4 ease hand movement when typing English, Tagalog, and Taglish words as compared to the QWERTY keyboard layout.

Assessment of user-interaction strategies for neurosurgical data navigation and annotation in virtual reality

While virtual-reality (VR) has shown great promise in radiological tasks, effective user-interaction strategies that can improve efficiency and ergonomics are still under-explored and systematic evaluations of VR interaction techniques in the context of complex anatomical models are rare. Therefore, our study aims to identify the most effective interaction techniques for two common neurosurgical planning tasks in VR (point annotation and note-taking) from the state-of-the-arts, and propose a novel technique for efficient sub-volume selection necessary in neuroanatomical navigation. We assessed seven user-interaction methods with multiple input modalities (gaze, head motion, controller, and voice) for point placement and note-taking in the context of annotating brain aneurysms for cerebrovascular surgery. Furthermore, we proposed and evaluated a novel technique, called magnified selection diorama (Maserama) for easy navigation and selection of complex 3D anatomies in VR. Both quantitative and semi-quantitative (i.e., NASA Task Load Index) metrics were employed through user studies to reveal the performance of each interaction scheme in terms of accuracy, efficiency, and usability. Our evaluations demonstrated that controller-based interaction is preferred over eye-tracking-based methods for point placement while voice recording and virtual keyboard typing are better than freehand writing for note-taking. Furthermore, our new Maserama sub-volume selection technique was proven to be highly efficient and easy-to-use. Our study is the first to provide a systematic assessment of existing and new VR interaction schemes for neurosurgical data navigation and annotation. It offers valuable insights and tools to guide the design of future VR systems for radiological and surgical applications.

Design and Implementation of a Personalizable Alternative Mouse and Keyboard Interface for Individuals with Limited Upper Limb Mobility

People with neuromuscular diseases often experience limited upper limb mobility, which makes the handling of standard computer mice and keyboards difficult. Due to the importance of computers in private and professional life, this work aims at implementing an alternative mouse and keyboard interface that will allow for their efficient use by people with a neuromuscular disease. Due to the strongly differing symptoms of these diseases, personalization on the hardware and software levels is the focus of our work. The presented mouse alternative is based on a spectacle frame with an integrated motion sensor for head tracking, which enables the control of the mouse cursor position; the keyboard alternative consists of ten keys, which are used to generate word suggestions for the user input. The interface was tested in a user study involving three participants without disabilities, which showed the general functionality of the system and potential room for improvement. With an average throughput of 1.56 bits per second achieved by the alternative mouse and typing speeds of 8.44 words per minute obtained using the alternative keyboard, the proposed interface could be a promising input device for people with limited upper limb mobility.

Transparent, Robust, and Photochemical Antibacterial Surface Based on Hydrogen Bonding between a Si-Al and Cationic Dye.

Healthcare-associated infections can occur and spread through direct contact with contaminated fomites in a hospital, such as mobile phones, tablets, computer keyboards, doorknobs, and other surfaces. Herein, this study shows a transparent, robust, and visible light-activated antibacterial surface based on hydrogen bonds between a transparent silica-alumina (Si-Al) sol-gel and a visible light-activated photosensitizer, such as crystal violet (CV). The study of the bonding mechanisms revealed that hydrogen bonding predominantly occurs between the N of CV and Al-OH. Apart from CV, Si-Al can be combined with a variety of dyes, highlighting its potential for wide application. The Si-Al@CV film selectively generates singlet oxygen using ambient visible light, triggering potent photochemical antibacterial performance against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Additionally, the Si-Al@CV film is stable even after mechanical stability tests such as tape adhesion, scratch, bending, and water immersion. In vitro cytotoxicity tests using C2C12 myoblast cells showed that the Si-Al@CV film is a biocompatible material. This work suggests a new approach for designing a transparent and robust touchscreen surface with photochemical antibacterial capability against healthcare-associated infections.

4-E analyses of plasma gasification integrated chemical looping reforming system for power and hydrogen co-generation using bakelite and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene based plastic waste feedstocks

The present work studies a novel hybrid system of reforming using chemical looping technology integrated plasma gasification for the generation of hydrogen and electricity (via gas, air and steam turbines). Different power plant scenarios using two feedstocks such as electrical switch wastes (ESW) and computer keyboard plastic wastes (CKPW) working at two pressure levels (1 bar and 15 bar) were considered. A detailed investigation of the proposed process was performed using Aspen plus software based on 4-E (energy, exergy, economic and environmental) analyses. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to analyze the impact of feed ratio (feed gas/metal) in fuel reactor (FR), steam reactor (SR) and air reactor (AR) on their respective gas and metal oxide flow rate, and operating temperature. Based on the simulated results, the preferred ratios in terms of complete utilization of syngas, steam and air, and the high purity hydrogen in FR, SR and AR is 0.063, 0.5 and 0.188, respectively. It was found that the net overall energy efficiency is found higher for CKPW (72.35 %) than ESW (64.92 %) at the base case (i.e. 0 % excess OC or air concerning all plant scenarios), while the net overall exergy efficiencies were lower by 15 % for ESW and 3 % for CKPW on average, compared to energy efficiencies. In addition, the cost of electricity for all cases remains below 111 $/MWh for ESW and 76 $/MWh for CKPW while the LCOH lies in the range of 1.7–2.3 $/kg for ESW and 0.8–1.7 $/kg for CKPW. Likewise, the power plants fed with CKPW assured higher sustainability from the ecological point of view as all carbon was captured and stored.

Skin microbiota interact with microbes on office surfaces.

The indoor environment is recognized as a potential contributor to human health impacts through resident microbiomes. Indoor surface microbial communities are formed from several sources, environmental and anthropogenic. In this study, we characterized the bacterial and fungal communities from various sources typical of a working office environment including dust, fingers, and computer keyboards and mice. The composition of the dust bacterial community was significantly different from the other tested surfaces (P<0.05), whereas the dust fungal community was only significantly different from fingers (P<0.05). Bacterial and fungal communities were both shaped by deterministic processes, and bacterial communities had a higher migration rate. Results of a network analysis showed that the microbial community interactions of keyboards and mice were mainly competitive. Fast expectation-maximization microbial source tracking (FEAST) identified the sources of>70% of the keyboard and mouse microbial communities. Biomarkers for each sample types were identified by LDA Effect Size (LEfSE) analysis, some of which were soil-derived and potential anthropogenic pathogens, indicating the potential for exchange of microbes among outdoor, human and indoor surfaces. The current study shows that the source of microorganisms at the office interface is highly traceable and that their migration is linked to human activity. The migration of potentially pathogenic microbes were identified, emphasising the importance of personal hygiene.

Role of hospital environmental surfaces in the transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome - Coronavirus-2.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome - Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is mainly transmitted via respiratory secretions through coughing, sneezing, or contact with contaminated surfaces. This virus can be present in feces and many body fluids. The study aimed to screen the hospital environment as a potential source for SARS-CoV-2 transmission and identify the hospital zones with the highest contamination levels. Swabs were collected from different sites in the hospital before and after routine cleaning/disinfection, transported in vials containing 1-3 mL of viral transport medium, and stored at -80 ℃ as soon as possible until the time of testing. The real-time reverse-transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) system targeting RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and E genes was used to detect the SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Moderate environmental contamination by SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected by rRT-PCR before routine cleaning/disinfection (52% of the swabs were positive). The hospital surfaces with the highest contamination levels were elevators' buttons, sinks and faucets' handles at the waiting rooms, patient's room and bathroom, call buttons and telephones in the patient's room, toilet bowl surface, the doorknob and light switches at the X-ray room, and the computer keyboard at the staffroom. All the swabs collected after routine cleaning/disinfection were negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by rRT-PCR. The hospital environment is a high-risk area that can be contaminated by SARS-CoV-2 through contact, respiratory, and maybe fecal shedding of the virus. To limit this fatal virus transmission, strict adherence to proper hand hygiene with frequent optimal decontamination of hospital environmental surfaces is essential.

Efecto antimicrobiano de nanopartículas de plata en algunos ambientes

The resistance of bacterial strains to antimicrobial agents and biofilm-associated infections causes considerable economiclosses and worldwide deaths. If this problem continues it is estimated that in 2050, about 10 million human deaths couldoccur per year and the costs would reach 1 trillion USD globally. Most of the studies evaluating the antimicrobial effect ofan antimicrobial agent focus on pure bacterial cultures, even when it is known that microorganisms live in communities interacting with each other, causing a less efficient antimicrobial effect on target compounds. Because of previous data, it is necessary the search for alternative and effective methods that, at the same time, do not generate bacterial resistance;silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can be an excellent alternative; moreover, the evaluation of these antimicrobial agents onmicrobial communities from environmental samples are needed. In this paper, we synthesized spherical AgNPs by biological and chemical methods with an average diameter of 10.32 and 9.53 nm respectively; we evaluated the antimicrobial effect of both in microbial populations that came from three different environmental samples (computer keyboard, tap water, and pharyngeal exudate). Results showed that both AgNPs are excellent antimicrobial agents obtaining for both inhibition percentages higher than 90%.

User Preference Analysis of a Sustainable Workstation Design for Online Classes: A Conjoint Analysis Approach

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the sudden shift of the interactions between students and teachers from the four corners of the classroom to fully online learning through the workstations. By using a conjoint analysis approach, this study aimed to evaluate the preference of undergraduate students from the Philippines on the workstation design attributes during the pandemic. Seven attributes were examined through orthogonal design: the type of gadget, keyboard, mouse, earpiece, desk, kind of chair, and light device. Through a purposive sampling approach, a total of 315 undergraduate students from the Philippines were gathered. Through an online survey with two holdouts, the respondents voluntarily responded to 51 stimuli produced by IBM SPSS using a 7-point Likert scale. Type of gadget (37.925%) was found to be the most significant attribute preferred by the students, followed by the type of mouse (28.345%), kind of chair (14.840%), type of keyboard (7.548%), earpiece (7.177%), light device (2.109%), and desk (2.056%). It is worth noting that the preferred workstation design combination is the personal computer, mechanical keyboard, wired mouse, headset, height-adjustable table, high-back office chair with neck support, and floor lamp. This study is the first to use a conjoint technique to examine undergraduate students’ preferences for workstation design attributes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, by applying the attributes and design developed in this study, the conjoint method can be used and expanded to evaluate the workstation design attributes of other courses and even employees worldwide.

Profile and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Bacteria Isolated from Computer Keyboards at University Setting in Sari, Northern Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Computers and other electronic devices are a requisite aspect of people’s lives globally for multiple purposes, including education, entertainment, and communication. Objectives: This study investigated the bacterial contamination of desktop computer keyboards (as a reservoir of pathogens) in different departments of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Northern Iran, from September 2018 to February 2019. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, samples were obtained from computer keyboards with sterile swabs and cultured on blood agar and eosin methylene blue agar. Standard microbiological methods were used to identify bacterial isolates. Then, the antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates was performed using the Kirby-Bauer method based on the CLSI procedure. Results: In total, 58 bacterial strains were isolated from the collected samples. The isolates included 23 (39.7%) Staphylococcus epidermidis, 15 (25.9%) Staphylococcus aureus, 14 (24.1%) Bacillus spp., 3 (5.2%) Klebsiella pneumoniae, 2 (3.4%) Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 1 (1.7%) Escherichia coli. All Gram-positive bacteria were resistant to penicillin, whereas the most resistance rate among Gram-negative bacteria was observed against ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime, and cephalothin. Conclusions: Due to the presence of opportunistic pathogens on computer keyboards, personal hygiene and periodic cleaning of keyboards with disinfectants is necessary to prevent the further spread of these bacteria.

Assessment of ICT Skills Application of Teacher Educators in Kwara State Colleges of Education, Nigeria

The study was carried out to assess the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills application of teacher educators in Kwara State Colleges of Education, Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design was adopted; the population of the study comprised 430 lecturers from Kwara State Colleges of Education Oro, Lafiagi, and Ilorin, respectively. A proportional sampling technique was used to select 160 respondents from the two teacher educator institutions. A simple random sampling technique was used in selecting 60 respondents from Oro College of Education and 100 respondents from Kwara State College of Education Ilorin. One self-designed questionnaire titled ‘Assessment of ICT Competency Skills of Lecturers’ (AICTCSL) with four points Liker scale was used to elicit information from the respondents. The instrument was validated. Its reliability was ensured at .78. Total Average Weighted Response (TAWR), and percentage and frequency counts were used in analyzing the collected data for the raised research questions at .05 levels of significance, while z-test statistics were used in addressing the formulated hypotheses. It was discovered in the study that lecturers in the used institutions were competent in manipulating the computer keyboard and connecting to the internet but were not competent in accessing the information on CD, organizing electronic files into folders, use of application software, use of PowerPoint, word excel and blog website. Also, no significant difference was established between the mean scores of lecturers in Kwara State Colleges of education Oro and Ilorin on their ICT skills acquisition and use, while there was a significant difference in the mean ratings of teacher educators from Oro and Ilorin on their use of application software competency. It was therefore recommended that government should make it a matter of policy that all lecturers in the institutions are ICT literate and it should be a prerequisite for their promotion and recruitment for a lecturing job in the state.

Global temporal typing patterns in foreign language writing: exploring language proficiency through recurrence quantification analysis (RQA)

Recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) is a time-series analysis method that uses autocorrelation properties of typing data to detect regularities within the writing process. The following paper first gives a detailed introduction to RQA and its application to time series data. We then apply RQA to keystroke logging data of first and foreign language writing to illustrate how outcome measures of RQA can be understood as skill-driven constraints on keyboard typing performance. Forty native German students performed two prompted writing assignments, one in German and one in English, a standardized copy task, and a standardized English placement test. We assumed more fluent and skilled writing to reveal more structured typing time series patterns. Accordingly, we expected writing in a well-mastered first language to coincide with higher values in relevant RQA measures as compared to writing in a foreign language. Results of mixed model ANOVAs confirmed our hypothesis. We further observed that RQA measures tend to be higher, thus indicating more structured data, whenever parameters of pause, burst, and revision analyses indicate more fluent writing. Multiple regression analyses revealed that, in addition to typing skills, language proficiency significantly predicts outcomes of RQA. Thus, the present data emphasize RQA being a valuable resource for studying time series data that yields meaningful information about the effort a writer must exert during text production.

Scrap computer keyboards a sustainable resource for silver (Ag) and low density oil (L D Oil)

Most neglected part of the scrap computers are the keyboards, which are generally incinerated by the informal recycling sectors creating environmental pollution and leads to the wastage of precious metallic contents present in it. Present paper is focused on a novel chemical processing technique developed to recover silver (Ag) as value added product and low density oil (L D Oil) from the computer keyboards. Initially, scrap keyboards were manually dismantled to separate Mylar sheets and the same were pyrolysed at 300 °C for 2 h to recover L D Oil. The obtained pyrolysed Mylar sheets was further crushed, milled and homogenized to reduce particle size (−100 mesh). The crushed sample was leached using 2 M HNO3 at 60 °C in mixing time of 20 min and pulp density of 100 g/L to achieve maximum dissolution of Ag. The leaching kinetics for Ag dissolution well fitted with chemical reaction control dense constant size cylindrical particles, 1-(1-X)1/2 = kct. The obtained leach liquor was put to cementation process using metallic copper (Cu). Almost 99% of Ag gets cemented as Ag powder in 15 min at a constant solution temperature of 60 °C and pH 1.1. The developed bench scale process has application orientation to the industry after piloting the process.

In Stravinsky’s Orbit: Responses to Modernism in Russian Paris, by Klára Móricz

Book Review| August 01 2022 In Stravinsky’s Orbit: Responses to Modernism in Russian Paris, by Klára Móricz In Stravinsky’s Orbit: Responses to Modernism in Russian Paris, by KláraMóricz. California Studies in 20th-Century Music. Oakland: University of California Press, 2020. xiv, 310 pp. Marina Frolova-Walker Marina Frolova-Walker Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of the American Musicological Society (2022) 75 (2): 379–384. https://doi.org/10.1525/jams.2022.75.2.379 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Marina Frolova-Walker; In Stravinsky’s Orbit: Responses to Modernism in Russian Paris, by Klára Móricz. Journal of the American Musicological Society 1 August 2022; 75 (2): 379–384. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/jams.2022.75.2.379 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentJournal of the American Musicological Society Search Klára Móricz’s composers were émigrés, most of them leaving Russia after the October Revolution. Today, many Russians are on the move again, ready to face a lengthy if not permanent exile after the invasion of Ukraine and the ebbing of the freedoms that had been introduced in the 1990s. Like the old émigrés, many were already in the West but keeping open the possibility of return, while others are hurriedly leaving, unwilling to be silent, but facing isolation, persecution, and poverty if they speak out. Russian society is splitting into “patriots” and, in diminishing numbers, “traitors.” At their computer keyboards, they exchange quotations from Russian literature: Tyutchev and Dostoyevsky for the “patriots,” Saltykov-Shchedrin, Chekhov, Rozanov for the “traitors,” both sides claiming vindication from the Russian cultural heritage. While comparisons can be drawn between Russian émigrés of today and their counterparts of a hundred years ago, we should not press them... You do not currently have access to this content.

РАБОТА С PYTHON В 6-ТИ КЛАС. СЪЗДАВАНЕ НА АНИМИРАН ГЕРОЙ. УПРАВЛЕНИЕ НА ДВИЖЕНИЕТО НА ОБЕКТ ОТ КЛАВИАТУРАТА

The paper presents an example lesson plan for teaching the school subject Computer Modelling and ICT at 6th grade. The focus is on coding with Python. Ways of creating animated objects are presented. The control of the movement of an object from the computer keyboard is programmed. Keywords: computer modelling, animation, keyboard control, coding, Python.

Automated Detection of Improper Sitting Postures in Computer Users Based on Motion Capture Sensors

Prolonged computer-related work can be linked to musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in the upper limbs and improper posture. In this regard, we report on developing resources supporting improper posture studies based on motion capture sensors. These resources were used to create a baseline detector for the automated detection of improper sitting postures, which was next used to evaluate the applicability of Hjorth’s parameters—Activity, Mobility and Complexity—on the specific classification task. Specifically, based on accelerometer data, we computed Hjorth’s time-domain parameters, which we stacked as feature vectors and fed to a binary classifier (kNN, decision tree, linear SVM and Gaussian SVM). The experimental evaluation in a setup involving two different keyboard types (standard and ergonomic) validated the practical worth of the proposed sitting posture detection method, and we reported an average classification accuracy of up to 98.4%. We deem that this research contributes toward creating an automated system for improper posture monitoring for people working on a computer for prolonged periods.

The variable use of diacritics in synchronous computer-mediated French discourse: Replication research

AbstractThis study promotes replication research as a methodological approach that is needed in order to compare earlier and more recent analyses of digital discourse. When much of the existing research was conducted, the primary means of communication included the use of a computer keyboard, (presumably) less bandwidth, and fewer devices. However, with an increase of the range of device types, the study of diacritics deserves another look within the Digital Media landscape. The present study examines the variable use of diacritics in synchronous (i.e., real-time) French chat discourse. We have replicated a study with different data sets from the same chat corpus, which is composed of data from a European chat server. We have also compared the data from the 2008 half of the corpus to data from the same chat channels collected in 2016 (just over 60,000 words in each half of the corpus, which included a total of 7,569 tokens that were coded). Our analysis of the 2008 corpus showed that one main finding was not the same as ours (from a different part of the 2008 corpus). Moreover, a diachronic analysis (2008 vs. 2016) revealed reversed trends between the two age-based channels (i.e., 20s vs. 50s).

Prototyping NLP Non-Word Detection System for Dinka using Dictionary Lookup Approach

Spellcheckers are computer software used for non-word or real word error detection. The Dinka text editors have been developed, however, no one has developed their spellcheckers. The research entitled Prototyping NLP Non-Word Detection System for Dinka Using Dictionary Lookup Approach was a solution to Dinka spellchecking. The study objectives were: requirements gathering and analysis. The computer keyboard was customized to accept the Dinka characters. Dinka lexicon was created with 6,976 words. The prototype was implemented using java programming language and dictionary lookup approach was used for non-word detection. The accuracy of detection (detecting real words and non-words) gave 98.10%, and the accuracy of non-word detection (detection of non-words only) was 91.36%. The True Positive Rate (TPR) was 99.10% and the True Negative Rate (TNR) was 91.36 %. The speed of non-word detection which was found as1, 044 Hz was slow.

An Electronic Examinations Framework with Electronic Free Handwriting

Institutions of higher learning in developing countries are gradually embracing electronic examinations as a result of Covid-19 standard operating procedures that emphasize social distancing. However acquiring secure and acceptable electronic examinations has been a challenge as most of the available electronic examination systems are constrained by limited question types, highly reliant on keyboard typing, and lack of an electronic answer booklet. The electronic examinations framework with free handwriting presented in this paper seeks to address all the aforementioned challenges in-order to improve the usage and security of electronic examinations. To achieve the aforementioned goal, design science methodology was. Results obtained indicated that for usage and security to be eased, various parameters should be put in place i.e. user-friendly interfaces, authentication mechanisms, electronic examination setting, marking and attempt with electronic free-handwriting, electronic results, and a repository for student and lecturer data. The research output/artifact will be beneficial to Students, Lecturers and Institutional administrators.

Exploring the digital footprint of depression: a PRISMA systematic literature review of the empirical evidence

BackgroundThis PRISMA systematic literature review examined the use of digital data collection methods (including ecological momentary assessment [EMA], experience sampling method [ESM], digital biomarkers, passive sensing, mobile sensing, ambulatory assessment, and time-series analysis), emphasizing on digital phenotyping (DP) to study depression. DP is defined as the use of digital data to profile health information objectively.AimsFour distinct yet interrelated goals underpin this study: (a) to identify empirical research examining the use of DP to study depression; (b) to describe the different methods and technology employed; (c) to integrate the evidence regarding the efficacy of digital data in the examination, diagnosis, and monitoring of depression and (d) to clarify DP definitions and digital mental health records terminology.ResultsOverall, 118 studies were assessed as eligible. Considering the terms employed, “EMA”, “ESM”, and “DP” were the most predominant. A variety of DP data sources were reported, including voice, language, keyboard typing kinematics, mobile phone calls and texts, geocoded activity, actigraphy sensor-related recordings (i.e., steps, sleep, circadian rhythm), and self-reported apps’ information. Reviewed studies employed subjectively and objectively recorded digital data in combination with interviews and psychometric scales.ConclusionsFindings suggest links between a person’s digital records and depression. Future research recommendations include (a) deriving consensus regarding the DP definition and (b) expanding the literature to consider a person’s broader contextual and developmental circumstances in relation to their digital data/records.