Papers by Harry van Vliet
Journal of Social History, 2004
... This essay criticises on empirical grounds the assumptions about the social composition of th... more ... This essay criticises on empirical grounds the assumptions about the social composition of theatre audiences from the late eighteenth century to the Great War as they were made in theatrehistoriography from the late nineteenth century till well into the twentieth century (even till ...
Adaptive systems can be used to help people find their way through large amounts of information b... more Adaptive systems can be used to help people find their way through large amounts of information by taking into account the content itself and opinions of other people. Annotations that describe content are important in this process as is generally recognized. What is less obviously stated so far is that not only the annotations themselves, but also knowledge of who provided the annotations can be relevant for adaptive systems. Annotations can namely be regarded as an opinion of the annotator, which can only be valued if one knows who provided it. Various sources of annotations and the importance of knowing who provided an annotation are described using real-world cases. This is followed by the introduction of various ways that adaptive systems can use the knowledge of "who tagged what" when helping people find their way through large amounts of information.
With the advent of set-top boxes, the convergence of TV (broadcasting) and PC (Internet) is set t... more With the advent of set-top boxes, the convergence of TV (broadcasting) and PC (Internet) is set to enter the home environment. Currently, a great deal of activity is occurring in developing standards (TV-Anytime Forum) and devices (TiVo) for local storage on Home Media Servers (HMS). These devices lie at the heart of convergence of the triad: communications/networks - content/media - computing/software. Besides massive storage capacity and being a communications 'gateway', the home media server is characterised by the ability to handle metadata and software that provides an easy to use on-screen interface and intelligent search/content handling facilities. In this paper, we describe a research prototype HMS that is being developed within the GigaCE project at the Telematica Instituut . Our prototype demonstrates advanced search and retrieval (video browsing), adaptive user profiling and an innovative 3D component of the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) which represents online presence. We discuss the use of MPEG-7 for representing metadata, the use of MPEG-21 working draft standards for content identification, description and rights expression, and the use of HMS peer-to-peer content distribution approaches. Finally, we outline explorative user behaviour experiments that aim to investigate the effectiveness of the prototype HMS during development.
User experience as a concept is increasingly studied. Although most authors agree that several fa... more User experience as a concept is increasingly studied. Although most authors agree that several factors influence experience some way or another, it is still unclear which factors are part of the user experience, how these factors relate to one another, and how these factors can be assessed in order to help design for experiences. In the X-factors project critical factors that determine user experience of new ICT products and services were searched for. An experience framework including the experience factors presence, aesthetics, and mood was leading in our research on the relationship between design principles and user experience. Additionally, possible pitfalls and obstacles that might hinder experience research being beneficial have been explored in the context of the design and development process of new ICT products and services. In the final section, theoretical and methodological issues for the development of experience measurement tools are reflected upon.
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Papers by Harry van Vliet