Simon Kent

Designing universal access: web-applications for the elderly and disabled

Throughout a person’s life they are likely to experience some degree of impairment. What must be ensured is that these individuals can benefit from the opportunities afforded by technology in the same way as those who are able bodied. With the Internet becoming an increasingly popular medium for organizations to deliver information and services to the public many of these technological benefits are provided through web applications. However, due to possible visual, physical or cognitive impairments, older users and those with disabilities are more likely to experience difficulties. This paper addresses issues relating to usability of web applications for elderly and disabled users and investigates ways in which it can be improved, and whether doing so will affect usability for younger and more able users. Results from experiments undertaken indicated that it was possible to develop a web application for elderly and disabled users without degrading usability for other users.

The utilisation of generalized audit software (GAS) by external auditors

Purpose – Generalized audit software (GAS) is the tool use by auditors to automate various audit tasks. As most accounting transactions are now computerized, auditing of accounting data is also expected to be computerized as well. While GAS is the most popular of computer assisted audit tools and techniques (CAATTs), research shows that there is little evidence that GAS has been universally adopted by external auditors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the utilization of GAS by external auditors in the UK. The paper focuses on small and medium-sized audit firms in the UK whereas most other GAS studies have examined “Big 4” firms. Registered statutory auditors have been selected as a sample. Design/methodology/approach – A framework was developed to identify a range of relevant factors which are important when considering the application of GAS. A web-based survey has been used to gather the perceptions based on the responses from 205 statutory auditors across the UK. The questions posed to respondents were mapped against the framework. Findings – The research finds that the utilization of GAS is unusually low among audit firms in the UK. About 73 per cent of external auditors make no use of GAS, due to the perceived limited benefit of using GAS for auditing small clients. While some respondents recognized the advantages of GAS, they were put off by what they believed to be high implementation costs; significant learning curve and adoption process; and lack of ease of use – they showed a preference for using traditional manual auditing methods instead. Research limitations/implications – The paper focuses on small and medium-sized auditors, and as such the results cannot be extrapolated to Big 4 auditors. Consequently, the responses and conclusions are relevant to the use of GAS during audits of smaller and medium-sized companies which make up the client base of such audit firms. Originality/value – This is one of the few studies that have sought to research the utilization of GAS by the external auditor.

Genetic programming for prediction and control

The relatively ‘new’ field of genetic programming has received a lot of attention during the last few years. This is because of its potential for generating functions which are able to solve specific problems. This paper begins with an extensive overview of the field, highlighting its power and limitations and providing practical tips and techniques for the successful application of genetic programming in general domains. Following this, emphasis is placed on the application of genetic programming to prediction and control. These two domains are of extreme importance in many disciplines. Results are presented for an oral cancer prediction task and a satellite attitude control problem. Finally, the paper discusses how the convergence of genetic programming can be significantly speeded up through bulk synchronous model parallelisation.

Bulk Synchronous Parallelisation of Genetic Programming

A parallel implementation of Genetic Programming (GP) is described, using the Bulk Synchronous Parallel Programming (BSP) model, as implemented by the Oxford BSP library. Two approaches to the parallel implementation of GP are examined. The first is based on global parallelisation while the second implements the island model for evolutionary algorithms. It is shown that considerable speedup of the GP execution can be achieved and that the BSP model is very suitable for parallelisation of similar algorithms.

Genetic programming for anti-air missile proximity fuze delay-time algorithms

This paper describes the application of genetic programming to delay-time algorithms for anti-air missiles equipped with proximity fuzes. Current algorithms for determining the delay-time before the detonation of a missile warhead rely on human effort and experience and are, in general, deficient. We show that by applying genetic programming, an evolutionary optimization technique, determination of the timing can be automated and made near-optimal. A simulation study is discussed.

Evolutionary Algorithms: A Tool for Addressing Problems which Humans Cannot Solve

Abstract: Although computers have been applied in many areas, there are some applications which seem to be more difficult than others to computerise. Typically these are problems for which we do not have a complete understanding, such as computer vision or robot path planning. Traditional development methods cannot account for a poor analysis of a problem and therefore fail to deliver successful systems for ill-defined problems. Three case studies are presented to demonstrate the application of genetic algorithms and genetic programming to demonstrate how these evolutionary techniques can be applied to ill-defined problems, thus diminishing the need for humans to apply themselves to dangerous or mundane tasks.

Higher education: Understanding the impact of distance learning mode on user information assimilation and satisfaction

There is increasing pressure to capture of video within Higher Education. Although much research has looked at how communication technologies enhance information transfer during playback of video, consideration of technical issues seems incongruous if we do not consider how presentation mode affects information assimilated by, and satisfaction of, learners with a range of individual differences, and from a range of different backgrounds. This paper considers whether a relationship exists between the media and presentation mode used in recorded content, and the level of information assimilation and satisfaction perceived by learners with a range of individual differences. Results aim to inform learning practitioners whether generic delivery is justified, or whether tailoring content delivery enhances the experience of specific learner groups.

On-demand hd video using Jini based grid

This research establishes the feasibility of using a network centric technology, Jini, to provide a grid framework on which to perform parallel video encoding. A solution was implemented using Jini and obtained real-time on demand encoding of a 480 HD video stream. Further, a projection is made concerning the encoding of 1080 HD video in real-time, as the current grid was not powerful enough to achieve this above 15 fps. The research found that Jini is able to provide a number of tools and services highly applicable in a grid environment. It is also suitable in terms of performance and responds well to a varying number of grid nodes. The main performance limiter was found to be the network bandwidth allocation, which when loaded with a large number of grid nodes was unable to handle the traffic.

Visualization of Back Pain Data—A 3-D Solution

Traditional approaches to gathering and visualizing pain data rely on two-dimensional (2-D) human body models, where different types of sensation are recorded with various monochrome symbols. We propose an alternative that uses a three-dimensional (3-D) representation of the human body, which can be marked in color to visualize and record pain data.