This paper describes an interdisciplinary experiment in controlling semi-autonomous animated human forms with natural language input. These computer-generated characters resemble traditional stage actors, in that they are more autonomous than traditional hand-guided animated characters, and less autonomous than fully improvisational agents. We introduce the desktop tkeatev metaphor, reserving f...

The real challenge of business environment is derived from a situation where organizations need to find opportunities on how to introduce ideas and new products to market that provide future earnings stream. Management accounting is used as a tool in this process and provides information on opportunities and threats. The purpose of this research is to explain the role of management accounting i...

In this paper, we show the evolution from the earliest frame-by-frame synthetic actors to real-time perceptive actors living in distributed virtual environments or even in the real world. We first compare requirements and methods for frame-by-frame and real-time actors. Then, we introduce a new classification of synthetic actors with four categories: participants, guided actors, autonomous acto...

In the last decade, patterns have emerged as a notable problem-solving approach in various disciplines. This paper aims to address the communication requirements of the elements of pattern engineering (namely, actors, activities, and artifacts) in general and the pattern realization process in particular. To that regard, a theoretical framework using the Social Web as the medium is proposed and...

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals has proven to be a real challenge. Providing evidence on cost-effective interventions did not prove to be sufficient to secure the trust of national authorities, health care providers and patients. Introducing change in a health system requires a good understanding of the relationships between the actors of the system. Social network analysis can provi...

High-fidelity simulators (HFSs) have been shown to prompt critical actions at a level equal to that of trained human actors (HAs) and increase perceived realism in intrahospital mass-casualty incident (MCI) exercises. For unannounced prehospital MCI exercises, however, no data are available about the feasibility of incorporating HFSs. This case report describes the integration of HFSs in such a...

Members of the 67th World Health Assembly in 2014 were presented with a framework document to guide World Health Organization (WHO) engagement with non-state actors, a key part of WHO reform kick-started in 2011. According to this document, non-state actors include four distinct constituencies: i) nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), ii) private sector entities; iii) philanthropic foundations;...

Observing someone perform an action engages brain regions involved in motor planning, such as the inferior frontal, premotor, and inferior parietal cortices. Recent research suggests that during action observation, activity in these neural regions can be modulated by membership in an ethnic group defined by physical differences. In this study we expanded upon previous research by matching physi...