Towards Autonomous Adaptive And Context Aware Multimodal Interfaces Theoretical And Practical Issues

Towards Autonomous, Adaptive, and Context-Aware Multimodal Interfaces

Towards Autonomous, Adaptive, and Context-Aware Multimodal Interfaces: Theoretical and Practical Issues

This volume brings together the advanced research results obtained by the European COST Action 2102: "Cross Modal Analysis of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication". The research published in this book was discussed at the 3rd jointly EUCOGII-COST 2102 International Training School entitled "Toward Autonomous, Adaptive, and Context-Aware Multimodal Interfaces: Theoretical and Practical Issues ", held in Caserta, Italy, on March 15-19, 2010. The book is arranged into two scientific sections. The 18 revised papers of the first section, "Human-Computer Interaction: Cognitive and Computational Issues", deal with conjectural and processing issues of defining models, algorithms, and strategies for implementing cognitive behavioural systems. The second section, "Synchrony through Verbal and Nonverbal Signals", presents 21 revised lectures that provide theoretical and practical solutions to the modelling of timing synchronization between linguistic and paralinguistic expressions, actions, body movements, activities in human interaction and on their assistance for an effective communication.

Aesthetics of Religion

This volume is the first English language presentation of the innovative approaches developed in the aesthetics of religion. The chapters present diverse material and detailed analysis on descriptive, methodological and theoretical concepts that together explore the potential of an aesthetic approach for investigating religion as a sensory and mediated practice. In dialogue with, yet different from, other major movements in the field (material culture, anthropology of the senses, for instance), it is the specific intent of this approach to create a framework for understanding the interplay between sensory, cognitive and socio-cultural aspects of world-construction. The volume demonstrates that aesthetics, as a theory of sensory knowledge, offers an elaborate repertoire of concepts that can help to understand religious traditions. These approaches take into account contemporary developments in scientific theories of perception, neuro-aesthetics and cultural studies, highlighting the socio-cultural and political context informing how humans perceive themselves and the world around them. Developing since the 1990s, the aesthetic approach has responded to debates in the study of religion, in particular striving to overcome biased categories that confined religion either to texts and abstract beliefs, or to an indisputable sui generis mode of experience. This volume documents what has been achieved to date, its significance for the study of religion and for interdisciplinary scholarship.