Mark J.P. Wolf’s study of imaginary worlds theorizes world-building within and across media, including literature, comics, film, radio, television, board games, video games, the Internet, and more. Building Imaginary Worlds departs from prior approaches to imaginary worlds that focused mainly on narrative, medium, or genre, and instead considers imaginary worlds as dynamic entities in and of themselves. Wolf argues that imaginary worlds—which are often transnarrative, transmedial, and transauthorial in nature—are compelling objects of inquiry for Media Studies. Chapters touch on: a theoretical analysis of how world-building extends beyond storytelling, the engagement of the audience, and the way worlds are conceptualized and experienced a history of imaginary worlds that follows their development over three millennia from the fictional islands of Homer’s Odyssey to the present internarrative theory examining how narratives set in the same world can interact and relate to one another an examination of transmedial growth and adaptation, and what happens when worlds make the jump between media an analysis of the transauthorial nature of imaginary worlds, the resulting concentric circles of authorship, and related topics of canonicity, participatory worlds, and subcreation’s relationship with divine Creation Building Imaginary Worlds also provides the scholar of imaginary worlds with a glossary of terms and a detailed timeline that spans three millennia and more than 1,400 imaginary worlds, listing their names, creators, and the works in which they first appeared.

Computer Vision is the most important key in developing autonomous navigation systems for interaction with the environment. It also leads us to marvel at the functioning of our own vision system. In this book we have collected the latest applications of vision research from around the world. It contains both the conventional research areas like mobile robot navigation and map building, and more recent applications such as, micro vision, etc.The fist seven chapters contain the newer applications of vision like micro vision, grasping using vision, behavior based perception, inspection of railways and humanitarian demining. The later chapters deal with applications of vision in mobile robot navigation, camera calibration, object detection in vision search, map building, etc.

Understanding Interaction explores the interaction between people and technology in the broader context of the relations between the human-made and the natural environments. It is not just about digital technologies – our computers, smartphones, the Internet – but all our technologies, such as mechanical, electrical, and electronic. Our ancestors started creating mechanical tools and shaping their environments millions of years ago, developing cultures and languages, which in turn influenced our evolution. Volume 1 looks into this deep history, starting from the tool-creating period (the longest and most influential on our physical and mental capacities) to the settlement period (agriculture, domestication, villages and cities, written language), the industrial period (science, engineering, reformation, and renaissance), and finally the communication period (mass media, digital technologies, and global networks). Volume 2 looks into humans in interaction – our physiology, anatomy, neurology, psychology, how we experience and influence the world, and how we (think we) think. From this transdisciplinary understanding, design approaches and frameworks are presented to potentially guide future developments and innovations. The aim of the book is to be a guide and inspiration for designers, artists, engineers, psychologists, media producers, social scientists, etc., and, as such, be useful for both novices and more experienced practitioners. Image Credit: Still of interactive video pattern created with a range of motion sensors in the Facets kaleidoscopic algorithm (based underwater footage of seaweed movement) by the author on 4 February 2010, for a lecture at Hyperbody at the Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft, NL.

Josh Lewis' best friend, Aaron Zimmer, has turned his computer into a wish-granting machine. It ought to be every techno-addict's dream, but there are a few bugs in the system. Nobody knows when the computer will interactivate next--and it doesn't just grant Josh and Aaron's wishes. In fact, Aaron's mom's poodle seems to eb doing some of the wishing, too. When a mysterious spy called The Watcher starts monitoring their every move in cyberspace, the real trouble begins in this compelling story from Newbery medal-winning author Richard Peck. "A guaranteed fun, faced-paced adventure."--School Library Journal

Put your interactive whiteboard to immediate use with confidence and skill, and launch your classroom directly into the 21st-century! In this book, teacher and SMART-Certified Trainer Amy Buttner provides clear, practical steps for making the most of your interactive whiteboard, plus other multimedia tools and the web. You’ll learn how to design your own activities using SMART Notebook software, utilize the board for assessment purposes, connect with online resources, and more. Use interactive whiteboards to enhance instruction and engage your students in a media-rich setting. With these strategies, you’ll maximize this and other revolutionary technologies, and ultimately help to raise classroom achievement.