e-Repositori UPF :: Llibres (Departament de Tecnologies de la Informació i les Comunicacions)

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GENIE Learn: human-centered generative AI-enhanced smart learning environments
(Science and Technology Publications, 2025) Delgado Kloos, Carlos; Asensio-Pérez, Juan I.; Hernández Leo, Davinia; Moreno-Marcos, Pedro Manuel; Bote-Lorenzo, Miguel L.; Santos Rodríguez, Patrícia; Alario-Hoyos, Carlos; Dimitriadis, Yannis; Tabuenca, Bernardo
This paper presents the basis of the GENIE Learn project, a coordinated three-year research project funded by the Spanish Research Agency. The main goal of GENIE Learn is to improve Smart Learning Environments (SLEs) for Hybrid Learning (HL) support by integrating Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools in a way that is aligned with the preferences and values of human stakeholders. This article focuses on analyzing the problems of this research context, as well as the affordances that GenAI can bring to solve these problems, but considering also the risks and challenges associated with the use of GenAI in education. The paper also details the objectives, methodology, and work plan, and expected contributions of the project in this context.
Combining radiology images and clinical metadata for multimodal medical case-based retrieval
(Springer, 2017) Jimenez-del-Toro, Oscar; Cirujeda Santolaria, Pol; Müller, Henning
As part of their daily workload, clinicians examine patient cases in the process of formulating a diagnosis. These large multimodal patient datasets stored in hospitals could help in retrieving relevant information for a differential diagnosis , but these are currently not fully exploited. The VISCERAL Retrieval Benchmark organized a medical case-based retrieval algorithm evaluation using multimodal (text and visual) data from radiology reports. The common dataset contained patient CT (Computed Tomography) or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans and RadLex term anatomy–pathology lists from the radiology reports. A content-based retrieval method for medical cases that uses both textual and visual features is presented. It defines a weighting scheme that combines the anatomical and clinical correlations of the RadLex terms with local texture features obtained from the region of interest in the query cases. The visual features are computed using a 3D Riesz wavelet texture analysis performed on a common spatial domain to compare the images in the analogous anatomical regions of interest in the dataset images. The proposed method obtained the best mean average precision in 6 out of 10 topics and the highest number of relevant cases retrieved in the benchmark. Obtaining robust results for various pathologies, it could further be developed to perform medical case-based retrieval on large multimodal clinical datasets.
Introduction: Mediterranean migration studies – A research agenda for the coming years
(Springer, 2023) Zapata Barrero, Ricard; Awad, Ibrahim
This volume seeks to cover the overall Mediterranean regional dimension on migrations. The basic purpose is to provide a basis for future research synergies by showcasing a plurality of perspectives to and applications of Mediterranean Migrations. This provides a direct opportunity and a reflective invitation to think the Mediterranean as a category of analysis for migration studies, which involves both a regional approach to migration and as “scale thinking” of geo-political governance. This broad geographical scope, coupled with cross-cutting and inter-disciplinary contributions, as well as the key-fact that this volume seeks to integrate regional, national, and North-Eastern-South complementarities are the distinctive features of its focus. It links Mediterranean and Migration Studies by articulating three sub-regions (Southern Europe, Northern Africa and Middle East) or the so-called Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEM) countries in the EU parlance.
Technology enhanced learning of performance
(Oxford University Press, 2022) Ramírez, Rafael, 1966-; Waddell, George
Technology pervades musical practice. It has driven the development of the instruments musicians play. It has ushered in an explosion of online music making, sharing, and collaboration (see Lisboa et al., this part, for a discussion of innovations in distance learning and performance). It dictates the ways musicians make their living, how they reach their audiences, and how their performances are consumed. It has fostered entire genres of musical expression and new multimodal experiences. However, despite this technological revolution, the way in which musicians learn to perform continues largely the same as it did centuries ago. Students still turn to expert teachers in one-to-one lessons for personalized assessment and guidance in a masterapprentice model that has proved highly resilient to change, interspersed with countless hours spent alone in practice (Creech & Gaunt, 2012; Gaunt, 2017). Over the decades, some digital tools have slowly made their way into common use in the practice room and teaching studio—metronomes, tuners, audio and video recording devices, digital scores—although the pace of innovation has not necessarily been characteristic of the technological explosion that has been seen in other areas of musical practice. This may be about to change. This chapter provides a window into the recent work that musicians, scientists, designers, and engineers are doing to build the next generation of technologies for music learning. While it does not attempt to summarize the full array of technologies available or in development (this would go well beyond the scope of one chapter and would quickly become outdated), it highlights the tools and techniques, from state-of-the-art measurement sensors to the latest in artificial intelligence, that are being brought to bear on the challenges of music learning and what they mean for musicians. Finally, it gives an optimistic glimpse at what musicians might expect to see in the coming decades, and how they can prepare themselves and their students to be technologically literate and adventurous in pushing the boundaries of their practice.
An analysis of generative methods for multiple image inpainting
(SpringerNature, 2023) Ballester, Coloma; Bugeau, Aurélie; Hurault, Samuel; Parisotto, Simone; Vitoria, Patricia
Image inpainting refers to the restoration of an image with missing regions in a way that is not detectable by the observer. The inpainting regions can be of any size and shape. This is an ill-posed inverse problem that does not have a unique solution. In this work, we focus on learning-based image completion methods for multiple and diverse inpainting which goal is to provide a set of distinct solutions for a given damaged image. These methods capitalize on the probabilistic nature of certain deep generative models to sample various solutions that coherently restore the missing content. Throughout the chapter, we will analyze the underlying theory and analyze the recent proposals for multiple inpainting. To investigate the pros and cons of each method, we present quantitative and qualitative comparisons, on common datasets, regarding both the quality and the diversity of the set of inpainted solutions. Our analysis allows us to identify the most successful generative strategies in both inpainting quality and inpainting diversity. This task is closely related to the learning of an accurate probability distribution of images. Depending on the dataset in use, the challenges that entail the training of such a model will be discussed through the analysis.
The augmented assessment library: a learning community for inclusive education
(Athens Lifelong Learning Institute, 2023) Sánchez Reina, Jesús Roberto; Hernández Leo, Davinia; El Aadmi Laamech, Khadija
The rise of digitization in school has led to a restructuring of pedagogies in the beneft of inclusive education. The use of screens, internet access, and the support of applications, to mention a few examples, facilitate today a wide number of teaching and learning practices, enriching not only students’ knowledge and competencies but also enhancing their social skills and fostering an inclusive approach (Kaimara, 2023; Peruzzo & Allan, 2022). As digitalization in schools grows, information technologies offer teachers and educators resources and pedagogies to improve intercultural communication, fostering open dialogue to integrate diversity (Harlem et al., 2022). Initiatives like the Augmented Assessment Project have sought to leverage the current state of art of digital education and learning technologies, implementing resources to cover a gap when evaluating migrant children. The specifc response of the research consortium has been the creation of a repository of augmented reality questions: the Augmented Assessment Library
Sets of fractional operators and some of their applications
(IntechOpen, 2023) Torres Hernandez, Anthony; Brambila Paz, Fernando; Ramírez, Rafael, 1966-
This chapter presents one way to define Abelian groups of fractional operators isomorphic to the group of integers under addition through a family of sets of fractional operators and a modified Hadamard product, as well as one way to define finite Abelian groups of fractional operators through sets of positive residual classes less than a prime number. Furthermore, it is presented one way to define sets of fractional operators which allow generalizing the Taylor series expansion of a vector-valued function in multi-index notation, as well as one way to define a family of fractional fixed-point methods and determine their order of convergence analytically through sets.
Directions for the responsible design and use of AI by children and their communities: examples in the field of Education
(Joint Research Centre (European Commission), 2022) Hernández Leo, Davinia
Responsible educational technology research: from open science and open data to ethics and trustworthy learning analytics
(SpringerNature, 2023) Hernández Leo, Davinia; Amarasinghe, Ishari; Beardsley, Marc Yoshimi; Hakami, Eyad; Ruiz Garcia, Aurelio; Santos Rodríguez, Patrícia
This chapter unfolds some elements of responsible research in the educational technology field and provides examples about how these elements have been considered in initiatives by the Interactive and Distributed Technologies for Education (TIDE) research group at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. First, it focuses on open science, an ongoing movement that promotes, on the one hand, transparent and frequent open-access updates of the research progress and the collected data and, on the other hand, reproducible, accurate, and verifiable research, bringing benefits for the individual researchers, the research community, and the society. Second, the chapter discusses ethics perspectives in educational technology research, relevant when collecting and sharing data and also in the design and development of technologies, especially when they are based on data analytics or artificial intelligence techniques. The latter aspects relate to the capacity of educational software systems to support human agency and preserve human well-being.
Affective state-based framework for e-learning systems
(IOS Press, 2021) Rodríguez, Juan Antonio; Comas, Joaquim; Binefa i Valls, Xavier
Virtual learning and education have become crucial during the COVID19 pandemic, which has forced a rethink by teachers and educators into designing online content and the indirect interaction with students. In an face-to-face class, some visual cues help the teacher recognize the engagement level of students, while the main weakness of the online approach is the lack of feedback that the teacher has about the learning process of the students. In this paper, we introduce a novel framework able to track the learning states, or LS, of the students while they are watching a piece of knowledge-based content. Specifically, we extract four learning states: Interested, Bored, Confused or Distracted. Finally, to demonstrate the system’s capability, we collected a reduced database to analyze the affective state of the subjects. From these preliminary results, we observe abrupt changes in the LS of the audience when there are abrupt changes in the narrative of the video, indicating that well-structured and bounded information is strongly related with the learning behaviour of the students.
The power of beauty or the tyranny of algorithms. How do teens understand body image on instagram?
(Dykinson, 2021) Sánchez Reina, Jesús Roberto; Theophilou, Emily; Hernández Leo, Davinia; Medina Bravo, Pilar, 1966-
Mapping epileptic networks with scalp and invasive EEG: applications to epileptogenic zone localization and seizure prediction
(Cambridge University Press, 2023) Vila-Vidal, Manel, 1991-; Tauste Campo, Adrià, 1982-
This chapter offers an overview of core topics in epilepsy research from a complex systems perspective, starting from single-node studies up to network theory analysis. In its first part, the chapter reviews the advances in EEG biomarkers for epileptic network mapping in both invasive and scalp EEG, including univariate epileptogenic indexes linear connectivity measures within the multivariate autoregressive model, non-linear correlation measures and graph-theoretical properties. In the second part, the chapter covers some of the initial contributions to characterize network dynamics in epilepsy. Particular attention is paid at the seizure prediction problem, using classic dynamical systems approaches as well as the most recent machine-learning prediction algorithms and network-science studies unraveling signatures of the transition from interictal to ictal activity.
Web-based embodied conversational agents and older people
(Springer, 2019) Llorach, Gerard; Agenjo, Javier; Blat, Josep; Sayago Barrantes, Sergio
Within Human-Computer Interaction, there has recently been an important turn to embodied and voice-based interaction. In this chapter, we discuss our ongoing research on building online Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs), specifically, their interactive 3D web graphics aspects. We present ECAs based on our technological pipeline, which integrates a number of free online editors, such as Adobe Fuse CC or MakeHuman, and standards, mainly BML (Behaviour Markup Language). We claim that making embodiment available for online ECAs is attainable, and advantageous over current alternatives, mostly desktop-based. In this chapter we also report on initial results of activities aimed to explore the physical appearance of ECAs for older people. A group of them (N = 14) designed female ECAs. Designing them was easy and great fun. The perspective on older-adult HCI introduced in this chapter is mostly technological, allowing for rapid online experimentations to address key issues, such as anthropomorphic aspects, in the design of ECAs with, and for, older people.
Musical sound modeling with sinusoids plus noise
(Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 1997) Serra, Xavier
When generating musical sound on a digital computer, it is important to have a good model whose parameters provide a rich source of meaningful sound transformations. Three basic model types are in prevalent use today for musical sound generation instrument models, spectrum models, and abstract models. Instrument models attempt to parametrize a sound at its source, such as a violin, clarinet, or vocal tract. Spectrum models attempt to parametrize a sound at the basilar membrane of the ear, discarding whatever information the ear seems to discard in the spectrum. Abstract models, such as FM, attempt to provide musically useful parameters in an abstract formula. This article addresses the second category of synthesis techniques spectrum modeling. The main advantage of this group of techniques is the existence of analysis procedures that extract the synthesis parameters out of real sounds, thus being able to reproduce and modify actual sounds. Our particular approach is based on modeling sounds as stable sinusoids (partials) plus noise (residual component), therefore analyzing sounds with this model and generating new sounds from the analyzed data. The analysis procedure detects partials by studying the time-varying spectral characteristics of a sound and represents them with time-varying sinusoids. These partials are then subtracted from the original sound and the remaining "residual" is represented as a time-varying filtered white noise component. The synthesis procedure is a combination of additive synthesis for the sinusoidal part, and subtractive synthesis for the noise part.
Incorporating subject areas into the Apertium machine translation system
(Springer, 2013) Duran Cals, Jordi; Villarejo Muñoz, Luis; Farrús, Mireia; Ortiz, Sergio; Ramírez, Gemma
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC), is a public university based in Barcelona. The UOC is characterised by three main factors: (a) it is a virtual university based in an e-Learning model, (b) it is based in a strongly Spanish-Catalan bilingual region, and (c) students come from around the world, so that linguistic and cultural diversity is a crucial factor. Within this context, it becomes essential to meet the UOC’s linguistic needs taking into account its particular characteristics. One of the tools created to this end is the adaptation of Apertium, a free/open-source rule-based machine translation platform, which can be found under http://apertium.uoc.edu/, customised to the translation needs of the institution in order to offer the best possible service to their user community. In order to continue adapting and adding value to the existing tool for generalisable large-scale applications, the UOC’s translation system has recently implemented a semantic filter based on subject fields aimed at improving the translation quality and at better fitting the university needs. The paper will explain all the steps of this adaptive process, as well as a demonstration of the resulting tool: (a) the choice of the subject fields according to the university studies, (b) the design and implementation of the dictionaries used to extract the required information to filter and disambiguate homonym and polysemous terms, including source code in the dictionaries, and (c) the design and implementation of the corresponding web interface.
The Musical communication chain and its modeling
(Springer, 2002) Serra, Xavier
Música i persuasió
(Indigestió Musical, 2009) Herrera Boyer, Perfecto, 1964-
Música y persuasión
(Indigestió Musical, 2009) Herrera Boyer, Perfecto, 1964-
Prosody in automatic speaker recognition: applications in biometrics and voice imitation
(VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2010) Farrús, Mireia
Designing an interactive installation for children to experience abstract concepts
(Springer, 2009) Parés, Narcís, 1966-; Carreras, Anna
In this chapter we present the design process followed for an interactive experience in a museum installation for children of age 14 to 18. The experience wishes to communicate a set of abstract concepts through full-body interaction following the interaction-driven design strategy. We also present a design framework that we have derived from the design process of this and previous full-body interactive experiences, in an attempt to generalize the steps we have followed. This framework is based on five levels, namely: conceptual, symbolic, semantic, user attitude, and user action levels. We believe this will allow designers to achieve experiences that better communicate abstract concepts and notions through interaction itself by making the users “live” the experiences in their own flesh through full-body interaction.

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