Acquiring Semantic Knowledge for User Model Updates via Human-Agent Alignment Dialogues

For personal assistive technologies to effectively support users, they need a user model that records information about the user, such as their goals, values, and context. Knowledge-based techniques can model the relationships between these concepts, enabling the support agent to act in accordance with the user's values. However, user models...

The multimodal EchoBorg: not as smart as it looks

In this paper we present a Multimodal Echoborg interface to explore the effect of different embodiments of an Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA) in an interaction. We compared an interaction where the ECA was embodied as a virtual human (VH) with one where it was embodied as an Echoborg, i.e, a person whose actions are covertly controlled by...

Context in Human Emotion Perception for Automatic Affect Detection: A Survey of Audiovisual Databases

An important aspect of human emotion perception is the use of contextual information to understand others' feelings even in situations where their behavior is not very expressive or has an emotionally ambiguous meaning. For technology to successfully detect affect, it must mimic this human ability when analyzing audiovisual input. Databases...

Reactivation of Microbial Strains and Synthetic Communities after a Spaceflight to the International Space Station: Corroborating the Feasibility of Essential Conversions in the MELiSSA Loop

To sustain human deep space exploration or extra-terrestrial settlements where no resupply from the Earth or other planets is possible, technologies for in situ food production, water, air, and waste recovery need to be developed. The Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) is such a Regenerative Life Support System (RLSS)...

De verdeling van de woonsubsidies: Vlaanderen en Nederland vergeleken

Met het verdelen van subsidies via de woningmarkt worden de inkomens van huishoudens herverdeeld. Als een overheid ervoor kiest om de herverdeling niet alleen via de inkomens te laten verlopen en om een gelijke uitgangssituatie te scheppen voor alle huishoudens (gelijkheid in kansen) niet alleen via de inkomens, worden er op andere...

Tenants at-risk-of-poverty induced by housing expenditure – exploratory analyses with EU-SILC

Combating poverty and social exclusion is a core policy issue in the European Union (EU). The Statis-tics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) database facilitates analyses of the extent of poverty and social exclusion. One of the indicators built from the database is the at-risk-of-poverty indicator. Applied to households, it indicates...

Onderzoek naar de woonfiscaliteit in Vlaanderen. Deel 4: Bouwstenen en scenario's

Onderzoek in opdracht van het Agentschap Wonen-Vlaanderen.

Onderzoek naar de woonfiscaliteit in Vlaanderen: Voorwoord

Onderzoek in opdracht van het Agentschap Wonen Vlaanderen.

Onderzoek naar de woonfiscaliteit in Vlaanderen. Deel 5: Samenvatting

Onderzoek in opdracht van het Agentschap Wonen-Vlaanderen.

Taking things at face value: How stance informs politeness of virtual agents (abstract)

We propose a combination of theories about interpersonal stances and politeness to inform virtual agent behaviour in a serious game, aimed at social interaction training in the domain of law enforcement. A pilot study we conducted showed promising results based on which we will refine our model.

Rapid and Simple Cryopreservation of Anaerobic Ammonium-Oxidizing Bacteria

A quick and simple protocol for long-term cryopreservation of anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (anammox bacteria) was developed. After 29 weeks of preservation at ?80°C, activity recovery for all tested cultures under at least one of the applied sets of preservation conditions was observed. Growth recovery was also demonstrated for a single...

User Costs and Housing Expenses: Towards a more Comprehensive Approach to Affordability

Recently housing affordability has reached the agenda in Flanders and the Netherlands, giving a good reason to present a review of the concept of affordability and different definitions. The concept of short-term affordability, which is concerned with financial access to a dwelling and is based on cash flows, is combined with the concept of long...

A budget approach for comparing housing affordability

In this paper the affordability of housing in the Belgian region of Flanders and the Netherlands is analyzed, using both the expense-to-income ratio and residual income as indicators of affordability. Residual income is obtained by deducting net housing expenses from disposable income, whereas the former is the ratio of net housing expenses to...