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Publications

Publications by CSE

2021

Forensic Analysis of Tampered Digital Photos

Authors
Ferreira, S; Antunes, M; Correia, ME;

Publication
Progress in Pattern Recognition, Image Analysis, Computer Vision, and Applications - 25th Iberoamerican Congress, CIARP 2021, Porto, Portugal, May 10-13, 2021, Revised Selected Papers

Abstract
Deepfake in multimedia content is being increasingly used in a plethora of cybercrimes, namely those related to digital kidnap, and ransomware. Criminal investigation has been challenged in detecting manipulated multimedia material, by applying machine learning techniques to distinguish between fake and genuine photos and videos. This paper aims to present a Support Vector Machines (SVM) based method to detect tampered photos. The method was implemented in Python and integrated as a new module in the widely used digital forensics application Autopsy. The method processes a set of features resulting from the application of a Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) in each photo. The experiments were made in a new and large dataset of classified photos containing both legitimate and manipulated photos, and composed of objects and faces. The results obtained were promising and reveal the appropriateness of using this method embedded in Autopsy, to help in criminal investigation activities and digital forensics.

2021

Could Virtual Reality Substitute the ‘Real’ Experience? Evidence from a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Northern Portugal

Authors
Losada, N; Jorge, F; Teixeira, MS; Melo, M; Bessa, M;

Publication
Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies

Abstract
Virtual Reality could be useful for heritage management and preservation by complementing or, even, by replacing the ‘real’ visitation to more threatened destinations. The objective of this study was to empirically test the level of similarity perceived by a group of students between VR experience and the ‘real’ visit in a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural attraction in order to assess the capacity of VR to act as a substitute of the ‘real’ visit. Ridit analysis was conducted in order to rank the level of agreement perceived by respondents concerning to similarity between the VR experience and the ‘real’ visit. Results revealed that VR experience could act as a complement, rather than a substitute of the ‘real’ visitation. This is, the feelings and emotions derived from the ‘real’ visit could not be replaced by the VR experience. VR could be an effective marketing tool to encourage sustainable tourism behaviors, rather than to substitute the ‘real’ visit. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

2021

Bringing Green Software to Computer Science Curriculum: Perspectives from Researchers and Educators

Authors
Saraiva, J; Zong, Z; Pereira, R;

Publication
ITiCSE 2021: 26th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, Virtual Event, Germany, June 26 - July 1, 2021.

Abstract
Only recently has the software engineering community started conducting research on developing energy efficient software, or green software. This is shadowed when compared to the research already produced in the computer hardware community. While research in green software is rapidly increasing, several recent studies with software engineers show that they still miss techniques, knowledge, and tools to develop greener software. Indeed, all such studies suggest that green software should be part of a modern Computer Science Curriculum. In this paper, we present survey results from both researchers' and educators' perspective on green software education. These surveys confirm the lack of courses and educational material for teaching green software in current higher education. Additionally, we highlight three key pedagogical challenges in bringing green software to computer science curriculum and discussed existing solutions to address these key challenges. We firmly believe that 'green thinking"and the broad adoption of green software in computer science curriculum can greatly benefit our environment, society, and students in an era where software is everywhere and evolves in an unprecedented speed. © 2021 Owner/Author.

2021

Towards an Elastic Lock-Free Hash Trie Design

Authors
Areias, M; Rocha, R;

Publication
2021 20TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON PARALLEL AND DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING (ISPDC)

Abstract
A key aspect of any hash map design is the problem of dynamically resizing it in order to deal with hash collisions. In this context, elasticity refers to the ability to automatically resize the internal data structures that support the hash map operations in order to meet varying workloads, thus optimizing the overall memory consumption of the hash map. This work extends a previous lock-free hash trie design to support elastic hashing, i.e., expand saturated hash levels and compress unused hash levels, such that, at each point in time, the number of levels in a path matches the current demand as closely as possible. Experimental results show that elasticity effectively improves the search operation and, in doing so, our design becomes very competitive when compared to other state-of-the-art designs implemented in Java.

2021

Towards Generic Fine-Grained Transaction Isolation in Polystores

Authors
Faria, N; Pereira, J; Alonso, AN; Vilaça, R;

Publication
Heterogeneous Data Management, Polystores, and Analytics for Healthcare - VLDB Workshops, Poly 2021 and DMAH 2021, Virtual Event, August 20, 2021, Revised Selected Papers

Abstract
Transactional isolation is a challenge for polystores, as along with the limited capabilities of each datastore, we have to contend with their sheer diversity. However, transactional isolation is increasingly desirable as a variety of datastores are being sought after for roles that go beyond data lakes. Transactional guarantees are also relevant for reliability at scale. In this paper, we propose that transactional isolation in polystores can be achieved by leveraging the query engine, i.e., basing some of the responsibilities of a traditional transactional storage manager (TSM) on the query language itself. This has the key advantage of greatly simplifying design and implementation, as it doesn’t need to be re-invented for each datastore, and should increase performance, by taking advantage of dynamic query optimization where available. We demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal with a simple proof-of-concept and experiment. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

2021

Development and Evaluation of an Outdoor Multisensory AR System for Cultural Heritage

Authors
Marto, A; Melo, M; Goncalves, A; Bessa, M;

Publication
IEEE ACCESS

Abstract
Enhancing tourist visits to cultural heritage sites by making use of mobile augmented reality has been a tendency in the last few years, presenting mainly audiovisual experiences. However, these explorations using only visuals and sounds, or narratives, do not allow users to be presented with, for example, a particular smell that can be important to feel engaged or to better understand the history of the site. This article pursues the goal of creating an experience that puts the user in a scene planned to evoke several stimuli with SensiMAR prototype - a Multisensory Augmented Reality system that aims to be used in cultural heritage outdoors. When using SensiMAR, the user will be involved with visual reconstructions, surrounded by the soundscape of ancient times, and is exposed to a particular smell very common that time. Given the novelty of this proposal, ascertaining the usability of such a system was raised as a foremost demand. Thus, in addition to its development and implementation specifications, an experimental study was conducted to evaluate the usability of the system in end-users' perspective. The results obtained from random visitors of an archaeological site were analysed according to their sex, age, previous experience with augmented reality technology, and provided condition - audiovisual condition, and multisensory condition, with visual, audio, and smell stimuli. Results were collected from a total of 67 participants and show that this multisensory prototype achieved good usability results across all groups. No statistically differences were found, demonstrating good usability of the SensiMAR system regardless of their sex, age, previous experience with the technology or provided condition.

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