« Empreintes dans le noir, une immersion par le toucher» est un mémoire création où l'on explore par le biais d'une installation interactive, un univers « musico-narratif » inspiré des thématiques suivantes: la naissance, le temps et la mort. Axé sur une approche minimaliste où l'obscurité est omniprésente et fait partie intégrante de l'expérience. Empreinte propose une interface à base d'eau permettant à l'utilisateur, une exploration tactile du dispositif ainsi que de ses possibilités médiatiques. L'utilisateur, se trouvant seul et dans le noir, déclenchera par le mouvement de ses mains immergées dans l'eau, une gamme variée de sonorités et sa gestuelle lui permettra d'en moduler différents paramètres tout en ayant une influence sur le déroulement du scénario de l'expérience. Empreintes a comme élément directeur, l'immersion. Il explore cette thématique non seulement à l'aide des nouvelles technologies, mais aussi par une approche simple, organique et humaine. L'utilisateur fera l'expérience de l'immersion à son sens premier, soit en s'immergeant physiquement dans l'oeuvre interactive. Ce projet s'inscrit dans le champ des arts médiatiques par une démarche de recherche-création qui intègre différentes disciplines. Son propos est actuel au moment où la technologie est accueillie à bras ouvert par certains, mais qui rencontre aussi une résistance par d'autres critiquant son caractère souvent « froid » et « synthétique ». Le projet propose donc un dispositif mariant l'aspect organique à la technologie et les médias, à l'imagination. Outre l'immersion, ce projet s'intéresse au contexte comme élément contribuant de façon importante au renouvellement de l'expérience multimédiatique. Son impact chez les participants, tant au niveau de l'appropriation du dispositif, de la compréhension des mécanismes interactifs ainsi que de l'appréciation de l'expérience est significatif Cette installation interactive se veut le reflet d'une réflexion et d'une démarche créative personnelle effectuée au cours des dernières années. Je propose donc à l'utilisateur une exploration musicale intime dans un contexte différent auquel il n'est pas habitué. Ce faisant, j'espère lui permettre de vivre une expérience unique et hors de l'ordinaire. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Immersion, Multimédia, Installation, Organique, Eau, Sonore, Obscurité.

La présente étude a pour objectif de vérifier le développement des connaissances morphologiques des élèves de 2e, 4e et 6e en immersion française en Ontario. Nous nous sommes concentrés sur la morphologie dérivationnelle avec un deuxième axe d'étude visant l'exploitation de la notion de congénèrité par ces apprenants, étant donné le partage lexical entre le français et l'anglais. Nous avons fait passer à 196 enfants apprenant le français langue seconde (anglophones en programme d'immersion) et parlant le français comme langue première (franco-ontariens en programme francophone) de trois écoles deux tests de segmentation morphologique visant à étudier les capacités des enfants à manipuler un premier aspect de la compétence morphologique: l'aspect relationnel. De plus, une tâche de lecture et une tâche de vocabulaire ont servi à dresser un portrait plus large des compétences des élèves et ainsi qu'à établir des corrélations entre ces dernières et les compétences morphologiques. Une cinquième tâche de connaissance des bases a été utilisée en tant que contrôle, vue la nature non standardisée de nos outils de mesure. Nos résultats révèlent que les élèves en immersion, malgré des scores significativement inférieurs aux francophones sur le plan global, réussissent mieux à identifié les suffixes dans une situation de non mot, et ce, surtout pour des morphèmes identiques entre le français et leur langue première, l'anglais. L'importance de mieux cerner les forces et les faiblesses en morphologie chez les apprenants de Iangue seconde, en particulier chez les élèves d'immersion, prend tout son sens lorsqu'on considère que l'habileté à reconnaître et à tirer parti de la structure morphologique des mots facilite la compréhension de la langue et, plus particulièrement, le développement du vocabulaire et de la lecture.

People with motor disabilities have a limitation or a loss of capacity carrying out activities considered as normal for human beings. This may incline the relationship with the society and thus it is essential for these people to undergo therapeutic treatments. However, rehabilitation is a tedious process that often fails due to that patients drop treatment. For this reason, this thesis investigates if music in a serious game for rehabilitation can make the experience to become more engaging and, accordingly, whether positive experiences from playing such a game can encourage the rehabilitation process of a patient i.e. to make the rehabilitation process less tedious for the patient. The results, based on a pilot study conducted in a rehabilitation center, indicates that this is the case and further research on the matter is suggested.

Through this study I have provided an understanding of what French immersion was like for children who left the program. I have considered an important aspect of the French immersion program that has been neglected in the research literature. My main research question was: What were the experiences of French immersion students who withdrew from their program during the elementary years? Subsequent questions included: How did they deal with repeated failure? How did they cope with the frustration? How did these failures and frustrations change after they left the French immersion program? How do they make sense of their experiences?<p>In this study, I listened to students voices to gain insights that lead to an understanding of how they make sense of what school was like for them during their years in French immersion. Using narrative inquiry, I focused on the lived, storied experiences of students who have not succeeded in a French immersion program. By listening to the students storied conversations, I have developed a deeper understanding of failed immersion experiences than that which is currently provided in the literature.<p>The six students in this study were aware of their lack of progress in the French immersion program and were unable to become active participants in the classroom community. The inability to become engaged further marginalized them as learners and led to the development of school stories about them. These school stories soon became designated identities with which the children had to cope. <p>By honoring the experiences of the students and including their voices, I have outlined information to aid educators to make decisions for more appropriate programming choices. This information demonstrates the need for timely intervention for some students to improve their school experience. Parents, teachers, and policy makers can then make decisions with the added knowledge provided by the students stories.

The introduction of digital media into the working practice of artists has produced challenges previously unknown to the field of art. This inquiry follows an atypical model of artist-driven research derived from disciplines such as social science and education. Here, an artwork functions as a model that is self-reflective, integrating methodologies in a form that benefits art and science. Using Naturalistic Inquiry, including semi-structured interviews of fifteen participants, the work illustrates a process of creation, analysis and evaluation that places the values of the artist on equal footing with the needs of science. Recently, artists have begun using video game engines as a tool to produce 3D navigable spaces. Using the hybrid video game/installation Playas: Homeland Mirage as a case study, this research examines the impact of technology on the artwork and identifies a number of key issues related to the function of critical reflection in this environment. Rules-of-play were a fundamental pre-requisite to the stimulation of critically reflective experience. The human interface with software and hardware was also a primary factor in reflective experience. Based on participant evaluation and observation, the interface was altered in response to its effect on critical reflection, illustrating how choices in this area impact aesthetic experience. Those with experience in visual art were more likely to engage the work in a critically reflective manner than seasoned video game players who tended to be more interested in scoring and winning. These findings and others inform our understanding of the stimulation of critical reflection in immersive environments and show how we can sensitively integrate technology with meaningful evaluative methods. By repurposing a video game in this manner, we learn about the nature of the video game and the nature of art. This research enables artists to gain a better understanding of the medium to more fully integrate technology within a meaningful practice. Conversely, other fields will benefit from a better understanding of the stimulation of meaning in immersive spaces and gain a comprehensive view of a work that strives to contribute to our culture on a deeper level than as simple entertainment. Ultimately, more fully understanding critical reflection in virtual environments will enable us to create enriched experiences that transcend space to create “real” or “virtual” place.

Nucleation of ice crystals in the atmosphere often occurs through heterogeneous freezing processes facilitated by an atmospheric aerosol that acts as the ice nuclei (IN). Depending on ambient conditions and aerosol composition, heterogeneous nucleation will occur through one of several mechanisms including the contact and immersion freezing mechanisms. Through a series of contact freezing experiments, we have characterized the ability of aerosols composed of volcanic ash, soot, and peat soil, to act as ice nuclei (IN) as a function of temperature. The immersion freezing ability of the ash particles has also been measured. In these studies, an optical microscope apparatus equipped with a cooling stage and a digital camera was used to observe the freezing events. For each experiment, a particular IN was placed in contact with the surface, or immersed in the bulk, of an ultra pure water droplet. The droplet was then subjected to freezing-melting cycles resulting in 25 independent measurements of the freezing temperature of the droplet. In the volcanic ash experiments, we observed contact freezing at warmer temperatures than immersion freezing. As contact freezing IN, the peat was the most effective with an average contact freezing temperature of -10.5 �C, followed by volcanic ash (-11.2 �C), and then soot (-25.6 �C). In addition, we have used classical nucleation theory to identify the contact parameters and nucleation rates for the compositions explored.

This experiment is composed of three parts: Gas sampling and analysis by Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer in the factory ¡Afabrication and screening of catalyst, and a discussion about efficiency of Catalytic Oxidation toluene by varied factors. Regarding gas sampling in the factory, we found that the transformation rate of VOCs by Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer(RTO) at operation temperature 982¢J into tolueneis 94.7%, into 2-butanone is 96.5%, into isopropyl alcohol is 95%. Among the three, toluene showed the lowest transformation rate. Regarding catalyst sampling and research, we found that metal catalyst by immersion method(immersion method) ( weight ratio of Cu:Co¡BCu¡GMn and Mn¡GCo is 1¡G1¡BPure Cu¡BPure Co and Pure Mn)and metal load(metal /molecular sieve) is 5%¡B10%. Among the twelve metal catalysts, we figured out 10% metal C-Co(1:1) is the best catalyst concerning transformation rate. Regarding the operation factors, the experiment showed¡G(1)the more the concentration of toluene¡Athe more the temporary inhibition¡Aand therefore, the transformation rate went down¡A(2)The more the speed of inhalation¡Athe time the air stayed still decreased, and a obvious decrease of transformation rate can be seen(3)the increase of oxygen concentration showed a positive effect toward transformation rate.(4)When at a higher reaction temperature, for the above mentioned three factors, the influence upon transformation rate became less. In addition, for the cost evaluation, the 10% metal Cu-Co(weight rate 1:1) catalyst we chose in our experiment is 92.79 Taiwanese Dollars for one batch of 120g and the catalyst per gram is 0.77 Taiwanese Dollars.

In this work, the idea of transportation via advertising is explored, specifically, transportation by means of print advertising. Transportation has been demonstrated to occur when one is observing some form of traditional media and becomes “carried away” by the narrative. The concept of transportation itself, an explanation of the idea of grotesque, and the manner and extent to which transportation takes place when viewing certain print ads will be analyzed. Transportation is described as one of three styles (modes) of engagement observed in this study, the other two being identity based and what is termed “immersion”. First, a review of relevant literature on narrative transportation an the use of grotesque imagery (defined below) to facilitate tr3ansportation, or at least a more powerful brand experience in high-end print advertising is provided; then the author develops the research question. Next, a series of depth interviews a survey considers the effects of narrative imagery in drugstore cosmetics print advertising. Findings are discussed, and theoretical explanations are provided. The report concludes with managerial implications and suggestions for future research. / text

This dissertation investigates challenges associated with optics in the 10-500 wavelength size regime. For the visible spectrum, this size range (5-250um) is classified as micro-optics, but is set apart from other size ranges by a noticeable lack of suitable simulation and metrology tools. Optics of this size are gaining popularity in applications such as solid immersion lenses (SIL) and laser beam shaping, but require more research into simulation, testing, fabrication, and assembly in order to be easily integrated into commercial applications.A survey of previous work on SILs and micro-optics simulation/testing is given, including past work with gallium phosphide (GaP) microlenses. A new SIL aberration treatment is described using spherical-parent 3rd order aberrations. Agreement is shown with previous work, and the lack of hemisphere approximations gives a broader understanding of aberrations for varying SIL thicknesses. Results show that aberration reduces with lens radius, but thickness tolerances become tighter as dimensions shrink. A study of GaP intrinsic birefringence and the theoretical impact on the induced polarization signal is also given.A survey of beam propagation simulators is given and a sequential piece-wise diffraction (SPWD) simulator is developed for arbitrary optical systems that overcomes the difficulties of simulation in the 10-500 wavelength size regime. A discussion of a future extension to the work to determine reflected and transmitted field amplitudes with a non-sequential method is presented with specific discussion on the challenges of electric field surface transfer.The design and operation of a micro-interferometer is discussed and testing results from the first sub-100um diameter GaP SILs are shown. A novel method for determining the shape profile of aspheric surfaces using information from annular fringes is presented. Theoretical beam shaping applications for micro GaP lenses is also discussed with results using the SPWD method. Experimental results are also shown for a 1x1x0.3mm beam shaper package that images a laser diode beam to an approximate size of 60um at a working distance of 4mm.Finally, designs and experimental results are shown for the integration of GaP micro-optics into conventional systems as SILs or beam-shaping elements including methods and equipment for lapping and polishing GaP.

In this study, I explore the potential impact of differing educational policies and reform efforts that influence state and federal standards-based assessments and their interpretations. Specifically, I examine the educational policies of Arizona (Structured English Immersion [SEI]) and Texas (bilingual education) for their effect on the belief systems of students, parents, and teachers. I also examine the role of identity and language in the motivation to learn and student disposition toward school among English Language Learners (ELLs). In support of a co-regulation model of emerging identity, acculturation, acculturative stress, and student perceptions of scholastic competence, student disposition toward school, and student motivational dynamics contributed to the accurate prediction of 77.5% of the participants' group membership in either SEI or bilingual education. ELLs in bilingual education had higher perceptions of scholastic competence than ELLs in SEI (d = .54). Four types of dispositions toward school, Pride in Achieving, Participation and Belonging, Literacy, and Math, were higher for ELLs in bilingual education than for ELLs in SEI. Contrary to the hypothesized results, however, there were no differences in the Rigid and Right disposition between ELLs in SEI and bilingual education. In reference to motivation, scores on Disengaged and Distracting were higher for ELLs in SEI (Arizona) than for ELLs in bilingual programs (Texas). However, contrary to the hypotheses, Good Worker/Engaged Learner, and Struggling and Persistent were higher for ELLs in SEI than for ELLs in bilingual programs. I conclude by discussing the potential impact of differing educational policies and reform efforts on the belief systems of ELLs, their parents, and teachers.