Facebook is the biggest social network and therefore it is of interest to view how people get immersed into the user experience of it. Not much has been done about immersion into Facebook and how it entraps the user in a never-ending flow of impressions. Using a combination of qualitative interview studies and think-aloud walkthroughs we set out to study this phenomena. We found a varying mix of immersion, from those who couldn’t stop looking through their feeds to those who just used Facebook as a phonebook. We also found that while many wanted to reduce their usage of Facebook, none seemed able to make that plunge. From this we find design implications for both designing for immersion and avoiding entrapment. One key to the former is to have an error free environment, while the latter would be to make sure that all information is searchable.

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Compared to research on English as a First Language (EL1) reading comprehension, there is a dearth of studies investigating English as a Second Language (ESL) reading comprehension. This dissertation reports findings from two studies which examined the cognitive processes underlying English reading comprehension in Chinese ESL students. Two-hundred and forty six Grade 8 students in an English immersion program in a junior middle school in China were administered a battery of reading-related and reading comprehension tests. The first study investigated the cognitive predictors of English reading comprehension in these students. It tested whether the Simple View of Reading model (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) applied to Chinese ESL students and whether the effects of breadth and depth of vocabulary contributed to different levels of reading comprehension. The results showed that the Simple View of Reading model did not predict Chinese English-immersion students’ reading comprehension well. Vocabulary as well as inference and strategy added further variance to the general understanding of text. Vocabulary breadth and depth explained unique variance in reading comprehension, with vocabulary breadth contributing more to general understanding of text and vocabulary depth to deep processing of text. The second study explored characteristics of reading comprehension difficulties among Chinese English-immersion students. Three groups of comprehenders matched on age, nonverbal intelligence, and word reading speed were identified from the 246 Grade 8 Chinese English-immersion students: 33 unexpected poor comprehenders, 28 expected average comprehenders, and 30 unexpected good comprehenders. The three groups differed in vocabulary and higher-level processes. Vocabulary breadth and depth distinguished between the unexpected poor comprehenders and the expected average comprehenders. Inference, strategy, listening comprehension, summary writing, and morphological awareness distinguished between the expected average comprehenders and the unexpected good comprehenders. The findings suggest that vocabulary is the main source of reading comprehension difficulties in these unexpected poor comprehenders. The advantage of the unexpected good comprehenders group was primarily due to discourse comprehension and strategic processes, and is only possible with high language proficiency. Taken together, both vocabulary and higher-level skills are essential to successful reading comprehension in Chinese English-immersion students. The higher-level skills can be used more efficiently to help these students’ reading comprehension when they have acquired adequate vocabulary knowledge. / Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-12-19 11:58:53.81

This report is about VR and the effects the VR technology Oculus Rift may or may not have on the different kinds of immersion possible in virtual environments, or games. The report is based on the premise that modern games have evolved into more story based adventures with better graphics, often with moral choice as gameplay, and theories regarding new mediums and the dangers of not fully understanding them. It is also done in cooperation with a research team at Högskolan i Skövde, with a focus on moral dilemmas, and is using a virtual environment to test this combined effort. The game engine Unity is used to create a realistic environment and together with the Oculus Rift, is testing what kinds of effects the VR technology has on the users. 20 test participants have shared their experiences and the majority, independent of gaming experience, claims it has a positive effect.

The demand for hydrogen as a clean energy carrier has increased greatly. The Cu-Cl cycle is a promising thermochemical cycle that is currently being developed to be the large-scale method of hydrogen production. The lifetime of materials for the pipes transporting molten CuCl is an important parameter for an economic design of a commercial thermochemical Cu-Cl hydrogen plant. This research is an examination of candidate materials following an immersion test in molten CuCl at 500 °C for 100 h. Two alloys, Ni based super-alloy (Inconel 625) and super austenitic stainless steel (AL6XN) were selected as the base metal. There were two types of coating applied to improve the corrosion resistance of the base metals during molten CuCl exposure. A metallic of Diamalloy 4006 and two ceramic of yttria stabilized zirconia and alumina coatings were applied to the base metal using thermal spray methods. An immersion apparatus was designed and constructed to perform an immersion test that has a condition similar to those in a hydrogen plant. After the immersion test, the materials were evaluated using an electrochemical method in combination with ex-situ surface analysis. The surface condition including elemental composition, film structure and resistivity of the materials were examined and compared. The majority of the coatings were damaged and fell off. Cracks were found in the original coated specimens indicating the sample geometry may have affected the integrity of the sprayed coating. When the coating cracked, it provided a pathway for the molten CuCl to go under the coating and react with the surface underneath the coating. Copper deposits and iron chloride that were found on the sample surfaces suggest that there were corrosion reactions that involved the metal dissolution and reduction of copper during immersion test. The results also suggest that Inconel 625 performed better than stainless steel AL6XN. Both Diamalloy 4006 and YSZ (ZrO2 18TiO2 10Y2O3) coatings seemed to provide better protection to the underlying base metal than alumina (Al2O3 3TiO2) coating. / UOIT

Immersion is a construct that measures how deeply engrossed a user is with any mediated situation. In the field of game design, immersion is a significant aspect of what makes a game enticing, and as such it is of pivotal importance to create and maintain it to keep the player's mind off the real world while inside the confines of a game framework. According to the GameFlow theory, it is one of seven key tenets of evaluating and implementing a successful game design. Yet, certain multiplayer online games are designed in a fashion that in some cases seem to break immersion, where the player is frequently put out of action, sometimes for minutes on end. In this study, using online questionnaires, we discover that players, despite claims otherwise, seem to be in several ways affected negatively by this breaking of immersion. Building onto this, we offer possible immersion sparing game design solutions to be explored in future research.

Simulation techniques are developed for high NA polarized microscopy with Babinet's principle, partial coherence and vector diffraction for non-periodic geometries. A mathematical model for the Babinet approach is developed and interpreted. Simulation results of the Babinet's principle approach are compared with those of Rigorous Coupled Wave Theory (RCWT) for periodic structures to investigate the accuracy of this approach and its limitations.A microscope system using a special solid immersion lens (SIL) is introduced to image Blu-Ray (BD) optical disc samples without removing the protective cover layer.Aberration caused by the cover layer is minimized with a truncated SIL. Sub-surface imaging simulation is achieved by RCWT, partial coherence, vector diffraction and Babinet's Principle. Simulated results are compared with experimental images and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurement.A technique for obtaining native and induced using a significant amount of evanescent energy is described for a solid immersion lens (SIL) microscope.Characteristics of native and induced polarization images for different object structures and materials are studied in detail. Experiments are conducted with a NA = 1.48 at wavelength550nm microscope. Near-field images are simulated and analyzed with an RCWT approach. Contrast curve versus object spatial frequency calculations are compared with experimental measurements. Dependencies of contrast versus source polarization angles and air gap for native and induced polarization image profiles are evaluated. By using the relationship between induced polarization and topographical structure, an induced polarization image of an alternating phase shift mask (PSM) is converted into a topographical image, which shows very good agreement with AFM measurement. Images of other material structures include a dielectric grating, chrome-on-glass grating, silicon CPU structure, BD-R and BD-ROM.

This study investigates students', parents' and teachers' beliefs about first language literacy experiences at home and at school. Written questionnaires and interviews were used as tools of inquiry. The students were grade five, majority language students in an early immersion program. Students, parents and teachers were asked about their beliefs on first language reading development, literacy experiences at home as well as at school, second language impact on first language and related topics. / Results showed that all students in the study had similar types of literacy experiences at home, regardless of reading ability. By adhering to an Emergent Literacy perspective, parents provided many diverse opportunities for their child(ren) to engage in literacy activities at home. The school had similar views about the importance of literacy practices. Students' literacy experiences at home appear to be in synchrony with their literacy experiences at school. This finding aligns with the aims of a Social Construction of Literacy perspective. / Learning to read in a second language did not hinder a child's development of first language reading, although for students having difficulty reading in the first language, the addition of a second language seemed to pose some difficulties for some students. / Recommendations are made for future research into family literacy in immersion programs and a follow up study. Research on individual differences among siblings could provide insight into why some children appear to have difficulties reading in their first language while others do not. A follow up study on some or all of the participants would provide continuing data on immersion students' literacy at home and at school.

Med dagens allt mer visuellt realistiska dataspel ställs även allt högre krav på spelens ljudläggning. Detta arbete undersöker på vilket sätt helhetsintrycket av dataspel förändras beroende på realismen i ljudläggningen. Med hjälp av teorier om egenskaper hos akustiskt ljud har tre stycken filmklipp ljudlagts med så hög realism som möjligt. Samma filmklipp har sedan ljudlagts med låg realism. Försökspersoner har sedan fått se filmklippen och höra de olika ljudläggningarna och besvarat frågor angående upplevelsen av dessa filmklipp.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。