A fundamental requirement of any autonomous robot system is the ability to predict the affordances of its environment, which define how the robot can interact with various objects. In this dissertation, we demonstrate that the conventional direct perception approach can indeed be applied to the task of training robots to predict affordances, but it does not consider that objects can be grouped into categories such that objects of the same category have similar affordances. Although the connection between object categorization and the ability to make predictions of attributes has been extensively studied in cognitive science research, it has not been systematically applied to robotics in learning to predict a number of affordances from recognizing object categories. We develop a computational framework of learning and predicting affordances where a robot explicitly learns the categories of objects present in its environment in a partially supervised manner, and then conducts experiments to interact with the objects to both refine its model of categories and the category-affordance relationships. In comparison to the direct perception approach, we demonstrate that categories make the affordance learning problem scalable, in that they make more effective use of scarce training data and support efficient incremental learning of new affordance concepts. Another key aspect of our approach is to leverage the ability of a robot to perform experiments on its environment and thus gather information independent of a human trainer. We develop the theoretical underpinnings of category-based affordance learning and validate our theory on experiments with physically-situated robots. Finally, we refocus the object categorization problem of computer vision back to the theme of autonomous agents interacting with a physical world consisting of categories of objects. This enables us to reinterpret and extend the Gluck-Corter category utility function for the task of learning categorizations for affordance prediction.

<p>Contemporary higher education seems to be moving away from the lecture form and being replaced by student-centered education. This study attempts to ascertain in what ways student teachers experience the lecture as a meaningful educational form. The essay attempts to establish a shared system of meaning which will help determine what types of lectures are meaningful. Finally, the study also attempts to find different aspects of the lecture which are experienced as democratic.</p><p> </p><p>The study is qualitative and began with a pilot study which was followed up by four interviews with student teachers who have recently completed the same AUO teachers’ program.</p><p> </p><p>Different theories on media by Marshal McLuhan, Neil Postman and Walter Ong were utilized together with J.J. Gibson’s theories on affordances as well as Orrin Klapp’s theories on meaning. Using these theories it was determined that meaning is derived from the activities that are afforded by: the utilization of different media, perceiving the value of an event or thing, and the different functions of language. It was also determined from the different theories that the lecture is a type of ecology that requires a balance of meaningful information if the affordances of the environment are to be perceived. These theories were woven together and a model was established which was named “The Didactic Pendulum”. This model was used as a tool for interpreting and categorizing responses and explaining results.</p><p> </p><p>The results indicate that meaningful lectures were to a large degree determined by the lecturer and their enthusiasm for the subject matter. It was also concluded that rhetoric and careful use of electronic media are also important. An important feature of the Teachers’ Education Program is that student teachers learn from observing the actions of the university teachers when they lecture. Concerning democratic aspects of the lecture, lectures are perceived democratic when they afford students with the opportunity to participate, but also when students get to challenge the ideas of the lecturers. One conclusion that was drawn was that a lecture is democratic when it has the potential to lead students to democratic action. A main critique of the lecture is that they are often experienced as isolated from other aspects of the course and students are not afforded the opportunity to question the content and the authority of the teachers. Moreover a balanced educational ecology is one where the lecturer is open to feedback signals of the students and is able to alter the flow of information accordingly.</p>

I den svenska skolan styr matematikläromedel till stor del matematikundervisningen i klassrummet. Det har visat sig att lärare använder matematikläromedlet som en ersättning av kursplanen. Förlagen är däremot inte skyldiga att inkludera alla delar av kursplanen för matematik i läromedlen. Ett grundläggande arbetsområde i geometrin är symmetri. Symmetri beskrivs som ett eget avsnitt under det centrala innehållet i kursplanen för matematik. Symmetri har däremot inte alltid behandlats lika tydligt som i den nuvarande kursplanen. Därför handlar den här studien om matematikläromedels erbjudande av symmetri. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka hur symmetribegreppet erbjuds i matematikläromedel för årskurs 1-3 samt hur de stämmer överens med kursplanen i matematik. Till studien har tre forskningsfrågor tagits fram. Den första forskningsfrågan är: Vilka symmetrier erbjuds av matematikläromedlet för årskurs 1 – 3? Den andra frågan: I hur stor omfattning förekommer symmetri uppgifter i läromedel? Den tredje frågan: På vilket sätt erbjuds eleven att se, upptäcka, konstruera och beskriva symmetrier i bilder och natur? Den här studien bygger på en flermetodsforskning eftersom den innehåller både en kvantitativ innehållsanalys och en kvalitativ dokumentationsanalys. Undersökningen har genomförts som en litteraturstudie med inslag av en handlingserbjudande teori. Totalt har 9 serier av matematikläromedel anpassade för årskurs 1-3 analyserats. Läromedel som har analyserats är elevläromedel och inte lärarhandledning. Resultatet visar att eleven får erbjudande att arbeta med spegelsymmetri, translation, tesselering, symmetriska respektive asymmetriska uppgifter i matematikläromedel. Resultatet visar att omfattningen av uppgifter som behandlar symmetri varierar i erbjudande. Resultatet visar även att eleven vid flera tillfällen får erbjudande att se, upptäcka och konstruera symmetrier. Däremot är det inte lika vanligt att eleven får beskriva symmetrier. / The mathematics teaching material is an important part of the Swedish education. It has been proven that mathematics teaching material are been used as an replacement of the curriculum in school. But the publisher does not need to include every part of the curriculum for mathematics. A basic part in geometry is symmetry. Symmetry is described as an own section in the curriculum, but it has not always been so. Therefore, this study is about mathematics teaching materials offers of symmetry. The aim of this study is to examine mathematics teaching materials offer in symmetry for pupils in grade 1-3 and how they match with the curriculum in mathematics. To this study, three research questions have been produced. The first one: Witch symmetry offers in mathematics teaching materials for grade 1-3? The second one: In how big extent presents symmetry in mathematics teaching materials? The third one: In witch way does mathematics teaching material offers pupils to, see, discover, construct and describe symmetry in pictures and in nature? The method that has been used in the study is a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative document analysis, with an affordance theory. With a total of nine series of mathematics teaching materials grade in 1-3 in Swedish school. The analysis shows that pupils are appointed with the possibility to work with mirrorsymmetry, translation, tesselering, symmetric and asymmetric tasks. The analysis also shows that the extent of symmetry task varies in different offers in teaching materials. The analysis also shows that pupils offers to see, discover and construct symmetries. However, it is uncommon that pupils get the opportunity to describe different types of symmetry.

Submitted by Pós-Com Pós-Com (pos-com@ufba.br) on 2017-01-09T14:40:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Rodrigo Revisada-Reduzido.pdf: 15493401 bytes, checksum: 98f08e99331391ca03d338f6f0fbf19c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Uillis de Assis Santos (uillis.assis@ufba.br) on 2017-07-12T17:38:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Rodrigo Revisada-Reduzido.pdf: 15493401 bytes, checksum: 98f08e99331391ca03d338f6f0fbf19c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-12T17:38:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Rodrigo Revisada-Reduzido.pdf: 15493401 bytes, checksum: 98f08e99331391ca03d338f6f0fbf19c (MD5) / Capes / ao design de informação, em uma situação de surgimento e difusão de plataformas para produção de conteúdos. Buscamos compreender de que forma os profissionais dessa subárea do design têm resolvido os desafios de criar sinalizações e pistas de navegação em interfaces que apresentam elementos novos, decorrentes das funcionalidades incorporadas aos tablets. A partir de uma análise de caráter exploratório, buscamos entender as peculiaridades, os pontos recorrentes e as rupturas trazidas na forma de sintagmas e sintaxes de interação, constituintes de uma nova gramática visual. Em segundo lugar, o trabalho aborda o fenômeno das funcionalidades geradoras de affordances para compreender de que maneira inovações são por elas induzidas nessa gramática dos aplicativos jornalísticos. A partir disso, entende-se que a trocas entre o designer e o leitor por via das interfaces digitais são estabelecidas, com maior ou menor sucesso, na forma de contratos de interação. Para testar a eficácia de tais contratos, a tese recorre a um teste de usabilidade de produtos exclusivos para tablet, entre universitários, de distintas formações, na Espanha e no Brasil. Conclui-se que o design de informação oferece uma gramática visual própria, com seus respectivos elementos sintáticos, mas que é ocasionalmente passível de falhas eventuais no estabelecimento de contratos de interação. A falha de compreensão da proposta do designer por parte do leitor não é vista aqui como um grave erro, conforme apontam alguns teóricos da usabilidade, mas integra o processo de experimentação e de reconhecimento de um tipo de interface que ainda precisa ser melhor estabelecida e testada. Por fim, o teste de usabilidade indica que publicações com menos sintagmas e sintaxes de interação foram as mais bem avaliadas pelos usuários após sua experiência, o que reforça a máxima de que “menos é mais”.

Submitted by JOSÉ RENATO GOMES DE OLIVEIRA (joserenato.ead@gmail.com) on 2018-01-23T05:07:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO MESTRADO JOSE RENATO GOMES DE OLIVEIRA.pdf: 7103477 bytes, checksum: e1ab4cd397c8323164255980e03fe168 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Uillis de Assis Santos (uillis.assis@ufba.br) on 2018-01-23T17:04:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO MESTRADO JOSE RENATO GOMES DE OLIVEIRA.pdf: 7103477 bytes, checksum: e1ab4cd397c8323164255980e03fe168 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-23T17:04:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO MESTRADO JOSE RENATO GOMES DE OLIVEIRA.pdf: 7103477 bytes, checksum: e1ab4cd397c8323164255980e03fe168 (MD5) / Este trabalho discute o problema com as affordances e a construção de sentidos em Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem – AVA, que adaptam o Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment - Moodle, tomando-se como referência o ambiente virtual de aprendizagem de uma disciplina a distância de uma universidade baiana. Para tal, desenvolve-se as categorias Acesso, Permanência e Aprendizagem. Consequentemente, estuda as características dos ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem customizados e utilizados em cursos de educação superior na modalidade à distância, a partir dos pressupostos teóricos da semiótica social e da análise multimodal de Kress (2010) e Van Leeuwen (2012). Delimitam-se os conceitos de ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem, affordances e construção de sentidos no Moodle, utilizando pesquisas de HAGUENAUER (2012), PAIVA (2010) e SOUZA (2013) em estudos comparativos sobre ambientes virtuais à luz da teoria das affordances e da construção de sentidos. Utilizou-se a metodologia do estudo de caso, nas abordagens qualitativa e quantitativa, a partir de questionários on-line, entrevistas e técnica de grupo focal, além da observação e análises das interfaces dos ambientes. Propõe-se que as affordances (potencialidades e limitações) do design da interface e das funcionalidades realizadas nas customizações do AVA nem sempre favorecem a aprendizagem significativa. / This paper discusses the problem of affordances and the construction of meanings in Virtual Learning Environments (AVA) that adapt the Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, Moodle. Therefore, it studies the characteristics of virtual learning environments personalized, in the EaD modality, in courses of higher education, in an approach of theoretical assumptions of social semiotics and in the multimodal analysis of Kress (2010) and Van Leeuwen (2012), PAIVA (2010) and SOUZA (2013), in comparative studies on virtual environments in the light of social semiotics, concepts of virtual learning environments, construction of senses in the Moodle using HAGUENAUER's (2012), studies through the perception of the affordances and the construction of meanings, a case study methodology was used, qualitative and quantitative approaches, from online questionnaires, interviews and group technique focal, as well as the observation and analysis of the interfaces of the environments. It is proposed that the possibilities and And the functionality made in the AVA customizations do not always favor meaningful learning.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:19:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6589.pdf: 1250835 bytes, checksum: 65e3a22977fe5be29678517864973d0c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-24 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / One of the major clinical problems of post-stroke people is regarding the loss of upper limb function, which impairs daily activities performance, especially those involving reaching. Increased muscle tone, sensory deficits and weakness are alterations that affect both muscle activation pattern and movement strategies of upper limb during reaching. The performance of specific functional tasks during the rehabilitation process must occur within enriched contexts. The implementation of useful objects has been recommended for reach facilitation. Objective: To describe movement strategies and bilateral muscle activation during reaching an object with functional utility in chronic hemiparetic subjects. Methods: Fifteen ischemic post-stroke subjects and 15 healthy subjects matched for age and gender were included in the study. During a task of touching a glass of water and/or a black cylinder were obtained the following variables in a synchronized way: a) electromyographic: magnitude of muscular activity of superior trapezius, pectoral major, biceps brachii, triceps brachii, serratus anterior, anterior deltoid and middle deltoid of both sides; and b) kinematics: peak velocity, percentage of time to reach peak velocity, trajectory, reach path ratio, movement time, and trunk displacement during a reaching task. Results: There was effect of the functional utility of objects neither in movement strategies, nor in muscle activation of both upper limbs in hemiparetic and control subjects. A reduction in the magnitude of electromyographic signal was observed in both upper limbs of hemiparetic subjects in the anterior deltoid and upper trapezius muscles, while the brachial biceps and pectoral major were increased compared to healthy subjects. The triceps braquii muscle showed an increase magnitude in the non-paretic limb when compared to the paretic limb and upper limb of healthy subjects. Changes in upper limb muscle activation which did not perform the movement were also identified. Both paretic and non-paretic limbs showed higher movement time, and trunk anterior displacement, as weel as, and lower peak velocity and reach path ratio during the transport phase, compared to the upper limb of healthy subjects. Conclusion: Subjects with chronic hemiparesis presented bilateral changes in muscle activation and in movement strategies during reaching. The compensatory strategies generated by these subjects did not seem to be affected by the functional utility of the objects in controlled environments. / Uma das principais queixas dos indivíduos pós-AVC refere-se à perda da funcionalidade do membro superior (MS), a qual limita a realização das atividades de vida diária, especialmente aquelas que envolvem o alcance. Dentre as alterações que prejudicam o desempenho da tarefa de alcance estão o aumento do tônus muscular, déficits sensoriais e fraqueza muscular, as quais podem interferir no padrão de ativação muscular do MS destes indivíduos e nas estratégias de movimento durante o alcance. A realização de tarefas funcionais específicas durante o processo de reabilitação deve ocorrer dentro de contextos enriquecido. A implementação de objetos úteis vem sendo recomendada para a facilitação do movimento de alcance. Objetivo: Descrever as estratégias de movimento e de ativação muscular bilateral dos membros superiores durante o alcance de um objeto com utilidade funcional em indivíduos hemiparéticos crônicos. Metodologia: Quinze indivíduos pós- AVC isquêmico e 15 sujeitos saudáveis pareados pela idade e gênero foram incluídos no estudo. Durante uma tarefa de tocar um copo com água e/ou um cilindro preto foram obtidas, de forma sincronizada, as seguintes variáveis: a) eletromiográficas: amplitude da atividade muscular dos músculos trapézio superior, peitoral maior, bíceps e tríceps braquiais, serrátil anterior, deltóide anterior e médio de ambos os hemicorpos; e b) cinemáticas: pico de velocidade, porcentagem para o tempo de pico, distância percorrida, índice de retidão, tempo de movimento e deslocamento de tronco. Resultados: Não foi observado efeito da utilidade funcional dos objetos nas estratégias de movimento, nem na ativação muscular de ambos membros superiores nos sujeitos hemiparéticos e controle. Foi observada uma redução na amplitude do sinal eletromiográfico, em ambos os membros superiores dos sujeitos hemiparéticos, nos músculos deltóide anterior e trapézio superior, enquanto que os músculos bíceps braquial e peitoral maior demostraram aumento, comparado a indivíduos saudáveis. O músculo tríceps braquial apresentou aumento da amplitude no membro não parético quando comparado a o membro parético e ao MS de sujeitos saudáveis. Modificações na ativação muscular no MS que não executa o movimento também foram identificadas. Tanto o membro parético como o não parético apresentaram maior tempo de movimento, e deslocamento de tronco, bem como menor índice de retidão, pico de velocidade durante a fase de transporte, em relação ao membro superior de sujeitos saudáveis. Conclusão: Indivíduos hemiparéticos crônicos possuem alterações bilaterais na ativação muscular e nas estratégias do movimento durante o alcance. As estratégias compensatórias geradas por estes sujeitos parecem não ser afetadas pela utilidade funcional dos objetos, em ambientes controlados.

abstract: Why do social perceivers use race to infer a target's propensity for criminal behavior and likelihood of re-offense? Life history theory proposes that the harshness and unpredictability of one's environment shapes individuals' behavior, with harsh and unpredictable ("desperate") ecologies inducing "fast" life history strategies (characterized by present-focused behaviors), and resource-sufficient and stable ("hopeful") ecologies inducing "slow" life history strategies (characterized by future-focused behaviors). Social perceivers have an implicit understanding of the ways in which ecology shapes behavior, and use cues to ecology to infer a target's likely life history strategy. Additionally, because race is confounded with ecology in the United States, American perceivers use race as a heuristic cue to ecology, stereotyping Black individuals as possessing faster life history strategies than White individuals. In the current project, I proposed that many race stereotypes about propensity for criminality and recidivism actually reflect inferences of life history strategy, and thus track beliefs about the behavioral effects of ecology, rather than race. In a series of three studies, I explored the relationship between ecology, race, and perceptions of criminal behavior. Participants in each experiment were recruited through an online marketplace. Findings indicated that (1) stereotypes regarding likelihood to engage in specific crimes were largely driven by beliefs about the presumed ecology of the offender, rather than the offender's race, such that Black and White targets from desperate (and hopeful) ecologies were stereotyped as similarly likely (or unlikely) to commit a variety of crimes; (2) lay beliefs about recidivism predictors likewise reflected inferences of life history strategy, and thus also tracked ecology rather than race; (3) when evaluating whether to release a specific offender on parole, participants placed greater importance on ecology information as compared to race information in a point allocation task, and prioritized ecology information over race information in a ranking task. Taken together, these findings suggest that beliefs about criminality and recidivism may not be driven by race, per se, but instead reflect inferences of how one's ecology shapes behavior. Implications of these findings for understanding and reducing racial bias in the criminal justice system are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2017

abstract: In an affordance management approach, stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination are conceptualized as tools to manage the potential opportunities and threats afforded by others in highly interdependent social living. This approach suggests a distinction between two “kinds” of stereotypes. “Base” stereotypes are relatively factual, stable beliefs about the capacities and inclinations of groups and their members, whereas “affordance stereotypes” are beliefs about potential threats and opportunities posed by groups and their members. Two experiments test the hypothesized implications of this distinction: (1) People may hold identical base stereotypes about a target group but hold very different affordance stereotypes. (2) Affordance stereotypes, but not base stereotypes, are shaped by perceiver goals and felt vulnerabilities. (3) Prejudices and (4) discrimination are more heavily influenced by affordance stereotypes than by base stereotypes. I endeavored to manipulate participants’ felt vulnerabilities to measure the predicted corresponding shifts in affordance (but not base) stereotype endorsement, prejudices, and discriminatory inclinations toward a novel target group (Sidanians). In Study 1 (N = 600), the manipulation was unsuccessful. In Study 2 (N = 338), the manipulation had a partial effect, allowing for preliminary causal tests of the proposed model. In both studies, I predicted and found high endorsement of the base stereotypes that Sidanians try to share their values and actively participate in the community, with low variability. I also predicted and found more variation in affordance (vs. base) stereotype endorsement, which was systematically related to participants’ felt vulnerabilities in Study 2. Taken together, these findings support my hypothesized distinction between base stereotypes and affordance stereotypes. Finally, I modeled the proposed correlational relationships between felt vulnerabilities, base stereotypes, affordance stereotypes, prejudices, and discriminatory inclinations in the model. Although these relationships were predominantly significant in the predicted directions, overall fit of the model was poor. These studies further our critical understanding of the relationship between stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination. This has implications for how we devise interventions to reduce the deleterious effects of such processes on their targets, perhaps focusing on changing perceiver vulnerabilities and perceived affordance (rather than base) stereotypes to more effectively reduce prejudices and discrimination. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2018

Syftet med studien är att ur väntrumsbesökarens perspektiv få en uppfattning om hur miljön i väntrummet på en akutmottagning upplevs, samt att skönja om det går att tillämpa digitala tjänster för att tillgodose deras eventuella behov. Avgränsningen består i ett väntrum på en akutmottagning i en mellanstor svensk stad. Litteratur har tillsammans med väntrumsmiljön och patienter/anhöriga utgjort studiens huvudsakliga källor. Datainsamlingen har gjorts genom observation av miljön i väntrummet samt genom strukturerade intervjuer med patienter och anhöriga. Resultatet analyserades därefter kvantitativt. I analysprocessen användes begreppet affordance tillsammans med Maslows behovsindelning för att tolka och få förståelse för undersökningens resultat. Materialet bearbetades i olika enheter för att därefter kunna sammanställas till en helhet. Resultatet beskriver dels väntrumsmiljön, dels väntrumsbesökarens behov och användning av digitala tjänster. Det tyder på att användningen av digitala tjänster hos målgruppen är stor, varför slutsatsen dras att de specifika behov som finns skulle kunna tillgodoses av digitala tjänster.

Denna uppsats undersöker hur en operatörs mentala modell av en ikon med en bakomliggande komplex funktion ser ut. Som metod har intervju använts och undersökningen är av kvalitativ art. Resultatet visar att operatörerna generellt upplever att ikonerna fungerar i sitt sammanhang, så länge operatören har kunskap om maskinerna och hur de fungerar så upplever operatörerna ikonerna som logiska.