Although there is a wealth of knowledge on categorization early in life, there are still many unanswered questions about the nature of category representation in infancy. For example, it is unclear whether infants are sensitive to boundaries between complex categories, such as types of animals, or whether young infants exhibit such sensitivity without explicit experience in the lab. Using a morphing technique, we linearly altered the category composition of images and measured 6.5-month-olds’ attention to pairs of animal faces that either did or did not cross the categorical boundary, with the stimuli in each pair being equally dissimilar from one another across the two types of image pairs. Results indicated that infants dichotomize the continua between cats and dogs and between cows and otters, but only when the images are presented in their canonical, upright orientations. These findings demonstrate a propensity to dichotomize early in life that could have implications for social categorizations, such as race and gender.

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The report details the conceptual development, pre-production, production, and post-production stages of making Lost Nights. Lost Nights is a short, narrative film about two brothers who go out for one last night before the younger brother leaves for basic training. The film was produced as my graduate thesis film in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin. / text

The project aimed at conceptually develop a solution that is able to automatically transfer an already stacked and measured heap of goods from an order tote into an erected corrugated cardboard box, whereas the dimensions of the corrugated cardboard box and the stack are allowed to vary within a specified interval. The method for this project consisted of five main parts: feasibility study; concept generation; concept choice; design; and evaluation. The project was initiated by a feasibility study where the problem was clarified and knowledge regarding the problem was gathered. The feasibility study resulted in an user requirement specification and a product requirement specification. The product requirement specification was utilized in the evaluation processof the final developed concept. The concept generation was conducted according to structured methods prescribed by Ulrich and Eppinger. The concept choice was done by the use of Pughs concept choice matrix. The result of this project consists of a conceptual proposal of how the previously described problem may be solved. The final developed concept resulted in a cad model. The evaluation showed that the concept did not fulfill the product requirement specification, despite this it is assessed that the concept in its working principle has good merits that are worth further investigation. Further development of the concept remain and validation of the working principle is needed. Further choices concerning form, material, and components remain. The report contributes to a foundation for further development of an automated filling mechanism for erected corrugated cardboard boxes.

Abstract Applying the principles of user-centered development (UCD) in software development practice is not straightforward. In technology-push type software product development it is not clear how to match the new product innovation to the future needs of potential future users. Intensive collaboration between different organizational functions becomes essential. UCD provides valuable tools and practices as learning mechanisms both for users and for the company. The purpose of cross-functional interaction is to iteratively define the best possible market for the emerging new product. This study investigates cross-functional interaction during the early phases of a new software product. The roots of UCD are in traditional software engineering (SE). However, in a software product company it is necessary to take a broader new product development (NPD) perspective. The results indicate that the early phases of software NPD are actually a collaborative learning process in which representations of the new product are built iteratively, increasing multidisciplinary knowledge related to the evolving shared object of development. The cross-functionally shared object is more than the new software product. It is an emerging new vision for the whole new business area. Both the product and its users-customers-market develop iteratively. Traditionally this is considered to happen through communication within a cross-functional NPD team. Rather than one cross-functional team effort, software NPD seems to be a network of cross-functional activities. Furthermore, in software NPD practice the development of the new business unit may actually overlay the more established business organization. This has not been visible enough, and part of the problems with cross-functional interaction may be due to confusion between these two activity systems during every-day practices. Different mediating representations of the multidimensional object knowledge become crucial. The study starts with a summary of a three-year process improvement effort in one case company, providing the basis for theoretical reflections and analytical generalizations. SE and NPD literature is reviewed to situate the case within current theoretical understanding. The findings are synthesized using concepts from cultural-historical activity theory. This study will hopefully provoke the rethinking of some of the current taken-for-granted issues related to the management of new emerging software product businesses.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:58:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_jayme_leme.pdf: 957158 bytes, checksum: 0eb364644fc3f297ceffcc7d4dbd7eda (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003-05-13 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This research aims to investigate possible causes for the difficulties associated with conceptual understandings of the notion of the derivative. We use the theoretical perspective of Sfard (1991), in which she proposes that abstract notions can be conceived in two fundamentally different ways: structurally as objects, and operationally as processes. The transition from a "process" conception to an "object" conception involves negotiating the stages of interiorization, condensation and reification. The research was developed through an analysis of textbooks, chosen according to criteria related to the approach to Calculus as well as the specific content addressing the derivative. The analyses enabled the identification of the following causes: the inherent difficulties the development of scientific thinking; the privileging of symbolic representations of the derivative found in textbooks; and the lack of activities, discussions or exercises that enable the students to reach the reification stage / Esta pesquisa pretendeu buscar possíveis causas de dificuldades para a compreensão conceitual da noção de derivada. Utilizamos o pressuposto teórico de Sfard (1991), segundo o qual, noções abstratas podem ser concebidas de duas maneiras fundamentalmente diferentes: estruturalmente como objetos, e operacionalmente como processos. A transição de uma concepção processo para uma concepção objeto decorre da conquista dos estágios de interiorização, condensação e reificação. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida por meio de análise de um livro didático, selecionado a partir de critérios, relacionados à abordagem do Cálculo, e a conteúdos específicos de derivada. As análises possibilitaram apresentar como conclusão, as seguintes causas: a dificuldades inerentes ao desenvolvimento do pensamento científico; o privilégio da representação simbólica da derivada, encontrado nos livros didáticos; a falta de atividades, discussões ou exercícios que propicie os estudantes atingirem o estágio de reificação

Despite decades of scholarly scrutiny, the politico-economic exploits of vikings in and around the Frankish realm (c. 750-940 CE) remain - to a considerable extent - obscured by the constraints of a fragmentary and biased corpus of (near-)contemporary evidence, conveying the impression that these movements were capricious, haphazard, and gratuitous in character. For this reason, rather than selectively assessing individual instances of regional Franco-Scandinavian interaction, the present study approaches the available interdisciplinary data on a cumulative and conceptual level, and combines this with the innovative use of GIS to detect and define overall spatiotemporal patterns of viking activity. Set against a backdrop of continuous commerce and knowledge exchange, this overarching survey demonstrates the existence of a relatively uniform, sequential framework of wealth extraction, encampment, and political engagement, within which Scandinavian fleets operated as adaptable, ambulant polities - or 'hydrarchies'. By delineating and visualising this framework, a four-phased conceptual development model of hydrarchic conduct and consequence is established, whose validity is substantiated by its application to three distinct regional case studies: the lower Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Basin, the Seine Basin, and the Loire Basin. As well as facilitating the deductive analysis of viking activity for which primary evidence has thus far been ambiguous or altogether absent, the parameters of this abstract model affirm that Scandinavian movements across Francia were the result of prudent and expedient decision-making processes, contingent on exchanged intelligence, cumulative experience, and the ongoing individual and collective need for socioeconomic subsistence and enrichment.

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School science education prepares learners to study science at a higher level, prepares them to follow a career in science and to become scientific literate citizens. It is the responsibility of the educator to ensure the learners’ conceptual framework is developed to the extent that secures success at higher level studies. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of conceptual change teaching strategies on the conceptual development of grade 11 learners on Newton’s second law of motion. The two strategies employed were the cognitive conflict strategy and the development of ideas strategy. A sequential explanatory mixed-method research design was used during this study. The qualitative data were used to elucidate the quantitative findings. The quantitative research consisted of a quasi-experimental design consisting of a single-group pre-test–post-test method. During the qualitative part of the research a phenomenological research approach was utilised to gain a better understanding of participants’ learning experiences during the intervention. The quantitative research made use of an adapted version of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). The data collected from the pre-test were used to inform the intervention. The intervention was videotaped and the video analysis or qualitative data analysis was done. After the intervention the post-test was written by the learners. Hake’s average normalised learning gain <g> from pre- to post-scores was analysed to establish the effectiveness of the intervention. The two sets of results (quantitative and qualitative) were integrated. Information from the qualitative data analysis was used to support and explain the quantitative data. The quantitative results indicate that there was an improvement in the students’ force conception from their initial alternative conceptions, such as that of an internal force. Especially the learners’ understanding of contact forces and Newton’s first law of motion yielded significant improvement. The qualitative data revealed that the understanding of Newton’s second law of motion by the learners who partook in this study did improve, since the learners immediately recognised the mistakes made when confronted with the anchor concept. The cognitive conflict teaching strategy was effective in establishing the anchor concept of force which proved to be useful as bridging concept in the development of ideas teaching strategy. The data from both datasets revealed that the cognitive conflict teaching strategy for the initial part of the intervention was effective. It was evident that for development of the idea teaching strategy the two data sets revealed mixed results. Recommendations were made for future research and implementation of conceptual development teaching strategies. / MEd (Natural Sciences Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014