The purpose of this investigation was to determine the color preference of Thai and American students for text and background computer color combinations. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences between Thai and American students' computer color combination preferences.

Auditory graphs and active point estimation provide an inexpensive, accessible alternative for low vision and blind K-12 students using number lines and coordinate graphs. In the first phase of this research program, a series of four psychophysics studies demonstrated an interactive auditory number line that enables blind, low vision, and sighted people to find small targets with a laptop, headphones, and a mouse or a keyboard. The Fitts' Law studies showed that, given appropriate auditory feedback, blind people can use a mouse. In addition, auditory feedback can generate target response patterns similar to when people use visual feedback. Phase two introduced SQUARE, a novel method for building accessible alternatives to existing education technologies. The standards-driven and teacher-directed approach generated 17 graphing standards for sixth grade mathematics, all of which emphasized point estimation. It also showed that how only few basic behavioral components are necessary for these graphing problems. The third phase evaluated active point estimation tools in terms of training, classroom situations, and a testing situation. This work shows that students can learn to graph in K-12 environments, regardless of their visual impairment. It also provides several technologies used for graphing, and methods to further develop education accessibility research.

Shape plays an important role in our everyday life to interpret information about the surroundings whether we are aware or not. Together with visual and auditory information, we are able to obtain and process information for different purposes. Output devices such as monitors and speakers convey visual and auditory information while input devices such as touch screen and microphones receive that information for human machine interaction. Such devices have become commonplace but there has yet to be a fitting input/output device utilizing our haptic perception. Digital Clay is a next generation Human Machine Interface (HMI) device for 2.5D shape input/output via an array of hydraulic actuators. This device potentially has wide applications in the areas of engineering, sciences, medicine, military, entertainment etc. The user can perceive the shape of a computer programmed model in a tangible and concrete manner which means an added realism with the addition of the sense of touch. Conversely, the user can also use Digital Clay as an input device to the computer, by shaping and molding desired shapes on the device, no longer limited to drawing models with a mouse on CAD software. Shape display has been achieved with the current 5x5 prototype at the Georgia Institute of Technology but this research seeks to expand its capability to include haptic feedback and consequently shaping mode. This thesis gives an overview of the current 5x5 prototype and implements 2 commonly used haptic control methods, the admittance control and the impedance control. For implementing the admittance control, actuator displacement and velocity controllers and a proportional integral observer (PIO) are designed. The model-based unknown input observer is a solution for force estimation without added sensors in the actuators. For implementing the impedance control, a novel pressure control technique is designed to provide pressure feedback to the actuators array along with accurate and reliable displacement measurement. Both of the haptic control methods are evaluated, hardware and software limitations are outlined and possible future improvements are suggested.

Increasingly abundant access to data and cheaper display technology costs are creating an exciting opportunity to create new information awareness tools that can present information calmly through peripheral and ambient interfaces. These tools offer the potential to help people better manage their attention and to avoid information overload. Different people, however, have distinct information needs, and customizing these systems is often difficult. Existing interfaces typically provide too coarse or too fine a granularity of customization, resulting in tools that are too rigid or too difficult to configure. We present an extensively customizable information awareness system, The Buzz, that supports end users, tinkerers, and developers at using, modifying, creating, and sharing powerful and flexible customizations. These customizations are powerful in the sense that the user can control abstract behaviors of the system, and flexible in the sense that the complexity of the customization can vary with the power needed to express it. We further chart the broader information awareness customization space through the lens of existing customizable information tools. Through this analysis, we show that this system provides more extensive customization capabilities than other customizable awareness applications, without requiring significant programming.

As an object at the boundary between virtual and physical reality, the screen exists both as a displayer and as a thing displayed, thus functioning as a mediator. The screen's virtual imagery produces a sense of immersion in its viewer, yet at the same time the materiality of the screen produces a sense of rejection from the viewer's complete involvement in the virtual world. The experience of the screen is thus an oscillation between these two states of immersion and rejection. Nowadays, as interactivity becomes a central component of the relationship between viewers and many artworks, the viewer experience of the screen is changing. Unlike the screen experience in non-interactive artworks, such as the traditional static screen of painting or the moving screen of video art in the 1970s, interactive media screen experiences can provide viewers with a more immersive, immediate, and therefore, more intense experience. For example, many digital media artworks provide an interactive experience for viewers by capturing their face or body though real-time computer vision techniques. In this situation, as the camera and the monitor in the artwork encapsulate the interactor's body in an instant feedback loop, the interactor becomes a part of the interface mechanism and responds to the artwork as the system leads or even provokes them. This thesis claims that this kind of direct mirroring in interactive screen-based media artworks does not allow the viewer the critical distance or time needed for self-reflection. The thesis examines the previous aesthetics of spatial and temporal perception, such as presentness and instantaneousness, and the notions of passage and of psychological perception such as reflection, reflexiveness and auratic experience, looking at how these aesthetics can be integrated into new media screen experiences. Based on this theoretical research, the thesis claims that interactive screen spaces can act as a site for expression and representation, both through a doubling effect between the physical and virtual worlds, and through manifold spatial and temporal mappings with the screen experience. These claims are further supported through exploration of screen-based media installations created by the author since 2003.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Faculty of Science, Dept. of Computing, 2009. / Bibliography: p. [265]-280. / Introduction -- Literature review -- Method -- Experiments -- Conclusion. / Video games are becoming increasingly popular and their level of sophistication comes close to that of professional movie productions. Educational institutions and corporations are beginning to use video games for teaching purposes, however, not much is known about the use and effectiveness of video games for such purposes. One even less explored factor in video games is the music that is played throughout the course of the games. Little is known about the role that this music plays in cognitive processes and what effect background music has on players' memory. It is this question that the present thesis explores by asking which effect background music has on participants' memory for facts that are learned from a virtual environment. -- To answer the research question, a computer-animated history lesson, called VirSchool, was created which used the history of the Macquarie Lighthouse in Sydney as a basis for two experiments. Different musical stimuli accompanied the audio-visual presentation of the history topic. These stimuli were tested for their effectiveness to support participants' memory. The VirSchool history lesson was first presented in a Reality Center (a highly immersive, semi-cylindrical 3 projector display system) and one soundtrack was identified which showed a statistically significant improvement in the number of facts that participants remembered correctly from the VirSchool history lesson. Furthermore, Experiment 1 investigated how variations of tempo and pitch of the musical stimuli affected memory performance. It was found that slow tempo and low pitch were beneficial for remembrance of facts from the VirSchool history lesson. -- The beneficial soundtrack that was identified in Experiment 1 was reduced in tempo and lowered in pitch and was subsequently used as the sole musical stimulus in Experiment 2. Furthermore, because of equipment failure, Experiment 2 offered the opportunity to compare memory performance of participants in the Reality Center and a 3-monitor display system, which was used as a replacement for the defect Reality Center. Results showed that, against expectation, the memory for facts from the VirSchool history lesson was significantly better in the less immersive 3-monitor display system. Moreover, manipulated background music played in the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson in the Reality Center resulted in a statistically significant improvement of participants' remembrance of facts from the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson. The opposite effect was observed in the 3-monitor display system where participants remembered less information from the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson if music was played in the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson. -- The results from the present study reveal that in some circumstances music has a significant influence on memory in a virtual environment and in others it does not. These findings contribute towards and encourage further investigation of our understanding of the role that music plays in virtual learning environments so that they may be utilised to advance learning of future generations of students. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / 280 p. ill. (some col.)

Thesis (MSc (Computer Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is to develop a generic 3D virtual environment development platform for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) therapy tools. The potential of using computerised therapy tools for ASD therapy is well known. However, the development of such tools is expensive and time-consuming, and is language and culture speci c. This work intends to alleviate these problems. The design of the platform is based on known game engine designs, but adapted for the requirements of ASD therapy tools. It supports standard features such as 3D rendering, animation and audio output. Speci c features, aimed at ASD therapy tools and educational games, included in our engine are: replays, data capturing, remote monitoring over a network and language localisation. We also implemented an input hardware abstraction layer to allow support for non-standard input peripherals in the future, without modifying existing game implementations. Furthermore, to separate the development of games and tools from the engine, we include wrapper libraries in our engine for Lua and Java. We successfully developed our engine and implemented a number of prototype therapy tools and educational games. These implementations confirmed that the engine works as expected. Some of these programs are currently in use at a local primary school. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie tesis is om 'n 3D virtuele omgewing en ontwikkelingsplatform vir outistiese spektrum versteuring (OSV) terapiemiddels te ontwikkel. Die gebruik van rekenaargebaseerde terapiemiddels vir OSV terapie is bekend. Om sulke terapiemiddels te ontwikkel is egter duur, tydrowend en is dikwels gerig op spesi eke taal- en kultuurgroepe. Hierdie werk het dit ten doel om hierdie probleme te bowe te kom. Die ontwerp van die platform is gebaseer op die ontwerp van bekende videospeletjie-enjins, maar is aangepas vir die benodigdhede van OSV terapiemiddels. Dit ondersteun standaard funksionaliteit soos 3D uitbeelding, animasie en klank. Ons platform sluit in spesi eke funksionaliteit, wat gerig is op OSV terapiemiddels en opvoedkundige speletjies, naamlik: kykweer, datavaslegging, afstandswaarneming oor 'n netwerk en taal-lokalisering. Verder is 'n abstrakte koppelvlak vir toevoerapparatuur ontwikkel, wat dit moontlik maak om in die toekoms nie-standaard toevoerapparatuur te ondersteun, sonder om bestaande speletjies se implementasies aan te pas. Verder, om die ontwikkeling van speletjies en terapiemiddels te skei van die enjin, is koppelvlakke ontwikkel wat dit moontlik maak om die enjin in Lua en Java te gebruik.

Orientador: Wu Shin-Ting / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T07:56:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 YauriVidalon_JoseElias_M.pdf: 9888204 bytes, checksum: 2eb49026222826c846f3aeb94929c1c6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Por apresentar alta resolução espacial e espectral, é crescente o uso de imagens de ressonância magnética tanto no estudo dos órgãos humanos como também no diagnóstico das anormalidades estruturais e funcionais e no planejamento e treinamento cirúrgico. Junto com a rápida evolução dos algoritmos de processamento de imagens médicas, surgiram na última década aplicativos de diagnósticos assistidos por computador especializados em mamografia, angiografia e imagens da região torácica. A complexidade estrutural do cérebro e as diferenças anatômicas individuais do crânio constituem, no entanto, ainda desafios ao desenvolvimento de um sistema de diagnóstico especializado em neuro-imagens. A intervenção de especialistas é muitas vezes imprescindível na identificação e na interpretação dos achados radiológicos. Nesta dissertação, propomos o uso de três técnicas para auxiliar os especialistas da área médica na busca por achados radiológicos sutis de forma interativa. São apresentados dois objetos de interação, lente móvel e sonda volumétrica, que permitem atualizar continuamente os dados em foco enquanto são manipulados. Com isso, é possível investigar regiões cerebrais de interesse preservando o seu contexto. E, a fim de facilitar a percepção visual das variações funcionais ou estruturais sutis, propomos utilizar um editor de funções de transferência 1D para realçar ou aumentar o contraste entre os voxels adjacentes. As ferramentas foram avaliadas por um grupo de especialistas em neuro-imagens do Laboratório de Neuro-imagens da Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Unicamp / Abstract: Because of its high spatial and spectral resolution, it is increasing the use of magnetic resonance images both in the study of human organs as well as in the diagnosis of structural and functional abnormalities and in the surgery planning and training. Along with the rapid evolution of medical image processing algorithms, computer-aided diagnostics systems specialized in mammography, angiography, and computed tomography and magnetic resonance of the thorax have emerged in the last decade. The structural complexity of the brain and individual anatomical shape of skulls are, however, challenges in developing a diagnostic system specializing in neuro-imaging. Expert interventions are still essential both in the identification and in the interpretation of radiological findings. In this dissertation, we propose the use of three techniques to aid the medical experts in the search of subtle findings in an interactive way. We present two widgets, movable lens and volumetric probe, that allow one to update continuously the volume data in focus while are manipulated. In this way, it is possible to investigate brain regions of interest preserving its context. And, in order to facilitate the visual perception of the subtle functional or structural changes, we propose to use an editor of 1D transfer function to enhance or to increase the contrast between adjacent voxels. The tools were assessed by the neuro-imaging experts of the Laboratory of Neuro-Images of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Unicamp / Mestrado / Engenharia de Computação / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In the last few decades, forensic science has played a significant role in bringing criminals to justice. Shoe and tire track impressions found at the crime scene are important pieces of evidence since the marks and cracks on them can be uniquely tied to a person or vehicle respectively. We have designed a device that can generate a highly accurate 3-Dimensional (3D) map of an impression without disturbing the evidence. The device uses lasers to detect the changes in depth and hence it is crucial to accurately detect the position of the laser. Typically, the forensic applications require very high resolution images in order to be useful in prosecutions of criminals. Limitations of the hardware technology have led to the use of signal and image processing methods to achieve high resolution images. Super Resolution is the process of generating higher resolution images from multiple low resolution images using knowledge about the motion and the properties of the imaging geometry. This thesis presents methods for developing some of the image processing components of the 3D impression scanning device. In particular, the thesis describes the following two components: (i) methods to detect the laser stripes projected onto the impression surface in order to calculate the deformations of the laser stripes due to 3D surface shape being scanned, and (ii) methods to improve the resolution of the digitized color image of the impression by utilizing multiple overlapping low resolution images captured during the scanning process and super resolution techniques.

University students learning object-oriented programming (OOP) encounter many complexities. This study undertook empirical research aimed at analysing learners’ interactions with the Alice visual programming environment, which seeks to engage and motivate learners to grasp concepts of OOP, whilst creating animated movies and video games. A mixed-methods approach was employed, using questionnaire surveys and interviews to investigate learners’ experiences with Alice and their understanding of OOP. Findings indicated that learners lacked problem-solving abilities; were unable to grasp programming concepts on an abstract level and spent insufficient time practicing programming exercises. Alice proved to be an effective tool in helping to address these challenges and in improving learners’ grasp of OOP. Learners found Alice to have good usability. Furthermore, test and exam results revealed a statistically significant difference between performances of learners who had been taught Alice in comparison to similar learners who were not exposed to the Alice intervention. / Computing / Information Systems / M. Sc. (Information systems)