Este trabalho objetiva discutir aspectos culturais do processo de significação, analisando a linguagem de conversas com indígenas Kaiowá do Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. O ponto central da tese é discutir as diferenças culturais do processo de significação. Para desenvolver o trabalho, foram coletadas falas de indígenas identificados como representantes da cultura kaiowá, ou seja, indígenas reconhecidos por seus pares por possuírem conhecimentos tradicionais e habilidades de liderança. As falas foram coletadas em dez diferentes lugares e tematizaram o tekoha [teko’ha] - espaço genericamente definido como o lugar onde vivem os Kaiowá segundo seu modo de ser. Dessas conversas, delimitou-se um corpus que foi analisado com base em perspectivas teóricas desenvolvidas no âmbito da Linguística Cognitiva pensadas e aplicadas por Lakoff (1987), Lakoff; Johnson (2003), Fauconnier (1994, 2002), Kövecses (2005) e outros. A interpretação do corpus permitiu demonstrar traços comuns a todos os entrevistados, evidenciando características da cultura kaiowá. As análises das conversas permitiram refletir sobre o jeito kaiowá de conceptualizar e simbolizar elaborado na experiência desse grupo étnico pelo mundo, configurando-se como uma maneira específica de construir entendimentos da realidade e de elaborar e utilizar uma linguagem para evocar e reatualizar esses entendimentos. Dessa maneira, este trabalho corrobora a tese da Cognição Corporificada, ou seja, de que a elaboração de significado institui-se no contato do corpo com o meio. Esse processo é determinado por forças biológicas, mas é elaborado nas experiências dos grupos sociais com seu meio ambiente. Os diferentes grupos sociais vivenciam experiências diferentes em ambientes diferentes, o que suscita diferentes culturas, isto é, diferentes maneiras de produzir a vida, de perceber, conceptualizar e representar as experiências sócio-históricas. Os resultados do trabalho demonstraram a importância de se compreender os aspectos cognitivos, linguísticos, sociais e históricos das culturas bem como as premissas básicas que as alicerçam. Levar em consideração todos esses aspectos possibilitou demonstrar a complexidade e o engendramento do significado de tekoha e o entrelaçamento desses aspectos no processo de construção e reatualização desse significado. A análise dos dados possibilitou ainda refletir sobre a cultura kaiowá como um ninho de pertença, uma possível maneira de estabelecer uma verdade, um conjunto de premissas e valores que garante e justifica a existência desses indígenas. Por meio desse tipo de análise, foi possível demonstrar como o significado de tekoha, fora do frame cultural kaiowá, pode ser compreendido de maneira muito superficial, o que reforça a tese da importância do contexto cultural para a compreensão de categorias e conceitos. A realização do trabalho permitiu concluir que o método de coleta de dados, com destaque para a etnografia semiestruturada, a perspectiva teórica e a abordagem interdisciplinar foram fundamentais para atingir os objetivos estabelecidos. A perspectiva teórica da Linguística Cognitiva mostrou-se um importante aporte teórico para discutir a significação e compreender as questões indígenas, podendo auxiliar, inclusive, em discussões sobre diálogo intercultural. Por fim, as reflexões realizadas neste trabalho podem servir de base para se pensar projetos de pesquisa, de ensino e métodos de ensino a serem aplicados em escolas indígenas diferenciadas. Pode ainda, contribuir com discussões que pautem as relações interétnicas, sobretudo as relações entre não índios e os Kaiowá. / This work aims at discussing the cultural aspects of the signification process, by analyzing the language used in talks with Kaiowá people from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Its central point is to discuss cultural differences in the signification process. To develop the work, conversations with Kaiowá members considered being cultural examples by their peers, for having traditional knowledge and leadership traits were recorded and analyzed. The conversations were recorded in ten different places and approached the theme tekoha [teko’ha], generically defined as a place where the Kaiowá people live according to their way of living. With the recordings, a corpus was formed and analyzed on the basis of theoretical perspectives developed within the Cognitive Linguistics framework, as thought and applied by authors like Lakoff (1987), Lakoff; Johnson (2003), Fauconnier (1994, 2002), Kövecses (2005), and others. The corpus interpretation permitted to demonstrate common traits among all people interviewed, evidencing Kaiowá cultural characteristics. The corpus analyses revealed these cultural traits as well as reflected the Kaiowá way of conceptualizing and symbolizing. These traits have been constructed based on their experience in the world, becoming a specific way of constructing world understandings and of elaborating and applying a language to evoke and update them. In this way, this work corroborates the Embodied Cognition Hypothesis, according to which meaning elaboration takes place in the interaction between body and environment, a process determined by biological forces, but elaborated in the experience of social groups in a determined place, which comes up with different ways of perceiving, conceptualizing and representing social-historical experiences. The analyses demonstrated the importance of understanding cognitive, linguistic, social, and historical aspects as well as the basic premises that mix up to form cultures. Taking into account all these aspects made possible to demonstrate the complexity and the engendering of the meaning of tekoha, as well as to show how they are all interconnected in the process of meaning building and updating. The data analyses reflected how the Kaiowá people have built their culture as a belonging nest, a possible way of engendering truth and a set of premises and values whereof they ensure and justify their existence. By using this kind of analysis, it was possible to demonstrate how the meaning of tekoha, out of this cultural frame, might sometimes be understood very superficially, which reinforces the thesis of the importance of the context for the comprehension of categories and concepts. The research has led to conclude that the data collection method, by means of semi structured ethnography, as well as the theoretical perspective and the interdisciplinary approach were suitable so as to achieve the established objectives. The Cognitive Linguistics theoretical perspective proved to be an important theoretical support to understand not only the signification process in academic terms but also to discuss indigenous issues contributing to understand intercultural dialog. At last, the reflections carried out in this work can inspire research and teaching projects and also be used as a support for teaching methods at indigenous schools. It can still contribute for discussions on interethnic relations, especially on relations between the non-indigenous and the Kaiwoá people.

abstract: As a form of bodily modification, female circumcision has generated unprecedented debates across the medical community, social sciences disciplines, governmental/non-governmental agencies and activists and others. The various terminologies used to refer to it attest to differences in knowledge systems, perceptions, and lived experiences emerging from divergent cultures and ideologies. In the last two decades, these debates have evolved from a local matter to a global health concern and human rights issue, coinciding with the largest influx of African refugees to the Western nations. Various forms of female circumcision are reported in 28 countries in the African Continent; Somalia has one of the highest prevalence of female circumcision and the most severe type. The practice is antithetical to Western values and poses an ideological challenge to the construction of the normal body, its bodily processes and its existential being-in-the-world. From the global health perspectives, female circumcision is deemed to be a health hazard--especially during childbirth--though the scientific evidence is inconclusive from studies conducted in post-migration. Yet, Somali refugee women have higher childbearing disparities in host nations, including the U.S. They are also perceived as difficult patients and resistant to obstetrics interventions. Although their FGC status and "cultural" differences are often cited, there is a lack of adequate explanations as to why and how these factors shape patient-provider interactions and affect outcomes. The objectives of this dissertation study are to quantitatively and qualitatively explore these questions within and between Somali refugee women and their healthcare providers in Arizona. Two theoretical frameworks and methods--culture consensus and embodiment-- are applied to identify variations in childbearing knowledge and to explore how the cultural phenomenon of circumcision is subjectively and intersubjectively embodied in the context of childbearing. Culture consensus questionnaire (N=174) and ethnographic interviews (N=40) using phenomenology approach were conducted. Analyses suggest cross-cultural disagreement hinged on: faith in science versus God, pregnancy/childbirth interventions, language challenges, and control-resistance issues; intra-cultural disagreement underscores that Somalis are not culturally homogenous group. Preconceptions of female circumcision body as a cultural phenomenon has different and conflicting meanings that may adversely impact patient-provider interactions and outcomes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Anthropology 2014

abstract: For this master's thesis, a unique set of cognitive prompts, designed to be delivered through a teachable robotic agent, were developed for students using Tangible Activities for Geometry (TAG), a tangible learning environment developed at Arizona State University. The purpose of these prompts is to enhance the affordances of the tangible learning environment and help researchers to better understand how we can design tangible learning environments to best support student learning. Specifically, the prompts explicitly encourage users to make use of their physical environment by asking students to perform a number of gestures and behaviors while prompting students about domain-specific knowledge. To test the effectiveness of these prompts that combine elements of cognition and physical movements, the performance and behavior of students who encounter these prompts while using TAG will be compared against the performance and behavior of students who encounter a more traditional set of cognitive prompts that would typically be used within a virtual learning environment. Following this study, data was analyzed using a novel modeling and analysis tool that combines enhanced log annotation using video and user model generation functionalities to highlight trends amongst students. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Computer Science 2014

L’objet de cette étude est de dégager une idée de scène de l’écriture théâtrale de Beckett. L’interrogation est suscitée par la place particulière que semble occuper l’oeuvre dans le champ théâtral, que l’on pense aux dramaticules qui remettent en cause le partage du « théâtre de texte » et de ce que l’on approche plutôt aujourd’hui à travers l’idée de « performance », ou au fait que « le cas Beckett » est souvent convoqué pour exemplifier les rapports difficiles entre texte et mise en scène. On propose de penser que ces singularités sont les symptômes d’une entreprise plus radicale de mise en crise de la catégorie de l’incarnation qui informe implicitement une certaine compréhension du fait théâtral. L’exploration des assises philosophiques du refus beckettien de l’incarnation, et l’étude de la manière dont la poétique dramatique de l’écrivain met en volume, à divers niveaux, un conflit entre « la vie » et « l’abstrait », là où l’art théâtral est habituellement décrit comme reposant sur leur fusion, permettront de dégager, au croisement du théâtre et de la philosophie, des motifs théoriques qui travaillent en profondeur la conception traditionnelle de la scène, et de dessiner une autre idée, beckettienne, de scène. Qualifier l’apparition scénique des pièces de l’écrivain sera donc, simultanément, l’occasion d’envisager l’écriture théâtrale en d’autres termes, et notamment loin de l’opposition du texte et de la scène. / This work aims to define an idea of the stage through the study of Beckett’s dramatic texts. Our line of enquiry arises from the unusual position of his works within the theatrical field : whether one calls to mind the short plays which do not fit the division into « text-based theatre » and what is more commonly approached today through notions of « performance », or the fact that « the case of Beckett » is often evoked to exemplify the problematic relations that can exist between text and stage direction. We put forward the hypothesis that these particularities are the symptoms of the way Beckett’s plays undertake more radically to jeopardise the categories of incarnation and embodiment on which a certain understanding of theatre is grounded. Exploring the philosophical bases of Beckett’s refusal of incarnation/embodiment, and studying the way his poetics on various levels acts so as to throw into relief a conflict between « the living » and « the abstract », when dramatic art is usually described as their fusion, allows us to shed light on theoretical patterns shaping the traditional conception of the theatre, and to put forward another idea, a Beckettian idea, of the stage. Describing the way his plays conceive of scenic apparition will then also be a way to think of writing for the theatre in other terms, ones far removed from the opposition of text and stage.

Este trabalho objetiva discutir aspectos culturais do processo de significação, analisando a linguagem de conversas com indígenas Kaiowá do Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. O ponto central da tese é discutir as diferenças culturais do processo de significação. Para desenvolver o trabalho, foram coletadas falas de indígenas identificados como representantes da cultura kaiowá, ou seja, indígenas reconhecidos por seus pares por possuírem conhecimentos tradicionais e habilidades de liderança. As falas foram coletadas em dez diferentes lugares e tematizaram o tekoha [teko’ha] - espaço genericamente definido como o lugar onde vivem os Kaiowá segundo seu modo de ser. Dessas conversas, delimitou-se um corpus que foi analisado com base em perspectivas teóricas desenvolvidas no âmbito da Linguística Cognitiva pensadas e aplicadas por Lakoff (1987), Lakoff; Johnson (2003), Fauconnier (1994, 2002), Kövecses (2005) e outros. A interpretação do corpus permitiu demonstrar traços comuns a todos os entrevistados, evidenciando características da cultura kaiowá. As análises das conversas permitiram refletir sobre o jeito kaiowá de conceptualizar e simbolizar elaborado na experiência desse grupo étnico pelo mundo, configurando-se como uma maneira específica de construir entendimentos da realidade e de elaborar e utilizar uma linguagem para evocar e reatualizar esses entendimentos. Dessa maneira, este trabalho corrobora a tese da Cognição Corporificada, ou seja, de que a elaboração de significado institui-se no contato do corpo com o meio. Esse processo é determinado por forças biológicas, mas é elaborado nas experiências dos grupos sociais com seu meio ambiente. Os diferentes grupos sociais vivenciam experiências diferentes em ambientes diferentes, o que suscita diferentes culturas, isto é, diferentes maneiras de produzir a vida, de perceber, conceptualizar e representar as experiências sócio-históricas. Os resultados do trabalho demonstraram a importância de se compreender os aspectos cognitivos, linguísticos, sociais e históricos das culturas bem como as premissas básicas que as alicerçam. Levar em consideração todos esses aspectos possibilitou demonstrar a complexidade e o engendramento do significado de tekoha e o entrelaçamento desses aspectos no processo de construção e reatualização desse significado. A análise dos dados possibilitou ainda refletir sobre a cultura kaiowá como um ninho de pertença, uma possível maneira de estabelecer uma verdade, um conjunto de premissas e valores que garante e justifica a existência desses indígenas. Por meio desse tipo de análise, foi possível demonstrar como o significado de tekoha, fora do frame cultural kaiowá, pode ser compreendido de maneira muito superficial, o que reforça a tese da importância do contexto cultural para a compreensão de categorias e conceitos. A realização do trabalho permitiu concluir que o método de coleta de dados, com destaque para a etnografia semiestruturada, a perspectiva teórica e a abordagem interdisciplinar foram fundamentais para atingir os objetivos estabelecidos. A perspectiva teórica da Linguística Cognitiva mostrou-se um importante aporte teórico para discutir a significação e compreender as questões indígenas, podendo auxiliar, inclusive, em discussões sobre diálogo intercultural. Por fim, as reflexões realizadas neste trabalho podem servir de base para se pensar projetos de pesquisa, de ensino e métodos de ensino a serem aplicados em escolas indígenas diferenciadas. Pode ainda, contribuir com discussões que pautem as relações interétnicas, sobretudo as relações entre não índios e os Kaiowá. / This work aims at discussing the cultural aspects of the signification process, by analyzing the language used in talks with Kaiowá people from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Its central point is to discuss cultural differences in the signification process. To develop the work, conversations with Kaiowá members considered being cultural examples by their peers, for having traditional knowledge and leadership traits were recorded and analyzed. The conversations were recorded in ten different places and approached the theme tekoha [teko’ha], generically defined as a place where the Kaiowá people live according to their way of living. With the recordings, a corpus was formed and analyzed on the basis of theoretical perspectives developed within the Cognitive Linguistics framework, as thought and applied by authors like Lakoff (1987), Lakoff; Johnson (2003), Fauconnier (1994, 2002), Kövecses (2005), and others. The corpus interpretation permitted to demonstrate common traits among all people interviewed, evidencing Kaiowá cultural characteristics. The corpus analyses revealed these cultural traits as well as reflected the Kaiowá way of conceptualizing and symbolizing. These traits have been constructed based on their experience in the world, becoming a specific way of constructing world understandings and of elaborating and applying a language to evoke and update them. In this way, this work corroborates the Embodied Cognition Hypothesis, according to which meaning elaboration takes place in the interaction between body and environment, a process determined by biological forces, but elaborated in the experience of social groups in a determined place, which comes up with different ways of perceiving, conceptualizing and representing social-historical experiences. The analyses demonstrated the importance of understanding cognitive, linguistic, social, and historical aspects as well as the basic premises that mix up to form cultures. Taking into account all these aspects made possible to demonstrate the complexity and the engendering of the meaning of tekoha, as well as to show how they are all interconnected in the process of meaning building and updating. The data analyses reflected how the Kaiowá people have built their culture as a belonging nest, a possible way of engendering truth and a set of premises and values whereof they ensure and justify their existence. By using this kind of analysis, it was possible to demonstrate how the meaning of tekoha, out of this cultural frame, might sometimes be understood very superficially, which reinforces the thesis of the importance of the context for the comprehension of categories and concepts. The research has led to conclude that the data collection method, by means of semi structured ethnography, as well as the theoretical perspective and the interdisciplinary approach were suitable so as to achieve the established objectives. The Cognitive Linguistics theoretical perspective proved to be an important theoretical support to understand not only the signification process in academic terms but also to discuss indigenous issues contributing to understand intercultural dialog. At last, the reflections carried out in this work can inspire research and teaching projects and also be used as a support for teaching methods at indigenous schools. It can still contribute for discussions on interethnic relations, especially on relations between the non-indigenous and the Kaiwoá people.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T18:56:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Larissa Schmatz Mallmann.pdf: 2003631 bytes, checksum: 519afeaebe0e29d763ac273daff04487 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-03-16 / This study is focus for reflection on the construction of the female body within a few fictional forms that refer to different aesthetic elaborations of the image. Since the literary narrative also says descriptions of the image of characters, environments and psychological states, took up the character Conchita, the novel La femme et le Pantin (1898), written by Pierre Louÿs, in an attempt to discuss the different representations of the female , resorting to mythology, painting, cinema and photography, mediated by the iconography and iconology, as well as key-caraters in the ocidental imaginary, arguing that such representations are part of the building imagery, not only the body, as also of desire and seduction. In this sense, the relationships between the filmic translations of the novel - The Devil Is a Woman (Von Sternberg, 1935), La femme et le Pantin (Duvivier, 1959) and Cet obscure object du désir (Buñuel, 1977) - and the interpretations of the context of the literary work of Louÿs, also refer to Lacan's psychoanalytic scholia and schizo-analytical Deleuze and Guattari, in order to problematize the affinities and incursions of desire within the representations of the female during the time covered in this work. / Este estudo tem como mote a reflexão sobre a construção do corpo feminino no interior de algumas formas ficcionais que remetem a diferentes elaborações estéticas da imagem. Já que a narração literária também afirma descrições imagéticas de personagens, ambientes e estados psicológicos, tomou-se a personagem Conchita, do romance La femme et le pantin (1898), de autoria de Pierre Louÿs, no intento de discutir as diferentes representações do feminino, recorrendo-se à mitologia, à pintura, ao cinema e à fotografia, intermediados pela iconografia e iconologia, bem como por personagens-chave do imaginário ocidental, sustentando-se que tais representações são parte da construção imagética, não só do corpo, como também do desejo e da sedução. Neste sentido, as relações entre as traduções fílmicas do romance The devil is a woman (Von Sternberg, 1935), La femme et le pantin (Duvivier, 1959) e Cet obscure object du desir (Buñuel, 1977) e as interpretações sobre o contexto da obra literária de Louÿs remetem ainda aos escólios esquizo-analíticos de Deleuze e Guattari, no intuito de problematizar as afinidades e incursões do desejo no interior das representações sobre o feminino no decorrer dos tempos abarcados neste trabalho.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T13:49:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cristina Lessa dos Santos.pdf: 3126227 bytes, checksum: 49e4c139e3505c6036352501435b7568 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-28 / The aim of this work was to highlight the marks or expressions of the embodiment of girls in residential care situation in the city of Pelotas / RS. The research was carried out at Casa das Meninas 1 where girls aged between 7 and 12 live. Twenty girls who live in the institution. This is a qualitative research, case study, which sought, through participant observation, field diary and drawings with the children understand the question posed in the survey. This study demonstrated through observations, field notes and drawings made by the girls that corporeality expressed by them, occurs in different ways and in various situations. It showed that despite the context in which they live and all the baggage that accompany them, they seek to build their habits and their values through their demonstrations, their expressions of corporeality, whether through play, fights, affections and vanities. So they are building their relationship and their individual scoring. / objetivo desta pesquisa foi o de evidenciar as marcas ou expressões da corporeidade de meninas em situação de acolhimento institucional na cidade de Pelotas/RS. A pesquisa foi realizada na Casa das Meninas 1 que acolhe crianças compreendidas entre a faixa etária de 7 aos 12 anos de idade. O corpus da pesquisa foi 20 meninas residentes na casa. Esta é uma pesquisa qualitativa do tipo estudo de caso, na qual busquei, através de observação participante, diário de campo e desenhos com as crianças compreender a questão proposta pela mesma. Este estudo evidenciou, através das observações, das anotações de campo e dos desenhos feitos pelas meninas que a corporeidade expressada por elas, ocorre de diferentes maneiras e em várias situações. Mostrou que apesar do contexto em que vivem e de toda a bagagem que lhes acompanham, elas procuram construir seus hábitos e seus valores através das suas manifestações, das suas expressões da corporeidade, seja por meio das brincadeiras, das brigas, dos afetos e das vaidades, assim elas vão construindo suas relações e marcando suas individualidades.

La linguistique cognitive considère les structures langagières comme le reflet de structures conceptuelles sous-jacentes. Les schèmes-images font partie de ces structures. Ils sont construits et abstraits à partir de l’expérience incorporée et socialement située du monde, ce qui leur confère à la fois une assise culturelle et sensori-motrice. Le présent travail confirme qu’il est possible, sur les bases théoriques édifiées par Lakoff et Johnson (1987), d’en identifier les réalisations lexicales et syntaxiques, en observant les usages langagiers. La thèse que nous soumettons aborde plus spécifiquement le schème-image du CHEMIN (PATH-schema). Pour mener cette analyse, nous ancrons nos recherches dans deux corpus. Le premier fait état de tous les types de chemins répertoriés en linguistique cognitive, à partir d’une centaine d’unités verbales, incluses dans 500 occurrences. Le second s’intéresse à quatre items verbaux, come, go, rise, et fall, répartis sur un millier d’exemples. Notre objectif consiste à discerner les charges morphosyntaxiques et les variantes sémantiques du schème du chemin. Ce faisant, nous inscrivons la corporéité – ou du moins son réinvestissement symbolique - au cœur de notre étude. Par « corporéité », nous entendons la conceptualisation et la figuration du rapport incarné du sujet au monde, les traces que laissent ces représentations dans l’organisation du lexique et des constructions. Nos corpus présentent une quantité importante de verbes, qui révèlent des états de fait abstraits. Ces emplois nous conduiront à explorer le statut du schème du chemin, tant dans sa réalisation morphosyntaxique que dans son contenu sémantique, lorsque ce schème sous-tend les extensions sémantiques des verbes étudiés. Nos questionnements sur la polysémie des verbes, sur leur définition d’un point de vue prototypique et sur leur grammaticalisation éventuelle, contribueront à révéler la réalité cognitive du schème analysé. Enfin, la quantité importante d’emplois « abstraits » des verbes, nous amènera à questionner la corporéité, telle que la linguistique cognitive la définit. / Linguistic structures are considered to be underlain by conceptual structures in cognitive linguistics. Image schemas belong to these structures. Schemas are shaped on the basis of bodily and socially-anchored experience, which gives them a cultural and sensor-motor status. The present study demonstrates that syntactic and lexical characteristics of image-schemas can be identified, on the basis of Lakoff and Johnson’s theories (1987), while examining language usages. This study specifically focuses on the PATH-schema, which will be investigated through two corpus-based analyses. The first sample of occurrences, made up of 500 examples, is a corpus-illustrated analysis, which exemplifies all the types of paths that have been elaborated in cognitive linguistics. The second sample of occurrences is a corpus-driven analysis, made up of 1000 examples, which are divided into four verbs’ usages, i.e. come, go, rise, and fall. We are aiming at detecting the syntactic and semantic patterns of the PATH-schema. Our goal leads us to examine the notion of « embodiment », namely the conceptualization and the evidence of the embodied link of the individual to the environment, left in lexical constructions. Our data display several verbs involved in abstract descriptions. These usages will lead us to explore the status of the PATH-schema, and focus on its syntactic and semantic specificities, particularly when this schema underlies semantic extensions of come, go, rise, and fall. Issues concerning the verbs’ polysemy, their prototypical definition, and their potential grammaticalization, will contribute to revealing the cognitive reality of the PATH-schema. Finally, the quantity of verbs’ « abstract » usages, will lead us to investigate the notion of « embodiment », as cognitive linguistics defines it.

Användandet av pekplattor i skolan och utvecklandet av så kallade läromedelsapplikationer har ökat kraftigt de senaste åren i Sverige. Trots det ökade användandet så saknas det undersökningar i området. För att undersöka området har en fallstudie genomförts på en specifik läromedelsapplikation i matematik för grundskolan. Läromedelsapplikationen heter Parama Matte 1 och är baserad på den svenska läroplanen i matematik. Från ett interaktionsperspektiv undersöker studien hur en läromedelsapplikation kan designas i relation till hur den är utvecklad för att fungera som ett läromedelsverktyg. Studien undersöker också de möjligheter och begränsningar användaren möter och vilka interaktionsmöjligheter som finns i användandet av läromedelsapplikationen. För att undersöka området utgick undersökningen från tre stycken frågeställningar. Datainsamling i form av en intervju med en projektledare på Parama har genomförts för att ge en bakgrund till applikationen och fördjupa undersökningen. Grundat på detta har sedan en analys av läromedelsapplikationens design, innehåll och funktioner samt observationer på barn som använder läromedelsapplikationen för första gången genomförts. I slutsats och diskussion besvaras frågeställningarna baserat på analyser av datainsamlingarna och relaterade teorier. Undersökningen visar på att läromedelsapplikationen kan vara ett användbart verktyg i undervisningssammanhang och att det möjliggör till interaktion i form av tal, gester och kroppsplacering. / The use of tablets at school and the development of so called educational applications have increased significantly the last years in Sweden. Despite the growing use, there is a lack of investigations on this phenomenon. In order to contribute to the field we have conducted a casestudy in an educational application in mathematics for children in primary school. The application is called Parama Matte 1 and is based on the Swedish curriculum. From an interaction perspective this study investigates how an educational application can be designed in relation to how it is developed to function as an educational material. This study also investigate the opportunities and limitations the user may encounter and the interaction potential, when using the application. To make a deeper investigation in the field an interview with a project manager at Parama, ananalysis on the educational application's design, content and functionality and observations on children using the educational application has been conducted. Conclusion has been drawn by findings and previous theories. Our findings indicate that the educational application can be an useful teaching aid and provides opportunities for interaction.

Under de senaste åren har det blivit allt tydligare och fler resultat pekar på att kroppsliga tillstånd, såsom ansiktsuttryck, och människans informationsbearbetning är sammankopplade. Det har även visat sig att människor härmar varandras ansiktsuttryck och därigenom förändrar sina emotionella tillstånd. På senare år har det även börjat dyka upp allt fler animerade agenter som ska hjälpa användaren med datorprogram, hemsidor och lärande datorspel. Härmar en användare då även en animerad agents ansiktsuttryck precis som en verklig människa? Den här studien ska undersöka huruvida användaren till ett datorspel härmar den animerade agentens ansiktsuttryck och om det i sin tur påverkar dennes informationsbearbetning. I studien användes ett datorspel där en agent som hade antingen ett glatt, neutralt eller ledset ansiktsuttryck presenterade negativa, neutrala och positiva ord i en pratbubbla. Användarna fick sedan skriva ner så många ord som de kom ihåg. Resultaten visade att deltagarna inte härmade agentens ansiktsuttryck och att agenten inte hade påverkat deras informationsbearbetning.