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No / The luminance and colour gradients across an image are the result of complex interactions between object shape, material and illumination. Using such variations to infer object shape or surface colour is therefore a difficult problem for the visual system. We know that changes to the shape of an object can affect its perceived colour, and that shading gradients confer a sense of shape. Here we investigate if the visual system is able to effectively utilise these gradients as a cue to shape perception, even when additional cues are not available. We tested shape perception of a folded card object that contained illumination gradients in the form of shading and more subtle effects such as inter-reflections. Our results suggest that observers are able to use the gradients to make consistent shape judgements. In order to do this, observers must be given the opportunity to learn suitable assumptions about the lighting and scene. Using a variety of different training conditions, we demonstrate that learning can occur quickly and requires only coarse information. We also establish that learning does not deliver a trivial mapping between gradient and shape; rather learning leads to the acquisition of assumptions about lighting and scene parameters that subsequently allow for gradients to be used as a shape cue. The perceived shape is shown to be consistent for convex and concave versions of the object that exhibit very different shading, and also similar to that delivered by outline, a largely unrelated cue to shape. Overall our results indicate that, although gradients are less reliable than some other cues, the relationship between gradients and shape can be quickly assessed and the gradients therefore used effectively as a visual shape cue.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / When designing electronic circuits, engineers frequently make hand-drawn sketches of circuits. These are then captured with a computerised design. This study aims to create an alternative to the common schematic capture process through the use of an interactive pen-based interface to the capturing software. Sketches are interpreted through a process of vectorising the user’s strokes into primitive shapes, extracting information on intersections between primitives and using a naive Bayesian classifier to identify symbol components. Various alternative approaches were also considered. It is concluded that it is feasible to use a pen-based interface and underlying recognition engine to capture circuit diagrams. It is hoped that this would provide an attractive early design environment for the engineer and enhance productivity.

The mirror neuron system consists of a specific class of visuomotor neurons, which fire for both observation and execution of an action (di Pellegrino et al., 1992), as well as showing differences for empathy and gender. Fifty males (M = 25.94) and fifty females (M = 25.48) watched short clips of a hand tapping fingers in a sequence in neutral and emotional settings. Participants were asked to imitate emotions while watching and repeating the finger sequences. A univariate ANOVA discovered significant differences in response times for males and females in the emotion trials, which were eliminated when empathy was included in the analysis. Findings show those higher in empathy are faster at imitation of a motor task in emotional settings. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This study discusses product form perception within the context of communication. The emphasis is on meanings attributed to product visual form, and more specifically the correspondence between messages designers intend users to receive and the messages that users actually receive. Four groupings of appearance-based product attributes are identified / 1) social values and positions / 2) usability and interaction / 3) visual qualities / and 4) personality characteristics. The study was driven by the main research question / &lsquo / do users perceive the same meaning from product appearance as designers intended, or is there a level of mismatch?&rsquo / . An empirical study was conducted using newly-designed Turkish seating furniture to investigate the relationship between designers&rsquo / and users&rsquo / ascription of meanings to products based on appearance, as a means to validate or refute opposing answers to the main research question. The results of the study reveal that there exist some considerable differences between designers&rsquo / intended messages and users&rsquo / perceived messages decoded from product visual form. The study suggests that designers perform less well at communicating product meanings related to two of the four groupings: usability and interaction, and personality characteristics. Accordingly, these are identified as priority areas for improved message transmission.

Eight-letter upper case arrays containing vertically symmetrical (VS), e.g., A-T-U-W, horizontally symmetrical (HS), e.g., B-D-C-E, doubly symmetrical (DS), e.g., H-I-O-X, and non-symmetrical (NS), e.g., F-G-L-R, were tachistoscopically exposed bilaterally for 50 ms. to fifteen male and fifteen female undergraduates. The number of letters correctly recognized for each classification condition was used as the criterion measure. A fixed, two-factor design with the second factor being repeated was analyzed using a repeated measures analysis of variance. Consequent to testing Null Hypothesis 1 (that there is no difference between the classification conditions), a check was made for the presence of a significant interaction between gender and classification condition (Null Hypothesis 2). Because Null Hypothesis 1 was rejected and there was no interaction present, the classification group means were tested using a post hoc multiple comparison procedure identified as Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) test. Test statistics for the Tukey HSD contrasts found that significantly more VS letters were reported than DS, HS, and NS letters. Significantly more DS letters were reported than HS and NS letters. No difference in report accuracy was found between HS and NS letters. This is in sharp contrast to studies that count only responses reported in the same left-to-right order as the tachistoscopic presentation, i.e., order of report. Previous studies using an order of report method found vertically asymmetrical letters to be reported more accurately than vertically symmetrical ones. The present study disregarded order of from an order of report. It was emphasized that the subject maintain focus on the fixation dot and not attempt to scan the letter-array pattern in a left-to-right direction, as the lettersdid not have to be reported in their respective positions. A different explanation for the Harcum (1964) directionality and Bryden (1968) masking interpretations follows from an order of report method activating additional processing mechanisms such as working memory that are ordinarily not needed to process letter features.Results obtained by the present study are discussed in terms of a reversal of spatial information for touch, kinesthesis, and sound to match the brain’s reversed retino-cortical projection. / Department of Educational Psychology

A series of studies is described here which explore the functional organisation of face- and object-processing neurones in the adult vervet monkey brain. This fundamental issue in high-level vision is addressed by the use of a novel molecular mapping technique that was developed for this purpose. / In the first study, the temporal dynamics of c-fos and zif268 expression were delineated in detail in the rat visual cortex. Knowing the precise temporal parameters of up-regulation (after onset of sensory stimulation) and down-regulation (after offset of sensory stimulation) of these genes was integral to optimising the temporal aspects of the stimuli to be used for subsequent mapping experiments. This study provided the critical information for devising stimuli with corresponding temporal parameters to those of c-fos or zif268 so that one could take advantage of the disparity between the expression of their mRNA and protein products in order to visualise activated neurones. / In the second study, the newly developed molecular mapping technique was validated in the rat auditory, visual and multisensory systems. First, bimodal audiovisual stimuli were designed using the data obtained from the first study. Then, through the combined histological detection of the mRNA and protein products of zif268, discrete populations of neurones responsive to either component of the bimodal stimulus were visualised. It was also observed that a third population of neurones was found that responded to the stimulation through both sensory modalities. The combined results from these two studies set the stage for addressing the issue of the organisation of face- and object-selective neurones of the inferior temporal cortex in the vervet monkey brain. / In the third study, the functional organisation of face- and object-selective neurones was examined using the molecular mapping technique. Based on the data gathered from the first two studies, suitable stimuli containing two distinct object classes (conspecific faces and non-face familiar objects) were designed with appropriate temporal parameters. / Finally, the last study provided an opportunity to address the issue of hemispheric asymmetry of function in the context of face processing in the non-human primate brain. Results support the notion that there may indeed be phylogenetic explanations for the hemispheric asymmetry observed in the human brain.

Product form is the principal factor that affects the consumer response. It influences the consumer preferences in many ways and affects the success of the product in the market. The response is moderated by several influences including individual tastes and preferences, personal characteristics, cultural and social context and other situational factors. The purpose of this study is to find whether gender as a personal characteristics, has an influential effect on the perception of the product form. A survey was conducted with a sample set of mobile phones. To quantify the participants&amp / #8217 / perceptions, semantic differential method was used in which participants were asked to rate characteristics over a set of opposite adjective pairs. It is found out that, with respect to particular adjectives, responses to product form might be significantly different for males and females.

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