The thesis Photography and fashion: formation of Empty Image explores the phenomenon of fashion photography as it appears in lifestyle magazines. The hypothesis of this study is that the current fashion photography uses creative painting techniques, which denies the key idea about photography - that photography mirrors reality - but in the same time photography recipients are expected to believe this idea. This leads us to the assumption that fashion misuses photography. Fashion Photography, by constant repetition and displaying identical objects that in reality don't exist, which only refer to an indefinite referent gives rise to an empty image with no meaning. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Elicited imitation (EI) is a method of assessing oral proficiency in which the examinee listens to a prompt and attempts to repeat it back exactly as it was heard. Research over recent decades has successfully established correlation between EI testing and other oral proficiency tests, such as the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and the OPI by computer (OPIc). This paper details the history of oral proficiency assessment as well as that of EI. It then outlines the development process and validation of a Portuguese Elicited Imitation test. The processes of item selection and item validation are detailed followed by the criterion-related validation through a statistical correlation analysis of participants' results on an official American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) OPIc and their predicted OPIc scores which were based on their results of the Portuguese EI calibration test. Results of the statistical analysis revealed a strong correlation between the predicted scores of the EI test and the actual OPIc scores. In order to go beyond previously completed EI research, this paper addresses the issue of face validity which has been a challenge for the proliferation of EI testing. Analysis of a survey administered after participants' completion of the two tests (OPIc and EI) addresses the experiences and reactions of the participants to the two testing formats. Suggestions for future use of EI as well as future research will be presented.

Robot path planning and dynamic obstacle avoidance are defined as a problem that robots plan a feasible path from a given starting point to a destination point in a nonlinear dynamic environment, and safely bypass dynamic obstacles to the destination with minimal deviation from the trajectory. Path planning is a typical sequential decision-making problem. Dynamic local observable environment requires real-time and adaptive decision-making systems. It is an innovation for the robot to learn the policy directly from demonstration trajectories to adapt to similar state spaces that may appear in the future. We aim to develop a method for directly learning navigation behavior from demonstration trajectories without defining the environment and attention models, by using the concepts of Generative Adversarial Imitation Learning (GAIL) and Sequence Generative Adversarial Network (SeqGAN). The proposed SeqGAIL model in this thesis allows the robot to reproduce the desired behavior in different situations. In which, an adversarial net is established, and the Feature Counts Errors reduction is utilized as the forcing objective for the Generator. The refinement measure is taken to solve the instability problem. In addition, we proposed to use the Rapidly-exploring Random Tree* (RRT*) with pre-trained weights to generate adequate demonstration trajectories in dynamic environment as the training data, and this idea can effectively overcome the difficulty of acquiring huge training data.

Ten experimentally naive children between the ages of six and eight served in three generalized imitation experiments using symbolic models. Subjects were presented videotaped behaviors to imitate via closed circuit television, and their responses were mechanically defined, recorded, and reinforced in an effort to control social influences from the presence of the experimenter. In Experiment 1, imitation of three behaviors was reinforced and imitation of a fourth behavior was never reinforced for four subjects. Two other subjects received noncontingent reinforcement. The following independent variables were tested: (1) the presence and absence of an experimenter, (2) instructions to "Do that," and (3) contingent and noncontingent reinforcement. Results of Experiment 1 demonstrated the apparatus could be used to produce and maintain generalized imitation, even in the absence of the experimenter, so long as differential reinforcement was available. ''Do that'' instructions were not necessary, and the presence of the experimenter served to maintain imitation when contingent reinforcement was not available. In Experiment 2, four subjects produced generalized imitation in the absence of both a n experimenter and any instructions with two reinforced and two nonreinforced imitations. Using the same four subjects in Experiment 3, congruent, incongruent, and "Do what you want" instructions given before sessions demonstrated that instructions could override the effect of reinforcers or produce differential responding in most subjects. When given a choice to imitate or not imitate, subjects continued generalized imitation. The data tend to support the theory that imitation is itself a response class, and the effect of instructions is to divide that response class into a class of imitated responses and a class of instruction-following responses. The influence of instructions, even in the absence of an adult experimenter, was obvious.

Two severely retarded children were trained to serve as imitative learning trainers for two profoundly retarded children. Initially, one trainer reinforced the correct imitations of one trainee but not the other. A second trainer reinforced the correct imitations of a second trainee but not the first trainee. A multiple baseline _comparison revealed that initial training produced high rates of imitative responding to both the reinforcing and non-reinforcing trainers. .Generalization of initiative responding to both trainers in a new setting was also demonstrated. Stimulus control of imitative responding was achieved when the reinforcing and non-reinforcing trainers for each trainee reversed those roles. Imitative responding to both trainers was recovered when both trainers reinforced trainees' correct imitations. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of peers as imitative behavior trainers for retarded children, and generalization of imitative responding across settings and trainers.

Anyone wishing to laud Matsepe for his literary ability should first turn to Ramaila who was not only one of the first writers in Sepedi, but also taught his people to read. Some of his short stories in the volume entitled Molomatsebe (1951) bear testimony to his narrative skills, particularly 'Tšhelete ya Sepoko' and 'Moloi ga a na mmala' which are complex in structure, like a detective story. Apart from the Molomatsebe collection, he also wrote other works such as Taukobong (1953), Setlogolo sa Batau (1938) and Tša Bophelo bya Moruti Abraham Serote (1935). In 1959 a volume of praise poetry was published that he had collected in the various Sepedi-speaking regions. These verses are not only of cultural historical significance but the volume is also a valuable addition to Sepedi literature. The greatest merit of the poems is found in the fact that they are authentic recitations. To the Bapedi Ramaila is a pioneer; he was the first author in Sepedi and encouraged his people to educate themselves. Ramaila had many followers of which Matsepe was the most important. In the pre-Matsepe period authors mainly wrote about the problems Blacks encountered under Whites in the cities. For this reason the 'Makgoweng motif' is often referred to in Sepedi literature. The works are generally sermonizing in tone and a moral lesson was usually included. Readers later found them very tedious, and when Matsepe appeared on the scene, he took the material for his stories from days of long ago. He, therefore, wrote about kings and heroes, and about war and hunting. Whereas stories written before were no more that short narratives, Matsepe created voluminous novels. He also wrote poetry and published six volumes, some of them of admirable quality. He was twice awarded the S. E. Mqayi prize for literature by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for Science and Art). During one of these award ceremonies he said that he had become tired of the preaching by his predecessors; he intended to regale his readers with absorbing reading matter. While Ramaila taught people to read, Matsepe exposed them to great literature. Because Matsepe's stories were so interesting, they met with general approval almost immediately. This led to a change of direction in Sepedi literature that could to a great degree be attributed to Matsepe's writing. This thesis deals with the influence Matsepe had on other writers. The most important factors determining such an influence are also examined. In this research the avenues of description, comparison and interpretation are expolored. The narratological model was chosen and adapted as a descriptive framework. The emphasis is mainly on the facts used by the authors and the manner in which they were put together. In the latter case this means that not only was the organisation of the information taken into account, but consideration also given to a similarity in the usage of specific word and phrases without reverting to stylistics. In defining the meaning of influence, the concepts of similarity, imitation, translation and plagiarism were also examined and identified. In this context various angles of influence are discussed. The influence of one author on another, influence emanating from literature itself and the influence arising from circumstances were noted. In the research several writers have been named who are said to have been influenced by Matsepe. These conclusions have not been motivated, however. In this study it has therefore been found that these pronouncements were made at random and that influence cannot be considered in all of these cases. On the other hand, a number of authors of the younger generation were discovered who are familiar with Matsepe's work and who are indeed influenced by him. This study has also revealed that Sepedi literature can be divided into two periods. First there was Ramaila period during which people learned to read and write, followed by a second period when readers were no longer interested in dull moral narratives, and thus a new generation of authors emerged. This can be designated as the Matsepe period although it includes writers who have only lately come forward and have not been influenced by Matsepe. The demands of circumstances for a change of direction in Sepedi literature may be ascribed to this. The fact that the second period heralded the growth of this literature is mainly attributed to the satirical nature of many of these works. / Thesis (DLitt (African Languages))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / African Languages / unrestricted

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Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka den generella uppfattningen av svenska dialekters tonhöjd samt om det går att se någon förändring av tonhöjd när dialekterna imiteras. I uppsatsens diskussion undersöks även huruvida den generella uppfattningen av tonhöjd och förändringar vid imitation går att förklara utifrån tidigare forskning. Materialet består av inspelningar med 12 informanter som har fått härma sju svenska dialekter. Dessutom kompletteras materialet med intervjuer med samma informanter samt en utskickad enkät med frågor om upplevd tonhöjd hos dialekterna. Resultatet visar en generell tendens att höja rösten vid imitation av dialekter. Dalmål är den dialekt som generellt imiteras ljusast och norrländska mörkast. Detta stämmer även väl överens med resultaten från intervjuerna och enkäten. Där framgår att dalmål generellt uppfattas som ljusare än andra dialekter och norrländska uppfattas som mörkare. En möjlig förklaring till detta är att det är dialekternas ord- och satsmelodi som gör att de uppfattas som mörkare eller ljusare men det är sannolikt inte den enda bidragande faktorn.

AbstractAbrahamsson, Jannice & Jakovljev Emilija (2009). Små barns samspel. Malmö: Lärarutbildningen Malmö högskolaExamensarbetet handlar om de yngsta barnens samspel och hur detta samspel ser ut i för barnen vardagliga situationer. Syftet är att få en djupare förståelse av hur samspel mellan ett- till tvååringar kommer till uttryck och att även göra en jämförelse mellan en åldersintegrerad ett- till tvåårsgrupp och en åldersblandad ett- till femårsgrupp. Följande frågeställningar har besvarats: •Hur ser samspelet ut mellan barn i åldern ett till två år?•Hur ser detta samspel ut i matsituationer och i den fria leken?•Vilka likheter respektive olikheter finns i de olika undersökningsgrupperna?De teoretiska utgångspunkterna har varit utvecklingspsykologen Daniel Sterns fyra relaterandedomäner, känslan av ett uppvaknande själv, känslan av ett kärnsjälv, känslan av ett subjektivt själv, känslan av ett verbalt själv och ett sociokulturellt perspektiv med utgångspunkt i psykologen Lev Vygotskijs tankar om kreativitetens betydelse för barns lärande. För att kunna besvara våra frågor har vi videofilmat och genomfört observationer på två olika förskolor. Detta har skett på en ett- till tvåårsavdelning och en ett- till femårsavdelning. Resultatet visar att barnen använder främst sin kropp för att uttrycka sig och har ögonkontakt med varandra innan samspelet börjar. Samspel med imitation i många former var det som ofta förekom i vår studie. Nyckelord: samspel, kroppsspråk, lek, imitation, Daniel Stern, Lev Vygotskij

Edith Wharton's 1913 novel The Custom of the Country reveals a national concern with defining and preserving authenticity in social and cultural life. A study of the novel through the lens of scholarship concerning the modernist obsession with "the real thing," including such seminal texts as Walter Benjamin's "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" and Lionel Trilling's Sincerity and Authenticity, opens up a broad discussion of authenticity and imitation as defined by Wharton's characters. This paper challenges the traditional interpretations of the much-abused term. First, I outline a brief history of the study of authenticity in art and literature in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, showing how realist writers like Wharton were influenced by the ideal of cultural and literary reality. Then I discuss the obsession with "the real thing" by all the characters in The Custom of the Country, both low- and high-born, and how the term influences the development of the plot. Finally, I reveal the vexed nature of the term "authenticity" in the novel, showing how the nouveau riche wrest aura from the old aristocratic class, and how they appropriate the power necessary to define "the real thing" on their own terms.