The original vision of ubiquitous computing was for computers to assist humans by providing subtle and fitting technologies in every environment. The iPhone and similar smartphones have provided continuous access to the internet to this end. In the current thesis, my goal was to characterize how the internet is used on smartphones to better understand what users do with technology away from the desktop. Naturalistic and longitudinal data were collected from iPhone users in the wild and analyzed to develop this understanding. Since there are two general ways to access the internet on smartphones—via native applications and a web browser—I describe usage patterns through each along with the influence of experience, the nature of the task and physical locations where smartphones were used on these patterns. The results reveal differences between technologies (the PC and the smartphone), platforms (native applications and the mobile browser), and users in how the internet was accessed. Findings indicate that longitudinal use of web browsers decreased sharply with time in favor of native application use, web page revisitation through browsers occurred very infrequently (approximately 25% of URLs are revisited by each user), bookmarks were used sparingly to access web content, physical location visitation followed patterns similar to virtual visitation on the internet, and Zipf distributions characterize mobile internet use. The web browser was not as central to smartphone use compared to the PC, but afforded certain types of activities such as searching and ad hoc browsing. In addition, users systematically differed from each other in how they accessed the internet suggesting different ways to support a wider spectrum of smartphone users.

As active safety systems installed in vehicles become more common and more sophisticated, a concise method of testing them in conditions as close to real risk situations as possible becomes necessary. This study looks at the possibilities of developing use cases, using video recordings of real risk situations, obtained through naturalistic driving studies. The concept of conflicts is explored as a substitute to actual accidents. A method of finding conflicts in a large data material from looking at the acceleration signal and its derivative, referred to as jerk is also sought. These possibilities are tried on material from a previously conducted naturalistic driving study. The results are an improvement in the ability to find conflict situations automatically, and a suggestion to how use cases can be produced from video recordings of conflicts obtained through naturalistic driving studies. The DREAM framework is used and modified in order to aid with data collection and interpretation.

This thesis analyzes the changing design and planning strategies in the contemporary urban design area. The rapid improvements during the 20th century in complexity sciences and computer technologies have directly affected all the branches of design. In architecture, as in urban design, generative models, evolutionary design attitudes and computer based simulation tools have taken a significant role during the last few decades. In urban design, emerged in a period starting form the second half of the century, non-determinist, dynamic and self-organized design attitudes depending on naturalistic models have emerged as an alternative to determinist, static and reductionist approaches based on linear solutions. In this study, it is aimed to define and evaluate these emerging contemporary approaches with respect to their antecedents and precedents. The study also searches for the conceptual and technical developments and background which support this process. With an analysis of case studies, the paradigm shift is examined in practice. The study intends to clarify whether contemporary urban design approaches, especially naturalistic models could be an alternative to deterministic stances.

Educational Psychology / In the field of moral psychology, cognitive functioning has long been the main focus of studies. Many researchers have been interested in moral reasoning ability, its developmental paths, and the process of moral judgment or decision making. Relatively recently, some moral psychologists started questioning whether people who are not theorists, researchers, or educators in morality also put as much emphasis on the cognitive functions as the core of morality. According to the literature, laypeople found to include cognitive aspects as one component of morality, and they also emphasize moral characters and virtues as other elements. In addition, laypeople frequently consider characteristics of ‘a moral person’ when they are asked to think about morality. These findings have activated research on naturalistic conceptions of morality and moral exemplars. However, few studies have examined how laypeople from different cultures other than the United States and Canada conceptualize morality. The purpose of this study was to explore naturalistic conceptions of ‘a moral person’ and to develop a theoretical model of moral exemplars for Koreans based on the gathered conceptions. Twenty two Koreans participated in in-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interviews. A grounded theory approach was used to conduct interviews, analyze data, and achieve the research goals. Korean laypeople’s conceptions included behaviors, personality traits, and psychological functions of ‘a moral person’ for them. In those behaviors and personality traits, both interpersonal (e.g., helping others or caring) and intrapersonal (e.g., living with integrity or being principled) characteristics were found together. Koreans conceptualize a person as moral when he or she tends to behave morally as an outer revelation of inner morality, personality traits. Using psychological functions (e.g., perspective taking, being compassionate, or keeping social face) appeared to promote the emergence of a moral behavior or make the behavior extraordinary. Finally, Koreans found to think of a person as moral who does moral behaviors even in challenging situations, assuming that his or her moral personality traits are strongly associated with the behaviors. In addition, Koreans tend to more emphasize interpersonal (i.e., other-oriented or community-based) aspects of morality than intrapersonal (i.e., self-centered or individual-based) components. These findings were summarized that ‘a moral person’ for Koreans is a person who has ‘moral heart’ and lives ‘in harmony with others.’ / text

The main purpose of this dissertation was to relate a study within the framework of Peer Student Group Research to the basic Process-Product Paradigm for Research on Teaching. Information about previous research within this field was given in the chapter on background. A total of 287 peer students at the Department of Education, Umeå University and at the teacher training colleges at Umeå and Luleå participated in this study. Thirty-one students worked individually and constituted a control group. The remaining 256 students were divided into 64 groups. Each group consisted of four students and was videoed during the problem-solving phase (60 minutes). The task dealt with a discipline case in the Swedish compulsory school. This case was discussed on the basis of four different psychological theories. A 2(Content, Group vs. Individual Content) X 2(Cohesiveness, High vs. Low Cohesiveness) X 2(Credit, Group vs. Individual Credit) design was used. A mediating model, i.e. Contribution(Analytical vs. Structural Contribution) X Persistence(Task Persistent vs. Task Non-Persistent Contribution) was used to observe the processes. Two of the videoed groups were analysed naturalistically. The results were measured psychometrically by means of an ANOVA. The ANOVA analysed main effects and interactions between the factors for the four process variables and for the product variable. The results of this study revealed the importance of studying Educational Productivity, i.e. both the process and the product. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that interactions could be discovered with psychometric methods but not with naturalistic methods. On the other hand, the naturalistic method revealed more sensitively how the group members worked and how they attempted to solve their task. The traditional assumption of group work vs. individual work was falsified. Individuals did better than groups on this type of problem. The results were discussed in both psychometric and naturalistic terms. / <p>Diss. Umeå : Umeå universitet, 1996</p> / digitalisering@umu

For many years, the assessment practices of band directors in North America have come under scrutiny. As funding for public education shrinks, the call for greater accountability in schools has focused attention on the assessment procedures of all teachers. This is especially true for arts teachers, including band directors, due to the public’s perception of highly subjective assessment practices in arts-based courses. This sequential, explanatory mixed method study sought to investigate the current assessment practices of high school band directors in British Columbia, including the purposes and uses of classroom assessment methods, and potential implications for teacher education with respect to the use of classroom assessment. The study also sought to discover any underlying assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes of band directors in designing and implementing those assessment procedures. Using a stratified random sample of band directors from 12 districts across four regions of British Columbia, this sequential, explanatory mixed methods study allowed a dialectical research structure that connected the empirical evidence of the quantitative survey instrument with the qualitative interview that drew upon the subjects’ personal beliefs. This study found that band directors do assess their students and hold strong beliefs that assessment is fundamental to the teaching/learning process. Despite this, they often use structures in their assessment practice that account for non-achievement, behavioural factors (i.e., effort, attendance, attitude, and participation) rather than musical outcomes. It also became apparent that band directors lacked sufficient pedagogical content knowledge in the early stages of their career that supports broad-based assessment within a comprehensive musicianship context. Why? Band directors noted that their pre-service education in assessment was deficient. Therefore, in addition to other recommendations, this study suggests a tripartite model for undergraduate music education that is more inclusive of assessment instruction and procedures. In other words, music teacher education programs should balance educatorship, musicianship, and assessorship. / Graduate / 0522 / 0727 / mkeddy@uvic.ca

Enligt forskning har riktig natur och bilder av natur en avstressande effekt på människor i sjukhusmiljö. Stenpartier byggs ofta för att simulera naturliga förhållanden och kan upplevas som en tredimensionell landskapsmålning som förändras med årstidens växlingar. Syftet med denna studie är att komma fram till en gestaltningsskiss med hjälp av sten och stenpartiväxter. Gestaltningen tänkta plats är utanför Gävle sjukhus. Fokus har lagts på stenpartiets uppbyggnad, växternas krav och anpassningen till sjukhusmiljön. För att ta reda på ett stenpartis uppbyggnad och stenpartiväxters krav på växtmiljö har både en litteraturstudie och platsbesök med intervjuer gjorts. Litteraturen är sökt via LIBRIS. Platsbesöken är gjorda i två svenska botaniska trädgårdar där personer med expertkunskaper i ämnet intervjuats. För att få gestaltningens utformning att passa in i en sjukhusmiljö är en litteraturstudie gjord. Litteraturstudien undersöker vad som bör undvikas och vad som rekommenderas. Litteraturen är sökt i databasen Discovery med sökorden hospital and art. För att ta reda på platsens fysiska förutsättningar har en platsobservation gjorts. Ett stenparti som liknar naturen passar bra in i sjukhusmiljön med tanke på att bilder av natur ger positiva känslor. Fördelen med stenpartiet är att bilden av natur blir verklig och kan upplevas av fler sinnen. Om stenpartiet inte sköts blir effekten motsatt. Skötseln är som mest intensiv de första åren men avtar då växterna väl etablerat sig. För att reducera framtida skötselbehov bör växter väljas efter klimatet och platsens förutsättningar. Detta resulterade i att många inhemska växter passade bra till gestaltningsförslaget. I en orolig sjukhusmiljö kan inhemska växter få människor att känna sig hemma. Viktigt är också att välja mattbildande växter som hindrar ogräs från att etablera sig. Erfarenhet av växter, anläggning och skötsel är avgörande om ett stenparti ska kunna bli till bilden av natur.

<p>This dissertation seeks to bring together two philosophical literatures: the functions literature from the philosophy of biology, and the functionalist literature in naturalistic metaethics. Biological function suggests both objectivity and normativity: “the function of the heart is to pump blood” is an objective fact, and yet, hearts may malfunction—and malfunctioning is normative. Many ethicists wish to naturalize ethics—to help find a place for human normative lives in the objective natural world. In order to do so, they need tools to analyze humans as the products of evolutionary processes. Humans have a dual inheritance system involving both cultural and genetic inheritance that makes analysis of function for them particularly complex. In this dissertation, I develop a set of conceptual tools for those who wish to naturalize. I begin by developing an account of inheritance that can handle culture. Then, I elaborate the selected effects account of function so that it can handle all the evolutionary strangeness of culture. I then introduce the monolith fallacy—an error often committed by those studying human evolution—a tendency to oversimplify—to emphasize the high degree of complexity involved in any naturalizing project. Finally, I introduce the notion of value-guided functions—a kind of functioning not tied to our intentions, but to our values to round out the picture. I then apply the whole framework to the work of the functional metaethicists: Allan Gibbard, David Wong, Richard Joyce, and Philip Kitcher.</p> / Dissertation

abstract: Intuitive decision making refers to decision making based on situational pattern recognition, which happens without deliberation. It is a fast and effortless process that occurs without complete awareness. Moreover, it is believed that implicit learning is one means by which a foundation for intuitive decision making is developed. Accordingly, the present study investigated several factors that affect implicit learning and the development of intuitive decision making in a simulated real-world environment: (1) simple versus complex situational patterns; (2) the diversity of the patterns to which an individual is exposed; (3) the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that simple patterns led to higher levels of implicit learning and intuitive decision-making accuracy than complex patterns; increased diversity enhanced implicit learning and intuitive decision-making accuracy; and an embodied mechanism, labeling, contributes to the development of intuitive decision making in a simulated real-world environment. The results suggest that simulated real-world environments can provide the basis for training intuitive decision making, that diversity is influential in the process of training intuitive decision making, and that labeling contributes to the development of intuitive decision making. These results are interpreted in the context of applied situations such as military applications involving remotely piloted aircraft. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2011

Research has shown that many of the disciplines typically included on early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) teams receive minimal to no specialized training or coursework in EI/ECSE, and/or little emphasis or opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration and instruction (Campbell, Chiarello, Wilcox, & Milbourne, 2009; Bruder & Dunst, 2005). As such, graduate students across IDEA related disciplines need more specific instruction and supervised experiences in collaborative service delivery, and evidenced-based social- communication interventions. The primary objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Language and Play Everyday (LAPE) program as a model of cross-disciplinary training for graduate students in the Communication Disorders and Sciences (CDS) and Early Intervention/ Early Childhood Special Education (EIP) programs at the University of Oregon. Participants included four first-term graduate students (i.e., two from CDS; two from EIP) enrolled in the LAPE practicum during Fall 2016. Multiple outcome measures, including a pre-post competency/self-efficacy questionnaire as well as analysis of student-child interaction videos, were used to evaluate the degree to which students’ knowledge and use of child language development principles, language-enhancing strategies, and overall confidence changed throughout the 11-week practicum experience. Analysis of student-child interaction samples revealed that all students increased their use of language-enhancing strategies in group and/or individual play contexts directly following an initial LAPE training workshop, and again after an individualized coaching session. Pre-post competency and self-efficacy questionnaires indicated students made growth in both their overall confidence and knowledge of child language development and language-enhancing strategies across the 11-week practicum placement. Future recommendations include increasing opportunities for collaboration and sharing of discipline-related knowledge during training activities as well as providing continued opportunities for individualized coaching.