Video-conferencing has become a widely-used form of mediated personal communication. While other form of real-time communication such as face-to-face conversations or telephonic conversation, do not afford any form of feedback about self-presentation to individuals; video conferencing has the ability to provide a continuous feedback video loop. Previous work in this area has shown that this form of feedback can cause issues related to vanity and distraction. However, effects on sensitive aspects of the human psyche, such as self-consciousness and self-esteem, have not been studied. In this project we investigated such possible effects, specifically related to self-consciousness and self-esteem, through laboratory-based user study. The results of this exploratory study form lay the grounds for further research, which can be used to inform theory and design for video-conferencing systems. / Master of Science

No / There has been an increased interest in video indexing and retrieval in recent years. In this work, indexing and retrieval system of the visual contents is based on feature extracted from the compressed domain. Direct possessing of the compressed domain spares the decoding time, which is extremely important when indexing large number of multimedia archives. A fuzzy-categorizing structure is designed in this paper to improve the retrieval performance. In our experiment, a database that consists of basketball videos has been constructed for our study. This database includes three categories: full-court match, penalty and close-up. First, spatial and temporal feature extraction is applied to train the fuzzy membership functions using the minimum entropy optimal algorithm. Then, the max composition operation is used to generate a new fuzzy feature to represent the content of the shots. Finally, the fuzzy-based representation becomes the indexing feature for the content-based video retrieval system. The experimental results show that the proposal algorithm is quite promising for semantic-based video retrieval.

Alchemically is an educational role-playing game that functions as a classroom aid for boosting middle school and high school students' memorization of molecular formulas and molecule's attributes. The game implements several diverse teaching methodologies, including trial and error, practice and feedback, and the presentation of information from audio and visual cues. It also motivates students to continue learning through both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Student players craft molecules by choosing and placing atoms into a crafting table, then bonding them together. To help players build molecules, players can reference a journal that includes images, diagrams, and factual information on the molecules included in the game. / Master of Fine Arts / Alchemically is an educational role-playing game that functions as a classroom aid for boosting middle school and high school students’ memorization of molecular formulas and molecule’s attributes. The game implements several diverse teaching methodologies, including trial and error, practice and feedback, and the presentation of information from audio and visual cues. It also motivates students to continue learning through both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Student players craft molecules by choosing and placing atoms into a crafting table, then bonding them together. To help players build molecules, players can reference a journal that includes images, diagrams, and factual information on the molecules included in the game.

Digital spaces are opening the doors to developing types of registers within languages that rely on computer mediated communication. Participants in the video game community have enregistered language that is concise and efficient for the purposes of game play to make snap decisions. However, the register is being borrowed by 4chan users, adapted to their sociocultural needs, and employed by some to communicate threats of violence. The aim of this thesis is to understand the structure of gaming language both inside and outside of a gaming platform and to examine how some users of 4chan make use of this less commonly understood register for expressions of violent intent. I observe professional eSports athletes in game play, interviews, and news articles to establish a baseline of gaming terminology and examine the structure within this enregistered facet of language. I found that much of gaming terminology is derived through processes already common in the development of slang and other forms of language change, and I used the results of this analysis to generate a survey about understanding of these language forms. This survey was distributed to participants who had different amounts of experience with video games (mega gamers vs. non-mega gamers) to determine each groups' awareness of gaming terminology and their understanding of certain phrases as communication of a threat. The survey revealed that mega gamers more commonly define terms in relation to video games than non-mega gamers, but that they were not more likely to identify phrases with gaming terms as threats except in a few isolated cases. / Master of Arts

Video games have been criticized for the amount of violence present in them and how this violence could affect aggression and anti-social behavior. Much of the literature on video games effects has focused primarily on the content of video games, but recent studies show that competition in video games could be a major influence on aggression. While competing against other players has been shown to increase aggression, there is less research on whether the mere presence of a competitive environment can influence aggression. The existing research has also primarily been performed using surveys and lab experiments. While these two approaches are very useful, they lack the ecological validity of methods like field experiments. This study examined how competitiveness, teamwork, and co-operation affect anti-social behavior in video games. A 2 (competition: high vs low) x 2 (cooperation: vs no cooperation) x 2 (team: teammates vs opponents) online field experiment on hostile speech was performed. In this study, it was found that players experience more hostile language from their teammates than they do opponents. However, neither the level of competition nor cooperation had an effect on hostile language. There was a significant interaction between player team and cooperation, with teammates being less hostile in the cooperation condition and enemies being more hostile in the cooperation condition. Implications for hostility in online video games and group dynamics within online games are discussed. / Master of Arts

No

Three-dimensional technology, more commonly referred to as 3D technology, has revolutionised many fields including entertainment, medicine, and communications to name a few. In addition to 3D films, games, and sports channels, 3D perception has made tele-medicine a reality. By the year 2015, 30% of the all HD panels at home will be 3D enabled, predicted by consumer electronics manufacturers. Stereoscopic cameras, a comparatively mature technology compared to other 3D systems, are now being used by ordinary citizens to produce 3D content and share at a click of a button just like they do with the 2D counterparts via sites like YouTube. But technical challenges still exist, including with autostereoscopic multiview displays. 3D content requires many complex considerations--including how to represent it, and deciphering what is the best compression format--when considering transmission or storage, because of its increased amount of data. Any decision must be taken in the light of the available bandwidth or storage capacity, quality and user expectations. Free viewpoint navigation also remains partly unsolved. The most pressing issue getting in the way of widespread uptake of consumer 3D systems is the ability to deliver 3D content to heterogeneous consumer displays over the heterogeneous networks. Optimising 3D video communication solutions must consider the entire pipeline, starting with optimisation at the video source to the end display and transmission optimisation. Multi-view offers the most compelling solution for 3D videos with motion parallax and freedom from wearing headgear for 3D video perception. Optimising multi-view video for delivery and display could increase the demand for true 3D in the consumer market. This thesis focuses on an end-to-end quality optimisation in 3D video communication/transmission, offering solutions for optimisation at the compression, transmission, and decoder levels.

The production line of industries are getting more efficient and having very high throughput. Different kinds of machineries are being used to make the production safe, fast, precise and reliable. Robot arm is such a machine which helps the production line to be more efficient and productive. Nowadays, many manufacturing industries are using robot-arms to get a competitive edge in manufacturing and can be outfitted for multiple applications like welding, material handling, thermal spraying, painting, drilling and so on. They are widely used to increase product quality and production demand and over all, to ensure safer, faster and efficient production. It is very important to control and maintain these machines very accurately. As a simple mistake of robot arm can cause excessive destructions and bring financial losses to the industries, the robotarms must be very accurate when they are functioning in their production settings.

The thesis aims to examine the 'Komentář za minutu' format, published by the online offshoot of 'Hospodářské noviny' daily from November 2014 to January 2017. The theoretical part brings forward the Economia publishing house in context of corporate convergence, as well as attributes of comment genres, online videos, and particularities of audio-visual instruments. The practical part qualitatively analyses data acquired by interviews with journalists of 'Hospodářské noviny' daily who featured in Komentář za minutu. All interviews are included.

Esta tese reflete em seu contexto gerador, um processo profissional contínuo aplicado à academia que se desenvolve com a aplicação de teorias fílmicas e oportunidades de captação e registro de imagens em depoimentos testemunhais. Valendo-se da experiência acumulada, este trabalho tem a intenção de evidenciar o registro audiovisual de cunho testemunhal como ferramenta-chave na pesquisa científica em Ciências da Comunicação da atualidade, mostrando o potencial de interação entre o pesquisador e seu público, entre o condutor da captação testemunhal, líder do processo de registro, e seu objeto de pesquisa, com todas as articulações e preceitos de ficcionalidade e atualização de discurso que a oportunidade audiovisual suscita na instância ao vivo. O trabalho explicita e detalha o Processo de tomada dessas entrevistas e os experimentos de contato público-pesquisador conduzidos em um período de dois anos para defender sua relevância e essencialidade na pesquisa em Ciências da Comunicação. / This thesis reflects, in its generating context, a continuous professional process applied to the Academia that develops with the application of filmic theories and opportunities for the registration and recording of images and testimonials. Backed by such accumulated work experience, this document has the purpose of evidencing the testimonial-style audiovisual record as a key tool in the scientific research in current Communication Sciences. The thesis wants to show the interaction potential between the researcher and his public, between the one conducting the testimonial, the leader of the process, and his subject, with all the articulations and precepts of fictionality and speech revision and updating that the audiovisual opportunity has raised in the live instance. The paper makes explicit and details the Process behind those interviews and the public-researcher experiments conducted within a time span of 2 years to defend its relevance and the essentiality in the research in Communication Sciences.