Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of programs that include a videotaped self-observation component. The self-observation protocols, however, have not been clearly specified within programs that teach and report parents’ use of general teaching strategies. The current study investigates the effects of a training package with a self-observation component to teach parents to improve teaching interactions with their children at-risk for a developmental delay using an AB design replicated across participants. Data were collected across play interactions to assess the number of parent teaching episodes, child target responses, and various parent and child relationship qualities. Relationship quality measures included parent and child affect and engagement, parent directives, parent confidence and stress, and parent and child interest. The results of this study suggest that the training package was effective in that parents engaged in higher rates of teaching, their children engaged in more desired responding, and certain aspects of the parent-child interaction were enhanced. These results are discussed in terms of the effects on the parent-child teaching interaction and implications for future use of parent self-observation techniques.

Video based remote sensing techniques are well suited to collect spatially resolved wave images in the surf zone with breaking waves and dynamic bathymetric changes. An advanced video-based depth inversion method is developed to remotely survey bathymetry in the surf zone. The present method involves image processing of original wave image sequences, wave property estimation based on linear feature extraction from the processed image sequences, and is combined with a nonlinear depth inversion model. The original wave image sequences are processed through video image frame differencing and directional low-pass filtering schemes to remove wave-breaking-induced foam noise having high frequencies in the surf zone. The features of individual crest trajectories are extracted from the processed and rectified image sequences, i.e. processed image cross-shore timestacks, by tracking pixels of high intensity within an interrogation window of a Radon-transform-based line-detection algorithm. The wave celerity is computed using space-time information of the extracted trajectories of individual wave crests in the cross-shore timestack domain. The presented retrieval of nearshore bathymetry from video image sequences is based on a nonlinear depth inversion using the nonlinear shallow water wave theory. The nonlinear wave amplitude dispersion effects at the breaker points are determined by combining the nonlinear shallow water celerity equation with a wave breaker criterion, thereby computing water depths iteratively from the celerity measured from the video data. The water depths estimated at the breaker points present initial bathymetric anchor points. Bathymetric profiles in the surf zone are inverted by calculating wave heights dissipated after wave breaking with a wave dissipation model and wave heights shoaled before wave breaking with a wave shoaling model. The continuous wave amplitude dispersion effects are subtracted from the measured celerity profiles, resulting in nearshore bathymetric profiles. The nonlinear depth inversion derived bathymetric estimates from nearshore imagery match the measured values with a biased mean depth error of about +0.06m in the depth range of 0.1 to 3m. In addition, the wave height estimates by the depth inversion model are comparable to the in-situ measured wave heights with a biased mean wave height error of about +0.14m. The present depth inversion method based on optical remote-sensing supports coastal management, navigation, and amphibious operations.

Voices of Our Forefathers (2008) is a participatory video that was made with a group of Khwe Bushmen in Platfontein in the Northern Cape. It is unique not only for its inclusion of the Khwe subjects in the production process, but also for its unique representation of them. It portrays them from historical as well as modern perspectives. This research explores how a group of Khwe youth – the research participants – engaged and negotiated their encounter with the Voices of Our Forefathers (2008). It does this within the context of participatory communication for development and participatory video. It draws on theories of empowerment, reception and representation. A qualitative methodology was employed with in-depth interviews comprising the main data collection method, and thematic analysis and semiotics being the main data analysis methods. Thematic analysis was aided through the use of a software programme, Nvivo 8. The research explores research participants’ responses to Voices of Our Forefathers and critically examines articulations of empowerment. Most of the research participants felt empowered because VOOF (2008) incorporated the Khwe in the production process, particularly in terms of how they wanted to be represented. The Khwe Bushmen’s participation in their representation resulted in a range of nuanced interpretations and responses to VOOF (2008), which included discussions on rethinking their identities, learning new skills, fostering a sense of ownership of the film and the use of their language (Khwedam) in The Voices of Our Forefathers. It is argued, however, that although the research participants may have expressed that they are empowered, this needs to be understood and critically examined with respect to the larger contexts within which Bushmen, in general, live, which may or may not affect their senses of and the realities of their empowerment. Finally, it is argued that VOOF (2008) needs to be understood as a part of an on-going process in participatory communication for development. It might not have provided research participants with the necessary resources to completely transform their lives; it did, however, contribute to changing how they perceive themselves, which, according to Freirean theory, is a necessary step in empowering oneself. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

With the advance of the LCD technology, video quality is becoming increasingly important. In this thesis, we develop hardware-friendly low-complexity enhancement algorithms. Video quality enhancement methods can be classified into two main categories. Single frame methods are the first category. These methods have generally low computational complexity. Multi-frame methods combine information from more than one frame and require the motion information of objects in the scene to do so. We first concentrate on the contrast-enhancement problem by using both global (frame-wise) and local information derived from the image. We use the image histogram and present a regularization-based histogram modification method to avoid problems that are often created by histogram equalization. Next, we design a compression artifact reduction algorithm that reduces ringing artifacts, which is disturbing especially on large displays. Furthermore, to remove the blurriness in the original video we present a non-iterative diffusion-based sharpening algorithm, which enhances edges in a ringing-aware fashion. The diffusion-based technique works on gradient approximations in a neighborhood individually. This gives more freedom compared to modulating the high-pass filter output that is used to sharpen the edges. Motion estimation enables applications such as motion-compensated noise reduction, frame-rate conversion, de-interlacing, compression, and super-resolution. Motion estimation is an ill-posed problem and therefore requires the use of prior knowledge on motion of objects. Objects have inertia and are usually larger then pixels or a block of pixels in size, which creates spatio-temporal correlation. We design a method that uses temporal redundancy to improve motion-vector search by choosing bias vectors from the previous frame and adaptively penalizes deviations from the bias vectors. This increases the robustness of the motion-vector search. The spatial correlation is more reliable because temporal correlation is difficult to use when the objects move fast or accelerate in time, or have small sizes. Spatial smoothness is not valid across motion boundaries. We investigate using energy minimization for motion estimation and incorporate the spatial smoothness prior into the energy. By formulating the energy minimization iterations for each motion vector as the primal problem, we show that the dual problem is motion segmentation for that specific motion vector.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1996. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Frank L. Smith. Dissertation Committee: Jeanette E. Fleischer. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-130).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1996.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1996.

Orientador: João Baptista de Mattos Winck Filho / Banca: Sânderson Reginaldo de Mello / Banca: Regina Célia Baptista Belluzzo / O Programa de Pós Graduação em Televisão Digital: informação e conhecimento capacita profissionais para atuarem em televisão digital nas três áreas: comunicação, educação e tecnologia / Resumo: Apresenta-se a possibilidade de criação de núcleos de produção audiovisual com conteúdos informativos que correlacionem, entre outros, arte, meio ambiente e tecnologia. Nesse contexto, a televisão digital e a internet surgem como suporte na cadeia produtiva de conteúdos realizados a partir de dispositivos móveis. Tal realidade conta com o incentivo, dentre outros, do Centro Nacional de Excelência em Produção de Conteúdos Digitais Interativos e Interoperáveis, coordenado pelo Ministério de Ciência e Tecnologia (MCT). As tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TICs) podem reestabelecer às produções midiáticas a vocação de fonte cultural formadora na vida dos indivíduos, principalmente jovens. Neste sentido, os meios de comunicação interativos prometem reduzir as fronteiras da desigualdade de acesso, fortalecendo a democratização de informações, o compartilhamento de saberes e práticas cidadãs / Abstract: This paper presents the possibility of creating audiovisual production cores with informative and educative contents which correlate art, environment and technology, among others. In this context, digital television and internet appear as support to the production chain of contents generated from mobile internet devices. Such reality is encouraged, among others, by the Centro Nacional de Excelência em Produção de Conteúdos Digitais interativos e interoperáveis, coordinated by the Ministério de Ciência e Tecnologia (MCT). The information and communication technologies (ICT) can re-establish to the media productions the vocation of cultural source in one's life, especially the young. So, interactive communication means promise to reduce the bordes of access inequality, building up information democratization, knowledge sharing and civic practices / Mestre

Acompanha: Afinal, como surgiram as geometrias não Euclidianas? / Por meio da literatura inerente ao tema deste estudo, é possível perceber que as geometrias não euclidianas são pouco exploradas na formação docente; todavia, documentos que norteiam a educação paranaense propõem que esses conceitos sejam explorados nas aulas de Matemática. Para tanto, são necessárias ações que permitam aos professores ampliarem seus saberes sobre elas. Assim, pretendeu-se refletir a respeito da relevância dos conhecimentos advindos da História da Matemática para o processo de formação do professor de Matemática no que diz respeito às geometrias não euclidianas. Investigações desenvolvidas na área defendem que a História da Matemática é um recurso didático que pode contribuir para a formação docente, principalmente no que tange à compreensão dos conceitos matemáticos. Desta forma, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo realizar a produção de vídeos didáticos e atividades baseadas na História da Matemática, sobre tópicos das geometrias não euclidianas que podem ser utilizados na formação continuada de professores. Para alcançar tal objetivo, os referenciais teóricos explorados nesta investigação envolvem as pesquisas a respeito da formação do professor e a História da Matemática, bem como seu uso pedagógico, o uso das tecnologias no ensino, sobretudo dos vídeos didáticos e o ensino das geometrias não euclidianas. A presente investigação é qualitativa e de cunho interpretativo, na qual as etapas principais foram: levantamento bibliográfico relativo aos temas estudados; elaboração da reconstrução histórica das geometrias não euclidianas, investigação, por meio de entrevista semiestruturada sobre os professores que atuam na Educação Básica e suas compreensões a respeito das geometrias não euclidianas, elaboração dos vídeos e de atividades relacionadas a eles e aplicação desses materiais em um curso de formação continuada. A partir do curso ministrado a seis professores que atuam na Educação Básica (anos finais do Ensino Fundamental e Ensino Médio) no município de Leópolis-PR, foi possível experimentar os vídeos e as atividades, o que permitiu observar que eles possibilitaram a esses sujeitos ampliar suas compreensões a respeito das geometrias não euclidianas, evidenciando seu potencial. / By means of the literature inherent in the subject of this study, it is possible to notice that non-Euclidean geometries are little explored in teacher education, however documents that guide education in the state of Paraná propose that these concepts are explored in Mathematics classes. Therefore, some actions are necessary to allow teachers to enlarge their knowledge about them. Thus, it was intended to ponder the relevance of the Mathematics History knowledge to the process of Mathematics teacher training concerning the non - Euclidean geometries. Developed researches plead that Mathematics History is a didactic resource that can contribute to teacher training, mainly related to non-Euclidean geometries. In this manner, the present work intends to investigate the production of didactic videos and activities based on the Mathematics History, about topics of non-Euclidean geometries that can be used in teacher training. To reach it, the theoretical references explored in this study involve researches on teacher education and Mathematics History, in addition its pedagogical use, teaching technologies, especially didactic videos, and the teaching of non-Euclidean geometries. The present investigation is qualitative and interpretive, in which the main steps were: a bibliographical research on the subjects studied; elaboration of the historical reconstruction of non-Euclidean geometries, investigation, through semi-structured interviews, about teachers who work in Basic Education and their understandings about non-Euclidean geometries, elaboration of videos and activities related to them and application of these materials in a training course. From the course that was taught to six teachers who work in Basic Education (Final Years of Elementary and Secondary Education) in the city of Leópolis-PR, it was possible to try the videos and activities that allowed to observe that they enabled them to increase their understanding of Non-Euclidean geometries showing their potential.

A significant number of action recognition research efforts use spatio-temporal interest point detectors for feature extraction. Although the extracted features provide useful information for recognizing actions, a significant number of them contain irrelevant motion and background clutter. In many cases, the extracted features are included as is in the classification pipeline, and sophisticated noise removal techniques are subsequently used to alleviate their effect on classification. We introduce a new action database, created from the Weizmann database, that reveals a significant weakness in systems based on popular cuboid descriptors. Experiments show that introducing complex backgrounds, stationary or dynamic, into the video causes a significant degradation in recognition performance. Moreover, this degradation cannot be fixed by fine-tuning the system or selecting better interest points. Instead, we show that the problem lies at the descriptor level and must be addressed by modifying descriptors.