abstract: A sample of 193 participants viewed one of six variations of an eyewitness giving mock testimony. Each participant viewed testimony, which varied by level of emotion (none, moderate, or high) and frame (waist-up or head only). Participants then rated the witness using the Brodsky Witness Credibility Scale and the Reyson Likability Scale. A set of ANOVA's was performed revealing an effect of emotion level on both credibility and likability. Emotion level was found to influence participant judgments of poise, however, to a lesser degree than judgments of credibility and likability. These results suggest that attorneys may want to avoid the use of videoconferencing with certain types of witnesses where testimony may be highly emotional. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Psychology 2014

O objetivo do trabalho é a implementação de características de adaptabilidade ao VIC, software livre de videoconferência sobre multicast. O VIC é um software para vídeo utilizado pelos principais frameworks de videoconferência em uso no mundo. O trabalho é focado em cima do VIC para o Access Grid, desenvolvido no Argone National Laboratory. Videoconferência é uma aplicação que consome muitos recursos da rede e do processamento da máquina, devido à grande quantidade de informações com que trabalha e à velocidade com que estas informações devem ser processadas e transmitidas. Pelas próprias características intrínsecas de uma transmissão de vídeo, não são admitidos atrasos. O trabalho analisa as principais tecnologias e o estado da arte em videoconferência, tanto na parte de transmissão quanto na parte de codificação e decodificação de sinais. As principais ferramentas em uso são apresentadas com suas características próprias. Os dois principais enfoques de adaptabilidade para transmissão e recepção de vídeo são expostos. O trabalho propõe um modelo misto, baseado nestes dois enfoques. A partir daí é exposto o novo algoritmo criado e os resultados de alguns testes realizados. Até hoje, apenas uma tentativa foi feita de acrescentar características de adaptabilidade à condição da rede ao VIC, porém essa não se encontra em uso. O trabalho propõe um novo algoritmo de adaptabilidade utilizando características das duas principais tendências atualmente em pesquisa. / The goal of the work is to implement adaptability features to VIC, free software to deliver videoconferencing over multicast. VIC is a software to transmit video used by the main videoconferencing frameworks in use worldwide. The focus of the work is on VIC to Access Grid, developed at Argone National Laboratory. Videoconferencing is an application that uses too much resources of the network and processing power of the machine, due to the huge amount of information that it handles and due to the speed needed to process and transmit this information. For its own intrinsic properties, delays are not allowed in videoconferencing. The work analyses the main technologies and the state of the art in videoconferencing, both in transmission and in encoding and decoding of signals. The main tools in use are presented with their own characteristics. The two main approaches of adaptability for video transmission and reception are shown. The work proposes a new model, based on both approaches in a mixed way. The new algorithm created is shown together with the results of some tests made. Until today, only one try was made to add adaptability to the network conditions to VIC, but it is not in use. The work proposes a new adaptability algorithm using features of the two main trends in research today.

Apesar dos avanços tecnológicos voltados para o uso das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação em Saúde, vários aspectos normativos ainda estão sendo discutidos em âmbito nacional para o estabelecimento de uma legislação específica para a área de telemedicina. As normativas mais utilizadas como referência para definição do escopo de atuação profissional em telemedicina são: a RESOLUÇÃO CFM nº 1.643/2002, que define e disciplina a prestação de serviços através da Telemedicina e a RESOLUÇÃO CFM nº 2.107/2014, que define e normatiza a Telerradiologia e revoga a RESOLUÇÃO CFM nº 1890/09. Essa dissertação apresenta um estudo retrospectivo, quantitativo, descritivo, baseado em levantamento bibliográfico que tem como proposta verificar a conformidade das formas de uso da telemedicina e da telessaúde, nos contextos nacional e internacional, em relação ao modelo proposto para essa atividade pelo CFM, representado pelas resoluções 1.643/2002 e 2.107/2014. O levantamento bibliográfico foi feito no período de 2009 a 2015, nas bases de dados Scielo, PubMed e IEEE, com base nas palavras chaves videoconferencing, webconferencing, VTC, meeting, telemedicine e telehealth e suas combinações. Foram encontrados, incialmente, 2352 artigos que foram reduzidos para 572 após a leitura de seus resumos e, novamente reduzidos para 115, após a leitura parcial dos artigos. Os 115 artigos selecionados foram lidos na íntegra. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que o uso da telemedicina pode ampliar consideravelmente a área de atendimento especializado dos grandes centros médicos, o que deve ser incentivado, principalmente em países com menores recursos financeiros, ou com poucos especialistas, ou extremamente extensos, como no caso do Brasil / Despite technological advances aiming the best use of Information and Communication Technology in Healthcare, several normative aspects are still being discussed in national scope, in order to establish a specific legislation for telemedicine area. There are some specifically normative aspects for professional orientation in telemedicine as follows: CFM no. 1.643/2002 that define disciplines and services provided by telemedicine, and CFM no. 2.107/2014 that define and guide the teleradiology services. This work was a retrospective, quantitative and descriptive study based on bibliographic surveying, in order to verify the conformity of the use of telemedicine and telehealth in both national and international contexts, according to the CFM proposed model for this activity, represented by CFM resolutions no. 1.643/2002 and no. 2.107/2014. The bibliographic surveying between 2009 and 2015 used Scielo, PubMed, and IEEE databases, and the key words: videoconferencing, webconferencing, VTC, meeting, telemedicine, and telehealth plus their combinations. We found 2352 articles, reduced to 572 after reading their abstracts. One hundred and fifteen potentially relevant articles were selected after partial reading of the articles. After that, the 115 selected articles were fully read. The results showed that the use of telemedicine could considerably increase the area of specialized attending crew on important medical facilities, what should be encouraged mainly in countries with few or no financial resources, or the small number of specialists, or extensive areas such as Brazil

This thesis presents different solutions for enhancing a prototype for a 3D video conferencing system, and investigates their advantages and disadvantages. The setup of the system consists of two cameras and a autostereoscopic display hence eliminating the need to use any eyewear. The autostereoscopic display shows seven successive stereo pairs, therefore the 3D content needs ideally to be eight images captured from different views. The system uses a simple algorithm that shifts each image horizontally with a specific value for each view. The second part of the work is to perform a subjective testing for the system. The ITU-T standards P.1301 were used as a reference for the test. The system was compared to 2D traditional conferencing systems and the improvements presented in this work were also included in the test to evaluate the reality of depth perception in the image.

This dissertation investigated the effects of technological mediation on second language (L2) learning, focusing, as a case study, on gains in listening perception of the subtle but important feature of pitch placement in Japanese. Pitch accent can be difficult to perceive for non-native speakers whose first language (L1) does not rely on pitch or tone as a distinctive feature, such as English (Wayland & Li, 2008). Pedagogically, Face-To-Face (FTF) interactions with native or near-native speakers are typically the most effective way to learn L2 sound system features due to social presence, but these interactions are not always possible because of physical distance. Mediation can facilitate these interactions, but it is unclear which type results in more learning gains. The current study compared three mediation types that vary in the information provided to the learner: audio-only (asynchronous), video (audiovisual asynchronous), and videoconferencing (audiovisual synchronous), as well as a fourth condition of videoconferencing which facilitated mutual eye contact. The lack of mutual eye contact in standard videoconferencing (due to the webcam being above the image of an interlocutor's face) can inhibit the perceived social presence (Bondareva, Meesters, & Bouwhuis, 2006). A pretest/posttest/delayed posttest design was used, which measured error rates and reaction times for a same/different discrimination task and a picture recognition task. The participants were English L1 speakers, with no prior study of Japanese. After the pretest, they received training in the form of two short lessons in beginner Japanese vocabulary and sentence building administered by a native speaking tutor, which did not explicitly address pitch placement, but used minimal pairs for this feature as vocabulary items. The lessons were followed by a posttest, and a delayed posttest one week later. The results showed that all four conditions succeeded in improving Japanese pitch placement detection, both immediately after and up to a week after the lessons. While an ANOVA revealed no main effect of mediation type, planned comparison results suggest videoconferencing without eye contact may lead to more gains in pitch placement perception than video. A surprising suggestion by the data was that videoconferencing with eye contact may lead to worse performance than the other mediation types. An exit survey detected the self-determination of the participants, and higher self-determination correlated with worse testing performance within the videoconferencing with eye contact condition. This suggests that the addition of eye contact increased the social presence of that condition to the point that it triggered Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA) in the participants. Overall, this study highlights that lessons and tasks administered through mediation can be used to provide native speaker input for features that are important for listening and speaking, and this can effectively help learners attend to and learn these features.

The questions addressed in this study arose from an earlier project which attempted to provide videoconferencing opportunities for Second Language (SL) teachers to engaging in bilingual “virtual exchanges” for their students (hereafter referred to as “eTandem videoconferencing”). This investigation was initially motivated by the interest on discovering why these teachers and their students did not take the opportunity to participate in the synchronous part of the exchanges. This qualitative study reports on the developmental paths experienced by twenty SL teachers from the US, the UK, Switzerland and Spain and their pupils in the process. It particularly aims to discover what teachers' roles emerge in the process. The research also focuses on how these teachers’ practices are consistent with a more social constructivist approach to Computer Assisted Language Learning. The investigation builds on Hartnell-Young’s theoretical model (2003) of teachers’ roles where computers are used. Data collection involves an initial survey, observation of teachers and students before, during and after the exchanges and video-stimulated recall interviews with the teachers. The research centres on critical incidents experienced by these teachers. Hugues' model (2009) of the expanded critical incident approach provides the methodological framework. In line with her model, the study has created a multifaceted word picture of these teachers, further characterised by a condensed set of critical findings. The teachers’ accounts reveal several incidents that inhibited or supported the teachers’ development in terms of how they planned the learning environment regarding the physical space, the virtual setting and the social environment and in terms of how they mediated the implementation of the exchanges towards a more interactive approach. In doing so, this investigation adds to the knowledge base available to educators and researchers by offering greater understanding about these SL teachers’ particular experiences.

Social (public speaking) anxiety disorder is the most prevalent of all anxiety disorders, and it often impairs social and occupational functioning. Intervention studies indicate that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an efficacious treatment for social anxiety. However, access to therapists skilled in CBT for social anxiety is often difficult. In order to respond to the problem of access, the use of videoconferencing for mental health care has developed. No published study has investigated the efficacy of CBT for social anxiety when provided via videoconferencing. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine the efficacy of CBT for social anxiety when provided via videoconferencing. A single-case replication design was employed that included a baseline period of 3 weeks, followed by 12 weeks of . treatment, 1-week post-intervention period, and 3-month follow-up. Five participants completed treatment. It was hypothesized that participants would reduce their social anxiety symptoms (i.e., decrease anxiety during speech task, increase duration of speech task, and decrease public speaking anxiety) assessed on standardized measures of social anxiety. Exploratory analyses of changes in self-monitored social anxiety, negative cognitions (public self-consciousness, fear of negative evaluation, internal attributions), working alliance, client satisfaction with treatment, and client comfort with videoconferencing were also performed. Analyses included visual and statistical significance, as well as clinical significance (i.e., endstate functioning, social phobia diagnostic status). The results indicated that two of three hypotheses were supported (i.e., anxiety during speech task reduced and duration of speech task increased over time). At 3-month follow-up, treatment gains were maintained or improved further; 3 participants no longer met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for social anxiety disorder, and 4 participants met criteria for moderate or high level of endstate functioning (i.e., clinical significance). Exploratory analyses revealed that self-monitored social anxiety decreased for 3 of 5 participants, and that a decrease in negative cognitions was associated with a decrease in social anxiety. Working alliance ratings remained high throughout treatment. Satisfaction with videoconferencing decreased over treatment for the participant who did not improve. Generally, comfort with videoconferencing increased over time. The results offer preliminary support for further research about the efficacy of the intervention. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

OBJECTIVE: This study will explore the effects that an online support group can have on traumatic brain injury (TBI) caregiver burden. BACKGROUND: TBI is a public health concern that affects the lives of both patients and their caregivers. Caregivers often take responsibility for significant elements of TBI patients’ lives and, over time, this role takes a mental and physical toll on a caregiver’s own life. To date, there is limited research on the success of interventions, such as support groups and telehealth, in mitigating caregiver burden. There is much research that remains to be done. It is crucial that new and innovative support groups and telehealth interventions, such as the one outlined in this thesis, are trialed and analyzed by participants, in order to understand what methods are most effective in supporting these caregivers. DESIGN: One-group before-after non-randomized innovative intervention study. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-five adult primary caregivers of TBI patients, recruited through the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA). INTERVENTION: Sixteen sessions of mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) led by trained clinical psychologists and delivered via group videoconference. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Zarit Interview Burden (ZBI); Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). DATA ANALYSIS: Descriptive demographics. Unadjusted effect size and score descriptive for ZBI and BSI. Paired t-tests to compare mean ZBI and mean BSI at pre-intervention and post-intervention. Stratify by baseline BSI score to determine if baseline BSI score predicts decrease in ZBI score over the course of the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed study provides an innovative way to reduce burden on TBI caregivers and to analyze the feasibility and acceptance of the intervention. The study does, however, present limitations and, thus, outlines areas for future research. These limitations include the lack of a control group, the use of multiple clinical psychologists as group leaders, and the recruitment of only BIAA members who are comfortable using technology.

Regardless of the reason, many patients/clients do not have access to face-to-face medical, neuropsychological, or mental health consultation, assessment, or treatment (Cowain, 2001). The term Remote Neuropsychological Assessment (RNA) has been proposed by Browndyke to denote the general use of telecommunication and Internet-based technologies in neuropsychological assessment and practice (as cited in Schatz & Browndyke, 2002). RNA (Telemedicine) offers a plausible, potentially cost-effective solution to individuals in need of medical, neuropsychological, or mental health consultation, assessment, or treatment that are located in geographical areas away from the specialist (Armstrong, 2006; Berman, 2005; Cowain, 2001; Jacobsen, Sprenger, Andersson, & Krogstad, 2003). The purpose of this study was to examine if test performance for RNA administration of the Cognistat is comparable to test performance for the pencil-paper administration. A one-way repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to analyze the data. The main effect for administration modality was not significant, F(9, 126) = .375, p = .945. The present study demonstrated the utility of a widely used neurobehavioral screening test that provides a differentiated profile of cognitive status can now reliably be used through a video-conferencing administration. The importance of this finding is that a more comprehensive detection of deficits in multiple domains of cognitive functioning for screening purposes is now possible remotely.

My thesis explores older adult lifelong learners’ experiences in transitioning their continued education participation to an online model. This research acknowledges and situates itself in the geragogy contexts of older adult learners, drawing on their experiences of the pandemic and lifelong learning, in addition to their opinions on education for older adults. As such, a case study methodology was employed so that this case could be studied within boundaries created by the pandemic. In my study, 25 older adult learners participated in individual interviews and provided their opinions and perceptions about their experiences with the pandemic and its effect on their learning ambitions. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted these individuals differently based on their motivations and previous experiences with technology. Four distinct dialogue groups emerged based on the motivations that older adults have to participate in lifelong learning, which are social or instrumental, and also the opinions they have about technology, which are either positive or negative. The four dialogues are distinct in that they each hold alternate opinions about the two issues raised (motivators and opinions on technology) but there were no major identifiers within the groups that could characteristically distinguish one from another. The results indicate that not all discourses of lifelong learners are reducible to identities or recent experiences. My findings suggest that potential refinement in program delivery based on specific user needs could improve the experiences that older adults have in the virtual classroom, and that it is crucial to the administration of lifelong learning that older adults' unique needs are addressed in a collaborative manner. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / This study investigated how older adults, who pursue lifelong learning in-person, have interpreted their transition to online learning because of COVID-19 pandemic meeting restrictions. Lifelong learners have had to transition from in-person learning to virtual formats, which has encouraged new older adults to become lifelong learners, and also for some lifelong learners to drop out of the practice entirely. The key goal of the study was to describe the Transitioners, New learners, and Dropout learners' experience with lifelong learning with respect to COVID-19’s impacts on their participation. Interviews were conducted with individuals who fell into these three categories and, through their responses, distinct dialogues emerged to describe their motivation to participate in lifelong learning, and their opinions on using technology as a means to access it. Confirming the motives to participate and how technology is appreciated by lifelong learners enables us to better develop and implement lifelong learning.