Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T14:31:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rosangela Del Vecchio.pdf: 1288462 bytes, checksum: 15f0b82bdbf13edc48c36cfa97d5771d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-06-20 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This work addresses the knowledge derived from experience for the training of teachers that act in a virtual learning environment. More specifically, it tries to understand how teachers identify the relations originating from experiences in virtual environments lived in the roles of student, teacher, monitor, manager or tutor with the one lived in the School Management and Technology Project and with the professional training process, having as research subjects the teaching staff of the School Management and Technology Project. The qualitative research took place guided by the training experience principle for articulating the knowing how to do and knowledge, functionality and meaning, techniques and values. The theories of Tardif, Dewey, Larossa and Josso have been used for the data interpretation. Theoretical concepts were articulated to provide grounds for the observations, as well as to understand the meaning of learning through experience in virtual environments. The articulation between theory and practice resulted in a group of indicators for training programs with more focus, from the subjects point of view, on knowledge that emerges from experience, acquired and built-up by practicing and living other roles, implying the understanding and guidance for the development of the practice itself. The experience in the role of student in a virtual environment revealed itself as a useful source of knowledge for the professional training. However, the set of opportunities and practices that are presented during the life, articulated on theoretical bases, is what defines and improves training. Finally, this study opens the possibility of considering the experience as a dimension for supporting proposals for the training of teachers that act in an interactive virtual environment / O presente trabalho trata dos saberes da experiência na formação do professor que atua em ambiente virtual de aprendizagem. Mais especificamente, procura entender como os professores identificam as relações provenientes das experiências em ambientes virtuais vivenciadas nos papéis de aluno, professor, monitor, gestor ou tutor com a vivida no Projeto Gestão Escolar e Tecnologias e com o processo de formação profissional, tendo como sujeitos da pesquisa a equipe docente do Projeto Gestão Escolar e Tecnologias. A pesquisa qualitativa ocorreu pautada pelo princípio da experiência formadora na articulação do saber-fazer e conhecimento, funcionalidade e significação, técnicas e valores. Para a interpretação dos dados, foram utilizadas as teorias de Tardif, Dewey, Larossa e Josso. Os conceitos teóricos foram articulados para fundamentar as observações, bem como para entender o significado da aprendizagem pela experiência em ambientes virtuais. A articulação entre teoria e prática resultou em um conjunto de indicadores para programas de formação com maior evidência, do ponto de vista dos sujeitos, para os saberes que emergem da experiência, adquiridos e construídos na prática e na vivência de outros papéis, implicando a compreensão e orientação para o desenvolvimento da própria prática. A experiência no papel de aluno em ambiente virtual revelou-se como profícua fonte de conhecimento para a formação profissional. Entretanto, o conjunto de oportunidades e práticas que se apresentam no decorrer da vida articulados com bases teóricas é o que define e aprimora a formação. Por fim, esse estudo abre a possibilidade para se considerar a experiência como uma dimensão para a sustentação de propostas de formação de professor que atua em ambiente virtual interativo

A tese apresenta uma contribuição à área da pesquisa educacional, para auxiliar na identificação de perfis cognitivos, utilizando o referencial teórico das Ciências Cognitivas e a instrumentação das Neurociências. O projeto elaborado para atender os objetivos desta tese compreendeu o desenvolvimento de metodologia experimental, apoiada pela técnica estatística de Projetos de Experimentos, juntamente com instrumentos neurocientíficos (uso de eletroencefalografia com técnica ERP – Event Related Potential), para a observação, quantificação e interpretação de evidências neuronais – sinais de eletroencefalografia - relacionadas ao processo cognitivo humano. Buscou, em particular, evidências relacionadas às diferentes demandas de energia despendida na realização de atividades espaciais (identificação, percepção ou atenção espacial de objetos virtuais), com base em instrumentos teóricos e tecnológicos das Neurociências, das Ciências Cognitivas e da Psicologia Cognitiva, para uso na área da pesquisa educacional, visando contribuir para identificação de diferentes perfis de estudantes em diferentes áreas do conhecimento. Na investigação experimental, o objetivo foi buscar indicadores (quantificação de energia alocada em atividade cerebral, medida de tempo de resposta ao estímulo, maior magnitude na faixa de freqüência do ritmo elétrico cerebral, evocados no experimento) dos sinais cerebrais que estejam sincronizados com o exercício proposto e que possam subsidiar a hipótese de que há diferenças significativas entre estudantes de áreas científicas e tecnológicas e estudantes de áreas humanas e sociais, no quesito habilidades espaciais. A proposta contextualiza e fundamenta experimentos com um grupo de alunos voluntários dos cursos de graduação, selecionados para a pesquisa, classificados por idade e sexo e avaliados e selecionados por diagnóstico psicológico indicativo da provável área de aptidão/habilidade cognitiva. O desenvolvimento da proposta investigativa, que visou atender os objetivos relacionados e pertinentes ao processo, foi possível devido a esforços de pesquisadores e cientistas das diferentes áreas de conhecimento, que colaboraram na modelagem do experimento realizado no Laboratório de Biosinais da Universidade de Caxias do Sul, no Campus Universitário da Região dos Vinhedos, junto ao Curso de Engenharia Elétrica. Como parte do processo metodológico experimental está compreendido o desenvolvimento do instrumento de medição: equipamento de eletroencefalografia (EEG) utilizando o sistema de aquisição e conversão de sinal analógico-digital da National Instruments e também, o equipamento conhecido como Gaiola de Faraday, que serviu para a realização das coletas de sinais elétricos cerebrais de baixa freqüência e amplitude, minimizando a presença de ruídos eletromagnéticos interferentes significativamente no sinal coletado. Os dados (sinais elétricos cerebrais) coletados durante o experimento que evocou raciocínio lógico espacial dos participantes foram modelados matematicamente por Fourier e interpretados por análise estatística – UNIVARIATE (análise de variância) e comparados aos resultados obtidos pelos instrumentos de apoio utilizados como forma de validar o processo investigativo: questionário verbal ao final do experimento e teste psicológico - subteste BPR5 – RE. Todos os dados coletados também foram armazenados com o propósito de permitir futura realização de outras simulações, com diferentes métodos de acesso aos conteúdos. Entende-se que os resultados obtidos nesse experimento possam colaborar com a Informática aplicada à Educação no planejamento, desenvolvimento e uso de objetos virtuais em ambientes destinados a mediar à aprendizagem, de acordo com necessidades específicas de cada público-alvo. Nesse sentido, os resultados dessa investigação podem prover dados ou características como medidas indicadoras de esforços cognitivos associados a perfis diferenciados, no caso das áreas de conhecimento, que envolvam processos de raciocínio espacial. O entendimento sobre o esforço manifestado pelo aluno durante o experimento foi interpretado como uma possível medida de um dos itens relacionados ao perfil cognitivo, à luz das Ciências Cognitivas (GARDNER, 1994, 2001), (STERNBERG, 2000), (PINKER, 1998). / The thesis is to contribute for the area of educational research in order to aid on the identification of cognitive profiles, using theoretical references from cognitive sciences and instrumentation from neurosciences. The project designed to meet the objectives of the thesis included the development of experimental methodology, supported by the statistical technique for Experiment Projects, along with neuroscientific instruments (use of electroencephalography with the ERP technique – Event Related Potential), for the observation, quantification, and interpretation of neuronal evidences – electroencephalography signals – related to the human cognitive process. It particularly searched for evidences related to different demands of energy spent to perform spatial activities (identification, perception, or spatial attention of virtual objects), based on theoretical and technological instruments of Neurosciences, Cognitive Sciences and Cognitive Psychology, used in the field of educational research, with the aim to contribute for the identification of different profiles of students in different areas of knowledge. In the experimental investigation, the purpose was to look for indicators (quantification of energy allocated in brain activity, measuring response time to the stimulus, larger magnitude in the frequency band of the brain electrical rhythm, evoked on the experiment) of the brain signals that would be synchronized with the exercise proposed and that could subsidize the hypothesis that there are significant differences between students from scientific and technological fields and students from humanistic and social fields, regarding spatial abilities. The proposal contextualizes and fundaments experiments with a group of volunteer students from the undergraduate programs, selected for the research, classified by age and gender, and evaluated and selected according to a psychological diagnostic indicating a probable area of cognitive ability / aptitude. The development of the investigative proposal that intended to meet the objectives mentioned was possible thanks to efforts of a group of researchers and scientists from different fields of knowledge, pertinent to the process, who collaborated on the modeling of the experiment, carried out at the Biosignal Laboratory of the University of Caxias do Sul, at the University Campus of Região dos Vinhedos, in its Electrical Engineering Program. The development of the measuring instrument was part of the experimental methodological process: the equipment for electroencephalography (EEG) using the system acquisition and conversion of analog to digital signal (manufacturer: National Instruments) and also the equipment known as Faraday’s Cage, which served to the collections of electrical brain signals of low frequency and amplitude, minimizing the presence of electromagnetic noises interfering significantly on the signal collected.The data collected (brain electrical signals) during the experiment that evoked logical spatial reasoning by the participants were mathematically modeled by Fourier and interpreted by statistical analysis – UNIVARIATE (variance analysis) and compared to results obtained by support instruments used as a way of validating the investigative process: a verbal questionnaire at the end of the experiment and a psychological test – subtest BPR5 – RE. All data collected were also saved with the purpose of making it possible to carry out other simulations in the future, with different access methods to the contents. It is understood that the results obtained with this experiment collaborate Informatics applied to Education on planning, developing, and using virtual objects in environments destined to mediate learning according to specific needs of each target public. In that sense, the results of this investigation may provide data or characteristics as measures indicating cognitive efforts associated to differentiated profiles, which are in this case the knowledge fields involving spatial reasoning processes. Understanding the effort manifested by the student during the experiment was interpreted as a possible measure for one of the items related to the cognitive profile, the light of Cognitive Sciences (GARDNER, 1994, 2001), (STERNBERG, 2000), (PINKER, 1998).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T16:27:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_alexandre_guimaraes_2011.pdf: 1448953 bytes, checksum: af799b059a020763de1229e1f70e1919 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-04-13 / The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) of the School of Visual Arts Distance Education (FAV-EaD) is the search field of this work. It consists an ethnographic experience called virtual ethnography and its focus is the representation of teaching in the VLE, whose job performance is directly linked to the tutor. Thus, this research also had a character self-ethnographic therefore I build reports of my experiences as a tutor at VLE, immersed in other matters involving: a) displacements and encounters between the teacher and the graphic designer, b) review of my teaching experience and remeaning to the Art Education, c) analysis of subject´s positions of the teaching´s actors at VLE. / Este trabalho tem como campo de pesquisa o Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem (AVA) da Licenciatura em Artes Visuais Modalidade a Distância (FAV-EaD), da Faculdade de Artes Visuais (FAV) da UFG. Consta de uma experiência etnográfica denominada etnografia virtual e seu foco é a representação do trabalho docente no AVA, cuja performance profissional está diretamente ligada ao tutor. Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa também teve um caráter autoetnográfico, pois construí relatos de minhas experiências como tutor no AVA, imersas em outras questões que envolvem: a) deslocamentos e encontros entre o professor e o designer gráfico; b) revisão de minha experiência docente e ressignificações do arte/educar; c) análise de posições dos sujeitos que realizam o trabalho docente no ambiente virtual de aprendizagem.

Este trabalho caracteriza-se como um estudo de caso que tem como objetivo analisar como ocorre a tomada de consciência de professores em formação continuada sobre o trabalho com projetos educacionais através do Objeto de Aprendizagem Trabalho com Projetos integrado a plataforma ROODA. A questão central de pesquisa trata-se sobre como ocorre a tomada de consciência de professores em formação continuada sobre o trabalho com projetos educacionais, através do Objeto de Aprendizagem Trabalho com Projetos integrado a plataforma ROODA. Para tanto, utiliza como referencial metodológico a metodologia de pesquisa qualitativa. Apresenta como objetivo analisar como ocorre a tomada de consciência de professores em formação continuada sobre o trabalho com projetos educacionais através do Objeto de Aprendizagem Trabalho com Projetos integrado a plataforma ROODA. Tem como questão central de pesquisa compreender como ocorre a tomada de consciência de professores em formação continuada sobre o trabalho com projetos educacionais, através do Objeto de Aprendizagem Trabalho com Projetos integrado a plataforma ROODA. Tal questão se desdobra em outras quatro sub-questões: A primeira visa entender como o Objeto de Aprendizagem Trabalho com Projetos integrado à plataforma ROODA pode se configurar como espaço de construção, reconstrução de conhecimentos e meio de inclusão social e digital? A segunda busca compreender como a solução de desafios pode promover o processo de tomada de consciência sobre o trabalho com projetos educacionais e sua prática educativa em formação continuada? A terceira sub-questão analisa como o trabalho cooperativo pode favorecer o processo de tomada de consciência das concepções que norteiam o trabalho com projetos educacionais e sua prática educativa em formação continuada? A última discute como se configuram as representações conceituais dos professores em formação continuada no decorrer do planejamento e desenvolvimento de projetos educacionais? Os sujeitos de pesquisa são doze professores de diferentes áreas de estudo, que atuam de forma efetiva em sala de aula, fazendo parte do quadro de servidores ativos da Rede Pública Estadual de Ensino do Rio Grande do Sul e que apresentam disponibilidade para trabalhar com as tecnologias digitais. Para análise e interpretação dos dados coletados, recorre-se à Análise de Conteúdo. Para a coleta dos dados utiliza-se o Método Clínico Piagetiano, procurando compreender a trajetória cognitiva dos sujeitos de pesquisa durante as entrevistas orais semi-estruturadas. Para a realização do processo empírico, desenvolveu-se o Objeto de Aprendizagem Trabalho com Projetos (OATP), um material digital destinado a situações de aprendizagem que aborda o trabalho com projetos educacionais. Para analisar e validar o OATP utiliza-se a plataforma ROODA como ambiente de apoio às aulas presenciais e a distância num curso de extensão da UFRGS na modalidade semipresencial especialmente organizado para essa investigação. Foram analisados os processos cognitivos desencadeados pelas interações no ROODA, tendo como fundamentação a teoria do desenvolvimento cognitivo de Jean Piaget, destacando-se o processo de cooperação e tomada de consciência. A pesquisa evidencia: que o OATP pode possibilitar a tomada de consciência sobre o trabalho com projetos educacionais; as ferramentas comunicacionais da plataforma ROODA potencializam a interação on-line, promovendo as trocas cognitivas e o trabalho em equipe; a tomada de consciência pode ser favorecida pelas trocas cognitivas ocorridas em ambiente virtual e que essas trocas podem ocorrer a partir de atividades que priorizem a participação ativa dos alunos-professores na resolução de desafios, valorizando ações como argumentação, justificativa, análise do percurso do raciocínio, enriquecendo e favorecendo a formação continuada. / This work has as characteristic a case study and as a main goal to analyze how the conscious getting occurs with teachers in continued formation about the educational project works through the work learning object with joined projects to the ROODA platform. It is used as a methodological guide the methodology and how it occurs with the conscious getting of teacher of continued formation about the work with educational projects through the learning object work with joined work to the ROODA platform: It has as central point to understand as the conscious getting from teachers in continued formation about the work with educational projects through learning work object joined projects to ROODA platform. This point is divided into four others: The first one is to understand how the work learning object with joined projects to ROODA platform can result in construction space, knowledge reconstruction and a way to social inclusion and digital. The second search to understand as the solution of challenges can promote the getting process of conscious about the work with educational projects and its educational practice in continued formation. The third point analyses as the cooperative work can favor the process of getting conscious of conceptions that go around the work with educational projects and its educational practice in continued formation. The last one discusses about how is formed the conception presentations of teachers in continued formation during the planning and development of education projects. Twelve teachers took place of this research from different studying areas. All of them act in classroom taking part of the active team of the “ Rede Pública Estadual de Ensino do Rio Grande do Sul” and they are available to work with digital technology. To the analysis and interpretation of collected data were used the contents analysis. For the data collection was used the Piagett clinic method, searching to understand the cognitive traject of the subjects of research during the realization of the interview semi –structured. The realization to the empirical process developed the learning object project work, the digital material designed to learning situations that deal with educational project work. Analyzing and making it valid was used ROODA platform as the environment of base to the present classes and to the distance classes in the semi-presence specially organized to this investigation. It was analyzed the cognitive process divided by the interactions in the ROODA This part was based in the cognitive development theory by Jean Piagett giving importance to the cooperation process and getting conscious. This research shows the learning object work with projects can turn it possible the conscious getting about the work with educational projects. The communication tools of ROODA platform gives power to the on-line interaction promoting the cognitive changes and the team work, the conscious getting can be favored by the cognitive changes occurred in virtual environment and this changes can occur from activities that give the main attention to the active participation of teachers- students in the solution of challenges, giving value to the actions as argumentation, justification, rezoning analysis , enriching and favoring the continued formation. / Este trabajo tiene como característica ser un estudio de caso que tiene como objetivo analizar como ocurre la tomada de conciencia de profesores en formación continuada sobre el trabajo con proyectos educacionales a través del Objeto de Aprendizaje Trabajo con Proyectos integrado a la plataforma ROODA. La cuestión central de pesquisa trata sobre como ocurre la tomada de consciencia de profesores en formación continuada sobre el trabajo con proyectos educacionales, a través del Objeto de Aprendizaje Trabajo con Proyectos integrado a la plataforma ROODA. Para eso, utiliza como referencial metodológico la metodologia de pesquisa cualitativa. Presenta como objetivo analizar como ocurre la tomada de conciencia de profesores en formación continuada sobre el trabajo con proyectos educacionales a través del Objeto de Aprendizaje Trabajo con Proyectos integrado a la plataforma ROODA. Tiene como cuestión central de pesquisa entender como ocurre la tomada de conciencia de profesores en formación continuada sobre el trabajo con proyectos educacionales, a través del Objeto de Aprendizaje Trabajo con Proyectos integrado a la plataforma ROODA. Tal cuestión se desdobla en otras cuatro subcuestiones: La primera quiere entender como el Objeto de Aprendizaje Trabajo con Proyectos integrado a la plataforma ROODA puede configurarse como espacio de construcción, reconstrucción de conocimientos y medio de inclusión social y digital. La segunda busca la comprensión de como la solución de desafíos puede promover el proceso de tomada de consciencia sobre el trabajo con proyectos educacionales y su práctica educativa en formación continuada. La tercera subcuestión analiza como el trabajo cooperativo puede favorecer el proceso de tomada de consciencia de las concepciones que nortean el trabajo con proyectos educacionales y su práctica educativa en formación continuada. La última discute como se configuran las representaciones conceptuales de los profesores en formación continuada en el decorrer del planeamiento y desarrollo de proyectos educacionales. Los sujetos de pesquisa son doce profesores de diferentes áreas de estudio, que actúan de forma efectiva en clases, haciendo parte del cuadro de servidores activos de la Red Pública Estadual de Enseñanza del Rio Grande del Sur y que presentan disponibilidad para trabajar con las tecnologías digitales. Para análisis e interpretación de los datos colectados, se recurre al Análisis de Contenido. Para la colecta de los datos es utilizado el Método Clínico Piagetiano, procurando comprender la trayectoria cognitiva de los sujetos de pesquisa durante las entrevistas orales semiestructuradas. Para la realización del proceso empírico, es desarrollado el Objeto de Aprendizaje Trabajo con Proyectos (OATP), un material digital destinado a situaciones de aprendizaje que aborda el trabajo con proyectos educacionales. Para analizar y validar el OATP en esa pesquisa, es utilizada la plataforma ROODA como ambiente de apoyo a las clases presénciales y a la distancia en un curso de extensión de la UFRGS en la modalidad semipresencial especialmente organizado para esa investigación. Fueron analizados los procesos cognitivos desencadenados por las interacciones en el ROODA, teniendo como fundamentación la teoría del desarrollo cognitivo de Jean Piaget, destacándose el proceso de cooperación y tomada de consciencia. La pesquisa evidencia: que el OATP puede posibilitar la tomada de consciencia sobre el trabajo con proyectos educacionales; las herramientas comunicacionales de la plataforma ROODA potencializan la interacción on-line, promoviendo los cambios cognitivos y el trabajo en equipo; la tomada de consciencia puede ser favorable por los cambios cognitivos ocurridos en ambiente virtual y que esos cambios pueden ocurrir a partir de actividades que prioricen la participación activa de los “alumnos/profesores” en la resolución de desafíos, valorizando acciones como argumentación, justificativa, análisis del precurso del raciocinio, enriqueciendo y favoreciendo la formación continuada.

La réalité virtuelle (RV) va révolutionner de nombreux domaines comme le domaine médical, industriel, architectural, etc. C'est devenu un élément important dans la phase de développement d'une solution, notamment dans le domaine architectural. Que ce soit pour la commercialisation ou la revue de projet, la RV permet de faire des visites virtuelles de maisons visualisées à l'échelle réelle en environnement virtuel (EV). Aujourd'hui, l'architecte dispose d'un véritable outil de commercialisation en proposant aux acheteurs potentiels des visites virtuelles de maisons. Lors de ces visites virtuelles, le client peut avoir une idée de la maison. Avec la visualisation à l'échelle 1:1 le client a la possibilité d'explorer la maison et peut ainsi se projeter plus facilement dans la maison pour prendre plus facilement des décisions. L'espoir est que cette visite virtuelle puisse conduire plus rapidement à une signature de précontrat. Par ailleurs, lors du processus de conception, l'architecte peut effectuer une revue de projet en EV avec le client afin de le guider dans ses choix et d'affiner le recueil des besoins. À l'issue de cette revue, ensemble, ils valident le plan de la maison en termes de taille et d'agencement des pièces, de position des fenêtres, etc. Par conséquent, la RV permet un gain de temps et d'argent considérable aux architectes. Les décisions prises en EV sont généralement basées sur la perception des distances et des volumes. Par conséquent, l’efficacité des décisions prises dépend de la capacité des visiteurs à porter un jugement sans biais sur ce qu’ils voient dans l’EV par rapport à l’environnement réel correspondant. Plusieurs études ont montré que l'estimation des distances en EV est différente de l'estimation en environnement réel. De multiples facteurs peuvent être à l'origine de ce problème, comme le dispositif d'affichage, le champ de vision restreint, la qualité graphique, etc. Malgré les différentes études consacrées à cette problématique, les causes de ce phénomène restent diverses et mal identifiées. Notre travail s'inscrit dans le cadre d'un projet architectural : le projet CIMBEES. Ce projet vise à intégrer la RV dans le processus de vente/achat et de conception au travers de la visite virtuelle et de la revue de projet en EV. Notre travail consiste à concevoir et à évaluer l'outil de revue de projet architectural en EV. La phase de conception consiste à proposer un outil de revue de projet permettant la visualisation des maquettes numériques à l'échelle réelle et offrant une interaction qui répond aux besoins des architectes. Au cours de cette phase nous avons développé un outil de revue de projet et nous avons modélisé les maquettes numériques nécessaires à partir de plans réels de maison.Dans la phase d'évaluation de l'outil de revue de projet architectural, nous nous sommes intéressés à la problématique de la perception des distances en EV. L'objectif de cette évaluation est d'identifier et d'étudier les facteurs les plus importants pour l'outil afin de proposer des paramètres adaptés à notre contexte applicatif (les visites virtuelles). Pour ce faire, nous avons effectué une étude expérimentale qui porte sur l'étude de l'influence de trois facteurs sur la perception des distances : 1) le profil cognitif des utilisateurs, 2) le contexte environnemental et 3) la vitesse de navigation [...] / Virtual reality (VR) will revolutionize many fields such as medicine, industry, architecture, etc. It has become an important element in the development of a solution, particularly in the architectural field. Whether for marketing or project review, VR allows virtual visits of homes in virtual environment (VE) at real scale. Today, the architect has a real marketing tool by providing to potential customer virtual visits of homes. During these virtual visits, the customer can get an idea of the house. With the visualization at scale 1: 1, the customer has the opportunity to explore the house and he can easier project himself into the house to take decisions more easily. The hope is that, this virtual visit would more quickly lead to a signing agreement.Furthermore, during the design process, the architect can make a project review in VE with customer to guide his choices and refine the collection of needs. Following this review, together, they validate the plan of the house in terms of size and layout of rooms, window position, etc. Therefore, the VR allows considerable time and money saving for architects. Decisions taken in VE are generally based on the perception of distances and volumes. Therefore, the effectiveness of the decisions depends on the ability of customers to make judgments about what they see in the VE similar to the judgments they would have made in the corresponding real environment. Several studies have shown that the estimation of distances in VE is different from the estimation in real environment. Several factors can be the source of this problem such as the display device, the limited field of view, graphical quality, etc. Despite these studies, factors that cause this phenomenon remain unclear, and diverse. Our work is part of an architectural project: CIMBEES project. This project aims to integrate VR in the process of selling / buying and of the design through virtual visits and project review in VE. Our work is to design and evaluate architectural project review tool. The design stage is to suggest a project review tool for the visualization of digital mockups at real scale in VE and providing interaction that meets the needs of architects. During this stage we developed a project review tool and we modeled necessary digital mockups from real house plans. In the evaluation stage of the architectural project review tool, we were interested at the problem of the perception of distances in VE. The aim of this evaluation is to identify and to study the most important factors for the tool, to propose suitable parameters for our application context (virtual visits). To do this, we conducted an experimental study that focuses on the study of the influence of three factors on the perception of distances: 1) the cognitive profile of users, 2) the environmental context and 3) the speed of navigation. [...]

This is a Masters student Final Dissertation / In this project, two tests were performed. On the first test, Mininet-WiFi was used to simulate a Software Defined Network to demonstrate Mininet-WiFi’ s ability to be used as the Software Defined Network emulator which can also be integrated to the existing network using a Network Virtualized Function (NVF). A typical organization’s computer network was simulated which consisted of a website hosted on the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) virtual machine, and an F5 application delivery controller (ADC) which provided load balancing of requests sent to the web applications. A website page request was sent from the virtual stations inside Mininet-WiFi. The request was received by the application delivery controller, which then used round robin technique to send the request to one of the web servers on the LAMP virtual machine. The web server then returned the requested website to the requesting virtual stations using the simulated virtual network. The significance of these results is that it presents Mininet-WiFi as an emulator, which can be integrated into a real programmable networking environment offering a portable, cost effective and easily deployable testing network, which can be run on a single computer. These results are also beneficial to modern network deployments as the live network devices can also communicate with the testing environment for the data center, cloud and mobile provides. On the second test, a Software Defined Network was created in Mininet using python script. An external interface was added to enable communication with the network outside of Mininet. The amazon web services elastic computing cloud was used to host an OpenDaylight controller. This controller is used as a control plane device for the virtual switch within Mininet. In order to test the network, a webserver hosted on the Emulated Virtual Environment – Next Generation (EVENG) software is connected to Mininet. EVE-NG is the Emulated Virtual Environment for networking. It provides tools to be able to model virtual devices and interconnect them with other virtual or physical devices. The OpenDaylight controller was able to create the flows to facilitate communication between the hosts in Mininet and the webserver in the real-life network / The University of South Africa The University of Johannesburg / College of Engineering, Science and Technology

La vision est un élément très important pour la navigation en général. Grâce à des mécanismes compensatoires les aveugles de naissance ne sont pas handicapés dans leurs compétences spatio-cognitives, ni dans la formation de nouvelles cartes spatiales. Malgré l’essor des études sur la plasticité du cerveau et la navigation chez les aveugles, les substrats neuronaux compensatoires pour la préservation de cette fonction demeurent incompris. Nous avons démontré récemment (article 1) en utilisant une technique d’analyse volumétrique (Voxel-Based Morphometry) que les aveugles de naissance (AN) montrent une diminution de la partie postérieure de l’hippocampe droit, structure cérébrale importante dans la formation de cartes spatiales. Comment les AN forment-ils des cartes cognitives de leur environnement avec un hippocampe postérieur droit qui est significativement réduit ? Pour répondre à cette question nous avons choisi d’exploiter un appareil de substitution sensorielle qui pourrait potentiellement servir à la navigation chez les AN. Cet appareil d’affichage lingual (Tongue display unit -TDU-) retransmet l’information graphique issue d’une caméra sur la langue. Avant de demander à nos sujets de naviguer à l’aide du TDU, il était nécessaire de nous assurer qu’ils pouvaient « voir » des objets dans l’environnement grâce au TDU. Nous avons donc tout d’abord évalué l’acuité « visuo »-tactile (article 2) des sujets AN pour les comparer aux performances des voyants ayant les yeux bandées et munis du TDU. Ensuite les sujets ont appris à négocier un chemin à travers un parcours parsemé d’obstacles i (article 3). Leur tâche consistait à pointer vers (détection), et contourner (négociation) un passage autour des obstacles. Nous avons démontré que les sujets aveugles de naissance non seulement arrivaient à accomplir cette tâche, mais encore avaient une performance meilleure que celle des voyants aux yeux bandés, et ce, malgré l’atrophie structurelle de l’hippocampe postérieur droit, et un système visuel atrophié (Ptito et al., 2008). Pour déterminer quels sont les corrélats neuronaux de la navigation, nous avons créé des routes virtuelles envoyées sur la langue par le biais du TDU que les sujets devaient reconnaitre alors qu’ils étaient dans un scanneur IRMf (article 4). Nous démontrons grâce à ces techniques que les aveugles utilisent un autre réseau cortical impliqué dans la mémoire topographique que les voyants quand ils suivent des routes virtuelles sur la langue. Nous avons mis l’emphase sur des réseaux neuronaux connectant les cortex pariétaux et frontaux au lobe occipital puisque ces réseaux sont renforcés chez les aveugles de naissance. Ces résultats démontrent aussi que la langue peut être utilisée comme une porte d’entrée vers le cerveau en y acheminant des informations sur l’environnement visuel du sujet, lui permettant ainsi d’élaborer des stratégies d’évitement d’obstacles et de se mouvoir adéquatement. / Vision is a very important tool for navigation in general. Due to compensatory mechanisms people who are blind from birth are not handicapped in spatio-cognitive abilities, nor in the formation of novel spatial maps. Despite the growing volume of studies on brain plasticity and navigation in the blind, the compensatory neural substrates or the preservation of this function remain unclear. We have recently demonstrated (article 1) by using volumetric analysis techniques (Voxel-Based Morphometry) that early blind individuals (EB) show a reduction of the posterior end of the hippocampus on the right side. This cerebral structure is important for the formation of cognitive maps. How do EB form maps of their environment with a significantly reduced posterior right hippocampus? To answer this question we chose to exploit a sensory substitution device that could potentially serve navigation in EB. This tongue display unit (TDU) is capable of transmitting pictorial imagery in the form of electricity on the tongue. Before asking our participants to navigate using the TDU, it was necessary to ascertain that they could really « see » objects in the environment using the TDU. We thus evaluated the « visuo »-tactile acuity (article 2) of EB compared to sighted blindfolded participants using the TDU. Participants later learned to negotiate a path through an obstacle course (article 3). Their task consisted of pointing to (detection), and avoiding (negotiation) obstacles while advancing through the hallway. We demonstrated that despite a reduced right posterior hippocampus, and an iii atrophied visual system (Ptito et al., 2008) EB not only were able to accomplish this task, but had a better performance than the blindfolded sighted controls. To determine what the neural correlates of navigation in EB are, we devised an fMRI compatible virtual route task conveyed through the tongue (article 4). Participants had to learn to navigate the routes and recognize them. We showed that EB use another cortical network involved in cognitive mapping than the sighted when recognizing routes on the tongue. We have emphasized neural networks connecting parietal and frontal cortices since they are re-enforced in EB. These results show that the tongue can be used as a portal to the brain by transferring pictorial information from the visual environment of participants, allowing the elaboration of strategies to avoid obstacles and move around in their environment.

La présente recherche est constituée de deux études. Dans l’étude 1, il s’agit d’améliorer la validité écologique des travaux sur la reconnaissance émotionnelle faciale (REF) en procédant à la validation de stimuli qui permettront d’étudier cette question en réalité virtuelle. L’étude 2 vise à documenter la relation entre le niveau de psychopathie et la performance à une tâche de REF au sein d’un échantillon de la population générale. Pour ce faire, nous avons créé des personnages virtuels animés de différentes origines ethniques exprimant les six émotions fondamentales à différents niveaux d’intensité. Les stimuli, sous forme statique et dynamique, ont été évalués par des étudiants universitaires. Les résultats de l’étude 1 indiquent que les stimuli virtuels, en plus de comporter plusieurs traits distinctifs, constituent un ensemble valide pour étudier la REF. L’étude 2 a permis de constater qu’un score plus élevé à l’échelle de psychopathie, spécifiquement à la facette de l’affect plat, est associé à une plus grande sensibilité aux expressions émotionnelles, particulièrement pour la tristesse. Inversement, un niveau élevé de tendances criminelles est, pour sa part, associé à une certaine insensibilité générale et à un déficit spécifique pour le dégoût. Ces résultats sont spécifiques aux participants masculins. Les données s’inscrivent dans une perspective évolutive de la psychopathie. L’étude met en évidence l’importance d’étudier l’influence respective des facettes de la personnalité psychopathique, ce même dans des populations non-cliniques. De plus, elle souligne la manifestation différentielle des tendances psychopathiques chez les hommes et chez les femmes. / The current research consists of two studies. In study 1, the goal is to increase ecological validity of studies on facial recognition, by validating and comparing a set of synthetic characters we created with the empirically validated Pictures of Facial Affect. Further, these stimuli would provide a method to assess facial expression recognition in immersive virtual environments. Study 2 aims to further understand the relationship between psychopathy and emotional information processing using dynamic emotions in a community sample. To accomplish this, we created dynamic characters displaying the six basic emotions at different intensity levels. The stimuli were evaluated by undergraduate students. Findings provide empirical support for the validity of the facial expressions we created, which possess distinguishing attributes and are of particular utility in regard to emotion research. In study 2, results suggest that a higher score on Factor 1, specifically the callous affect subscale, is associated with a greater sensitivity to emotional expressions, in particular sadness expressions. In addition, high levels of criminal tendencies are associated with poorer performance on the task and a specific impairment in the recognition of disgust. These results are specific to male participants. Data supports the conceptualisation of psychopathy as a life-history strategy. The study also highlights the influence of the distinct facets of psychopathy in facial affect recognition and the differential manifestation of psychopathic personality between men and women.

Der vorliegende Beitrag setzt sich mit den Möglichkeiten problemorientierten Lernens in kollaborativen virtuellen Umgebungen am Beispiel eines Mock-Trial-Trainings in der OpenSim-basierten Virtual Learning World auseinander. Ausgangspunkt der Auseinandersetzung stellen die Motivation des Einsatzes virtueller Trainings und grundsätzliche Handlungsangebote kollaborativer virtueller Umgebungen einschließlich ihrer Potentiale aus bildungstheoretischer Perspektive dar. Bestehende Mehrwerte und Herausforderungen beim Einsatz virtueller Trainingsumgebungen werden anschließend anhand einer empirischen Untersuchung, die im Rahmen der Entwicklung eines Mock-Trial-Trainings durchgeführt wurde, aufgezeigt und diskutiert.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Faculty of Science, Dept. of Computing, 2009. / Bibliography: p. [265]-280. / Introduction -- Literature review -- Method -- Experiments -- Conclusion. / Video games are becoming increasingly popular and their level of sophistication comes close to that of professional movie productions. Educational institutions and corporations are beginning to use video games for teaching purposes, however, not much is known about the use and effectiveness of video games for such purposes. One even less explored factor in video games is the music that is played throughout the course of the games. Little is known about the role that this music plays in cognitive processes and what effect background music has on players' memory. It is this question that the present thesis explores by asking which effect background music has on participants' memory for facts that are learned from a virtual environment. -- To answer the research question, a computer-animated history lesson, called VirSchool, was created which used the history of the Macquarie Lighthouse in Sydney as a basis for two experiments. Different musical stimuli accompanied the audio-visual presentation of the history topic. These stimuli were tested for their effectiveness to support participants' memory. The VirSchool history lesson was first presented in a Reality Center (a highly immersive, semi-cylindrical 3 projector display system) and one soundtrack was identified which showed a statistically significant improvement in the number of facts that participants remembered correctly from the VirSchool history lesson. Furthermore, Experiment 1 investigated how variations of tempo and pitch of the musical stimuli affected memory performance. It was found that slow tempo and low pitch were beneficial for remembrance of facts from the VirSchool history lesson. -- The beneficial soundtrack that was identified in Experiment 1 was reduced in tempo and lowered in pitch and was subsequently used as the sole musical stimulus in Experiment 2. Furthermore, because of equipment failure, Experiment 2 offered the opportunity to compare memory performance of participants in the Reality Center and a 3-monitor display system, which was used as a replacement for the defect Reality Center. Results showed that, against expectation, the memory for facts from the VirSchool history lesson was significantly better in the less immersive 3-monitor display system. Moreover, manipulated background music played in the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson in the Reality Center resulted in a statistically significant improvement of participants' remembrance of facts from the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson. The opposite effect was observed in the 3-monitor display system where participants remembered less information from the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson if music was played in the second five and a half minutes of the VirSchool history lesson. -- The results from the present study reveal that in some circumstances music has a significant influence on memory in a virtual environment and in others it does not. These findings contribute towards and encourage further investigation of our understanding of the role that music plays in virtual learning environments so that they may be utilised to advance learning of future generations of students. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / 280 p. ill. (some col.)