This study argues that including aspects of user experience relevant to the user's knowledge of a product's context-of-use in the early stages of product design can enhance the design of product usability. To explore these issues, research was undertaken to respond to three research questions: (i) What aspects of user experience influence people's understanding of product usability? (ii) What is the nature of the differences between users' and designers' understandings of product usability? (iii) How can context-of-use and human experience enhance the design of product usability? Findings from the study have shown that experience, context-of-use and knowledge about a product's usability are interrelated. Conceptual principles and design principles were established based on findings to explain (i) the relationships between aspects of experience and areas of product usability and (ii) differences between designers' and users' concepts of product usability. These principles responded to the first two research questions. Causal relationships found between experience and product usability suggested the need to implement them in an accessible manner for a product design process. A design tool -- named the Experience and Context Enquiry Design Tool (ECEDT) -- was devised to exemplify the implementation of findings. A trial run verified that the type of information that ECEDT brings to designers could assist them to address usability and experience issues during the early stages of the design process. This result responded to the third research question of the study. This study's conceptual principles and design principles contribute new knowledge to design theory and practice. This knowledge contributes to design theory in providing greater detail about the differences between designers and users than that addressed by existing theory; it contributes to design practice as it informs designers about the aspects of human experience that prompt users' understanding of a product's use. In doing so, it can potentially assist in the design of products that embed new technological applications, and support the design of product usability.

This thesis explores how research is implicated in the constitution of post-war environments, and gives an account of being and becoming a researcher in post-war Bosnia. My main contention is that when peace and conflict researchers conduct research in post-war contexts, their presence, practices, and the consequential production of knowledge and representations, have political effects. I argue that the implications of this have not been fully explained, acknowledged, or problematised within Conflict Resolution, which tends to rely on research approaches and assumptions taken from ‘normal’ science. This thesis suggests how reflexivity and alternatives methodologies, including visual research might be used to represent the emotional, sensory, and often intangible elements of post-war realities. It enacts an engagement in the politics of research and uses reflexive writing and visual methods to draw attention to the importance of the relational aspects of research in postwar environments. Visual journeys are also used to argue that visual methods can provide a way of revisiting the epistemological and ontological assumptions about lived experiences and realities in post-war settings. The thesis is based upon one year of ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in Bosnia, and is also informed by eighteen months of volunteer work with a Bosnian Community Centre in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

Submitted by TATIANE DOS SANTOS DE FREITAS LOPES null (thaty_lopez@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-26T11:27:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Tatiane Lopes.pdf: 3190468 bytes, checksum: 328cfdb2f66173743a997091b892cd2b (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Monique Sasaki (sayumi_sasaki@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-28T12:25:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 lopes_tsf_me_mar.pdf: 3190468 bytes, checksum: 328cfdb2f66173743a997091b892cd2b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-28T12:25:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 lopes_tsf_me_mar.pdf: 3190468 bytes, checksum: 328cfdb2f66173743a997091b892cd2b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-31 / Um sistema de recuperação de informação é um elemento mediador entre um acervo documental e os usuários que buscam por documentos relevantes. Nesse contexto, as interfaces desempenham uma função importante: em um primeiro momento, auxiliando o usuário na tarefa de expressar a sua necessidade de informação por meio de uma expressão de busca e, em um segundo momento, fornecendo recursos para ajudá-lo a selecionar documentos relevantes dentre os resultados obtidos. A recuperação de informação é um processo linguístico cuja eficiência depende de coincidências terminológicas entre a expressão de busca do usuário e a representação dos documentos. Este trabalho propõe um modelo de interface na qual a estrutura terminológica de uma ontologia é utilizada para auxiliar o usuário na seleção de documentos relevantes dentre aqueles resultantes de sua busca. Caracteriza-se como uma pesquisa de natureza aplicada, e exploratória e bibliográfica quanto aos procedimentos. Conclui-se que a apresentação visual de uma ontologia permite o desenvolvimento de interfaces dinâmicas e interativas, proporcionando ao usuário uma navegação estimulante e prazerosa por entre os documentos resultantes de sua busca, tendo por base os termos de uma determinada área de conhecimento. / An information retrieval system is a mediating element between a document collection and the users who looking for relevant documents. In this context, interfaces play an important role: firstly, assisting the user to expressing their information need by means of a search expression, and secondly by providing resources to help selecting relevant documents from the obtained results. The information retrieval is a linguistic process whose efficiency depends on terminological coincidences between the user’s query and the representation of documents. This work proposes an interface model in which the terminological structure of an ontology is used to assist the user in the selection of relevant documents among those resulting from their search. It is characterized as an applied, exploratory and bibliographic research. It is concluded that the visual presentation of ontology allows the development of dynamic and interactive interfaces, providing the user with stimulating and pleasant navigation among the documents resulting from their search, based on the terms of a certain knowledge area.

[pt] Os livros didáticos modernos constituem-se num objeto de estudo valioso para o lingüista por serem elaborados a partir de múltiplas modalidades semióticas e porque, em geral, são gêneros disciplina-específicos. Entretanto, no que tange à disciplina de Biologia, ainda há poucos estudos que exploram a interação entre as modalidades verbal e visual nos livros de Ensino Médio e, até o momento, nenhum trabalho de natureza contrastiva foi realizado no Brasil sobre esse aspecto. Na presente análise, investigam-se os tipos de representação visual e o modo de estabelecimento da relação entre figuras e o texto verbal associado em dois livros didáticos de Biologia do Ensino Médio, um brasileiro e outro norteamericano. Este estudo baseia-se principalmente nos pressupostos teóricos de Kress e van Leeuwen (1996, 2001) e inspira-se nos trabalhos de Myers (1997) e Nascimento (2002). Implícita nesses pressupostos está a abordagem sistêmicofuncional de Halliday e Hasan (1976) e de Halliday (1994). Os resultados desta pesquisa revelam que, dentre outros mecanismos, a coesão lexical exerce importante papel na interação entre o componente verbal das figuras, o texto principal e as legendas em ambos os livros analisados. Dentre as diferenças encontradas nos dois livros, destacam-se as representações visuais distintas referentes a um mesmo tópico, o modo de referenciação às figuras no texto, a função das legendas e a proporção de utilização de termos técnicos na coesão intermodal. Esses resultados mostram que existem variações no gênero livro didático de Biologia quanto ao modo de utilização dos mecanismos de interação entre figuras e texto verbal, que podem estar relacionadas com os propósitos dos autores. Isso pode ter importantes implicações para o ensino da Biologia e de Inglês para fins específicos, pois auxilia na conscientização de educadores e alunos sobre a necessidade de se levar em consideração os meios de interação entre as linguagens visual e verbal na interpretação e produção dos textos multimodais próprios de cada comunidade discursiva. / [en] Modern textbooks are valuable as a research object in applied linguistics because they usually present their content through multiple semiotic modalities and because in general they are discipline-specific genres. However, concerning the discipline of Biology, there are still few studies that exploit the interaction between verbal and visual languages in highschool textbooks and, up to the moment, no contrastive works on this topic have been published in Brazil. For this reason, the goal of the present study is to investigate the types of visual representations and the strategies that establish the interaction between pictures and verbal text used in two highschool-level Biology textbooks, a Brazilian and a North-American one. This study is based mainly on Kress and van Leeuwen s (1996, 2001) theory of multimodality and is inspired in Myers (1997) and Nascimento s (2002) previous works. This theoretical basis presupposes Halliday and Hasan s (1976) and Halliday s (1997) systemic- functional approach to text. The results of this investigation reveal that, among other mechanisms, lexical cohesion has an important role in the interaction between the verbal element in images and the verbal language of the corresponding texts and captions in both books. Among the differences found between these two books, there are the different visual representations concerning the same topic, the way pictures are referred to in the text, the role of the captions and the proportion of technical terms used in intermodal cohesion. These results show that there are intrageneric variations in the use of such resources that are probably due to the authors purposes. The findings may have important implications for the teaching of Biology and of English for specific purposes. They may enhance the awareness of educators and students about the need of taking the interaction between visual and verbal languages into consideration for the appropriate interpretation of texts and for the production of multimodal texts specific to each discursive community.

[pt] Uma imagem monocromática pode ser interpretada como uma superfície topológica e desta forma objetos de interesse podem aparecer como picos (sharp mountains), domos (smooth hills) ou vales (V- or U-shaped). Um domo geralmente contém vários pontos de máximo locais em seu topo. Logo, fica bem caracterizado por um cluster de máximos locais. Segmentar individualmente objetos em imagens onde estes aparecem parcialmente sobrepostos ou fortemente agrupados é um problema que métodos clássicos de segmentação podem não solucionar adequadamente. Outro problema é contar objetos idênticos em imagens perviamente segmentada. Esta tarefa, quando executada manualmente, devido ao cansaço visual exige um grande esforço humano. É tediosa, demorada, além de gerar resultados subjetivos. O presente trabalho propõe um novo método para segmentação e contagem de clusters de máximos locais em uma imagem digital através uma abordagem baseada em grafos. Utilizando a informação de luminância, a imagem é representada por um grafo de adjacências e um algoritmo de mineração é utilizado para segmentar os clusters. Por fim, de acordo com características da imagem, um algoritmo de clusterização pode ser incorporado ao processo para melhorar o resultado final. A contagem dos objetos é um resultado direto do algoritmo de mineração e de clusterização, quando este último é aplicado. O método proposto é tolerante a variações no tamanho e forma dos objetos e é facilmente parametrizado para lidar com diferentes grupos de imagens provenientes de objetos distintos. Testes executados em uma base de dados com 262 imagens, composta de imagens de objetos reais (grupo 1) e de células tronco embrionárias em imagens de microscopia fluorescente (grupo 2), atestam a eficiência e qualidade do método desenvolvido no que diz respeito a segmentação e a contagem. Os resultados gerados para as imagens do grupo 1 foram validados pela autora e os do grupo 2 pelos biólogos do Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Para estas imagens foram obtidas uma F-measuare média de 85,33% e 90,88%, respectivamente. Por fim, um estudo comparativo com o algoritmo clássico de watershed foi realizado. Este alcançou uma F-measuare média de 74.02% e 78,28% para os grupos 1 e 2, respectivamente, contra 85,33% e 91,60% obtido pelo método proposto. / [en] A grayscale image can be viewed as a topological surface and this way, objects of interests may appear as peaks (sharp mountains), domes (smooth hills) or valleys (V- or U-shaped). Generally, the dome top presents more than one local maximum. Thus, it can be characterized by a local maximum cluster. Segmenting objects individually in images where they appear partially or totally fused is a problem which frequently may not be solved by a watershed segmentation or a basic morphological processing of images. Other issue is counting similar objects in images segmented beforehand. Counting them manually is a tedious and time-consuming task, and its subjective nature can lead to a wide variation in the results. This work presents a new method for segmenting and counting of local maximum clusters in digital images through a graph-based approach. Using the luminance information, the image is represented by a region adjacency graph and a graph-mining algorithm is applied to segment the clusters. Finally, according to image characteristics, a graph-clustering algorithm can be added to the process to improve the final result. The object counting step is a direct result from the mining algorithm and the clustering algorithm, when the latter is applied. The proposed method is tolerant to variations in object size and shape and can easily be parameterized to handle different image groups resulting from distinct objects. Tests made on a database with 262 images, composed of photographs of objects (group 1) and embryonic stem cells under fluorescence microscopy images (group 2), attest the effectiveness and quality of the proposed method as for segmentation and counting purpose. The images form group 1 processed by our method were checked by the author and those ones from group 2 by the specialists from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at UFRJ. For these images we obtained an average F-measure of 85.33% and 90.88%, respectively. Finally, a comparative study with the widely used watershed algorithm was done. The watershed achieved an average F-measure of 74.02% e 78.28% for groups 1 and 2, respectively, against 85.33% e 91.60% obtained by our method.

The colonial legacy of development aid has been widely discussed in academia. This study uses postcolonial theory to shed light upon how one Finnish NGO’s visual imageries affect the representation of the African continent. The thesis adds underexplored perspectives by highlighting the perceptions of five Finnish African diaspora members in Finland, giving a voice to the subaltern. Using qualitative semi-structured interviews combined with the photo-elicitation technique the study emphasizes through thematic analysis that the NGO’s visual imageries affect the everyday lives of the Finnish African diaspora by reproducing imageries that reflect colonial undertones. Results also indicated that the photos reproduce the single story of Africa in the Finnish society, affecting how the Finnish majority perceives the diaspora members. The diaspora members felt disappointed by the misrepresentation of the African continent, but they also provided solutions to overcome these very existing hierarchies.

The visualization strategy of small multiples (Tufte, 1983, 1990, 1997) is not merely the clever or ordered arrangement of similar and personable images; small multiples—purposeful compositions of similarly sized, repeated illustrations—contain a great deal more than the sum of their respective parts. The purpose of this study is to define a set of objectives and guiding tactics for using small multiples in the visual language of instructional designs. This study aims to (1) compile a targeted literature review cataloging the historical treatment of small multiples and their pedagogical and cognitive virtues and (2) analyze examples of small multiples usage in visual design artifacts to determine efficacious and expansive applications of this technique.

The theory of mediatized war implies that any study of conflict that takes place in modern times must also consider the impact of the media within that conflict, especially including new media and communication technologies. Images as visual representations of war have become a part of the information warfare and used to create narratives rooted in the culture of media witnessing (Mortensen) but sometimes entirely divorced from reality (Baudrillard’s simulacrum). The purpose of this thesis was to study images from two Telegram channels, in order to analyze the visual representation of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2022. A qualitative content analysis was used on the images, to observe and interpret the visual themes and context of the images. The theoretical framework that was applied to the categories were the theory of the visual, the culture of witnessing in war, and mediatization of war. The results indicate that both channels try to employ features of media witnessing, with a notable difference that the Russian channel presented a more sanitized, gore-less, and staged version of war while the Ukrainian one focused on the casualties and horrors of war. The study contributes to the fields of mediatization of war and visual representation of war by focusing on the previously unstudied material and combining this unique case with a broad theoretical and empirical body of knowledge.

This thesis explores how research is implicated in the constitution of post-war environments, and gives an account of being and becoming a researcher in post-war Bosnia. My main contention is that when peace and conflict researchers conduct research in post-war contexts, their presence, practices, and the consequential production of knowledge and representations, have political effects. I argue that the implications of this have not been fully explained, acknowledged, or problematised within Conflict Resolution, which tends to rely on research approaches and assumptions taken from ‘normal’ science. This thesis suggests how reflexivity and alternatives methodologies, including visual research might be used to represent the emotional, sensory, and often intangible elements of post-war realities. It enacts an engagement in the politics of research and uses reflexive writing and visual methods to draw attention to the importance of the relational aspects of research in postwar environments. Visual journeys are also used to argue that visual methods can provide a way of revisiting the epistemological and ontological assumptions about lived experiences and realities in post-war settings. The thesis is based upon one year of ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in Bosnia, and is also informed by eighteen months of volunteer work with a Bosnian Community Centre in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. / Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T14:30:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Maria Torres Alvarez.pdf: 9796970 bytes, checksum: 1ce21173e9432840f1a381eb874070b4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-04-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This thesis is part of the Education: Curriculum Doctoral Program - field of study New Technologies in Education, presenting itself as a result of studies conducted by this researcher in the last four years about the visual representation, and specifically, the infographics. The objective was to analyze the value of infographics as a teaching and learning strategy considering the hypothesis that reading and production of infographics by the apprentices can provide the enhancement of critical and creative thinking. To validate the hypothesis part of the research was devoted to the theoretical production that passed over areas of Education, Semiotics, Media and Cognitive Sciences. In the second phase of the research were planned and presented two editions of a research-training course for teachers within a context in which they could integrate into my research as collaborators. Both editions of the course were conducted in distance mode by the Instituto Ayrton Senna. For the production of the thesis, we used a qualitative approach, and each stage of the investigation were set out specific research methods. Thus, for the theoretical basis, we chose literature and bricolage method. In planning and development of research-training course was followed the method of action research. The software Implicative and Coesitive Hierarchical Classification (CHIC) and maps of clouds keyword (tag clouds) we found different angles of analysis of the data set collected in the course, which involved testimonials, dialogues and activities. From these data it was possible to know the impressions of the participants about the potential of infographics as a new resource for teaching and learning, and identify possible improvements of the proposed appropriation and dissemination of this practice in schools / A presente tese insere-se no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação: Currículo, na linha de pesquisa Novas Tecnologias em Educação, apresentando-se como fruto dos estudos realizados por esta pesquisadora nos últimos quatro anos sobre a representação visual e, especificamente, a infografia. O objetivo foi analisar o valor da infografia como instrumento de ensino e de aprendizagem considerando a hipótese de que a leitura e a produção de infográficos pelos próprios aprendizes podem propiciar o aprimoramento do pensar crítico e criativo. Para validar a hipótese, parte da investigação foi dedicada à produção do referencial teórico que transitou pelas áreas da Educação, da Semiótica, da Comunicação Social e das Ciências Cognitivas. No segundo momento da pesquisa foram planejadas e apresentadas duas edições de uma formação-investigação, dentro de um contexto em que sujeitos interessados na temática pudessem se integrar à minha pesquisa como colaboradores. Ambas as edições da formação foram realizadas na modalidade a distância pelo Instituto Ayrton Senna. Para a produção da tese, seguiu-se a abordagem qualitativa e, em cada etapa da investigação foram definidos métodos de pesquisa específicos. Sendo assim, para a fundamentação teórica, optou-se pela pesquisa bibliográfica aliada à bricolagem. No planejamento e desenvolvimento da formação-investigação, foi seguido o método de pesquisa-ação. O software Classificação Hierárquica Implicativa e Coercitiva (CHIC) e os mapas de nuvens de palavras-chave (tag clouds) foram utilizados para obter diversos ângulos de análise do conjunto de dados coletados no curso, que envolveu depoimentos, diálogos e atividades. A partir desses dados foi possível conhecer as impressões dos participantes sobre o potencial da infografia como um novo instrumento de ensino e de aprendizagem, bem como identificar possíveis desdobramentos da proposta de apropriação e disseminação dessa prática nas escolas