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<p>The objective of this study was to uncover what aspects of urban plazas and parks that are most important for users’ evaluations of places’ aesthetics and microclimate (the characteristic climate for a limited space). This was done by investigating people’s general ideas of plazas and parks (the prototypical concepts) and compare these with place users’ descriptions of four specific places. Interviews with two groups (31 and 24 persons respectively) were carried out in order to collect this information. Aspects commonly mentioned in the descriptions, but not included in the prototype, were considered salient and schema-irrelevant (perceived as outstanding but not needed as a defining attribute of the place). This part of the result was related to evaluations of aesthetics and microclimate of the specific places, as well as to subjects’ explanations of some of these evaluations. Evaluations were collected in 716 questionnaires and 1115 on-site interviews, and the explanations in the 24 persons interview concerning specific places. The results indicate that for urban places to be emotionally appreciated they have to manifest some kind of effect of contrast, i.e. they have to embrace some salient schema-irrelevant aspect outstanding enough to work as a centre of the total experience of the place. Furthermore, the results indicate that a separation between emotional and practical aspects of place experiences is needed. In view of that, for urban places to be practically useful, they have to have a prototypical character. For a plaza to be prototypical, it has to be experienced as an enclosed and mainly hard-grounded open square, with good opportunities for commerce and social life. A park has to be green and be able to house a range of activities such as relaxing, picnics and walking.</p>

The objective of this study was to uncover what aspects of urban plazas and parks that are most important for users’ evaluations of places’ aesthetics and microclimate (the characteristic climate for a limited space). This was done by investigating people’s general ideas of plazas and parks (the prototypical concepts) and compare these with place users’ descriptions of four specific places. Interviews with two groups (31 and 24 persons respectively) were carried out in order to collect this information. Aspects commonly mentioned in the descriptions, but not included in the prototype, were considered salient and schema-irrelevant (perceived as outstanding but not needed as a defining attribute of the place). This part of the result was related to evaluations of aesthetics and microclimate of the specific places, as well as to subjects’ explanations of some of these evaluations. Evaluations were collected in 716 questionnaires and 1115 on-site interviews, and the explanations in the 24 persons interview concerning specific places. The results indicate that for urban places to be emotionally appreciated they have to manifest some kind of effect of contrast, i.e. they have to embrace some salient schema-irrelevant aspect outstanding enough to work as a centre of the total experience of the place. Furthermore, the results indicate that a separation between emotional and practical aspects of place experiences is needed. In view of that, for urban places to be practically useful, they have to have a prototypical character. For a plaza to be prototypical, it has to be experienced as an enclosed and mainly hard-grounded open square, with good opportunities for commerce and social life. A park has to be green and be able to house a range of activities such as relaxing, picnics and walking.

中文書法經過了長久歷史的演變，已不單用來記錄事物，儼然成為了一種藝術。從古至今，有眾多書法大家和美學家撰寫書法專書，然而中文書法理論大多講述較抽象的技法，且在相關文獻鮮少之情況下難以具體將美感量化。本論文的目的為以電腦視覺角度解析中文書法筆畫與結構，找出影響書法美觀程度的視覺元素，並加以量化分析，透過機器學習機制，使電腦具有基本的書法鑑賞能力。有別於前人研究，我們提出6種描述整體楷書書法作品美感的特徵，包含排版工整度、字距掌握度、文字偏移程度、文字書寫大小穩定度、筆畫風格一致程度以及筆畫平滑程度。本研究蒐集書法比賽和素人作品共100張，每張皆經由一般母語為中文之受測者的評估，並且將得到的評分作為樣本的標籤，透過SVM辨識3個級別和5個級別的樣本，兩者皆有好的辨識效果。再者，我們將辨識結果轉換成美感分數，亦能真實呼應人工評分。透過我們的研究成果，期望能提供書法初學者在書法創作上的基礎參考標準。 / After a long history of evolution, Chinese calligraphy has transformed from a tool for writing to a unique form of art. Many publications regarding calligraphy writing techniques and appreciation have emerged along the way. Although the theory of Chinese calligraphy aesthetics is profound, it is difficult to define measures to quantify ‘beauty’ or ‘taste’. The objective of this research is to explore and extract relevant visual features for aesthetic evaluation of Chinese calligraphy using computer vision and machine learning techniques. Specifically, we propose six visual features to describe the quality of calligraphy work in Kai style, including layout, word separation, character offset, size regularity, style consistency and stroke uniformity. We then employ support vector machine (SVM) classifier to categorize the work into three or five levels of expertise. In both cases, good recognition results have been achieved. Furthermore, an aesthetic score can be obtained by converting the classification result with weighting factors. We hope that the evaluation result can assist beginners in identifying flaws in their writings and provide constructive suggestions to improve their skills in Chinese calligraphy.

Esta pesquisa investigou a contribuição que o patrimônio cultural edificado exerce na qualidade visual da paisagem urbana a partir da abordagem na área da Percepção Ambiental. Adotou como estudo de caso áreas dos centros históricos de três cidades com diferentes graus de preservação do patrimônio cultural edificado: Piratini, a mais preservada, resultado de legislação urbanística pioneira; São José do Norte, onde o patrimônio cultural edificado foi mais destruído ou descaracterizado e Porto Alegre, onde o patrimônio cultural edificado foi parcialmente preservado. A investigação foi operacionalizada por meio da utilização de métodos qualitativos e quantitativos em duas etapas de investigação. A primeira teve por objetivo reunir subsídios para definir a área de estudo em cada uma das três cidades, e por meio da aplicação da técnica de mapas mentais a usuários dos centros históricos, foram identificadas as imagens fortes positivas e negativas das edificações e espaços urbanos (locais, ruas e praças). A segunda etapa teve como objetivo principal testar as hipóteses desta pesquisa por meio da aplicação de questionários acompanhados de cenas urbanas com diferentes níveis de homogeneidade, escolhidas a partir de critérios estabelecidos a fim de responder os objetivos da investigação. As informações obtidas pelos questionários foram analisadas quantitativamente por meio de freqüências e testes não paramétricos tais como tabulações cruzadas e testes de correlação Spearman. Os resultados obtidos permitiram chegar a conclusões sobre o importante papel que o patrimônio cultural edificado exerce na qualidade visual da paisagem urbana. Esta relevância foi verificada na avaliação da aparência visual das edificações analisadas individualmente pelos seus atributos formais e simbólicos e as suas relações no contexto urbano. Importantes correlações foram encontradas entre a avaliação estética da aparência visual das cenas urbanas e atributos formais de volumetria, fachadas e coberturas. As conclusões desta pesquisa reúnem subsídios relativos às questões da estética urbana, do patrimônio cultural edificado e do planejamento urbano que podem contribuir substancialmente para as políticas públicas nas áreas da preservação do patrimônio cultural, do planejamento urbano e ambiental e na implementação de planos e ações de gestão municipal visando qualificar visualmente a paisagem urbana. / The study investigates the aesthetic contributions of historical buildings on the visual quality of the urban historical centers based on the Environmental Perception approach. The research focused on urban scenes of three cities which present different degrees of historical heritage preservation: Piratini, which is the most preserved among them due to existent legislation; São José do Norte, where most of it historical heritage was destroyed or damaged; and Porto Alegre, where historical heritage was partially preserved. The investigation was operationalised through the application of qualitative and quantitative methods, in two stages. On the first stage, the definition of the study area in each city was carried out through the application of mental maps to users of the historical centers, which allowed the identification of strongest positive and negative images. On the second stage, questionnaires were applied in order to verify the research hypotheses. The data gathered through questionnaires was analyzed by means of non parametric statistics, such as qui square test and Spearman correlation tests. Results allowed to conclude about the important role historical buildings play on the visual quality of the urban scene, verified through the evaluation of visual appearance of the buildings individually analyzed according to their formal and symbolic attributes and their relation with the urban context. Important correlations were found between the aesthetic evaluation of the visual appearance of the urban scenes and the formal attributes volume try, facades and roofs. Conclusions provide substantial support to contribute to urban heritage preservation, environmental and urban planning and implementation of plans and actions for the municipal government in order to achieve visual quality in urban areas located in historical centers.

Esta pesquisa investigou a contribuição que o patrimônio cultural edificado exerce na qualidade visual da paisagem urbana a partir da abordagem na área da Percepção Ambiental. Adotou como estudo de caso áreas dos centros históricos de três cidades com diferentes graus de preservação do patrimônio cultural edificado: Piratini, a mais preservada, resultado de legislação urbanística pioneira; São José do Norte, onde o patrimônio cultural edificado foi mais destruído ou descaracterizado e Porto Alegre, onde o patrimônio cultural edificado foi parcialmente preservado. A investigação foi operacionalizada por meio da utilização de métodos qualitativos e quantitativos em duas etapas de investigação. A primeira teve por objetivo reunir subsídios para definir a área de estudo em cada uma das três cidades, e por meio da aplicação da técnica de mapas mentais a usuários dos centros históricos, foram identificadas as imagens fortes positivas e negativas das edificações e espaços urbanos (locais, ruas e praças). A segunda etapa teve como objetivo principal testar as hipóteses desta pesquisa por meio da aplicação de questionários acompanhados de cenas urbanas com diferentes níveis de homogeneidade, escolhidas a partir de critérios estabelecidos a fim de responder os objetivos da investigação. As informações obtidas pelos questionários foram analisadas quantitativamente por meio de freqüências e testes não paramétricos tais como tabulações cruzadas e testes de correlação Spearman. Os resultados obtidos permitiram chegar a conclusões sobre o importante papel que o patrimônio cultural edificado exerce na qualidade visual da paisagem urbana. Esta relevância foi verificada na avaliação da aparência visual das edificações analisadas individualmente pelos seus atributos formais e simbólicos e as suas relações no contexto urbano. Importantes correlações foram encontradas entre a avaliação estética da aparência visual das cenas urbanas e atributos formais de volumetria, fachadas e coberturas. As conclusões desta pesquisa reúnem subsídios relativos às questões da estética urbana, do patrimônio cultural edificado e do planejamento urbano que podem contribuir substancialmente para as políticas públicas nas áreas da preservação do patrimônio cultural, do planejamento urbano e ambiental e na implementação de planos e ações de gestão municipal visando qualificar visualmente a paisagem urbana. / The study investigates the aesthetic contributions of historical buildings on the visual quality of the urban historical centers based on the Environmental Perception approach. The research focused on urban scenes of three cities which present different degrees of historical heritage preservation: Piratini, which is the most preserved among them due to existent legislation; São José do Norte, where most of it historical heritage was destroyed or damaged; and Porto Alegre, where historical heritage was partially preserved. The investigation was operationalised through the application of qualitative and quantitative methods, in two stages. On the first stage, the definition of the study area in each city was carried out through the application of mental maps to users of the historical centers, which allowed the identification of strongest positive and negative images. On the second stage, questionnaires were applied in order to verify the research hypotheses. The data gathered through questionnaires was analyzed by means of non parametric statistics, such as qui square test and Spearman correlation tests. Results allowed to conclude about the important role historical buildings play on the visual quality of the urban scene, verified through the evaluation of visual appearance of the buildings individually analyzed according to their formal and symbolic attributes and their relation with the urban context. Important correlations were found between the aesthetic evaluation of the visual appearance of the urban scenes and the formal attributes volume try, facades and roofs. Conclusions provide substantial support to contribute to urban heritage preservation, environmental and urban planning and implementation of plans and actions for the municipal government in order to achieve visual quality in urban areas located in historical centers.

Esta pesquisa investigou a contribuição que o patrimônio cultural edificado exerce na qualidade visual da paisagem urbana a partir da abordagem na área da Percepção Ambiental. Adotou como estudo de caso áreas dos centros históricos de três cidades com diferentes graus de preservação do patrimônio cultural edificado: Piratini, a mais preservada, resultado de legislação urbanística pioneira; São José do Norte, onde o patrimônio cultural edificado foi mais destruído ou descaracterizado e Porto Alegre, onde o patrimônio cultural edificado foi parcialmente preservado. A investigação foi operacionalizada por meio da utilização de métodos qualitativos e quantitativos em duas etapas de investigação. A primeira teve por objetivo reunir subsídios para definir a área de estudo em cada uma das três cidades, e por meio da aplicação da técnica de mapas mentais a usuários dos centros históricos, foram identificadas as imagens fortes positivas e negativas das edificações e espaços urbanos (locais, ruas e praças). A segunda etapa teve como objetivo principal testar as hipóteses desta pesquisa por meio da aplicação de questionários acompanhados de cenas urbanas com diferentes níveis de homogeneidade, escolhidas a partir de critérios estabelecidos a fim de responder os objetivos da investigação. As informações obtidas pelos questionários foram analisadas quantitativamente por meio de freqüências e testes não paramétricos tais como tabulações cruzadas e testes de correlação Spearman. Os resultados obtidos permitiram chegar a conclusões sobre o importante papel que o patrimônio cultural edificado exerce na qualidade visual da paisagem urbana. Esta relevância foi verificada na avaliação da aparência visual das edificações analisadas individualmente pelos seus atributos formais e simbólicos e as suas relações no contexto urbano. Importantes correlações foram encontradas entre a avaliação estética da aparência visual das cenas urbanas e atributos formais de volumetria, fachadas e coberturas. As conclusões desta pesquisa reúnem subsídios relativos às questões da estética urbana, do patrimônio cultural edificado e do planejamento urbano que podem contribuir substancialmente para as políticas públicas nas áreas da preservação do patrimônio cultural, do planejamento urbano e ambiental e na implementação de planos e ações de gestão municipal visando qualificar visualmente a paisagem urbana. / The study investigates the aesthetic contributions of historical buildings on the visual quality of the urban historical centers based on the Environmental Perception approach. The research focused on urban scenes of three cities which present different degrees of historical heritage preservation: Piratini, which is the most preserved among them due to existent legislation; São José do Norte, where most of it historical heritage was destroyed or damaged; and Porto Alegre, where historical heritage was partially preserved. The investigation was operationalised through the application of qualitative and quantitative methods, in two stages. On the first stage, the definition of the study area in each city was carried out through the application of mental maps to users of the historical centers, which allowed the identification of strongest positive and negative images. On the second stage, questionnaires were applied in order to verify the research hypotheses. The data gathered through questionnaires was analyzed by means of non parametric statistics, such as qui square test and Spearman correlation tests. Results allowed to conclude about the important role historical buildings play on the visual quality of the urban scene, verified through the evaluation of visual appearance of the buildings individually analyzed according to their formal and symbolic attributes and their relation with the urban context. Important correlations were found between the aesthetic evaluation of the visual appearance of the urban scenes and the formal attributes volume try, facades and roofs. Conclusions provide substantial support to contribute to urban heritage preservation, environmental and urban planning and implementation of plans and actions for the municipal government in order to achieve visual quality in urban areas located in historical centers.