&ldquo / Developmental robotics&rdquo / proposes that, instead of trying to build a robot that shows intelligence once and for all, what one must do is to build robots that can develop. A robot should go through cognitive development just like an animal baby does. These robots should be equipped with behaviors that are simple but enough to bootstrap the system. Then, as the robot interacts with its environment, it should display increasingly complex behaviors. Studies in developmental psychology and neurophysiology provide support for the view that, the animals start with innate simple behaviors, and develop more complex behaviors through the differentiation, sequencing, and combination of these primitive behaviors. In this thesis, we propose such a development scheme for a mobile robot. J.J. Gibson&#039 / s concept of &ldquo / affordances&rdquo / provides the basis of this development scheme, and we use a formalization of affordances to make the robot learn about the dynamics of its interactions with its environment. We show that an autonomous robot can start with pre-coded primitive behaviors, and as it executes its behaviors randomly in an environment, it can learn the affordance relations between the environment and its behaviors. We then present two ways of using these learned structures, in achieving more complex, voluntary behaviors. In the first case, the robot still uses its pre-coded primitive behaviors only, but the sequencing of these are such that new more complex behaviors emerge. In the second case, the robot uses its pre-coded primitive behaviors to create new behaviors.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2005Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:29:09Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 oliveira_fis_me_ma.pdf: 608106 bytes, checksum: 3eb1472ea174652c01e3728d944ab0f5 (MD5) / O objetivo deste estudo é analisar o conceito de affordance de James Gibson (1977, 1979/1986) e suas implicações teóricas e filosóficas, principalmente no que se referem às noções de informação e de percepção. Como um organismo visualmente sensitivo, o homem se move para atingir as suas metas e tem grande parte de suas atividades sob controle direto da visão, possibilitando uma interação dinâmica com o meio. Duas perspectivas teóricas para a interação agente-ambiente, baseadas na percepção visual, foram revistas neste estudo - a perspectiva representacionista, que admite que representações mentais são necessárias para a percepção visual, e a perspectiva ecológica, que assume que o ambiente pode ser percebido sem o envolvimento de processos representacionais. De acordo com Gibson, muitas questões sobre como a informação visual é construída internamente pelo agente poderiam ser substituídas por questões que tratam das fontes de informação no ambiente, determinantes para o comportamento do agente. O conceito gibsoniano de informação reconcilia dois aspectos da relação agente-ambiente, os inseparáveis conceitos de invariantes e affordances. A noção de invariantes é baseada na idéia de que padrões de energia que estimulam os sentidos contêm informações que especificam o ambiente. O conceito de affordances especificamente faz referência ao agente, expressando as possibilidades de ação oferecidas pelo ambiente. Adicionalmente, o presente estudo discute uma variedade de aspectos relacionados ao conceito de affordances tais como a noção de reciprocidade (animal-ambiente, percepção-propriocepção e percepção-ação), as relações com eventos, sua ontologia e as principais críticas feitas por cientistas cognitivos. / The purpose of this study is to analyse the James Gibson's (1979/1986) concept of affordance and its theoretical and philosophical implications, specially those related to the notions of information and perception. As a visually sensitive organism, humans move to reach their goals and have great part of their activities under direct control of the vision, allowing a dynamic interaction with the environment. Two theoretical approaches to the agent-environment interaction based upon visual perception were reviewed in this study - the representationist approach, stating that mental representations are necessary to visual perception, and the ecological approach, assuming that the environment can be perceived without involving representational processes. According to Gibson, many issues regarding to how visual information is internally built by agent should be changed to issues regarding to the sources of visual information in the environment, relevant to agent's behavior. The gibsonian concept of information reconciles two aspects of the relation agent-environment, the inseparable concepts of invariants and affordances. The notion of invariants is based on the idea that patterns of energy that stimulate the senses contain information that specifies the environment. The concept of affordances specifically refers to the agent, expressing possibilities of action offered by the environment. Additionally, the present study discusses a variety of aspects related to the concept of affordances, such as the notion of reciprocity (animal-environment, perception-propriception, and perception-action), the relations with events, its ontology, and its main criticisms by cognitive scientists.

Almost since the birth of electronic music, composers have been fascinated by the prospect of integrating the human voice with its expressiveness and complexity into electronic musical works. This thesis addresses how performing with responsive technologies in mixed works, i.e. works that combine an acoustic sound source with a digital one, is experienced by participating singers, adopting an approach of seamlessness, of zero – or invisible – interface, between singer and computer technology. It demonstrates how the practice of composing and the practice of singing both are embodied activities, where the many-layered situation in all its complexity is of great importance for a deepened understanding. The overall perspective put forward in this thesis is that of music as a sounding body to resonate with, where the resonance, a process of embodying, of feeling and emotion, guides the decision-making. The core of the investigation is the lived experiences through the process of composing and performing three musical works. One result emerging from this process is the suggested method of calibration, according to which a bodily rooted attention forms a kind of joint attention towards the work in the making. Experiences from these three musical works arrive in the formulation of an over-arching framework entailing a view of musical composition as a process of construction – and embodied mental simulation – of situations, whose dynamics unfold to engage musicians and audience through shifting fields of affordances, based on a shared landscape of affordances.

Literature has indicated that music therapy has many physical benefits for individuals with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and that these benefits hold much potential for music therapy application within physiotherapy sessions. Collaboration between music therapy and physiotherapy in work with these individuals, however, has not yet been explored in a South African context and no studies include physiotherapists‟ perspectives on the matter. This research study has begun to bridge this gap by exploring music therapy and physiotherapy collaboration in a South African context and by looking for new insights concerning physiotherapists‟ perspectives. Data for this study was collected from a process in which I, as music therapy student, collaborated with a physiotherapist in sessions with clients with CP over a period of six sessions. Data included semi-structured interviews with physiotherapist participants; session notes written by the music therapy student as part of participant observation; and video-excerpts of meaningful moments from the collaborative sessions. The data indicated that collaboration has the potential to afford many physical, emotional/relational and psychological benefits for clients with CP, although there were some challenging features which also emerged throughout the process. The different therapists‟ perceptions also revealed some of the collaborative dynamics which can emerge during such a process, as well insights as into the requirements for effective collaboration. Copyright / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Music / unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / There is general recognition regarding the importance of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses in assisting students acquire academic discourses appropriate to specific disciplines of study. However, undergraduate students in multilingual contexts, where English is a second or foreign language face challenges in managing the transition from secondary school into the university, where they are expected to appropriate as well as acclimate to new discourses of communication deemed to be essential for their survival in the academic world. Although studies show the importance of agency in language learning success, institutional demands have sometimes led to the adoption of teaching and assessment practices that ignore the learners’ English language learning history, background, experiences and needs, which impact on their sense of agency and voice in the EAP classroom and eventually their learning success. The study investigates whether the EAP course at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) can engender agency and voice among first year undergraduate students transitioning into the University from community day secondary schools (CDSSs). It aspires to generate an understanding of the strong link that exists between institutional orientation to EAP, course design and pedagogical practice on the one hand and learner agency, voice and multiple meaning making in the EAP classroom on the other. Anchored theoretically in critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970), ecological affordances (van Anchored theoretically in critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970), ecological affordances (van Lier, 2000, 2004) and positioning (Davies & Harré, 1999), the study argues for EAP pedagogy that provides affordances, empowers and positions transitioning students for critical learning by deliberately making multiple meaning making, agency and voice the mainstays of course design and instruction. The investigation uses a qualitative case study methodology centred on understanding affordances for agency and voice in EAP learning, manifestations of and the factors influencing voice and agency from the perspectives of first-year undergraduate students transitioning from community day secondary schools (CDSSs) and EAP course lecturers. Collection of data involved semester-long observation of 44 EAP lecture sessions of roughly 2 hours each duration, as well as interviews with participant students and course lecturers, and analysis of documents. The findings indicate that design and pedagogical practice in the current EAP course at MUST fail to adequately engender agency and voice among students and to promote learner empowerment or encourage multiple meaning making in and outside the classroom. The entire study has generated some insights for advancement of critical EAP learning that can engender voice and agency, including the need for EAP to deliberately build in and promote learner empowerment, multiple meaning making and negotiation in order to move towards pedagogy that is appropriate for critical learning, voice and agency, the need for EAP to move away from closure-focused teaching, learning and assessment, the need for enhancement of EAP course lecturers’ critical awareness of the world views and inherent assumptions surrounding various approaches to EAP pedagogy, the need for enrichment of EAP learning environments with semiotic resources for learner engagement for agency, voice and multiple meaning making, the need for learning spaces that are enabling for students to identify and utilize affordances for EAP learning beyond the classroom, and the need for exploration of PowerPoint and related technologies for EAP instruction beyond current use as tools for transmission of content to students.

Journalism is an ever-changing profession that is right now getting increasingly impacted by advancements in technology. These advancements make it easier, faster, and possibly safer to conduct journalism. At the same time, journalists are subjected to threats, and while some level of safety comes with digital advancements, they might also provide opportunities for reaching and threatening journalists that were not possible just a few years ago. This requires journalists to stay up to date on technological advancements in order to mitigate threats.  This thesis is based on interviews with five journalists whose work put them in or near danger and utilizes an inductive approach to iteratively study the data and analyze it using existing frameworks to categorize tactics used by journalists. This study identifies three larger categories of threats that journalists are subjected to, and the measures taken to defend against these threats with a special focus on the digital technologies at their disposal. It finds that the tactics vary depending on the source of the threats and range from being non-violent, to legitimate threats on journalists’ lives. In response, journalists use tactics to remain under the radar of danger, or to find safety using low-tech tools and to even use digital tools as an opportunity to conduct journalism that would otherwise be out of their reach. The study concludes that rather than categorizing journalists, it is better to categorize their actions in order to see them as changeable and possible to be used as reactions to threats.

Läromedel har en styrande roll i många matematikklassrum vilket innebär att läromedel påverkar vilka uppgifter som elever erbjuds i undervisningen. Men vad är det som erbjuds i läromedel? Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur uppgifter i svenska läromedel för årskurs 1 behandlar tals additiva del-helhetsrelationer. Teorin om handlingserbjudanden och begrepp från variationsteorin har använts i syfte att utifrån ett funktionellt perspektiv undersöka vad som erbjuds i läromedel. Studien genomfördes genom en kvantitativ innehållsanalys och en kvalitativ dataanalys av fem läromedelsserier. Den kvantitativa analysen visar förekomsten av uppgifter som behandlar tals additiva del-helhetsrelationer. Den visar också att elever erbjuds olika representationsformer samt att växla mellan dessa. Språk, symbol och bild är de som erbjuds i störst utsträckning medan konkret modell endast erbjuds i ett fåtal uppgifter. Vidare visar den kvalitativa analysen skillnader i hur uppgifter är utformade för att synliggöra tals additiva del-helhetsrelationer. Uppgifternas form erbjuder elever skillnader i struktur, systematik samt i vilket utsträckning de olika sätt på vilket ett tal kan delas upp synliggörs. För att undervisningen ska främja elevers förståelse för tal och relationen mellan tal behöver läraren vara medveten om de möjligheter som läromedel erbjuder samt eventuella begränsningar. Detta för att kunna rikta elevers uppmärksamhet mot det som avses att läras. / Mathematics textbooks have a governing role in many mathematics classrooms which means that textbooks affect the tasks that learners are afforded in teaching. But what is afforded in these textbooks? The aim of the study was to investigate how Swedish textbooks for first grade treats additive part-whole relations of numbers. The theory of affordances and concepts from the variation theory has been used for the purpose, that based on a functional perspective to investigate what is afforded in textbooks. The study was conducted through a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative data analysis of five series of textbooks. The quantitative analysis shows the existence of tasks that treat additive part-whole relations of numbers. It also shows that learners are afforded different forms of representations and to switch between them. Language, symbol and image are afforded to the greatest extent while concrete model is only afforded in a few tasks. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis shows differences in how tasks are designed to make the additive part-whole relations of numbers visible. In the design of tasks, learners are afforded differences in structure, systematics and the extent to which the different ways in which a number can be divided are made visible. To promote learners´ understanding of additive part-whole relations of numbers, the teacher needs to be aware of the opportunities that textbooks can afford, as well as limitations. This is to be able to draw the learners´ attention to what is intended to be learned.

This master’s thesis explores what could be the usability affordances of tactile interfaces, imbedded with physical commands, and voice interfaces,when used by older people that have visual impairments and cognitive declines. The aim is to contribute to the development of more accessible media.Through an adapted design thinking approach and qualitative methods, relevant literature, benchmarking on existing technologies, and empirical data, it has showed that the usability affordances of the two interfaces differ from each other. The presence of variousus ability affordances is found to be decided by individual perception and severity of impairments. Thus, each interface accommodates some users better than others. The outcome of the master’s thesis can be used for future developers of accessible media when exploring new interfaces that could be better suited for people with disabilities.

Studien avser att undersöka tillämpningen av gamification för att främja motivationen hos barn till att läsa böcker. För att mäta den upplevda inre och yttre motivationen användes det populära ramverket Self-determination theory. I studien undersöktes effekterna de tre frekvent använda designelementen poäng, ledartavla och avatarer genom att implementeras i en webbtjänst som användes för att registrera lästa böcker. Poängen samlades ihop genom att deltagaren läste och recenserade böcker, progressionen visualiserades på en ledartavla där poängen jämfördes med andra klasser, och avatarerna kunde uppgraderas successivt allt eftersom poängen stiger.  Analysen visade hur respondenterna uppfattade respektive spelelement i tjänsten utifrån motivationsteorin Self-determination theory. Den visade även hur deras upplevelser skiljer sig i samband med de olika elementen, men att den överlag stämmer överens med den tidigare forskning som gjorts inom andra kontext.  Slutsaten som drogs från studien var att resultatet och analysen indikerade att spelelementen avatarer, leaderboards och poäng kan skapa motivation att läsa hos elever mellan 7-11 år. Den visade även på att eleverna hade olika uppfattningar och påverkades olika av de olika elementen i tjänsten.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the potential of travel blogs, as a form of popular new media travel writing, to renegotiate conventional discourses about the ‘Middle East’. By conducting a critical discourse analysis on six travel blogs authored by female writers from both the US and the ‘Middle East’, this thesis examines representational practices found in travel narratives, discloses their discursive tendencies, and interprets those in a sociocultural context. Thereby, the analysis draws on a twofold theoretical approach. Postcolonial theory, on the one hand, allows to relate the findings of the analysis critically to the colonial heritage that is inseparable from the genre of travel writing and that informs the discourse about the Oriental ‘other’. Affordance theory, on the other hand, makes it possible to examine how blogging can be seen as a tool that allows disrupting common practices of ‘othering’ in travel writing. The analysis shows that travel blogging has transformative potential and can, mainly through the affordances of self- representation and innovative expression, challenge long-established discourses about the ‘Middle East’. Limiting factors of this potential are mostly arising from neo-imperialistic structures that carry traces of the colonial past. Essentially, the results of this thesis imply that the genre of travel writing is evolving in new media and that it expands the discursive framework of media representations, making it a promising site for future research seeking to explore transcultural encounters and the societal implications of such.