M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

With the rapidly advancing technologies, training has been vital to keep companies competitive. Web-based training grows rapidly and attracts more attention for its most flexible manner. Virtual classroom is a form of synchronous web-based training. It provides real-time interactivity in learning process. I have developed a virtual classroom that uses Web services to control the audio/video transmission, chat box, whiteboard, and synchronous HTML presentation. Compared to an early implementation of the virtual classroom based on the Jini network, my Web-service based implementation has a significantly different control structure. My implementation has better interoperability.

A research report in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the School of Science Education of the Witwatersrand. Johannesburg, 1995. / This project is concerned with a multimedia package which incorporates comics, video and pupil workbooks. The intention as to determine the effectiveness of the package on the conceptual change of pre-service teachers, using an empirical research method and decriptive analysis of results. Logistical constraints experienced at colleges of education and schools led to an alternative evaluation of the packaqe with D.E.T. college lecturers at RADMASTE workshop. Results indicated that, if properly administered, the multimedia package can assist users in identifying and changing tneir interfering preconceptions and misconceptions while they are enjoying the story. / MT2017

The chapter house of the Benedictine priory of Saint John Le Bas-Nueil, currently located in the Worcester Art Museum, is an impressive piece of architecture. However, visitors are currently restricted to admiring the structure and its restoration only, as there is limited information presented in the museum about the room’s original use. The purpose of this project was to produce a low-impact, narrative-driven audio experience designed to increase visitor interest in the museum in general and Benedictine life during the twelfth century in particular. The prototype produced combines elements of traditional audio tours, radio drama, and question-and-answer interaction sequences to provide a self-driven immersive experience.

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts in English Education for the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. December 1997 / This research explore whether a theoretical justification can be made for using video in teaching English as an additional language, as it looks at ways in which video can best be used in this context. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version] / GR 2016

Orientador(a): Pelopidas Cypriano de Oliveira / Banca: Kathya Maria Ayres de Godoy / Banca: Carlos Palombini / Resumo: No Brasil do século XXI, o que pode fazer um compositor para falar a todos, para ser visível, relevante socialmente e até mesmo voltar a ser uma figura pública? Uma das ideias que move esta pesquisa artística é que se o compositor quiser realmente falar para a sociedade em que vive, deve fazer outra coisa que não suas composições. Mas fazê-lo como compositor. Assim, esta dissertação de trabalho equivalente de mestrado traz a reflexão teórica do trabalho artístico que desenvolvi: uma série de vídeos para as plataformas digitais YouTube, Facebook e Instagram. Elegendo o Funk como conteúdo dos vídeos, gênero musical em voga no Brasil, trago elaborações artísticas e discussões musicológicas destinadas a todos os públicos̃ A meta principal não é somente repensar e minimizar o preconceito com este gênero e difundir amplamente a produção artística da universidade, mas, principalmente, dar um papel social relevante ao compositor de hoje. O resultado é uma soma do universo musical e artístico do Funk e da Música Clássica e Contemporânea associado à linguagem audiovisual de alguns YouTubers brasileiros, como Julio Cocielo e Whindersson Nunes, tomados como referência / Abstract: In Brazil of the 21st century, what can a composer do to talk to everyone, to be visible, socially relevant and even to be a public figure again? One of the ideas that moves this artistic research is that if the composer really wants to speak for the society in which he lives, he must do something other than his compositions But do it as a composer ̃ . In this way, this master's degree dissertation brings the theoretical reflection of the artwork I developed: a series of videos for the digital platforms YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Choosing Funk as content of the videos, musical genre in vogue in Brazil, I bring artistic elaborations and musicological discussions aimed at all audiences. The main goal is not only to rethink and minimize prejudice with this genre and to widely disseminate the artistic production of the university, but mainly to give a relevant social role to the composer of today. The result is a sum of the musical and artistic universe of Classical and Contemporary Music associated with the audiovisual language of two Brazilian YouTubers like Julio Cocielo and Whindersson Nunes, taken as reference / Mestre

Detta kandidatarbete handlar om utforskningen inom alternativa ljudspelsformer. Vi ville utforska vilken ny kunskap som kan hämtas från spelljudsteori när den applicerades i ett ljudbaserat rörelsespel. Vi försöker uppnå detta genom en iterativ och experimentell designprocess. Vi skapade två olika ljudbaserade spelprototyper där vi applicerade olika spelljudsteorier. Genom att designa prototyper och analysera dem, genom induktivt resonemang och deltagande observation, kunde vi observera att spelaren kunde använda icke-visuella gränssnitt i ett ljudbaserat rörelsespel. Som resultat presenterar vi processens mest avgörande designproblem. Utmaningen med att utveckla icke-visuella gränssnitten var att instruera spelaren i att använda dem genom icke-vokala ljud. Vi presenterar även ett nytt sätt att förstå akusmatiska ljud i icke-visuella ljudbaserade spel. Som avslutande del så diskuteras undersökningens relevans och framtida undersökningsområden föreslås. / This bachelor thesis is about exploration within alternative forms of audio game. We wanted to explore what new knowledge could be extracted from game audio theory when it is applied to a movement based audio game. We aim to do this through an iterative and experimental design process. We created two different audio game prototypes where different game audio theories were applied. By designing prototypes and analyzing them, through inductive reasoning and participant observation, we could observe that players were able to use non-visual interfaces in an non-visual audio game. As our results we present the process’s most critical design problems. The challenge in creating these non-visual interfaces was instructing the player on how to use them through non-vocal audio. We also present a new way of understanding acousmatic sound in non-visual audio games. Lastly the study’s relevance is discussed and future research areas are suggested.

Den här studien fokuserade på begreppet flow och hur detta tillstånd påverkas av två olika sorters ljudläggnigar. Flow är i studiens sammanhang en kondition som spelaren befinner sig i när den är bekant med spelets mekaniker och är medveten om dess mål och hinder. Genom att ta in information med hjälp av olika medel som exempelvis ljudeffekter och animationer kan spelaren göra snabba och reaktiva beslut. Tidigare forskning visade hur många audivitva källor av immersion påverkar flow negativt, som exempelvis ambienser. Samtidigt visade forskning hur en spelare som befinner sig i ett tillstånd av immersion lättare kommer in i ett ’flow’-tillstånd. För att förstå denna relation mellan flow och immersion, samt hur ljud kan påverka dessa tillstånd skapades ett enkelt ’first-person shooter’ spel med två olika ljudläggningar. Genom insamlad data kunde man se hur ljudläggningarna påverkade spelarens flow mycket annorlunda.

A ideia de se permitir que diversos músicos possam interagir remotamente utilizando-se de redes de computadores não é nova, mas nunca se popularizou. O que antes era limitado tecnologicamente devido às condições disponibilizadas por conexões de internet pela linha telefônica, hoje apresenta-se muito mais viável tecnicamente com a massicação da internet de banda larga, seja por cabo ou por tecnologias DSL. Apesar disso, encontrar um ambiente virtual em que a performance musical pareça completamente natural para o músico é uma das maiores diculdades nesta área. Embora a latência obtida na conexão entre computadores esteja vinculada principalmente à distância entre os usuários e à qualidade do serviço oferecido pelos provedores de internet, outros aspectos, como a largura de banda, podem ser controlados pelo software. Para lidar com as limitações de largura de banda no acesso à internet disponíveis comercialmente, um método de compactação de áudio eciente e que alie baixa latência algorítmica com alta qualidade sonora é imprescindível. Para evitar que atrasos muito grandes na transmissão do áudio impossibilitem uma interação musical entre os participantes, uma técnica em que a própria resposta sonora do instrumento seja atrasada localmente torna-se uma alternativa válida na busca de um ambiente para performances musicais via rede. Esta dissertação busca apresentar uma alternativa exível e de fácil utilização para que a realização de performances musicais distribuídas por usuários caseiros seja possível, mesmo que estes não tenham acesso a redes dedicadas para tal nalidade. / The idea of allowing several musicians to interact remotely using computer networks is not new but it never became popular. What was once technologically limited because of the conditions available through dial up internet connections is now much more technically feasible with the massication of the broadband internet, whether by cable or by DSL technologies. In spite of that, nding a place where the music performance feels completely natural to the musicians is still one of the biggest challenges in this area. Even though the latency obtained in the connection between computers is mainly linked to the distance between users and to the quality of the service oered by internet providers, others aspects, like the network bandwidth, can be controlled by software. To deal with the limitations on the internet bandwidth commercially available, an ecient audio coding method that has both low algorithmic latency and high sound quality becomes essential. To avoid letting large audio transmission delays make it impossible for players to have a real musical interaction, a technique where the musical instruments own feedback is locally delayed represents a viable alternative in search of a favorable environment for network music performances. This project aims to oer a exible and easy-to-use alternative so that it is possible for home users to be part of network music performances even if they do not have access to networks dedicated to this end.

Nos últimos anos tem ocorrido uma necessidade crescente de métodos que possam lidar com conteúdo multimídia em larga escala, e com busca de tais informações de maneira eficiente e efetiva. Os objetos de interesse são representados por vetores descritivos (e. g. cor, textura, geometria, timbre) extraídos do conteúdo, associados a pontos de um espaço multidimensional. Um processo de busca visa, então, encontrar dados similares a uma dada amostra, tipicamente medindo distância entre pontos. Trata-se de um problema comum a uma ampla variedade de aplicações incluindo som, imagens, vídeo, bibliotecas digitais, imagens médicas, segurança, entre outras. Os maiores desafios dizem respeito às dificuldades inerentes aos espaços de alta dimensão, conhecidas por curse of dimensionality, que restringem significativamente a aplicação dos métodos comuns de busca. A literatura recente contém uma variedade de métodos de redução de dimensão que são altamente dependentes do tipo de dado considerado. Constata-se também certa carência de métodos gerais de análise que possam prever com precisão o desempenho dos algoritmos propostos. O presente trabalho contém uma análise geral dos princípios aplicáveis aos sistemas de busca em espaços de alta dimensão. Tal análise permite estabelecer de maneira precisa o compromisso existente entre robustez, refletida principalmente na imunidade a ruído, a taxa de erros de reconhecimento e a dimensão do espaço de observação. Além disto, mostra-se que é possível conceber um método geral de mapeamento, para fins de reconhecimento, que independe de especificidades do conteúdo. Para melhorar a eficiência de busca, um novo método de busca em espaços de alta dimensão é introduzido e analisado. Por fim, descreve-se sumariamente uma realização prática, desenvolvida segundo os princípios discutidos e que atende eficientemente aplicações comerciais de monitoramento de exibição de conteúdo em rádio e TV. / In the last few years there has been an increasing need for methods to deal with large scale multimedia content, and to search such information efficiently and effectively. The objects of interest are represented by feature vectors (e. g. color, texture, geometry, timbre) extracted from the content, associated to points in a multidimensional space. A search process aims, therefore, to find similar data to a given sample, typically measuring distance between points. It is a common problem to a wide range of applications that include sound, image, video, digital library, medical imagery, security, amongst others. The major challenges refer to the difficulties, inherent to the high dimension spaces, known as curse of dimensionality that limit significantly the application of the most common search methods. The recent literature contains a number of dimension reduction methods that are highly dependent on the type of data considered. Besides, there has been a certain lack of general analysis methods that can predict accurately the performance of the proposed algorithms. The present work contains a general analysis of the principles applicable to high dimension space search systems. Such analysis allows establishing in a precise manner the existing tradeoff amongst the system robustness, reflected mainly in the noise immunity, the error rate and the dimension of the observation space. Furthermore, it is shown that it is possible to conceive a mapping method, for recognition purpose, that can be independent of the content specificities. To improve the search efficiency, a new high dimension space search method is introduced and analyzed. Finally, a practical realization is briefly described, which has been developed in accordance with the principles discussed, and that addresses efficiently commercial applications relative to radio and TV content broadcasting monitoring.