A global outbreak of a new strain of H1N1 influenza virus caused the 2009 flu pandemic. Taiwan was one of the 12 countries in the world capable of producing H1N1 vaccine domestically. The domestic vaccine manufactured by Adimmune Corporation proved to be safe and effective. However, the public opinion generally criticized negatively toward this H1N1 prevention work. This study explored the various entities and relations surrounding the prevention. The first experiment looked into people¡¦s recall toward government¡¦s promotion. This experiment used EyeLink to track subjects¡¦ eye movements on the promotional posters. The data showed the correlation between eye movement and recall, as well as the amount of information received by the subjects. The second experiment looked into people¡¦s decision toward H1N1 prevention. This experiment constructed an AHP model to study the problem. The subjects from various fields answered their view toward H1N1 prevention alternatives, and reported the actual inoculation rate of H1N1 vaccine. The goal aimed to choose a prevention method. The criteria included convenience, confidence, safety, and comfort. The alternatives included vaccination, medication, and sanitation. The experiment outcome summarized the inoculation statistics, attention distribution, involvement correlations, and decision priorities. The experiment result shows the subjects do not receive government¡¦s promotion well. The result also shows the subjects prefer sanitation for prevention. In addition, this study investigates Taiwan¡¦s vaccine and disease prevention development status. The analysis examines Adimmune Corporation and the vaccine market from different aspects. Finally, the conclusion provides recommendations for the people, the vaccine factory, and the government.

Recently concern about aviation security has focused on the work of airport security screeners who detect threat items in passengers' luggage. An effective method of training and screening is required for improving screeners' detection abilities and performance to cope with the unreliable human performance of screening. The overall aim of this thesis is to understand and define the potential visual and cognitive factors in the task of inspecting airport passengers' X-ray luggage images, examine usability of perceptual feedback in this demanding task and develop a new method of salient regions which assist screeners to detect targets. The result of this work would obtain knowledge and skills of X-ray luggage images examination, provide insight into the design of training system and develop a method to significantly enhance screeners' detection ability. A questionnaire was developed for screeners to extract the expertise of the screening task and investigate the effect of image features on visual attention. A series of experiments were designed to understand the screening task and explore how knowledge and skills are developed with practice. Results indicated that training under time stressed conditions is recommended for ensuring adequate high detection ability in real life situation as screeners have to balance accuracy and speed in time pressure. The advantages of screeners are better detection ability and search skills which were gained by experience of the search task. Hit rate of naive people was improved with the perceptual exposure of images of threat items. However, scanning did not become efficient. It has demonstrated that detection performance and search skills are improved by the practice of frequency exposure targets in the search task and such ability partly transfer to novel targets. Learning in visual search of threat items is stimuli specific such that familiarity with stimulus and task is the source of performance enhancement. Threat items should be updated constantly and massive amount of X-ray threat objects should be employed for airport security screeners training so as to enlarge object knowledge and enhance recognition ability. Perceptual feedback of circling areas with dwell duration longer than 1000ms does not Significantly improve observers' detection ability in the airport screening task. Features of bags and threat items influence initial attention and attention allocation in the search process. Salient regions, based on the pure stimulus properties, not only contain most of targets in X-ray images but also improve observers' detection performance of high hit rate by forcing observers to scrutinize these areas carefully.

Learning in a multimodal environment entails the presentation of information in a combination of more than one mode (i.e. written words, illustrations, and sound). Past research regarding the benefits of multimodal presentation of information includes both school age children and adult learners (e.g. Koolstra, van der Voort & d'Ydewalle, 1999; Neumen & Koskinen, 1992), as well as both native and non-native language learners (e.g. d'Ydewalle & Gielen, 1992; Kothari et al, 2002). This dissertation focuses how the combination of various modalities are used by learners of differing proficiencies in English to gain better comprehension (cf. Mayer, 1997, 2005; Graber, 1990; Slykhuis et al, 2005). The addition of the written mode (closed captioning) to the already multimodal environment that exists in film and video presentations is analyzed. A Multimodal Multimedia Communicative Event is used to situate the language learner. Research questions focus on the eye movements of the participants as they read moving text both with and without the audio and video modes of information. Small case studies also give a context to four participants by bringing their individual backgrounds and observations to bear on the use of multimodal texts as language learning tools in a second or foreign language learning environment. It was found that Non Native English Speakers (NNS) (L1 Arabic) show longer eye movement patterns in reading dynamic text (closed captioning), echoing past research with static texts while Native Speakers of English (NS) tend to have quicker eye movements. In a multimodal environment the two groups also differed: NNS looked longer at the closed captioning and NS were able to navigate the text presentation quickly. While associative activation (Paivio, 2007) between the audio and print modalities was not found to alter the eye movement patterns of the NNS, participants did alternate between the modalities in search of supplementary information. Other research using additional closed captioning and subtitling have shown that viewing a video program with written text added turns the activity into a reading activity (Jensema, 2000; d'Ydewalle, 1987). The current study found this to be the case, but the results differed in regard to proficiency and strategy.

No description available.

patterns, severe personality patterns, depressive constructs, other clinical syndromes, severe clinical syndromes and dissociation following EMDR treatment. Thirty-two people, ranging from 23 to 65 years old, underwent the full EMDR protocol treatment for up to three traumas. The findings regarding clinical personality patterns revealed that EMDR is most effective in reducing the symptoms of dependent personality pattern because 76% of participants with clinically significant dependent personality pattern before EMDR treatment no longer had a clinically significant score (>75) on the MCMI-III at the end of EMDR treatment; compared to 75% with masochistic personality pattern, 77% with negativistic personality pattern, 69% with avoidant personality pattern, 40% with depressive personality pattern and 29% with schizoid personality pattern. These gains were maintained on the MCMI-III at follow-up by 76% with dependent personality pattern, 64% with masochistic personality pattern, 46% with negativistic personality pattern, 38% with avoidant personality pattern, 30% with depressive personality pattern and 29% with schizoid personality pattern. The analysis of the severe personality patterns at the end of EMDR treatment revealed that the scores on the MCMI-III reduced from within one standard deviation above the mean (60-74) to below the mean (<60) for 84% of participants with borderline personality pattern, compared to 68% with paranoid personality pattern and 52% with schizotypal personality pattern. These gains were maintained on the MCMI-III at follow-up by 84% with borderline personality pattern, 68% with paranoid personality pattern and 48% with schizotypal personality pattern. The analysis of the depressive constructs revealed that EMDR is most effective in reducing symptoms of major depression as 86% of participants with clinically significant major depression before EMDR treatment no longer had a clinically significant score (>75) on the MCMI-III at the end of EMDR treatment; compared to 73% with dysthymia and 40% with depressive personality pattern. These gains were maintained on the MCMI-III at followup by 86% with major depression, 58% with dysthymia, and 33% with depressive personality pattern. The findings regarding the other clinical syndromes revealed that 91% of participants with clinically significant post traumatic stress before EMDR treatment, no longer had a clinically significant score (>75) on the MCMI-III at the end of EMDR treatment, compared to 75% of participants with anxiety. These gains were maintained on the MCMI-III at followup by 91% of participants with post traumatic stress and 69% of participants with anxiety. The analysis of the severe clinical syndromes at the end of EMDR treatment revealed that the scores on the MCMI-III reduced from within one standard deviation above the mean (60-74) to below the mean (<60) for 78% of participants with delusional disorder, compared to 67% with thought disorder, 32% with bipolar (manic), 28% with alcohol dependence and 28% with drug dependence. These gains were maintained on the MCMI-III at follow-up by 67% of participants with delusional disorder, compared to 63% with thought disorder, 53% with bipolar (manic), 48% with alcohol dependence and 57% with drug dependence. The analysis of the effects of EMDR on dissociation revealed that there was a significant decrease in symptoms of dissociation on the DES at the end of EMDR treatment and these gains were maintained at the follow-up measurement at the end of the study. Whilst the findings of the present study cannot be generalised due to the small sample size, the findings do suggest that EMDR is successful in the treatment of a number of clinical conditions in addition to post traumatic stress; with further research being strongly indicated in order to further explicate the efficacy of EMDR across different psychiatric conditions. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - James Cook University, 2004. / Typescript (photocopy). Appendices: leaves 95-103. Bibliography: leaves 89-94.

By visual attention process biological and machine vision systems are able to select the most relevant regions from a scene. The relevancy process is achieved either by top-down factors, driven by task, or bottom-up factors, the visual saliency, which distinguish a scene region that are different from its surrounding. During the past 20 years numerous research efforts have aimed to model bottom-up visual saliency with many successful applications in computer vision and robotics.In this thesis we have performed a comparison between a state-of-the-art saliency model and subjective test (human eye tracking) using different evaluation methods over three generated dataset of synthetic patterns and natural images. Our results showed that the objective model is partially valid and highly center-biased.By using empirical data obtained from subjective experiments we propose a special function, the Probability of Characteristic Radially Dependency Function, to model the lateral distribution of visual attention process.

Cette thèse de Sciences du langage, s’inscrit dans le contexte de la communication interculturelle et se fonde sur l’analyse d’un corpus de 184112 mots (56 locuteurs, 13 nationalités), 9155 tours de paroles dialogiques. Il s’agit de rechercher un ou plusieurs indices mimogestuels de rupture de compréhension, en l’absence de verbalisation, chez le locuteur silencieux, durant l’interaction. La PARTIE I, propose un état des lieux concernant le repérage des ruptures de compréhension, en situation d’exolinguisme. La PARTIE II, expérimentation préliminaire (méthodologie et analyse de contenu), délimite 177 « blocs-textes », où s’encapsulent des ruptures de compréhension. Un item mimo-gestuel, lié à une excentration brève et rapide du regard (ERBR), souvent répliqué, est prélevé. La PARTIE III est une expérimentation princeps qui découle de l’expérimentation préliminaire. La variable indépendante (le langage verbal) et la variable dépendante (la mimogestualité), sont inversées, pour vérifier si les ruptures de compréhension, une fois rapportées aux critères verbaux corollaires, sont directement identifiables, à partir d’attitudes mimo-gestuelles précises. L’indice (ERBR) est donc systématiquement recherché dans le corpus : sa présence, largement répliquée, en situation de rupture de compréhension, suggère donc qu’il s’agit d’un signal de non-compréhension langagière. Ainsi, une corrélation forte entre le langage verbal et la gestualité non-consciente est bien objectivée, en situation dialogique, multiculturelle : ce repérage de moments de non-compréhension, dès leur incidence, pourrait être un réel apport à la didactique des langues, dans les sociétés cosmopolites d’aujourd’hui. / This PhD thesis is part of the context of intercultural communication and is based on the analysis of a corpus of 184112 words (56 speakers, 13 nationalities), 9155 turns of dialogic words. It is a question of looking for one or more mimogestual indices of rupture of comprehension, in the absence of verbalization, in the silent speaker, during the interaction. The PART I, proposes a state of the places concerning the locating of the breaks of comprehension, in situation of exolinguism. PART II, Preliminary Experimentation (Methodology and Content Analysis), delineates 177 "text-blocks", in which breaks in comprehension occur. A mimo-gestual item, linked to a short and fast eccentric look (ERBR), often replicated, is taken. PART III is a first experiment that arises from preliminary experimentation. The independent variable (the verbal language) and the dependent variable (the mimogestuality), are reversed, to check if the breaks of comprehension, once reported to the corollary verbal criteria, are directly identifiable, starting from precise mimo-gestures attitudes. The index (ERBR) is therefore systematically searched for in the corpus: its presence, which is largely replicated, in a situation of rupture of understanding, therefore suggests that it is a signal of linguistic non-comprehension. Thus, a strong correlation between verbal language and non-conscious gestuality is well objectified, in a dialogical, multicultural situation: this identification of moments of non-understanding, as soon as they have an impact, could be a real contribution to the didactics of languages, in the cosmopolitan societies of today.

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes distinct motor impairments (i.e., resting tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, postural instability) and affects approximately one percent of the global population over the age of 60 years. Currently, there is no cure and diagnosis remain challenging due to the lack of well validated biomarkers. Prodromal PD is a phase that predates the onset of motor symptoms but includes brain changes and nonmotor symptoms, such as rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) and hyposmia. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides non-invasively acquired metrics of microstructural changes in white matter and subcortical tissue and has potential as a biomarker for PD. To date, most DTI studies have focused on the clinical phase of PD. Investigating potential biomarkers in the prodromal phase of the disease is key for early diagnosis and treatment. This study had two primary objectives: (1) to investigate how white matter microstructure changes in different phases of PD progression, and (2) to investigate how sleep and motor symptoms relate to white matter microstructure in different phases of PD. Methods: All study data were downloaded from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative database. Subjects included 21 heathy controls (mean age=68.17±4.69; 6 female), 20 individuals with prodromal PD (14 with RBD and 6 with hyposmia) (mean age=67.95±5.90; 6 female), and 17 individuals with clinical PD (mean age=67.69±5.97; 6 female) (at baseline and one-year later). Tract based spatial statistics were used to determine between group differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) at the whole brain level and in a region of interest (ROI), the substantia nigra. The relationship between sleep or motor symptoms and DTI metrics were investigated within each group. Results: There were no differences between the groups in age, education level, or cognitive scores. Clinical PD had significantly higher motor symptoms than healthy controls or prodromal PD, and this significantly increased from baseline to one-year later. Between group comparisons showed increased MD (reflecting increased neurodegeneration) in prodromal PD relative to clinical PD (both at baseline and one-year later), while there were no group differences between either prodromal or clinical PD and healthy controls at the whole brain level or within the ROI. Increased motor symptoms were associated with neurodegeneration (i.e., decreased FA and increased MD) for healthy controls, while increased sleep symptoms were associated with decreased MD for clinical PD. Conclusion: This was the first to study of white matter microstructure differences in a mixed prodromal PD group relative to clinical PD. The detected early brain changes may support an RBD subtype of PD with overall different pattern of neurodegeneration. However, these results are preliminary and future studies must be conducted to clarify and expand upon the microstructural differences between prodromal and clinical PD, ideally with longitudinal follow-up. / Graduate / 2019-07-27

Syftet för den här studien är att ta reda på hur och till vilken grad filmskapare kan styra tittarens perception genom skärpeanvändning utan att tittaren upplever sig kontrollerad. Metoden för studien har varit att genomföra ett experiment med eye-tracking för att ta reda på studiens problemställning och om våra hypoteser stämmer överens med verkligheten. Problemet vi ser och vill ta reda på är att kamerans fokus är olik människans, och hur man som filmskapare kan utveckla användandet av fokus i bildproduktion. Resultatet är att skärpan har en tydlig roll i hur vi ser på rörliga bilder och att den kan styra tittaren till en viss grad. Vår slutsats är att man kan styra tittaren med hjälp av fokusförändringar, men att vi behöver gå vidare med studien för att till exempel söka svar på var gränsen går för att kunna leda tittarens uppmärksamhet genom alternativ skärpeanvändning; utan att få personen att känna sig styrd.