Authorware is an icon-based multimedia authoring tool which allows the rapid development of complex interactive multimedia projects, particularly courseware and kiosk applications, for both the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows operating systems. This project consists of three main elements: interactive courseware, written in Authorware, which teaches the student basic concepts involved in Authorware programming, and demonstrates the function of each of the icons used to program in Authorware; a tutorial through which students are given the opportunity to use Authorware to incorporate various media elements, including written audio, graphics, video, and text, into their own interactive courseware; and various course materials, including a statement of objectives, study questions, and quiz questions. These materials were developed for use in the Virginia Tech Computer Science course CS4984 (Multimedia, Hypertext, and Information Access) as part of the unit on System and Application Construction. / Master of Science

ABSTRACT This dissertation has two aims. The first is to further expand the scope of composition studies to include the/a/our body within digital multimodal composition—considering how it can be an active participant in both the process and the product. The second aim is to interrogate the ways in which the/a/our body interacts with technological components through literacy activities that are engaged within the composing process. Toward that end, it attends to the following overarching question: how does a composer creates an embodied digital performance? The problem space of this dissertation is multifaceted, building first upon bodies in composition and then exploring how they might potentially add to the importance of digital multimodal composition; these two areas of focus are not always examined in tandem, which makes their connection a space worth studying. Therefore, this dissertation addresses both challenging spaces by asking sub questions: 1) How does a composer incorporate his or her body as a site of or component of digital multimodal composition? 2) What literacy activities facilitate the movement between or the integration of material and digital bodies? This exploration adds to the existing scholarship within Rhetoric and Composition because it invites compositionists to consider, and explicitly acknowledge, the body as we continue to compose digitally, thereby revisiting the multimodal component of the body and pushing the boundaries between material and digital composing. In order to answer these questions, this dissertation describes the composing process through the lens of dance; identifies literacy activities in which the/a/our body participates; and theorizes the ways in which digital embodiment, and the mind-body connection reintegrate (explicitly) the/a/our body into the composing process. In order to understand the/a/our body’s potential in composition, this study focuses upon a singular case study that crosses disciplinary boundaries by examining digital dance, or dance and technology choreography. This study details the invention, revision, and performance of the dance Zero, One… performed in spring 2015. Studying this particular performance piece throughout the process highlighted the ways in which a composer (the choreographer in this instance) worked to simultaneously integrate movement phrases of the/a/our body and movement of digital projection as an immersive experience for both the dancers and the audience. In addition to the observation of rehearsals and the performances, interviews were conducted with both the choreographer and the dancers in order to understand the experiences of the composing body and the bodies that were a part of the final product, and choreography notes were collected. The data collected was analyzed in layers; first, it was organized into the major components of the composing process, then the interviews were inductively coded with two coding schemes, and the choreography notes and video observations were analyzed holistically. The analysis of the data points to four key contributions that directly impact approaches to digital multimodal composition: 1) the/a/our body is active in the process of digital multimodal composition—composing across invention, revision, and performance through the literacy activities enacted; 2) the integration of the/a/our body and technology creates a sense of hyperawareness (distributing attention/awareness to multiple components simultaneously), and it uses kinesthetic awareness (awareness of the relationship between the/a/our body and space) to achieve integration; 3) the somatic and digital components inform one another in the creation of each through their affordances and constraints because they evolve in tandem; and 4) the/a/our body shifts from the individual and becomes a part of the whole within the performance of the digital multimodal composition, and it achieves this by redistributing focus to all of the contributing elements equally. The/a/our body is an active and necessary component in digital multimodal composition, and it is not only relegated to being the composing body but also a contributing element to the composition as a whole. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2016. / June 21, 2016. / Body, Composition, Dance, Embodiment, Literacy, Multimodality / Includes bibliographical references. / Kristie S. Fleckenstein, Professor Directing Dissertation; Cassandra Cole, University Representative; Michael Neal, Committee Member; Tarez Graban, Committee Member.

Jackie Aina, a popular Nigerian American beauty vlogger and influencer-edutainer, has received attention for her candid stances on the beauty, fashion, and social media industries, along with her outspokenness about social justice issues. Notably, several of the videos on her YouTube channel contain “Unpopular Opinions” in their titles. In these videos, Aina conducts makeup tutorials while voicing viewpoints that she deems controversial. This thesis uses Aina’s “Unpopular Opinions” videos as a case study of Black women influencer-edutainers’ use of critical discourse in their content. It utilizes critical discourse analysis (CDA) with elements of multimodality and other critical disciplines such as critical race theory and feminist studies to examine how Black women vloggers and influencer-edutainers balance their dual responsibilities as influencers and educational entertainers. / Media Studies & Production

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The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of segmentation on immediate and delayed recall and transfer in a multimedia learning environment. The independent variables of segmentation and non-segmentation, and immediate and delayed assessments were manipulated to assess the effects of segmentation on the participants' ability to recall and transfer information from the multimedia tutorial. Data was analyzed using a 2X2 factorial design. The results of this study found that segmentation of multimedia tutorials did not result in significant differences in recall or transfer. The results also revealed that the time period between when a tutorial was viewed and when the recall and transfer assessments were taken did significantly affect participants ability to recall and transfer information. / Ph. D.

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Cette thèse repose sur une analyse critique et une vérification de la compatibilité de deux éléments du domaine d’apprentissage d’une langue étrangère. Le point de départ de notre recherche est un problème constaté lors de la mise en application du CECR et de l’ALAO. Le premier a pour but d’harmoniser l’apprentissage linguistique tout en présentant un cadre de référence avec une échelle d’évaluation allant d’un niveau A1 à un niveau C2. Le deuxième (ALAO) représente une approche d’apprentissage linguistique qui se trouve parfois réduite à ces avantages techniques sans pour autant avoir été considéré pour ses avantages pédagogiques/didactiques. Le but de notre recherche est de vérifier la compatibilité d’un « système d’évaluation » (CECR) et d’un « système d’apprentissage » (ALAO). Ce travail est possible du fait que le « système d’évaluation » du CECR prétend provenir d’une approche d’apprentissage linguistique. En effet, nous avons analysé et comparé cette approche linguistique du CECR avec celle de l’ALAO. Le but était de voir si les deux sont compatibles et de chercher l’origine des problèmes de leur application. Le projet de notre recherche est de démontrer la nécessité d’améliorer l’éventuelle compatibilité des deux éléments. Nous avons appliqué dans notre analyse trois étapes. Dans un premier temps, la base scientifique a été analysée et comparée. Ensuite, les applications didactiques du CECR et de l’ALAO sont abordées ; enfin, nous avons choisi de regarder de plus près l’approche adoptée par le CECR et l’ALAO en ce qui concerne l’apprentissage d’une langue. / The objective of this PhD dissertation is to provide an analysis of the compatibility of two systems of foreign language learning, i.e. the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR) and Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). CEFR aims to harmonize language learning through a framework of reference with a descriptor scale ranging from level A1 to C2 whereas CALL represents an approach to language learning which is sometimes reduced to its technical advantages instead of being accounted for its didactical and pedagogical advantages. Since the CEFR claims to arise from a linguistic approach to language learning, the objective of the study is to compare the linguistic approach of the CEFR “evaluation system” and the CALL “learning system” in order to verify their compatibility and to determine the origin of the problems associated with their application. The approach is threefold. First, the scientific basis of CEFR and CALL is analysed. Second, the didactic application of both systems is reviewed. Third, the approach to language learning of both systems is examined. The study demonstrates the necessity to improve the compatibility of CEFR and CALL.

The primary purpose of this work is to propose a new scheduling approach of multimedia data streams in real-time communication and also to study and analyze the various existing scheduling approaches.

El taller requiere de un sistema que permita a sus clientes reservar una cita previa a la atención, para que no tenga que esperar y se puedan optimizar los recursos del taller en cuanto a organización y planificación para la atención de sus clientes. El objetivo principal de la tesis pretende satisfacer esta necesidad diseñando un sistema electrónico que permita a los clientes reservar sus citas para atención en el taller. / Tesis

Multimedia technology enables direct manipulation of multiple media such as text, image, audio, and video, all integrated into one entity - the multimedia document. Interactive multimedia documents integrate text, images and continuous media such as audio and video, treat them as objects to be presented for a certain duration, and allow users to interact with the presentation. Authoring and presenting interactive multimedia documents imposes new requirements on document representation. We designed the interactive timeline model (ITM) for authoring and presenting interactive multimedia documents. We implemented the model and created a playback tool using the scripting language Tel. ITM uses an enhanced timeline model for representing interactive multimedia scenarios. ITM is a layered model that supports the creation of the logical, temporal, and presentation structures of a multimedia document and emphasizes the separation of content from its structure. The storage layer provides interfaces for creation and storage of media objects like text, images, scripts, choices, and audio. Choice is a media object that allows users to interact with the presentation. A script object causes Tel code to be executed. The composition layer specifies the logical structure and provides interfaces to compose a multimedia document. The presentation layer specifies the temporal and spatial structure of the document and describes the user interface for the playback tool. The run-time layer specifies the interfaces to start and control the flow of the presentation, describes the possible interactions between a user and the presentation at run-time, and specifies the actions to be taken when interaction takes place. ITM allows users to configure the playback tool according to their needs. It provides authors with a mechanism to create new interfaces and register them with the playback tool. To evaluate the design decisions of ITM and verify its usability, we conducted usability tests on the model. We asked a representative sample of end users ( both authors and viewers) to perform realistic tasks using the model. ITM is a powerful model to create and present interactive learning materials and dynamic presentations.