The state of the art of autonomous vehicles requires operators to remain vigilant while performing secondary tasks. The goal of this research was to investigate how dynamically allocated secondary tasks affected driving performance, cognitive load, and situation awareness. Secondary tasks were presented at rates based on the autonomy level present and whether the autonomous system was engaged. A rapid secondary task rate was also presented for two short periods regardless of whether autonomy was engaged. There was a three-minute familiarization phase followed by a data collection phase where participants responded to secondary tasks while preventing the vehicle from colliding into random obstacles. After data collection, there was a brief survey to gather data on cognitive load, situation awareness, and relevant demographics. The data was compared to data gathered in a similar study by Cossitt [10] where secondary tasks were presented at a controlled frequency and a gradually increasing frequency.

No description available.

Die Anforderungen an die verfügbare Rechenkapazität von Steuergeräten in der Automotive und Avionik-Domäne steigen kontinuierlich an. Dieser Anstieg ist auf die steigende Bedeutung von softwarebasierten Funktionen zurückzuführen, sowie auf die damit einhergehende steigende Anzahl und Komplexität der softwarebasierten Funktionen. In dieser Dissertation wird die Berücksichtigung der Situation (z. B. die geographische Position oder die Geschwindigkeit) als ein möglicher Ansatz beschrieben, um den steigenden Bedarf an Rechenkapazität der softwarebasierten Funktionen zu decken. Die benötigte Rechenkapazität einer softwarebasierten Funktion verändert sich in Abhängigkeit von der momentanen Situation. Durch die Berücksichtigung der Situation bei der Verteilung der Rechenkapazitäten entstehen freie Rechenkapazitäten, welche durch komplementäre softwarebasierte Funktion verwendet werden können. Die Zielsetzung dieser Dissertation ist es, eine situationsbasierte Verteilung der Rechenkapazität auf die softwarebasierten Funktionen des verteilen eingebetteten Systems zu erreichen.:1 Einleitung 1.1 Motivation 1.2 Zielsetzung 1.3 Struktur der Arbeit 1.4 Zusammenfassung 2 Grundlagen 2.1 Situationsbasierte Systeme 2.2 Eingebettete verteilte Systeme 2.2.1 Architektur 2.2.2 Echtzeit-Tasks 2.2.3 Echtzeit-Scheduling 2.2.4 Echtzeit-Kommunikation 2.2.5 Steuergeräte der Zieldomänen 2.3 Prozessmigration in verteilten Systemen 2.3.1 Prozesssegmente 2.3.2 Möglichkeiten der Prozessmigration 2.4 Application checkpointing 2.5 Zusammenfassung 3 Stand der Forschung 3.1 Situationsbasiertes Scheduling für eingebettete verteilte Systeme 3.1.1 Semi-Statische Systeme 3.1.2 Dynamische Systeme 3.2 Situationsbasiertes Scheduling für Multi-Core Systeme 3.2.1 Situationen in HAMS 3.2.2 HAMS Architektur 3.2.3 Wissensdatenbank 3.3 Semi-Statische Netzwerkkonfiguration 3.4 Zusammenfassung 4 Situationsbasiertes Scheduling in verteilten eingebetteten Systemen 4.1 Analyse der Zielsetzung 4.2 Technische Ziele 4.3 SiVES-Sched Konzept 4.3.1 Erweiterter HAMS 4.3.2 Situations-Wissensdatenbank 4.3.3 TLS Master 4.3.4 Task-Migration 4.3.5 TLS Slave 4.3.6 Software Defined Network 4.3.7 TLS-KM 4.4 Zusammenfassung 5 Evaluation 5.1 Konzept der Evaluation 5.2 Evaluationsumgebung 5.2.1 Hardwareumgebung 5.2.2 Softwareumgebung 5.3 Rekonfiguration des verteilten eingebetteten Systems 5.3.1 Evaluation I: Erstellung der SWDB 5.3.2 Evaluation II: Durchführung der Rekonfiguration 5.3.3 Evaluation III: Dauer des kritischen Abschnitts 5.3.4 Evaluation IV: Vermeidung von Informationsverlust 5.4 Zusammenfassung 6 Zusammenfassung und Ausblick 6.1 Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit 6.1.1 Konzept 6.1.2 Evaluation 6.2 Ausblick 7 Appendix Literaturverzeichnis Nomenklatur Thesen Eigene Veröffentlichungen

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The goal of this work has been to develop a design suggestion of a visualization system that supports training instructors and air force units during After Action Reviews (AAR) in training at the Swedish Air Force Combat Simulation Center (FLSC). The suggestion was developed through a design study consisting of interviews, a demonstration and a design workshop in parallel with an iterative prototyping process. The study resulted in a visualization system that indicates enemy aircraft at threatening distances to support identification of critical situations. To support the following threat assessment, visualizations that automatically present radar lock-on information and missile envelopes are suggested. Although radar lock-on information and missile envelopes has been presented in earlier visualizations they have not been adapted to the mode of operations of the AAR. Adapting the visualizations to the AAR would make the threat assessment easier and more effective to conduct. The purpose of the visualization is to make it easier for training instructors and air force units with limited experience of simulation training to conduct a high quality AAR through emphasizing relevant situations and points of interest.

Sammanfattning   Digitaliseringen har skapat ömsesidiga beroenden som bidrar till stora sårbarheter i samhället. Nu möter vi nya hot delvis på grund av sårbarheter som vi själva har skapat. Vi ser att hoten mot vårt land är mer omfattande än på flera år och de har antagit nya former inom flera områden. Påverkansoperationer, främmande underrättelseinhämtning och kontroll över kritisk infrastruktur är några exempel som utgör ett hot mot samhällets skyddsvärda delar. Klyftan mellan hoten och våra säkerhetsskyddsåtgärder är stor och den ökar hela tiden. Hotbilden inom gråzonsproblematiken är diffus, komplex och spänner över stora delar i samhället, det försvårar en tydlig gränsdragning mellan fred och krig.   Vår lägesbild blir otydlig och skapar ett beslutsvakuum där våra resurser förblir outnyttjade. Vi anser att prioritering av resurser sker efter ett föråldrat synsätt. Det djupt rotade binära tankesättet skapar juridiska låsningar och bidrar till att skapa ett beslutsvakuum.   Resultat visar även att störningar i samhället sätter förtroendet för samhällskontraktet på spel, detta menar vi kan leda till att försvarsviljan och vår demokrati påverkas negativt. Paradoxen är även att när samhället utsätts för svåra påfrestningar ligger det nära till hands att ta till extrema metoder, metoder som inskränker individens rättigheter och som på sikt även kan hota vår demokrati.   En av vår mest framträdande slutsats är att vi bör fokusera mera på våra egna sårbarheter och mindre på hotet. Att enbart bygga en större armé kommer inte lösa problemet. Tillsammans måste vi bygga ett robustare samhälle för att kunna möta gråzonsproblematiken på ett helt annat sätt än idag. Det kommer kosta tid, effektivitet och pengar. Frågan är bara vilket pris samhället är beredd att betala?   En annan viktig slutsats är att flera nya empiriska referenspunkter förflyttat oss in i ett nytt fredstida normalläge. Ett normalläge som vi säger är en ny nyans av det konventionella kriget. I konventionella krig finns krigets lagar och folkrätten att förlita sig på, dessa lagar täcker dock inte den nya nyansen av kriget. Den nya nyansen utmanar våra gamla strukturer, där folkrätten och krigets lagar blir helt verkningslösa. Om fenomenet ses för vad det egentligen är så kommer vi bli bättre rustade att möta det.  Vi anser att gråzonsproblematiken är en del av kriget och ska inte tolkas som något annat. Gråzonsproblematiken utgör krigets nya nyans där en demokrati som Sverige initialt slår i ett underläge och utmanas till det yttersta. / Digitalization has created mutual dependencies that contribute to major vulnerabilities in society. Now we face new threats partly because of vulnerabilities that we ourselves have created. We see that the threats to our country are more extensive than in several years and they have adopted new forms in several areas. Influencing operations, foreign intelligence gathering, and control of critical infrastructure are some examples that pose a threat to the parts of society that are worth protecting. The gap between the threats and our security measures is great and it is constantly growing. Threat scenario within the grey zone and its related problems are diffuse, complex and spans over large parts of society, making the distinction between peace and war unclear.   Our overview of the situation becomes unclear and a vacuum which hinders decision making is created and our resources remain untapped. We believe that prioritizing resources takes place according to an outdated approach. The deeply rooted binary mindset creates legal locks and helps create the previously mentioned vacuum.   Our results also show that disturbances in society put the trust in the social contract at stake, this means we can lead to the defense will and our democracy being adversely affected. The paradox is that when society is subjected to severe stress it is close taking to extreme measures, methods that restrict the individual's rights and in the long term might also threaten our democracy.   One of our most prominent conclusions is that we should focus more on our own vulnerabilities and less on the threat. Building a larger army alone will not solve the problem. Together, we must build a more robust society in order to be able to meet the gray zone problem in a completely different way than today. It will cost time, efficiency and money. The question is just what price is our society willing to pay?   Another important conclusion is that several new empirical reference points moved us into a new peacetime normal position. A normal mode we say is a new nuance of conventional war. In conventional wars there are the laws of war and international law to rely on, however, these laws do not cover this new nuance of the war. The new nuance challenges our old structures, where international law and the laws of war become completely ineffective. If the phenomenon is seen for what it really is, we will be better equipped to meet it. We believe that the gray zone problem is part of the war and should not be interpreted as anything else. The gray zone problem is the new nuance of the war, where a democracy like Sweden initially beats in a disadvantage and is challenged to the utmost.

Denna rapport syftar till att undersöka i vilken utsträckning stridsvagnskompanichefer skiljer och/eller liknar ”commanders” (i spelet ”Battlefield 2”) i sitt sätt att skapa och upprätthålla situationsmedvetenhet med avseende på riskbedömning kopplat till fiendens position i slagfältet. Studien grundar sig på en tanke om att utnyttja positiva effekter från datorspelande, i morgondagens ledningssystem genom att bygga ledningssystem grundade på en kommersiell spelplattform. Resultaten pekar bland annat på skillnader mellan de båda aktörernas metoder för att uppnå full situationsmedvetenhet, men även på vissa likheter som till exempel att se på en situation med fiendens ögon för att bedöma hur denna kommer att agera.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-10-19T17:55:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 NELSON MANOEL DE MOURA QUEVEDO_.pdf: 1744806 bytes, checksum: faaf5521ba9ca9a40ca45be29cfd07c2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-19T17:55:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 NELSON MANOEL DE MOURA QUEVEDO_.pdf: 1744806 bytes, checksum: faaf5521ba9ca9a40ca45be29cfd07c2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-19 / UNISINOS - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos / Avanços em computação ubíqua estão permitindo o surgimento de oportunidades em diversas áreas, entre elas está a área da saúde. Nessa área surgem diversas aplicações que utilizam computação ubíqua para cuidados com a saúde, chamadas de aplicações de Cuidados Ubíquos. Conforme pesquisa realizada, foram encontrados vários modelos que possibilitam cuidados ubíquos para os usuários, tais como planejamento alimentar, controle de ingestão de alimentos calóricos, sugestão de restaurantes, acompanhamento diário dos alimentos ingeridos e suporte na seleção de menus conforme restrições para uma dieta segura. Entretanto, nenhum dos modelos considerados fornece suporte de maneira ubíqua a usuários que sofrem de alergia alimentar. Assim, a proposta deste trabalho é a de desenvolver um modelo ubíquo, baseado em ciência de situação, de detecção de risco de ingestão dos oito ingredientes alergênicos (soja, ovo, leite, trigo, peixe, crustáceo, amêndoas oriundas de árvores e amendoim) e seus derivados, que são responsáveis por mais de 90% dos casos de alergias alimentares. A maior contribuição do modelo Allergy Detector para a comunidade científica consiste em empregar a ciência de situação para o propósito específico de dar suporte a usuários na área de alergia alimentar. Além disso, o modelo apresenta também uma importante contribuição para a sociedade, dando suporte a usuários que sofrem de alergia aos oito principais alergênicos, apontando as proteínas contidas nesses alimentos ou em seus derivados, sendo essas informações obtidas da base dados apresentada no site da União Internacional de Sociedades de Imunologia (WHO/IUIS). Utilizou-se o modelo de Endsley como base para poder-se aplicar a técnica de ciência de situação, que a partir da utilização dos contextos de perfil e de localização, somados à correlação desses dois contextos, permite realizar as inferências necessárias. E que a partir da correlação desses dois contextos, o modelo consegue identificar se existem pratos com alergênicos à saúde do usuário. Essa correlação só é possível graças à ontologia criada, que armazena todas as informações sobre os pratos e ingredientes desses pratos do restaurante identificado, bem como as informações das proteínas alergênicas contidas nos oito principais alergênicos. O modelo proposto teve três avaliações, sendo uma avaliação através de um estudo de caso, outra quanto ao desempenho do aplicativo e uma terceira avaliação relativa à usabilidade do modelo. Para o estudo de caso utilizou-se o protótipo criado e confirmou-se a expectativa de que a aplicação de ciência de situação, baseada no modelo de Endsley, possibilitaria que o modelo de forma ubíqua detectasse riscos ao usuário da presença de alergênicos nos pratos servidos nos restaurantes. Enquanto que para avaliação do desempenho, coletou-se os tempos médios de respostas para requisições entre os principais serviços, bem como mediu-se o consumo de CPU durante os conjuntos de requisições aplicadas, constando-se que o tempo médio de resposta cresce linearmente até um determinado número de requisições e após isso apresenta um comportamento exponencial e quanto ao consumo de CPU, constatou-se que os serviços pouco oneraram as plataformas PaaSs. Como última avaliação mediu-se a usabilidade do modelo através de experimentos de campo com 10 voluntários, que atestaram que o modelo atendeu a todos os construtos medidos e a partir dos resultados de análise estatística, pode-se confirmar que o modelo de medição proposto é coerente com as Hipóteses identificadas sobre influência entre construtos. / Advances in ubiquitous computing are enabling the emergence of opportunities in many areas, among them is the health area. In this area emerge many applications using ubiquitous computing for health care, called Ubiquitous Healthcare applications. According to survey conducted, have been found many models that enable ubiquitous healthcare to users, such as food planning, control intake of high-calorie foods, restaurant suggestions, daily monitoring of the diet and support in the selection menus as restrictions for safe diet. However, none of the models concerned provides support ubiquitous way for users who suffer from food allergies. Thus, this paper proposes to develop a ubiquitous model based on situation awareness, of risk detection intake of the eight major allergens (soy, egg, milk, wheat, fish, crustacean, trees nuts and peanuts) and their derivate, which causes about 90% of cases of all food allergies. The biggest model contribution to the scientific community consists of using the situation awareness for the specific purpose of supporting users in food allergy area. In addition, the model presents too an important contribution for society, supporting users who suffer from allergy to eight major allergens, presenting proteins contained in these foods or its derivatives, and that information obtained from the database hosted on the Union International Immunology Societies (WHO / IUIS) website. Was used the Endsley´s model as base to apply the situation awareness technique, which from the use of the profile and location contexts, added to the correlation of these two contexts, allows to perform the necessary inferences. And that from the correlation of these two contexts, the model is able to identify if there are dishes with allergens to the user's health. This correlation is only possible due to the ontology created, which stores all the information about the dishes and ingredients in these dishes the restaurant identified as well as the information of allergenic proteins contained in the eight major allergens. The proposed model had three evaluations, the first as an assessment by a case study, another on the application performance and a third evaluation on the usability of the model. For the case study were used the prototype created and confirmed the expectation that the situation awareness application, based on the Endsley´s model, would enable the model ubiquitously detect hazards to the user of the presence of allergens in food served in restaurants. While for performance evaluation, were collected the average response times for requests among the main services, and was measured CPU consumption during the sets applied requests, stating that the average response time increases linearly up a number of requests and thereafter presents an exponential behavior, and as the CPU consumption, it was found that the service used PaaSs platforms bit. As a final evaluation measured the usability of the model through field experiments with 10 volunteers, who testified that the model met all the measured constructs and from the results of statistical analysis, it can be confirmed that the proposed measurement model is consistent with the hypotheses identified on influence among constructs.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2017-04-19T16:13:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 William Hart Oliveira_.pdf: 1603577 bytes, checksum: 0fec245f4abb48747a3fd395b8984212 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-19T16:13:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 William Hart Oliveira_.pdf: 1603577 bytes, checksum: 0fec245f4abb48747a3fd395b8984212 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-19 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / PROSUP - Programa de Suporte à Pós-Gradução de Instituições de Ensino Particulares / A computação móvel pode ser definida como informação na ponta dos dedos a qualquer hora, em qualquer lugar e avança como uma realidade nas tarefas e atividades das pessoas, em decorrência da popularização e diversificação de dispositivos móveis e redes sem fio. Faz-se importante então, desenvolver modelos que permitam não somente compartilhar dados clínicos, mas sim aumentar a longevidade dos dados, melhorar a sua qualidade, tornar os dados independentes da tecnologia usada e cientes de contexto. Neste cenário, o presente trabalho, denominado PEPContextual, consiste em um modelo que faz uso da ciência da situação (situation awareness), explorando informações relacionad as com o ambiente ou com os próprios usuários e onde diversos tipos de contextos são aglomerados de forma a gerar uma visualização mais rica, complexa e inteligente, criando inúmeras possibilidades, dentre elas, a inferência de riscos associados ao paciente. A contribuição principal deste trabalho está relacionada na identificação da dados de PHR do paciente e do uso da ciência da situação a fim de que seja possível realizar inferências de sintomas e possíveis diagnósticos. O modelo foi avaliado de duas formas: A primeira avaliação por estudo de caso confirmou a expectativa de que a aplicação de ciência de situação, baseada no modelo de Endsley, possibilitaria que o modelo de forma ubíqua detectasse riscos associados ao paciente; A segunda avaliação contemplou a usabilidade do modelo, como facilidade de uso e utilidade onde a maioria dos utilizadores considerou que as informações inferidas podem auxiliar diariamente em tratamentos. / Ubuiquitous computing can be defined as information at anytime, anywhere and its grows as a reality on people‘s activities and daily tasks through the diversification and popularization of mobile devices and networks. So, it‘s important create models that allow not only share clinical data, but increase its quality, making it indifferent to technology and context aware. In this case, the present paper, called PEPContextual, is about a model that makes use of situation awareness, exploring environment related information and/or its own users, where several types of contexts are combined looking a richer, complex and smart visualization, creating several possibilities and, among that, the inferrence of associated risks to patients. The main contribution of this paper is related to make use of PHR data and situation awareness in order to inferrence symptoms and some diagnoses. The model was evaluated by two distinct ways: The first evaluation by case study has confirmed the proposal that situation awareness, based on Endsley model, makes possible that the model is capable to find associated risks through ubiquity; The second evaluation measured the usability of the model, as the ease of use and utility where most of users had considered that inferrence information can help on daily treatments.

ABSTRACT: This research generated a formal method for global ‘situation modelling’ of near-critical and critical phenomena. The new paradigms and the construction of mental reality or social spaces do not explain the damaged world we leave to our children and the degeneration of health. The ‘physical’ was explored experimentally through the reputed imperfection of the body in daily living and the ecology of its health. An ‘integral’ methodology allowed combining this with a study of general perspectives in many fields. This theoretical and empirical study was framed according to a third-order logic: (1) The variety and inconsistency of perspectives on the unclear notion of ‘health’ required a generalist (meta-)classification or organising principle applicable in particular to health. The method of ‘perspectival analysis’ is based on the field- and domain-specific vocabularies, number of categories, and image types used in formulating explanation/ experience in each framework, in both scientific and human domains. This theoretical study was (2) grounded in a ‘radical empirical’ study of the effects of nutrition and healing techniques on a low-grade chronic syndrome (not life threatening but connected to stress, inflammation, swelling, tissues wasting). A ‘local-case’ experimental research design (representative of an aspect of health), and new topographic ‘gauging’ techniques were devised to observe small spatial changes (positioning, distortion, distribution). The results and concrete/ practice models led to the same conclusion as the abstract study: all our perspectives on health, body and space, have some underlying systemic form, and have in common two unifying frames – duality and polarisation –, characteristic also of point-set theory derived frameworks. Using them allows ‘circumnavigating’ the essential of all possible perspectives, without becoming lost in their details. However, they leave non-local effects, anomalies (or ’bad behaviour’) and periodical instability unexplained. (3) These were investigated by studying behaviour (irrespective of whether internal or external), and ‘not well understood’ induced health manifestations, and by mapping their topologic properties of small deformation through (a) a ‘local’ cognitive consideration of experience construction, the research process itself, and the intellectual skill of model-making, (b) etymologic studies to track forward semantic developments and perspectival shifts and inversions, (c) a graphic study of the universal symbolic forms in models, traditions, and dreams, tracing them back to ‘world-origin’ models (appearance/occurrence), and shape-icons (mental, cultural), such as tree, ladder, mountain or vortex-vertex spiral. This thesis examines health disturbance, physical distortions and cultural deformations, their usual descriptions as timed changes, and shows how two fundamental parameters of direction and motion (or movement, energy, 'Wind') define geometries of binding, or directional activation (or active projection). These culturo-mental geometries produce generic images of locally induced phenomena, and represent boundary phenomena globally as 'natural' in the spatial-physical world, and as 'hidden' or latent in the human world. Their downside is to introduce systematic instability in our expressions, models of culture/civilisation, as well as in health manifestations. All these are found to be rooted in modelling styles derived from the 'local' geometry of observing – framing – a field in 'perspective', mostly based on vision, audition, and skin surface (touch). These geo-Metries are used to explain and justify in particular the instability and recurrent crises of health in chronic syndromes and ageing, and the ‘badly behaved’ health of childhood and adult females (eg consequences of pregnancy). The conclusion imposed itself that the ‘physical world of humans’ is shaped through critical response and boundaries, and it appears that physical integrity, including sound health, sanity and even safety, cannot be preserved but by conscious alert attention or voluntary practice or effort (eg ‘workout’). Some experiences recounted in this work (some from the literature) led to an opposite presupposition. Three possible logics rule deployments of perspective into flat, spherical, and hyperbolic geometries (a known basis of mathematics). Which is used depends on the ‘local’ state of criticality (sense of urgency, emergency, pressure) of the observing body-brain-‘system’. It correlates with this universally assumed vertical axis, with the exclusive use [instruments too] of the senses of the head and of ‘skin-encapsulated’ derived systemic definitions of ‘the world’ and ‘the observer’ (self or body). These allow localising and attributing properties to one or the other or their combination. However, they can also be considered as undifferentiated properties, ‘non-local’ but governing, of the ‘physical world of humans’ as it is apprehended in daily living, manifesting in a surface-related sense of swelling and gravity. A simple form of geometric topology ‘without hole’ (without discontinuity), here introduced through two cognitive experiments, animations, and images, can describe this. The method of ‘nexial-topology’ produces an ‘animated imaging’ that can be used to model (but not ‘represent’ in word, number, or realistic/ naturalistic images) the situation reaching ‘critical boundary’. It then shows auto-reinforcing self-organisation and auto-destruction in ‘passing’ it. Yet, it can also be used as a ‘native gauging’ expressed in gesture or body posture, related to intuition, instinct, and the rare ‘thinking in image’. As such, it describes approaching ‘critical boundary’ (versus ‘reaching’) as auto-limiting. A crucial finding is that ‘spontaneous’ behaviours (non-induced, non-intended) can ensure the integrity of health under operation in most conditions, and stop extremes. Yet, they are usually deemed meaningless, random or useless, and are systematically suppressed by enculturation and prevented by civilised lifestyles. ‘Nexial-topology’ gives a clear meaning to them, and can model the ‘ease’ of health and of daily living. It gives access to more basic options, with wider effects, more immediate than all our solutions, often ignored because too obvious. For example, ‘global warming’ could be addressed as a non-local property and a deployment into crises to ‘stop’, rather than separate problems of water, resources, heated behaviour, inflammatory and ‘water diseases’. KEYWORDS: Interdisciplinary research, cross-disciplinary methodologies, modal logic, fundamental problem, general relativity, localisation, physicalism, geometric quantization, occurrence, appearance, extension, projection, attribution, distributed, anthropic principle, anthropomorphism, unified, unbounded, left, right, spiral, viral, genetic drift, natural, life, human nature, human pressure, limit, extreme, threshold, validity, value, critical decision making, apperception, child cognition, sense, semantic drift, Four Elements, symbolic inversion. THIS IS A MULTI-MEDIA THESIS. FOR A SITE MAP OF THE NAMES AND DISPLAY ONLINE OF THE 52 FILES OF THIS THESIS, PLEASE CONSULT THE SECTION: ORGANISATION OF THE MULTI-MEDIA MATERIALS IN THIS THESIS, IN THE FRONT PAGES FILE (SOURCE 2), BEFORE THE TABLE OF CONTENTS. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)