The lateral line organ in fish and amphibians transforms fluid motion in the animal's surroundings into a representation of its hydrodynamic environment. This sense is involved in complex behaviors, ranging from rheotaxis to schooling. The primary sensory neurons are hair cells, each of which can tonically transmit a graded ‘analog' signal to afferent neurons, via highly specialized ‘ribbon' synapses. Many questions about this first step in sensory coding remain to be answered. For example: What is the relationship between the biologically relevant stimulus and hair cell output? How do the synaptic properties of different hair cells contribute to the signal that is sent to the brain? And how are these signals modulated by top-down (efferent) projections? The first chapter of this thesis describes a newly established preparation including an overview of transgenic fish lines, some of which were newly generated, to study the processing of mechanical information in larval zebrafish at various stages, from the periphery to the hindbrain. The second chapter contains a detailed characterization of the relationship between cupula deflection and hair-cell glutamate release. We show that the population of hair cells in the lateral line is highly heterogeneous in terms of their sensitivity, dynamic range and adaptive properties and that this heterogeneity has functional implications for downstream processing. These results are unique because of how well the biophysical, anatomical and physiological context of the actual sensory transduction is maintained. The third chapter describes the effects of (fictive) locomotion on the processing of mechanical information. We show that an efferent signal, which is highly correlated with motor neuron activity, is present in the neuromast and leads to a strong suppression of mechanically induced activity of afferent neurons. This efference copy appears to selectively reduce the gain to hair cells sensitive to posterior cupula deflections.

It has been claimed that action representations can be evoked by the image of a handled object (Tucker & Ellis, 1998). Contrary to this view, it may instead be the location of the object’s handle in visual space that generates a spatial code that in turn interacts with selection of response location. For example, an object with its handle extending into right visual space may bias attention to the right, resulting in a faster right- versus left-sided response (Cho & Proctor, 2010). In the current experiments I present evidence that under certain task conditions, images of objects evoke their corresponding action representations. When subjects engaged in laterality judgments to images of hands presented after or in conjunction with an image of a handled object, motor representations associated with that object were evoked. Although the location of the handle was irrelevant to the task, subjects were faster at responding when the depicted handle location and hand of response were aligned (i.e., right-handed key press to a right-handled frying pan) rather than misaligned. The effect of alignment remained constant across the response time distribution. When subjects made a crossed-hand response, the alignment effect was driven by a correspondence between the location of the object’s handle and the response hand, not the response location. These results contrast with what was found when observers responded to directional arrow cues in place of pictures of hands. With arrow cues, the observed alignment effect appeared to be driven by spatial correspondence between the location of the object’s body and the location of the response button. Moreover, in this case the alignment effect decreased across the response time distribution, in keeping with other cases of spatial compatibility effects (Proctor, Miles, & Baroni, 2011). I conclude that attention to an image of a hand can induce observers to activate motor affordances associated with pictured objects. / Graduate

Current models of visual spatial attention are based on the extent to which attention can be allocated in 2-dimensional displays. The distribution of attention in 3-dimensional space has received little consideration. A series of experiments were devised to explore the apparent inconsistencies in the literature pertaining to the allocation of spatial attention in the third dimension. A review of the literature attributed these inconsistencies to differences and limitations in the various methodologies employed, in addition to the use of differing attentional paradigms. An initial aim of this thesis was to develop a highly controlled novel adaptation of the conventional robust covert orienting of visual attention task (COVAT) in depth defined by either binocular (stereoscopic) or monocular cues. The results indicated that attentional selection in the COVAT is not allocated within a 3-dimensional representation of space. Consequently, an alternative measure of spatial attention in depth, the overlay interference task, was successfully validated in a different stereoscopic depth environment and then manipulated to further examine the allocation of attention in depth. Findings from the overlay interference experiments indicated that attentional selection is based on a representation that includes depth information, but only when an additional feature can aid 3D selection. Collectively, the results suggest a dissociation between two paradigms that are both purported to be measures of spatial attention. There appears to be a further dissociation between 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional attentional selection in both paradigms for different reasons. These behavioural results, combined with recent electrophysiological evidence suggest that the temporal constraints of the 3D COVAT paradigm result in early selection based predominantly on retinotopic spatial coordinates prior to the complete construction of a 3-dimensional representation. Task requirements of the 3D overlay interference paradigm, on the other hand, while not being restricted by temporal constraints, demand that attentional selection occurs later, after the construction of a 3-dimensional representation, but only with the guidance of a secondary feature. Regardless of whether attentional selection occurs early or late, however, some component of selection appears to be based on viewer-centred spatial coordinates.

Many writers have suggested that our capacity to occupy space meaningfully has been undermined by our contemporary ocular-centric culture, which distances us from reality and corrupts our physical and embodied experience of the world. This study challenges these claims within an architectural context, by examining the fundamentally visual nature of architecture and inhabitation as well as the spatio-visual practices, acts and strategies that we use to occupy space. Drawing on theory and practice-based methods from outside the professional limits of architectural practice, the study implements visual acts of occupation to establish a new and expanded conception of architecture as a performative spatio-visual practice – a conception that engages and connects its practice with the purportedly ocular-centric spatial conditions in which it is made and occupied.

Abstract The aim of the study was to describe Finnish patients' experiences of the regulation of personal privacy in hospital with the concept 'personal space'. The central topics of interest included the personal space and it's preservation. The right of self-determination while inpatients in hospital enables the patient to preserve personal space. Patients' experiences of personal space and it's preservation were examined by describing the significance of the preservation of personal space, other factors connected with personal space preservation, patients' means to protect their personal space preservation in the interaction with nursing staff, and the tactile, auditory, visual, and olfactory failure of personal space preservation. Patients' personal space was observed from the point of view of triangulation, and quantitative and qualitative data were integrated in the research. The purpose was to provide fresh knowledge in Finnish nursing science on patients' personal space and it's preservation in hospital, as well as to introduce the factors and concepts connected with the phenomenon of personal space to a wider public. The research material was collected in the internal medicine wards of a university hospital. The collection of data was carried out by means of a structured interview (N = 250) and the observation (N = 25) of interactive situations between patients and nursing staff. The structured questions of the interviews were analysed in the software SPSS for Windows 10.1.2. The results were presented as frequency and percentage distributions. The averages used were the mean, the mode, and the median. Cross-tabulation and Spearman's correlation coefficient were used to find out the correlation between variables. The significance of sum variables measuring auditory, visual, and olfactory invasion was tested by means of the t-test on independent groups, the one-way variance analysis, Mann-Whitney's U-test, and χ2-independence test. The open questions of the interviews and the observations were analysed with deductive-inductive content analysis. Patients' right of self-determination in relation to the nursing procedures on their own body was best implemented among the young and more educated patients. The patients protected their personal space with verbal messages related to pain and the right of self-determination, and with non-verbal messages related to body positions, gestures, expressions, eye contact as well as its avoidance, and to the use of hospital screens. The screens were used for the protection of one's own privacy and intimacy, but also for the protection of co-patients' privacy and intimacy. For the majority of the patients, the inviolability of their tactile and olfactory space were particularly important. The personal space had been invaded tactily, auditorily, and olfactorily. Significant factors affecting the experience of personal space were the patient's sex and age, the size of the patient room, the patient's coping capability in hospital, the number of treatments, and mood during hospitalisation. The failure of personal space preservation made the patients feel, above all, hurt and treated as objects. The patients found it justified for the nursing staff to touch them when assisting, but also thought that unnecessary extra taction does not belong to nursing practice. Taction by the nursing staff was mainly experienced as gentle and pain-reactive, as well as respectful of the patient's body. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kuvata suomalaisten potilaiden kokemuksia yksityisyyden säätelystä sairaalassa henkilökohtaisen tilan avulla. Mielenkiinnon kohteina olivat henkilökohtainen tila ja sen säilyminen. Potilaan itsemääräämisoikeuden toteutuminen hoidon aikana mahdollistaa henkilökohtaisen tilan säilymisen. Potilaiden kokemuksia henkilökohtaisesta tilastaan ja sen säilymisestä selvitettiin kuvaamalla henkilökohtaisen tilan säilymisen merkityksellisyyttä, henkilökohtaisen tilan säilymiseen yhteydessä olevia tekijöitä, potilaiden keinoja suojata henkilökohtaisen tilansa säilyminen ja henkilökohtaisen tilan säilymisen taktiilista, auditiivista, visuaalista ja olfaktorista epäonnistumista. Potilaan henkilökohtaista tilaa tarkasteltiin triangulaation näkökulmasta ja tutkimuksessa yhdistettiin kvantitatiivinen ja kvalitatiivinen aineisto. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli saada uutta suomalaista hoitotieteellistä tietoa potilaan henkilökohtaisesta tilasta ja sen säilymisestä sairaalassa sekä tehdä tunnetuksi henkilökohtaisen tilan ilmiöön liittyviä tekijöitä ja käsitteitä. Tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin yliopistollisen sairaalan sisätautien klinikan vuodeosastoilla. Aineisto kerättiin strukturoidulla haastattelulla (N = 250) ja havainnoimalla (N = 25) potilaan ja hoitotyöntekijän välisiä vuorovaikutustilanteita. Haastattelujen strukturoidut kysymykset analysoitiin SPSS for Windows 10.1.2 -ohjelmalla. Tulokset esitettiin frekvenssi- ja prosenttijakaumina. Keskilukuina käytettiin keskiarvoa, moodia ja mediaania. Muuttujien välisten riippuvuuksien selvittämiseksi käytettiin ristiintaulukointia ja Spearmanin korrelaatiokerrointa. Auditiivista, visuaalista ja olfaktorista loukkaamista mittaavien summamuuttujien merkitsevyyden testaamiseksi käytettiin riippumattomien ryhmien t-testiä, yksisuuntaista varianssianalyysiä, Mann-Whitneyn U-testiä ja χ2-riippumattomuustestiä. Haastattelujen avoimet kysymykset ja havainnoinnit analysoitiin deduktiivis-induktiivisella sisällön analyysillä. Potilaiden itsemääräämisoikeus suhteessa omaa kehoa koskeviin hoitotoimenpiteisiin toteutui parhaiten nuorten ja enemmän koulutettujen potilaiden kohdalla. Potilaat käyttivät henkilökohtaisen tilansa suojaamiseksi erilaisia kipuun ja itsemääräämisoikeuteen liittyviä verbaalisia viestejä ja kehon asentoihin, eleisiin, ilmeisiin, katsekontaktiin ja sen välttämiseen sekä väliverhojen käyttämiseen liittyviä nonverbaalisia viestejä. Väliverhoja käytettiin suojaamaan omaa yksityisyyttä ja mahdollistamaan oma intimiteettisuoja, mutta myös suojaamaan potilastoverin yksityisyyttä ja mahdollistamaan hänelle intimiteettisuoja. Potilaat kokivat merkityksellisenä erityisesti taktiilisen ja olfaktorisen tilan säilymisen loukkaamattomana. Henkilökohtainen tila oli tullut loukatuksi taktiilisesti, auditiivisesti ja olfaktorisesti. Henkilökohtaisen tilan kokemiseen merkityksellisenä olivat yhteydessä potilaan sukupuoli, ikä, potilashuoneen koko, selviytymiskyky sairaalassa, hoitokertojen määrä ja mieliala sairaalassa. Henkilökohtaisen tilan säilymisen epäonnistuminen aiheutti potilaille etenkin pahaa mieltä ja itsen kokemista esineeksi. Potilaat oikeuttivat hoitotyöntekijän kosketuksen autettaessa, mutta turha ja ylimääräinen kosketus ei kuulu hoitotyöhön. Hoitotyöntekijän kosketus koettiin pääasiallisesti hellävaraiseksi, kivut huomioon ottavaksi ja kehoa kunnioittavaksi ja arvostavaksi.

Cette thèse se propose d’étudier la difficulté de l’estimation de la distance dans le cadre de la géométrie de l’espace visuel. En philosophie de la perception, cette thèse est d'abord discutée au plan épistémologique : comment savoir que cette distance n'est pas connue ou connaissable, quoique perçue et discutée. Les travaux de Berkeley nous servent de point de départ et fixent un cadre spéculatif, puisque Berkeley soutient en effet que le jugement porté sur la distance résulte entièrement de l'expérience, quoique cette distance ne puisse être vue phénoménalement. La thèse se propose d'examiner une question essentielle supportée par cette alternative centrale mais au plan ontologique cette fois : comme déterminer de quel type est la distance : est-elle inconsciemment visible ? tangible ? ou visible et tangible à la fois ? Peut-elle être une entité assignable dans un espace hyperbolique, ou sphérique, un espace strictement euclidien, ou hyperbolique et sphérique en même temps qu'euclidien ? Pour appuyer notre propos et notre recherche nous mettrons à l’épreuve différents textes et expériences en passant de Berkeley à I. Rock ou de T. Reid à M. Wagner. Notre but aura été d'explorer les limites argumentatives et de montrer ce qui est impliqué par ces différentes appréciations et assignations de la distance dans tel ou tel espace déterminé. A chaque fois s'affrontent la géométrie de l’espace visuel et l’optique physiologique, mais au sein d'un même débat de fond qui consiste à savoir comment définir philosophiquement l’estimation de la distance ? / This thesis examines the difficulties in estimating the geometrical distance of visual space. Submitted in the field of Philosophy of Perception, this thesis is first discussed from an epistemological standpoint: how does one know that this distance is unknown or unknowable despite being perceived and discussed. The various works of Berkeley serve as a point of depart and establish a speculative framework as Berkeley held that judgment of distance results entirely from experience despite the fact that this distance cannot be seen in a phenomenal way. This thesis examines an essential question supported by this central problem, this time from an ontological position: how is the type of distance to be determined: is it unconsciously visible?tangible? or both visible and tangible at the same time? Can it be categorized in a hyperbolic space, or spherical space, or a strictly Euclidean space, or hyperbolic and spherical at the same time as Euclidean? In support of the thesis and research, various texts and experiences have been examined and contrasted, including those of Berkeley and I. Rock as well as T. Reid and M. Wagner. The goal has been to explore the limits of argumentation and to show what is implicated by these different accounts and assignment of distance in one, versus another, determined space; additionally studying subjects including the experience of the alleys or the so-called the moon illusion, which appeared to be demonstrative examples. In each instance, geometry of visual space and physiological optics confront one another, but at the center of this same fundamental debate is the question of how to define the estimation of distance philosophically?