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2014

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Modelling Learning To Count In Humanoid Robots, Marek Rucinski Jan 2014

Modelling Learning To Count In Humanoid Robots, Marek Rucinski

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis concerns the formulation of novel developmental robotics models of embodied phenomena in number learning. Learning to count is believed to be of paramount importance for the acquisition of the remarkable fluency with which humans are able to manipulate numbers and other abstract concepts derived from them later in life. The ever-increasing amount of evidence for the embodied nature of human mathematical thinking suggests that the investigation of numerical cognition with the use of robotic cognitive models has a high potential of contributing toward the better understanding of the involved mechanisms. This thesis focuses on two particular groups of …

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The Contribution Of Planning-Related Motor Processes To Mental Practice And Imitation Learning, Bassem Khalaf Jan 2014

The Contribution Of Planning-Related Motor Processes To Mental Practice And Imitation Learning, Bassem Khalaf

School of Psychology Theses

It is still controversial whether mental practice – the internal rehearsal of movements to improve later performance – relies on processes engaged during physical motor performance and, if so, which processes these are. This series of experiments investigates this question. It utilizes a framework of ideomotor action planning theories, and tests whether mental practice may specifically draw upon planning- rather than execution-related motor processes, specifically those processes that “bind” intended action features to action plans. Experiments 1 to 4 utilize a classical stimulus response compatibility paradigm. Participants mentally practiced complex rhythms with either feet or hands while using the same …

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Diocletian’S Victory Column And The Rhetoric Of Spectacular Disruption, Richard Benjamin Crosby Jan 2014

Diocletian’S Victory Column And The Rhetoric Of Spectacular Disruption, Richard Benjamin Crosby

Faculty Publications

This essay explores how the powerful system of cultural references in the architecture of Alexandria is disrupted by Roman visual rhetoric. Specifically, the essay closely analyzes Diocletian’s Victory Column, a monument to the third-century Roman ruler who put down an Alexandrian uprising. The authors argue that Rome employed a visual rhetoric of spectacular disruption as a means to insert itself into the city’s historical identity even after its siege created widespread disease and starvation. The essay builds on the substantial scholarship on public memory by describing a kind of rhetoric that poses a political, existential challenge to a reigning cultural …

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Relationship Quality And Oxytocin: Influence Of Stable And Modifiable Aspects Of Relationships, Wendy C. Birmingham, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Kathleen C. Light Jan 2014

Relationship Quality And Oxytocin: Influence Of Stable And Modifiable Aspects Of Relationships, Wendy C. Birmingham, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Kathleen C. Light

Faculty Publications

Prior studies report that couples with higher relationship quality show higher oxytocin (OT) levels, yet other studies report those with higher distress have increased OT. This study investigated these competing predictions in the context of a support enhancement intervention among 34 young married couples (N = 68). Preintervention marital quality (Dyadic Adjustment Scale) was examined for associations with plasma and salivary OT levels 4 weeks apart and for changes between these time points within the intervention group. High relationship quality, not distress, was associated with higher OT in both saliva and plasma at both time points. No significant interaction …

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Supervising Clinical Fellows: Preparation And Styles, Connie Summers, Maria Resendiz, Roxanna Ruiz-Felter Jan 2014

Supervising Clinical Fellows: Preparation And Styles, Connie Summers, Maria Resendiz, Roxanna Ruiz-Felter

Faculty Publications

Purpose: The majority of supervision literature has focused on the supervision of graduate students. The purpose of this study was to examine the preparation of and explore the thinking styles of mentoring speech-language pathologists (SLPs) of Speech-Language Pathology graduates who are completing their clinical fellowship. Method: A questionnaire was sent to 1626 SLPs by email who reported working in school settings and 102 participants responded. They were asked questions about demographics, caseloads, supervisory experiences, knowledge of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA, 2008) standards for supervision, and thinking styles. Forty of the participants reported on the number of years of experience …

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Human Factors Analysis In Risk Assessment: A Survey Of Methods And Tools Used In Industry, Maria Chiara Leva, Nora Balfe Jan 2014

Human Factors Analysis In Risk Assessment: A Survey Of Methods And Tools Used In Industry, Maria Chiara Leva, Nora Balfe

Books/Book chapters

This paper outlines the results of a series of 15 interviews undertaken to establish the methods and tools currently used to support risk assessment in industry. The interviews covered general risk assessment, but also looked specifically at human factors tools and methods in use, both in terms of the representation of the system under analysis and in terms of human reliability analysis or other tools to identify and analyse human error. The results show that, of the companies interviewed, only five use any form of structured technique to analyse human factors, and two of these companies had specific human factors …

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A Thematic Analysis Of The Most Highly Cited Scholarship In The First Decade Of Blended Learning Research, Lisa R. Halverson, Charles R. Graham, Kristian J. Spring, Jeffrey S. Drysdale, Curtis R. Henrie Jan 2014

A Thematic Analysis Of The Most Highly Cited Scholarship In The First Decade Of Blended Learning Research, Lisa R. Halverson, Charles R. Graham, Kristian J. Spring, Jeffrey S. Drysdale, Curtis R. Henrie

Faculty Publications

Blended learning, which combines face-to-face and online learning modalities, is a heterogeneous and steadily developing area of design and inquiry. With the expansion and maturation of blended learning research, voices enter the conversation in increasing numbers and diversity. This study continues the work begun by Halverson, Graham, Spring, and Drysdale (2012), which determined the most frequently cited books, edited book chapters, and articles on blended learning, as well as the journals in which these highly cited articles appeared. After finding where the conversations about blended learning were happening and which scholars were at the forefront of these conversations, we now …

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The Nature Of Teacher Engagement At An Online High School, Jered Borup, Charles R. Graham, Jeffrey S. Drysdale Jan 2014

The Nature Of Teacher Engagement At An Online High School, Jered Borup, Charles R. Graham, Jeffrey S. Drysdale

Faculty Publications

Little research has examined the critical components of successful K-12 online schools, due in part to the theoretical focus of current frameworks on higher education rather than characteristics of K-12 online learners and environments. Using K-12 online research, this paper examined teaching presence as explained by the Community of Inquiry framework and identified additional teacher roles that needed stronger emphasis. We termed the new construct teacher engagement. Teacher engagement was shown to be helpful in describing and identifying effective teacher practices at the Open High School of Utah (OHSU), a successful online charter school. Through a series of 22 interviews …

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An Online High School “Shepherding” Program: Teacher Roles And Experiences Mentoring Online Students, Jeffrey S. Drysdale, Charles R. Graham, Jered Borup Jan 2014

An Online High School “Shepherding” Program: Teacher Roles And Experiences Mentoring Online Students, Jeffrey S. Drysdale, Charles R. Graham, Jered Borup

Faculty Publications

Several online programs use on-site facilitators to create a stronger sense of community and reduce student dropout. However, little research addresses how programs that are fully online can provide their students with comparable support. This case study analyzed a “shepherding program” at Mountain Heights Academy, a fully online high school. We found that the shepherding program enabled fully online teachers to provide their students with many of the services typical of on-site facilitators. The roles of the shepherding program included building caring relationships, facilitating content interaction, and providing students with the communication links they needed to be successful. In addition, …

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Children’S Rights Online: Challenges, Dilemmas And Emerging Directions, Sonia Livingstone, Brian O'Neill Jan 2014

Children’S Rights Online: Challenges, Dilemmas And Emerging Directions, Sonia Livingstone, Brian O'Neill

Articles

Although it is widely held that a more inclusive and trusted internet can support a competitive knowledge economy, a digitally skilled labour force, civic participation and a pluralistic media sector, governments and regulators have tended to avoid intervening directly to achieve these aims, believing that industry is best positioned to respond to the fast pace of change in information and communication technologies (ICT).This reflects a wider policy shift away from top-down government measures towards flexible, dispersed and indirect forms of governance, encompassing industry self-regulation as well as elements of cooperation or co-regulation with relevant state agencies.

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Bilateral Gain Control; An “Innate Predisposition” For All Sorts Of Things, N Wilkinson, G Metta Jan 2014

Bilateral Gain Control; An “Innate Predisposition” For All Sorts Of Things, N Wilkinson, G Metta

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Empirical studies have revealed remarkable perceptual organization in neonates. Newborn behavioral distinctions have often been interpreted as implying functionally specific modular adaptations, and are widely cited as evidence supporting the nativist agenda. In this theoretical paper, we approach newborn perception and attention from an embodied, developmental perspective. At the mechanistic level, we argue that a generative mechanism based on mutual gain control between bilaterally corresponding points may underly a number of functionally defined "innate predispositions" related to spatial-configural perception. At the computational level, bilateral gain control implements beamforming, which enables spatial-configural tuning at the front end sampling stage. At the …

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War And Displacement In The Twentieth Century: Global Conflicts, Sandra Barkhof, Angela K. Smith Jan 2014

War And Displacement In The Twentieth Century: Global Conflicts, Sandra Barkhof, Angela K. Smith

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

Human displacement has always been a consequence of war, written into the myths and histories of centuries of warfare. However, the global conflicts of the twentieth century brought displacement to civilizations on an unprecedented scale, as the two World Wars shifted participants around the globe. Although driven by political disputes between European powers, the consequences of Empire ensured that Europe could not contain them. Soldiers traversed continents, and civilians often followed them, or found themselves living in territories ruled by unexpected invaders. Both wars saw fi ghting in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Far East, and few nations …

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Universal Design Project St. Michael's House 2, Greta Usaite, Aisling Ni Cheallaigh, Bryoni Molloy, Dominic Walus Jan 2014

Universal Design Project St. Michael's House 2, Greta Usaite, Aisling Ni Cheallaigh, Bryoni Molloy, Dominic Walus

Students Learning with Communities

No abstract provided.

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Thinking In Circuits: Toward Neurobiological Explanation In Cognitive Neuroscience., Friedemann Pulvermüller, Max Garagnani, Thomas Wennekers Jan 2014

Thinking In Circuits: Toward Neurobiological Explanation In Cognitive Neuroscience., Friedemann Pulvermüller, Max Garagnani, Thomas Wennekers

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Cognitive theory has decomposed human mental abilities into cognitive (sub) systems, and cognitive neuroscience succeeded in disclosing a host of relationships between cognitive systems and specific structures of the human brain. However, an explanation of why specific functions are located in specific brain loci had still been missing, along with a neurobiological model that makes concrete the neuronal circuits that carry thoughts and meaning. Brain theory, in particular the Hebb-inspired neurocybernetic proposals by Braitenberg, now offers an avenue toward explaining brain-mind relationships and to spell out cognition in terms of neuron circuits in a neuromechanistic sense. Central to this endeavor …

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Digitizing Practical Production Work For High-Stakes Assessments, Christopher P. Newhouse, Pina Tarricone Jan 2014

Digitizing Practical Production Work For High-Stakes Assessments, Christopher P. Newhouse, Pina Tarricone

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

High-stakes external assessment for practical courses is fraught with problems impacting on the manageability, validity and reliability of scoring. Alternative approaches to assessment using digital technologies have the potential to address these problems. This paper describes a study that investigated the use of these technologies to create and submit digital representations of practical production work and forms of creative expression for summative high-stakes assessment. The study set out to determine the feasibility of students creating and submitting these digital representations for assessment and to identify which of analytical or comparative pairs scoring generated the more reliable scores. This paper proposes …

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Towards The Grounding Of Abstract Categories In Cognitive Robots, Francesca Stramandinoli Jan 2014

Towards The Grounding Of Abstract Categories In Cognitive Robots, Francesca Stramandinoli

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The grounding of language in humanoid robots is a fundamental problem, especially in social scenarios which involve the interaction of robots with human beings. Indeed, natural language represents the most natural interface for humans to interact and exchange information about concrete entities like KNIFE, HAMMER and abstract concepts such as MAKE, USE. This research domain is very important not only for the advances that it can produce in the design of human-robot communication systems, but also for the implication that it can have on cognitive science. Abstract words are used in daily conversations among people to describe events and situations …

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Enhancing Usability Using Automated Security Interface Adaptation (Asia), Zarul Fitri Zaaba Jan 2014

Enhancing Usability Using Automated Security Interface Adaptation (Asia), Zarul Fitri Zaaba

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Many users are now significantly dependent upon computer application. Whilst many aspects are now used very successfully, an area in which usability difficulties continue to be encountered is in relation to security. Thus can become particularly acute in situations where users are required to interact and make decisions, and a key context here is typically when they need to respond to security warnings. The current implementation of security warnings can often be considered as an attempt to offer a one size fits all solution. However, it can be argued that many implementations are still lacking the ability to provide meaningful …

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Supporting Learning By Tracing Personal Knowledge Formation, Witold Thaul Jan 2014

Supporting Learning By Tracing Personal Knowledge Formation, Witold Thaul

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Internet-based and mobile technologies enable new ways of learning. They offer us new possibilities to access an enormous amount of knowledge at any time and everywhere. Among many advantages, the adaptations require a rethinking of our previous learning behaviour patterns and processes. The challenge for students is no longer to get access to information and knowledge, but to select the right one and to deal with the information and knowledge overflow. The aim of this research is to define, design and validate an advanced concept to support the contemporary learning processes. Therefore, the requirements for a new approach have been …

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Review: Peripheral Visions For Writing Centers, Daniel Sanford Jan 2014

Review: Peripheral Visions For Writing Centers, Daniel Sanford

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

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Review Essay: Divergent Ways Of Creating Knowledge In Writing Center Studies, Sarah Liggett Jan 2014

Review Essay: Divergent Ways Of Creating Knowledge In Writing Center Studies, Sarah Liggett

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

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Situating Men Within Local Terrain: A Sociological Perspective On Consumption Practices, Deirdre Duffy Jan 2014

Situating Men Within Local Terrain: A Sociological Perspective On Consumption Practices, Deirdre Duffy

Conference papers

The aim of this paper is to explore how young men, operating within influential discursive regimes, construct their identity projects and come to know themselves, through their engagement with consumption and leisure practices. Foucauldian theory is drawn upon to conceptualise men as intertwined within their social environs, the recipients of socio-cultural inscription. By situating the micro-social context of the male consumer in a larger socio-cultural context, this study endeavours to go beyond consumer narratives to incorporate the influence of market and social systems on individuals’ identity work. The two discursive practices explored include: hometown community and Gaelic sport. Findings show …

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Peripersonal Space In The Humanoid Robot Icub, Salomón Ramírez Contla Jan 2014

Peripersonal Space In The Humanoid Robot Icub, Salomón Ramírez Contla

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Developing behaviours for interaction with objects close to the body is a primary goal for any organism to survive in the world. Being able to develop such behaviours will be an essential feature in autonomous humanoid robots in order to improve their integration into human environments. Adaptable spatial abilities will make robots safer and improve their social skills, human-robot and robot-robot collaboration abilities. This work investigated how a humanoid robot can explore and create action-based representations of its peripersonal space, the region immediately surrounding the body where reaching is possible without location displacement. It presents three empirical studies based on …

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"Through The Looking Glass; Understanding Consumer Inaction In Retail Financial Services", Tara Rooney, Katrina Lawlor, Eddie Rohan Jan 2014

"Through The Looking Glass; Understanding Consumer Inaction In Retail Financial Services", Tara Rooney, Katrina Lawlor, Eddie Rohan

Reports

Understanding why consumers choose to remain in relationships which they find less than satisfactory is a key concern for relationship marketing theory. In this paper we explore the alternative choices available to consumers after exit has been considered and then declined. Applying a narrative methodology within a social constructionist framework, the paper presents a theory of Relationship Neutrality. We go through the looking glass, into to a world of relationship contradictions and irrationality to consider long term relationship engagement which is different from the one theory has grown accustomed to.

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Offering Minority Communities Equal Opportunities Through Entrepreneurship, Thomas M. Cooney Jan 2014

Offering Minority Communities Equal Opportunities Through Entrepreneurship, Thomas M. Cooney

Articles

A substantial body of research has been undertaken in recent years giving prominence to the additional and distinctive challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and by ethnic entrepreneurs. However, other groups of minority entrepreneurs have received relatively little attention and so remain underexplored within entrepreneurship literature. This article introduces some of these minority communities (Ex–Prisoners, Disabled People, Travellers/Gypsies, Grey and Gay) and highlights the research opportunities that exist for entrepreneurship academics who might wish to analyse such ‘silent’ minorities. These communities are all relatively large in terms of population numbers, require tailored support to overcome distinctive economic, social and personal obstacles, …

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A Silence That Wants To Be Heard: Suburban Korean American Students In Dialogue With Invisibility, Dawan Coombs, Hye-Young Park, Bob Fecho Jan 2014

A Silence That Wants To Be Heard: Suburban Korean American Students In Dialogue With Invisibility, Dawan Coombs, Hye-Young Park, Bob Fecho

Faculty Publications

Korean American students experience invisibility and silence as their culture and presence remain outwardly invisible in the mainstream culture of US high schools. This is further exacerbated by the silent response of the dominant population of the school towards these issues. Yet, to an extent, Korean American students find a sense of comfort within that invisibility; less visibility allows more silence and thus more privacy. This qualitative in-depth interview study focuses on developing understandings of Korean American students’ perceptions and negotiations of education in suburban American schools, specifically through the perceptions of two Korean American female students. When viewed through …

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Supporting Lecturers In The Disciplines In The Affective Academic Writing Process, Roisin Donnelly Jan 2014

Supporting Lecturers In The Disciplines In The Affective Academic Writing Process, Roisin Donnelly

Journal Articles

This article reports on a case study evaluating lecturers’ experiences of their own affective writing process using a reflective critical incident analysis. While the cognitive-affective focus of academic writing has been explored previously from a collaborative perspective (Benton et al. 1984), this current study takes the individual writer as the unit of analysis. There are several reasons why lecturers need to write. Foremost among these should be when they write, they are providing a positive model for students, and are helping demystify the act of writing. Scholarly writing can be a struggle, and by doing so ourselves, we learn empathy …

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Exploring Exegetical Education In Mormon Gospel Doctrine Class, Michael Holton Jan 2014

Exploring Exegetical Education In Mormon Gospel Doctrine Class, Michael Holton

Theses

“Mormon” gospel doctrine classes present a practical problem since the scriptural text is often bypassed in favour of thematic discussions. The use of exegesis might overcome this problem by reinstating the text as a genuine source of meaning since it gains greater applicability in modern times when its original context is fully appreciated. Indeed, “exegetical education” (the combination of a systematic study of a text through questions and subsequent application via peer-learning activities) could be a useful way to structure classes, study and discussions. Practical action research was employed in a small-scale study to explore these claims. Interviews were held …

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Play Hard, Work Harder. Alternative Reality Game And Scenario Based Assessments For Learning., Barry Ryan Jan 2014

Play Hard, Work Harder. Alternative Reality Game And Scenario Based Assessments For Learning., Barry Ryan

Articles

In this paper, an evaluative case study is detailed as an example of alternative reality game and scenario based assessments for learning. This pedagogic approach is evaluated and recommendations for practice offered. Integrating technology into the assessment process, and final student product, influenced the chosen pedagogy. The use of technology permitted this assessment approach to be adopted for a medium sized (n=40) student cohort. The use of wikis, eportfolios and digital reflective diaries were central to creating a learning environment that centralised the student and allowed them to construct and create their knowledge through scaffolded alternative reality games and scenarios. …

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Modelling The Reporting Culture Within A Modern Organisation, Ewan Douglas, Samuel Cromie, Maria Chiara Leva, Nora Balfe Jan 2014

Modelling The Reporting Culture Within A Modern Organisation, Ewan Douglas, Samuel Cromie, Maria Chiara Leva, Nora Balfe

Articles

Research shows that there are many factors that can influence the operation of a “Reporting Culture” within organisations, ranging from the attitudes to the workers, to the methodology implemented, to the managerial attitudes within the organisation (Reason, 1998). Understanding and modelling these factors may help develop an optimum reporting system. Historically, research has focused on the concept of “Near Miss Reporting” which is based on the idea of identifying the “bottom” of the safety triangle concept put forward in Heinrich (1941) which suggests that for each accident there are dozens of near misses, and identifying these near misses will hopefully …

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Designing And Structuring Action Learning, David Coghlan, Paul Coughlan, Denise O'Leary, Clare Rigg Jan 2014

Designing And Structuring Action Learning, David Coghlan, Paul Coughlan, Denise O'Leary, Clare Rigg

Conference papers

The question driving learning in this paper is how to organise and structure a complex action learning research network of practitioners and researchers in a pan-European network of traditional food producers. The context is an EU’s Seventh Framework Programme of a multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral collaborative project supporting a network of traditional food producers in dairy, meat and bakery sub-sectors. The project is aiming to establish a network for the effective transfer of innovative knowledge, processes and technologies with a view to improving traditional food production by providing training to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship. While much of the literature on action learning …

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