Child's play: activity recognition for monitoring children's developmental progress with augmented toys

The way in which infants play with objects can be indicative of their developmental progress and may serve as an early indicator for developmental delays. However, the observation of children interacting with toys for the purpose of quantitative analysis can be a difficult task. To better quantify how play may serve as an early indicator, researchers have conducted retrospective studies examining the differences in object play behaviors among infants. However, such studies require that researchers repeatedly inspect videos of play often at speeds much slower than real-time to indicate points of interest. The research presented in this dissertation examines whether a combination of sensors embedded within toys and automatic pattern recognition of object play behaviors can help expedite this process. For my dissertation, I developed the Child'sPlay system which uses augmented toys and statistical models to automatically provide quantitative measures of object play interactions, as well as, provide the PlayView interface to view annotated play data for later analysis. In this dissertation, I examine the hypothesis that sensors embedded in objects can provide sufficient data for automatic recognition of certain exploratory, relational, and functional object play behaviors in semi-naturalistic environments and that a continuum of recognition accuracy exists which allows automatic indexing to be useful for retrospective review. I designed several augmented toys and used them to collect object play data from more than fifty play sessions. I conducted pattern recognition experiments over this data to produce statistical models that automatically classify children's object play behaviors. In addition, I conducted a user study with twenty participants to determine if annotations automatically generated from these models help improve performance in retrospective review tasks. My results indicate that these statistical models increase user performance and decrease perceived effort when combined with the PlayView interface during retrospective review. The presence of high quality annotations are preferred by users and promotes an increase in the effective retrieval rates of object play behaviors.Ph.D.Committee Chair: Starner, Thad E.; Committee Co-Chair: Abowd, Gregory D.; Committee Member: Arriaga, Rosa; Committee Member: Jackson, Melody Moore; Committee Member: Lukowicz, Paul; Committee Member: Rehg, James M

Aspekte der Charakterisierung phonologischer Sprachstörungen vs. verzögerter Spracherwerb bei jordanischem Arabisch sprechenden Kindern

Bader S'da SI. Issues in the characterisation of phonological speech impairment vs. delayed acquisition in Jordanian Arabic-Speaking children. Bielefeld (Germany): Bielefeld University; 2010.Eine Studie des Spracherwerbs des jordanischen Arabisch bei jungen Muttersprachlern.A study with children speaking or acquiring Jordanian Arabic with or without phonological impairments

An evaluation of a communicative intervention programme for hearing caregivers and their deaf children in a developing context

Includes bibliographical references (p. 398-428).This study set out to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention programme, in a developing context within an ecological framework that involves parents througp parent training adopting a parent-child interaction approach to intervention. This short-term, group intervention programme was developed specifically for hearing primary caregivers of profo,undly deaf signing children from low socio-economic backgrounds. A naturalistic approach to .intervention that followed a conversational model was applied. The programme was deSigned to enhance dyadic communicative interaction and to empower the caregivers as effective change agents, primarily through the programme components of communication skills and sign language, information and knowledge, educational advocacy and support. A broader perspective was adopted through addressing socio-economic factors and adapting to cultural differences. A team of people was involved in programme development, implementation and evaluation and included professionals from a range of disciplines, Deaf signing adults, and an English-isiXhosa interpreter. A shortterm longitudinal, before-and-after group design was used in programme implementation and evaluation. This design encompassed constructivist-interpretive and positivist/post-positivist research paradigms. The group of sixteen caregiver-child dyads reported on in this study was its own control, constituting a quasi-experimental design. An estimate of the effect of the programme was determined by analysing pre-post-intervention comparisons of videotaped dyadic interactions during play and storytelling, and the post-intervention evaluation questionnaire and focus group interview data. A coding system was compiled for the investigation of communication and sign language parameters that were not part of an occurrence of communication breakdown. Investigation of breakdown and repair as well as aspects of caregiver sign production constituted a separate analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were Icarried out in the evaluation process and certain procedures were adopted to enhance the reliability and validity of the findings. It is believed that the aims I of this study and the specific goals/objectives of the programme were met. The analyses carried out indicated positive change and that this change was most likely due to the programme. In particular, it is believed that the style of caregiver-child interaction changed over the course of the intervention and so the programme was effective to the degree that it improved caregiver-child communicative interaction. More so, it is believed that the programme resulted in empowerment of the caregivers. Numerous aspects are believed to contribute towards the uniqueness of this study and of the communicative intervention programme. The numerous clinical and theoretical implications and implications for future research arising from this study are discussed in detail

Interactive Technologies for the Public Sphere Toward a Theory of Critical Creative Technology

Digital media cultural practices continue to address the social, cultural and aesthetic contexts of the global information economy, perhaps better called ecology, by inventing new methods and genres that encourage interactive engagement, collaboration, exploration and learning. The theoretical framework for creative critical technology evolved from the confluence of the arts, human computer interaction, and critical theories of technology. Molding this nascent theoretical framework from these seemingly disparate disciplines was a reflexive process where the influence of each component on each other spiraled into the theory and practice as illustrated through the Constructed Narratives project. Research that evolves from an arts perspective encourages experimental processes of making as a method for defining research principles. The traditional reductionist approach to research requires that all confounding variables are eliminated or silenced using methods of statistics. However, that noise in the data, those confounding variables provide the rich context, media, and processes by which creative practices thrive. As research in the arts gains recognition for its contributions of new knowledge, the traditional reductive practice in search of general principles will be respectfully joined by methodologies for defining living principles that celebrate and build from the confounding variables, the data noise. The movement to develop research methodologies from the noisy edges of human interaction have been explored in the research and practices of ludic design and ambiguity (Gaver, 2003); affective gap (Sengers et al., 2005b; 2006); embodied interaction (Dourish, 2001); the felt life (McCarthy & Wright, 2004); and reflective HCI (Dourish, et al., 2004). The theory of critical creative technology examines the relationships between critical theories of technology, society and aesthetics, information technologies and contemporary practices in interaction design and creative digital media. The theory of critical creative technology is aligned with theories and practices in social navigation (Dourish, 1999) and community-based interactive systems (Stathis, 1999) in the development of smart appliances and network systems that support people in engaging in social activities, promoting communication and enhancing the potential for learning in a community-based environment. The theory of critical creative technology amends these community-based and collaborative design theories by emphasizing methods to facilitate face-to-face dialogical interaction when the exchange of ideas, observations, dreams, concerns, and celebrations may be silenced by societal norms about how to engage others in public spaces. The Constructed Narratives project is an experiment in the design of a critical creative technology that emphasizes the collaborative construction of new knowledge about one's lived world through computer-supported collaborative play (CSCP). To construct is to creatively invent one's world by engaging in creative decision-making, problem solving and acts of negotiation. The metaphor of construction is used to demonstrate how a simple artefact - a building block - can provide an interactive platform to support discourse between collaborating participants. The technical goal for this project was the development of a software and hardware platform for the design of critical creative technology applications that can process a dynamic flow of logistical and profile data from multiple users to be used in applications that facilitate dialogue between people in a real-time playful interactive experience

Prototype design for therapeutic support of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder

Trabajo de InvestigaciónThis research aims to generate through an intelligent system a support to the therapist and his family so that children from 2 to 5 years old diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which could help to improve communication and social skills according to the depth and complexity of their disorder must be treated and developed. Also this research presents the needs of parents and healthcare personnel regarding the therapeutic process of children diagnosed with ASD in Colombia, as well as the most important aspects for them.1. INTRODUCTION 2. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3. OBJECTIVES 4. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 5. THEORETHICAL FRAMEWORK 6. COLOMBIAN REGULATORY FRAMEWORK 7. STATE OF THE ART 8. METHODOLOGY 9. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT 10. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORKS REFERENCESMaestríaMagister en Ingeniería y Gestión de la Innovació

Guidance and support model to assist parents and learners with aggressive behaviour

In the light of increasing concerns related to violence in the South African society, this study sought to explore the nature of aggression amongst Grade R learners through the voices of principals, phase heads, educators, parents and support staff. Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, Social Learning Cognitive Theory and Bronfenbrenner’ Bio-ecological Theory provided the theoretical lens for this qualitative study. The study was undertaken in two primary schools and one nursery school with 22 participants in the Johannesburg area in South Africa. Data was produced through interviews and questionnaires. The findings show that the nature of aggression is complex, multi-dimensional and contextual. Aggressive behaviour was conceptualised as interconnected physical and emotional states coupled with the verbal competence to act out aggressive behaviour. This was triggered by a number of factors included in the genetic and environmental domains. The exploration of approaches, methods and lines of intervention suggest the need for multi-stakeholders to work together for holistic and responsive interventions. These findings contributed to the development of the Tree of Nurturance in order to unravel a contextualised site-based model for intervention to address aggressive behaviour.Early Childhood EducationD. Ed. (Socio-Education