Experimental studies of the interaction between people and virtual humans with a focus on social anxiety

Psychotherapy has been one of the major applications of Virtual Reality technology; examples include fear of flying, heights, spiders, and post‐traumatic stress disorder. Virtual reality has been shown to be useful, in the context of exposure therapy for the treatment of social anxiety, such as fear of public speaking, where the clients learn how to conquer their anxiety through interactions with Virtual Characters (avatars). This thesis is concerned with the interaction between human participants and avatars in a Virtual Environment (VE), with the main focus being on Social Anxiety. It is our hypothesis that interactions between people and avatars can evoke in people behaviours that correspond to their degree of social anxiety or confidence. Moreover the responses of people to avatars will also depend on their degree of exhibited social anxiety – they will react differently to a shy avatar compared to a confident avatar. The research started with an experimental study on the reaction of shy and confident male volunteers to an approach by an attractive and friendly virtual woman in a VE. The results show that the participants responded according to expectations towards the avatar at an emotional, physiological, and behavioural level. The research then studied a particular cue which represents shyness – “blushing”. Experiments were carried out on how participant responds towards a blushing avatar. The results suggested that, even without consciously noticing the avatar’s blushing, the participants had an improved relationship with her when she was blushing. Finally, the research further investigated how people respond towards a shy avatar as opposed to a confident one. The results show that participants gave more positive comments to the personality of the avatar displaying signs of shyness

Human-Machine Communication: Complete Volume. Volume 1

This is the complete volume of HMC Volume 1

The Pedagogical Affordances of Social Media Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp in Higher Education in Saudi Arabia

This study has been conducted to explore the students and teachers’ perception of the pedagogical affordances at the University of Ha’il in Saudi Arabia. Three social media that this study aims to explore its pedagogical affordances are: Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp. The participants in this study might perceive different affordances of each tool based on its own functions and actual use. Therefore, the context of using social media was explored in order to gain a deep understanding of this issue in light of the socio-cultural theory as the theoretical framework of the study. In terms of the research methodology, this study adopted a case study using observation of classroom, observation of the students and teachers’ interaction on the social media, and semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data. The sample comprised eighteen respondents; three teachers and fifteen students. Each teacher and five students attended different class and used different social media platforms. The study concludes that the pedagogical affordances of the social media are: the social construction of knowledge, reflection, connectivity and collaboration. Furthermore, students and teachers’ social, teaching and cognitive presence shaped their perception of the pedagogical affordances of social media which was, in turn, contribute to their digital identity development and their understanding of agency on social media. Besides, various challenges facing the implementation of social networking sites were also discussed and highlighted

Students’ Academic Performance Accelerator System: An Online Tutoring System for Accelerating Students Academic Performance Using Moodle

Students’ Academic Performance Accelerator System: an Online Tutoring System for Accelerating Students Academic Performance Using Moodle is an educational online webportal which provides four main purposes via a platform known as Moodle; A tool of supplementary teaching for teachers in sharing the resources A tool for teacher in identifying student’s weak points thus accelerating the academic performance A tool for students to encourage self-learning based on their capabilities A tool of informal communication between students and teachers The main target group in this project encompasses of primary school students. The service enables the students to learn in an interactive and enjoyable way via online. This new way of study will promote the concept of learning at own pace as students might have different capabilities in understanding the subject that being taught in class. The features of Students’ Academic Performance Accelerator System: an Online Tutoring System for Accelerating Students Academic Performance Using Moodle are; Online questions or tests Question banks with answer schemes Discussion forums E-report card The objective of the project is to provide benefits to the project’s stakeholders which are; Students Parents Teachers School managemen

An anatomy of a social network : momentum, enhanced engagement and social media fatigue : a qualitative case study of situated literacy and engagement among further education re-sit students in the UK

The thesis presents a case study of how an online social network supported the classroom learning experienced by students undertaking the GCSE English re-sit. Inherent to the study is the problem of engagement and motivation among students ambivalent to this compulsory curriculum. The case study compares uses of the network between 16-19 year olds and adults in a Further Education college in the northwest of England.A theoretical model was constructed from a content analysis of communication posts across two years and four separate groups (n = 87) using the social network Edmodo.com. This was complemented by interviews with 15 students and observations of blended (classroom-based) use of the network. Coding of network communications showed how high levels of engagement assisted the negotiation of actions towards goals through co-operative communities of practice. High instances of affective disclosures in the network reveal apprehension to mobile provision, as well as opportunities for transformed perspective framed as decision-making thresholds.Students‘ posts lead to a profiling based on the frequency and types of communication posts made to the network, enabling insights into use and the design of a Continuum of Engagement. The theoretical continuum illustrates how momentum occurs through increased activity across time through socially cohesive communities that can help orientate learners to objectives, albeit, mainly among adult learners and specifically where blended to classroom use. Further conceptualisation of the inhibitors that exist with younger and peripheral members are presented as ontological thresholds of online presence – barriers to community participation based upon individual‘s affective dispositions. These factors may contribute to a sense of resistance to online learning, labelled Social Media Fatigue, indicating divergence with social learning models. Underscoring all activity are technological features perceived variably by students as affordances or as inhibitors to participation. Pedagogical strategies and interventions by educators are recommended that illustrate how students can be supported to negotiate ontological thresholds creating momentum in engaged agency towards increased self-determination

An Experimental Investigation of Emotional Labor Display Rules and Performance in a Human Resources Sexual Harassment Interview Simulation

Human Resource (HR) professionals are expected to engage in emotional labor (EL), or, management and control of their own emotions and emotional expression, during sexual harassment (SH) investigations. This EL expectation, or display rule (DR), is dynamic and complex requiring suppression of emotions and expressions of neutral empathy and is thus termed a dynamic neutral-empathic DR. Prior research shows that DRs in other occupations function as job demands that can deplete employees’ personal resources and negatively affect performance. The current study investigates the impact of the dynamic neutral-empathic DR by testing a process model that was developed via an integration of Job Demands-Resources and Conservation of Resources theories. The model tests predictions that emotion regulation and negative affect mediate relationships between the dynamic neutral-empathic DR and performance in the SH investigation context. The SH context comprised a simulated, SH investigation interview, which is part of professional training program developed by attorneys and psychologists and implemented in organizations. In the simulation, college students played the role of HR managers who interviewed an SH claimant as well as the alleged harasser. I used an experimental design to test the effects of this unique DR by randomly assigning participants to one of three conditions including a control condition with no DR, and two DR conditions. In the first DR condition, participants were instructed to adhere to the dynamic neutral-empathic DR. In the second DR condition, I manipulated DR adherence expectation, where more stringent requirements to adhere to the same, neutral-empathic DR were implemented. As such, I was able to test the impact of these two different DR conditions. Performance was measured during the simulated SH interviews via objective performance variables, and after via self-assessed performance and a memory task. Results providing evidence of resource depletion associated with the DR conditions were mixed. Negative affect mediated the relationship between DR condition and performance for participants in the DR conditions where greater levels of negative affect were negatively associated with performance. Emotional labor also mediated this relationship, but was unexpectedly associated with enhanced performance. Results are followed by a discussion and suggestions for future research

A professional agenda: An initial step toward enhancing the quality of teaching in University Malaysia Sarawak.

This paper was originally written as a proposal to the management of the Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) in the bid to enhance the quality of teaching on a university-wide basis. The recent quality assurance movement on teaching in UNIMAS is an important step to foster excellence in teaching and to eventually meet one of Malaysia’s visions of being a center for quality education by year 2020. Although teaching is one of the core businesses in institutions of higher learning, it is ironic that academics in many universities are not required to possess preparatory training in teaching, unlike schoolteachers. As a forwardlooking university, one of the initial mechanisms suggested in this paper is to conduct a workshop series to all UNIMAS academics. The workshop series comprise topics such as Introduction to University Teaching, How Humans Learn? Assessment, Instructional Design, Instructional Technology, and Learning from the Teaching Practice. The aims of the workshop series are to train the UNIMAS academics in teaching on a short-term basis, to initiate a long-term commitment toward excellence in teaching, and to develop a collaborative academic community that places special commitment to excellence in teaching. The required institutional commitment, the success factors, and the long-term plans for enhancing teaching at UNIMAS are also discussed in this paper

2011 Annual Research Symposium Abstract Book

2011 annual volume of abstracts for science research projects conducted by students at Trinity College