193 research outputs found
Space, people, networks:exploring the relationship between built structures and seamless wireless communication infrastructures
In this thesis, I investigate wireless communication from an architectural perspective. I am using design prototypes to explore possibilities for interaction and designing with wirelessness in mind. The public primarily regards wireless networking technology as a technical infrastructure that should provide a seamless flow of information across a network of base stations, access points and mobile devices. From this perspective, wireless infrastructure is evaluated in terms of network availability and speed, and is continuously optimised. Researchers explored some other perspectives on wireless communication technology: they used computational spatial analysis to measure signal propagation in space. Some ethnographic studies explored its effect on the use of public space. Wireless connectivity was also explored through the philosophical framework of radical empiricism. All this points to the fact that wireless network infrastructure is a complex topic, spanning multiple fields of expertise and interest (engineering, architecture, urban studies but also sociology and philosophy). It is rarely explored from a plural perspective, as each study typically focuses on the one aspect within its expertise. I propose a more complex view of wireless connectivity, encompassing these different perspectives through an intellectual framework that is based on the notion of architecturality. Architecturality, a property common to all architecture but exceeding the limits of built artefacts, is a measure of the effect something has on the experience of space. Through the lens of the built environment, I expose the complex transactions that take place between networks, people and space. In order to evaluate architecturality of wireless communication signals, I conducted a series of practical design experiments, involving people and interactive installations, and using data gathered from mobile devices and wireless access points. The design of these experiments relies on the principles described by human-computer interaction (HCI) researchers as seamful design. Seamful design reveals underlying structures and relationships behind what appears as a utilitarian infrastructure. The design experiments contribute to the discussion on the use of design artefacts in practice-based research methodologies, thus challenging the different agents of knowledge production and the superiority of established research traditions. The insights gained from this complex examination of wireless networks are important for architectural design, as a way to account more adequately for signal propagation through buildings. The experience of internalising wireless networks in the process of design engenders a designerĂąs sensitivity towards the presence of wireless communications in space. This sensitivity, similar to the one we have for the distribution of natural and artificial lighting, will be needed in the ever more challenging design of the built environment. The sensible designer can account for, and envision, more dynamic environments that are able to accommodate change and information in completely new ways
A Review of Data Mining in Personalized Education: Current Trends and Future Prospects
Personalized education, tailored to individual student needs, leverages
educational technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in the digital age to
enhance learning effectiveness. The integration of AI in educational platforms
provides insights into academic performance, learning preferences, and
behaviors, optimizing the personal learning process. Driven by data mining
techniques, it not only benefits students but also provides educators and
institutions with tools to craft customized learning experiences. To offer a
comprehensive review of recent advancements in personalized educational data
mining, this paper focuses on four primary scenarios: educational
recommendation, cognitive diagnosis, knowledge tracing, and learning analysis.
This paper presents a structured taxonomy for each area, compiles commonly used
datasets, and identifies future research directions, emphasizing the role of
data mining in enhancing personalized education and paving the way for future
exploration and innovation.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figure
Disentangling the Posthuman: Broadening Perspectives of Human/Machine Mergers through Inter-relational Subjectivity
In the conclusion of How We Became Posthuman, N. Katharine Hayles states that the terror of posthumanism comes from its dual connotation of superseding the human and coming after it, implying that the days of being human are coming to an end. Certain branches of posthuman discourse suggest that the intersection of humans and advanced technologies has already resulted in the dissolution of essentialist understandings of the human to make way for the posthuman. While some theorists interpret this emergence as marking the humanâs fall and subsequent rise as a transcendent being imbued with technological adornments, others rightly see it as the disbanding of the human of Enlightenment philosophy. Yet as this dissertation argues, even iterations of posthuman thought that attempt to reject anthropological and sociocultural essentialisms inadvertently re-affirm humanist ideologies. This is mainly due to normative and dogmatic ideas about technologyâs place in the human world that frame it as dehumanizing and oppositional on the one hand, or transcendent and empowering on the other. In both cases, the human/technology relationship is pre-coded by the assumption that technology gesticulates a dislodging of ânaturalâ human purity, which encourages the fear that human agency predicated on self-possession is at risk. Engaging with the works of Hayles, Rosi Braidotti and Karen Barad, I propose that agency is not something one possesses, but an outcome of entanglements where identity is formed when the subject recognizes difference over assimilation. My contention is that humans typically approach potential connections with technologies as opportunities to extend the individual unitary self, rather than exploring the self as open, incomplete and always emerging. When technology is perpetually seen as an intrusive addition to the human, a false dichotomy develops where authentic self-representation is endangered by technological mediation. As well, the rhetoric that technology possesses the power to make us âmore humanâ (Case 2010; Hauskellar 2013; Taylor 2011; Casey 2013) frames it as a vehicle with which the normative able-bodied human elevates its control over the world. Thus, in response to the increasing demonization of communication technologies, my critique of digital abstinence initiatives reveals the ableist, racist and classist underpinnings that discount the varied ways all humans entangle with artifacts to participate in subject-making. Rather than theorizing how posthumanism represents the promises of technological extension, I evaluate the underlying exclusions that assign certain humans as lacking and needing improvement. Building on Braidottiâs ethics of becoming and the movement from a unitary to nomadic subject, my conception of âinclusive posthumanismâ disengages from the idea that the humanâs purpose is to progress. By rejecting individualism and self-interest to promote a larger inter-relationality with other human and non-human artifacts, I see the inclusive posthuman as an opportunity to theorize subjectivity as a decentralization of the humanâs role within a larger system. This both recognizes the humanâs importance without implying its obliteration, and offers constitutions of a collective self that is uncovered through chance encounters
The praxis and research of human anatomy through autoethnography.
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.This thesis is in manuscript format, as per the guidelines of the College of Health Sciences of the
University of KwaZulu Natal. It comprises five manuscripts that have been submitted to accredited
journals for publication (one manuscript is currently in press and the others are awaiting final status
after revisions were completed).
The use of autoethnography as an approach is an emerging transformative field of study within the
Health Sciences at Higher Education institutions and is a move away from the key traditional positivist
models of research in the domain of anatomical education.
This study with praxis and research at the nucleus, aimed to investigate the following: (i) challenges
experienced in the teaching and learning of human anatomy; (ii) the views and perceptions of fellow
colleagues regarding research in the domain of clinically applied anatomy and how this has impacted
on their teaching practices; (iii) the opinions of senior anatomy instructors regarding the state of
anatomical knowledge at their respective institutions; (iv) student attitudes and experiences regarding
human cadaveric dissection through an analysis of their journal-reflective writings; and (v) the use of
mobile devices by learners at a selected medical school.
Each of these aims stated above were achieved through the articles which comprised the manuscript of
this study.
In the first manuscript, Bits, bytes and bones: An Autoethnographic Account of Challenges in Anatomy
Education: Perceptions Emanating from a Selected South African University I describe the
methodological approach of autoethnography, specifically as it applies to reflection and memory work,
and describe how this style enabled me to interrogate the current challenges and dilemmas underpinning
the research, teaching and learning practices within this discipline. This was done through the use of an
exclusive autoethnographic approach which is a qualitative method of research that seeks to describe
and examine personal experience to comprehend cultural practice. The autoethnographic study
highlighted challenges experienced, and these included the shortage of cadaveric material for teaching
and research, the subsequent implementation of medical software applications, deficiencies in the
curriculum and the teaching of anatomy by scientist anatomists.
The second manuscript was entitled Communities of Practice: a new methodology in anatomical
research and teaching. In this the notion of collaborative autoethnography as a research method is
introduced. In this approach, researchers worked in tandem with me to gather autobiographical material
to analyse and understand their data collectively with each contributing to an understanding of the
sociocultural phenomena.
This type of research allowed for in-depth learning about the self and others and fostered collaboration
among researchers in this field of applied anatomy. The use of semi-structured interviews with coauthors (n=10) on co-written papers formed the essential method used in generating this article. The
collaborative autoethnographic study revealed four important themes namely: the value of research
collaboration; the impact of human anatomical variations; the association with medical and non-medical
collaborators; and teaching practice emanating from collaborative research.
In manuscript 3, Views of South African Academic Instructors regarding the Scholarship of Teaching
and Learning in Anatomy Education, a reflective design is presented and it is understood that reflecting
on teaching is commonly referred to as an essential practice for personal and professional development.
Open-ended questionnaires were distributed to senior anatomy faculty based at the eight national
medical schools in South Africa. The emerging argument in this paper is that educational research into
the scholarship of teaching and learning anatomy includes engaging in discipline-specific literature on
teaching, reflecting on individual pedagogical methods and communicating these findings to peers. In
medical education, reflection has been considered to be a core skill in professional ability. Faculty
teaching anatomy highlighted several challenges such as time constraints within the medical
curriculum, the lack of cadavers to reinforce knowledge and lack of appropriately qualified staff in the
delivery of the subject.
The anatomy laboratory is an ideal setting for faculty/student interaction and provides important
occasions to investigate active learning and reflection on anatomical knowledge. This forms the basis
of the Manuscript 4, Reflective Journals: Unmasking student perceptions of anatomical education, in
which seventy-five journals from medical and allied Health Science students were collected and
analysed. Through the use of journal-reflective writing as a technique, student attitudes and experiences
of human cadaveric dissection of anatomy were analysed. Student reflective journals highlighted the
following themes which included (a) Dissecting room stressors, (b) Educational value of dissection ,
(c) Appreciation, Gratitude, Respect & Curiosity for the cadaver , (d) Positive and negative sentiments
expressed in the dissecting room , (e) Benefit of alternate teaching modalities, (f) Spirituality/Religious
Beliefs, (g) Shared humanity and emotional bonds, (h) Acknowledgement of human anatomical
variations, (i) Beauty and complexity of the human body, and (j) Psychological detachment .
For the final manuscript which forms this compilation, Anytime, Anywhereâ: Tablet technology in
Medical education, a questionnaire comprising both open and closed- ended questions was analysed
from 179 (60 male; 119 female) second year medical students registered for the Anatomy course to
establish the use of mobile devices by learners at a selected medical school. The themes that emerged
from m-learning included studentsâ ideas on mobile device engagement, and propositions related to the
advantages and challenges affecting use of mobile devices.
The use of autoethnography as a research approach can be considered dissident, and an âanatomical
turnâ in the praxis and research in the domain of anatomical education. This study highlights relevant
contributions to the research, praxis (teaching and learning) of human anatomy through views of all
significant role players â students, researchers and educators. The conceptual framework which was
abstracted from the articles and the thesis in its entirety, offers significant understandings regarding the
praxis and research of human anatomy within the context of educational theory.Thesis by manuscript
In Search of the DomoNovus: Speculative Designs for the Computationally-Enhanced Domestic Environment
Edited version embargoed until 01.02.2018
Full version: Access restricted permanently due to 3rd party copyright restrictions. Restriction set on 01.02.2017 by SC, Graduate schoolThe home is a physical place that provides isolation, comfort, access to essential needs on a daily basis, and it has a strong impact on a personâs life. Computational and media technologies (digital and electronic objects, devices, protocols, virtual spaces, telematics, interaction, social media, and cyberspace) become an important and vital part of the home ecology, although they have the ability to transform the domestic experience and the understanding of what a personal space is.
For this reason, this work investigates the domestication of computational media technology; how objects, systems, and devices become part of the personal and intimate space of the inhabitants. To better understand the taming process, the home is studied and analysed from a range of perspectives (philosophy, sociology, architecture, art, and technology), and a methodological process is proposed for critically exploring the topic with the development of artworks, designs, and computational systems.
The methodology of this research, which consists of five points (Context, Media Layers, Invisible Matter, Diffusion, and Symbiosis), suggests a procedure that is fundamental to the development and critical integration of the computationally enhanced home. Accordingly, the home is observed as an ecological system that contains numerous properties (organic, inorganic, hybrid, virtual, augmented), and is viewed on a range of scales (micro, meso and macro). To identify the âchoreographiesâ that are formed between these properties and scales, case studies have been developed to suggest, provoke, and speculate concepts, ideas, and alternative realities of the home. Part of the speculation proposes the concept of DomoNovus (the âNew Homeâ), where technological ubiquity supports the inhabitantsâ awareness, perception, and imagination. DomoNovus intends to challenge our understanding of the domestic environment, and demonstrates a range of possibilities, threats, and limitations in relation to the future of home.
This thesis, thus, presents methods, experiments, and speculations that intend to inform and inspire, as well as define creative and imaginative dimensions of the computationally-enhanced home, suggesting directions for the further understanding of the domestic life.Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundatio
Immersive analytics for oncology patient cohorts
This thesis proposes a novel interactive immersive analytics tool and methods to interrogate the cancer patient cohort in an immersive virtual environment, namely Virtual Reality to Observe Oncology data Models (VROOM). The overall objective is to develop an immersive analytics platform, which includes a data analytics pipeline from raw gene expression data to immersive visualisation on virtual and augmented reality platforms utilising a game engine. Unity3D has been used to implement the visualisation. Work in this thesis could provide oncologists and clinicians with an interactive visualisation and visual analytics platform that helps them to drive their analysis in treatment efficacy and achieve the goal of evidence-based personalised medicine. The thesis integrates the latest discovery and development in cancer patientsâ prognoses, immersive technologies, machine learning, decision support system and interactive visualisation to form an immersive analytics platform of complex genomic data. For this thesis, the experimental paradigm that will be followed is in understanding transcriptomics in cancer samples. This thesis specifically investigates gene expression data to determine the biological similarity revealed by the patient's tumour samples' transcriptomic profiles revealing the active genes in different patients. In summary, the thesis contributes to i) a novel immersive analytics platform for patient cohort data interrogation in similarity space where the similarity space is based on the patient's biological and genomic similarity; ii) an effective immersive environment optimisation design based on the usability study of exocentric and egocentric visualisation, audio and sound design optimisation; iii) an integration of trusted and familiar 2D biomedical visual analytics methods into the immersive environment; iv) novel use of the game theory as the decision-making system engine to help the analytics process, and application of the optimal transport theory in missing data imputation to ensure the preservation of data distribution; and v) case studies to showcase the real-world application of the visualisation and its effectiveness
CREATING A COHERENT SCORE: THE MUSIC OF SINGLE-PLAYER FANTASY COMPUTER ROLE-PLAYING GAMES
This thesis provides a comprehensive exploration into the music of the ludic genre (Hourigan, 2005) known as a Computer Role-Playing Game (CRPG) and its two main sub-divisions: Japanese and Western Role-Playing Games (JRPGs & WRPGs). It focuses on the narrative category known as genre fiction, concentrating on fantasy fiction (Turco, 1999) and seeks to address one overall question: How do fantasy CRPG composers incorporate the variety of musical material needed to create a coherent score across the JRPG and WRPG divide?
Seven main chapters form the thesis text. Chapter One provides an introduction to the thesis, detailing the research contributions in addition to outlining a variety of key terms that must be understood to continue with the rest of the text. A database accompanying this thesis showcases the vast range of CRPGs available; a literature review tackles relevant existing materials. Chapters Two and Three seek to provide the first canonical history of soundtracks used in CRPGs by dissecting typical narrative structures for games so as to provide context to their musical scores. Through analysis of existing game composer interviews, cultural influences are revealed. Chapters Four and Five mirror one another with detailed discussion respectively regarding JRPG and WRPG music including the influence that anime and Hollywood cinema have had upon them. In Chapter Six, the use of CRPG music outside of video games is explored, particularly the popularity of JRPG soundtracks in the concert hall. Chapter Seven concludes the thesis, summarising research contributions achieved and areas for future work. Throughout these chapters, the core task is to explain how the two primary sub-genres of CRPGs parted ways and why the music used to accompany these games differs so drastically
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