790 research outputs found

    Digital Technologies for Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language: a collective monograph

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    Колективна монографія розкриває різні аспекти використання цифрових технологій у навчанні англійської мови як іноземної/другої мови (цифровий сторітелінг, мобільні застосунки, інтерактивне навчання і онлайн-ігри, тощо) та надає освітянам і дослідникам ресурс для збагачення їхньої професійної діяльності. Окрема увага приділена цифровим інструментам для впровадження соціально-емоційного навчання та інклюзивної освіти на уроках англійської мови. Для вчителів англійської мови, методистів, викладачів вищих закладів освіти, науковців, здобувачів вищої освіти

    Image-based Decision Support Systems: Technical Concepts, Design Knowledge, and Applications for Sustainability

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    Unstructured data accounts for 80-90% of all data generated, with image data contributing its largest portion. In recent years, the field of computer vision, fueled by deep learning techniques, has made significant advances in exploiting this data to generate value. However, often computer vision models are not sufficient for value creation. In these cases, image-based decision support systems (IB-DSSs), i.e., decision support systems that rely on images and computer vision, can be used to create value by combining human and artificial intelligence. Despite its potential, there is only little work on IB-DSSs so far. In this thesis, we develop technical foundations and design knowledge for IBDSSs and demonstrate the possible positive effect of IB-DSSs on environmental sustainability. The theoretical contributions of this work are based on and evaluated in a series of artifacts in practical use cases: First, we use technical experiments to demonstrate the feasibility of innovative approaches to exploit images for IBDSSs. We show the feasibility of deep-learning-based computer vision and identify future research opportunities based on one of our practical use cases. Building on this, we develop and evaluate a novel approach for combining human and artificial intelligence for value creation from image data. Second, we develop design knowledge that can serve as a blueprint for future IB-DSSs. We perform two design science research studies to formulate generalizable principles for purposeful design — one for IB-DSSs and one for the subclass of image-mining-based decision support systems (IM-DSSs). While IB-DSSs can provide decision support based on single images, IM-DSSs are suitable when large amounts of image data are available and required for decision-making. Third, we demonstrate the viability of applying IBDSSs to enhance environmental sustainability by performing life cycle assessments for two practical use cases — one in which the IB-DSS enables a prolonged product lifetime and one in which the IB-DSS facilitates an improvement of manufacturing processes. We hope this thesis will contribute to expand the use and effectiveness of imagebased decision support systems in practice and will provide directions for future research

    Subtitling Francophone World Cinema: Narratives of Identity, Alterity and Power in Audiovisual Translation

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    Cinematic representations of multilingualism raise questions about communication and mutual understanding not only between characters in films but also between films and their audiences, for whom it is typically necessary to facilitate access to foreign dialogues through different forms of translation. Where languages are pitted against one another, however, or juxtaposed in ways that serve to reveal and explore tensions and hierarchies between different linguistic, cultural and social groups, translation becomes entangled in issues of identity, alterity and power. This thesis untangles and explores these complex interactions between languages and translation as they arise in the practice of subtitling. Specifically, it asks questions about how subtitling can play an active part in the shaping of identity by mediating differences between the local, the national and the global, and how subtitles intersect with the relations of power that exist between different cultures. In turn, the thesis exposes the semiotic and narrative dynamics that subtitles add to films and considers the implications of these findings for the ways we think of audiovisual translation and of its relationship with creative processes and accessibility practices. These questions are considered in the context of multilingualism, not only because issues of language, identity and power relations are inextricably involved in discussions thereof, but because multilingualism is an increasingly common experience for many subtitlers and film audiences alike. This is particularly true of francophone world cinema, from whose corpus the thesis analyses six films across three case studies: Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (Dany Boon 2008), L’esquive (Abdellatif Kechiche 2003), Inch’Allah dimanche (Yamina Benguigui 2001), Dheepan (Jacques Audiard 2015), Le grand voyage (Ismaël Ferroukhi 2004) and Exils (Tony Gatlif 2004). Methodologically, the thesis combines semiotic, narrative, and linguistic analysis of the subtitled audiovisual texts, drawing on a range of perspectives within Audiovisual Translation Studies, Postcolonial Translation Studies, Film Studies, French and Francophone Studies and Cultural Studies

    THE SEMIOTIC USE OF EMOJIS IN MARKETING COMMUNICATION

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    Despite the emergence of social media as the primary tool for communication in social and business settings, research on effectiveness of communication using of emojis is limited. This project seeks to bridge the gap in understanding the effectiveness of the use of emojis in marketing communication. In particular, the dissertation will focus on an interpretive exploration of the use of emojis in marketing communication as a semiotic that supports persuasion

    Development of standardised sizing system and size charts for the production of ready-to-wear clothing for Ghanaian children aged 6-11

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    Children experience rapid growth rate and often indulge in various physical and motion related activities in education and play spaces. Ill-fitting clothing such as very tight or unproportionally balanced clothes can cause movement restrictions, psychological challenges, and other undesirable health related issues. This makes appropriate clothing sizing crucial to address, as it gives children the right fit that allows room for movement and growth. Effectiveness of fit is based on a sizing system and size charts that have been developed using current and accurate body measurements of a specific population since differences exist among populations. Currently, established size charts and academic publications on sizing systems in Ghana have focused on women. No national database or anthropometric study has been developed exclusively for Ghanaian children. Practitioners either take measurements on ad-hoc basis for made-to-measure outfits; or use adapted versions of the British sizing system for manufacturing ready-to-wear garments such as uniforms. This research has therefore been undertaken to develop a standard clothing sizing system and size charts for Ghanaian children between the (school) ages of 6 and 11. This will sustain the general production of reliably sized garments for Ghanaian children whiles providing appropriate fit. It will further enhance mass production of ready-to-wear garments for the apparel market in Ghana. The study involved both secondary and primary data collection methods. An extensive review of literature was conducted focusing on relevant topics in anthropometry and anthropometric surveys for sizing creation, sizing systems, growth of children and garment fit. A comprehensive set of body measurements including height and weight of the sample population of school children were collected. A critical measurement procedural guide and two instructional videos in English and Twi (dominant Ghanaian language) were developed by the study taking into account efficacy, ethical and sustainable considerations for good practice. These were made available and guided parents/legal guardians and participants in the data collection process during fieldwork. The population consisted of primary school pupils in Ghana. A sample of 776 usable data was used for the analysis. With the IBM SPSS analytics software, appropriate statistical procedures such as means, t-test and analysis of variance tests (ANOVA) were conducted to ascertain the relationships among the variables and to obtain statistical data for the development of the sizing system. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis were also used to aid the development of the sizing system. Centred on the PCA technique, three key dimensions (height, chest, and waist girths) were selected based on the factor loading and practicality. The study found and established significant differences between the body measurements of Ghanaian children aged 6-11 along gender lines. Using the cluster analysis technique, the selected dimensions were used to categorize the study sample into homogenous subgroups according to upper and lower body separately for both males and females. Four or five sizes were created for each cluster group, and size charts were established based on percentile values. This study presents theoretical and empirical contributions to the body of knowledge in anthropometrics. It has modelled a guide that demonstrates the capability of remote and safe body measuring practices on children, which is particularly useful, economical, and reliable for clothing related practices that seek to employ consistent traditional manual measuring techniques. The study has created an original up-to-date anthropometric database for Ghanaian children between 6-11 years; and developed a comprehensive sizing system for wider clothing practices. In addition to providing a framework for procedures in creating children’s sizing system and size chart, it establishes new size charts for both males and females aged 6-11, based on the Ghanaian population. These developments stand to increase productivity, consistency, and economic efficiency for the Ghanaian apparel industry. The study makes recommendations for extending this work to other segments of the population

    Capability-Based Routes for Autonomous Vehicles

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    The pursuit of vehicle automation is an ongoing trend in the automotive industry. Particularly challenging is the goal of introducing driverless autonomous vehicles (AVs) into road traffic. To realize this vision, a targeted development of autonomous driving functions is essential. However, a targeted development process is only possible if the driving functions are tailored as appropriately and completely as possible to the operational design domain (ODD). Regardless of use case, all AVs have one thing in common: driving at least one route from A to B - whether simple or complex. For operational purposes, it is therefore necessary to ensure that the driving requirements (DRs) of the potential routes within the ODD do not exceed the driving capabilities (DCs) of the AVs. Currently, there is no approach that accomplishes the identification of exceeded capabilities. This work presents a method for route-based specification of DRs and DCs for AVs. It addresses the core research question of how to identify routes with DRs that do not exceed the DCs of AVs. An initial analysis reveals the dependencies between route and DRs. Thereby, the scenery defined in the ODD is found to be a fundamental basis for the specification of behavioral requirements as part of the DRs. In combination with the applicable traffic rules, the scenery elements define the behavioral limits for AVs. These limits are specifically extracted and classified as behavioral demands from the scenery using an analysis of these combinations. To enable a route-based specification of DRs, the behavioral demands are modeled as behavior spaces and transformed into a generic map representation - the Behavior-Semantic Scenery Description (BSSD). Based on the BSSD, a method is developed that generates behavioral requirements based on the route-constrained concatenation of behavior spaces. As a result, in addition to the method itself, the associated behavioral requirements are available as a basis for the route-based specification of DRs and DCs. Constraints for the specification are defined by the developed concept for the matching of DRs and DCs. It is shown that the DRs are strongly dependent on the geometry and property of the scenery elements, so that equal behavioral requirements do not necessarily imply equal DRs. These dependencies are used for the specification enabling the definition of matching criteria for a selection of DRs and corresponding DCs. To realize the matching, a capability-based route search is developed and implemented. The route search incorporates all elaborated results of the work enabling the whole approach to be evaluated by applying it to a real road network. The evaluation shows that the identification of feasible routes for AVs based on the scenery is possible and which hurdles based on identified deficits still have to be overcome

    Everyday Streets

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    Everyday streets are both the most used and most undervalued of cities’ public spaces. They are places of social aggregation, bringing together those belonging to different classes, genders, ages, ethnicities and nationalities. They comprise not just the familiar outdoor spaces that we use to move and interact but also urban blocks, interiors, depths and hinterlands, which are integral to their nature and contribute to their vitality. Everyday streets are physically and socially shaped by the lives of the people and things that inhabit them through a reciprocal dance with multiple overlapping temporalities. The primary focus of this book is an inclusive approach to understanding and designing everyday streets. It offers an analysis of many aspects of everyday streets from cities around the globe. From the regular rectilinear urban blocks of Montreal to the military-regulated narrow alleyways of Naples, and from the resilient market streets of London to the crammed commercial streets of Chennai, the streets in this book were all conceived with a certain level of control. Everyday Streets is a palimpsest of methods, perspectives and recommendations that together provide a solid understanding of everyday streets, their degree of inclusiveness, and to what extent they could be more inclusive
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