Analysing observer preferences when presenting a product in a rendered scene: 2D vs. autostereoscopic 3D displays

This research compares the way the image of a product included within a rendered scene shown on an autostereoscopic 3D display is rated versus the same image shown in a 2D display. The purpose is to understand the observer's preferences and to determine the features that a composition should have to highlight the product and to make its presentation more attractive to observers, thereby helping designers and advertisers who use both displays to prepare images to make them more effective when visually presenting a product. The results show that observers like the images on autostereoscopic 3D displays slightly more than those presented by means of 2D displays. On both displays the product is perceived more quickly when it is larger than the other elements and is shown with greater chromatic contrast, but a composition is seen as more attractive when the chromatic relationship between all the elements is more harmonious

Impact of Ultra High Definition on Visual Attention

Ultra high definition (UHD) TV is rapidly replacing high definition (HD) TV but little is known of its effects on human visual attention. However, a clear understanding of this effect is important, since accurate models, evaluation methodologies, and metrics for visual attention are essential in many areas, including image and video compression, camera and displays manufacturing, artistic content creation, and advertisement. In this paper, we address this problem by creating a dataset of UHD resolution images with corresponding eye-tracking data, and we show that there is a statistically significant difference between viewing strategies when watching UHD and HD contents. Furthermore, by evaluating five representative computational models of visual saliency, we demonstrate the decrease in models' accuracies on UHD contents when compared to HD contents. Therefore, to improve the accuracy of computational models for higher resolutions, we propose a segmentation-based resolution-adaptive weighting scheme. Our approach demonstrates that taking into account information about resolution of the images improves the performance of computational models

Digital Media in a Special Educational Needs Classroom: A Study

PhDThis thesis presents a series of design-led case studies concerned with the use of digital technology and the practice of interaction design for children within the context of UK special educational needs classrooms. It explores the use and development of accessible digital systems to support groups of students who have a range of special educational needs. Working with groups of mixed ability students has found to be the most typical situation for teaching in the participant schools and is a rich but underexplored area of concern for interaction design research. This thesis presents detailed accounts and grounded analysis of four embedded, design-led, case studies in two UK special needs schools. It makes three main contributions to the community of researchers, designers and educational practitioners who are concerned with the use of digital technology with children and more specifically working within the field of interaction design for children with special educational needs. These contributions are: A set of design guidelines developed through an analysis of the detailed and thorough accounts of four embedded design-led research projects in two special needs school in the UK. A discussion of the development of the research approach taken in this thesis. A set of design personas of teaching staff interaction designers are likely to encounter when working in a UK special needs schoolRCUK under the Digital Economy Doctoral Training Centre scheme

Tailoring Engagement with Urban Nature for University of Sheffield Students’ Wellbeing

The prevalence of common mental health issues amongst university students has continued to increase, with the number of students declaring a pre-existing mental illness doubling since 2014/15. This has resulted in an increased and unmet demand for university student support services. Students suffering from mental health issues are more likely to drop out and underperform academically. This thesis explores what type of nature based interventions could support University of Sheffield students’ wellbeing. Using a mixed methods approach, this thesis addressed four research questions: (1) What nature based interventions are currently available to University of Sheffield students in South Yorkshire? (2) How do a walking intervention and an app intervention in urban nature compare in terms of their effect on student wellbeing? (3) How did participants experience these interventions? (4) How should engagement with the natural environment be encouraged for university students’ wellbeing? The use of expert interviews details the current procedures and availability of nature based interventions. An intervention study was designed to improve university students’ wellbeing through encouraging regular engagement with nature. This aimed to facilitate nature connection and attention restoration. The intervention compared a specially designed mobile phone app and walk activity. This is the first study to detail the lived experience of university students’ engagement with nature, to include follow-up measurements and a detailed evaluation. This resulted in findings in relation to noticing the negative and positive aspects of nature, and the viability of introducing novel nature based interventions for this population’s wellbeing. Statistical analysis presented a mixed result in nature connection and quality of life outcome between the interventions. Critically, the qualitative results presented opportunities to improve university student’s engagement with nature through green space design in coordination with interventions. Thematic analysis revealed the importance of campus green spaces designed to facilitate social and academic activities

Harmful online speech: An analysis of New Zealand's Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 to combat cyberbullying

An analysis of the evolution and application of New Zealand's Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 with comparative and international legal analysis

Faculty Of Education UNHI

Faculty Of Education UNH

“Obscenity has fallen to the wayside”: The decline of the obscenity provisions amongst law enforcement professionals in Canada

Since the landmark Butler case in 1992, obscenity, or more specifically adult pornography, has “fallen to the wayside,” in terms of legal consideration. Recent legal consideration has focused primarily on child pornography, and internet-based pornography, in a post-Butler era. Consequentially, the criminal justice system has experienced a shift in priorities; since Butler, only child-related obscene materials are subjected to criminal justice system scrutiny. This study explores the experiences of criminal justice system personnel to learn about shifts in law enforcement priorities since the enactment of the child pornography provision in 1993 and the role of the internet in this shift in priorities. I conducted 16 qualitative semi-structured interviews with criminal justice system personnel, guided by a feminist lens. Participants included current and retired members of the police (municipal and RCMP), Crown counsel, and defence lawyers; five participants had been involved in major court decisions of obscenity and child pornography (Little Sisters, 2000; R. v. Butler, 1992; R. v. Klassen, 2012; R. v. Neil, 2015; R. v. Sharpe, 2001). Analysis revealed a changing definition of obscenity, that material which historically would not have been tolerated for consumption, was now tolerated by the general community. More importantly, the perception emerged that obscenity was readily accessible via the internet, and no longer viewed as a priority for the criminal justice system. Participants identified the internet as a game changer; the availability and accessibility of child pornography online flooded the criminal justice system with depictions of the sexual abuse of real children that necessitated a priority response. As such, the focus and emphasis from the criminal justice system shifted away from violence against women and children, supported in Butler (1992), to child pornography, particularly that which features the sexual abuse of children. This shift in priorities resulted in a decline in law enforcement focus on obscene material, ultimately letting obscenity fall to the wayside. This research concludes with policy recommendations, including educating parents and children early about the issues with obscenity

Making Sense of Document Collections with Map-Based Visualizations

As map-based visualizations of documents become more ubiquitous, there is a greater need for them to support intellectual and creative high-level cognitive activities with collections of non-cartographic materials -- documents. This dissertation concerns the conceptualization of map-based visualizations as tools for sensemaking and collection understanding. As such, map-based visualizations would help people use georeferenced documents to develop understanding, gain insight, discover knowledge, and construct meaning. This dissertation explores the role of graphical representations (such as maps, Kohonen maps, pie charts, and other) and interactions with them for developing map-based visualizations capable of facilitating sensemaking activities such as collection understanding. While graphical representations make document collections more perceptually and cognitively accessible, interactions allow users to adapt representations to users’ contextual needs. By interacting with representations of documents or collections and being able to construct representations of their own, people are better able to make sense of information, comprehend complex structures, and integrate new information into their existing mental models. In sum, representations and interactions may reduce cognitive load and consequently expedite the overall time necessary for completion of sensemaking activities, which typically take much time to accomplish. The dissertation proceeds in three phases. The first phase develops a conceptual framework for translating ontological properties of collections to representations and for supporting visual tasks by means of graphical representations. The second phase concerns the cognitive benefits of interaction. It conceptualizes how interactions can help people during complex sensemaking activities. Although the interactions are explained on the example of a prototype built with Google Maps, they are independent iv of Google Maps and can be applicable to various other technologies. The third phase evaluates the utility, analytical capabilities and usability of the additional representations when users interact with a visualization prototype – VIsual COLlection EXplorer. The findings suggest that additional representations can enhance understanding of map-based visualizations of library collections: specifically, they can allow users to see trends, gaps, and patterns in ontological properties of collections