3,574 research outputs found
Design and semantics of form and movement (DeSForM 2006)
Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM) grew from applied research exploring emerging design methods and practices to support new generation product and interface design. The products and interfaces are concerned with: the context of ubiquitous computing and ambient technologies and the need for greater empathy in the pre-programmed behaviour of the âmachinesâ that populate our lives. Such explorative research in the CfDR has been led by Young, supported by Kyffin, Visiting Professor from Philips Design and sponsored by Philips Design over a period of four years (research funding ÂŁ87k). DeSForM1 was the first of a series of three conferences that enable the presentation and debate of international work within this field: ⢠1st European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM1), Baltic, Gateshead, 2005, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. ⢠2nd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM2), Evoluon, Eindhoven, 2006, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. ⢠3rd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM3), New Design School Building, Newcastle, 2007, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. Philips sponsorship of practice-based enquiry led to research by three teams of research students over three years and on-going sponsorship of research through the Northumbria University Design and Innovation Laboratory (nuDIL). Young has been invited on the steering panel of the UK Thinking Digital Conference concerning the latest developments in digital and media technologies. Informed by this research is the work of PhD student Yukie Nakano who examines new technologies in relation to eco-design textiles
Music regulators in two string quartets: A comparison of communicative behaviors between low- and high-stress performance conditions
In ensemble performances, group members use particular bodily behaviors as a sort of âlanguageâ to supplement the lack of verbal communication. This article focuses on music regulators, which are defined as signs to other group members for coordinating performance. The following two music regulators are considered: body gestures for articulating attacks (a set of movements externally directed that are used to signal entrances in performance) and eye contact. These regulators are recurring observable behaviors that play an important role in non-verbal communication among ensemble members. To understand how they are used by chamber musicians, video recordings of two string quartet performances (Quartet A performing BartĂłk and Quartet B performing Haydn) were analyzed under two conditions: a low stress performance (LSP), undertaken in a rehearsal setting, and a high stress performance (HSP) during a public recital. The results provide evidence for more emphasis in gestures for articulating attacks (i.e., the perceived strength of a performed attack-type body gesture) during HSP than LSP. Conversely, no significant differences were found for the frequency of eye contact between HSP and LSP. Moreover, there was variability in eye contact during HSP and LSP, showing that these behaviors are less standardized and may change according to idiosyncratic performance conditions. Educational implications are discussed for improving interpersonal communication skills during ensemble performance
Music regulators in two string quartets: a comparison of communicative behaviors between low- and high-stress performance conditions
In ensemble performances, group members use particular bodily behaviors as a sort of âlanguageâ to supplement the lack of verbal communication. This article focuses on music regulators, which are defined as signs to other group members for coordinating performance. The following two music regulators are considered: body gestures for articulating attacks (a set of movements externally directed that are used to signal entrances in performance) and eye contact. These regulators are recurring observable behaviors that play an important role in non-verbal communication among ensemble members. To understand how they are used by chamber musicians, video recordings of two string quartet performances (Quartet A performing BartĂłk and Quartet B performing Haydn) were analyzed under two conditions: a low stress performance (LSP), undertaken in a rehearsal setting, and a high stress performance (HSP) during a public recital. The results provide evidence for more emphasis in gestures for articulating attacks (i.e., the perceived strength of a performed attack-type body gesture) during HSP than LSP. Conversely, no significant differences were found for the frequency of eye contact between HSP and LSP. Moreover, there was variability in eye contact during HSP and LSP, showing that these behaviors are less standardized and may change according to idiosyncratic performance conditions. Educational implications are discussed for improving interpersonal communication skills during ensemble performance
The development of a human-robot interface for industrial collaborative system
Industrial robots have been identified as one of the most effective solutions for optimising output and quality within many industries. However, there are a number of manufacturing applications involving complex tasks and inconstant components which prohibit the use of fully automated solutions in the foreseeable future.
A breakthrough in robotic technologies and changes in safety legislations have supported the creation of robots that coexist and assist humans in industrial applications. It has been broadly recognised that human-robot collaborative systems would be a realistic solution as an advanced production system with wide range of applications and high economic impact. This type of system can utilise the best of both worlds, where the robot can perform simple tasks that require high repeatability while the human performs tasks that require judgement and dexterity of the human hands. Robots in such system will operate as âintelligent assistantsâ.
In a collaborative working environment, robot and human share the same working area, and interact with each other. This level of interface will require effective ways of communication and collaboration to avoid unwanted conflicts. This project aims to create a user interface for industrial collaborative robot system through integration of current robotic technologies. The robotic system is designed for seamless collaboration with a human in close proximity. The system is capable to communicate with the human via the exchange of gestures, as well as visual signal which operators can observe and comprehend at a glance.
The main objective of this PhD is to develop a Human-Robot Interface (HRI) for communication with an industrial collaborative robot during collaboration in proximity. The system is developed in conjunction with a small scale collaborative robot system which has been integrated using off-the-shelf components. The system should be capable of receiving input from the human user via an intuitive method as well as indicating its status to the user
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effectively. The HRI will be developed using a combination of hardware integrations and software developments. The software and the control framework were developed in a way that is applicable to other industrial robots in the future. The developed gesture command system is demonstrated on a heavy duty industrial robot
Learners' perceptions of teachers' non-verbal behaviours in the foreign language class
This study explores the meanings that participants in a British ELT setting give to
teachers' non-verbal behaviours. It is a qualitative, descriptive study of the perceived functions that gestures and other non-verbal behaviours perform in the foreign language classroom, viewed mainly from the language learners' perspective. The thesis presents the stages of the research process, from the initial development of the research
questions to the discussion of the research findings that summarise and discuss the
participants' views.
There are two distinct research phases presented in the thesis. The pilot study
explores the perceptions of 18 experienced language learners of teachers' non-verbal
behaviours. The data is collected in interviews based on videotaped extracts of
classroom interaction, presented to the participants in two experimental conditions,
with and without sound. The findings of this initial study justify the later change of
method from the experimental design to a more exploratory framework. In the main
study, 22 learners explain, in interviews based on stimulated recall, their perceptions on their teachers' verbal and non-verbal behaviours as occurring within the immediate classroom context. Finally, learners' views are complemented by 20 trainee teachers' written reports of classroom observation and their opinions expressed in focus group interviews. The data for the main study were thus collected through a combination of methods, ranging from classroom direct observations and videotaped recordings, to semi-structured interviews with language learners.
The research findings indicate that participants generally believe that gestures
and other non-verbal behaviours playa key role in the language learning and teaching
process. Learners identify three types of functions that non-verbal behaviours play in
the classroom interaction: (i) cognitive, i.e. non-verbal behaviours which work as
enhancers of the learning processes, (ii) emotional, i.e. non-verbal behaviours that
function as reliable communicative devices of teachers' emotions and attitudes and (iii)
organisational, i.e. non-verbal behaviours which serve as tools of classroom
management and control.
The findings suggest that learners interpret teachers' non-verbal behaviours in a
functional manner and use these messages and cues in their learning and social
interaction with the teacher. The trainee teachers value in a similar manner the roles that non-verbal behaviours play in the language teaching and learning. However, they
seem to prioritise the cognitive and managerial functions of teachers' non-verbal
behaviours over the emotional ones and do not consider the latter as important as the
learners did.
This study is original in relation to previous studies of language classroom
interaction in that it:
⢠describes the kinds of teachers' behaviours which all teachers and learners are familiar with, but which have seldom been foregrounded in classroom-based
research;
⢠unlike previous studies of non-verbal behaviour, investigates the perceiver's
view of the others' non-verbal behaviour rather than its production;
⢠documents these processes of perception through an innovative methodology of
data collection and analysis;
⢠explores the teachers' non-verbal behaviours as perceived by the learners
themselves, suggesting that their viewpoint can be one window on the reality of
language classrooms;
⢠provides explanations and functional interpretations for the many spontaneous
and apparently unimportant actions that teachers use on a routine basis;
⢠identifies a new area which needs consideration in any future research and
pedagogy of language teaching and learning
âThis I Believeâ About the Teaching of Writing: Secondary Teachersâ Digital Essays About Their Pedagogical Understandings
This case study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) examines the final projects of two secondary teachers in a graduate course about writing pedagogy. Teachers created digital essays along the lines of the National Public Radioâs âThis I Believeâ essays, which articulated their beliefs about the teaching of writing. We posed two research questions: a) What pedagogical understandings do teachers identify as their beliefs about writing and how do they represent those ideas in a digital composition? b) What did teachers learn from participating in the process of composing a digital essay? We found that teachers âreimaginedâ the teaching of writing, were personally drawn to the assignments in ways that surprised them, and realized the power of digital tools to accomplish what words simply cannot fully capture
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Video Conferencing and Multimodal Expression of Voice: Children's Communication in a Second Language Using Skype
This thesis focuses on how voice is experienced and expressed in a telecollaborative project using Skype to connect two groups of English language learners of primary age across two different countries. Voice is understood as a social semiotic phenomenon which takes as its base the ideas of Bakhtin (1986) and Goffman (1981) and is expanded to include multimodal forms of expression through the work of Kress (2003). This social semiotic notion of voice is synthesised with a framework of mediated action from Vygotsky (1978) and Wertsch (1991). The theoretical view of voice frames a small-scale qualitative study on how voice is expressed materially involving tools such as verbal language, body language, technology, and the spatial and temporal characteristics within which the communication takes place.
As this is an area that has not been widely researched, a methodology had to be designed to analyse the video recorded data and a framework based on Scollon and Scollonâs (2003) concept of geosemiotics was developed. This method of analysis investigates how language is materially assembled through interaction with others in the physical world around us. It has been rooted in a social constructivist paradigm to shed light on how multimodal expressions of voice through Skype can support childrenâs second language use.
The study shows that webcam-mediated online communication creates particular sets of conditions which affect the ways children are able to express their voice. Some points of divergence from familiar patterns of communication include how children use different spaces to negotiate different ways of being together, the multimodal ways in which children are able to express their voices and the diverse ways in which interpersonal distances can be represented and manipulated to manage conversations. The implications drawn out in the conclusion should initiate wider discussion in early childhood education and second language learning practice and research concerning the importance of adopting a multimodal perspective on how children express voice to support their communication in video conferencing environments
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