Herramientas y métodos para la producción multimedia. Modelo centrado en el Autor MCA

Este trabajo de investigación pertenece al ámbito de las técnicas y métodos para la creación y la producción de contenidos multimedia y se centra en el estudio de las tareas que desarrollan los autores de contenidos multimedia. El Laboratorio de Aplicaciones Multimedia de la UPC (en adelante LAM) ha desarrollado y aplicado durante los últimos años un modelo de producción de contenidos digitales multimedia orientado a facilitar la integración de los expertos en contenidos en el proceso de producción multimedia. El trabajo en el que se basa este estudio se inicia en el año 1992, y recoge la experiencia de:- El análisis de las producciones realizadas con anterioridad al periodo del estudio por 15 personas y en 39.840 horas.- 145 proyectos desarrollados con la participación de 54 personas.- Las anotaciones en las hojas de trabajo de 88.919 horas correspondientes a las distintas tareas de la producción multimedia realizadas durante el periodo que comprende el estudio.- La experiencia en la aplicación para la formación en técnicas y métodos para la producción multimedia de: -- 120 profesores de Universidad-- 3.820 estudiantes de Ingeniería-- 730 estudiantes especializados en la producción multimedia.Los diversos sistemas desarrollados para este modelo, basados en el diseño de procesos y en el uso y adaptación de las herramientas de software comerciales, se han aplicado de forma sistemática en los 31 proyectos que constituyen la base empírica de esta investigación. La investigación tiene como objetivo central el desarrollo de un modelo de producción multimedia centrado en el autor. El modelo desarrollado y experimentado se ha obtenido a partir de la observación y análisis del tipo de tareas, y del conocimiento relacionado con ellas, que intervienen en el desarrollo de contenidos multimedia y permite trasladar al autor algunas de las capacidades de los perfiles profesionales que intervienen en el proceso de producción.La presentación de la investigación se ha organizado en 5 capítulos:1. Objetivos y método.Se definen los objetivos de la investigación, se delimita el ámbito para el cual tienen validez los resultados aportados y se expone el proceso de trabajo que se ha seguido.2. Estudio teórico.Se presentan los conocimientos que constituyen el marco teórico de referencia para la investigación. 3. Desarrollo y descripción del modelo.Se describe el trabajo de campo realizado consistente en el desarrollo gradual del modelo y en la obtención de los criterios para su mantenimiento y mejora.4. Resultados.Se define el modelo para la capacitación de autores de contenidos, que constituye el resultado concreto de esta investigación.5. ConclusionesSe finaliza la memoria de la investigación con una síntesis de las conclusiones a las que ha permitido llegar la investigación, así como las líneas de continuidad de la misma

Personality representation: predicting behaviour for personalised learning support

The need for personalised support systems comes from the growing number of students that are being supported within institutions with shrinking resources. Over the last decade the use of computers and the Internet within education has become more predominant. This opens up a range of possibilities in regard to spreading that resource further and more effectively. Previous attempts to create automated systems such as intelligent tutoring systems and learning companions have been criticised for being pedagogically ineffective and relying on large knowledge sources which restrict their domain of application. More recent work on adaptive hypermedia has resolved some of these issues but has been criticised for the lack of support scope, focusing on learning paths and alternative content presentation. The student model used within these systems is also of limited scope and often based on learning history or learning styles.This research examines the potential of using a personality theory as the basis for a personalisation mechanism within an educational support system. The automated support system is designed to utilise a personality based profile to predict student behaviour. This prediction is then used to select the most appropriate feedback from a selection of reflective hints for students performing lab based programming activities. The rationale for the use of personality is simply that this is the concept psychologists use for identifying individual differences and similarities which are expressed in everyday behaviour. Therefore the research has investigated how these characteristics can be modelled in order to provide a fundamental understanding of the student user and thus be able to provide tailored support. As personality is used to describe individuals across many situations and behaviours, the use of such at the core of a personalisation mechanism may overcome the issues of scope experienced by previous methods.This research poses the following question: can a representation of personality be used to predict behaviour within a software system, in such a way, as to be able to personalise support?Putting forward the central claim that it is feasible to capture and represent personality within a software system for the purpose of personalising services.The research uses a mixed methods approach including a number and combination of quantitative and qualitative methods for both investigation and determining the feasibility of this approach.The main contribution of the thesis has been the development of a set of profiling models from psychological theories, which account for both individual differences and group similarities, as a means of personalising services. These are then applied to the development of a prototype system which utilises a personality based profile. The evidence from the evaluation of the developed prototype system has demonstrated an ability to predict student behaviour with limited success and personalise support.The limitations of the evaluation study and implementation difficulties suggest that the approach taken in this research is not feasible. Further research and exploration is required –particularly in the application to a subject area outside that of programming

Establishing an Online Community of Practice for Instructors of English as a Foreign Language

Communities of practice are entities that emerge for the purposes of learning and advancement of knowledge in a particular area. They emerge under all circumstances, even adverse situations. Because they can spawn great innovation and knowledge advancement, organizations need to cultivate and establish environments that allow them to develop. Currently, communities of practice have moved into the online world, in which their members use computer mediated communication to collaborate with each other. In January, 2002, a virtual community was formed to enable teachers of English as a Foreign Language to collaborate on learning and applying various computing technologies in language teaching. This community is known as Web heads in Action. Because many teachers with this interest are geographically disbursed, this distributed community allows the members to contact others with similar interests in this field. This virtual community also considers itself a community of practice because some of its core members are interested in the research and literature in this area. The literature presents communities of practice as falling within a range of attributes and characteristics. However, this presentation of ranges causes the concept of communities of practice to be elusive for members and stakeholders alike. In addition, the difference between communities of practice and virtual communities needs to be delineated. This dissertation established criteria that distinguish distributed communities of practice from other types of virtual communities. The author derived the criteria from theory, and conducted a case study that compared communities of practice theory with the virtual community of Web heads in Action. Based on this analysis, this dissertation refined and furthered develop theory of distributed communities of practice. This case study opened the debate on general criteria, as well as a benchmarking system, for communities of practice. It provided guidelines for future study in the areas of methodology and criteria refinement with respect to multiple case studies

Emoções interactivas, do cinema para os videojogos

Coleção : Comunicação e Sociedade n.º 1

Interfaces para um museu do web design português

Doutoramento em DesignTendo-se verificado lacunas nas áreas da preservação, exposição e história do Web design português, este estudo direcionou-se no sentido duma proposta para as colmatar. Propôs-se, um sistema para a resolução dessas lacunas através do “desenho” de interfaces de um museu baseado na Web para o Web design português, desde uma perspectiva do design. Para isso, foi primeiro necessário construir um enquadramento histórico da Web e do Web design em Portugal. Após o estudo efectuado, concluiu-se que na construção do acervo museológico do Web design, não é suficiente a preservação do artefacto digital per se, mas que deve preservar-se a prática projetual, realçando o papel do designer na construção do acervo. Em colaboração, com o curador no papel de mediador, juntos constroem a coleção. Ao mesmo tempo deve preservar-se a ‘anatomia de uso’ destes artefactos interativos, incluindo para isso a participação do visitante do museu, de forma a criar um acervo cultural abrangente e representativo. Um museu baseado na Web 2.0, tem características específicas, que advêm do meio e que são projetadas nas estratégias museológicas propostas. Considerando as hipóteses de investigação e a abordagem metodológica utilizada, foi desenvolvida uma proposta inicial, para dar início a um futuro museu do Web design português, materializada, através de uma visualização frontend do serviço do museu.After verifying a significant gap in the areas of preservation, exhibition, and the history of Portuguese Web design the present study was directed to its resolution. The solution for the problem was found in the design of interfaces of a web-based museum for Portuguese Web design from a design perspective. But for that it was first necessary to build a historical framework of the Web and Web design in Portugal. After the study conducted, it was concluded that in the construction of the museum collection is not enough to preserve the digital artefact per se, but that the design practice must be preserved, highlighting the role of the designer in the making of the collection. In collaboration with the curator in the role of mediator, together they build the collection. At the same time must be preserved the "anatomy of use" of the interactive artefacts, including for that the participation of the museum visitor in order to create a comprehensive and representative cultural heritage. A museum based in Web 2.0 has specific characteristics that come from the environment, and which are projected in the proposed museological strategies. Considering the research hypotheses and the methodological approach, we developed a front-end view of the service of the museum, an initial proposal to initiate a future museum of the Portuguese Web design

The genetic architecture of reactive and proactive aggression: relations to disruptive behaviour problems through development

Over the past two decades there has been increasing interest in the distinction between reactive (RA) and proactive aggression (PA; Card & Little, 2006; Polman, Orobio de Castro, Koops, van Boxtel & Merk, 2007). RA describes aggression that is defensive, impulsive and affect-laden, while PA comprises instrumental, calculated and typically unemotional aggressive behaviours (Vitaro, Brendgen & Tremblay, 2002). There is growing consensus that developmental models of RA and PA may help clarify risk pathways associated with the three disruptive behaviour disorders (DBD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder (Kempes, Matthys, de Vries & van Engeland, 2005; Raine et al., 2006; Waschbusch, Willoughby & Pelham, 1998). However, some confusion remains regarding etiological influences responsible for the differential shaping of aggression subtypes (Baker, Raine, Liu & Jacobson, 2008).Contributing the first elucidation of developmental relations between aggression subtypes and DBDs, caregiver ratings were ascertained from a large community sample of families of twins (aged 6-18 years) using the Australian Twin Behaviour Rating Scales (ATBRS, n=2082), and at 9-month follow-up via an online electronic version of the ATBRS (n=511). These data were partitioned according to two age cohorts (6-10 years, and 10-18 years) and subsequently submitted to a series of univariate and multivariate cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.Consistent with previous research (e.g., Baker et al., 2008), cross-sectional models indicated strong influence of genes on both RA and PA—with genes showing greater effects on PA compared to RA, particularly in the older cohort. Multivariate longitudinal analyses revealed a substantial differential role for genes in the continuity of aggression subtypes over time for both RA and PA in the younger cohort, and for PA in the older cohort. At odds with etiological models that posit differential psychosocial factors underpinning RA and PA (Crick & Dodge, 1996; Dodge, 1991), no evidence was found for shared environmental effects on persistence in RA over time. Conversely, shared environmental effects explained a significant portion of covariance in childhood PA across time points. However, contrary to predictions derived from psychosocial explanations (e.g., Dodge, 1991), these shared environmental influences were mediated through a general risk for (undifferentiated) overt physical aggression.Data provide preliminary, albeit modest, evidence for a recent sequential model of RA and PA (i.e., Vitaro & Brendgen, 2005) which implicates RA as an early developmental precursor to PA. This model reformulates the role of social learning mechanisms invoked by seminal psychosocial formulations (i.e., Dodge, 1991). Specifically, the sequential hypothesis postulates that early RA which is reinforced in childhood, may increasingly come to be used operantly (i.e., instrumentally). In this way, RA is effectively converted to PA-type aggression. As predicted by this model, current data revealed the longitudinal relationship from RA to PA was predominantly explained by shared environmental influences (over and above a general risk for overt aggression) in the younger cohort. By contrast, the pathway from RA to PA in the older cohort was explained mainly by the influence of genes. These data provide some support for the suggestion that putative social learning mechanisms impact on the sequential pathway in childhood but not adolescence.The expected high levels of phenotypic overlap between aggression subtypes and DBDs were consistently explained by genes and nonshared environmental influences with the former accounting for the majority of covariance in most bivariate models. Age cohort differences in multivariate models of aggression subtypes and DBDs were in line with the smorgasbord hypothesis suggesting the effects of genes generally increase, while the effects of shared environment generally decrease, as a function of age. This pattern was most consistent and pervasive in RA-related models. Notable exceptions to this pattern occurred in bivariate models involving PA on the one hand, and hyperactivity or CD on the other—with these models showing greater influence of shared environment in the older versus younger age cohort. Additionally, the current research indicates a trend towards greater segregation of genetic effects across aggression subtypes and DBDs as a function of age, while conversely, shared environmental effects were more likely to simultaneously affect multiple syndromes in the older versus younger cohort.In regards to clinically specified risk pathways, relevant longitudinal analyses suggested that impulsivity confers only limited risk for future RA, while partial support was obtained for recent suggestions that both hyperactivity and PA are important cofactors in risk pathways associated with ODD and CD. Overall, the data that include DBDs broadly support RA and hyperactivity as key early markers of long-term risk.The online component of the study also included two neuropsychological tasks adapted for the internet and completed by 310 twin siblings. Representing an attempt to integrate multiple explanatory frameworks, this latter study evaluated differerential putative neuro-biogenic mechanisms underpinning RA and PA. Results from this study were inconclusive and issues pertaining to the delivery of neuropsychological tasks online are considered. In contrast to results from the adapted neuropsychological tasks, the online electronic ATBRS yielded higher data integrity and higher scale reliabilities than its original paper-and-pencil counterpart.All results are discussed and implications for future research and clinical practice relating to childhood and adolescent aggression are considered. Finally, limitations of the current research project are examined