A match made in heaven or down under? The effectiveness of matching visual and verbal horizons in advertising

According to construal level theory, consumers' processing styles become more abstract as psychological distance increases, but they grow more concrete when psychological distance decreases. This study provides evidence that panoramic pictures in which the horizon appears in the lower versus upper part of the frame trigger a different level of construal. As such, this study raises a novel source of construal. In addition, this study shows that when both visual (e.g., horizon height) and verbal (e.g., temporal benefit) advertising elements induce the same level of construal, advertising effectiveness increases. This work differs from previous research in that it focuses on the construal fit evoked by two advertisement features rather than a fit in construal between an external stimulus and the internal mindset of the consumer

Making a stronger case for comparative research to investigate the behavioral and neurological bases of three-dimensional navigation

The rich diversity of avian natural history provides exciting possibilities for comparative research aimed at understanding three-dimensional navigation. We propose some hypotheses relating differences in natural history to potential behavioral and neurological adaptations possessed by contrasting bird species. This comparative approach may offer unique insights into some of the important questions raised by Jeffery et al

Making a stronger case for comparative research to investigate the behavioral and neurological bases of three-dimensional navigation

The rich diversity of avian natural history provides exciting possibilities for comparative research aimed at understanding three-dimensional navigation. We propose some hypotheses relating differences in natural history to potential behavioral and neurological adaptations possessed by contrasting bird species. This comparative approach may offer unique insights into some of the important questions raised by Jeffery et al

A framework for three-dimensional navigation research

We have argued that the neurocognitive representation of large-scale, navigable three-dimensional space is anisotropic, having different properties in vertical versus horizontal dimensions. Three broad categories organize the experimental and theoretical issues raised by the commentators: (1) frames of reference, (2) comparative cognition, and (3) the role of experience. These categories contain the core of a research program to show how three-dimensional space is represented and used by humans and other animal

Navigating in a three-dimensional world

The study of spatial cognition has provided considerable insight into how animals (including humans) navigate on the horizontal plane. However, the real world is three-dimensional, having a complex topography including both horizontal and vertical features, which presents additional challenges for representation and navigation. The present article reviews the emerging behavioral and neurobiological literature on spatial cognition in non-horizontal environments. We suggest that three-dimensional spaces are represented in a quasi-planar fashion, with space in the plane of locomotion being computed separately and represented differently from space in the orthogonal axis-a representational structure we have termed "bicoded.” We argue that the mammalian spatial representation in surface-travelling animals comprises a mosaic of these locally planar fragments, rather than a fully integrated volumetric map. More generally, this may be true even for species that can move freely in all three dimensions, such as birds and fish. We outline the evidence supporting this view, together with the adaptive advantages of such a schem

Development of Mining Sector Applications for Emerging Remote Sensing and Deep Learning Technologies

This thesis uses neural networks and deep learning to address practical, real-world problems in the mining sector. The main focus is on developing novel applications in the area of object detection from remotely sensed data. This area has many potential mining applications and is an important part of moving towards data driven strategic decision making across the mining sector. The scientific contributions of this research are twofold; firstly, each of the three case studies demonstrate new applications which couple remote sensing and neural network based technologies for improved data driven decision making. Secondly, the thesis presents a framework to guide implementation of these technologies in the mining sector, providing a guide for researchers and professionals undertaking further studies of this type. The first case study builds a fully connected neural network method to locate supporting rock bolts from 3D laser scan data. This method combines input features from the remote sensing and mobile robotics research communities, generating accuracy scores up to 22% higher than those found using either feature set in isolation. The neural network approach also is compared to the widely used random forest classifier and is shown to outperform this classifier on the test datasets. Additionally, the algorithms’ performance is enhanced by adding a confusion class to the training data and by grouping the output predictions using density based spatial clustering. The method is tested on two datasets, gathered using different laser scanners, in different types of underground mines which have different rock bolting patterns. In both cases the method is found to be highly capable of detecting the rock bolts with recall scores of 0.87-0.96. The second case study investigates modern deep learning for LiDAR data. Here, multiple transfer learning strategies and LiDAR data representations are examined for the task of identifying historic mining remains. A transfer learning approach based on a Lunar crater detection model is used, due to the task similarities between both the underlying data structures and the geometries of the objects to be detected. The relationship between dataset resolution and detection accuracy is also examined, with the results showing that the approach is capable of detecting pits and shafts to a high degree of accuracy with precision and recall scores between 0.80-0.92, provided the input data is of sufficient quality and resolution. Alongside resolution, different LiDAR data representations are explored, showing that the precision-recall balance varies depending on the input LiDAR data representation. The third case study creates a deep convolutional neural network model to detect artisanal scale mining from multispectral satellite data. This model is trained from initialisation without transfer learning and demonstrates that accurate multispectral models can be built from a smaller training dataset when appropriate design and data augmentation strategies are adopted. Alongside the deep learning model, novel mosaicing algorithms are developed both to improve cloud cover penetration and to decrease noise in the final prediction maps. When applied to the study area, the results from this model provide valuable information about the expansion, migration and forest encroachment of artisanal scale mining in southwestern Ghana over the last four years. Finally, this thesis presents an implementation framework for these neural network based object detection models, to generalise the findings from this research to new mining sector deep learning tasks. This framework can be used to identify applications which would benefit from neural network approaches; to build the models; and to apply these algorithms in a real world environment. The case study chapters confirm that the neural network models are capable of interpreting remotely sensed data to a high degree of accuracy on real world mining problems, while the framework guides the development of new models to solve a wide range of related challenges

Mapping Dynamic Relations in Sound and Space Perception

The research investigates the dynamic relations between sound, space and the audience perception as related to an artist’s intention. What is the relation between sound and space in the sonic arts, and to what kind of merger does it lead? What relationship exists between the intention of the composer and the perception of the audience regarding architectural and environmental spaces? Is there a common thread of perception of architectural and environmental spaces among participants? Is embodiment a key for the perception of the dynamic relations of sound and space? The framework for the investigation is based on a map of three defined spaces (Real, Virtual, and Hyperbiological) included in a portfolio of six works (three electroacoustic compositions, two sound installations, and one performance), which lead to the analysis of the perception of space, namely, the perception of architectural and environmental spaces as required by the portfolio. The original knowledge resides in the exploration of a potential common representation (space and sound perception being, of course, a personal representation) of internal perceptual spaces and mental imageries generated by the works. The act of listening plays a major role in the development of the portfolio presented and includes Pauline Oliveros’ concept of deep listening (Oliveros 2005). Sound and space are intimately related in the portfolio. One particular element emerging from this relationship is the plastic quality of sound, meaning that sound is considered and observed as a material that is shaped by space. From this perspective the research investigates the ‘sculptural’ and morphological quality of the relationship between sound and space. The results include the specific language and signature of the artworks that delineate the intersection of music and fine arts. The portfolio pays a large tribute to several iconic artists present in the outposts of sound blurred by space. Composers and artists are therefore presented in the theoretical section in order to highlight how their pioneering works have influenced and informed the present research portfolio. The analysis of the perception of the artworks relates to a methodology based on an empirical survey inspired by phenomenology

Horizontal asymmetries derived from script direction : consequences for attention and action

Tese apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Doutor em Psicologia na área de especialização de Psicologia Social apresentada no ISPA - Instituto Universitário, no ano de 2021.A direção de leitura e escrita estabelecem uma trajetória preferencial de exploração do espaço que é reforçada por diversas regularidades culturais consistentes com essa direccionalidade. A correlação espaço-movimento cria um esquema para a ação que enviesa a representação da agência humana, estendendo-se à representação de outros conceitos abstratos que não possuem bases sensoriomotoras. A dimensão horizontal é recrutada para melhor compreender estes conceitos, sendo ancorados de acordo com a direção de escrita e leitura da nossa língua. A assimetria espacial que esta direccionalidade induz constitui um contributo crucial para a área do embodiment, tendo sido demonstrado que afeta processos sociais e cognitivos. Contudo, os processos específicos que estas assimetrias ativam permanecem pouco explorados. Em sete estudos, esta dissertação investiga de que forma as assimetrias espaciais afetam inferências sociais e a performance visuo-motora para com estímulos ancorados na dimensão horizontal. O primeiro estudo indica que inferências sociais relacionadas com agência são preferencialmente atribuídas a faces de perfil orientadas para a direita (versus esquerda). Em duas experiências, o segundo estudo mostra que faces orientadas para a direita servem como pistas para a orientação de atenção. Faces orientadas para a direita, que traduzem a direção utilizada para representar a agência humana, facilitam a atenção para e deteção de alvos no campo visual direito, comparativamente a faces orientadas para a esquerda no campo visual esquerdo. No terceiro estudo, as faces foram substituídas por palavras temporais auditivas e visuais, que se sabe serem ancoradas horizontalmente. A assimetria espacial foi testada em duas experiências em comunidades com direções de leitura e escrita opostas (Português e Árabe). Observou-se uma ancoragem contrária do conceito abstrato ‘tempo’ entre as duas amostras (Português: passado-esquerda/futuro-direita; Árabe: passado-direita/futuro-esquerda). Adicionalmente, uma performance assimétrica reversa entre as duas comunidades linguísticas confirma que o mapeamento do tempo é enviesado pelos hábitos ortográficos e pela representação cultural da agência humana. Isto é, palavras temporais que coincidem com a direção induzida por ambos os sistemas de escrita (i.e., palavras relacionadas com futuro), dão origem a vantagem à direita na amostra Portuguesa, e vantagem à esquerda na amostra Árabe. O quarto estudo estendeu estes resultados à categoria da política, tipicamente representada através de coordenadas de esquerda e de direita. Respostas manuais e atencionais foram mais rápidas para alvos localizados à direita após terem sido apresentadas termos políticos de direita (versus alvos à esquerda após termos políticos de esquerda), que correspondiam à direção em que habitualmente se representa movimento. O quinto e último estudo demonstrou que a apresentação de palavras temporais simultaneamente com um tom auditivo não-espacial impede os efeitos de emergirem. Estas pistas bimodais revelaram as condições limitativas dos efeitos da assimetria espacial. Em conclusão, esta dissertação demonstra que existe uma propriedade genérica de movimento que deriva da direção ortográfica e que é transversal à representação de estímulos distintos, em várias tarefas e modalidades sensoriais. Estes resultados oferecem uma perspetiva mais abrangente sobre o impacto prevalente que uma característica da língua aparentemente irrelevante tem em processos cognitivos fundamentais de perceção, atenção, e julgamento.The directional activities of reading and writing have been shown to ground a preferential trajectory when scanning space. This horizontal directional formation is further reinforced by other cultural regularities that overlap with it. This space-movement correlation creates a left-right (or vice-versa) schema for action that biases the representation of human agency and extends to the representation of other abstract concepts lacking experiential sensorimotor bases. Consequently, the horizontal dimension is recruited to reason about abstract concepts that are mapped congruently with one’s dominant reading and writing or script direction. The spatial asymmetry that this combined directionality induces is a core finding in the embodiment area and has been shown to affect important social and cognitive processes. However, the specific processes activated by these asymmetries remain unclear. A series of seven experiments are outlined to investigate how spatial asymmetries affect social inferences and visuomotor performance to stimuli anchored in the horizontal dimension. The first study indicated that a range of agency-related social inferences are preferentially assigned to face profiles oriented rightward (versus leftward). Across two experiments, the second study showed that right oriented faces serve as attention-orienting primes. Rightward faces, which are in line with the direction used to represent human agency, facilitate attention to and detection of targets on the right hemifield, relative to leftward faces and targets on the left hemifield. In the third study, face primes were replaced by visual and auditory time words known to ground horizontally in space. Spatial asymmetries were tested in two experiments with communities holding opposite writing scripts (Portuguese and Arabic). We observed the mapping of time to be reversed between the two samples (Portuguese: past-left/future-right; Arabic: past-right/future-left). Further, a mirrored asymmetric performance between the two linguistic communities confirmed that the mapping of time is biased by orthographic habits and the cultural representation of human agency. That is, time words that coincide with the direction induced by both writing systems (i.e., future-related) gave rise to right-side advantage in the Portuguese sample and left-side advantage in the Arabic sample. The fourth study extended these results to the category of politics, commonly represented through coordinates of left and right. Manual and gaze responses were faster to targets embedded on the right following conservatism-related words (versus the left following socialism-related words) that embody the habitualized rightward movement direction. The fifth and final study demonstrated that presenting time words synchronously with an auditory nonspatial tone impaired cueing effects. These bimodal cues revealed the boundary conditions of the spatial agency bias. Overall, this dissertation underscores that a generic property of movement that is derived from orthographic direction underlies the representation of very distinct stimuli across tasks and sensory modalities. These findings offer a broader perspective on the pervasive impact a seemingly irrelevant feature of language has on fundamental cognitive processes of perception, attention, and judgment

Off the Orbit: Works of Art for Long-Term Space Travellers. Outline of a novel artistic practice

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.This research combines the arts with human spaceflight. The aim of the investigation is to identify the aesthetic parameters for display in works of art on extended crewed missions. The study claims that, within the research area of human spaceflight, novel working methods should be developed that can integrate the artist into the scientific process. The extraordinary challenges of extended space exploration not only concern technical and human-bodily aspects, they will also affect the enormous psychological and psychosocial restrictions the spacefarer will face. These limitations are due to the unusual distance and the long timeframes; the future explorers will live confined and isolated within the habitat environment far away from their place of origin. In addition, the consequences of sensory deprivation caused by the high-tech indoor habitat, the emptiness of outer space, the effects of social monotony and limited contact with home will dominate their life in the extreme environment and the emotional state of the future explorer. Many cultural techniques for recreation and stress mitigation are already in use or will be tested in human spaceflight in the near future. However, in this context the implementation of works of art has not been evaluated. The production of works of art for future astronauts represents a new research area. From the artistic perspective, creativity will expand in an unusual manner. Artists will not only have to develop significant metaphors, they will also be confronted with an unknown responsibility, because the confined and isolated astronaut will become the exclusive audience and user of their works. Furthermore, works of art must follow the particular demands of verifiability, safety, and reliability. These specific conditions will give the artistic work a unique meaning which makes the work a part of the life-sustaining system. The outcome will be an experiment that combines both artistic and scientific strategies