Virtuaalse proovikabiini 3D kehakujude ja roboti juhtimisalgoritmide uurimine

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsiooneVirtuaalne riiete proovimine on üks põhilistest teenustest, mille pakkumine võib suurendada rõivapoodide edukust, sest tänu sellele lahendusele väheneb füüsilise töö vajadus proovimise faasis ning riiete proovimine muutub kasutaja jaoks mugavamaks. Samas pole enamikel varem välja pakutud masinnägemise ja graafika meetoditel õnnestunud inimkeha realistlik modelleerimine, eriti terve keha 3D modelleerimine, mis vajab suurt kogust andmeid ja palju arvutuslikku ressurssi. Varasemad katsed on ebaõnnestunud põhiliselt seetõttu, et ei ole suudetud korralikult arvesse võtta samaaegseid muutusi keha pinnal. Lisaks pole varasemad meetodid enamasti suutnud kujutiste liikumisi realistlikult reaalajas visualiseerida. Käesolev projekt kavatseb kõrvaldada eelmainitud puudused nii, et rahuldada virtuaalse proovikabiini vajadusi. Välja pakutud meetod seisneb nii kasutaja keha kui ka riiete skaneerimises, analüüsimises, modelleerimises, mõõtmete arvutamises, orientiiride paigutamises, mannekeenidelt võetud 3D visuaalsete andmete segmenteerimises ning riiete mudeli paigutamises ja visualiseerimises kasutaja kehal. Selle projekti käigus koguti visuaalseid andmeid kasutades 3D laserskannerit ja Kinecti optilist kaamerat ning koostati nendest andmebaas. Neid andmeid kasutati välja töötatud algoritmide testimiseks, mis peamiselt tegelevad riiete realistliku visuaalse kujutamisega inimkehal ja suuruse pakkumise süsteemi täiendamisega virtuaalse proovikabiini kontekstis.Virtual fitting constitutes a fundamental element of the developments expected to rise the commercial prosperity of online garment retailers to a new level, as it is expected to reduce the load of the manual labor and physical efforts required. Nevertheless, most of the previously proposed computer vision and graphics methods have failed to accurately and realistically model the human body, especially, when it comes to the 3D modeling of the whole human body. The failure is largely related to the huge data and calculations required, which in reality is caused mainly by inability to properly account for the simultaneous variations in the body surface. In addition, most of the foregoing techniques cannot render realistic movement representations in real-time. This project intends to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings so as to satisfy the requirements of a virtual fitting room. The proposed methodology consists in scanning and performing some specific analyses of both the user's body and the prospective garment to be virtually fitted, modeling, extracting measurements and assigning reference points on them, and segmenting the 3D visual data imported from the mannequins. Finally, superimposing, adopting and depicting the resulting garment model on the user's body. The project is intended to gather sufficient amounts of visual data using a 3D laser scanner and the Kinect optical camera, to manage it in form of a usable database, in order to experimentally implement the algorithms devised. The latter will provide a realistic visual representation of the garment on the body, and enhance the size-advisor system in the context of the virtual fitting room under study

Evaluation of the Formal and Informal Curricula of the North American Division Evangelism Institute

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to conduct a formal program evaluation of the North American Division Evangelism Institute (NADEI). The goal of NADEI is to equip pastors and laity for ministry. It developed over 30 years, and has presented formal and informal educational programs during that time. This helped it emerge as an indispensable unit in the North American Division (NAD), Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (SDATS), and Andrews University (AU). However, the programs of NADEI had not been evaluated. Method. This study followed an Evaluative Case Study Design to evaluate the formal and informal programs of NADEI. Formal programs dealt with the courses that NADEI offered through the Seminary at Andrews University. Informal programs dealt with programs offered to church members and pastors of the NAD. The research design allowed the study of treatments, subjects, and programs in their naturalistic state. The design enabled the evaluator to complete a holistic, in-depth assessment of the program, with its complexities and human interplay to show the different perspectives of NADEI. Data were collected via structured interviews, focus-group interviews, surveys, document analysis, and observation. Church members, church leaders, pastors, students, administrators, and NADEI personnel were included in the study. Interviews and conversations were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using SPSS 17 and NVivo 8 software. Results. Results revealed that NADEI had one established and seven emerging informal programs. The established program, SEEDS Conference, started in 1996, has served to spearhead the church-planting movement in the NAD. There was total agreement among informants that the SEEDS Conference provided a spiritual atmosphere to nurture faith, practical church-planting techniques, and cutting-edge techniques for church planting. Three themes emerged related to the SEEDS Conferences: (a) learning: SEEDS Conferences provide opportunity to learn church-planting concepts and church-growth principles for laity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church; (b) inspiration: SEEDS Conferences provide inspiration to increase personal faith in God and His work on earth, and (c) action: SEEDS Conferences provide opportunity to develop lay leadership for action. The formal curriculum centers on specific Seminary courses to provide classroom as well as field practicum in the ministerial education. The NADEI courses have an overall higher mean than University and Seminary courses. Five themes emerged related to formal curriculum: perception, excellence in teaching, organization, ministerial experience, and assessment. The perception among the seminarians was that NADEI teachers have the expertise and excellence to show the practical dimension of theological education. Students viewed NADEI courses as more practical providing real-life situations. Seminarians emphasized that they received specialized ministerial training and gained deeper ministerial experience by taking NADEI courses. Conclusion. The existing structure of NADEI enables it to impart formal and informal ministerial education. NADEI courses are distinctly different from other seminary courses. NADEI professors provided excellent teaching in the classrooms as well as in the field. While the students of the Seminary evaluated the instruction of NADEI professors highly, they also indicated that the curriculum of NADEI courses requires development and redesign. NADEI would benefit by inviting a curriculum specialist to help revise the curriculum to meet the requirements of formal as well as informal ministerial education. A general lack of awareness exists regarding NADEI’s informal programs in NAD. There is a need for training in conducting informal ministerial programs with strategic planning to marketing them in NAD

Üliõpilaste eneseregulatsiooni ja keeleõppestrateegiate toetamine kombineeritud õppe keskkonnas erialases võõrkeeles

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone.Muutused tänapäeva maailmas ja globaliseeruval tööturul eeldavad inimestelt lisaks uutele erialastele teadmistele ja oskustele ka tõhusamaid õpioskusi. Vastavalt Eesti elukestva õppe strateegias 2020 (2014) dokumenteeritud nüüdisaegsele õpikäsitusele, on üks olulisemaid eesmärke õppija sotsiaalse ja individuaalse arengu toetamine ning õpioskusi arendava õpikäsituse rakendamine. Toetamaks eduka elukestva õppija arengut on vaja toetada õppija enesejuhtimise oskust ning selle eeldusena enesereguleeritavaid õpistrateegiaid. Käesoleva doktoritöö uuringud keskendusid keeleõppele kõrghariduse kontekstis. Hoolimata Eesti noorema põlvkonna suhteliselt heast inglise keele oskusest (Kriisa, 2014), on eestlastel sageli raskusi inglise keeles suhtlemisel. Edukas ja sorav keelekasutus eeldab kõrgema taseme keeleõppestrateegiate teadlikku rakendamist. Kuid hea keeleoskuse omandamine ja sobivate õpistrateegiate kasutamine eeldavad muuhulgas õppija võimekust oma õpitegevust reguleerida. Selle uuringu raames uuriti õppijate strateegiakasutuse toetamise võimalusi erialase inglise keele kontekstis. Uuringu üldisemaks eesmärgiks on avardada arusaamist õppija eneseregulatsiooni ja keeleõppestrateegiate toetamise tõhususest. Ilmnes, et Eesti inglise keele õppijate strateegiakasutust selgitavad kõige paremini järgmised 6 faktorit: aktiivne keelekasutus, metakognitiivsed strateegiad, sotsiaalsed strateegiad, kompensatsioonistrateegiad, mälustrateegiad ja seostamisstrateegiad. Uuring andis vastuse ka keeleõppestrateegiate seotuse kohta õpitulemustega. Selgus, et kognitiivsed õpistrateegiad mõjutavad õpioskusi otseselt, samas kui metakognitiivsete strateegiate mõju on kaudne ja see toimub kognitiivsete strateegiate kaudu. Selline metakognitiivsete strateegiate kaudne ja suhteliselt nõrk seotus õpitulemustega väärib kindlasti edasi uurimist lähtudes mitmest aspektist. Esiteks tuleks uurida, mille poolest erinevad õpiprotsessis kasutatavad õpistrateegiad ja testi olukorras rakendatavad testi kirjutamise strateegiad. Teiseks peaks rohkem uurima riigieksami ülesehitust ja ülesande tüüpe. Samuti oleks huvitav vaadelda, kuidas toimub koolides riigieksamiks ettevalmistus. Uuringu teises osas kasutati disainipõhist lähenemist ja keskenduti tõhusaima sekkumise loomisele toetamaks keeleõppijate keeleõppestrateegiate, eneseregulatsiooni ja ainealaste teadmiste arengut. Töö tulemused andsid tunnistust sellest, et ainuüksi kombineeritud õpikeskkond ning oskuslikult loodud õpiülesanded ei too kaasa soovitud muutust. Suurem toetus ülesannete juurde lisatud märguannete näol, mis suunas õppijaid mõtlema ülesandes rakendatavate kognitiivsete ja metakognitiivsete strateegiate üle, parandas nii nende keeleõppestrateegiate kasutust, eneseregulatsiooni kui ka õpitulemusi. Olulisim järeldus on see, õppija eneseregulatsioon ei arene iseenesest, seda tuleb toetada ja õpetada. Käesoleva doktoritöö panus teadusesse on keeleõppestrateegiate struktuuri korrastamine, eestikeelse keeleõppestrateegiate mõõdiku, Est-SILL koostamine ja valideerimine, ning erialase keeleõppe kontekstis hästitöötava õpimudeli loomine toetamaks õppijate keeleõppestrateegiate ja eneseregulatsiooni arengut. Töö praktiline väärtus seisneb panuses kõrgkoolipedagoogikasse ja õpetajakoolitusse, kus peaks enam tähelepanu pöörama ka täiskasvanud õppijate eneseregulatsiooni toetamisele, ning keeleõpetajate ettevalmistamisel nende teadlikkusele kognitiivsete ja metakognitiivsete õpistrateegiate olulisusest ning nende toetamise võimalikkusest.Major changes in today’s world and the global labour market assume that working-age people are able to gain new professional knowledge and skills, but also the skills of using more efficient learning strategies. According to the contemporary approach to learning documented in Estonian Lifelong Learning Strategy 2020 (2014), one of the most essential aims is supporting learner’s social and individual development and the application of the approach developing learning skills. To become a successful life-long learner, a primary presumption of developing self-directedness is acquiring self-regulated learning strategies. The scope of the study is language learning in tertiary level. Even though learning English as a foreign language is popular with Estonian students, and the results of English state exams have been relatively high through the years (Kriisa, 2014), Estonians often face difficulties when communicating in English. Successful use of language assumes conscious implementation of advanced language learning strategies (LLS). But acquisition of good language skills and implementation of suitable learning strategies presume, among other things, learner’s capability to regulate his learning activities. Within the current study, the possibilities of supporting language learners’ strategy use was investigated in the context of Professional English. The general aim of the research was to expand the understanding of the efficiency of supporting learners’ self-regulation and LLS. It appeared that the Estonian EFL learners’ language strategy use can be best described by the factors of active language use, metacognition, social strategies, compensation strategies, memory strategies and connecting strategies. The study also gave an answer about the relations of LLS and learning outcomes which refer to the direct effects of cognitive strategies on all language competencies. The effects of metacognitive strategies are indirect influencing the learning outcomes through cognitive ones. These results encourage for further investigations considering the strategies that are used in the learning process and in the test-taking process. Also, the structure and task types of the state exam should be investigated, and the process of exam preparation should be observed. In the second part of the study, design-based research was used, and the most efficient intervention was seeked and tested to support learners’ use of LLS, self-regulation and content knowledge. The results indicated that blended learning environment and specially designed learning assignments alone do not assure the expected improvement. More efficient support with the use of prompts that guided learners to consider the cognitive and metacognitive strategies, improved their language learning strategy use, self-regulation and learning outcomes. The most important conclusion is that self-regulation does not evolve on its own, it has to be supported and instructed. The current dissertation contributes to educational science with specification of the structure of LLS, compiling and validating the LLS measurement Est-SILL, and designing a learning model to support the development of learners’ LLS and self-regulation in the context of Professional English. The practical implication of the study is its contribution to university pedagogy and teacher education where more attention should be paid to supporting grown-up learners’ self-regulation. In the preparation of language teachers, their awareness of the importance of cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies, and the ways of supporting them should be raised

Designing hybridization: alternative education strategies for fostering innovation in communication design for the territory

Within the broad context of design studies, Communication Design for the Territory stands as a hybrid discipline constantly interfacing with other fields of knowledge. It assumes the territorial theme as its specific dimension, aiming to generate communication systems capable of reading the stratifications of places. From an educational perspective, teaching activities are closely linked to research and can take on different levels of complexity: from the various forms of cartographic translation to the design of sophisticated transmedia digital systems. In the wake of COVID-19, this discipline has come to terms with a profoundly changed scenario in terms of limited access to the physical space and the emergence of new technologies for remote access. In this unique context, we propose a pedagogical strategy that focuses on the hybridization of communication artifacts with the aim of fostering design experimentation. As a creative tool, hybridization leads to the design of innovative systems by strategically combining the characteristics of different artifacts to achieve specific communication goals. By experimenting with these creative strategies, students are led to critically reflect on existing communication artifacts’ features and explore original designs that deliberately combine different media, contents, and communication languages in innovative ways. Through hybridization, the methods for territorial knowledge production appear more effective, effectively combining the skills and knowledge embodied in multiple subject areas. The paper presents the experience developed in the teaching laboratories of the DCxT (Communication Design for the Territory) research group of the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano. The teaching experience highlights how hybridization strategies can increase the effectiveness in learning about territorial specificities, in acquiring critical knowledge about communication systems, and in developing innovation strategies that allow to influence the evolution of traditional communication models

Interactive Technology and Engaging Learners in the Mathematics Classroom

The Program for International Assessment tested students in mathematics from 41 countries and found that students in the United States ranked in the lowest percentile. This struggle with math among youth in the United States prompted this quasi-experimental quantitative study about using interactive technology to engage and motivate 9th grade students in an Algebra classroom. The theoretical basis of this study was a constructivist perspective, using the Piagetian concept of action as an intellect builder. A convenience sample of 76 students was divided into 4 groups: Group 1, the control group, used no technology and consisted of 21 students; Group 2 used the TI Nspires calculators and consisted of 17 students; Group 3 used the TI Nspire calculators with the TI Navigator and consisted of 20 students; and Group 4 used the TI Nspire calculators, the TI Navigator, and the clickers. The participants were given 45 instructional classes that covered a 9-week period. All groups took the Motivated Strategy for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness test (STAAR) before and after the treatment of interactive technologies. A paired t test and a factorial repeated ANOVA were conducted, revealing no significant effect for the MSLQ based on the use of technology. However, the use of technology with the STAAR did show a significant difference in test scores for 2 treatment groups: Group 3, which used the calculator and the TI navigator; and Group 4, which used the calculator, the TI navigator, and the clickers. These results support the use of additional technology that is needed in the mathematics classroom to support the use of the calculators

Accolades, Fall 2008

This was the inaugural year for two very special new programs for which the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences has responsibility. These programs, while both focusing on the provision of educational opportunities to our important constituents, are very different in their mission and purpose. They are also completely opposite in the population of students they serve

The Use of Mobile Apps to Enhance Student Learning in Digital Electronics Through Remote Laboratory

This study aims to develop a mobile application for remote laboratories in digital electronics. This study was developed using an R & D (research and development) approach, the main objective of which is to develop and validate the tools used to work effectively and are ready to use. Mobile application-based software development is applied through an engineering approach. The stages are analysis, design, implementation, and evaluation. Remote laboratory design producing mobile applications and application development based on storyboards, navigation structures, or flowcharts. At the design stage, a storyboard is created that describes the appearance of each frame. Because the interactivity to be made is not simple, it requires a navigation structure that is used to determine the link between frames to other frames as well as virtual visualization effects that describe situations that are similar to real reality. The results of the MARL field trials for content aspects, visual aspects, real-time aspects, programming aspects obtained a good assessment, while for the mobile aspect obtained a very good assessment. Furthermore, for the aspects of effectiveness, and practicality of using MARL, an assessment of the good category was obtained

A framework for strategic planning of data analytics in the educational sector

The field of big data and data analysis is not a new one. Big data systems have been investigated with respect to the volume of the data and how it is stored, the data velocity and how it is subject to change, variety of data to be analysed and data veracity referring to integrity and quality. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have a significant range of data sources across their operations and increasingly invest in collecting, analysing and reporting on their data in order to improve their efficiency. Data analytics and Business Intelligence (BI) are two terms that are increasingly popular over the past few years in the relevant literature with emphasis on their impact in the education sector. There is a significant volume of literature discussing the benefits of data analytics in higher education and even more papers discussing specific case studies of institutions resorting on BI by deploying various data analytics practices. Nevertheless, there is a lack of an integrated framework that supports HEIs in using learning analytics both at strategic and operational level. This research study was driven by the need to offer a point of reference for universities wishing to make good use of the plethora of data they can access. Increasingly institutions need to become ‘smart universities’ by supporting their decisions with findings from the analysis of their operations. The Business Intelligence strategies of many universities seems to focus mostly on identifying how to collect data but fail to address the most important issue that is how to analyse the data, what to do with the findings and how to create the means for a scalable use of learning analytics at institutional level. The scope of this research is to investigate the different factors that affect the successful deployment of data analytics in educational contexts focusing both on strategic and operational aspects of academia. The research study attempts to identify those elements necessary for introducing data analytics practices across an institution. The main contribution of the research is a framework that models the data collection, analysis and visualisation in higher education. The specific contribution to the field comes in the form of generic guidelines for strategic planning of HEI data analytics projects, combined with specific guidelines for staff involved in the deployment of data analytics to support certain institutional operations. The research is based on a mixed method approach that combines grounded theory in the form of extensive literature review, state-of-the-art investigation and case study analysis, as well as a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection. The study commences with an extensive literature review that identifies the key factors affecting the use of learning analytics. Then the research collected more information from an analysis of a wide range of case studies showing how learning analytics are used across HEIs. The primary data collection concluded with a series of focus groups and interviews assessing the role of learning analytics in universities. Next, the research focused on a synthesis of guidelines for using learning analytics both at strategic and operational levels, leading to the production of generic and specific guidelines intended for different university stakeholders. The proposed framework was revised twice to create an integrated point of reference for HEIs that offers support across institutions in scalable and applicable way that can accommodate the varying needs met at different HEIs. The proposed framework was evaluated by the same participants in the earlier focus groups and interviews, providing a qualitative approach in evaluating the contributions made during this research study. The research resulted in the creation of an integrated framework that offers HEIs a reference for setting up a learning analytics strategy, adapting institutional policies and revising operations across faculties and departments. The proposed C.A.V. framework consists of three phases including Collect, Analysis and Visualisation. The framework determines the key features of data sources and resulting dashboards but also a list of functions for the data collection, analysis and visualisation stages. At strategic level, the C.A.V. framework enables institutions to assess their learning analytics maturity, determine the learning analytics stages that they are involved in, identify the different learning analytics themes and use a checklist as a reference point for their learning analytics deployment. Finally, the framework ensures that institutional operations can become more effective by determining how learning analytics provide added value across different operations, while assessing the impact of learning analytics on stakeholders. The framework also supports the adoption of learning analytics processes, the planning of dashboard contents and identifying factors affecting the implementation of learning analytics

Conference Programme and Abstracts Book ICED-QA 2021

Conference Programme and Abstracts Book ICED-QA 202

Salford postgraduate annual research conference (SPARC) 2012 proceedings

These proceedings bring together a selection of papers from the 2012 Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference (SPARC). They reflect the breadth and diversity of research interests showcased at the conference, at which over 130 researchers from Salford, the North West and other UK universities presented their work. 21 papers are collated here from the humanities, arts, social sciences, health, engineering, environment and life sciences, built environment and business