What's in a smile? Initial analyses of dynamic changes in facial shape and appearance

Single-level principal component analysis (PCA) and multi-level PCA (mPCA) methods are applied here to a set of (2D frontal) facial images from a group of 80 Finnish subjects (34 male; 46 female) with two different facial expressions (smiling and neutral) per subject. Inspection of eigenvalues gives insight into the importance of different factors affecting shapes, including: biological sex, facial expression (neutral versus smiling), and all other variations. Biological sex and facial expression are shown to be reflected in those components at appropriate levels of the mPCA model. Dynamic 3D shape data for all phases of a smile made up a second dataset sampled from 60 adult British subjects (31 male; 29 female). Modes of variation reflected the act of smiling at the correct level of the mPCA model. Seven phases of the dynamic smiles are identified: rest pre-smile, onset 1 (acceleration), onset 2 (deceleration), apex, offset 1 (acceleration), offset 2 (deceleration), and rest post-smile. A clear cycle is observed in standardized scores at an appropriate level for mPCA and in single-level PCA. mPCA can be used to study static shapes and images, as well as dynamic changes in shape. It gave us much insight into the question “what’s in a smile?

Affective Computing

This book provides an overview of state of the art research in Affective Computing. It presents new ideas, original results and practical experiences in this increasingly important research field. The book consists of 23 chapters categorized into four sections. Since one of the most important means of human communication is facial expression, the first section of this book (Chapters 1 to 7) presents a research on synthesis and recognition of facial expressions. Given that we not only use the face but also body movements to express ourselves, in the second section (Chapters 8 to 11) we present a research on perception and generation of emotional expressions by using full-body motions. The third section of the book (Chapters 12 to 16) presents computational models on emotion, as well as findings from neuroscience research. In the last section of the book (Chapters 17 to 22) we present applications related to affective computing

Chapter From the Lab to the Real World: Affect Recognition Using Multiple Cues and Modalities

Interdisciplinary concept of dissipative soliton is unfolded in connection with ultrafast fibre lasers. The different mode-locking techniques as well as experimental realizations of dissipative soliton fibre lasers are surveyed briefly with an emphasis on their energy scalability. Basic topics of the dissipative soliton theory are elucidated in connection with concepts of energy scalability and stability. It is shown that the parametric space of dissipative soliton has reduced dimension and comparatively simple structure that simplifies the analysis and optimization of ultrafast fibre lasers. The main destabilization scenarios are described and the limits of energy scalability are connected with impact of optical turbulence and stimulated Raman scattering. The fast and slow dynamics of vector dissipative solitons are exposed

Nonverbal Communication in Relation to Women's Experiences of Self and Body: A Mixed Methods Examination

Understanding how nonverbal behaviour imparts information about women’s attractiveness and body image is important, given that peers are a source of information about appearance (e.g., Tiggemann, 2011). Research has demonstrated that negative messages from peers are associated with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating among females (e.g., Vincent & McCabe, 2000) but less is known about nonverbal communication. The current research examined women’s nonverbal behaviour, physical appearance, and body image within interactions. An explanatory sequential mixed method design was used. The initial quantitative study examined the relationship between immediacy and women’s body attractiveness, facial attractiveness, and body image in peer-dyad interactions (n = 80 dyads). Participants were videotaped interacting in a laboratory setting for 15 minutes and then completed self-report measures of their interaction partner for immediacy and attractiveness. They also completed self-report measures of their body image, internalization of the thin ideal, and appearance comparison. The researcher measured body mass index. Results indicated that as perceptions of body and facial attractiveness and body image of an interaction partner decrease, so does the immediacy shown towards the partner. Following the quantitative component, a follow-up qualitative study explored women’s experiences of their bodies and themselves in relation to nonverbal communication in interactions with peers. It was conducted according to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009). A subset of participants (n = 4) was invited to review their videotaped conversation and participate in a semi-structured interview with the researcher. Results indicated that women experience complex processes within interactions, including comparing and judging as well as body consciousness and that both the egocentric and sociocentric parts of the self are involved. Results also illuminated women’s experience of resisting the influence of adhering to society’s ideals of appearance. Together, the findings indicate that weight-based bias is present within everyday interactions among women. It is hoped that this research will bring attention to biases that are routinely communicated in subtle ways to decrease it and positively impact women’s experiences of themselves and their bodies

Affect Analysis in Video

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Towards a model of human body perception

Item does not contain fulltextFrom just a glimpse of another person, we make inferences about their current states and longstanding traits. These inferences are normally spontaneous and effortless, yet they are crucial in shaping our impressions and behaviours towards other people. What are the perceptual operations involved in the rapid extraction of socially relevant information? To answer this question, over the last decade the visual and cognitive neuroscience of social stimuli has received new inputs through emerging proposals of social vision approaches. Perhaps by function of these contributions, researchers have reached a certain degree of consensus over a standard model of face perception. This thesis aims to extend social vision approaches to the case of human body perception. In doing so, it establishes the building blocks for a perceptual model of the human body which integrates the extraction of socially relevant information from the appearance of the body. Using visual tasks, the data show that perceptual representations of the human body are sensitive to socially relevant information (e.g. sex, weight, emotional expression). Specifically, in the first empirical chapter I dissect the perceptual representations of body sex. Using a visual search paradigm, I demonstrate a differential and asymmetrical representation of sex from human body shape. In the second empirical chapter, using the Garner selective attention task, I show that the dimension of body sex is independent from the information of emotional body postures. Finally, in the third empirical chapter, I provide evidence that category selective visual brain regions, including the body selective region EBA, are directly involved in forming perceptual expectations towards incoming visual stimuli. Socially relevant information of the body might shape visual representations of the body by acting as a set of expectancies available to the observer during perceptual operations. In the general discussion I address how the findings of the empirical chapters inform us about the perceptual encoding of human body shape. Further, I propose how these results provide the initial steps for a unified social vision model of human body perception. Finally, I advance the hypothesis that rapid social categorisation during perception is explained by mechanisms generally affecting the perceptual analysis of objects under naturalistic conditions (e.g. expectations-expertise) operating within the social domain.Bangor University, 17 februari 2020Promotor : Downing, P.E. Co-promotor : Koldewyn, K.182 p

Exploring teacher experiences of subjective well-being during a pandemic

Dissertation (MEd (General))--University of Pretoria, 2022.This study explored the lived experiences of subjective well-being held by South African private school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teacher well-being during the pandemic is a growing priority in educational research. While South African studies primarily focus on teacher well-being in public schools, the research does not adequately represent private school teachers' experiences in the evidence base of prior and recent studies. This qualitative study employed an interpretative phenomenological research design, photovoice data, narrative reflections, and semi-structured interviews analysed through a systematic visuo-textual analysis and interpretive phenomenological analysis frameworks to conceptualise the experiences of eight teachers employed at private schools. The findings indicated that teachers experienced both a longing for connection and increased job demands. The teachers used various protective factors to cope with feelings of anxiety, frustration, and loneliness, such as quality time with family, gratitude, mindfulness, religious activities, and exercise. The study generated new insights into teacher well-being by utilising various creative research methods and providing a voice to an under-represented group. Recommendations include further research into the influence of teaching during a crisis and the integration of technology on teacher well-being.Humanities EducationMEd (General)Unrestricte