Effects of Video Modeling on Gymnastics Routine Performance

Modeling or observation learning plays an important role in transmitting information to the observer. Some sport skills such as skills in artistic gymnastics need explicit visual demonstration for the purpose of coaching and training. Hence, videotapes are sometimes used to facilitate the learning process. However, there is limited agreement from previous studies on the effectiveness of video modeling. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of video modeling versus non-video modeling on routine performance of female gymnasts who participated in a gymnastics development program managed by National Sports Council of Malaysia. Twenty- four subjects between the ages of 8 to 15 years (M = 11.13, SD = 2.08) from a group of 67 gymnasts were chosen at random from the gymnastics centers around Malaysia. The subjects in each center were matched and randomly assigned to either the video modeling (experimental) group or the non- video modeling (control) group. Both the experimental and control groups attended their normal gymnastics training program. The experimental group was given the opportunity to watch 15 hours of video clippings in three sessions of half an hour per week over a 10-week period while the control group attended gymnastics training only. The video modeling sessions comprised of female gymnasts participating in the Olympic Games (Sydney), Commonwealth Games (Manchester), World Championships (Ghent), and other international championships. The researcher videotaped pretest and posttest performance of each gymnast on the two gymnastics events at each center. Subsequently, two top Malaysian women's judges evaluated the 192 routines performance recorded (24 subjects x 2 rotations x 2 events x 2 tests) according to the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) rules

In search of Lin Zhao\u27s soul = 尋找林昭的靈魂

Film Director: Hu Jie (胡杰) Film Release Year: 2004https://commons.ln.edu.hk/ccs_worksheet/1001/thumbnail.jp

Wayfinding in Unfamiliar Public Buildings - Factors in Landmark Recognition

This study was undertaken to help understand what helps people navigate into and within unfamiliar buildings. The aim is to arrive at a list of factors influencing wayfinding and to find which landmark and building element characteristics are most significant in the cognitive processes behind wayfinding. Three studies were conducted for this research. A case study and an experiment covered navigation provision and entrance recognition in existing buildings. An experiment in landmark recognition and wayfinding within buildings was also undertaken. For this, the participants were split into three groups: A, to find out which elements within the building were memorable (also used as control group); B, to find out which elements previously considered as landmarks were used as such when wayfinding; C, to find out which element characteristics prove useful in wayfinding. This information was analysed to establish characteristics of elements which identify landmarks. Consideration of how these elements can be emphasised will be put forward. In addition, it is hoped that the results will aid the understanding of wayfinding shortcomings in current building design and help provide pointers to ways of overcoming these

Design techniques for graph-based error-correcting codes and their applications

In ShannonÂs seminal paper, ÂA Mathematical Theory of CommunicationÂ, he defined ÂChannel Capacity which predicted the ultimate performance that transmission systems can achieve and suggested that capacity is achievable by error-correcting (channel) coding. The main idea of error-correcting codes is to add redundancy to the information to be transmitted so that the receiver can explore the correlation between transmitted information and redundancy and correct or detect errors caused by channels afterward. The discovery of turbo codes and rediscovery of Low Density Parity Check codes (LDPC) have revived the research in channel coding with novel ideas and techniques on code concatenation, iterative decoding, graph-based construction and design based on density evolution. This dissertation focuses on the design aspect of graph-based channel codes such as LDPC and Irregular Repeat Accumulate (IRA) codes via density evolution, and use the technique (density evolution) to design IRA codes for scalable image/video communication and LDPC codes for distributed source coding, which can be considered as a channel coding problem. The first part of the dissertation includes design and analysis of rate-compatible IRA codes for scalable image transmission systems. This part presents the analysis with density evolution the effect of puncturing applied to IRA codes and the asymptotic analysis of the performance of the systems. In the second part of the dissertation, we consider designing source-optimized IRA codes. The idea is to take advantage of the capability of Unequal Error Protection (UEP) of IRA codes against errors because of their irregularities. In video and image transmission systems, the performance is measured by Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR). We propose an approach to design IRA codes optimized for such a criterion. In the third part of the dissertation, we investigate Slepian-Wolf coding problem using LDPC codes. The problems to be addressed include coding problem involving multiple sources and non-binary sources, and coding using multi-level codes and nonbinary codes

The Influence Of Mental State In Visual Arts

The main purpose of this research is to study about the influences of individual's mental state in field of visual arts. This research is important to see the potential of individual's mental state in field of visual arts when this aspect is still limited in the scope of scientific research. The approach will be enlightened through comparison strategy, observation and referencing. This research is expected to achieve the objectives on how to identify the influences of mental state in visual arts before a systematic method will be employed to enable ones to induce themselves in unconscious and subconscious with sanity and implement the aspect of individual's mental state in the creation of personal artworks. In the end of the research, the researcher hopes that the aspect of individual's mental state will be highlighted in fine arts in order to unlock the artists' creativity and imagination during the creation of personal artworks

Spatial design and reassurance for unfamiliar users when wayfinding in buildings.

Wayfinding tasks comprise decision points and interconnecting paths leading to a destination. Path choice at decision points is critical to the successful completion of wayfinding tasks. Research has found that signage is not the only influence on path choice and that influences vary depending on familiarity with an environment. People familiar with their surroundings have a cognitive map - a prior understanding of the environment - against which they can compare the environment as they experience it in order to orientate themselves. People unfamiliar with their surroundings, and therefore lacking a cognitive map of them, are found instead to rely upon wayfinding strategies to inform their path choice decisions. This study investigates how aspects of the spatial design of buildings may assist unfamiliar users in finding the destination they are seeking within the building. Observations of people wayfinding in an unfamiliar building suggested that four aspects of spatial design affected route choices made at decision points. Four wayfinding strategies describe the behaviour observed: I) Maintain a Straight Bearing through the building; 2) Avoid a Change of Level; 3) Walk Towards a Brighter Space; 4) Choose the Wider Corridor. Evidence supporting three of these was found in the literature. For the fourth - Choose the Wider Corridor - only limited evidence was available from the literature and hence further work was carried out to test the predictability of its influence on wayfinding behaviour. An online experiment was conducted to investigate to what degree corridor width influences path choice and the interaction between the Choose the Wider Corridor and Maintain a Straight Bearing wayfinding strategies. A means of categorisation, comprising two wayfinding principles, was devised for information in the environment and means of undertaking wayfinding tasks: Reassurance Principle - wayfinding strategies reassuring the wayfinder that they are taking the correct route and Tools Principle - signage, maps, landmarks and other sources of information in and representing the environment, available to aid wayfinding decisions. This thesis looks at strategies for wayfinding reassurance. It is proposed that unfamiliar users would find buildings more intuitive to wayfind within if they were designed with routes to likely public destinations that conform to the four wayfinding strategies. An applied test was conducted to confirm whether wayfinding ease could be predicted by analysing the routes within that building against the behaviours described by the wayfinding strategies. It was found that ratings of difficulty given by test participants matched predicted ratings based upon an analysis of the building'S conformance to the wayfinding strategies. It is suggested that if this analysis was conducted at the design stage it could limit potential wayfinding difficulties. Some possible designs as means of achieving this in new buildings and refurbishments are discussed

Description of local dilatancy and local rotation of granular assemblies by microstretch modeling

AbstractThis study investigates the microstretch continuum modeling of granular assemblies while accounting for both the dilatant and rotational degrees of freedom of a macroelement. By introducing the solid volume fraction and the gyration radius of a granular system, the balance equations of the microstretch continuum are transformed into a new formulation of evolution equations comprising six variables: the solid volume fraction, the gyration radius, the velocity field, the averaged angular velocity, the rate of gyration radius, and the internal energy. The bulk microinertia density, the averaged angular velocity, and the microgyration tensor at a macroscopic point are obtained in terms of discrete physical quantities. The bulk part and the rotational part of the microgyration tensor are proposed as the two indices to measure the local dilatancy and local rotation of granular assemblies. It is demonstrated in the numerical simulation that the two indices can be used to identify the shear band evolution in a granular system under a biaxial compression

Online Auction Buyers’ Brain Images When Making Purchasing Decisions Involving Different Types of Rewards

In the past year, online auction sales on sites such as eBay and Yahoo!Auction have increased over 100 percent due to the pandemic, and the growth opportunities for the global online auction market are anticipated to continue until 2028 (Absolute Markets Insights 2020). When online auction buyers have a demand for a product, they usually buy it by going through a process of bidding behaviors to ensure that the final bidding price is commensurable to the product attributes. As indicated in prior studies, most consumers are sensitive to discounts and promotions, such as coupons and rebates (Akar and Nasir 2015; Dominique-Ferreira et al. 2016). More specifically, coupons are distributed in various forms, such as membership coins or points, and free or express delivery services. These different discount mechanisms influencing consumers’ purchasing decision-making processes can be generally categorized into two types of rewards: price-related and not price-related. The purpose of the current experimental study is to explore which type of rewards significantly influences online buyers’ purchasing intention in the context of bidding. The participants, who have experience in purchasing products on auction websites, are placed in a simulated online bidding context. Since brain imaging techniques have been validated in many research fields, this study’s participants’ brain images are also scanned and recorded during the entire experiment to further determine the significant level of neuron activities related to decision-making tasks in certain brain regions (i.e., medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex/nucleus accumbens, and insula). Other brain regions, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, are also observed to find any significant activation during the experiment (Dimoka 2012; Knutson et al. 2007). Each bidding product (ranging from 8 to 30 USD) gives 1% of the product price as membership coins (price-related) or points (not price-related) to the participants while they view different types of products presented on the screen. The participants have to click on a yes-no button to indicate whether they have the intention to purchase the product. After the experiment, face-to-face interviews are carried out to verify their neural and behavioral responses. This study expects to make contributions to the e-commerce and neuromarketing fields