Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Characters'
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Marklund, Sanna. "Perception of Characters in VR: How a character’s height affects the perception of that character." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för datavetenskap och kommunikation (CSC), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-209688.
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Virtual reality (VR) is gaining more interest as the technology develops. Today’s Head Mounted Displays enables the users to control the virtual environment (VE) by moving in the physical space. This interaction method usually means that users have their own height in the VE. This is of interest since previous studies show that height affects how we perceive other people. Firstly, a tall person is perceived as being stronger, more dominant and more intelligent than a short person. Secondly, a shorter female is perceived as more socially concerned than a taller female. The aim of this study was to investigate whether these traits connected to height still apply in VR. The result indicates that perception of dominance and strength still apply in VR whereas perception of intelligence and social concern does not. Meaning that a stronger, or more dominant, character can be achieved simply by making that character taller, and vice versa. Consequently, producers of VR content have a clearer task at hand when creating content - they can alter the height of the character when portraying a character as either strong or weak, and either dominant or submissive.Virtuell verklighet (VR) vinner mer intresse eftersom tekniken utvecklas. Dagens headsets möjliggör för användare att kontrollera den virtuella miljön (VE) genom att röra sig runt i den fysiska miljön. Denna interaktionsmetod betyder oftast att användare har sin egen längd i en VE. Just att de har sin egen längd är intressant eftersom tidigare studier visar att längd påverkar hur vi uppfattar andra människor. För det första uppfattas en lång person som starkare, mer dominerande och mer intelligent än en kort person. För det andra uppfattas en kortare kvinna som mer omhändertagande än en längre kvinna. Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka ifall dessa egenskaper kopplade till längd fortfarande råder i VR. Resultatet indikerar att perception av dominans och styrka fortfarande gäller i VR, medan perception av intelligens och omhändertagande inte gäller. Detta betyder att en starkare, eller mer dominant, karaktär kan uppnås bara genom att göra den karaktären längre, och vice versa. Följaktligen har producenter av VR-innehåll en klarare uppgift när de skapar innehåll - de kan ändra karaktärens höjd när man visar en karaktär som antingen stark eller svag och dominant eller undergiven.
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Porreca, Kelsey Ann. "Character Perceptions: An Investigation of Morally Ambiguous Characters." The Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1367422697.
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庄司, 俊明. "最終講義 : Characters, character sheaves and beyond." 名古屋大学オープンコースウェア委員会, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2237/19418.
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Yu, Xiao Ping. "Chinese Character Challenger : supplementary courseware for assisting students learning Chinese characters /." Link to the online version, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10019/1326.
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Henrik, Sagen. "Collecting Characters." Thesis, KTH, Arkitektur, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-223479.
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Coherence is not unity alone, but rather expressing the same cause. How can I form a common expression between a diverse selection of fragments? I have treated the characters as fragments - something that is ripped out of its context and doesn’t belong to a system. They are individuals. The act of collecting characters relates to what the swedish author Torgny Lindgren says about his figures of projection. They are people and places he have encountered in real life, that made a strong impression on him. They have followed him through the years, reoccurring in his authorship in slightly different shapes. This is perhaps what I have been looking for, my own figures of projection within the field of architecture. Along the work with the characters, I have been reading A scientific autobiography by Aldo Rossi. Searching for my own figures of projection, Rossis description of his architectural practice has been to useful help. There is a clear connection between his sources of inspiration and his works, not only in physical resemblance, but also in strong ideas connecting different fragments with each other. The architectural method of this semester could be described as that of still life painting, were seemingly disparate fragments have been carefully joined together. The ambition was to make this diverse selection of characters come together in one building, forming a common voice.Samstämighet handlar om mer än enighet, det är att uttrycka en gemensam sak. Hur kan en rad, till synes olika fragment, forma ett gemensamt uttryck? Jag har behandlat mina karaktärer som fragment - något som är ryckt ur sitt sammanhang och inte tillhör ett system. De är individer. Samlandet av karaktärer anknyter till vad Torgny Lindgren berättar om sina projektionsgestalter. Det är människor och platser som han har mött i verkliga livet,som har gjort så starkt intryck på honom att de har rotat sig i hans författarskap. Där återkommer de, i olika skepnader och olika berättelser.I mitt examensarbete har jag letat efter mina egna projektionsgestalter, i arkitekturen. Samtidigt som arbetet med karaktärerna har framskridit, har jag läst A Scientific Autobiography av Aldo Rossi.I sökandet efter mina egna projektionsgestalter, har Rossis beskrivning av hans praktik varit användbar. Det finns ett tydligt samband mellan de inspirationskällor han nämner, och hans egna verk. Inte bara i fysisk tappning, utan även i tydliga idéer, som kopplar samman fragment med varandra. Den arkitektoniska metoden denna termin kan enklast liknas vid stilleben-målning, där till synes helt olika fragment omsorgsfullt fogas samman till en väl avvägd helhet. Ambitionen var att låta karaktärerna samsas i en byggnad och förena sig i samma språk.
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Hlavac, Michal 1974. "Disembodied characters." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61541.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, September 1999."August 1999."
Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-73).
A colony of social insects as a whole can be regarded as an organism that reproduces, maintains its internal structure, and survives in a hostile an unpredictable environment. Such superorganism - an entity that consists of smaller component organisms - is able to perform remarkable feats, decentralized information processing among them. For instance, a swarm of bees is able to choose the best possible nesting cavity even though only a few of the individuals have any knowledge of the available sites, and no single bee has a full knowledge of the situation. This decentralized decision making is remarkably similar to that performed by hypothetical functional agents, frequently featured in decentralist theories of the human mind. In this thesis I argue that comparing a superorganism to the mind is useful. In particular, this comparison opens up an enchanting opportunity for the creation of expressive synthetic characters that may become important incremental stepping stones on the way to complex artificial intelligence. In order to explore the space between metaphors - the human mind as a collection of interconnected mindless agents, and the superorganism as a unitary whole that exhibits functional characteristics beyond those of its component parts - I present the design and implementation of the Mask of the Hive, a character that is based on a model of a bee colony. My emphasis lies on graphic design and information visualization in order to develop a set of visuals that are informative, expressive, and artistically satisfying.
by Michal Hlavac.
S.M.
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Lyons, Corey Francis. "INDUCED CHARACTERS WITH EQUAL DEGREE CONSTITUENTS." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1461594819.
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Daugherty, Jason Alexander. "Character Influence and Brand Relationships: How Morally Ambiguous Characters Shape Brand Identity?" Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2021. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3909.
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This study examines morally ambiguous characters in television dramas and they represent their respect brand. The goal of the study is to examine how these MACs define their respective brands, specifically the brands, AMC and Showtime. Recent studies observed people chose brands based on their affective disposition and social cognition towards specific influencers. These theories could inform how people relate to characters from TV shows and brands. An observation and narrative analysis of four characters promotional videos from AMC were Don Draper (Mad Men), Saul Goodman (Better Call Saul) and from Showtime Jackie Peyton (Nurse Jackie) and Dexter Morgan (Dexter). Interviews were conducted with 13 people about their views of the character's moral ambiguity and brand interest. Promo videos were observed along with videos of characters in their environment. Results found MACs defined their brand and their overall character arc appealed to the audience's interests in their brands.
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Wilson, Ian. "Believable autonomous characters." Thesis, University of Westminster, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.509300.
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Yoon, Song-Yee 1975. "Affective synthetic characters." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/16701.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-224).
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
We have long wanted to create artifacts that resemble us: artifacts that not only look like us, but act, think and feel like us, with which we can have sympathy and empathy. In particular, the purpose of this thesis work is twofold: One is to understand animal behavior, the role of the motivation system and of affect, in terms of the theory embodied in the software architecture for modeling interactive synthetic characters. The other is a practical one: to build believable synthetic characters that we can interact with, utilizing our best understanding of animal behavior in creating characters that are perceived as sympathetic and empathetic to humans. We have done this with the help of a specific understanding of the roles of the motivation and affect systems of animals. To accomplish these goals, I propose a creature kernel model which is largely based on the approach of Blumberg [7]. The creature kernel is modeled as a sum of four main parts, the perception, motivation, behavior and motor systems. Among these four components, despite the fact that the motivation system plays a crucial role in daily survival of creatures in nature, its functional importance has often been neglected in attempts to create intelligent artifacts because it has been thought of as the "opposite" of rationality. Thus, in the system proposed in this thesis, emphasis is placed on the roles of the motivation system and how it acts as the integrator of the four parts of the creature kernel, and enables a creature to exist as a functional whole. The plausibility of the proposed system is demonstrated through two projects, for which the characters were built using the creature kernel. The first project is called Sydney K9.0, in which the main
(cont.) character is Sydney, a virtual dog. Human participants can train the dog to do certain tricks using various physical input devices: voice command, clicker sound, milkbone box and a training stick. Learning and training phenomena are observed as operant and classical conditioning, and it can be explained how each subsystem is functioning inside of the character's mind to implement that functionality. The other project is called (void*): A cast of characters, through which three distinctive characters--Earl, Elliot and Eddie--are introduced. In this project, a human participant can 'possess' one of these three characters using buns-and-forks interface and control the possessed character's dance movement by wiggling the interface in various ways. Learning and adaptive change of attitude through the interaction as well as expression of different personalities and its effect on interaction are emphasized. How well the personalities were represented is explored through the results of a survey of a number of novice users of the system.
by Song-Yee Yoon.
Ph.D.
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Rupel, Dylan, and Dylan Rupel. "Quantum Cluster Characters." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/12400.
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We de ne the quantum cluster character assigning an element of a quantum torus to each
representation of a valued quiver (Q; d) and investigate its relationship to external and internal
mutations of a quantum cluster algebra associated to (Q; d). We will see that the external mutations
are related to re
ection functors and internal mutations are related to tilting theory. Our
main result will show the quantum cluster character gives a cluster monomial in this quantum
cluster algebra whenever the representation is rigid, moreover we will see that each non-initial
cluster variable can be obtained in this way from the quantum cluster character.
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Doyle, Michael Patrick. "Partitioning the Set of Subgroups of a Finite Group Using Thompson's Generalized Characters." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1428594171.
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PINNA, DANIEL MOREIRA DE SOUSA. "BRAZILIAN ANIMATED CHARACTERS: THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF CONTEMPORARY BRAZILIAN ANIMATION CHARACTERS." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2006. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=9582@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROO presente estudo analisa os aspectos comunicativos da visualidade de personagens de curta-metragens de animação contemporâneos brasileiros, empregando recursos oferecidos pela Semiologia. O cinema de animação é uma arte que tomou contornos na virada do século XX. Junto à indústria cultural, consolidou inúmeras personagens na memória de espectadores em todo o mundo. Contudo, os altos custos de produção das obras animadas obrigam muitos artistas a realizarem seus filmes independentes no formato de curtas metragens. Devido à brevidade dos filmes, esses criadores empregam repetidamente tipos e caricaturas como personagens principais, apresentando-os sob a forma de signos de fácil reconhecimento pela maioria dos espectadores. Esta pesquisa parte da hipótese de que a visualidade das personagens de obras cinematográficas de animação breves é um sistema projetado (intencionalmente ou não) para transmitir ao espectador mensagens de compreensão praticamente imediata a respeito da narrativa apresentada e dos conceitos personificados pelas personagens no curto intervalo de tempo em que elas estão em cena. Com base no levantamento de sessenta principais personagens apresentadas nos filmes brasileiros premiados no festival Anima Mundi em suas doze primeiras edições (1993-2004), esta dissertação investigou os estereótipos existentes nas produções recentes do cinema de animação brasileiro. Em seguida, buscou delinear maneiras com que os elementos visuais que os constituem atuam no processo de significação das personagens animadas, articulando-se enquanto uma linguagem visual específica. Para realizar tal investigação, os procedimentos metodológicos adotados tomaram por fundamentos os estudos de Semiologia de Roland Barthes e o conceito de atributos das personagens desenvolvido por Vladimir Propp.
This paper analyses the communicative aspects of the look of contemporary Brazilian animation short movie´s characters, using resources from Semiology. Animation cinema became an art at the beginning of the 20th century. With the cultural industry, it has cemented lots of characters in spectator´s memories around the world. However, the high expenses of animated movies´ production force many artists to produce their authorial animations as short movies. Due to the brevity of these movies, their creators repeatedly use types and caricatures as main characters, presented morphologically as signs that can easily be recognized by most of the audiences. This research considers the hypothesis that the look of characters from animated short movies is a system designed (intentionally or not) to communicate to the spectator messages of prompt comprehension concerned to the narrative shown and to the concepts personified by the characters in the short period of time in which they are acting. Based on the survey of sixty main characters from Brazilian awarded movies at the twelve first editions of Anima Mundi festival (1993- 2004), this dissertation investigated the existing stereotypes in recent Brazilian animation short movies. Then, it tried to outline ways in which the visual elements that constitute these stereotypes act in the signifying process of the animated characters, working together as a specific visual language. In order to carry out such investigation, the adopted methodological procedures were based on Roland Barthes´ Semiology and Vladimir Propp´s concept of characters´ attributes.
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Yang, Wan Chi (Ada Yang). "The enlightened Chinese characters : a cognitive approach of computer assisted Chinese character learning." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/2428.
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Thesis (MPhil (Modern Foreign Languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006.With continuing advances in technology, computer-assisted instruction provides opportunities for individualized, interactive learning. In the research paper, I employed the theoretical framework of CALL and the philosophy of cognitive psychhology to promote learner autonomy in the second language aquisition of Chinese...
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Margraff, Aaron Thaddeus. "An Exposition on Group Characters." The Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397492784.
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Thimrén, Linnéa. "Characters as Resources : How Players Relate to Characters in Crusader Kings II." Thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Institutionen för informationsteknologi, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-13746.
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In this study, an overview is presented regarding how the mechanics in a resource-based game, specifically Crusader Kings II (Paradox Development Studio 2012), might affect the player's connection to the characters in the game. The study introduces conventions prevalent in grand strategy games, roleplaying games as well as literature theory. Participants of the study played two different versions of a mod for Crusader Kings II (2012), and were interviewed, to find indications for how different players related to characters in the game, what mechanics they valued, and their view on the characters themselves. The conclusions that are reached in the study indicated that there are mechanics in the game that influence the player’s connection to the characters, but that it is, to a certain degree, up to the player as to what extent they are used or employed.
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Nkadimeng, Manangane S. "Kanegelohistori le nonwanepheteletsannete ka tebelelo ya Sepedi." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60404.
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The study addresses the problem, already identified in 1986 by Msimang that definitions such as Bascom's (1965) fail to differentiate clearly between historical narratives and legends. To evolve a more accurate definition, this study considers two Sepedi dramas: Make's Sello sa Tonki le Pere and Moloma's Marangrang (1972).
The qualitative approaches (explain, interpret and compare) used in this study show that legends and historical dramas/narratives can be investigated by comparing them to identify differences between these genres. A narratological model suggested by Marggraff (1994) is used, considering three strata (layers) of a text: content, plot and style of writing. The topic, theme and atmosphere are explored, in that order, in the selected texts.
The analysis suggests that the differences between a legend and a historical drama/novel arise from two elements: characters and their actions. In a legend, there are three important pillars: the exposition, the body and the conclusion. The exposition of a legend has five formulaic features: Kgalekgale [long, long ago ], Keleketla [Give us more!], E rile e le nonwane [It is a tale ], and a reference to the narrator (Nonwanenonwane!) and the listeners (Keleketla!). Some sentences/phrases are repeated slightly or without a reply. The action ends with a concluding formula: Se seo sa mosela seripa! [That is the end of the tale]. The action focuses on a main character, and there may be some repetition of actions (a cycle). The time technique may be used. There is often symbolism. Other features include a song (repeated several times), which brings pleasure and/or pride, and sometimes sorrow. A song may play a role bigger than the narrative. The presence of these factors suggests a legend rather than a historical narrative.
The investigation shows that Make does not follow these rules for a legend, but elides actions he thinks the audience/reader already knows, inviting the audience/reader to participate in the narration. That implies that both the narrator and the audience know the 'rules' of a legend Make seems aware that the exposition and conclusion of a legend are based on the use of repetition of formula (a clause, sentence or sentence cluster).
In legends, the characters tend to be flat (not rounded) they are interpreted focusing on one idea only (using a phrase or short sentence), which is not a complete depiction of the character. Often the author exaggerates to create humour. This study confirms that flat characters are typical of legends, adding to the artistic structure of this genre.
Make successfully uses three techniques (the cycle and journey techniques, and symbolism) in constructing Sello sa Tonki le Pere. A cycle is visible in the repetition of the prosecution of Tonki and Pere to illuminate their case, strengthening and simplifying the sentencing of those animals. Make compares life to a linear journey with a beginning (birth) and a conclusion (death). The phases of the journey symbolise stages of a human life. Make used animals as symbolic characters in this drama to represent real people. Tonki and Pere represent criminals. Kgomo and Nku fight for justice for those mistakenly judged guilty of witchcraft, and they represent the accused. Tau's household represents the capital (Judgement), while Kubu's household represents medicine.
A legend should end with a concluding formula: 'Mpho se seo sa mosela seripa!', showing readers/listeners that they can relax, as the narration/fable has come to an end. Make does not use this formula, but ends his fable with 'Pula! Pula! Pula!!'.
To explore the structure of a historical drama/narrative, Maloma's drama Marangrang was considered, focusing on the exposition, development, climax and denouement of the drama.
In the exposition of Marangrang conflict between Mapulana's children Lethoke, T iane and Madikgake (Mokone of Ma a) who argue over traditional healing (and bravery). This plot suggests the presence of the shadow technique (a shadow focuses on the actions of a character which are similar to actions of another character to be introduced later in the play) (Mojalefa, 1997:35). As a traditional healer Lethoke is a shadow for Marangrang; he stands for Marangrang's actions. By contrast, Madikgake stands for all the tribes. This foreshadows conflict between Marangrang and the Bakgatla, Ma abela, Magolego, Mphahlele tribes. This conflict appeals to the audience/readers, who want to unravel these issues/themes.Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
African Languages
MA
Unrestricted
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Östebro, Rasmus. "Living life trough characters." Thesis, Konstfack, Institutionen för Konst (K), 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:konstfack:diva-5144.
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– Här kommer vi att börja och här kan vi också komma att sluta. – Vi befinner oss i ett slags vakuum eftersom att start- och slutpunkten för den här texten finns någonstans i ett flertal parallella verklighetsskildringar - berättelser som å ena sidan kan tala för sig själv, men samtidigt är beroende av varandra för att förklara och förtydliga strategier, tematik och intentioner i en konstnärlig praktik. – Den här texten är enbart en text och existerar inte på något annat sätt än just som text. – Den här texten är en förklaring, ett komplement, en svepande rörelse men också ett tidsdokument - ett statement of the times. – Vi som talar är på sätt och vis samma person, men är också medvetna om att vi besitter olika förmågor och har olika kvalitéer som skiljer oss åt. – Vi är yttre skal och inre demoner. – Vi är någon slags karaktärer - verklighetsflyktens frukt. – Vi som talar är ständigt närvarande i texten och vi kommer att sammanfoga våra röster och kanaliseras genom en kropp, just eftersom att det är så vår verklighet ser ut.
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Kallin, Dan. "Characters in Roleplaying Games : a study of the bond created between player and character." Thesis, Högskolan på Gotland, Institutionen för speldesign, teknik och lärande, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hgo:diva-1927.
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The bond between player and character as perceived by many, in pen-and-paper roleplaying games, is unrivalled in its emotional strength. This is an opinion shared by many hardcore enthusiasts across the globe. Personally I have never achieved a connection to any digital character that even closely resembles the intense affection I have felt for my pen-and-paper characters, and this baffles me. The goal with this thesis is to try and find exactly what pen-and-paper roleplaying games do differently. The method used is qualitative interviews with students at Gotland University. The participants are experienced roleplayers in both the analogue and digital form. With their help I try to identify the reasons to why players get attached to pen-and-paper characters more than digital ones. The literature revolves around roleplaying and how we identify with characters in other media as well. The result shows that there are four distinct reasons to why players get attached to characters.
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Berglind, Jens. "Choices and characters in roleplaying games : How types of choices affect the player/character connection." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för speldesign, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-228511.
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The connection that players can feel toward their characters in pen-and-paper roleplaying games is a known phenomenon that has been previously studied and is recognized among roleplaying enthusiasts. Pen-and-paper roleplaying games are a complex form of games, with three distinct frames which are ludological, social, and diegetic (also called narrative). The frames are different aspects of the game as well as the base of different motivations for players, who value the frames in a varied degree. The goal of this thesis is to examine if in-game choices based on the diegetic frame in contrast to the ludological frame are correlated with the player/character connection. The method used for data collection is distribution of a quantitative questionnaire on the internet, spread to Swedish roleplayers through social media and associations tied to SVEROK. With their answers, the analysis identifies correlations between the player/character connection and the three frames of pen-and-paper roleplaying games, as well as other correlations noted in the data analysis. The literature revolves around the two core concepts; the player/character connection and the three frames of roleplaying games. The result shows that diegetic choices in contrast to ludological are weakly correlated with the player/character connection.
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Shultz, John Andrew. "Characters on a page, characters on a pilgrimage : contemporary memoirs of the shikoku henro." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.511242.
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Wong, Chi-hung. "Hand-written Chinese character recognition by hidden Markov models and radical partition /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1998. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B19669380.
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Soomro, Sadaf Komal. "Bounding the Maximal Character Degree in terms of Smaller Degrees in the Symmetric Groups." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1525706168900092.
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Knowles, Emily Katherine. "Noble Imps : Shakespeare's Child Characters." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.502257.
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This thesis explores the presentation of the boy characters in Shakespeare's Richard III, King John and Macbeth, examining their performance history on stage and screen and considering the ways in which elements of their characterisation have been emphasised or suppressed at various moments in history in order to reflect the prevailing image of childhood. It has, therefore, three areas of focus: an evaluation of the boys as they appear in the playtext which re-assesses the complex and varied dramatic functions of these often over-looked characters; an extensive investigation of the performance history of the three plays from the eighteenth to the twentieth century; and an examination of the shifting historical attitudes towards children and childhood which have shaped the production and reception ofthe plays. There are striking similarities between these three plays: all present noble or royal boys whose political and dynastic significance is set in sharp contrast to their immaturity and physical vulnerability, and in each case the death of the child signals the tyranny of the protagonist and sets in motion his downfall. Yet despite such parallels, the plays present varied depictions of boyhood, and this variation is reflected in the plays' stage history: each drama has proved particularly popular, or of special interest, during one specific historical period, and the transformations the plays have undergone in performance are revelatory of that era's particular ideal of childhood. For example, Colley Cibber's popular eighteenth-century adaptation of Richard III transformed the characters of the princes in the tower, expunging their Shakespearean precocity and accentuating their vulnerability. These alterations reflect both the heightened sentimentality which began to be associated with childhood during this period and also the increased emphasis on the affection between parents and children that accompanied the rise ofthe nuclear family. Never very popular on stage before or since, King John was an established favourite of the nineteenth century and the child Arthur was at the centre of its popularity. This thesis argues that Arthur's mildness, meekness, innocence and docility resonated with the Victorian image of the ideal child, particularly as it came to be presented in the fiction of writers and novelists such as Charles Dickens. It also examines the Victorian appetite for fictional deaths of children and situates Arthur's popularity in relation to this trend. Twentieth-century productions of Macbeth, in contrast, are reflective of a growing fear of 'evil' or criminal children. Late twentieth century visions of the play have increasingly emphasised children's potential for evil: Polanski's 1971 film included a dream sequence in which Fleance attempts to murder Macbeth, Adrian Noble's 1986 production doubled the actors playing Macduffs children with the apparitions conjured by the witches, effectively tainting the innocence of the Macduff 'babes' and implicating them in the evil that pervades the play. Finally Penny Woolcock's 1996 TV film Macbeth on the Estate cast 'weird children' as the witches, placing childhood at the root of the destruction at work in Macbeth. Thus this study demonstrates that the children of Richard III, King John and Macbeth have been a crucial factor in the performance history ofthese plays over the centuries: prevailing ideals of childhood have influenced both the production and reception of these plays, and an examination of the history of these dramatic boys reveals the extent to which concerns about childhood and children have found expression, and continue to find expression, through the performance of these varied and fascinating characters.
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Shum, Pak Ho. "Simulating interactions among multiple characters." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/9961.
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In this thesis, we attack a challenging problem in the field of character animation: synthesizing interactions among multiple virtual characters in real-time. Although there are heavy demands in the gaming and animation industries, no systemic solution has been proposed due to the difficulties to model the complex behaviors of the characters. We represent the continuous interactions among characters as a discrete Markov Decision Process, and design a general objective function to evaluate the immediate rewards of launching an action. By applying game theory such as tree expansion and min-max search, the optimal actions that benefit the character the most in the future are selected. The simulated characters can interact competitively while achieving the requests from animators cooperatively. Since the interactions between two characters depend on a lot of criteria, it is difficult to exhaustively precompute the optimal actions for all variations of these criteria. We design an off-policy approach that samples and precomputes only meaningful interactions. With the precomputed policy, the optimal movements under different situations can be evaluated in real-time. To simulate the interactions for a large number of characters with minimal computational overhead, we propose a method to precompute short durations of interactions between two characters as connectable patches. The patches are concatenated spatially to generate interactions with multiple characters, and temporally to generate longer interactions. Based on the optional instructions given by the animators, our system automatically applies concatenations to create a huge scene of interacting crowd. We demonstrate our system by creating scenes with high quality interactions. On one hand, our algorithm can automatically generate artistic scenes of interactions such as the fighting scenes in movies that involve hundreds of characters. On the other hand, it can create controllable, intelligent characters that interact with the opponents for real-time applications such as 3D computer games.
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McHugh, John. "Monomial Characters of Finite Groups." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2016. http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/572.
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An abundance of information regarding the structure of a finite group can be obtained by studying its irreducible characters. Of particular interest are monomial characters – those induced from a linear character of some subgroup – since Brauer has shown that any irreducible character of a group can be written as an integral linear combination of monomial characters. Our primary focus is the class of M-groups, those groups all of whose irreducible characters are monomial. A classical theorem of Taketa asserts that an M-group is necessarily solvable, and Dade proved that every solvable group can be embedded as a subgroup of an M-group. After discussing results related to M-groups, we will construct explicit families of solvable groups that cannot be embedded as subnormal subgroups of any M-group. We also discuss groups possessing a unique non-monomial irreducible character, and prove that such a group cannot be simple.
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Shapiro, Ari Yochanan. "Motion editing for animated characters." Diss., Restricted to subscribing institutions, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1459918331&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=1564&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Yu, Xiao Ping (Amy). "CHINESE CHARACTER CHALLENGER 汉 字 挑 战 者 Supplementary courseware for assisting students learning Chinese characters." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/2680.
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Thesis (MPhil (Modern Foreign Languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005.In this thesis, I pinpoint the challenge of character learning as my research problem, which is the subsequent motivation to explain the background and rationale of my research. I also discuss the theoretical concepts of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in relation to cognitive psychology, the constructivist learning theory and Second Language Acquisition theories. This leads to the presentation of my considerations regarding design principles, strategic approach and other relevant decisions. The multimedia project I designed, named the “Chinese Character Challenger”, a “supplementary courseware for assisting students learning characters”, is an informational and educational-oriented website. It provides learners with the necessary knowledge, hints, tips and sources to cope with their specific learning problems and to achieve their learning potential. It also introduces external resources of learning if learners need further research. The purpose of the website is to assist, to motivate and to further guide students’ learning. To conclude, I have discussed some open issues with regards to adding value in the learning environment.
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Burkett, Shawn Tyler. "Conjugacy Class Sizes and Character Degrees in the Linear and Unitary Groups." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1335230131.
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Lau, Kin-keung. "Preprocessing and postprocessing techniques for improving the performance of a Chinese character recognition system /." [Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong], 1991. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B13154345.
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Tsai, Kuan-Chun. "How children's use of knowledge about the structure of Chinese characters helps them learn novel characters." Thesis, Institute of Education (University of London), 2002. http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/7513/.
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The main organising feature of Chinese characters is the structure of ideophonetic compound characters. In this structure, two components are identified: a semantic radical and a phonological component, which provide essential information for meaning category and pronunciation. Recent research has shown that knowledge of this structure is involved in the reading and writing processes of Chinese readers. This study investigated children's knowledge of the structure in their learning of novel characters. A structualist model of learning was proposed in this study: learners learn the structure, which underlies the Chinese characters and apply this knowledge generally to new characters with the same structure. This hypothesis was tested using a learning paradigm where 480 children, in grades 2-5 (aged 7-10) in Taiwan were asked to learn pseudo characters in a series of experiments. In Studies 2 and 3, the children were given two types of pseudocharacters, sensible (which followed the structure of ideophonetic characters) and nonsensical (which violated the structure). The effect of visual complexity of the stimuli was controlled. The results showed that the children in all four grade levels learned sensible stimuli significantly better than nonsensical ones. In Studies 4 and 5, the children were given the pseudocharacters that embedded different degree of regularity in relation to the semantic and phonological aspects of the structure of ideophonetic compounds. The regularity was defined as two levels of semantic transparency (transparent vs. opaque) and two levels of phonological regularity (regular vs. irregular). The results showed that the children learned significantly more semantic radicals when those radicals provided transparent semantic information than when they were opaque. The children also learned more phonological components when those components were regular than when they were irregular. With the two regular phonological principles, by derivation and by analogy, there was no difference between the two types of principles in children's learning. These findings were independent of the response modes in the experiments: this was true both when the children were asked to write down the characters they had learned and to identify the characters and read them. It is concluded that children use the knowledge about the main structure underlying the Chinese writing system in learning new characters. The semantic radicals and phonological components both play a significant role in children's knowledge of ideophonetic characters. The children use the phonological principles of both derivation and analogy equally well in their learning of new characters.
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Gast, Alexander. "Identification with Game Characters : Effects of visual attributes on the identification process between players and characters." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för naturvetenskap, miljö och teknik, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-32341.
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Concept of identity within digital games is believed to be a prominent subject as the bond between the player and the character could potentially enhance the gameplay experience. There is as yet a lack of studies addressing the visual identification of predefined game characters. Therefore, this study aims to examine how the identification is established through visual attributes of a game character. To this end, a qualitative online survey was undertaking, gathering responses from 350 respondents. The responses were analysed using thematic analysis, and the elicited themes indicate that the identification has in fact been established, where visual attributes such as hair, weapons, outfits and even abilities had an influence on how the participants perceived and identified themselves with the character.Begreppet identitet inom digitala spel tros vara ett betydande ämne när det kommer till spelforskning då samhörigheten mellan en spelare och en karaktär potentiellt kan förstärka spelupplevelsen. Eftersom en liten mängd studier använder termen identifiering inom visuella studier av fördefinierade spelkaraktärer, syftar denna studie till att undersöka hur identifiering etableras genom spelkaraktärens visuella attribut. Totalt har 350 respondenter besvarat ett kvalitativt online-frågeformulär. Svaren har analyserats med hjälp av tematisk analys, och de uppfunna teman indikerar på att identifiering har fastställts, där visuella attribut såsom hår, vapen, kläder men även förmågor har inverkat på hur deltagarna uppfattade och identifierade sig med en karaktär.
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Yao, Michelle. "How English speakers learn Chinese characters." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2005. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B31601790.
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Nilsson, Jesper. "Virtual Characters for a Virtual Classroom." Thesis, Örebro universitet, Institutionen för naturvetenskap och teknik, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-45447.
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Projektet hade sin bakgrund i önskan att tillhandahålla en virtuell träningsmiljö för lärare där de kan öva på sin icke-verbala kommunikation med elever. Före det här projektet hade utvecklingen av träningsmiljön lett fram till ett visualiserings-system för ett tredimensionellt virtuellt klassrum med animerade karaktärer samt ett system för upptagning och igenkänning av användarens rörelser. För att en sådan träningsmiljö skall vara användbar krävs dock att de virtuella studenterna uppvisar ett trovärdigt mänskligt beteende. Den här rapporten avhandlar implementationen av mänskligt beteende i agenterna förkroppsligade i visualiseringssystemet. För detta ändamål användes det BDI-baserade multi-agent-systemet Jason tillsammans med inspiration från personlighetsteorin OCEAN, affektionsteorin OCC och beteendearkitekturen PMFserv. Rapporten avhandlar även resultatet av ett experiment som utfördes för att utvärdera systemet. I experimentet blev 16 testpersoner introducerade för två olika lärar-scenarion, varpå de, för var och en av dessa scenarion, fyllde i en enkät om deras upplevelse.The project had its background in the desire to provide a virtual training environment for teachers in which they can exercise their non-verbal communication (e.g. gestures and orientation) with students. Prior to this project, the development of the training environment had led up to a visualisation system for a 3D virtual classroom with virtual students and a motion recognition system for capturing and recognising the user's movements. For such a training environment to be useful however, the virtual students need to express believable human behaviour. This report covers the implementation of human behaviour in the agents embodied in the visualisation system using the BDI-based Jason multi-agent simulation platform with further inspiration taken from the OCEAN personality theory, the OCC theory of emotions and the PMFserv cognitive architecture. It also covers the results of an experiment that was conducted to evaluate the system. During this experiment, 16 test persons were introduced to two different teaching scenarios and were asked to fill in a questionnaire about their experience after each scenario.
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Sano, Yoshinori. "Characters' storytelling in the Homeric epics." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1997. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:610b75ea-1651-4909-8c9c-2dde9bb84bca.
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This thesis is a study of the stories told by characters in the Iliad and the Odyssey. Recent studies have revealed that these stories, which were once generally regarded as mere summaries of lost 'sources', contain various correspondences to their respective contexts, and are thereby integrated into the main narrative of each epic. These stories also contribute to the characterization of principal figures. Thus characters' storytelling should be regarded as an important component of the composition of the Homeric epics. In Part 1, the stories told by characters in the Iliad are divided into four categories: Paradeigmata pertaining to Achilleus (Chapter 1), Paradeigmata in the Diomedeia (Chapter 2), Nestor's stories (Chapter 3), and stories about the Olympian gods (Chapter 4). In Part 2, the stories in the Odyssey are likewise divided into four categories: Agamemnon's nostos (Chapter 5), the Wooden Horse and other events in the Trojan War (Chapter 6), Odysseus' apologoi (Chapter 7), and Odysseus' lying stories (Chapter 8). Under these eight headings, the function of each story is examined in terms of its rhetorical effect, echo of the events in the main narrative, foreshadowing of future events, contribution to the characterization of principal figures, etc. These examinations show that the stories told by characters are closely connected with the main plot of each epic. Interesting differences between the two epics in respect of their use of characters' storytelling emerge from the above examinations. Notably, the Iliadic characters tell stories about heroes of previous generations, whereas the Odyssean characters often tell stories of their own experiences. This is related to the difference between the Iliad and the Odyssey as regards the representation of the past. This and other issues are discussed in the Conclusion.
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Lam, Ho-cheong. "Orthographic awareness in learning Chinese characters." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2006. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B3762734X.
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Ye, Yuting. "Simulation of characters with natural interactions." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/47540.
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The goal of this thesis is to synthesize believable motions of a
character interacting with its surroundings and manipulating objects through physical contacts and forces. Human-like autonomous avatars are in increasing demand in areas such as entertainment, education, and health care. Yet modeling the basic human motor skills of locomotion and manipulation remains a long-standing challenge in animation research. The seemingly simple tasks of navigating an uneven terrain or grasping cups of different shapes involve planning with complex kinematic and physical constraints as well as adaptation to unexpected perturbations. Moreover, natural movements exhibit unique personal characteristics that are complex to model. Although motion capture technologies allow virtual actors to use recorded human motions in many applications, the recorded motions are not directly applicable to tasks involving interactions for two reasons. First, the acquired data cannot be easily adapted to new environments or different tasks goals. Second, acquisition of accurate data is still a challenge for fine scale object manipulations. In this work, we utilize data to create natural looking animations, and mitigate data deficiency with physics-based simulations and numerical optimizations.
We develop algorithms based on a single reference motion for three types of control problems. The first problem focuses on motions without contact constraints. We use joint torque patterns identified from the captured motion to simulate responses and recovery of the same style under unexpected pushes. The second problem focuses on locomotion with foot contacts. We use contact forces to control an abstract dynamic model of the center of mass, which sufficiently describes the locomotion task in the input motion. Simulation of the abstract model under unexpected pushes or anticipated changes of the
environment results in responses consistent with both the laws of physics and the style of the input. The third problem focuses on fine scale object manipulation tasks, in which accurate finger motions and contact information are not available. We propose a sampling method to discover contact relations between the hand and the object from only the gross motion of the wrists and the object. We then use the abundant contact constraints to synthesize detailed finger motions. The algorithm creates finger motions of various styles for a diverse set of object shapes and tasks, including ones that are not present at capture time.
The three algorithms together control an autonomous character with dexterous hands to interact naturally with a virtual world. Our methods are general and robust across character structures and motion contents when testing on a wide variety of motion capture sequences and environments. The work in this thesis brings closer the motor skills of a virtual character to its human counterpart. It provides computational tools for the analysis of human biomechanics, and can potentially inspire the design of novel control algorithms for humanoid robots.
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林依民 and Yi-min Lin. "Computer recognition of printed Chinese characters." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1990. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31209919.
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梁祥海 and Cheung-hoi Leung. "Computer recognition of handprinted Chinese characters." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1986. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31230660.
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施雷 and Lui Sze. "Computer recognition of printed Chinese characters." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1996. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31213601.
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Yao, Michelle, and 姚君霓. "How English speakers learn Chinese characters." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2005. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31601790.
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Lam, Ho-cheong, and 林浩昌. "Orthographic awareness in learning Chinese characters." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2006. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3762734X.
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黃艷玲 and Yim-ling Olivia Wong. "The characters in the Zhuang-zi =." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1988. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B44569634.
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Araya-Ajoy, Yimen G. "Multi-level variation in labile characters." Diss., Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2015. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:19-185184.
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Labile characters, like behaviors, are phenotypes that are expressed repeatedly in the life of an individual. These types of characters allow individuals to adjust their phenotype to various levels of environmental variation, and therefore play a key role in the evolutionary process. Labile phenotypes are distinct because of their multi-level nature; individuals can differ in their average phenotypic expression (causing among-individual variation), but they can also vary their phenotype in each expression (causing within-individual variation). In order to understand the role of labile characters in the evolutionary process it is necessary to acknowledge that variation at each level is caused by different processes. Variation at the among-individual level is caused by genetic or environmental differences having a permanent effect on an individual’s phenotype, whereas variation at the within-individual level is caused by an individual’s adjustment of its phenotype to a changing environment. The implications of these multi layered effects in the expression of labile characters have been acknowledged by different fields of evolutionary ecology, but major areas of evolutionary research do not fully incorporated this idea. The general aim of my thesis was to fully integrate this multi-level nature in the study of the adaptive causes and evolutionary consequences of variation in labile characters. My thesis is composed of five chapters: the first three are conceptual and methodological works aimed at integrating the multi-level nature of labile characters into already existing evolutionary frameworks. The last two chapters describe, as a worked example, how the different levels of variation and covariation between (labile) fertilization related traits affect the evolution of the alternative reproductive strategies in a wild passerine bird (the great tit).
The first chapter is a conceptual work focusing on how to define and statistically characterize behavioral characters. We argue that behavioral characters can be studied using the “evolutionary character concept”. This framework was developed to study characters that only vary among individuals (i.e. “fixed characters”); therefore we extended this framework to include characters that also vary within-individuals. The second chapter of the thesis is a methodological work where we proposed a way to quantify multi-level variation in reaction norms, which allows the estimation of repeatability of plasticity. Behavioral ecologists have recently developed theory predicting the ecological conditions where repeatable vs. non-repeatable variation in phenotypic plasticity should evolve. However, there was no methodological framework to estimate repeatability of plasticity. Therefore, we proposed a study design and mixed effect model structure to estimate repeatability of plasticity. To help researchers use the proposed methodology, we developed an R simulation package to estimate bias, precision and accuracy for different sampling designs. The third chapter is an opinion paper that urges researchers to combine theory and methods developed in behavioral ecology and quantitative genetics to study phenotypic variation in a social context. Quantitative geneticists have developed a framework to study social evolution aimed at predicting the evolutionary response to selection of traits affected by the phenotypes of other individuals (the “social environment”). Phenotypes expressed in a social context, also called interactive phenotypes, exhibit a particular evolutionary dynamic because their environmental component is composed of genes and can thus evolve. Despite that fact that the effects of the social environment are commonly mediated by labile characters, this social evolution framework has not fully considered the multi-level nature of labile characters. Therefore, for chapter three we integrated the multi-level nature of labile characters in this social evolution framework.
The final two chapters focus, as a worked example, on within-pair and extra-pair reproductive behavior in great tits. For these chapters, we utilized the theoretical and methodological developments of the previous chapters to study the sources of evolutionary constraints on alternative fertilization routes in male great tits. One of the chapters has a more evolutionary perspective, while the other applies a more behavioral ecology view point. In chapter four we studied male extra-pair and within-pair reproduction as interactive phenotypes that are affected by the phenotypes of both the male and the female member of great tit breeding pairs. We showed that male fertilization strategies depend heavily on the phenotype of their female. This social environment effect should influence the evolutionary response to selection of male fertilization strategies, and could partly explain evolutionary stasis, observed in natural populations, in traits so closely linked to fitness. In chapter four we also studied whether trade-offs among- or within-individuals can constrain the phenotypic evolution of male alternative reproductive strategies. We showed that among-male trade-offs between within-pair and extra-pair reproduction could also be a source of evolutionary constrain. In chapter five, we corroborated the existence of trade-offs between alternative reproductive routes by studying whether within-pair and extra-pair fertilizations are obtained at the same time, allowing for the possibility of a trade-off between the two. We found that a male's extra-pair fertilization success is actually higher when it constrains his ability to secure within-pair fertilizations. This result is consistent with our finding that there is indeed a trade-off between extra-pair and within-pair reproduction in this species. The empirical works in this thesis highlight the importance of the social environment as a source of phenotypic variation in the expression of labile traits. But more generally, from the works in this thesis, we can conclude that to fully understand the role of labile characters in the evolutionary process it is necessary to acknowledge their multi-level nature.
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Makatchev, Maxim. "Cross-Cultural Believability of Robot Characters." Research Showcase @ CMU, 2013. http://repository.cmu.edu/dissertations/222.
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Believability of characters is an objective in literature, theater, animation, film, and other media. Virtual characters, believable as sharing their ethnic background with users, improve their perception of the character and, sometimes, even their task performance. Social scientists refer to this phenomenon as homophily—humans tend to associate and bond with similar others. Homophily based on ethnic similarity between humans and robots, however, has not previously been tested, in part due to the difficulties of endowing a robot with ethnicity. We tackle this task by attempting to avoid blatant labels of ethnicity such as clothing, accent, or ethnic appearance (although we control for the latter), and instead aim at evoking ethnicity via more subtle verbal and nonverbal behaviors.
Until now, when designing ethnically-specific virtual agents, their behaviors have been typically borrowed from anthropological studies and cultural models. Other approaches collect corpora of human interactions in target contexts and select maximally distinctive behaviors for further implementation on a virtual character. In this thesis, we argue that both behaviors that signal differences between an anthropologist and the target ethnicity (rich points), as well as maximally distinctive behaviors between target ethnicities, may vary on their ability to evoke ethnic attribution. We address this discrepancy by performing an additional evaluation of the candidate behaviors on their salience as ethnic cues via online crowdsourcing. The most salient ethnic cues are then implemented on the robot for a study with colocated participants.
This methodology has allowed us to design robot characters that elicit associations between the robot’s behaviors and ethnic attributions of the characters as native speakers of American English, or native speakers of Arabic speaking English as a foreign language, by members of both of these ethnic communities. Although we did not find evidence of ethnic homophily, we believe that the suggested pathway can be used to create robot characters with a higher degree of perceived similarity, and better chances of evoking homophily effect.
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Hamstead, Susan Dorothy. "Off-stage characters in Greek tragedy." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.421357.
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Hussin, Amran. "Characters of affine Kac-Moody algebras." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.296515.
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Robert, David Yann. "Imaginative play with blended reality characters." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/67782.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-137).
The idea and formative design of a blended reality character, a new class of character able to maintain visual and kinetic continuity between the fully physical and fully virtual; the technical underpinnings of its unique blended physical and digital play context and the evaluation of its impact on children's play are the contents of this thesis. A play test study with thirty-four children aged three and a half to seven was conducted using non-reactive, unobtrusive observational methods and a validated evaluation instrument. Our claim is that young children have accepted the idea, persistence and continuity of blended reality characters. Furthermore, we found that children are more deeply engaged with blended reality characters and are more fully immersed in blended reality play as co-protagonists in the experience, in comparison to interactions with strictly screen-based representations. As substantiated through the use of quantitative and qualitative analysis of drawings and verbal utterances, the study showed that young children produce longer, detailed and more imaginative descriptions of their experiences following blended reality play. The desire to continue engaging in blended reality play as expressed by children's verbal requests to revisit and extend their play time with the character positively affirms the potential for the development of an informal learning platform with sustained appeal to young children.
by David Yann Robert.
S.M.
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Berlin, Matthew Roberts 1980. "Predatory sequence learning for synthetic characters." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61141.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-65).
The process of mammalian predatory sequence development offers a number of insights relevant to the goal of designing synthetic characters that can quickly and easily learn complicated and interesting behavior. We propose a number of principles for designing such learning systems, inspired by a targeted review of animal developmental phenomena, with particular emphasis on the development of predatory behavior in certain felid and canid species. We describe the implementation of a few of these principles as an extension to a popular algorithm for learning in autonomous systems called hierarchical Q-learning. In this new approach, the agent starts out with only one skill, and then new skills are added one at a time to its available repertoire as time passes. The agent is motivated to experiment thoroughly with each new skill as it is introduced. Simulation results are presented which empirically demonstrate the advantages of this new algorithm for the speed and effectiveness of the learning process.
by Matthew Roberts Berlin.
S.M.
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楊翊中. "Character Segmentation in Machine Printed Chinese Characters." Thesis, 1997. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/46304620373090756429.
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