Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Perception analysi'

La ricerca ha lo scopo di fornire evidenze sui benefici, in termini di salubrità, sostenibilità ambientale ed efficienza produttiva, dell’orzo (Hordeum vulgare L.), una coltura ampiamente diffusa in Puglia (Italia). Al fine di perseguire questo obiettivo generale, lo scopo della ricerca è duplice: (i) studiare la percezione dei consumatori circa la qualità dei prodotti biologici, in termini di sostenibilità e salubrità, e analizzare come e in che misura la qualità percepita dei prodotti biologici è influenzata dalla presenza di informazioni in etichetta relative alla qualità e dal profilo socio-demografico dei consumatori; (ii) confrontare la coltivazione dell’orzo in regime biologico e convenzionale, in condizioni pedo-climatiche favorevoli, al fine di valutare i potenziali impatti ambientali ed individuare la migliore soluzione in termini di sostenibilità ambientale ed efficienza produttiva. È stato usato un approccio basato su una Combinazione tra una variabile casuale Uniforme discreta e una variabile casuale Binomiale traslata, denominato modello CUB per analizzare le preferenze dei consumatori in termini di due componenti latenti, il livello di attrazione verso l’item considerato (feeling) e l’incertezza connessa alle modalità della raccolta delle risposte (uncertainty). È stata usata la metodologia della valutazione del ciclo di vita, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), usando alternativamente come Unità Funzionali (FU) 1 ha di terra destinata alla coltivazione di orzo per testare la sostenibilità ambientale, e 1 kg di granella secca di orzo per testare l’efficienza produttiva. I risultati del modello CUB evidenziano che la presenza di informazioni specifiche sull’etichetta dei prodotti (e.g. etichetta ambientale, certificazione biologica, indicazioni salutistiche) fanno percepire i prodotti biologici come prodotti di qualità superiore. I risultati sottolineano anche come il profilo socio-demografico dei consumatori svolge un ruolo fondamentale ne determinare il meccanismo di acquisto dei prodotti. I risultati di LCA mostrano che la coltivazione di orzo biologico è più sostenibile da un punto di vista ambientale (ma non è produttivamente efficiente), viceversa la coltivazione di orzo convenzionale è più efficiente da un punto di vista produttivo (ma non è sostenibile per l’ambiente). I risultati relativi all’efficienza produttiva e alla sostenibilità ambientale dovrebbero essere bilanciate da assunzioni metodologiche (la scelta dell’unità funzionale, il procedimento di allocazione) e da elementi qualitativi (la qualità della coltura, l’adattabilità a specifiche condizioni pedo-climatiche). L’unità funzionale di superficie (1 ha) è preferibile per l’analisi delle fasi di coltivazione in campo, mentre l’unità funzionale di massa (1 kg) è consigliabile per la valutazione di un contesto più ampio, quale un’intera filiera. La ricerca tenta di colmare la mancanza esistente nella letteratura economica relativa alla coltura dell’orzo, che rappresenta un punto di forza per le aziende agricole e di trasformazione pugliesi, grazie alle sue caratteristiche di sostenibilità e salubrità
The scope of the research is to provide evidences about the benefits, in terms of healthiness, environmental sustainability, and productive efficiency, related to barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), a widespread crop in the Apulia region (italy). Seeking to pursue this general goal, the aim of the research is twofold: (i) investigating consumers’ perception about quality of organic food, in terms of sustainability and healthiness, and analyzing how and to what extent perceived quality of organic food is influenced by the presence of information related to quality on food products’ label, and consumers’ socio-demographic profile; (ii) comparing organic and conventional cultivation of barley, under favorable pedo-climatic conditions, to evaluate the potential environmental impacts related to the cultivation of barley and to identify the most suitable solution in terms of environmental sustainability and productive efficiency. An approach based on Combination of Uniform and shifted Binomial random variables, named CUB model, was performed to analyze consumers’ preference in terms of two latent components, feeling and uncertainty. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed alternatively using, as Functional Units (FUs), 1 ha of land involved in cultivation of barley to seek environmental sustainability and 1 kg of dry matter grains of produced barley to check productive efficiency. Findings from CUB models highlight that the presence of specific information on food’s label (e.g. environmental label, organic certification, healthy claims) contributes to perceive organic food as food of superior quality. Results also underline how consumers’ socio-demographic profile plays a significant role in driving food purchasing decision mechanism. Findings from comparative LCA show that organic barley cultivation is the most environmentally sustainable solution (but not efficient in production), vice versa conventional barley cultivation is the solution most efficient in production (but not environmentally sustainable). Efficiency in production and environmental sustainability may be balanced with methodological assumptions (choice of functional unit, allocation procedure) and qualitative elements (crop quality and adaptiveness to specific pedo-climatic conditions). A land-based FU is preferred in the analysis of the agricultural stage, while a mass-based FU is suitable for the assessment of a wider context, such as the entire supply chain. The research seeks to fill the lack, existing in economic literature, about barley crop, which is a potential strength for Apulian farms and firms, thanks to its sustainability and healthiness properties.

Tra i diversi campi di ricerca nell’ambito dell’informatica musicale, la sintesi e la generazione di segnali audio incarna la pluridisciplinalità di questo settore, nutrendo insieme le pratiche scientifiche e musicale dalla sua creazione. Inerente all’informatica dalla sua creazione, la generazione audio ha ispirato numerosi approcci, evolvendo colle pratiche musicale e gli progressi tecnologici e scientifici. Inoltre, alcuni processi di sintesi permettono anche il processo inverso, denominato analisi, in modo che i parametri di sintesi possono anche essere parzialmente o totalmente estratti dai suoni, dando una rappresentazione alternativa ai segnali analizzati. Per di più, la recente ascesa dei algoritmi di l’apprendimento automatico ha vivamente interrogato il settore della ricerca scientifica, fornendo potenti data-centered metodi che sollevavano diversi epistemologici interrogativi, nonostante i sui efficacia. Particolarmente, un tipo di metodi di apprendimento automatico, denominati modelli generativi, si concentrano sulla generazione di contenuto originale usando le caratteristiche che hanno estratti dei dati analizzati. In tal caso, questi modelli non hanno soltanto interrogato i precedenti metodi di generazione, ma anche sul modo di integrare questi algoritmi nelle pratiche artistiche. Mentre questi metodi sono progressivamente introdotti nel settore del trattamento delle immagini, la loro applicazione per la sintesi di segnali audio e ancora molto marginale. In questo lavoro, il nostro obiettivo e di proporre un nuovo metodo di audio sintesi basato su questi nuovi tipi di generativi modelli, rafforazti dalle nuove avanzati dell’apprendimento automatico. Al primo posto, facciamo una revisione dei approcci esistenti nei settori dei sistemi generativi e di sintesi sonore, focalizzando sul posto di nostro lavoro rispetto a questi disciplini e che cosa possiamo aspettare di questa collazione. In seguito, studiamo in maniera più precisa i modelli generativi, e come possiamo utilizzare questi recenti avanzati per l’apprendimento di complesse distribuzione di suoni, in un modo che sia flessibile e nel flusso creativo del utente. Quindi proponiamo un processo di inferenza / generazione, il quale rifletta i processi di analisi/sintesi che sono molto usati nel settore del trattamento del segnale audio, usando modelli latenti, che sono basati sull’utilizzazione di un spazio continuato di alto livello, che usiamo per controllare la generazione. Studiamo dapprima i risultati preliminari ottenuti con informazione spettrale estratte da diversi tipi di dati, che valutiamo qualitativamente e quantitativamente. Successiva- mente, studiamo come fare per rendere questi metodi più adattati ai segnali audio, fronteggiando tre diversi aspetti. Primo, proponiamo due diversi metodi di regolarizzazione di questo generativo spazio che sono specificamente sviluppati per l’audio : una strategia basata sulla traduzione segnali / simboli, e una basata su vincoli percettivi. Poi, proponiamo diversi metodi per fronteggiare il aspetto temporale dei segnali audio, basati sull’estrazione di rappresentazioni multiscala e sulla predizione, che permettono ai generativi spazi ottenuti di anche modellare l’aspetto dinamico di questi segnali. Per finire, cambiamo il nostro approccio scientifico per un punto di visto piú ispirato dall’idea di ricerca e creazione. Primo, descriviamo l’architettura e il design della nostra libreria open-source, vsacids, sviluppata per permettere a esperti o non-esperti musicisti di provare questi nuovi metodi di sintesi. Poi, proponiamo una prima utilizzazione del nostro modello con la creazione di una performance in real- time, chiamata ægo, basata insieme sulla nostra libreria vsacids e sull’uso di une agente di esplorazione, imparando con rinforzo nel corso della composizione. Finalmente, tramo dal lavoro presentato alcuni conclusioni sui diversi modi di migliorare e rinforzare il metodo di sintesi proposto, nonché eventuale applicazione artistiche.
Among the diverse research fields within computer music, synthesis and generation of audio signals epitomize the cross-disciplinarity of this domain, jointly nourishing both scientific and artistic practices since its creation. Inherent in computer music since its genesis, audio generation has inspired numerous approaches, evolving both with musical practices and scientific/technical advances. Moreover, some syn- thesis processes also naturally handle the reverse process, named analysis, such that synthesis parameters can also be partially or totally extracted from actual sounds, and providing an alternative representation of the analyzed audio signals. On top of that, the recent rise of machine learning algorithms earnestly questioned the field of scientific research, bringing powerful data-centred methods that raised several epistemological questions amongst researchers, in spite of their efficiency. Especially, a family of machine learning methods, called generative models, are focused on the generation of original content using features extracted from an existing dataset. In that case, such methods not only questioned previous approaches in generation, but also the way of integrating this methods into existing creative processes. While these new generative frameworks are progressively introduced in the domain of image generation, the application of such generative techniques in audio synthesis is still marginal. In this work, we aim to propose a new audio analysis-synthesis framework based on these modern generative models, enhanced by recent advances in machine learning. We first review existing approaches, both in sound synthesis and in generative machine learning, and focus on how our work inserts itself in both practices and what can be expected from their collation. Subsequently, we focus a little more on generative models, and how modern advances in the domain can be exploited to allow us learning complex sound distributions, while being sufficiently flexible to be integrated in the creative flow of the user. We then propose an inference / generation process, mirroring analysis/synthesis paradigms that are natural in the audio processing domain, using latent models that are based on a continuous higher-level space, that we use to control the generation. We first provide preliminary results of our method applied on spectral information, extracted from several datasets, and evaluate both qualitatively and quantitatively the obtained results. Subsequently, we study how to make these methods more suitable for learning audio data, tackling successively three different aspects. First, we propose two different latent regularization strategies specifically designed for audio, based on and signal / symbol translation and perceptual constraints. Then, we propose different methods to address the inner temporality of musical signals, based on the extraction of multi-scale representations and on prediction, that allow the obtained generative spaces that also model the dynamics of the signal. As a last chapter, we swap our scientific approach to a more research & creation-oriented point of view: first, we describe the architecture and the design of our open-source library, vsacids, aiming to be used by expert and non-expert music makers as an integrated creation tool. Then, we propose an first musical use of our system by the creation of a real-time performance, called aego, based jointly on our framework vsacids and an explorative agent using reinforcement learning to be trained during the performance. Finally, we draw some conclusions on the different manners to improve and reinforce the proposed generation method, as well as possible further creative applications.
À travers les différents domaines de recherche de la musique computationnelle, l’analysie et la génération de signaux audio sont l’exemple parfait de la trans-disciplinarité de ce domaine, nourrissant simultanément les pratiques scientifiques et artistiques depuis leur création. Intégrée à la musique computationnelle depuis sa création, la synthèse sonore a inspiré de nombreuses approches musicales et scientifiques, évoluant de pair avec les pratiques musicales et les avancées technologiques et scientifiques de son temps. De plus, certaines méthodes de synthèse sonore permettent aussi le processus inverse, appelé analyse, de sorte que les paramètres de synthèse d’un certain générateur peuvent être en partie ou entièrement obtenus à partir de sons donnés, pouvant ainsi être considérés comme une représentation alternative des signaux analysés. Parallèlement, l’intérêt croissant soulevé par les algorithmes d’apprentissage automatique a vivement questionné le monde scientifique, apportant de puissantes méthodes d’analyse de données suscitant de nombreux questionnements épistémologiques chez les chercheurs, en dépit de leur effectivité pratique. En particulier, une famille de méthodes d’apprentissage automatique, nommée modèles génératifs, s’intéressent à la génération de contenus originaux à partir de caractéristiques extraites directement des données analysées. Ces méthodes n’interrogent pas seulement les approches précédentes, mais aussi sur l’intégration de ces nouvelles méthodes dans les processus créatifs existants. Pourtant, alors que ces nouveaux processus génératifs sont progressivement intégrés dans le domaine la génération d’image, l’application de ces techniques en synthèse audio reste marginale. Dans cette thèse, nous proposons une nouvelle méthode d’analyse-synthèse basés sur ces derniers modèles génératifs, depuis renforcés par les avancées modernes dans le domaine de l’apprentissage automatique. Dans un premier temps, nous examinerons les approches existantes dans le domaine des systèmes génératifs, sur comment notre travail peut s’insérer dans les pratiques de synthèse sonore existantes, et que peut-on espérer de l’hybridation de ces deux approches. Ensuite, nous nous focaliserons plus précisément sur comment les récentes avancées accomplies dans ce domaine dans ce domaine peuvent être exploitées pour l’apprentissage de distributions sonores complexes, tout en étant suffisamment flexibles pour être intégrées dans le processus créatif de l’utilisateur. Nous proposons donc un processus d’inférence / génération, reflétant les paradigmes d’analyse-synthèse existant dans le domaine de génération audio, basé sur l’usage de modèles latents continus que l’on peut utiliser pour contrôler la génération. Pour ce faire, nous étudierons déjà les résultats préliminaires obtenus par cette méthode sur l’apprentissage de distributions spectrales, prises d’ensembles de données diversifiés, en adoptant une approche à la fois quantitative et qualitative. Ensuite, nous proposerons d’améliorer ces méthodes de manière spécifique à l’audio sur trois aspects distincts. D’abord, nous proposons deux stratégies de régularisation différentes pour l’analyse de signaux audio : une basée sur la traduction signal/ symbole, ainsi qu’une autre basée sur des contraintes perceptives. Nous passerons par la suite à la dimension temporelle de ces signaux audio, proposant de nouvelles méthodes basées sur l’extraction de représentations temporelles multi-échelle et sur une tâche supplémentaire de prédiction, permettant la modélisation de caractéristiques dynamiques par les espaces génératifs obtenus. En dernier lieu, nous passerons d’une approche scientifique à une approche plus orientée vers un point de vue recherche & création. Premièrement, nous présenterons notre librairie open-source, vsacids, visant à être employée par des créateurs experts et non-experts comme un outil intégré. Ensuite, nous proposons une première utilisation musicale de notre système par la création d’une performance temps réel, nommée ægo, basée à la fois sur notre librarie et sur un agent d’exploration appris dynamiquement par renforcement au cours de la performance. Enfin, nous tirons les conclusions du travail accompli jusqu’à maintenant, concernant les possibles améliorations et développements de la méthode de synthèse proposée, ainsi que sur de possibles applications créatives.

La prise de compléments nutritionnels est utile lorsque l’alimentation quotidienne ne suffit plus à couvrir les besoins de l’organisme en nutriments et en énergie. Les ingrédients actifs de ces produits sont principalement des vitamines, des minéraux, des éléments traces, des extraits de plantes. Le mode d’administration par voie orale est largement plébiscité par les consommateurs, c’est pourquoi les produits sont commercialisés sous forme de comprimés effervescents, à croquer, sous forme de poudres et comprimés à mettre en bouche ou sous formes gélifiées. Outre leur efficacité sur le plan nutritionnel, ces produits doivent satisfaire le consommateur sur le plan organoleptique. Cependant, ces compléments nutritionnels sont souvent décrits avec des défauts de goûts non identifiés qui limitent leur acceptabilité.La caractérisation sensorielle de ces « mauvais goûts », l’identification des composés impliqués et la compréhension des mécanismes à l’origine de leur détection sont un véritable challenge pour les industries concernées. Dans ce travail, une méthodologie basée sur des approches sensorielles et cellulaires a été mise en œuvre afin d’améliorer les connaissances sur la perception des « mauvais goûts » des compléments nutritionnels et mettre en évidence des pistes envisageables pour de nouvelles stratégies de masquage.Pour la caractérisation et la quantification des « mauvais goût », les profils sensoriels de différentes gammes et formes de compléments nutritionnels ont été déterminés par des panels de dégustateurs. Un protocole d’analyse sensorielle adapté à la forme galénique évalué (effervescente ou orodispersible) a permis d’identifier et de quantifier certaines perceptions négatives. Les résultats obtenus démontrent en autre la présence d’une amertume prononcée pour de nombreux compléments nutritionnels, qui pourraient contribuer de manière récurrente à leur « mauvais goût ». Une analyse sensorielle de ces mêmes compléments nutritionnels dans des conditions avec et sans blocage du flux rétronasal a révélé des interactions perceptives positives et/ou négatives entre molécules aromatiques et sapides, dont l’origine bien que discutée reste à démontrer.La corrélation entre les profils sensoriels et les compositions nutritives des compléments nutritionnels a révélé que certains composés actifs comme des vitamines pouvaient être responsable de cette amertume. L’être humain possède 25 structures moléculaires spécialisées dans la reconnaissance des molécules amères que l’on appelle des TAS2Rs. L’utilisation d’un protocole d’expérimentation fonctionnelle in vitro a montré que quatre composés vitaminiques étaient capables d’activer un ou plusieurs TAS2R(s). Parallèlement, nous avons complété cette expérimentation fonctionnelle par des mesures psychométriques de seuil de détection à l’amertume chez l’humain. La comparaison des jeux de données sensoriels et cellulaires a révélé l’impact de la physiologie orale et de l’intégration centrale de l’information sur la perception d’un stimulus gustatif. Les résultats obtenus ont démontré que la combinaison d’une approche cellulaire et sensorielle semblait être une méthode alternative efficace pour évaluer la contribution d’un ou plusieurs composés aux perceptions sensorielles négatives des compléments nutritionnels
Taking nutritional supplements is recommended when a normal diet is no sufficient to maintain a good nutritional status. The active ingredients of these products are mainly vitamins, minerals, trace elements and plant extracts. The oral method of administration is widely preferred by consumers, therefore the products are marketed as effervescent tablets, chewable, orodispersible powders and tablets or gelled forms. In addition to their nutritional effectiveness, these products must meet consumer’s expectations as “taste” or “flavor”. However, these nutritional supplements are often described with not identified taste defects, which limit their acceptability.The sensory characterization of these “off-tastes”, the involved compounds identification and the understanding of the mechanisms at the origin of their detection are a real challenge for industry concerned. In this work, a methodology based on sensory and cellular approaches has been implemented in order to improve knowledge on the perception of nutritional supplements “off-tastes” and to highlight possible options for new masking strategies.For the “off-tastes” characterization and quantification, the sensory profiles of different ranges and forms of nutritional supplements were determined by panels of tasters. A sensory analysis protocol adapted to the galenic form evaluated (effervescent or orodispersible) allows to identify and quantify some negative perceptions. The results obtained also demonstrated the presence of a slightly strong bitterness for many nutritional supplements, which could recurrently contribute to their "off-taste". A sensory analysis of these same nutritional supplements with and without retronasal flow blockage conditions revealed positive and/or negative perceptual interactions between aromatic and sapid molecules whose origin remains to be demonstrated.The correlation between sensory profiles and nutritional supplements compositions revealed that some active ingredients such as vitamins could be involved in their bitterness. In humans, bitter substances are detected in the mouth by 25 bitter taste receptors called TAS2Rs. In vitro functional experimental protocol showed that four vitamin compounds were able to activate one or more TAS2R(s). In parallel, we completed this functional experiment with psychometric measurements of the human bitter detection threshold. Comparison of sensory and cellular data revealed the importance of oral physiology and information central integration on the taste stimulus perception. The results obtained demonstrated that the combination of a cellular and sensory approach seemed to be an effective alternative method to evaluate the real contribution of one or more compounds to the negative sensory perceptions of nutritional supplements

Cette thèse propose une nouvelle approche de l'analyse d'image couleur, en considérant d'une part certaines caractéristiques liées à la perception visuelle, d'autre part certaines données liées à la répartition spatiocolorimétrique de l'information couleur. Pour caractériser une scène, nous avons retenu plusieurs critères liés à l'analyse visuelle (sensibilité de la perception, focus d'attention, distance de vision, perception des contrastes. . . ), et développé plusieurs traitements spécifiques (quantification, segmentation, évaluation des différences d'aspect entre deux images. . . ), couplant ainsi dans un même processus une analyse descriptive et une analyse quantitative des scènes étudiées (en termes de formes, contrastes, textures, dispersions, discriminations, degré d'homogénéité. . . ). En parallèle, nous avons souligné les nombreux apports que pouvait apporter l'information couleur à l'analyse d'image, ainsi que les différents problèmes liés à cette information (aspect tridimensionnel de la couleur, non-uniformité de la sensibilité visuelle, caractérisation de l'information pertinente. . . ). Par rapport au problème de la non-uniformité perceptuelle, nous avons proposé une transformation d'uniformisation qui conduit à l'élaboration d'une métrique couleur. Pour chacun des aspects abordés, nous avons fait le point sur l'ensemble des connaissances et des recherches qui s'y rattachent. Nous avons également développé plusieurs algorithmes conçus comme des utilitaires pour l'ensemble des processus de traitement et d'analyse d'image couleur. A cet égard nous avons proposé quelques solutions afin de diminuer les temps de traitement (échantillonnage du plan image, définition d'une enveloppe circonscrite, étude parallèle des formes disjonctives. . . )

Comprendre comment les sons sont perçus et interprétés est un défi important pour les chercheurs qui s'intéressent à la perception auditive. L'approche écologique de la perception suggère qu'un auditeur est capable de reconnaître des événements sonores par l'intermédiaire de structures spécifiques appelées invariants. L'étude de ces invariants est intéressante pour la définition d'un contrôle intuitif des processus de synthèse sonore. Parmi les différentes approches utilisées pour identifier les structures sonores pertinentes sur le plan perceptif, les imitations vocales sont un domaine intéressant. L'objectif principal de cette thèse est d'évaluer comment les invariants sont transmis par imitation vocale. Un corpus de sons de synthèse contenant différents types d'invariants connus a été créé. Les participants ont pris part à un test perceptif où ils ont imité le corpus sonore. Un outil d'analyse d'imitations vocales a ensuite été développé et utilisé pour analyser les imitations. Les résultats montrent que les participants ont pu mettre en évidence les éléments saillants des sons, qui correspondent partiellement aux invariants utilisés dans le corpus sonore. Ce travail de thèse souligne également que les imitations vocales révèlent comment ces invariants sont transmis, à l'aide du biais induit par la perception. Il offre également des perspectives prometteuses d'exploration de la perception sonore par une évaluation plus introspective du ressenti à l'aide des imitations vocales
Understanding how sounds are perceived and interpreted is an important challenge for researchers dealing with auditory perception. The ecological approach to perception suggests that the salient perceptual information that enables an auditor to recognize events through sounds is contained in specific structures called invariants. Investigating such invariants is of interest for the definition of an intuitive control for synthesis processes. Among the different approaches used to identify perceptually relevant sound structures, vocal imitations might be an interesting direction. The main goal of this thesis is to evaluate how invariants are transmitted through vocal imitations. A sound corpus containing different types of known invariants based on an existing synthesizer was set up. Participants took part in a perceptive test where they imitated the sound corpus. A continuous and sparse model of vocal imitations was then developed and used to analyze the imitations. Results show that participants were able to highlight salient elements of the sounds, that partially correspond to the invariants used in the sound corpus. This study also highlights that vocal imitations reveal how these invariants are transmitted, with the help of the perception-induced bias. This study offers promising perspectives on assessing feelings using vocal imitations

Si la musique a participé au développement de la psychologie cognitive et de l'approche expérimentale de l'esthétique, la musicologie, et plus particulièrement sa branche analytique, n'a que très peu bénéficié des acquis de ce que François Delalande appelle « les sciences de la musique ». Cette situation est le résultat d'un l'éloignement ontologique entre les paradigmes sous-jacents des sciences cognitives, et ceux de la théorie et l'analyse musicologiques. La difficulté à assimiler une méthodologie transdisciplinaire – question épistémologique qui accompagne le développement des sciences cognitives –, est aussi responsable d'une forme de désintéressement chronique de la part des musicologues pour des disciplines scientifiques qui pourtant, permettent aujourd'hui de comprendre la musique en tant qu'objet façonné par une dynamique des contraintes perceptives et cognitives, ainsi que comme expérience esthétique vivante. Ce travail doctoral cherche à évaluer les raisons qui rendent pertinente et nécessaire l'ouverture de la musicologie analytique vers l'étude scientifique de la perception et de l'expérience esthétique, et propose une formulation des objectifs et des moyens qui pourraient être ceux d'une musicologie analytique qui reconnait et préserve sa place au sein de l’épistémè contemporain des sciences humaines et naturelles
While music has contributed to the development of cognitive psychology and experimental aesthetics, musicology, and more particularly its analytical branch, has taken little benefit from the achievements of what has been called "the sciences of music ". This situation is the result of a growing ontological distance between the paradigms underlying the development of cognitive sciences and those on which musicological theory and analysis are grounded. The difficulty in assimilating a transdisciplinary methodology – a central epistemological question that accompanies the development of cognitive sciences – is also responsible for the chronic lack of interest on the part of musicologists for the scientific disciplines which have open the possibility to understand music as an object shaped both by perception and cognition, and as a living aesthetic experience. This research evaluates the reasons that prove the relevance and the necessity of building a straight relation between the analytical musicology and the scientific study of perception and aesthetics. It also leads a discussion in order to propose a definition of the aims and the means characterizing an analytical musicology that recognizes and preserves its place within the frame of the contemporary human and natural sciences

On peut distinguer, dans toute phrase musicale tonale, un niveau d'organisation physionomique (rythmes, contours mélodiques, intensité etc. ) Désigne par le terme de structure superficielle et un niveau d'organisation sous-jacent défini par le réseau de relations hiérarchiques unissant les notes de la phrase. L'objectif de cette étude est de préciser comment des auditeurs, musiciens et non-musiciens, parviennent à passer de la perception des caractéristiques physionomiques de la surface musicale, a la compréhension du réseau de relations hiérarchiques qui lui est sous-jacent. Dans le premier tome, l'auteur considère un nombre important d'études expérimentales réalisées en psychologie de la musique. Ces travaux nous renseignent sur les differents processus perceptifs et cognitifs qui interviennent lors de l'écoute musicale. Leur interaction est abordee par un compte rendu détaillé du modelé de F. Lindahl et R. Jackendoff (1983) : A generative theory of tonal music. Dans le second tome, l'auteur expose une série de sept expériences cherchant à tester les hypothèses centrales de ce modèle. Il s'agit, dans les trois premières, de mettre en évidence l'influence des organisations sous-jacentes sur la mémorisation de mélodies. Les expériences sont ensuite réalisées dans des épreuves d'identification. Elles confirment l'existence d'un niveau de codage ou la phrase n'est plus représentée par ses aspects physionomiques mais par le réseau de relations hiérarchiques qui lui est sous-jacent. Trois aptitudes générales sont nécessaires pour abstraire un tel réseau : l'une relative a la connaissance implicite des hiérarchies de hauteur instaurées par le système tonal, l'autre aux principes de groupement rythmique, et la dernière aux processus de mémorisation. Tout auditeur occidental adulte possèderait ces trois aptitudes ce qui lui permettrait une compréhension plus ou moins elaboree des pièces musicales tonales. En conclusion, l'auteur envisage comment ces aptitudes apparaissent au cours du développement de l'enfant et ce qu'elles nous apprennent sur une compétence plus générale a structurer la musique
Two levels may be distinguished in any tonal melody : one corresponding to the physionomical organization (rhythms, melodic contours, dynamics, etc. ) Called "superficial structure", the other corresponding to the underlying organization defined by the network of hierarchical relations associating the phrase notes. The purpose of this study is to specify how musician and non-musician listeners manage to proceed from the perception of physionomical characteristics of the musical surface to the understanding of the underlying network of hierarchical relations. In the first volume, the author considers an important number of experimental studies realized in psychology of music. They inform us of the different perceptual and cognitive processes occuring while listening to music. Their interaction is studied in a detailed review of lerdahl and jackendoff's book : a generativ theory of tonal music (1983). In the second volume the author exposes a series of seven experiments aiming to test the central hypothesis of that modal. The first three show the influence of underlying organization on the memorizing of melodies. The following experiments, proceed by identification tests. They confirm the existence of a processing level in which the phrase is no more represented by its physionomical aspects but by its underlying hierarchical relations. Three general aptitudes are required in order to be able to abstract such a network : one concerning the implicit knowledge of pitch hierarchies set up by the tonal system, another concerning the principles of rhythmic grouping and the last concerning memorizing processes. Every occidental adult listener possesses the three enabling him to get a more or less elaborated understanding of a tonal musical piece. In conclusion, the author considers how those aptitudes appear during the child's growth and what they tell about a more general competence for musical structuring

Les techniques de manipulation de l'apparence d'une image sont très utilisées dans de nombreux domaines comme la photographie, la biologie, l'astronomie ou le spectacle vivant. L'apparence d'une image dépend de ses couleurs et textures, mais aussi des informations 3D perçues comme les formes, les matériaux et l'éclairage. Ces caractéristiques créent aussi une atmosphère et une émotion spécifique à l'image, qui fait aussi partie de son apparence. Le but des techniques de manipulation en espace image est de modifier les couleurs et les textures pour modifier les formes, matériaux et illumination perçus, et de là éventuellement modifier l'atmosphère de l'image.Les méthodes de transfert d'apparence sont une classe spécifique de techniques de manipulation visant à rendre le processus plus intuitif en calculant automatiquement la modification à apporter à l'image. Pour ce faire, elles se basent sur une image supplémentaire fournie par l'utilisateur et représentant l'apparence désirée.Dans cette thèse, nous étudions le transfert d'apparence en espace image basé sur des propriétés texturelles. Les textures étant une partie intégrante de l'apparence, guider les transferts d'apparence par de l'information texturelle est une option attrayante. Nous présentons d'abord une technique de filtrage de descripteurs de texture pour mieux préserver les structures de l'image et les transitions entre textures. Nous utilisons ensuite ce filtrage couplé à différents descripteurs de texture pour effectuer un transfert de couleur, une colorisation et un transfert de texture localement, guidés par la texture
Image-space appearance manipulation techniques are widely used in various domains such as photography, biology, astronomy or performing arts. An image appearance depends on the image colors and texture, but also the perceived 3D informations such as shapes, materials and illumination. These characteristics also create a specific look and feel for the image, which is also part of the image appearance. The goal of image-space manipulation techniques is to modify colors and textures as a mean to alter perceived shapes, illumination, materials, and from this possibly alter the image look and feel.Appearance transfer methods are a specific type of manipulation techniques aiming to make the process more intuitive by automatically computing the image modification. In order to do so, they use an additional user-provided image depicting the desired appearance.In this thesis, we study image-space appearance transfer based on textural properties. Since textures are an integral part of the image appearance, guiding appearance transfers with textural information is an attractive approach. We first present a texture descriptor filtering framework to better preserve image edges and texture transitions in the texture analysis. We then use this framework coupled with different texture descriptors in order to apply local texture guided color transfer, colorization and texture transfer

L'objectif général de cette thèse est de contribuer à l'exploration de la qualité sonore des salles de concert à partir d'une approche centrée sur l'identification de l'expérience sensible des mélomanes. Nous montrons d'abord les limites de l'approche traditionnelle de l'évaluation perceptive, principalement centrée sur des attributs reliés à la salle ou à la musique, et définis a priori à partir des connaissances des expérimentateurs, le plus souvent acousticiens, dans les termes de leur domaine scientifique ou avec des mots dont ils pensent partager avec les sujets les mêmes significations. Puis, reprenant les trois méthodes d'exploration de l'expérience subjective -enquêtes "hors situation d'écoute" (basées sur la mémoire), questionnaires dans les salles lors de concerts, et tests d'écoute en laboratoire-, nous les avons implémentées, mais dans un cadre théorique et méthodologique explicitement positionné en psychologie et en linguistique sur l'étude du sensible comme objet psychologique autonome. De plus, pour notre approche expérimentale en laboratoire, nous avons implémenté un système de décodage paramétrique basé sur le système SIRR (spatial impulse response rendering), permettant la reproduction de champs sonores à partir de réponses impulsionnelles des salles mesurées au format Ambisonics de premier ordre. La contribution de ce travail consiste à repérer les facteurs psychologiques reliés à l'écoute d'un concert dans une salle à partir de l'objectivation de l'expérience subjective des mélomanes et de leur évaluation de la qualité acoustique de la salle, et à partir de là, établir des relations avec les mesures acoustiques des salles étudiées
The general purpose of this thesis is to explore the sound quality of concert halls by approaching it through the listeners’ sensory experience. We first show the limitations of the traditional approach to perceptual evaluation, principally centred on attributes related to hall or music, from the knowledge of experimenters, usually acousticians, and therefore pre-defined by their scientific field, or in common language they believe is shared by the subjects in terms of use and equivalence of meaning. Then, re-using the three methods for exploring subjective experience –extra-auditory enquiries “from memory”, questionnaire surveys within auditoria for given concerts, and laboratory listening tests–, we have implemented them, but within a theoretical and methodological framework, explicitly rooted in psychology and linguistics, and respecting sensibility as an autonomous psychological object of study. Furthermore, in our experimental laboratory approach, we have implemented a parametric decoding system based on SIRR (spatial impulse response rendering), and permitting the reproduction of sound fields from first-order Ambisonics room impulse responses. The contribution of this work thus consists in identifying the psychological factors related to concert listening in a hall by objectivising the subjective experience of listeners (music-lovers) and their evaluation of the acoustic qualities of an auditorium; and in establishing relationships between the psychological factors and the acoustic measurements in the studied auditoria

L'analyse des textures de l'image a donne naissance a de nombreuses theories psychologiques differentes. J'ai en particulier etudie la theorie des textons, qui sont les constituants elementaires d'une texture, developpee par julesz. Ce dernier a constate que l'arrangement spatial des textons n'avait pas d'importance pour la discrimination de textures, les elements importants pour une telle discrimination etant leur densite, leur taille, ainsi que la distance qui les separe. J'ai donc developpe un cadre qui prenne en compte les resultats de julesz. En premier lieu, il fallait que celui-ci traite de la meme facon tout les types de textures, sans que la taille de leurs constituants aient une influence, d'ou le choix de l'analyse multiresolution. En outre, j'ai remarque que les textons pouvaient etre definis a l'aide des singularites de l'image, consideree comme une distribution au sens mathematique. Il me fallait donc un moyen de prendre en compte la densite de ces singularites. J'ai decide d'utiliser la theorie multifractale, qui permet de caracteriser la geometrie et les statistiques liees aux singularites d'une distribution. Le probleme restait a associer analyse multiresolution et analyse multifractale. Il existe une methode d'analyse multifractale des signaux monodimensionnels, developpee par ameodo et son equipe, fondee sur l'analyse en ondelettes, la mmto. J'ai donc | developpe une methode d'analyse bidimensionnelle fondee sur les memes principes. Le probleme d'une telle analyse est qu'elle n'a de sens mathematique qu'a l'echelle nulle, or, dans la nature, les phenomenes, notamment les textures, ont un intervalle, d'echelles propre. C'est pourquoi, au lieu de ne considerer que la limite vers zero des grandeurs permettant de calculer les caracteristiques multifractales, j'ai etudie le comportement de ces dernieres a travers les echelles, ce qui permet de caracteriser les textures a differentes echelles, en particulier d'en detecter les echelles propres.

La perception de l'islam dans les deux pays s'inscrit dans deux contextes historiques très différents, qui ont forgé des systèmes de contraintes et de ressources propres. Les dynamiques de ces contextes sont de deux natures, endogène et exogène. Endogène, d'abord, pour l'histoire migratoire et les conditions d'installation spécifiques des populations musulmanes dans les deux pays. Les dynamiques exogènes découlent de la prise en charge par les autorités publiques. En analysant l'islam sous ce prisme multidimensionnel, cette thèse sert trois objectifs respectivement épistémologique, méthodologique et heuristique. D'un point de vue théorique, la thèse montre que la perception de l'islam par les partis politiques illustre la nécessité d'articuler des processus de surdétermination structurelle et des modalités d'objectivation dans l'approche sociologique. En termes pratiques, cela implique l'exploration de nouvelles manières de trianguler les outils qualitatifs et quantitatifs pour combiner les dimensions microsociologiques, mésosociologiques et macrosociologiques, de même que diachronicité et synchronicité des constats empiriques. Ce faisant, la comparaison examine comment deux "types" de traditions légales-politiques ont modelé différentes réponses à la question de l'intégration des musulmans dans les cadres cognitifs et axiologiques du pays, et permet de mettre en perspective des discours et des représentations sur la période 2001-2015. La thèse montre la pertinence limitée de dualismes traditionnels comme l'opposition droite/gauche sur cette question et suggère des postures alternatives pour dépasser ces biais
The perception of Islam in France and Australia revolves around two very different socio-historical contexts, which produced differentiated systems of constraints and resources for political parties. The structuring dynamics of these contexts are both endogenous and exogenous. The endogenous ones include the migratory history and the specific conditions of settlement of Muslim populations in both countries. The exogenous dynamics ensue from the public authorities' management. In analysing Islam under this multidimensional prism, this thesis serves three purposes: an epistemological one, a methodological one and a heuristic one. From a theoretical point of view, it shows that the perception of Islam by political parties epitomises the necessity of articulating structural overdetermination processes and modalities of objectivation in the sociological approach. In practical terms, this involves exploring new ways to triangulate qualitative and quantitative tools for combining microsociological, mesosociological and macrosociological dimensions, as well as the diachronicity and synchronicity of empirical observations. In doing so, the comparison examines how two "types" of legal-political traditions have shaped different answers to the same question of integrating Muslims within the axiological and cognitive frameworks of the country, and further enables putting into perspective party discourses and representations on the period 2001-2015. It shows the limited relevance of traditional dualisms like the Left/Right opposition on this issue and suggests alternative analytical stances to overcome their biases

Les traits psychologiques individuels peuvent faciliter ou nuire au contrôle alimentaire et pondéral non seulement chez les obèses, mais également dans l’ensemble de la population. La littérature s’est jusqu’à présent principalement focalisée sur les traits négatifs tels que la restriction ou l’alimentation liée aux émotions négatives. A l’inverse, des traits positifs (ou adaptatifs) tels que l’alimentation intuitive et la pleine conscience pourraient favoriser une alimentation saine et un maintien du poids. L'alimentation intuitive est caractérisée par une consommation motivée par les signaux physiologiques de faim et de satiété plutôt qu’en réponse aux stimuli externes et émotionnels, couplée à une faible préoccupation vis-à-vis de l’alimentation. La pleine conscience est définie par une prise de conscience de l’instant présent sans jugement de valeur. L’objectif principal de ce travail était de mesurer l’alimentation liée aux émotions, l’alimentation intuitive et la pleine conscience dans un large échantillon d’adultes en population générale issus de la cohorte NutriNet-Santé, et d’évaluer leur association avec la consommation alimentaire et le statut pondéral de façon transversale. Chez les femmes, une forte alimentation liée aux émotions était associée à une plus forte consommation d’aliments riches en énergie, en particulier les aliments gras et sucrés. La présence de symptômes dépressifs exacerbait cette association. Pour les hommes, cette relation était mise en évidence seulement chez ceux sans symptômes dépressifs. La version traduite et validée d’un questionnaire d’alimentation intuitive a montré des caractéristiques psychométriques satisfaisantes. Des scores plus élevés aux dimensions « manger pour des raisons physiques plutôt qu’émotionnelles » et « recourir à ses signaux de faim et de satiété» étaient associés à des choix alimentaires bénéfiques pour la santé tandis que des scores plus élevés à la dimension « permission inconditionnelle de manger » étaient associés à une alimentation moins saine. Par ailleurs, l’alimentation intuitive et ses trois dimensions étaient inversement associées au statut pondéral. La disposition de pleine conscience était inversement associée au surpoids et à l’obésité chez les femmes, et à l’obésité chez les hommes. De plus, dans l’ensemble, toutes les dimensions de la pleine conscience (« observation », « description », « agir en pleine conscience », « non-jugement » et « non-réactivité ») étaient inversement associées au statut pondéral chez les femmes tandis que chez les hommes, seules les dimensions « observation » et non-réactivité » l’étaient. De façon cohérente, la pratique de techniques psycho-physiques pouvant développer la pleine conscience était inversement associée au statut pondéral. Ces résultats illustrent l’importance des déterminants psychologiques sur le comportement alimentaire et le statut pondéral. Plus particulièrement, ils montrent l’importance de considérer des conduites positives, et pas uniquement des conduites à risque, à la fois en prévention primaire et secondaire de l’obésité
Individual psychological traits can positively or adversely affect eating and weight control notonly among obese individuals, but also in the whole population. So far, the literature hasmainly focused on negative traits such as restrained or emotional eating. Yet, positive (oradaptive) traits such as intuitive eating and mindfulness might predispose people to eat morehealthfully and maintain weight. Intuitive eating is defined as generally eating in response tophysiological hunger and satiety signals, and not in response to external and/or emotionalcues, together with low overall preoccupation with food. Mindfulness is defined as nonjudgmentalawareness of the present moment.Our main objective was to quantify emotional eating, intuitive eating and mindfulness in alarge sample of adults from the general population (the NutriNet-Santé cohort) and to assesswhether they were cross-sectionally associated with food intake and weight status.In women, higher emotional eating was associated with higher consumption of energy densesnack foods, and in particular sweet-and-fatty foods. The presence of depressive symptomsexacerbated this association. In men, this association was found in those without depressivesymptoms only.We translated and validated an existing intuitive eating questionnaire into French, and thistranslated version demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties.Higher scores on the dimensions “eating for physical rather than emotional reasons” and“reliance on hunger and satiety cues” were associated with healthier food choices whilehigher scores on the dimension “unconditional permission to eat” were associated with a lesshealthy diet. However, overall intuitive eating and its three dimensions were all inverselyassociated with weight status.Dispositional mindfulness was inversely associated with overweight and obesity in womenand with obesity in men. In addition, overall, all dimensions of mindfulness (“observing”,“describing”, “acting with awareness”, “non-judging” and “non-reactivity”) were inverselyassociated with weight status in women, while only the “observing” and “non-reactivity”dimensions were inversely associated with weight status in men. In line with this, mind-bodypractices, which can help to develop mindfulness, were also inversely associated with weightstatus.These results illustrate the importance of psychological determinants of dietary behavior andweight status. In particular, our results underline the value of considering positive behaviors,and not only behaviors at risk, for both primary and secondary prevention of obesity

The present research utilised five tasks to investigate non-musicians' perception of phrase, rhythm, pitch and beat structure in unaccompanied Gaelic melodies and musical sequences. Perception of phrase structure was examined using: i) a segmentation task in which listeners segmented Gaelic melodies into a series of meaningful units and ii) a novel click localisation task whereby listeners indicated where they perceived a superimposed click in the melody had occurred. Listeners consistently segmented the melodies into units of 2.4 - 5.4 seconds. Clicks which were positioned before and after perceived boundaries (identified by segmentation) were perceptually migrated towards the boundary. These results suggest that listeners perceptually differentiate between phrasal groups in melodies (See Sloboda & Gregory, 1980; Stoffer, 1985, for similar results with musicians). Short term memory for rhythmic structure was examined using rhythm recall of computer generated sequences and Gaelic melodies. Computer generated rhythms with small tonal pitch intervals (1 - 4 semitones) were easier to recall than large atonal intervals (predominantly greater than 4 semitones). Recall of Gaelic melodies, containing repetitive rhythmic units, was better than recall of computer sequences. Pitch reversal of Gaelic melodies did not effect recall. Beat-tapping with three Gaelic melodies revealed that the majority of listeners established the underlying beat 1.5 - 3 seconds (5 - 6 notes) after the start of the melodies. Perception of meaning and content in two note melodic intervals and three Gaelic melodies was examined using an adjective pair two-alternative forced choice task. Responses to musical intervals showed evidence of perceptual similarity based mainly on interval size. Perceived information content in the melodies increased significantly by the fourth note. The results suggest that the amounts of Gaelic melody which are: i) required to establish an underlying beat, ii) remembered after one hearing, and iii) perceptually grouped into a meaningful unit, include the unit of melody which is necessary to establish a basic meaning.

Encoding the shape of objects within the visual environment is one of the important roles of the visual system. This thesis investigates the proposition that human sensitivity to a broad range of closed-contour shapes is underpinned by multiple shape channels (Loffler, Wilson, & Wilkinson, 2003). Radial frequency (RF) contours are a novel type of stimulus that can be used to represent simple and complex shapes; they are created by sinusoidally modulating the radius of a circle, where the number of cycles of modulation defines the RF number (Wilkinson, Wilson, & Habak, 1998). This thesis uses RF contours to enhance our understanding of the visual processes which support shape perception. The first part of the thesis combines low and high RF components, which Loffler et al. have suggested are detected by separate global and local processes respectively, onto a single contour and shows that, even when combined, the components are detected independently at threshold. The second part of the thesis combines low RF components from across the range where global processing has been demonstrated (up to approximately RF10) onto a single contour in order to test for interactions between them. The resulting data reveal that multiple narrow-band contour shape channels are required to account for performance, and also indicate that these shape channels have inhibitory connections between them. The third part of the thesis examines the local characteristics which are used to represent shape information within these channels. The results show that both the breadth (polar angle subtended) of individual curvature features, and their relative angular positions (in relation to object centre) are important for representing RF shapes; however, processing is IV not tuned for object size, or for modulation amplitude. In addition, we show that luminance and contrast cues are effectively combined at the level where these patterns are detected, indicating a single later processing stage is adequate to explain performance for these pattern characteristics. Overall the findings show that narrow-band shape channels are a useful way to explain sensitivity to a broad range of closed-contour shapes. Modifications to the current RF detection model (Poirier & Wilson, 2006) are required to incorporate inhibitory connections between shape channels and also, to accommodate the effective integration of luminance and contrast cues.

Percevoir la parole dans le bruit représente une opération complexe pour notre système perceptif. Pour parvenir à analyser cette scène auditive, nous mettons en place des mécanismes de ségrégation auditive. Nous pouvons également lire sur les lèvres pour améliorer notre compréhension de la parole. L'hypothèse initiale, présentée dans ce travail de thèse, est que ce bénéfice visuel pourrait en partie reposer sur des interactions entre l'information visuelle et les mécanismes de ségrégation auditive. Les travaux réalisés montrent que lorsque la cohérence audiovisuelle est importante, les mécanismes de ségrégation précoce peuvent être renforcés. Les mécanismes de ségrégation tardives, quant à eux, ont été démontré comme mettant en jeu des processus attentionnels. Ces processus attentionnels pourraient donc être renforcés par la présentation d'un indice visuel lié perceptivement. Il apparaît que ce liage entre un flux de voyelles et un indice visuel élémentaire est possible mais cependant moins fort que lorsque l'indice visuel possède un contenu phonétique. En conclusion, les résultats présentés dans ce travail suggèrent que les mécanismes de ségrégation auditive puissent être influencés par un indice visuel pour peu que la cohérence audiovisuelle soit importante comme dans le cas de la parole.

Stereoscopic displays provide 3D vision usually with the help of additional equipment such as shutter glasses and head gears. As a new stereoscopic display technology, autostereoscopic 3D Displays provide 3D vision without additional equipment. Previous studies of depth and distance estimation with autostereoscopic displays indicate the users do not exhibit better performance in 3D. Yet, they claim 3D displays provide higher immersiveness. In this study, perception of the angle of a 3D shape is investigated by comparing 2D, 3D and Real perception cases. An experiment is conducted using an autostereoscopic 3D display. Forty people have participated in the experiment. They were asked to estimate the vertex angle and draw the projections of the object from two different viewpoints. It is found that users can better estimate the angles on a cone when viewed from the top on an autostereoscopic display. This may contribute positively to 3D understanding of the scene. Results revealed that participants make more accurate angle estimation in autostereoscopic 3D displays than in traditional 2D displays. In general, the participants&rsquo
angle drawings were slightly higher than their angle estimations. Moreover, the participants overestimated 35, 65 and 90 degree angles and underestimated 115 degree angle in autostereoscopic 3D display.

Cette recherche pose la question du lien entre expérience du mouvement et compréhension sensible de l'espace urbain. Située dans le champ des ambiances architecturales et urbaines, et placée dans le sillon épistémologique et théorique des travaux de sociologie des mobilités issus de l'Université de Lancaster, cette recherche part de l'hypothèse suivante : la compréhension de la perception en mouvement de l'espace urbain est un moyen de relier les échelles disparates du sensible – corporel et contextualisé – et de l'espace à une grande échelle. Des paroles de voyageurs ont été recueillies dans le métro de Paris et à bord d'un train à Lyon, à l'aide d'une adaptation de la méthode des parcours commentés ; des enregistrements sonores ont également été réalisés à bord de transports collectifs ferroviaires (métro, tramway, train) dans cinq villes du monde. De ce corpus empirique émerge une analyse de l'expérience sensible des transports organisée autour de différents registres à l'interface des sensibilités, du moyen de transport et de l'espace traversé. Deux résultats principaux émergent de cette démarche. Premièrement, le développement d'une métholodologie spécifique, capable de rendre compte à la fois de la perception en transports motorisés ainsi que de l'espace urbain à l'épreuve du mouvement. Secondement, des modalités d'analyse originales permettant la construction théorique compréhensive de l'espace urbain « inter-échelles ». L'objectif final de cette mise en confrontation consiste à avancer théoriquement sur la notion d'ambiance à une échelle urbaine.

Since the turn of the century, the increasing relevance of the Internet and non-traditional security concerns has been visible in the East Asian context. On the Korean peninsula, there have been starkly different approaches to cyberspace. South Korea, a developed economy and liberal democracy has made significant strides in adopting the Internet while its northern counterpart still remains largely unconnected. In such a context, this paper uses metadata and big data sources to delve into the American threat perception of North Korean cyberspace. Recent trends indicate that the American government and media have a growing interest in cyber security issues. As the target of historical North Korean cyber attacks, the United States should have considerable interest in the cyber attack capabilities of North Korea. A theoretical framework on threat perception is used to estimate that the American threat perception of North Korean cyber capabilities is high. However, an analysis of data that was collected with Python scripts and web APIs shows that the American government and media often associate the threat from North Korea with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles rather than cyber warfare. As a result, the use of big data and metadata technologies reveal nuances in the American threat perception of North Korea. For the United States, North Korea’s cyber attack capabilities should be seen as an emerging threat in objective terms, but nuclear weapons and missile capabilities still dominate in threat perceptions.
Arts, Faculty of
Political Science, Department of
Graduate

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, 2007.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4862. Adviser: Joel Meier. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 22, 2008).

Des déficits, tant cognitifs que perceptifs, sont observés chez les personnes aux prises avec la schizophrénie. Il est donc possible qu'un déficit de la perception du temps existe chez ces personnes. Le but de la présente méta-analyse est de vérifier si l'estimation d'intervalles de temps diffère chez les personnes atteintes de schizophrénie et celles ne présentant pas cette maladie. Une recherche dans les bases de données, en date d'août 2015, a permis de repérer 17 articles (n= 958) satisfaisant les critères d'inclusion suivants : 1) présence d'un groupe attient de schizophrénie et d'un groupe contrôle sans maladie ; 2) étude d'intervalles de temps de moins de 6 secondes ; 3) estimation du temps réalisée en tâche simple. Ainsi, les résultats de 421 participants atteints de schizophrénie et 537 participants contrôles sont inclus dans les analyses. Les résultats révèlent la présence d'une difficulté de taille modérée (g= -0.67) chez les personnes atteintes de schizophrénie, tant en modalité auditive (g= -0.65) que visuelle (g= -0.43), que les durées estimées soient inférieures (g= -0.59) ou supérieures (g= -0.76) à une seconde. Les résultats suggèrent un déficit d'estimation temporelle chez cette population, par rapport à une population contrôle. Le fait que l'estimation de durées de moins d'une seconde soit également affectée suggère que les difficultés d'estimation temporelle ne sont pas simplement attribuables aux déficits cognitifs généralement observés chez cette population. En effet, alors que l'estimation de durées supérieures à une seconde implique l'attention et la mémoire, l'estimation de durées de moins d'une seconde est relativement peu influencée par ces processus et constitue une mesure plus pure de la capacité d'estimer le temps. De plus, le déficit d'estimation temporelle étant observé tant en modalité visuelle qu'auditive, nous concluons qu'il reflète un problème de traitement temporel central, indépendant des processus périphériques liés au traitement sensoriel des stimuli.

Cette thèse est consacrée à l'étude de la perception du mouvement humain. Elle s'intéresse plus particulièrement à l'implication des processus moteurs dans le traitement visuel. Les liens entre la perception et l'action sont analysés chez l'enfant de 7 à 11 ans. Le but est de montrer que la perception du mouvement humain dépend, au moins en partie, des compétences motrices. La première partie porte sur la perception visuelle de mouvements de pointage, de transport et de saisie d'objets, réalisés par un adulte. La tâche des enfants est d'indiquer soit la taille de la cible (sur laquelle l'objet est transporté ou sur laquelle le doigt va pointer) soit le poids de l'objet transporté ou saisi. La seconde partie s'intéresse aux mouvmeents séquentiels, c'est-à-dire comprenant deux mouvements successifs : saisies d'objets suivies d'une action différente (jeter ou poser un verre), pointage successifs vers des cibles de différentes tailles, écriture en cursive de différents couples de lettres. On ne présentait sur l'écran que la première composante de la séquence. Les enfants avaient pour tâche de prédire, en s'appuyant sur la cinématique du mouvement, la deuxième partie de la séquence motrice. Après chaque tâche perceptive, les enfants ont effectivement réalisé les mouvements et séquences motrices précédemment perçus. Les résultats montrent que les performances perceptives des enfants sont étroitement liées à leurs compétences motrices. Ces données confirment donc l'importance des relations entre les processus pereptif et moteur : le niveau de développement moteur influence le niveau perceptif
This dissertation concerns the visual perception of human motions, more precisely, the importance of motor processes in perceptual processes. Perception-action relationships were analysed in children from ages 7 to 11. This dissertation aimed at showing that the perception of human movement depends, at least to a certain extent, on the individual's own motor experience. The first part of experiments concerns the visual perception of pointing, tansport and grasping movements,in adult's production. The children's task was to predict the size of the target pointed or which the grasped object was displaced and the weight of object grasped or displaced. The second part of experiments concerns motor sequence, with two successive movements : grasping a glass to throw it or to displace il, pointing successively two target, the second target was small or large, writing a cursive two digrams. The movement presented on a computer screen, presented the first component of a sequential gesture. The task of children was to predict the forthcoming gesture by using the kinematic information provided by the first movement component. At the end of the experiment, subjects were asked to produce movements perceived. Results show that perceptual performance of children depends on the observer's motor competence. This research supports the idea of a strong link between perceptual and motor processing : level of motor control development has an effect on the perception of human motions

This is a research-based project investigating the relation between natural light, space and perception. It is in the format of a book with eight parts based on the observation and analysis of physical models. The spaces created in this book are divided in three parts, general daylight solutions, perceptual light-spaces and purposeful light-spaces. The first part consists of 19 spaces transferred from drawings found in Sunlighting as Formiver for Architecture by William M.C. Lam. The second part contains ten spaces based on perception and in the third part the focus in of function, which is generally divided into more general purposes of 13 models. The analysis I am using is a combination Light-zone(s) described by Merete Madsens and the Visual Terms and Seven Basic Terms by Anders Liljefors, which is a way to analyse perception. Following is an analysis of possible functions and daylight variability, which are then concluded. The spaces and findings are compared and summarised in order to find general strategies for the use of daylight in architecture. This book is meant to be used as a learning tool, a handbook and/or a basis for further investigation of the relation between natural light, space and perception.

The purpose of the study was to compare the perceptions of subordinates with top managements? own perceptions regarding top management leadership and innovative ability and to determine whether differences and/or similarities exist. The Multi Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ form 5X) from Avolio & Bass (2004) was used to measure self– and subordinates? perceptions of leadership styles. The Situation Outlook Questionnaire (SOQ) was used to measure leaders? self– and subordinates? perception on the ability to be innovative. The questionnaires were completed by 6 executive committee members (top management) and 94 subordinates that have a direct relationship with the executive committee members in an agricultural business. The research findings revealed that there is a significant difference between leaders? (executive committee members) self–perceptions on their own leadership and ability to be innovative, versus the perceptions of their subordinates on their leadership and ability to be innovative. The research showed that leaders tend to assess themselves higher than their subordinates do. Both leaders and subordinates indicated that the leaders have a transformational leadership style. The results also showed that there is a weak to moderate, positively significant correlation between innovation and transformational leadership styles.
Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, 2001.
Title from title screen (viewed 13 January 2009). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Purpose – The purpose of this dissertation is twofold. First, to identify and design a theoretical model of different factors that are important when evaluating fast changing industry environment. Second, to conduct interviews designed after the model and determine what factors are important within the company’s specific industry.

Design/methodology/approach – A range of published research literature on Industry environment such as clusters, innovation and hyper competition has been used in this thesis. Our main approach has been to follow Porter’s Five Forces Model and applying it on the modern IT-industry.

Findings – This research identified three additional forces for evaluating industry environment, namely Innovation, Complementary product & Cooperation and Customer Readiness.

Limitations – The research was limited to northeastern Öresundsregionen, Sweden. The interview questions where limited to pre-designed factors. 

Originality/value – The findings of this research provide the companies and researchers with a context for understanding this specific type of industry environment. It will also provide companies with a set of tools and best practices to apply when evaluating their own environment.

Due to increased supply chain complexity, ensuring the quality of supply materials or products from upstream suppliers has become a challenge for firms. A great deal has been written on possible solutions and strategies to deal with supply chain quality risk (SCQR) in recent years. However, the manager’s decision-making process in relation to SCQR has not been fully researched. To close this gap, the aims of this study were to scrutinise managers’ perceptions of SCQR, as well as the antecedents of and decision-making related to perceived SCQR. The relevant literature was comprehensively reviewed in order to build a foundation for the conceptualisation of perceived SCQR. This study proposed that the managerial perception of SCQR was a multi-dimensional concept with four representations. A rigorous scale development process was adopted to develop a set of reliable instruments to measure perceived SCQR. With a sample of 316 Chinese manufacturers, the validity and reliability of the measurement scales for the representations of SCQR perception were assessed. Based on the risky-decision making model, a theoretical framework of the managerial decision-making process in relation to perceived SCQR was proposed. Furthermore, the agency theory and resource dependence theory were drawn on to identify factors related to the supply chain relationship and supply chain quality barriers that might have effects on three of the representations of SCQR. Based on the resource dependence theory, it was found that buyer and supplier dependence affect the representations of SCQR differently. The empirical results indicate that the inability to test and inability to trace are significant drivers of the perception of SCQR. The representation of SCQR impact on the intention of adopting two oriented quality management practices was also examined. The result reveals that when managers face increasing SCQR, they tend to be conservative in applying the quality management practices.

Cette étude a pour objectif d'explorer et de mieux comprendre cette communication financière volontaire de sociétés françaises sur l'actf immatériel. Tout d'abord, à travers une analyse de contenu, nous découvrons les thèmes abordés par les entreprises. Nous nous interrogeons également sur l'intensité du contenu quantitatif, qui malheureusement s'avère relativement faible. Ensuite, l'analyse factorielle des correspondances nous permet de constater que les sociétés adaptent leur communication en fonction de leur taille et de leur secteur d'activité. Les grandes sociétés semblent mettre l'accent sur leur réputation et leur position sur le marché tandis que les plus petites soulignent leurs compétences et leur savoir-faire. Par ailleurs, les thèmes de communication restent cohérents avec la nature de l'activité des sociétés. Enfin, dans l'objectif de confronter cette communication avec la perception du marché, nous menons une observation participante au sein d'un bureau d'analystes financiers. Cette dernière étude nous permet de remarquer que les analystes sont effectivement à la recherche de données chiffrées et qu'ils doivent souvent faire face à l'absence de ce type de données. Cependant, ils sont également capables d'intégrer dans leurs analyses les données qualitatives. Mais elles sont intégrées de manière plus intuitive. Une meilleure prise en compte de l'actif immatériel dans les méthodes de mesure permettrait aux entreprise de mieux répondre aux besoins du marché et ainsi d'augmenter la rentabilité des actions de communication financière qui sont souvent coûteuses

Presenters will demonstrate concrete examples and supporting research regarding professor presence within online courses. Additionally, the presentation will address the skill of transforming this content into practice, valuable practical applications, the importance of professor presence in the online classroom, and why such presence is important in building a learning community in the online environment. The presentation is appropriate for all instructors of blended and exclusively online environments.

Performance improvement intervention begins with assessment. How that assessment is interpreted can mean the difference between success and failure. Previous research of 360-degree feedback instruments has tried to reconcile the differences between multiple rater groups. Rather than searching for agreement, this research proposes to understand the meaning of the differences using multirater feedback. Individuals determine ratings based upon their own perspective and building upon the understanding of rater perspective may result in improved assessments. Data from an existing data set was processed using a second-order CFA in structural equation modeling. Covariance between the second-order factors and rater groups determined the difference in how each rater group perceived the leader.

Theoretical procedures are developed to account for the effect of emotion and perception in strategic conflict. The possibility principle facilitates modeling the effects of emotions on future scenarios contemplated by decision makers; perceptual graph models and a graph model system permit the decision makers (DMs) to experience and view the conflict independently; and perceptual stability analysis, which is based on individual- and meta-stability analysis techniques, is employed in analyzing graph model systems when the DMs have inconsistent perceptions. These developments improve the methodology of the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution by reconciling emotion, perception, and strategy to make predictions consistent with the actual unfolding of events.

Current research in neuroscience suggests that emotions are a necessary component of cognitive processes such as memory, attention, and reasoning. The somatic marker hypothesis, for example, holds that feelings are necessary to reasoning, especially during social interactions (Damasio, 1994, 2003). Somatic markers are memories of past emotions: we use them to predict future outcomes. To incorporate the effect of emotion in conflict, the underlying principle of Damasio?s hypothesis is used in developing the possibility principle, which significantly expands the paradigm of the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution of Fang, Hipel, and Kilgour (1993).

State identification is a crucial step in determining future scenarios for DMs. The possibility principle is integrated into the modeling stage of the Graph Model by refining the method of determining feasible states. The possibility principle enables analysts and DMs to include emotion in a conflict model, without sacrificing the parsimonious design of the Graph Model methodology, by focusing attention on two subsets of the set of feasible states: hidden and potential states. Hidden states are logically valid, feasible states that are invisible because of the presence of negative emotions such as anger and fear; potential states are logically valid, feasible states that are invisible because of missing positive emotions. Dissipating negative emotions will make the hidden states visible, while expressing the appropriate positive emotions will make the potential states visible. The possibility principle has been applied to a number of real world conflicts. In all cases, eliminating logically valid states not envisioned by any DM simplifies a conflict model substantially, expedites the analysis, and makes it an intuitive and a realistic description of the DMs' conceptualizations of the conflict.

A fundamental principle of the Graph Model methodology is that all DMs' directed graphs must have the same set of feasible states, which are integrated into a standard graph model. The possibility principle may modify the set of feasible states perceived by each DM according to his or her emotion, making it impossible to construct a single standard graph model. When logically valid states are no longer achievable for one or more DMs due to emotions, the apprehension of conflict becomes inconsistent, and resolution may become difficult to predict. Therefore, reconciling emotion and strategy requires that different apprehensions of the underlying decision problem be permitted, which can be accomplished using a perceptual graph model for each DM. A perceptual graph model inherits its primitive ingredients from a standard graph model, but reflects a DM's emotion and perception with no assumption of complete knowledge of other DMs' perceptions.

Each DM's perceptual graph model constitutes a complete standard graph model. Hence, conclusions drawn from a perceptual graph model provide a limited view of equilibria and predicted resolutions. A graph model system, which consists of a list of DMs' perceptual graph models, is defined to reconcile perceptions while facilitating conclusions that reflect each DM's viewpoint. However, since a DM may or may not be aware that other graph models differ from his or her own, different variants of graph model systems are required to describe conflicts. Each variant of graph model system corresponds to a configuration of awareness, which is a set of ordered combinations of DMs' viewpoints.

Perceptual stability analysis is a new procedure that applies to graph model systems. Its objective is to help an outside analyst predict possible resolutions, and gauge the robustness and sustainability of these predictions. Perceptual stability analysis takes a two-phase approach. In Phase 1, the stability of each state in each perceptual graph model is assessed from the point of view of the owner of the model, for each DM in the model, using standard or perceptual solution concepts, depending on the owner's awareness of others' perceptions. (In this research, only perceptual solution concepts for the 2-decision maker case are developed. ) In Phase 2, meta-stability analysis is employed to consolidate the stability assessments of a state in all perceptual graph models and across all variants of awareness. Distinctive modes of equilibria are defined, which reflect incompatibilities in DMs' perceptions and viewpoints but nonetheless provide important insights into possible resolutions of conflict.

The possibility principle and perceptual stability analysis are integrative techniques that can be used as a basis for empathetically studying the interaction of emotion and reasoning in the context of strategic conflict. In general, these new techniques expand current modeling and analysis capabilities, thereby facilitating realistic, descriptive models without exacting too great a cost in modeling complexity. In particular, these two theoretical advances enhance the applicability of the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution to real-world disputes by integrating emotion and perception, common ingredients in almost all conflicts.

To demonstrate that the new developments are practical, two illustrative applications to real-world conflicts are presented: the US-North Korea conflict and the confrontation between Russia and Chechen Rebels. In both cases, the analysis yields new strategic insights and improved advice.

Organisms must detect changes in the environment, integrate information from multiple sources, and make informed decisions about how to use resources to respond and adapt. At the cellular level, information is sensed and processed by signalling networks that coordinate sensory information with physiological responses such as regulation of gene expression. Complex phenotypes such as cellular differentiation and disease states derive from decision making processes and depend on whether information is processed correctly. In order to address this complexity, it is necessary to consolidate the molecular mechanisms that process information into an integrative framework. While substantial research has been conducted on each of cellular signalling and gene regulation, a quantitative framework to understand the information flow is still missing. Perception, as defined for humans, comprises fundamental concepts of information processing: identification, organization, representation and interpretation. Here we argue that we can represent the flow of information in cellular systems by developing a framework of cellular perception. In general terms, information has to be sensed and internalized by signalling networks before it can be encoded into internal variables that cells can use to represent the environment. We thus investigate the molecular mechanisms by which cells sense and encode information in the single-cell microbe Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an example organism. In S. cerevisiae, as in all eukaryotes, a main mechanism to regulate gene expression is the dynamic nuclear translocation of transcription factors. We develop a framework of cellular perception in the context of dynamic nuclear translocation by characterizing the sensing and encoding of information necessary to accurately map environmental conditions to specific cellular responses. By investigating the sensing mechanisms of the hyperosmolar glycerol (HOG) MAPK network, we showed how this network improves sensing of dynamic signals by having two specialized input pathways. For the encoding mechanisms, we showed that the dynamic roles of nuclear translocation of transcription factors can function as highly informative intracellular variables. As these internal variables can encode both the magnitude and identity of the stress signal, they can be used by the cell to accurately represent the environment and determine the specific physiological responses. This thesis provided a solid ground for quantitative research in the field of cellular signalling and gene regulation. Moreover, the methods and experimental approaches applied here are broadly applicable in other organisms.

For safe mobility, an autonomous vehicle must perceive the surroundings accurately. There are many perception tasks associated with understanding the local environment such as object detection, localization, and lane analysis. Object detection, in particular, plays a vital role in determining an object’s location and classifying it correctly and is one of the challenging tasks in the self-driving research area. Before employing an object detection module in autonomous vehicle testing, an organization needs to have a precise analysis of the module. Hence, it becomes crucial for a company to have an evaluation framework to evaluate an object detection algorithm’s performance. This thesis develops a comprehensive framework for evaluating and analyzing object detection algorithms, both 2D (camera images based) and 3D (LiDAR point cloud-based). The pipeline developed in this thesis provides the ability to evaluate multiple models with ease, signified by the key performance metrics, Average Precision, F-score, and Mean Average Precision. 40-point interpolation method is used to calculate the Average Precision.
För säker rörlighet måste ett autonomt fordon uppfatta omgivningen exakt. Det finns många uppfattningsuppgifter associerade med att förstå den lokala miljön, såsom objektdetektering, lokalisering och filanalys. I synnerhet objektdetektering spelar en viktig roll för att bestämma ett objekts plats och klassificera det korrekt och är en av de utmanande uppgifterna inom det självdrivande forskningsområdet. Innan en anställd detekteringsmodul används i autonoma fordonsprovningar måste en organisation ha en exakt analys av modulen. Därför blir det avgörande för ett företag att ha en utvärderingsram för att utvärdera en objektdetekteringsalgoritms prestanda. Denna avhandling utvecklar ett omfattande ramverk för utvärdering och analys av objektdetekteringsalgoritmer, både 2 D (kamerabilder baserade) och 3 D (LiDAR-punktmolnbaserade). Rörledningen som utvecklats i denna avhandling ger möjlighet att enkelt utvärdera flera modeller, betecknad med nyckelprestandamätvärdena, Genomsnittlig precision, F-poäng och genomsnittlig genomsnittlig precision. 40-punkts interpoleringsmetod används för att beräkna medelprecisionen.

The objective of the study is to analyse the perceptions of stakeholders on the quality of the disclosures in sustainability reports focusing on the aspect of balanced reporting and the use of impression management strategies. The research design utilised the qualitative method and included content analysis of selected sustainability reports. Eighteen (18) sustainability reports published annually between the period 2017 and 2019 by companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in the mining and financial sectors, were reviewed and analysed. Fifteen (15) stakeholders including analysts, report preparers, sustainability assurance auditors and the sustainability practitioners responsible for corporate sustainability in various sectors were interviewed to determine their perceptions regarding the quality of the disclosures in the sustainability reports. The study also determined what strategies companies are using to lead or mislead the stakeholders through the lens of the stakeholder theory supported by legitimacy and impression management theories. The results showed that companies use various impression management strategies, particularly visual presentations, rhetorical statements, performance comparisons and trends to disclose sustainability information in such a way as to influence their stakeholders’ perceptions regarding their overall sustainability performance. The study also revealed that balanced reporting is lacking, with many companies disclosing more of the positive sustainability performance and achievements rather than the negative outcomes and incidents. According to Diouf & Boiral (2017) many of the empirical studies conducted on sustainability reporting focused on content analysis, therefore this study contributes to literature by gaining a better understanding of the stakeholders including the sustainability practitioners perspectives regarding the quality of the sustainability reporting disclosures.
Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2020.
pt2021
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted