Дисертації з теми "The frequency of movements"

Submarine mass movements are one of the most important processes for moving sediment across our planet. They represent the dominant process for moving sediment in many parts of the world’s oceans, freshwater lakes and reservoirs. These flows also represent a significant geohazard. They can generate damaging tsunami and have the potential to damage strategically important seafloor infrastructure. It is therefore important to understand the frequency and triggering mechanisms of these events. This thesis aims to further our understanding using a variety of different data types (artificial data, deposits found in cores, seismic stratigraphy and submarine cable breaks) across different spatial scales. First, artificial data is used to analyse the impacts of large age uncertainties on identifying a triggering mechanism for large (>1 km3) landslides in a global database. It is shown that the size of age uncertainties, the small number of landslides within the database and the combination of multiple different settings into one dataset will likely result in landslides appearing to occur randomly. As a result it is suggested that it is prudent to focus on well-dated landslides from one setting with similar triggers rather than having a poorly calibrated understanding of landslide ages in multiple settings which may prevent a trigger being identified. Second, a global database of subsea fibre optic cable breaks is used to investigate the triggering of submarine mass movements by earthquakes and tropical cyclones. Globally earthquakes between Mw 3 and Mw 9.2 are shown to trigger mass movements. However, in contrast to previous assertions it is shown that there is not a specific earthquake magnitude that will systematically trigger mass movements capable of breaking a cable. The susceptibility of slopes to fail as a consequence of large and small earthquakes is dependent on the average seismicity of the region and the volume of sediment supplied annually to the continental shelf. The frequency of damaging tropical cyclone triggered submarine mass movements is lower than earthquake triggered mass movements. Analysis of the cable break database reveals three mechanisms by which mass movements are triggered. First, tropical cyclones trigger flows directly, synchronous to their passage due to dynamic loading of the seabed. Second, flows are triggered indirectly, as a consequence of peak flood discharges delivering large volumes of sediment to the continental shelf. Third, flows are triggered indirectly following a delay as a consequence of the large volumes of rapidly deposited sediment that occurs after the passage of a tropical cyclone. No clear global relationship between future climate change and flow frequency is shown, however, changes to cyclone activity in specific regions appears likely to increase damaging flow frequency. Third, using a new piston core dataset, the timing and frequency of glacigenic debris-flows on the Bear Island Trough-Mouth Fan is investigated. The timing of glacigenic debris-flows over the last 140,000 years is shown to be controlled by the presence of an ice stream close to the shelf edge. Moreover, it is shown that the frequency and volumes of these flows is controlled by the overall dynamics of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet which vary significantly over the 140,000 year time period. Last, a review of the relationship between ice sheets and submarine mass movements around the Nordic Seas over the Quaternary is presented using published seismic and sediment core datasets. From these data sources, the growth and decay histories of the Greenland, Barents Sea and Scandinavian Ice Sheets are tracked relative to the different types of submarine mass movements identified on their margins. The type and frequency of submarine mass movement is shown to be highly variable as a consequence of variable ice sheet extent, rates of sediment transport and meltwater export of sediment. These records have allowed the identification of first order controls on sediment delivery to continental margins at ice sheet scales. It has also enabled updated conceptual models of trough-mouth fan processes, glaciated margin development and submarine landslide occurrence to be developed.

In reading, word frequency is commonly regarded as the major bottom-up determinant for the speed of lexical access. Moreover, language processing depends on top-down information, such as the predictability of a word from a previous context. Yet, however, the exact role of top-down predictions in visual word recognition is poorly understood: They may rapidly affect lexical processes, or alternatively, influence only late post-lexical stages. To add evidence about the nature of top-down processes and their relation to bottom-up information in the timeline of word recognition, we examined influences of frequency and predictability on event-related potentials (ERPs) in several sentence reading studies. The results were related to eye movements from natural reading as well as to models of word recognition. As a first and major finding, interactions of frequency and predictability on ERP amplitudes consistently revealed top-down influences on lexical levels of word processing (Chapters 2 and 4). Second, frequency and predictability mediated relations between N400 amplitudes and fixation durations, pointing to their sensitivity to a common stage of word recognition; further, larger N400 amplitudes entailed longer fixation durations on the next word, a result providing evidence for ongoing processing beyond a fixation (Chapter 3). Third, influences of presentation rate on ERP frequency and predictability effects demonstrated that the time available for word processing critically co-determines the course of bottom-up and top-down influences (Chapter 4). Fourth, at a near-normal reading speed, an early predictability effect suggested the rapid comparison of top-down hypotheses with the actual visual input (Chapter 5). The present results are compatible with interactive models of word recognition assuming that early lexical processes depend on the concerted impact of bottom-up and top-down information. We offered a framework that reconciles the findings on a timeline of word recognition taking into account influences of frequency, predictability, and presentation rate (Chapter 4).
Wortfrequenz wird in der Leseforschung als wesentliche Bottom-up Determinante für die Geschwindigkeit des lexikalischen Zugriffs betrachtet. Darüber hinaus spielen Top-down Informationen, wie die kontextbasierte Wortvorhersagbarkeit, in der Sprachverarbeitung eine wichtige Rolle. Bislang ist die exakte Bedeutung von Top-down Vorhersagen in der visuellen Worterkennung jedoch unzureichend verstanden: Es herrscht Uneinigkeit darüber, ob ausschließlich späte post-lexikalische, oder auch frühe lexikalische Verarbeitungsstufen durch Vorhersagbarkeit beeinflusst werden. Um ein besseres Verständnis von Top-down Prozessen und deren Zusammenhänge mit Bottom-up Informationen in der Worterkennung zu gewährleisten, wurden in der vorliegenden Arbeit Einflüsse von Frequenz und Vorhersagbarkeit auf ereigniskorrelierte Potentiale (EKPs) untersucht. Die Ergebnisse aus mehreren Satzlesestudien wurden mit Blickbewegungen beim natürlichen Lesen sowie mit Modellen der Worterkennung in Beziehung gesetzt. Als primärer Befund zeigten sich in EKP Amplituden konsistent Interaktionen zwischen Frequenz und Vorhersagbarkeit. Die Ergebnisse deuten auf Top-down Einflüsse während lexikalischer Wortverarbeitungsstufen hin (Kapitel 2 und 4). Zweitens mediierten Frequenz und Vorhersagbarkeit Zusammenhänge zwischen N400 Amplituden und Fixationsdauern; die Modulation beider abhängigen Maße lässt auf eine gemeinsame Wortverarbeitungsstufe schließen. Desweiteren signalisierten längere Fixationsdauern nach erhöhten N400 Amplituden das Andauern der Wortverarbeitung über die Dauer einer Fixation hinaus (Kapitel 3). Drittens zeigten sich Einflüsse der Präsentationsrate auf Frequenz- und Vorhersagbarkeitseffekte in EKPs. Der Verlauf von Bottom-up und Top-down Prozessen wird demnach entscheidend durch die zur Wortverarbeitung verfügbaren Zeit mitbestimmt (Kapitel 4). Viertens deutete ein früher Vorhersagbarkeitseffekt bei einer leseähnlichen Präsentationsgeschwindigkeit auf den schnellen Abgleich von Top-down Vorhersagen mit dem tatsächlichen visuellen Input hin (Kapitel 5). Die Ergebnisse sind mit interaktiven Modellen der Worterkennung vereinbar, nach welchen Bottom-up und Top-down Informationen gemeinsam frühe lexikalische Verarbeitungsstufen beeinflussen. Unter Berücksichtigung der Effekte von Frequenz, Vorhersagbarkeit und Präsentationsgeschwindigkeit wird ein Modell vorgeschlagen, das die vorliegenden Befunde zusammenführt (Kapitel 4).

Abstract The aims of the present study were to clarify the antenna function and radio frequency radiation (RFR) sensitivity of human subjects using theoretical calculations and field tests. The weak very high frequency (VHF) electromagnetic fields and spontaneous hand movements were recorded. Groups of university students, other volunteers and as a very interesting group, experienced well finders, were used as test subjects. The VHF field was studied using a spectrum analyser and tuneable narrow-band or broad-band meter with a dipole antenna. The hand movements were registered by potentiometric systems and electromyography (EMG). The test subjects (altogether n = 140) in different tests were walking, sitting in a cart being pulled slowly forward, or sitting in a moving car. The responses were observed and hand movements were recorded and analysed by personal computers. By visual inspection and using the Pearson's correlation, the results of different individuals have been compared with the measured intensity of far fields of a radio mast. Reaction spots and graphs defined by different individuals in the same experiment areas have been compared to each other. Hand movement correlated with the reactions of the forearm and shoulder muscles, e.g., pronator teres and trapezius, by EMG measurements. The reactions of some persons correlated with each other. Experiments in a slow moving wagon and in a moving car showed a correlation between the test subjects’ hand movements and the intensity of below 1 mV/m radio and TV signals measured in the vicinity of the test subject. In open field tests different persons usually reacted in widely different ways. The most evident results were recorded near the buildings, where the radio waves reflected from the wall and patterns of standing waves were clear. Many VHF frequency modulated (FM) broadcasting signals were summed at these places at the same time. It is concluded that the spontaneous hand movement reactions occurred as a response of the human body to the gradients of the VHF field intensity. The reaction generally occurred in interference patterns of multipath propagation or standing waves originating from the radiation of FM radio and TV broadcasting transmitters and radiation reflected from the walls of buildings or from other objects. This non-thermal reaction was clearly observable as spontaneous arm movements by 39 percent of the 85 tested students
Tiivistelmä Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin ihmisen herkkyyttä radiotaajuiselle säteilylle. Ihmisen toimimista radioaaltojen antennina tarkasteltiin teoreettisesti ja kenttäkokein. Heikkojen VHF-alueen radioaaltojen voimakkuutta ja tahattomia käsien liikkeitä rekisteröitiin valituilla koepoluilla. Koehenkilöinä on ollut yliopiston opiskelijoita ja muita vapaaehtoisten ryhmiä. Kiinnostavin ryhmä oli kokeneet kaivonkatsojat, joiden käsienliikereaktioihin radioaaltojen vaikutuksista löytyy viitteitä kirjallisuudesta. Radioaaltojen voimakkuuden vaihteluja mitattiin spektrianalysaattorilla ja laajakaistaisella VHF-alueen integroivalla mittarilla. Käsien liikkeitä rekisteröitiin potentiometriin perustuvilla liikeantureilla. Lihasten sähköimpulsseja rekisteröitiin elektromyografia- eli EMG-laitteella. Eri koesarjoissa koehenkilöt (yhteensä 140) kävelivät, istuivat hitaasti vedettävässä vaunussa tai istuivat liikkuvassa autossa. Reaktioita tarkkailtiin ja käsien liikkeet ja mitatut kentänvoimakkuudet rekisteröitiin ja analysoitiin tietokoneella. Eri koehenkilöiden tuloksia, reagointipaikkoja ja rekisteröityjä käyriä 5–35 km:n etäisyydellä mastoista tarkasteltiin silmämääräisesti. Pearsonin korrelaatiolaskentaa apuna käyttäen tuloksia verrattiin radiomastojen säteilyn voimakkuuteen. Eri ihmisten reagointikohtia ja käyriä samoilta koealueilta vertailtiin keskenään. Koeasetelmassa käsienliikkeiden todettiin korreloivan joidenkin kyynärvarren ja hartialihasten (mm. pronator teres ja trapezius) EMG-signaaleihin. Joidenkin koehenkilöiden tulokset korreloivat keskenään. Hitaasti vedettävässä vaunussa ja liikkuvassa autossa tehdyissä kokeissa tuli esille korrelaatio vartalon edessä olevien käsien loittonemis-lähestymis-liikkeiden ja koehenkilön välittömässä läheisyydessä mitattujen 1 mV/m -tasoisten radio- ja TV-signaalien voimakkuusvaihtelujen välillä. Avoimella kentällä henkilöt reagoivat hyvin eri tavoin. Parhaiten yhteys tuli esille rakennusten lähellä sijaitsevilla koealueilla, joissa radioaallot heijastuivat rakennuksen seinästä muodostaen selkeitä seisovan aallon kuvioita. Useat taajuusmoduloidut VHF-alueen radiosignaalit summautuivat näissä paikoissa samanaikaisesti. Johtopäätöksenä on, että tahattomat käsienliikkeet tapahtuvat kehon vasteena VHF-kentän voimakkuuden muutoksille. Reaktio tapahtui yleensä interferenssi-kuvioissa tai seisovissa aalloissa, jotka muodostuvat FM-radio- ja TV-lähetysten monitie-etenemisestä radioaaltojen heijastuessa rakennusten seinistä tai muista kohteista. Tämä ei-lämpövaikutustason reaktio oli selvästi havaittavissa olkapään tasalle koukistetun käden tahattomana ojennus-koukistus-liikkeenä 39 prosentilla testatuista 85 opiskelijasta

The present thesis examines the time course of two semantic variables, contextual predictability and word imageability. Both variables can be said to reflect semantic aspects of meaning. For example the contextual predictability of a given target indicates the semantic context within which the target word occurs. The imageability of a given word reflects the meaning aspects of the word itself (Whaley, 1978). The word frequency effect (the faster response to commonly used high frequency words compared to low frequency words which occur less often) was taken to index the moment of lexical access (Balota, 1990; Pollatsek & Rayner, 1990; Sereno & Rayner, 2003) and by applying the logic of additive factors method (Sternberg, 1969a, 1969b), we determined whether the combined effect of each respective semantic variable was additive or interactive. This allowed us to examine whether there are semantic influences on lexical access. Previous research has been undecided and the question remains as to whether semantic variables operate during the lexical access processing stage, or alternatively after lexical access, for example in the post-lexical stage (e.g., Hand, Miellet, Sereno & O’Donnell, 2010; Sereno, O’Donnell & Rayner, 2006). Another aim of the thesis was to address the issue concerning the information presented to participants in the condition of ‘invalid parafoveal preview of a target’ (e.g., Sereno & Rayner, 2000). Several criteria were identified as being important in order to make the assumption that parafoveal processing was successfully inhibited on the pre-target fixation. Another aim of the thesis was to investigate whether word frequency and contextual predictability of the parafoveal word affected parafoveal preview benefit. Preview benefit was calculated by subtracting fixation durations in a condition of ‘valid’ preview of the target with an ‘invalid’ preview of the target. Experiment 1 utilised a lexical decision task to investigate the relationship between word frequency and the imageability of the word. Experiment 2 investigated whether the orthogonal manipulation of word frequency and contextual predictability led to an additive or interactive relationship between these two variables. Two pre-tests, the rating and Cloze tasks, were used to determine the predictability of the target. Experiment 3 and a further cross comparison of Experiments 2 and 3 replicated and extended Experiment 2 by additionally using an eye movement-contingent boundary change paradigm (Rayner, 1975). Experiment 4 examined the joint and combined effects of frequency, predictability and preview in a within-subjects design. A separate pre-test Cloze task was used to determine predictability of targets in their low and high predictable contexts. This experiment used a larger set of materials than in the previous experiments to examine these variables. Finally Chapter 6 was an overall discussion of the thesis. It was concluded that display screen presentations in our eye tracking experiments led to very fast reading times (as well as more skipping) compared to past studies which have used dot-matrix display presentations. It is possible that faster fixation durations led to floor effects in conditions where reading times are already fast because of preferential circumstances of high frequency targets, high predictable contexts and being given a parafoveal preview of the target. Possible ways to counteract this floor effect as well as alternative experimental methods of investigation were discussed.

The predictability of an upcoming word has been found to be a useful predictor in eye movement research, but is expensive to collect and subjective in nature. It would be desirable to have other predictors that are easier to collect and objective in nature if these predictors were capable of capturing the information stored in predictability. This paper contributes to this discussion by testing a possible predictor: conditional co-occurrence probability. This measure is a simple statistical representation of the relatedness of the current word to its context, based only on word co-occurrence patterns in data taken from the Internet. In the regression analyses, conditional co-occurrence probability acts like lexical frequency in predicting fixation durations, and its addition does not greatly improve the model fits. We conclude that readers do not seem to use the information contained within conditional co-occurrence probability during reading for meaning, and that similar simple measures of semantic relatedness are unlikely to be able to replace predictability as a predictor for fixation durations. Keywords: Co-occurrence probability, Cloze predictability, frequency, eye movement, fixation duration.

BACKGROUND: Constipation is highly prevalent in older adults and may be associated with greater frequency of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). We investigated the prevalence of lower defecation frequency (DF) and risk factors (including AECOPD) associated with lower DF among hospitalized elderly patients. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective case-control study in a community hospital of Southeast Ohio. Adults aged 65 years or older admitted during 2004 and 2006 were reviewed (N = 1288). Patients were excluded (N = 212) if their length of stay was less than 3 days, discharge diagnosis of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, death or ventilator- dependent respiratory failure during hospitalization. Lower DF was defined as either an average DF of 0.33 or less per day or no defecation in the first three days of hospitalization; cases (N = 406) and controls (N = 670) were included for the final analysis. RESULTS: Approximately 38% had lower DF in this patient population. Fecal soiling/smearing of at least two episodes was documented in 7% of the patients. With the adjustment of confounders, AECOPD (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.01-2.13) and muscle relaxant use (AOR =2.94; 95% CI =1.29-6.69) were significantly associated with lower DF. Supplementation of potassium and antibiotic use prior to hospitalization was associated with lower risk of lower DF. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 38% of hospitalized older adults had lower DF. AECOPD and use of muscle relaxant were significantly associated with lower DF; while supplementation of potassium and antibiotic use were protective for lower DF risk after adjusting for other variables.

A wide range of services and applications become possible when accurate position information for a radio terminal is available. These include: location-based services; navigation; safety and security applications. The commercial, industrial and military value of radio-location is such that considerable research effort has been directed towards developing related technologies, using satellite, cellular or local area network infrastructures or stand-alone equipment. This work studies and investigates two location techniques. The first one presents an implementation scheme for a wideband transmission and direction finding system using OFDM multi-carrier communications systems. This approach takes advantage of delay discrimination to improve angle-of-arrival estimation in a multipath channel with high levels of additive white Gaussian noise. A new methodology is interpreted over the multi carrier modulation scheme in which the simulation results of the estimated channel improves the performance of OFDM signal by mitigating the effect of frequency offset synchronization to give error-free data at the receiver, good angle of arrival accuracy and improved SNR performance. The full system simulation to explore optimum values such as channel estimation and AoA including the antenna array model and prove the operational performance of the OFDM system as implemented in MATLAB. The second technique proposes a low cost-effective method of tracking and monitoring objects (examples: patient, device, medicine, document) by employing passive radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. A multi-tag, (totalling fifty-six tags) with known ID values are attached to the whole patient’s body to achieve better tracking and monitoring precision and higher accuracy. Several tests with different positions and movements are implemented on six patients. The aim is to be able to track the patient if he/she is walking or sitting; therefore, the tests considered six possible movements for the patient including walking, standing, sitting, resting, laying on the floor and laying on the bed, these placements are important to monitor the status of the patient like if he collapsed and fall on the ground so that the help will be quick. The collected data from the RFID Reader in terms of Time Stamp, RSS, Tag ID, and a number of channels are processed using the MATLAB code.

Environmental growth conditions and mechanisms involved in sediment transport by needle ice have historically been difficult to assess and are poorly documented. The spatial and temporal dynamics that relate to the environment, growth and decay of needle ice are not fully understood. This study monitored needle ice growth, melt and visually identified sediment displacement mechanisms by needle ice, with the aim of revealing environmental growth criteria, timing of growth/melt, ground-surface-air energy balance and sediment displacement mechanisms. Furthermore, the impact of needle ice displacement on vegetation and patterned ground formation was analysed. High-frequency visual monitoring, using three cameras, supplemented by high-frequency measurements of air temperature, soil moisture and wind speed was used to investigate needle ice growth and decay dynamics. Results from visual and environmental monitoring of needle ice growth, showed that the needle ice growing environment was more dynamic, especially in terms of surface temperature, than previously argued. Needle ice growth was observed to occur during surface temperatures from -2.0°C to 2.2°C, soil moisture levels from 0.4% to 37.4% and in winds speeds of 0 m/s to 12.6 m/s. Needle ice initiation was documented a few minutes to hours before or after the onset of surface temperature dropping to below 0°C. Imagery displayed that the depth of ice nucleation was variable within the soil column, possibly relating to the energy balance of radiative cooling, convective heat loss, ground conductivity and latent heat release at the air-surface-ground boundary. Heaving and resettling, toppling and rolling were identified as slope displacement mechanisms when needle ice decayed. Animal trampling and hail were additionally documented as substantial surface altering processes. Furthermore, no impact of needle ice reducing vegetation stability was identified, although a tendency to hinder vegetation expansion was noted. Also, no creation of patterned ground was observed as a result of needle ice decay.

Denna avhandling presenterar ett tillvägagångssätt för att förutspå förflyttning inom folkmassor med hjälp av LSTM-neurala nätverk. Specifikt analyseras inflytandet som olika frekvenser av tidsserier har på både prognosen för folkmassorna och designen i arkitekturen inom transport och handel. Arkitekturen påverkas även då frekvensändringar provocerar fram en ökning eller minskning i datamängd och arkitekturen därför bör anpassas. Tidigare forskning inom prognoser relaterade till folkmassor har huvudsakligen fokuserat på att förutspå folkmassans nästa förflyttning snarare än att definiera mängden människor på en specifik plats under ett specifikt tidsspann. Dessa studier har använt olika tekniker som till exempel Random Forest eller Feed Forward neurala nätverk för att ta reda på inflytandet som de olika frekvenserna har över prognosens resultat. Denna avhandling tillämpar istället LSTM-neurala nätverk för analysering av detta inflytande och använder specifika fältrelaterade tekniker för att hitta de bästa parametrarna för att förutspå framtida välstånd i folkmassor. Resultatet visar att frekvensordningen i en tidsserie tydligt påverkar resultatet av prognoserna inom transport och handel, och att detta inflytande är positivt när frekvensordningen av tidsserierna kan fånga upp frekvensens form i prognosen. Därför, med frekvensordningen i åtanke, visar resultaten i prognoserna för de analyserade platserna en förbättring på 40% för SMAPE och 50% för RMSE jämfört med inhemska tillvägagångssätt och andra tekniker. Utöver detta visar de även att det finns ett samband mellan frekvensordningen och komponenterna i arkitekturerna.
This thesis presents an approach to predict crowd movement in defined placesusing LSTM neural networks. Specifically, it analyses the influence that different frequencies of time series have in both the crowd forecast and the design of the architecture in the domains of transportation and retail. The architecture is also affected because changes in the frequency provokes an increment or decrement in the quantity of data and, therefore, the architecture should be adapted. Previous research in the field of crowd prediction has been mainly focused on anticipating the next movement of the crowd rather than defining the amount of people during a specific range of time in a particular place. These studies have used different techniques such as Random Forest or Feed-Forward neural networks in order to find out the influence that the different frequencies have in the results of the forecast. However, this thesis applies LSTM neural networks for analysing this influence and uses specific field-related techniques in order to find the best parameters for forecasting future crowd movement. The results show that the order of the frequency of a time series clearly affects the outcomes of the predictions in the field of transportation and retail, being this influence positive when the order of the frequency of time series is able to catch the shape of the frequency of the forecast. Therefore, taking into account the order of the frequency, the results of the forecast for the analyzed places show an improvement of 40% for SMAPE and 50% for RMSE compared to the Naive approach and other techniques. Furthermore, they point out that there is a relation between the order of the frequency and the components of the architectures.

Nest survival often is lower at habitat edges than in habitat cores because of greater nest predation and parasitism near edges. I studied nest survival of breeding birds in bottomland hardwood forests of the lower Roanoke River, North Carolina. Nesting success was monitored in two forest width classes: narrow bands of levee forest that were dominated by two edge types, and wide, continuous levee forest stands that have edges but most forest is relatively far from edge. Nest success of Acadian Flycatchers and Prothonotary Warblers was similar in narrow and wide levees; nest success of Northern Cardinals was greater in narrow levees. Results of my study indicate that edge effects are not universal, and that amount of contrast at edges may interact with landscape context to alter ecological processes, such as nest predation. Bird populations are remarkably constant over time relative to other taxa, implying strong regulation. Avian population ecologists, however, have not studied regulatory mechanisms as often as seasonal limiting factors. Conversely, avian behavioral ecologists seldom emphasize the population dynamic consequences of habitat selection and reproductive success. This study describes the intersection of individual behavior and population regulation in the context of a new model of population regulation, site dependence, which is based on characteristics of breeding sites and behavior of individuals. I studied habitat distribution, age structure, reproductive output, and breeding site fidelity of Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) in two different bottomland hardwood forest habitats of the lower Roanoke River in North Carolina. Older males (³ 2 yr old) were equally common in cypress-gum swamps and mixed oak hardwood levee forest. Pairing success and success of first nests indicated that older males occupied the most suitable territories available in each habitat. Bird density was three times greater in swamps, and birds nesting in swamps averaged greater clutch sizes and fledged more young per nest than birds in levees. Greater reproductive output was the result of greater fecundity because nest survival and predation pressure appeared equal in the two habitats. Annual return rates for plot immigrants vs. previous residents did not differ in swamps. In levees, newly arriving birds were less likely to return the following year than previous residents. Immigrants most likely occupied low quality sites and dispersed in an attempt to improve breeding site quality. Habitat-specific demography and density patterns of this study indicate ideal preemptive distribution. Variance in site quality, between and within habitats, and preemptive use of sites are consistent with theory of population regulation via site dependence. Foraging behavior often reflects food availability. For example, in habitats where food availability is high, predators should move more slowly and attack prey more often than in habitats where food availability is low. I studied the foraging behavior of breeding Prothonotary Warblers in two habitat types to assess relative food availability and implications for habitat quality. The two habitats, levee and swamp forest, differ in hydrology, forest structure, and tree species composition. I quantified foraging behavior with focal animal sampling and continuous recording during foraging bouts. I measured two aspects of foraging behavior: 1) prey attacks per minute, using four attack types (glean, sally, hover, strike), and 2) number of movements per minute (foraging speed), using three types of movement (hop, short flight [£ 1 m], long flight [>1 m]). Male warblers made significantly more prey attacks per minute in swamp forest than in levee forest; the same trend was evident in females. Foraging speed, however, was not different between habitats for males or females. Results indicate that foraging effort is similar in swamps and levees, but that warblers encounter more prey in swamps. Greater food availability may be related to greater reproductive success of warblers nesting in cypress-gum swamps than in coastal plain levee forest.
Ph. D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007.
DeWeerth, Stephen, Committee Chair ; Lee, Robert, Committee Member ; Ting, Lena, Committee Member ; Katz, Paul, Committee Member ; Butera, Robert, Committee Member.

The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis is to investigate the uses of spherical robots and on a prototype basis construct and control a dirigible bowling ball. The robot is able to steer left and right after being thrown by the user. This occurs due to a weight displacement inside the ball when a weighted pendulum swings left and right by being radio controlled from afar. The goal of the report is to investigate how well this robot will be able to steer and if it can achievea desired strike. Further, this report will investigate the use of Radio Frequency (RF) signals between a hand controller and the ball and at what distance this method will work. This robot is strictly made for scientific purposes, the authors do not advocate cheating in the sport of bowling in any way.
Syftet med denna kandidatuppsats är att undersöka användningen av sfäriska robotar och på en prototypbasis konstruera och styra ett styrbart bowlingklot. Roboten kommer att kunna styras åt vänster och höger efter att ha kastats avanvändaren. Detta inträffar på grund av en viktförskjutning inuti klotet då en viktad pendel svänger åt vänster och åt höger genom att radiostyras på håll. Målet med rapporten är att undersöka hur bra den här roboten kommer att kunna kontrolleras och om en strike kan uppnås med den nya och samlade kunskapen. Vidare kommer användningen av Radio frekventa (RF)-signaler mellan en handkontroll och klotet att undersökas, hur väl detta kan implementeras och även på hur långt avstånd denna metod kan fungera. Denna robot är endast gjord för vetenskapliga ändamål, författarna förespråkar inte fusk i sporten bowling på något sätt.

This thesis project explores the question of the death of architecture; the declaration of the lost abilities of architecture to achieve political influence and the architect as a social actor. As I have found myself in agreement with this Tafurian perspective on the subject, I wanted to use this thesis project to explore the question of architecture and its political potential, as well as breaking from the paralyzing condition of the incentives of architecture's incapabilities. This, in suggesting that architecture can act as a catalyst for doing things differently. The project investigates, on the one hand,  how a building can encourage political action and engagement, and, on the other, how ideological ideas and intentions can concretize spatially, materially and aesthetically, The project is an design exploration concretized in a specific architectural proposal – a building for a political organization operating in the city of Stockholm.

Роботу виконано на кафедрі автомобілів Тернопільського національного технічного університету імені Івана Пулюя Міністерства освіти і науки України. Захист відбудеться 17 червня 2021 р. о 10:00 годині на засіданні екзаменаційної комісії № 19 у Тернопільському національному технічному університеті імені Івана Пулюя за адресою: 46001, м. Тернопіль, вул. Текстильна, 28, навчальний корпус № 9.
українською: Мета роботи - обґрунтування особливостей транспортного процесу на міському автобусному маршруті №3 (на прикладі м. Тернопіль). Об’єкт дослідження – міський автобусний маршрут №3 «вул. Миру – Міськлікарня №2». Методи дослідження – спостереження, підрахунок, аналіз. Обстеження маршруту дозволяє оцінити його тенденції у функціонуванні, знайти переваги і недоліки. В першому розділі здійснений розгорнутий опис значення важливості транспорту у житті суспільства, а також описана загальна характеристика підприємства, що володіє об’єктом дослідження. У другому розділі здійснені розрахунки змін техніко-експлуатаційних показників після введених удосконалень для маршруту, також здійсненні розрахунки матеріальних витрат, розрахунку фонду заробітної плати робітників, собівартість здійснення перевезень, рентабельність об’єкту дослідження. У третьому розділі проведений аналіз нормативних актів з охорони праці на підприємстві ТзОВ «Менс-Авто», вимоги безпеки при експлуатації газобалонного обладнання, вибір і розміщення первинних засобів пожежогасіння на автобусі. Бакалаврська кваліфікаційна робота складається з вступу, 3 розділи, 1 висновок; містить 67 сторінок тексту, 4 рисунки, 14 таблиць, 1 додаток
РЕФЕРАТ 6 ВСТУП 7 1 ЗАГАЛЬНА ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКА ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ ТзОВ «МЕНС-АВТО» 9 1.1 Автомобільний транспорт західного регіону України 9 1.2 Призначення і характеристика підприємства 12 1.3 Характеристика і аналіз існуючої організації перевезень 13 1.4 Недоліки і пропозиції по покращенню існуючої організації перевезень 16 2 ЗАХОДИ ІЗ УДОСКОНАЛЕННЯ ТРАНСПОРТНОГО ПРОЦЕСУ 18 2.1 Обстеження пасажиропотоку на міському автобусному маршруті №3 «вул. Миру – Міськлікарня №2» 18 2.2 Нормування швидкостей руху 26 2.3 Вибір типу рухомого складу 28 2.4 Розрахунок показників використання автобусів на міському маршруті №3 «вул. Миру – Міськлікарня №2» 30 2.5 Визначення техніко-експлуатаційних показників роботи автобуса за рік 34 2.6 Розробка розкладів руху автобусів 38 2.7 Розрахунок матеріальних витрат 40 2.8 Амортизаційні відрахування на ремонт автопарку 42 2.9 Розрахунок калькуляції собівартості перевезень 43 2.10 Собівартість постійних та змінних витрат 45 2.11 Розрахунок фінансових показників роботи 47 2.12 Техніко-економічні показники роботи 48 3 ОХОРОНА ПРАЦІ НА ПІДПРИЄМСТВІ 52 3.1 Нормативні акти з охорони праці на підприємстві ТзОВ «Менс-Авто» 52 3.2 Вимоги безпеки при експлуатації газобалонного обладнання 55 3.3 Вибір і розміщення первинних засобів пожежогасіння на автобусі 57 ВИСНОВКИ 59 ПЕРЕЛІК ПОСИЛАНЬ 60 ДОДАТКИ 62

Three Movements for Wind Ensemble, a 13-minute work for a wind ensemble consisting of twenty-five instruments, was composed in Vancouver between 1984-86. The first and third movements of this work are reminiscent stylistically of the Neo-classical tradition, while the second is a passacaglia involving a tonal ostinato juxtaposed with atonal ideas. Ideas, both thematic and structural, while entirely original, except for a 6-bar sequence in measures 59-64 of movement 1, were influenced by specific works of several composers. Stylistically, the composition is tonal, and reflects my background in jazz composition as well as my classical training. Chords are frequently characterized by the use of major second configurations, and melodies are derived from numerous sources. The music of Bach, Stravinsky, and Ives exert strong influences on the work. The work is difficult to categorize structurally, because the first and third movements are not traditional forms. I feel that the piece might appeal to both gifted and average listeners. The individual parts are not complex or difficult to perform, but the resulting ensemble yields an overall complexity. It is my hope that other composers will see the possibilities that I have explored as a basis for further exploration.
Arts, Faculty of
Music, School of
Graduate

This thesis follows the trajectory of my artistic practice over the past two years which has led me to the creation of the installation REVERB. While incorporating performance, installation, and video into my modes of creation, I’ve likewise expanded my conceptual research regarding the influential capabilities of touch, gesture, and environment. By focusing on the relationship of REVERB to a broader discussion regarding these themes, I hope to situate the work among its art, cultural, and scientific referents.

The modernist Islamic Movement sought to reconcile modern values and Islamic faith and attempted to express these values through an Islamic discourse and to reform political, religious and educational institutions along modernist lines. However, such a movement in the Islamic Republic of Iran raised controversy among the traditional leadership and secular intellectual groups.
The aim of this paper is to discuss how far modernist Islam could progress in an islamic republic with an old tradition.

The aim of the thesis has been to study methods to minimize the slosh when moving liquid-filled packages in packaging machines. An automatic method for generation of the movement of a package in a packaging machine is of growing importance. The main reason is that reduced slosh leads to increased production rate. Progress within measurement technology creates possibilities for new solutions. One purpose has been to find methods and equipment to detect the height of the wave, perhaps at several places or alternatively the entire liquid surface shape. When suitable equipment for detection of the wave movements was found, collected measurements were analyzed and criteria for describing improvements of the slosh properties have been formulated.

Initially a sensor specification was written in order to simplify the search for suitable equipment. Sources of information have mainly been catalogues and Internet. The search resulted in that a number of sensors were borrowed for tests. The results of the tests supported the choice of the most suitable sensor, in this case a laser sensor. The main reason is that the sensors detection ability is good compared to its price. An analysis of the sensors most important properties confirmed the choice of the laser sensor. To be able to compare waves, criteria for what is considered to be good wave properties have been formulated and evaluated.

The work has confirmed that it is difficult to find a simple and cheap solution for wave detection given that the solution should have good detection ability. It has also been difficult to formulate simple but working criteria for wave performance, and this has led to a compromise between the complexity of the criterion functions and the result of the wave score. Ideas about how an automatic method, based on the chosen sensor and the criterion functions, can be implemented, have been introduced. During the work, some interesting discoveries have been made. These have led to better understanding of how some parameters should be chosen, to better understanding of wave movements and to better choice of future work.

The world�s indigenous peoples have been subjected to exploitation, discrimination, dispossession, relocation, assimilation and in some cases genocide since contact with the Western world. They have been the victims of an invasion which has since secured their position among the lowest social qualifiers. For centuries, they have been ignored by nation-states throughout the world. However, a new dawn has risen for the first peoples of the world, and for the past two decades thaey have experienced a cultural, political and social revival which has been gaining in popularity, intensity and effectiveness since it�s inception. The politicisation of indigenous movements and their fundamentally local characteristics has occurred at the same time that the world is experiencing a sense of accelerated globalisation. Economic integration through trade agreements has diminished boundaries and has allowed multinational corporations to travel, sell and trade at will. The sense that the world is �one place� has fast become a reality through "the increasing volume and rapidity of the flows of money, goods, people, information, technology and images." (Featherstone, 1995:81) The simultaneous globalisation and localisation of the world seems to be two contradictory phenomenon acting in opposition to one another. However, as several theorists have pointed out, the two are actually related and each to some degree attributes to the existence of the other (Eriksen, 1993:9; Featherstone, 1990:10; Friedman, 1990:327). In fact, indigenous movements themselves, while asserting local issues and rights, have undergone a recent transformation and now attempt to achieve their goals through global strategies. They have expanded their methods and now not only at the community and national levels, but also within the international arena. The Maori and the Native Hawaiians are two groups of indigenous peoples who have been fighting for their rights and land for over a century. Both groups represent small percentages of their nation-states� population. This has forced them to pursue their struggle with creative strategies and persistent, patient pressure. Thus, their struggles have undergone continouos transformations in attempts to discover the most effective formula which would eventually cause their respective nation-states to recognise and address their grievances. Recently, the Maori and the Native Hawaiians, have broadened their movement to incorporate an international tier. Activity on the international level includes international conferences, international visits/exchanges, ratification of indigenous declarations, indigenous networking, and international indigenous solidarity organisations. These activities have increased over the past twenty years as the effectiveness of such activity has also increased. New Zealand, the United States and other nation-states are being held more accountable for past injustices and are being driven to answer to the world�s indigenous community.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, 2002.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-227).
This thesis can be summarized in the following two objectives: (i) to develop a new version of the Nuclear Stress Rule (NSR) which overcomes certain problems found with previous versions, and (ii) to explain the so-called preverbal focus position in Basque in terms of the new NSR and prosodic principles imposed on focused phrases. With respect to the NSR, I argue that certain generalizations about stress above the word level can be reduced to two basic syntactic properties of phrases: headedness and branchingness. The proposal is based on certain crucial insights found in previous work on the topic (Chomsky, Halle, and Lukoff 1956, Chomsky and Halle 1968, Liberman and Prince 1977, Halle and Vergnaud 1987, Cinque 1993, Zubizarreta 1998). The work reported in this thesis puts these insights together, resulting in a new version of the NSR, within the formalism of the metrical grid, which makes explicit reference to syntactic structure. With respect to the preverbal focus position in Basque, I argue, contra much previous work on the topic, that it is not a syntactically defined position. Rather, it is to be explained in terms of certain prosodic conditions imposed on focused phrases. More specifically, focused phrases need to have primary stress in the sentence.
(cont. ) The analysis is based on insights about the relation between syntax and discourse found in Cinque 1993, Zubizarreta 1998 and Reinhart 1995. The basic idea is that, given certain indepedently motivated hypotheses about Basque syntax, the NSR proposed in this thesis predicts that, in many cases, sentence stress is on the preverbal constituent. Since focused phrases need to have sentence stress, it follows that they must be in the preverbal position. However, in certain cases, the analysis correctly predicts that the focused phrase is not the one preceding the verb, but one containing the verb. I argue that this provides further evidence in favor of this analysis, and against analyses in which the preverbal focus position is defined syntactlically.
by Karlos Arregui-Urbina.
Ph.D.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.
Three Movements for Orchestra was composed in 2011-2012. It is scored for symphony orchestra, and has a total duration of approximately 17 minutes. Three Movements for Orchestra represents a stylistic shift in my work, moving away from a dense, highly chromatic, gestural language in favor of music featuring more repetition , more clearly articulated meter, a leaner (though still quite chromatic) harmonic vocabulary, and a more limiting approach to musical material. The first movement opens with a descending semitone motive that pervades much of the rest of the work. The movement develops similar material in two contrasting styles; the first approach is more outwardly expressive, characterized by sweeping, scalar figures and long lines, while the second builds on motivic repetition and block-like orchestration to create an almost mechanical effect. The movement intensifies as the contrasting materials work themselves together, culminating in a fast, coda-like passage built on a sequence of the opening motive. The second movement opens with a long melody, first heard in the horn and bassoon, and later passed through various instruments. There is a middle section of similar character, but contrasting material, which builds intensity through imitation as the same material is layered upon itself in an increasingly dense orchestral fabric. The final movement features short motives characterized by rhythmic accent and syncopation. The material is built around a strong sense of pulse, but the pulse itself is often absent from the music itself, leaving only syncopated material. The effect is something like a dance, but one that is hampered by metric shifts and motivic interruptions that sometimes stall the momentum of the piece.

Symphony in Three movements is an orchestra work scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in Bb, two bassoons, two horns in F, three trumpets in Bb, three trombones, one tuba, percussion and strings. The percussion consists of timpani, vibraphone, temple block, tom-tom, suspended cymble, bass drum, and gong. The piece is not based on any non-musical image. The three movements of this work, I.(variation-like) II.(ternary) III.(fantasia-like), are based on the combination of the solemn ceremonial atmosphere of Korean music and early twentieth-century Western music.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO
O presente trabalho busca investigar e compreender as correlações entre os exercícios físicos praticados de forma esportiva, sem finalidade competitiva, e a dimensão experiencial na qual se desenvolve um processo de aquisição de sentido para a vida marcada pela espontaneidade dos movimentos e autenticidade do ser. Para tanto, vamos privilegiar as abordagens que acentuam os aspectos psicológicos, filosóficos e sociológicos envolvidos neste tipo de experiência, pois acreditamos que, ao desvelar o entrelaçamento existente entre eles, evidenciaremos as relações indissolúveis entre o corpo, os afetos, o psiquismo e as influências ambientais de vários tipos, desde os estímulos sensoriais até aqueles difundidos pelos veículos midiáticos da cultura de consumo pós-moderna. A experiência esportiva livre, logo, nos servirá como exemplo valioso para explorarmos diversos aspectos desta dimensão do viver criativo, como a importância do corpo na vida subjetiva, mais especificamente, o papel das experiências motoras e sensoriais na construção de significações originárias; na constituição da personalidade, assim como na singularização da experiência do tempo e de si mesmo.
This study aims to investigate and understand the correlations between physical exercises practiced without sports competitive purpose and experiential dimension in which it develops a process of acquiring meaning in life marked by spontaneity of movements and authenticity of being. To do so, we focus on approaches that emphasize the psychological, philosophical and sociological aspects involved in this kind of experience, because we believe that by unveiling the existing entanglement between them, we can put in evidence the indissoluble relationship between the body, the emotions, the psyche and the environmental influences of various types, from natural human sensorial stimulus to promoted by media outlet culture of postmodern consumer. The uncompetitive sports experience serve us as a valuable example to explore various aspects of this dimension of creative living, such as the importance of the body in the subjective life, more specifically, the role of sensorial and motor experiences in building ultimate meanings, for the personality constitution, as well as singling out the experience of time and of itself.

Variations in the electricity consumption and production connected to the power system have to be balanced by active control. Hydropower is the most important balancing resource in the Nordic system, and will become even more important as the share of variable renewable energy sources increases. This thesis concerns balancing of active power, especially the real-time balancing called frequency control. The thesis starts in a description of the situation today, setting up models for the behaviour of hydropower units and the power system relevant to frequency control, and comparing the models with experiments on several hydropower units and on the response of the Nordic grid. It is found that backlash in the regulating mechanisms in hydropower units have a strong impact on the quality of the delivered frequency control. Then, an analysis of what can be done right now to improve frequency control and decrease its costs is made, discussing governor tuning, filters and strategies for allocation of frequency control reserves. The results show that grid frequency quality could be improved considerably by retuning of hydropower governors. However, clear technical requirements and incentives for good frequency control performance are needed. The last part of the thesis concerns the impact from increased electricity production from variable renewable energy sources. The induced balancing need in terms of energy storage volume and balancing power is quantified, and it is found that with large shares of wind power in the system, the energy storage need over the intra-week time horizon is drastically increased. Reduced system inertia due to higher shares of inverter connected production is identified as a problem for the frequency control of the system. A new, linear synthetic inertia concept is suggested to replace the lost inertia and damping. It is shown that continuously active, linear synthetic inertia can improve the frequency quality in normal operation and decrease wear and tear of hydropower units delivering frequency control.

‘Sensorimotor transformations’ are processes whereby sensory information is used to generate motor commands. One example is the ‘visuomotor map’ that transforms visual information about objects to motor commands that activates various muscles during grasping movements. In the first study we quantified the relative impact (or ‘weighting’) of visual and haptic information on the sensorimotor transformation and investigated the principles that regulates the weighting process. To do this, we let subjects perform a task in which the object seen (visual object) and the object grasped (haptic object) were physically never the same. When the haptic object became larger or smaller than the visual object, subjects in the following trials automatically adapted their maximum grip aperture (MGA) when reaching for the object. The adaptation process was quicker and relied more on haptic information when the haptic objects increased in size than when they decreased in size. As such, sensory weighting is molded to avoid prehension error. In the second study we investigated the degree to which the visuomotor map could be modified. Normally, the relationship between the visual size of the object (VO) and the MGA can be expressed as a linear relationship, where MGA = a + b * VO. Our results demonstrate that subjects inter- and extrapolate in the visuomotor map (that is, they are reluctant to abandon the linear relationship) and that the offset (a) but not the slope (b) can be modified. In the third study, we investigated how a ‘new’ sensorimotor transformation can be established and modified. We therefore replaced the normal input of visual information about object size with auditory information, where the size of the object was log-linearly related to the frequency of a tone. Learning of an audiomotor map consisted of three distinct phases: during the first stage (~10-15 trials) there were no overt signs of learning. During the second stage there was a period of fast learning where the MGA became scaled to the size of the object until the third stage where the slope was constant. The purpose of the fourth study was to investigate the sensory basis for the aperture adaptation process. To do that, the forces acting between the fingertips and the object was measured as the subjects adapted. Our results indicate that information about when the fingers contacts the object, that is, the ‘timing’ of contact, is likely to be used by the CNS to encode an unexpected object size. Since injuries and disease can affect the sensorimotor transformations that controls the hand, knowledge about how these processes are established and modified may be used to develop techniques for sensory substitution and other rehabilitation strategies.

Thesis (M.S. in Defense Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2006.
Thesis Advisor(s): Anna Simons, Christopher Twomey. "June 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p.61-63). Also available in print.

This thesis investigates the relationship between eye movements, memory and thinking in five studies based on eye tracking experiments. The studies draw on the human ability to spatially index multimodal events as demonstrated by people’s gaze reverting back to emptied spatial locations when retrieving information that was associated with this location during a preceding encoding phase – the so called “looking-at-nothing” phenomenon. The first part of this thesis aimed at gaining a better understanding of the relationship between eye movements and memory in relation to verbal information. The second part of this thesis investigated what could be learned about the memory processes involved in reasoning and decision-making by studying eye movements to blank spaces. The first study presented in this thesis clarified the role of eye movements for the retrieval of verbal information from memory. More precisely, it questioned if eye movements to nothing are functionally related to memory retrieval for verbal information, i.e. auditorily presented linguistic information. Eye movements were analyzed following correct and incorrect retrievals of previously presented auditory statements concerning artificial places that were probed during a subsequent retrieval phase. Additionally, eye movements were manipulated as the independent variable with the aid of a spatial cue that either guided the eyes towards or away from associated spatial locations. Using verbal materials elicited eye movements to associated but emptied spatial locations, thereby replicating previous findings on eye movements to nothing. This behaviour was more pronounced for correct in comparison to incorrect retrievals. Retrieval performance was higher when the eyes were guided towards in comparison to being guided away from associated spatial locations. In sum, eye movements play a functional role for the retrieval of verbal materials. The second study tested if the looking-at-nothing behaviour can also diminish; for example, does its effect diminish if people gain enough practice in a retrieval task? The same paradigm was employed as in the first study. Participants listened to four different sentences. Each sentence was associated with one of four areas on the screen and was presented 12 times. After every presentation, participants heard a statement probing one sentence, while the computer screen remained blank. More fixations were found to be located in areas associated with the probed sentence than in other locations. Moreover, the more trials participants completed, the less frequently they exhibited the looking-at-nothing behaviour. Looking-at-nothing behaviour can in this way be seen to indeed diminish when knowledge becomes strongly represented in memory. In the third and fourth study eye movements were utilized as a tool to investigate memory search during rule- versus similarity-based decision-making. In both studies participants first memorized multiple pieces of information relating to job candidates (exemplars). In subsequent test trials they judged the suitability of new candidates that varied in their similarity to the previously learned exemplars. Results showed that when using similarity, but not when using a rule, participants fixated longer on the previous location of exemplars that were similar to the new candidates than on the location of dissimilar exemplars. This suggests that people using similarity retrieve previously learned exemplars, whereas people using a rule do not. Eye movements were used yet again as a tool in the fifth study. On this occasion, eye movements were investigated during memory-based diagnostic reasoning. The study tested the effects of symptom order and diversity with symptom sequences that supported two or three contending hypotheses, and which were ambiguous throughout the symptom sequence. Participants first learned information about causes and symptoms presented in spatial frames. Gaze allocation on emptied spatial frames during symptom processing and during the diagnostic response reflected the subjective status of hypotheses held in memory and the preferred interpretation of ambiguous symptoms. Gaze data showed how the diagnostic decision develops and revealed instances of hypothesis change and biases in symptom processing. The results of this thesis demonstrate in very different scenarios the tight interplay between eye movements, memory and thinking. They show that eye movements are not automatically directed to spatial locations. Instead, they reflect the dynamic updating of internal, multimodal memory representations. Eye movements can be used as a direct behavioural correlate of memory processes involved in similarity- versus rule-based decision-making, and they reveal rich time-course information about the process of diagnostic reasoning. The results of this thesis are discussed in light of the current theoretical debates on cognitive processes that guide eye movements, memory and thinking. This thesis concludes by outlining a list of recommendations for using eye movements to investigate thinking processes, an outlook for future research and possible applications for the research findings
Diese Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit der Interaktion von Blickbewegungen, Gedächtnis- und Denkprozessen. In fünf experimentellen Untersuchungen, die auf der Messung von Blickbewegungen beruhen, wurde die menschliche Fähigkeit zum räumlichen Indizieren multimodaler Ereignisse untersucht. Diese Fähigkeit manifestiert sich u.a. im sogenannten „Looking-at-nothing“ Phänomen, das beschreibt, dass Menschen beim Abruf von Informationen aus dem Gedächtnis an Orte zurückblicken, die in einer vorhergehenden Enkodierphase mit den abzurufenden Informationen assoziiert wurden, selbst wenn diese räumlichen Positionen keinerlei erinnerungsrelevante Informationen mehr enthalten. In der ersten Untersuchung wurde der Frage nachgegangen, ob Blickbewegungen an geleerte räumliche Positionen den Abruf von Informationen aus dem Gedächtnis erleichtern. Während ein solches Verhalten für den Abruf zuvor visuell dargebotener Informationen bereits gezeigt werden konnte, ist die Befundlage für die Erinnerungsleistung bei auditiv dargebotenen, linguistischen Informationen unklar. Um diesen Zusammenhang zu untersuchen, wurde das Blickverhalten zunächst als Folge von richtigen und falschen Antworten untersucht. In einem weiteren Schritt wurde das Blickverhalten experimentell manipuliert. Dies geschah mit Hilfe eines räumlichen Hinweisreizes, der die Blicke entweder hin zu der Position leitete, die mit dem abzurufenden Stimulus assoziiert war, oder weg von dieser Position. Die Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung konnten bisherige Befunde zum Looking-at-nothing Verhalten replizieren. Zudem zeigte sich, dass beim korrekten Abruf von Informationen aus dem Gedächtnis vermehrt Looking-at-nothing gezeigt wurde, während das bei fehlerhaften Abrufen nicht der Fall war. Die Blickmanipulation ergab, dass die Gedächtnisleistung besser war, wenn der Hinweisreiz den Blick hin zur assoziierten räumlichen Position leitete. Im Gegensatz dazu war die Erinnerungsleistung schlechter, wenn der Blick von der assoziierten räumlichen Position weggeleitet wurde. Blickbewegungen an geleerte räumliche Positionen scheinen demnach auch den Abruf verbaler Stimuli zu erleichtern. In der zweiten Untersuchung wurde erforscht, ob das Looking-at-nothing Verhalten nachlässt, wenn das experimentelle Material stark gelernt, d.h. stark im Gedächtnis repräsentiert ist. Dazu wurde das gleiche experimentelle Paradigma, wie in der ersten Untersuchung verwendet. Vier verschiedene Sätze wurden während der Enkodierphase mit vier verschiedenen räumlichen Positionen assoziiert. Nach jeder Präsentation aller vier Sätze, wurde einer der Sätze getestet. Diese Prozedur wiederholte sich in zwölf Durchgängen. In den ersten vier Durchgängen sahen die Versuchspersonen beim Abruf häufiger in das Feld, dass mit der getesteten Information assoziiert war, d.h. sie zeigten wie erwartet das Looking-at-nothing Verhalten. Je mehr Durchgänge die Versuchspersonen bearbeiteten, desto seltener blickten sie zu der assoziierten räumlichen Position. Demnach verschwindet das Looking-at-nothing Verhalten, wenn Informationen stark im Gedächtnis repräsentiert sind. In der dritten und vierten Untersuchung wurden Blickbewegungen an geleerte räumliche Positionen als Methode verwendet um Denkprozesse zu untersuchen. In der dritten Untersuchung lernten Versuchsteilnehmer zunächst Informationen über fiktive Bewerber (Exemplare) für eine freie Position in einem Unternehmen. Jedes Exemplar wurde mit seinen Eigenschaften während der Lernphase mit einer distinkten räumlichen Position verknüpft. In einer nachfolgenden Entscheidungsphase beurteilten die Versuchsteilnehmer neue Bewerber. Diese neuen Bewerber variierten in ihrer Ähnlichkeit mit den zuvor gelernten Bewerbern. Versuchsteilnehmer die eine ähnlichkeitsbasierte Entscheidungsstrategie verwendeten, sahen an die geleerten räumlichen Positionen zurück, die in der Lernphase mit den Exemplaren verknüpft wurden. Wendeten sie jedoch eine abstrakte Regel an, um die neuen Bewerber zu beurteilten, so zeigten sie kein Looking-at-nothing Verhalten. Dieses Ergebnis lässt darauf schließen, dass eine ähnlichkeitsbasierte im Gegensatz zu einer regelbasierten Strategie den Abruf zuvor gelernter Exemplare bewirkt. Auch in der fünften Untersuchung wurden Blickbewegungen als Methode eingesetzt, diesmal zur Untersuchung gedächtnisbasierter Schlussfolgerungsprozesse, wie sie beim Finden von Erklärungen für eine Anzahl gegebener Informationen auftreten. Manipuliert wurden die Reihenfolge der präsentierten Informationen und die Diversität der möglichen Erklärungen. Die getesteten Symptomsequenzen unterstützen stets mindestens zwei mögliche Erklärungen. Die Versuchsteilnehmer lernten in einer vorangestellten Lernphase die Symptome und ihre möglichen Erklärungen. Symptome und Erklärungen wurden mit räumlichen Positionen verknüpft. In einer anschließenden Diagnosephase wurden verschiedene Symptomsequenzen getestet. Das Blickverhalten während der Diagnosephase reflektierte die Interpretation der Symptome im Sinne der subjektiv wahrscheinlichsten Erklärung. Die Aufzeichnung und Analyse der Blickbewegungen erlaubte es die Entwicklung dieser Interpretation über die gesamte Sequenz hinweg zu beobachten und Hypothesenwechsel lokalisieren zu können. Insgesamt stützen die Ergebnisse dieser Dissertation die Annahme einer engen funktionalen Verbindung von Blickbewegungen, Gedächtnis- und Denkprozessen. Sie zeigen, dass Blickbewegungen nicht automatisch an alle assoziierten räumlichen Positionen gerichtet werden, sondern dass sie vielmehr den situations- und aufgabenabhängigen Abruf von Informationen aus dem Gedächtnis widerspiegeln. Blickbewegungen können als direktes Verhaltensmaß zur Messung von Gedächtnisprozessen beim ähnlichkeitsbasierten Entscheiden herangezogen werden und liefern wertvolle Prozessdaten über die Integration von Symptominformationen beim diagnostischen Schließen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Dissertation werden im Lichte der aktuellen theoretischen Diskussion über kognitive Prozesse beim Bewegen der Augen, beim Gedächtnisabruf und beim komplexen Denken betrachtet. Abschließend werden Empfehlungen für die Verwendung der Methode der Blickbewegungsmessung als Prozessmaß zur Untersuchung gedächtnisbasierter Denkprozesse gegeben, ein Überblick über zukünftige Forschungsmöglichkeiten präsentiert und Ideen für Anwendungsmöglichkeiten der präsentierten Befunde aufgezeigt