title: An analysis of perceptual errors in perspective displays

authors: Luther, Rebecca E.

abstract: Display dimensionality 1s one of the most debated issues m the design of cockpit-based displays of air traffic information. Many practitioners agree that presenting air traffic information on an integrated 30 display is preferable, when compared to presenting it on a 20 planar or co-planar display. However, research has shown that operators make errors in estimating the location of objects in 30 displays. This may be because of perceptual distortions caused by the geometric parameters used to generate the image. However, despite the issues identified regarding the locating of objects, some studies have found other performance advantages associated with these 30 displays. Therefore, it seems that attempts should be made to minimise perceptual biases so that these displays can be utilised to present integrated information in 30 environments. The aim of this thesis was to develop a model of distance estimation errors in perspective displays. It was hypothesised that many of the perceptual errors observed in perspective displays, such as azimuth and inter-object distance estimation errors, were related to observers wrongly estimating the distance between themselves and objects in the virtual world. Four experiments examining inter-object distance estimation were conducted. Participants were required to set a perspective image of a box to represent a perfect cube (requiring them to make a distance estimation scaled relative to the frontoparallel plane). Results showed that participants made inter-object distance estimation errors that increased as the distance between the observer and the objects in the display increased. Based on these results, two models explaining interobject distance estimation errors were developed. The first model postulated that participants underestimated the distance between themselves and objects in the display. The second model suggested that participants used 20 ( on-screen) cues to set the box to a cube. These models were applied to azimuth estimation errors observed in studies of perspective displays. It was found that while azimuth estimation error could only be partially modelled as a distance perception error, it could be explained to a greater extent by applying a strategy based on the 20 (on-screen) image. The findings of this study indicated that either distance estimation errors or 20 strategies could account for inter-object distance estimation errors in perspective displays.

text: An analysis of perceptual errors in perspective displays Display dimensionality 1s one of the most debated issues m the design of cockpit-based displays of air traffic information. Many practitioners agree that presenting air traffic information on an integrated 30 display is preferable, when compared to presenting it on a 20 planar or co-planar display. However, research has shown that operators make errors in estimating the location of objects in 30 displays. This may be because of perceptual distortions caused by the geometric parameters used to generate the image. However, despite the issues identified regarding the locating of objects, some studies have found other performance advantages associated with these 30 displays. Therefore, it seems that attempts should be made to minimise perceptual biases so that these displays can be utilised to present integrated information in 30 environments. The aim of this thesis was to develop a model of distance estimation errors in perspective displays. It was hypothesised that many of the perceptual errors observed in perspective displays, such as azimuth and inter-object distance estimation errors, were related to observers wrongly estimating the distance between themselves and objects in the virtual world. Four experiments examining inter-object distance estimation were conducted. Participants were required to set a perspective image of a box to represent a perfect cube (requiring them to make a distance estimation scaled relative to the frontoparallel plane). Results showed that participants made inter-object distance estimation errors that increased as the distance between the observer and the objects in the display increased. Based on these results, two models explaining interobject distance estimation errors were developed. The first model postulated that participants underestimated the distance between themselves and objects in the display. The second model suggested that participants used 20 ( on-screen) cues to set the box to a cube. These models were applied to azimuth estimation errors observed in studies of perspective displays. It was found that while azimuth estimation error could only be partially modelled as a distance perception error, it could be explained to a greater extent by applying a strategy based on the 20 (on-screen) image. The findings of this study indicated that either distance estimation errors or 20 strategies could account for inter-object distance estimation errors in perspective displays.

year: 2004

title: Resolving environmental drivers of microbial community structure in Antarctic soils

authors: Smith, Julie L.

subjects: abiotic controls

abstract: Antarctic soils are extremely cold, dry, and oligotrophic, yet harbour surprisingly high bacterial diversity. The severity of environmental conditions has constrained the development of multi-trophic communities, and species richness and distribution is thought to be driven primarily by abiotic factors. Sites in northern and southern Victoria Land were sampled for bacterial community structure and soil physicochemical properties in conjunction with the US and New Zealand Latitudinal Gradient Project. Bacterial community structure was determined using a high-resolution molecular fingerprinting method for 80 soil samples from Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett sites which are separated by five degrees of latitude and have distinct soil chemistry. Taylor Valley is part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, while Cape Hallett is the site of a penguin rookery and contains ornithogenic soils. The influence of soil moisture, pH, conductivity, ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen and organic carbon on community structure was revealed using Spearman rank correlation, Mantel test, and principal components analysis. High spatial variability was detected in bacterial communities and community structure was correlated with soil moisture and pH. Both unique and shared bacterial community members were detected at Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett despite the considerable distance between the sites.

text: Resolving environmental drivers of microbial community structure in Antarctic soils Antarctic soils are extremely cold, dry, and oligotrophic, yet harbour surprisingly high bacterial diversity. The severity of environmental conditions has constrained the development of multi-trophic communities, and species richness and distribution is thought to be driven primarily by abiotic factors. Sites in northern and southern Victoria Land were sampled for bacterial community structure and soil physicochemical properties in conjunction with the US and New Zealand Latitudinal Gradient Project. Bacterial community structure was determined using a high-resolution molecular fingerprinting method for 80 soil samples from Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett sites which are separated by five degrees of latitude and have distinct soil chemistry. Taylor Valley is part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, while Cape Hallett is the site of a penguin rookery and contains ornithogenic soils. The influence of soil moisture, pH, conductivity, ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen and organic carbon on community structure was revealed using Spearman rank correlation, Mantel test, and principal components analysis. High spatial variability was detected in bacterial communities and community structure was correlated with soil moisture and pH. Both unique and shared bacterial community members were detected at Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett despite the considerable distance between the sites.

year: 2009

title: Colonial versus ancestral legacy: The assertion of culture and identity through public arts in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton

authors: Kiff, Shirin

subjects: Ethnography

abstract: This thesis is an ethnography of Hamilton. It focuses on the role of public arts as a cultural regeneration tool and their function in shaping the community(s) in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton through building a sense of place and identity. As a qualitative study, I conducted nine semi- structured interviews with public art artists, art advocates and residents to explore the relational context within which the development and transmission of meaning takes place, a process which is central to culture and identity. The primary purpose of the research interviews was to gain insight into the factors that motivate arts organisers and planners to direct valuable limited resources into public art projects and its observable outcomes. The second purpose of the interviews, conducted while walking to public artworks in the city centre with six participants, was to examine the effect of public art on the public.
My methods also include tracking press reviews, monitoring comments and posts on social media and institutional debates involving residents, artists, and public authorities concerning public arts. I also recorded data by taking photographs and recording field notes of my observations during and after the fieldwork process. Data gathering was also enhanced by the large-scale collection of written materials and resources, including public art publications and HCC policy documents. Taken together, these research methods allowed me to investigate whether Hamilton had achieved its goals in its cultural regeneration efforts. In my analysis, I discuss the role of public art and its association with place and consider how artworks may antagonise Māori-Pākehā relationships or otherwise emphasis residents’ sense of place.
Biculturalism and monoculturalism narratives appear to dominate public arts with the purpose of invoking either a colonial legacy or ancestral legacy while the politics of multiculturalism continue to jockey for place. Colonial legacy refers to the glorifying of colonial achievements while ancestral legacy in this context refers to Māori assertion of history, culture and identity. Particularly, in this research, ancestral legacy belonging to local hapū, Ngāti Wairere. Participants’ narratives reveal four overarching themes, 1) the publics’ resistance to the making of colonial places through public art, 2) Ngāti Wairere struggles to assert ancestral legacy through public arts, 3) the need for ethnically diverse artworks to create and maintain ethnically diverse places, and 4) a yearning for a collective identity represented through public arts. Hamilton’s public artworks are variously perceived as a superficial representation of Māori culture, identity and history, a reminder of a colonial binary discourse, the colonised versus the coloniser, an assertion of either a Māori ancestral legacy or a colonial legacy or, minimally, a nod to multiculturalism. Nevertheless, my research shows that participants engagement with these artworks reveal a yearning for a local collective identity that is still a work in progress.

text: Colonial versus ancestral legacy: The assertion of culture and identity through public arts in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton This thesis is an ethnography of Hamilton. It focuses on the role of public arts as a cultural regeneration tool and their function in shaping the community(s) in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton through building a sense of place and identity. As a qualitative study, I conducted nine semi- structured interviews with public art artists, art advocates and residents to explore the relational context within which the development and transmission of meaning takes place, a process which is central to culture and identity. The primary purpose of the research interviews was to gain insight into the factors that motivate arts organisers and planners to direct valuable limited resources into public art projects and its observable outcomes. The second purpose of the interviews, conducted while walking to public artworks in the city centre with six participants, was to examine the effect of public art on the public.
My methods also include tracking press reviews, monitoring comments and posts on social media and institutional debates involving residents, artists, and public authorities concerning public arts. I also recorded data by taking photographs and recording field notes of my observations during and after the fieldwork process. Data gathering was also enhanced by the large-scale collection of written materials and resources, including public art publications and HCC policy documents. Taken together, these research methods allowed me to investigate whether Hamilton had achieved its goals in its cultural regeneration efforts. In my analysis, I discuss the role of public art and its association with place and consider how artworks may antagonise Māori-Pākehā relationships or otherwise emphasis residents’ sense of place.
Biculturalism and monoculturalism narratives appear to dominate public arts with the purpose of invoking either a colonial legacy or ancestral legacy while the politics of multiculturalism continue to jockey for place. Colonial legacy refers to the glorifying of colonial achievements while ancestral legacy in this context refers to Māori assertion of history, culture and identity. Particularly, in this research, ancestral legacy belonging to local hapū, Ngāti Wairere. Participants’ narratives reveal four overarching themes, 1) the publics’ resistance to the making of colonial places through public art, 2) Ngāti Wairere struggles to assert ancestral legacy through public arts, 3) the need for ethnically diverse artworks to create and maintain ethnically diverse places, and 4) a yearning for a collective identity represented through public arts. Hamilton’s public artworks are variously perceived as a superficial representation of Māori culture, identity and history, a reminder of a colonial binary discourse, the colonised versus the coloniser, an assertion of either a Māori ancestral legacy or a colonial legacy or, minimally, a nod to multiculturalism. Nevertheless, my research shows that participants engagement with these artworks reveal a yearning for a local collective identity that is still a work in progress.

year: 2021