Naturalness

About: Naturalness is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1305 publications have been published within this topic receiving 31737 citations.

Fractal dimension as a tool for defining and measuring naturalness

Abstract: Perceived naturalness has been identified as one of the most important predictors of landscape preference (see, for example, Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989). Yet the physical attributes identified are still fuzzy. Naturalness is commonly associated with how dominant vegetation is in a scene or the extent of human-induced change. However, recent research has shown that such conceptions of naturalness cannot account for all of the data (Purcell et al., 1994, Purcell & Lamb, 1998). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the possible use of fractal geometry as a tool for defining and measuring naturalness. Fractals are often viewed as a new geometry because they are fundamentally different from traditional so-called Euclidean geomtries, such as circle and squares, developed by mankind. Mathematical description of forms found in nature played an important role in the development of fractal geometry (Mandelbrot, 1983) and a large body of subsequent work has since shown that a wide range of natural phenomena are fractal (see, for example, Barnsley et al., 1988; Barnsley, 1993). The term fractal is used to describe fractured shapes, which have the characteristic of being self-similar. This means that the same pattern will appear again and again when a fractal object is viewed at increasingly fine magnifications. This special quality of scale invariance can be identified and quantified by a parameter called the fractal dimension, D. This paper reports preliminary data examining correlations between the fractal dimension, D, and rated naturalness of landscape scenes. Recent work by the author and colleagues has similarly shown a possible connection between landscape preference and the fractal dimension (Hagerhall et al., submitted manuscript). Studies have indicated that mid range D values may be the most preferred (Aks & Sprott, 1996; Taylor, 2001). Preliminary work by Taylor and colleagues has also shown that fractal scenes with mid range D values may have a particularly good damping effect on stress levels (Taylor et al, manuscript) The collective findings give rise to the hypothesis that the fractal dimension could provide part of the explanation to the well-documented connection between environmental preference and naturalness. However, empirical data on connections between fractal properties and perceptual and physiological responses are still scarce which means that any conclusions must be treated with considerable caution at this stage. From the point of landscape perception and landscape architecture and design the fractal dimension is particularly interesting since it is a perceived dimension and a parameter that can be used directly in design work. Furthermore, the fractal dimension could be applied also to built environments (Bovill, 1996; Taylor, 2001), which provides possibilities to expand the idea of naturalness and the positive effect of natural forms and natural qualities to mixed or completely built environments.

Attitudes Toward Signing Avatars Vary Depending on Hearing Status, Age of Signed Language Acquisition, and Avatar Type

Abstract: The use of virtual humans (i.e., avatars) holds the potential for interactive, automated interaction in domains such as remote communication, customer service, or public announcements. For signed language users, signing avatars could potentially provide accessible content by sharing information in the signer's preferred or native language. As the development of signing avatars has gained traction in recent years, researchers have come up with many different methods of creating signing avatars. The resulting avatars vary widely in their appearance, the naturalness of their movements, and facial expressions—all of which may potentially impact users' acceptance of the avatars. We designed a study to test the effects of these intrinsic properties of different signing avatars while also examining the extent to which people's own language experiences change their responses to signing avatars. We created video stimuli showing individual signs produced by (1) a live human signer (Human), (2) an avatar made using computer-synthesized animation (CS Avatar), and (3) an avatar made using high-fidelity motion capture (Mocap avatar). We surveyed 191 American Sign Language users, including Deaf (N = 83), Hard-of-Hearing (N = 34), and Hearing (N = 67) groups. Participants rated the three signers on multiple dimensions, which were then combined to form ratings of Attitudes, Impressions, Comprehension, and Naturalness. Analyses demonstrated that the Mocap avatar was rated significantly more positively than the CS avatar on all primary variables. Correlations revealed that signers who acquire sign language later in life are more accepting of and likely to have positive impressions of signing avatars. Finally, those who learned ASL earlier were more likely to give lower, more negative ratings to the CS avatar, but we did not see this association for the Mocap avatar or the Human signer. Together, these findings suggest that movement quality and appearance significantly impact users' ratings of signing avatars and show that signed language users with earlier age of ASL acquisition are the most sensitive to movement quality issues seen in computer-generated avatars. We suggest that future efforts to develop signing avatars consider retaining the fluid movement qualities integral to signed languages.

Natural syntax : English interrogative main clauses

Abstract: Natural Syntax is a developing deductive theory, a branch of Naturalness Theory. The naturalnessjudgements are couched in naturalness scales, whichfollow from the basic parameters (or «axioms») listed at the beginning of the paper. The predictions of the theory are calculated in deductions, whose chief components are apair of naturalness scales and the rules governing the alignment of corresponding naturalness values. Parallel and chiastic alignments are distinguished, in complementary distribution. Chiastic alignment is mandatory in deductions limited to unnatural environments. The paper deals with English interrogative main clauses. Within these, only the interrogatives containing wh-words exclusively insitu constitute an extremely unnatural environment and require chiastic alignment. Otherwiseparallel alignment is used. Earlier publications on Natural Syntax: Kavcic 2005a,b, Oresnik 1999, 2000a,b, 200la-f 2002, 2003a-c, 2002/03, 2004. This list cites only works written in English.