Lesley Allinson

Understanding embarrassment among those with autism: breaking down the complex emotion of embarrassment among those with autism.

Scenarios manipulating various factors within the emotion of embarrassment, such as whether or not an audience was present when an embarrassing act was committed, the type of audience present, empathic embarrassment, etc., were presented to high-functioning participants with autism and comparison groups of those with learning difficulties and typically developing participants matched for verbal and nonverbal mental age. Participants were required to rate the level of embarrassment of the protagonist and justify their responses. It was predicted that those with autism would differ significantly from the comparison groups in their ratings and also their ability to provide justifications. The results showed those with autism to have difficulty with such concepts as empathic embarrassment but showed a surprisingly good understanding of other variables manipulated such as the presence of an audience.

Advances in self-organising maps

Towards an information-theoretic approach to kernel-based topographic map formation.- A statistical tool to assess the reliability of self-organising maps.- A SOM association network.- A supervised self-organising map for structured data.- Human gait analysis using SOM.- Exploring financial crises data with self-organising maps (SOM).- Analysing health inequalities using SOM.- Integrating contextual information into text document clustering with self-organising maps.- Self-organising Internet semantic network.- Recursive learning rules for SOMs.- Induced Vorono kernels for principal manifolds approximation.- Visualisation induced SOM (ViSOM).- An approach to automated interpretation of SOM.- VQ-based clustering algorithm of piecewise-dependant-data.- Adaptive subspace encoders using stochastic vector quantisers.- SHAPESOM.- A new interpolation algorithm employing a self organising map.- SOM-based exploratory analysis of gene expression data.- Exploring power transformer database using self-organising maps (SOM) and minimal spanning tree (MST).- Recent advances with the growing hierarchical self-organising Map.- Self-organising maps of web link information.- A design method of DNA chips using self-organising maps.- Multi-dimensional self-organising maps on massively parallel hardware.- A new method of Hough transform by using SOM with input vector transformation.- Estimating relevant input dimensions for self-organising algorithms.- An overview on unsupervised learning from data mining perspective.- Recursive self-organising maps.- An investigation into catastrophic interference on a SOM network.- A topography-preserving latent variable model with learning metrics.- Vector quantisation with g-observable neighbors.- Dynamic vector quantisation of speech.- Optimisation of electronic parts mounting machines using SOM-TSP method with 5 dimensional data.- Self-organising maps forcondition assessment of paper insulated cables.- An essay in classifying self-organising maps for temporal sequence processing.- Evaluating SOM-based models in text classification tasks for the Greek language.- Nonlinear blind source separation using SOMs and applications to image denoising.- Signal-based feature extraction and SOM based dimension reduction in a vibration monitoring microsystem.

Learning support environments: rationale and evaluation

In this paper we argue that existing understanding of human cognition has much to offer the design of instructional systems and materials, and that new technologies, such as hypertext, in harness with traditional techniques, provide opportunities for extending the mapping of cognitive principles to instructional design. Following a review of types of knowledge, cognitive styles and strategies within a CAL framework, the advantages of learning support environments over other CAL approaches are discussed. Such environments are presented as extensions to hypertext which incorporate various generic features for learning applications. The need for evaluation of learning which is dynamic and internal to the learning tasks is stressed.

Beyond Expectations Autism, Understanding Embarrassment, and the Relationship with Theory of Mind

The ability of high-functioning individuals with autism to understand the complex emotion of embarrassment, and how this relates to an understanding of theory of mind, was investigated. Scenarios involving embarrassing and non-embarrassing situations were presented to a group with autism and three comparison groups. Participants were required to rate the level of embarrassment felt by the protagonist and to justify their choices. The results indicated that those with autism generally gave similar ratings of embarrassment as the comparison groups, but did show significant difficulty with non-embarrassing scenarios, and in providing appropriate justifications for embarrassment. In addition, a significant relationship between scores from false belief tasks and justification scores was found, supporting the proposed link between theory of mind skills and understanding embarrassment. Participants with autism did, however, show a higher than expected understanding of this complex emotion.

Development and evaluation of a CAL system for non-formal domains: the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to cognition

Many areas of study are neither well-suited to CAL systems based on traditional programmed learning methods nor can be modelled using the methods of artificial intelligence. At York we are developing authoring and presentation software for use in just such areas of higher education. The system supports individual study of materials in conjunction with conventional undergraduate teaching methods. Development of the system has been explicitly based on principles taken from cognitive psychology and from studies of human-computer interaction. In this paper we outline our approach and show how the proposed psychological principles have motivated the design of the system and of the courseware.

Learning Styles and Computer-Based Learning Environments

Learning Support Environments need to support the learner not only for a variety of tasks (both learning and information retrieval), but also by providing flexibility so they can determine their own navigational or learning strategy with which to accomplish these tasks. Following a review of the background to our understanding of individual learner differences and individual learning strategies and styles, an investigation of user behaviour and its relationship to individual learning style is reported. Entwistles Approaches to Study Inventory was employed to select test subjects as this questionnaire attempts to incorporate various dimensions of a students approach to study, deep/surface processing, the serial/holist dimension (as proposed by Pask), and various strategic and motivation elements. Those subjects selected for their high reproducing approach to study, showed a preference for a more linear and structured presentation of the information and navigated the screens at a slower rate. The high meaning group demonstrated more active use, especially for their initial period of system use, showed greater use of the self-determined hypertext linkages as a navigational strategy, and appeared to be more actively searching the material.

Robust Wireless Transmission of Compressed Latent Fingerprint Images

Maximizing the potential of latent fingerprints from crime scenes in the identification of suspects requires the rapid transfer of the latent from the scene to a remote fingerprint bureau. Transmission over restricted-bandwidth cellular wireless networks requires the latent images to be compressed but without compromising the likelihood of a match being achieved. We present details of experiments to establish the optimum form of compression that provides realistic transmission times and yet does not affect the utility and integrity of the U.K. Fingerprint Service in searching for latent identifications and in archiving unidentified latents on the U.K. national automatic fingerprint identification system (AFIS). Practical aspects of the implemented system, especially in respect to communication and security protocols, are outlined. Finally, we give some details of the operational advantages of this system as it begins to be employed across U.K. police forces.