Influences of Form and Function on the Acceptability of Projective Prepositions in Swedish

Abstract

Projective prepositions express the relation between two objects by referring to a direction in space and have traditionally been regarded as expressing purely geometric relations. Recent studies have shown that the appropriateness of English and Spanish projectives also depends on functional relations between objects. This study investigates if the acceptability of the Swedish projectives över, under, ovanför and nedanför are influenced by functional factors as well, and whether över and under are differentially influenced by function than ovanför and nedanför, as has been shown for their English cognates. It also investigates how the shape and parts of the related objects influence their functional interaction, and thereby the acceptability of the prepositions. This is done with respect to the predictions of the AVS-model, a model of the perceptual processes underlying the apprehension of projectives, which takes both the geometric and the functional relation between objects into account. It was found that acceptability judgments about the prepositions are influenced by function as their corresponding English and Spanish prepositions. The acceptability of över was more sensitive to function than ovanför, whereas under and nedanför were not differentially influenced by function, as has been shown for Spanish. It was further found that the shape and parts of both of the related objects influence acceptability regions associated with the prepositions in predictable ways, as functional interactions between objects largely depend on their parts. The results finally show that the AVS-model needs to be further developed in order to account for the form and function of the located object.     

Reasoning about Depth and Motion from an Observer's Viewpoint

ABSTRACT

The goal of this paper is to present a logic-based formalism for representing knowledge about objects in space and their movements, and show how this knowledge could be built up from the viewpoint of an observer immersed in a dynamic world. In this paper space is represented using functions that extract attributes of depth, size and distance from snapshots of the world. These attributes compose a novel spatial reasoning system named Depth Profile Calculus (DPC). Transitions between qualitative relations involving these attributes are represented by an extension of this calculus called Dynamic Depth Profile Calculus (DDPC). We argue that knowledge about objects in the world could be built up via a process of abduction on DDPC relations.     

Topologically Characterized Movement Patterns: A Cognitive Assessment

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the role of topology as a predictor for the conceptualization of dynamically changing spatial configurations (referred to as movement patterns). We define meaningful units of movement patterns as paths through a topologically defined conceptual neighborhood graph. Topology plays a central role in formal approaches to human cognition and in predicting cognitive similarity ratings—although primarily for static spatial configurations. Formal specifications of the role of topology for characterizing movement patterns do exist, yet there is paucity of behavioral validation. To bridge this gap, we conducted an experiment based on the grouping paradigm to assess factors that underlie conceptualizations of movement patterns. The experiment was designed such that paths through the conceptual neighborhood graph were distinguished by topologically differentiated ending relations. We believe topology can make an important contribution in explaining movement conceptualizations. One recently formulated topology-based contribution is the endpoint hypothesis, asserting that a cognitive focus is placed on event ending relations. We discuss the results of our experiment in relation to previous experiments targeted toward a framework for modeling the cognitive conceptualization of dynamically changing spatial relations.     

Spatial Vagueness and Second-Order

This paper presents a geometric characterization of geographic objects with vague boundaries. Since the framework is based on ordering geometry and does not rely on numerical concepts, it can be applied to qualitative spatial reasoning. The characterization describes vague regions and gradual transitions between two vague regions. This approach takes into account that the region of all points that definitely belong to an object is also vague, called higher-order vagueness. Higher-order vagueness is usually neglected by theories modeling spatial vagueness. The approach distinguishes firstand second-order vague regions and characterizes the gradual transitions of second-order vague regions. These gradual transitions allow transitions within transitions. In general, it is not possible to reduce higher-order vagueness to first-order vagueness. Using a spatial ordering structure the article shows when second-order vagueness is useful and examines the relationship between first- and second-order vagueness. An example shows how second-order vagueness can be used to represent geographic objects.     

The Influence of Landmarks and Pre-exposure to a Structural Map During the Process of Spatial Knowledge Acquisition: A Study with Children and Adults in a Virtual Environment

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effects of featural information (landmarks) and geometric information (pre-exposure to a structural map) and their possible interaction during the process of spatial knowledge acquisition of 8- and 11-year-old children and adults in a virtual environment. The study confirmed the well-known result of a developmental achievement in spatial cognition from childhood to adulthood. Although landmarks and the pre-exposure to a structural map did not affect the time to learn a specific route, they influenced the use of behavior in spatial learning and eased the acquisition of spatial knowledge measured by a route reversal and map-drawing tasks. Children and adults are able to integrate featural and geometric information in the spatial knowledge acquisition process in an environmental space, but their integration depends on the spatial processing stages that are investigated. Moreover, it was successfully demonstrated that the use of desktop virtual environments seems to be appropriate to investigate the development of spatial cognition.     

Function,geometry and spatial prepositions: Three experiments

In this paper the results of three experiments are reported whichaddress the issue of the relative extent to which functionalrelations versus geometric relations affect spatial language. Theexperiments examine the role of a discourse context on the useand rating of the preposition in to describe a visual scenewhere the constraint of spatial containment between figure(object located) and ground (reference object) does not hold. Allthree experiments demonstrate that in is used more andrated to be significantly more appropriate in a functionalcontext than in a no context condition. The implications of thesestudies for spatial language and spatial representation arediscussed.     

Mereological inheritance

In recent investigations of Spatial Reasoning, SpatialKnowledge Representation, and Geographic Information Systems, asignificant effort has been spent by many scholars of the areaabout the problem of representing properties of spatial objects bymeans of logical theories.An analogous effort has been the problem of analyzingthe qualitative relations which can be established between twospace regions. These investigations have led to a generalframework of the field known by the term ``mereo-topology'.Though both the above mentioned approaches have proved to besuccessful in the investigation of formal and practically relevantaspects of spatial objects, no attempt has been carried out in the direction of integrating the approaches and looking at the relationshipbetween a general logical theory of space and mereo-topology from an analytical point of view, in particular for exploiting thecombinatorial behaviour of such an integrated model.This paper intends to fill the gap and analyze the behaviour ofspatial formulae of a logical theory of space as objects which canbe classified based on the behaviour they exhibit with respect tothe parts and supertparts of the regions where they are true. Wename these categories of behaviourinheritance modalities.     

A study of people's sketching habits in GIS

Sketching is traditionally associated withdoodling simple strokes on a piece of paper.Only few professionals outside of design andthe fine arts have recognized the expressivepower of this intuitive modality. However,sketching seems particularly well suited tocapture objects and situations in a spatialenvironment, such as geographic space. To learnmore about the techniques and strategies peopleuse when sketching, a survey of sketching wasconducted. The study showed that paper andpencil sketches contain mostly simple andabstract objects that are composed of only fewstrokes. The spatial configuration of a sceneis primarily expressed through the topologicalordering of objects relative to each other.Metric relationships are used to refine spatialconfigurations. These and other findingssuggest that sketching is an appropriatemodality to interact with a computer where onewants to describe and capture objectconfigurations in a spatial environment, suchas a geographic information system (GIS).     

SketchMapia: Qualitative Representations for the Alignment of Sketch and Metric Maps

More and more private citizens collect and publish environmental data via web-based geographic information systems. These systems face two challenges: The user interface must be intuitive and the processing of geographic information must account for cognitive impact. We propose to use sketch maps as the medium for interaction, because they reflect a person's spatial knowledge. Information from sketch maps is distorted, schematized, incomplete, and generalized and metric maps are not. This article employs qualitative representations for the alignment of sketch and metric maps. We suggest a set of cognitively oriented aspects in sketch maps stably computed by people and evaluate qualitative representations to formalize these aspects. This allows us to align and integrate geographic information from sketch maps.     

Relation algebras over containers and surfaces: An ontological study of a room space

Recent research in geographic information systems hasbeen concerned with the construction of algebras tomake inferences about spatial relations by embeddingspatial relations within a space in which decisionsabout compositions are derived geometrically. Wepursue an alternative approach by studying spatialrelations and their inferences in a concrete spatialscenario, a room space that contains such manipulableobjects as a box, a ball, a table, a sheet of paper,and a pen. We derive from the observed spatialproperties an algebra related to the fundamentalspatial concepts of containers and surfaces and showthat this container-surface algebra holds allproperties of Tarski's relation algebra, except forthe associativity. The crispness of the compositionscan be refined by considering the relative size of theobjects) and their roles (i.e., whether it isexplicitly known that the objects are containers orsurfaces).     

Individual Differences in Object Localization in Virtual Environments

The present research examined the effects of disorientation on human ability to locate objects in space in a virtual environment (VE). Participants were asked to memorize the location of virtual objects, and then they were asked to indicate where the objects were located while they were inside a virtual chamber. This procedure was repeated in both eyesclosed and disoriented conditions. Subject pointing responses were used to measure memory for the relative location of objects in virtual space. This method was extended from previous research in a real-world setting. The results showed systematic individual differences in the effects of disorientation on the ability to locate objects in space. Further, the use of strategies played a role in object localization ability, but strategy use was affected by the individual differences in spatial representations used by subjects.     

On Embedding a Qualitative Representation in a Two-Dimensional Plane

Abstract

This paper discusses embedding in a two-dimensional plane a symbolic representation for spatial data using the simple objects, points (P), lines (L), circuits (C), and areas (A). We have proposed PLCA as a new framework for a qualitative spatial reasoning. In a PLCA expression, the entire figure is represented in a form in which all the objects are related. We investigate the conditions for two-dimensional realizability of a PLCA expression, and derive the relation that the numbers of objects in a PLCA expression should have. In this process, we use the well-known Euler's formula. We also give an algorithm for drawing the figure of the PLCA expression that satisfies this condition in a two-dimensional plane and prove its correctness. The algorithm generates a quantitative expression from qualitative expression.     

Revisiting Perspective-Taking: Can People Maintain Imagined Perspectives?

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted to examine whether people can adopt and maintain imagined perspectives in the absence of target information. The task used entailed providing information about an imagined perspective in advance of target information to examine whether this would facilitate perspective-taking performance and reduce or eliminate alignment effects that are commonly reported in the literature. The three experiments employed different types of spatial environments: an environment learned from navigating a computer screen (Experiment 1), and an immersive environment that was either remote (Experiment 2) or immediate (Experiment 3) at the time of retrieval. Across the three experiments, results showed that information about an imagined perspective can be utilized ahead of target information. Furthermore, they suggested that alignment effects can be reduced as a result of processing information about perspective ahead of target information, but only when reasoning about specific nonimmediate spatial relations (Experiments 1 and 2). Results are discussed in connection with previous findings on spatial updating and the organizational structure of spatial memory.     

Evidence for Amodal Representations after Bimodal Learning: Integration of Haptic-Visual Layouts into a Common Spatial Image

Abstract

Participants learned circular layouts of six objects presented haptically or visually, then indicated the direction from a start target to an end target of the same or different modality (intramodal versus intermodal). When objects from the two modalities were learned separately, superior performance for intramodal trials indicated a cost of switching between modalities. When a bimodal layout intermixing modalities was learned, intra- and intermodal trials did not differ reliably. These findings indicate that a spatial image, independent of input modality, can be formed when inputs are spatially and temporally congruent, but not when modalities are temporally segregated in learning.     

Is Route Learning More Than Serial Learning?

Abstract

The nature of route learning in terms of the memorizing of landmarks was investigated. In Experiment 1, participants memorized landmarks while being guided through a computer-simulated hallway (dynamic, with spatial context), or while viewing the landmarks one by one in front of a black background (static, without context). Two more conditions completed the 2 × 2 design. One condition preserved the dynamic landmark viewing properties (observers approached each object, passed it, turned to the next object, and so on), but the background was black (dynamic, without context). In the other condition the observer saw a stationary display of each object within a hallway, but did not approach the object (static, with context). Serial recall was much better after viewing the landmarks in the dynamic presentation format with spatial context than in the other conditions. Experiment 2 showed that the superior performance in the dynamic condition with context was abolished when all hallway segments were equally long. This implies that metric information is a component of route knowledge at a very early stage, which is incompatible with the dominant framework, but is compatible with the alternative framework for spatial microgenesis.