April 26, 2024 at 10:00 (MEZ - in-person)
Title: Menschenzentrierte industrielle Künstliche Intelligenz: Ansätze zur Gestaltung akzeptierter und vertrauenswürdiger KI-basierter Services in der Produktion
Speaker: Janika Kutz (PhD student; supervisor: Thomas Lachmann)
Abstract: Der Vortrag dient als Probe für die Verteidigung meiner Doktorarbeit und gibt Einblick in zentrale Ergebnisse der Arbeit: KI-Systeme versprechen ein hohes Potenzial für industrielle Unternehmen. Der erfolgreiche Einsatz ist jedoch mit diversen Herausforderungen verbunden. Eine Möglichkeit diesen Herausforderungen zu begegnen ist die Gestaltung menschenzentrierter KI-Systeme. Wie dies im industriellen Umfeld gelingen kann, soll in dem Vortrag zusammenfassen erläutert werden.
Location: RPTU - Campus Kaiserslautern, Building 6
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Zoom Link:
https://uni-kl-de.zoom-x.de/j/67565883647?pwd=NEpSdHN1eDNPbCtPU2RTRVdyZDFlZz09
May 03, 2024 at 10:00 (MEZ - in-person)
Title: Mental chronometry in the virtual world: How hand movements may paint the future of experimental psychology
Speaker: Omar Jubran (PhD student; supervisor: Thomas Lachmann)
Abstract: This work also demonstrates how preserving the legacy of prior well-established experimental paradigms in Virtual Reality (VR) is possible. The primary focus was exploring the utility of VR and continuous response tracking in psychological experiments. Continuous tracking elucidates the fine-grained dynamics of decision-making. Distributional methods, such as Survival analysis (SA) and my newly developed analysis method, Spatiotemporal Survival Analysis (StSA) served as the primary tool to analyze responses. This methodology sheds new light on classical paradigms and establishes a groundwork for future research aiming to unravel the complexities of cognitive processes in experimental contexts.
Location: RPTU - Campus Kaiserslautern, Building 6
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Zoom Link:
https://uni-kl-de.zoom-x.de/j/67565883647?pwd=NEpSdHN1eDNPbCtPU2RTRVdyZDFlZz09
June 07, 2024 at 10:00 (MEZ - in-person)
Title: Divergent and Convergent Thinking: Investigating underlying Neural Mechanisms and the Significance for Creativity and Intelligence
Speaker: Vera Ymann (PhD student; supervisor: Thomas Lachmann)
Abstract: The evolutionary advantage of humanity can be attributed mainly to two abilities: intelligence and creativity. While the first enables us to reason, solve problems, learn from experience, and think abstractly; the latter enables us to change our way of thinking and generate novel strategies for overcoming obstacles we face.
In the structure-of-intellect model (Guilford, 1967), divergent and convergent thinking are conceptualized as two distinct operations. Divergent thinking is defined as the production of a set of ideas in regard to a given problem, while convergent thinking encompasses deductive processes that lead to one single solution. Furthermore, prior research indicated that both processes rely on working memory and related cognitive control mechanisms. Introducing a new methodological approach, we conducted two EEG studies to investigate neuronal signatures and temporal dynamics of divergent and convergent thinking beyond their shared working memory-related activity in the visuo-spatial as well as the verbal knowledge domain. Furthermore, I present resulting theoretical considerations, that suggest that divergent and convergent thinking processes might be more accurately represented on a continuum rather than a dichotomy.
Location: RPTU - Campus Kaiserslautern, Building 6
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Zoom Link:
https://uni-kl-de.zoom-x.de/j/67565883647?pwd=NEpSdHN1eDNPbCtPU2RTRVdyZDFlZz09
June 14, 2024 at 10:00 (MEZ - in-person)
Title: The Virtual Experience – Examining Visual, Auditory and Haptic Capabilities and Aspects of Spatial
Cognition and User Experience in Virtual Reality
Speaker: Nils Beese (PhD student; supervisor: Thomas Lachmann)
Abstract: The dissertation investigates different modal aspects in Virtual Reality and how they affect spatial cognition and UX in VR. VR makes it possible to examine things that would not be possible in the real world or would need a massive amount of effort to be examined in the real world. The first part of the dissertation takes a closer look on the visual aspects of orientation in buildings by varying different factors of the visual experience like landmarks and textures. The second part examines how auditory and vibrotactile feedback can affect performance in the search of invisible objects. The third part takes a closer look on designing a useable VR app with data gloves, used for learning and teaching in manual medicine, a haptic heavy environment. The talk will focus on the studies and results of part two and three.
Location: RPTU - Campus Kaiserslautern, Building 6
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Zoom Link:
https://uni-kl-de.zoom-x.de/j/67565883647?pwd=NEpSdHN1eDNPbCtPU2RTRVdyZDFlZz09
June 21, 2024 at 10:00 (MEZ - in-person)
Title: Majority English of heritage speakers
Speaker: Tatiana Pashkova (PhD student; supervisor: Shanley Allen)
Abstract: This dissertation focuses on heritage speakers - bilinguals who grow up speaking two languages: the language of their family, or the heritage language, and the main language of the larger society, or the majority language. We examine the majority language English of German, Greek, Russian and Turkish HSs in the USA and compare it to the English of monolingually-raised English speakers. The main conclusions are that heritage speakers exhibit a significant number of similarities in their majority English compared to monolingually-raised English speakers. The few observed differences do not point to qualitative shifts in the use of English by heritage speakers, but rather to slight quantitative dissimilarities in the frequencies of selected phenomena across registers. Overall, we concluded that heritage language maintenance did not have long-term negative consequences for the majority language of heritage speakers in our sample.
Location: RPTU - Campus Kaiserslautern, Building 6
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Zoom Link:
https://uni-kl-de.zoom-x.de/j/67565883647?pwd=NEpSdHN1eDNPbCtPU2RTRVdyZDFlZz09
June 28, 2024 at 10:00 (MEZ - in-person)
Title: On the distribution of long nominal compounds
Speaker: John Gamboa (PhD student; supervisor: Shanley Allen & Maria Klatte)
Abstract: Long nominal compounds (e.g., "pharmaceutical market size increase" or "brain cell damage area") are a common fixture of scientific papers, so commonly present in the register that they have been called its "main carrier of information". In this presentation, I will discuss the findings of a corpus analysis I worked on, covering articles from Biology, Linguistics and Economics. I will also discuss the results of two other experiments in which we analyzed how the context preceding a compound influenced the difficulty participants experienced when reading it.
Location: RPTU - Campus Kaiserslautern, Building 6
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Zoom Link:
https://uni-kl-de.zoom-x.de/j/67565883647?pwd=NEpSdHN1eDNPbCtPU2RTRVdyZDFlZz09
July 05, 2024 at 10:00 - (MEZ - in-person)
Workshop - Building 57 Room 315
Title: - The Utopian Approach Contribution to the Development of Critical Thinking in Adult Education
Speaker: Dr. Nikola Koruga (University of Belgrade; invited by Aleksandar Bulajic)
Abstract: We are pleased to invite you to an engaging lecture and interactive workshop exploring the utopian approach in adult education and its impact on developing critical thinking skills. This event will provide valuable insights based on recent mixmethod experimental doctoral research and its practical applications. In this study, the utopian approach in adult education draws from the concepts of utopian pedagogy (Lewis, 2010), critical pedagogy (Freire, 2018; Shor, 1977), and critical thinking aimed at revealing hegemonic assumptions (Brookfield, 2017). Using a pre-post test experimental design with both experimental and active control groups, the study investigates the impact of utopian approach on adults' critical thinking development over a four-week educational intervention. The study using the Cornell Critical Thinking Test (version Z), the Scale of Critical Thinking Dispositions (SENCTDS), and qualitative scenarios for self-efficacy assessments. Mixed ANOVA and thematic content analysis were used for data analysis. One of the key findings indicatde that the educational intervention significantly impacted the experimental group's critical thinking dispositions, which was absent in the control group. Qualitative data supported the quantitative results, highlighting themes of critical thinking dispositions improvement within the experimental group. Finally, the intervention proved effective for enhancing critical thinking dispositions in the experimental group, though the effect size was insufficient for significant differences between groups in critical thinking skills. Besides presentation and discussion about reserach design and results. The participants will have a chance to tryout some of the activities from educational intervention dedicated to application of the utopian approach in adult eudcation.
About Nikola Koruga:
Nikola Koruga, PhD is an accomplished educator and researcher specializing in andragogy and innovative learning methods, boasts over a decade of professional experience. His doctoral research focuses on innovative learning approaches, incorporating utopian imagination and critical thinking methods in adult education. With prior practical experience as an eLearning developer in the business sector, Nikola's expertise complements academic career. As a Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, he has honed his teaching skills, while his role as an Executive Board Member at CEDEUM underscores his proficiency in arts education and application of innovative teaching approaches. Additionally, Nikola leads a project on digital transition in adult education for the Serbian Association of Andragogists, demonstrating his capacity for managing interdisciplinary learning processes within professional communities. Nikola has published research articles on various topics including community theater, democratic participatory practices, utopian communities, eLearning, and adult learning's societal role in reputable journals and conference proceedings.
Location: RPTU - Campus Kaiserslautern, Building 57 Room 315 - 10am.
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Zoom Link:
https://uni-kl-de.zoom-x.de/j/67565883647?pwd=NEpSdHN1eDNPbCtPU2RTRVdyZDFlZz09
July 12, 2024 at 10:00 (MEZ - in-person)
Title: The effectiveness of creativity-based strategies in enhancing Declarative Memories
Speaker: Khaoula Ennahli (Instituto Universitário de Lisboa - invited by Ann-Kathrin Beck)
Abstract: This project validates, implements, and evaluates a creativity-based training program to stimulate and enhance declarative memory (DM) function in healthy-aging individuals. The project rests on the assumption that creative activities might prevent expected memory decline through the activation of a preserved neural alternative route (Default Node Network). Studies investigating the effectiveness of creativity-based activities in improving declarative memory are scarce and yield inconsistent results, particularly in healthy-aging populations. We will a) review, identify, select, b) adapt, and validate the most effective creativity-based strategies described in the literature, c) explore their behavioral and neural correlates, d) implement and systematically assess the effectiveness of creativity-based strategies in a naturalistic context, and determine their feasibility. Expected outputs include scientific contributions, knowledge transfer, and, crucially, improved cognitive health, well-being, and autonomy of the program’s beneficiaries.
Location: RPTU - Campus Kaiserslautern, Building 6
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Zoom Link:
https://uni-kl-de.zoom-x.de/j/67565883647?pwd=NEpSdHN1eDNPbCtPU2RTRVdyZDFlZz09
July 19, 2024 at 10:00 (MEZ - in-person)
Title: Adaptive Rewiring as a General Principle for Network Self-OrganizationAdaptive Rewiring as a General Principle for Network Self-Organization
Speaker: Jia Li (KU Leuven; invited by Thomas Lachmann)
Abstract: The brain can be conceptualized as networks of neural units operating at various scales and modalities. Traditional models of these networks are typically static once constructed. However, the brain continuously changes and self-organizes without external instructions. The question is how the brain regulates itself. We propose adaptive rewiring as a fundamental principle by which neural networks self-organize. In its latest version, adaptive rewiring creates convergent-divergent units, which support context-sensitivity, in directed networks. I will present two studies demonstrating the synergistic effects of adaptive rewiring combined with other forms of neural plasticity. Additionally, I will discuss the potential applications of adaptive rewiring.
Location: RPTU - Campus Kaiserslautern, Building 6
OR
Zoom Link:
https://uni-kl-de.zoom-x.de/j/67565883647?pwd=NEpSdHN1eDNPbCtPU2RTRVdyZDFlZz09