Higher Perception Research Articles

Stimulating Diffusion Model for Image Denoising via Adaptive Embedding and Ensembling.

Image denoising is a fundamental problem in computational photography, where achieving high perception with low distortion is highly demanding. Current methods either struggle with perceptual quality or suffer from significant distortion. Recently, the emerging diffusion model has achieved state-of-the-art performance in various tasks and demonstrates great potential for image denoising. However, stimulating diffusion models for image denoising is not straightforward and requires solving several critical problems. For one thing, the input inconsistency hinders the connection between diffusion models and image denoising. For another, the content inconsistency between the generated image and the desired denoised image introduces distortion. To tackle these problems, we present a novel strategy called the Diffusion Model for Image Denoising (DMID) by understanding and rethinking the diffusion model from a denoising perspective. Our DMID strategy includes an adaptive embedding method that embeds the noisy image into a pre-trained unconditional diffusion model and an adaptive ensembling method that reduces distortion in the denoised image. Our DMID strategy achieves state-of-the-art performance on both distortion-based and perception-based metrics, for both Gaussian and real-world image denoising.

Malian Farmers’ Perception of Sustainable Agriculture: A Case of Southern Mali Farmers

This study was conducted in the Klela district, Sikasso region of Mali, and aimed to evaluate farmers’ perceptions regarding sustainable agriculture while identifying key factors that influenced these perspectives. Using a face-to-face survey with 110 randomly selected farmers, a comprehensive 19-item scale was employed to measure the perception levels of sustainable agricultural practices, scored on a 5-point Likert scale. The analysis highlighted a spectrum of perception levels among participants: 12.7% exhibited the lowest perception, 38.2% had a low perception, 31.8% had a medium perception, and only 17.3% had a high perception. Notably, a majority (50.96%) held perceptions below the average level. Through multiple regression analysis, several factors were identified as influential in shaping these perceptions. Family involvement in farming and weekly working days were negatively associated, whereas daily working hours and household size demonstrated a positive correlation. Additionally, the sources of information regarding sustainable agriculture significantly impacted farmers’ perception levels, as indicated by the chi-square test results. The research underscores the necessity for targeted extension programs designed to augment farmers’ understanding of sustainable agriculture, aiming to translate these perceptions into attitudes and practical actions effectively. This study contributes valuable insights, emphasizing the significance of tailored interventions geared toward enhancing sustainable agricultural practices among farmers in Mali, with the potential to positively influence their agricultural behaviors.

Informant discrepancy profiles of helicopter parenting and adult children's partner-controlling and partner-controlled behaviors.

Helicopter parenting is a distinctive, intrusive parenting approach characterized by high involvement, elements of control, and limited autonomy granted. It may impact adult children's engagement in partner-controlling and partner-controlled behaviors. However, little research has assessed the patterns of parent-child perception differences regarding helicopter parenting and their connections to these behaviors. This study aimed to identify profiles of informant discrepancies regarding helicopter parenting within Chinese families and explore their associations with adult children's partner-controlling and partner-controlled behaviors. Matched data from fathers, mothers, and adult children in one hundred and ninety-six intact families were included. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted, identifying four profiles: parents over child (13.78%), child moderately over mother and moderately under father (17.35%), no consistent disagreements (49.49%), and child over parents (19.39%). Children whose perceptions aligned with their parents reported fewer partner-controlling and partner-controlled behaviors, compared to those whose perceptions exceeded their parents'. Similarly, children whose perceptions were lower than their parents' also reported fewer partner-controlled behaviors compared to those with higher perceptions. The findings provide evidence for understanding dynamic patterns of informant discrepancies regarding helicopter parenting in Chinese families and support the development of family-based interventions to address partner-controlling and partner-controlled behaviors.

Are Climate Change Strategies Effective in Managing Urban Water Resources? The Case of Portugal

This study examines the relationship between climate mitigation, adaptation strategies, and water management practices in Portugal from 2015 to 2021. Utilizing climate and water resource data from 2015 to 2021, including meteorological data (emperature, rainfall), wastewater treatment volumes, and energy efficiency metrics, the data are sourced from national agencies such as IPMA, ERSAR, APA, and Eurostat. The methodology employs correlation analysis to assess the relationships between climate variables (e.g., temperature, rainfall) and water resource indicators (e.g., reclaimed wastewater, energy efficiency). Despite notable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improvements in wastewater treatment efficiency, water resource stability remains a complex issue, particularly with regional disparities such as severe droughts in the Algarve. Additionally, the study evaluates the effectiveness of rainwater harvesting systems, reclaimed wastewater, and infiltration facilities, revealing a decline in reclaimed wastewater efficiency despite increased wastewater treatment. Rainwater harvesting systems (RWHSs) offer resilience, but their broader adoption is hindered by high costs and public perception challenges. Key recommendations include the development of resilient infrastructure, enhanced support for reclaimed water use, and increased investment in research to address water management challenges amid climate variability.

Do attitudes toward air pollution influence climate change perception? Evidence from online customers in China

Abstract The perception of climate change as an abstract and distant concept hinders climate action. Previous studies suggest that individuals may conflate climate change and local air pollution due to misconceptions, as these environmental issues share similar emission sources and mitigation strategies. However, it remains uncertain whether leveraging the public’s high perception of air pollution can lead to increased climate change awareness and supportive behaviors. In this study, we surveyed 1236 Chinese online customers to explore the influence of air pollution perception on climate change perception and willingness to pay (WTP) for supporting climate actions. Structural equation modeling results revealed that higher air pollution perception, which is connected to an individual’s living environment and health status, is significantly associated with higher climate change perception. Despite this link, higher climate change perception does not necessarily translate to higher WTP for climate actions. However, air pollution perception can indirectly increase WTP for climate actions by fostering avoidance behavior intentions. For practical implications, our findings suggest that an emphasis on the co-benefits of climate change mitigation efforts for improving air quality may help lead to greater policy support and understanding. Additionally, promoting individual behavioral changes requires connecting these issues to personal experiences and highlighting tangible benefits such as improved health and well-being.

Adaptive capacity of homeowners in Ghana to improve technical and social flood resilience

Increasing flood resilience involves the implementation of structural and non-structural measures by homeowners to comprehend adaptive capacity to the impacts to flood events. Analyzing homeowners’ technical and social capacity creates more knowledge and helps to understand how prepared a system is and what specific actions should be taken. This is the basis for recommending appropriate adaptation measures and increasing resilience. The study identifies homeowners’ social and technical capacity aspects in Ghana, West Africa, to effectively improve their resilience. Ghana is particularly vulnerable to flooding, and its flood risk management (FRM) strategy is gradually evolving to encompass a greater role for homeowners. To gain insight into the factors influencing homeowners' capacity to implement measures, a quantitative research design comprising a household survey was employed in three study areas (Accra, Kumasi, and White Volta) with 1,168 participating homeowners. The results offered insights into the high risk perception and respondents’ motivation, the significant challenges they face in coping with flood events, their limited knowledge of effective measures, and the heterogeneous implementation barriers and support needs across the region. Based on these findings, this paper outlines the practical implications, actionable steps, and sustainable strategies that can be employed with the FLOODLABELGHANA tool for resilience improvement.

Small Farmer’s Perceptions of Climate Change and Adoption of Climate-Smart Practices: Evidence from Missouri, USA

Using survey data of Missouri small producers in 2022, this paper explores their perceptions of climate change and factors affecting their adoption of climate-smart practices. A synthesized climate change perception (CCP) index is developed to assess the effects of cognition and social demographics of producers on climate-smart practices (CSPs) adoption. The results show that 86.0% of participants have relatively high perceptions of climate change, and 82.0% have adopted at least one climate-smart practice; the higher the climate change perception index, the more likely the producers will adopt climate-smart practices. The findings encourage education on knowledge related to climate change, the relationship between climate change and agriculture, and how CSPs can reduce climate change. Specifically, we find specialty crop producers are more likely to adopt CSPs than other producers; and a one-unit increase in the CCP index can increase the CSP adoption rate by 4.61% for livestock producers and 2.61% for organic producers, suggesting relevant education programs can be tailored to the needs of livestock and organic farmers to improve their adoption rates of CPSs. Further, more resources are needed to support the farmers who reside in severely climate change – impacted areas for their sustainable production and climate sustainability.

Big Data Analysis on Consumer Perception of Pressure Injuries: Text Mining and Semantic Network Analysis

Background: With the ultimate goal of developing chatbot content to address consumer inquiries about pressure injuries (PIs), this study analyzed consumer perceptions of PI using big data.Methods: This study collected text data, with PI as the central word, from three search engines (Naver, Daum, Google) from January 2019 through December 2022, using Textom version 4.5. The words were refined through text mining, keyword analysis, and TF-IDF (term frequency-inverse document frequency) analysis. N-gram analysis and centrality visualization were conducted using Ucinet 6.0. The keywords and frequencies were clustered based on the frequency of words used in CONCOR (convergence of iteration correlation) analysis.Results: Consumers for PI showed a high perception of common sites for PI, concept of PI, healthcare facility for PI, PI products, PI care, PI-related life, and PI-related disease.Conclusion: Development of chatbot content customized to consumers’ needs, based on seven clusters associated with consumers’ perception of PI obtained through extensive data analysis with PI as the central word, is expected to make a significant contribution to improving consumers’ understanding of PI and enhancing the quality of PI management.

Multimodal flexible electronic skin with adjustable module size for robot collision detection

Purpose This paper aims to present a modular multimodal flexible electronic skin that can be used for robot collision detection in human–robot interactions. This type of electronic skin will meet the requirements of performance indicators such as sensing mode, sensing domain coverage and dynamic data update rate in human–robot interactions. Design/methodology/approach The electronic skin uses a modular architecture, and the sensing module is designed to be adjustable in size so that it can be easily deployed on complex robot surfaces, increasing area coverage, reducing power consumption, and improving data update rates. Findings The authors evaluated electronic skin through experiments using a UR5 robot. Electronic skin has high static scene perception differentiation and dynamic scene perception abilities. Moreover, the robot realizes a high-speed collision response based on the electronic skin proposed in this study. Originality/value The proposed electronic skin provides crucial technical support for advancing robotic technologies, and holds promising prospects for industrial applications.

A multi‐path residual network for image denoising based on edge prior information

AbstractEdge‐preserving denoising is important in image analysis. However, most existing methods suffer from smoothing and loss of high frequency detail at the edges. Aiming at this issue, a multi‐path residual network using edge prior information is proposed. Specifically, the edge is first recovered by a newly designed parallel edge extraction module. Then it is used as a priori to generate affine transform parameters to guide the weight distribution between noise and edge, so that the shallow feature extraction pays more attention to preserving edges. In the deep feature extraction stage, a multi‐scale attention unit is designed to provide the spatial neighbourhood information of the feature points to filter and activate the deep features, which further enhances the ability of the network to extract fine‐grained noisy features. Finally, by taking the difference between the noisy image and the noise feature obtained with residual learning, the denoised image is produced. Extensive experiments show that the PSNR is improved by 0.00–0.78 dB on grey image denoising and 0.00–2.69 dB on colour image denoising compared with others. The denoised image has a better ability to preserve image edges, high frequency details and visual perception.

Haptic artificial muscle skin for extended reality.

Existing haptic actuators are often rigid and limited in their ability to replicate real-world tactile sensations. We present a wearable haptic artificial muscle skin (HAMS) based on fully soft, millimeter-scale, multilayer dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) capable of significant out-of-plane deformation, a capability that typically requires rigid or liquid biasing. The DEAs use a thickness-varying multilayer structure to achieve large out-of-plane displacement and force, maintaining comfort and wearability. Experimental results demonstrate that HAMS can produce complex tactile feedback with high perception accuracy. Moreover, we show that HAMS can be integrated into extended reality (XR) systems, enhancing immersion and offering potential applications in entertainment, education, and assistive technologies.

Investigation of Candidate Teachers' Early Teacher Identity with Public Personnel Selection Examination Anxiety Levels

In this research aims to examine the candidate teacher's identity with Public Personnel Selection Examination (PPSE) anxiety levels. The research included 302 candidate physical education teachers (140 female and 162 male) aged between 21 and 28 (23.95±1.54). “Personal Information Form,” “Early Teacher Identity Scale (ETIS),” and “Public Personnel Selection Examination Anxiety Level Scale (PPSEALS)” were used as data collection tools in the research. According to the data obtained from the research, there was no significant correlation between the candidate teachers' PPSEALS scores and the ETIS scores. A significant difference existed between candidate teachers' grade levels with PPSEALS scores and ETIS scores. Compared to 3rd-grade and graduate students, 4th-grade students scored higher on the PPSEALS and ETIS. Although there was a significant difference between PPSEALS scores according to gender, there was no significant difference in terms of ETIS scores. According to this, women have higher PPSEALS scores compared to men. According to academic achievement status, no significant difference was found between the scores of PPSEALS and ETIS. The results obtained from the research revealed that candidate teachers have PPSE anxiety at a medium level and teacher Identity perception at a high level. As a result, it can be said that 4th-grade students' high perception of teacher identity leads to higher levels of test anxiety.

Growing green: Exploring the drivers of citizens’ participation in Italian urban and peri-urban forestation governance

Urban and peri-urban forests (UPUFs) are essential components of urban landscapes that offer multiple benefits to local communities, above all to those who live in large cities. This realization has fueled the interest of the scientific community in understanding citizens’ attitudes and perceptions towards UPUFs, focusing on the diverse ecosystem services they provide in social and environmental terms. However, less attention has been paid to the citizens’ perceptions and attitudes about UPUFs in relation to their willingness to participate in their governance. This quantitative study aims to address this gap by identifying the main factors that affect citizens’ participation in UPUFs governance. Conducted in large Italian Metropolitan Functional Urban Areas, composed of a city and its commuting zone, with a population above 500,000 inhabitants, this study provides valuable insights into citizens’ willingness to participate in UPUFs governance. Results indicate that citizens' socio-demographic factors (especially education, age, and income) and the frequency of visits impact their perception of UPUFs. High positive perceptions of environmental quality and low perceptions of the negative impact of UPUFs promote active participation in governance, especially among young citizens with heightened green space sensitivity, among those dissatisfied with current green space management and those advocating for effective communication campaigns. These findings can provide a practicable scientific reference for municipalities to refine their corresponding decision-making and communication, and to devise effective urban forest programs.

Psychological Factors Influencing Consumer Purchases in the Sports Goods Market: Insights and Strategies

With the improvement of people's health awareness and the popularity of sports activities, the sports goods market has expanded rapidly. It is of great significance for merchants to develop effective marketing strategies to understand the influence of consumer psychology on sports merchandise sales. The purpose of this study is to explore the psychological factors that affect consumers' purchase of sports goods, including brand cognition, social influence, personal values and consumption experience, and analyze how these factors affect consumers' purchase decisions. By searching the relevant data in the past five years, the impact of different dimensions on consumers can be judged. It is found that brand cognition and social influence are important psychological factors for consumers to buy sports goods. Specifically, high brand perception significantly increases consumers' willingness to buy, while social impact is particularly important, especially among younger consumers. In addition, the individual's personal values are also positively correlated with the purchase behavior, which can promote consumers' loyalty to sports goods and repeat purchase intention. This study shows that understanding consumer psychology is crucial to improving sports merchandise sales. Merchants should pay attention to the shaping of brand image and the construction of social influence, and meet the psychological needs of consumers through accurate market positioning and marketing strategies, so as to enhance the purchase intention and brand loyalty of consumers. This provides empirical support and theoretical guidance for the marketing of sports goods.

Risk communication and public response to potential radiation emergencies in New York City.

Public knowledge and awareness about radiation (both natural and manmade) tend to be low, while perceived risk of radiation tends to be high. High perceptions of risk associated with radiation have been linked to the affect heuristic and general feelings of dread, which are often not proportionate to actual risk. For example, studies routinely show that members of the public rate the risk of radiation from nuclear power plants as significantly higher (and riskier) than radiation from medical X-rays. This disconnect can have implications for adoption of protective actions during a potential radiation emergency and the perceived efficacy of these actions. This study explores how risk communication efforts influence public risk perceptions, intended protective action, and perceived efficacy of those actions. Using unique data from a survey of New York City adults, we analyze how information provision using different formats-no information, an infographic, an informational video-impact perceptions and response to a hypothetical radiation emergency. We hypothesize that respondents who receive some information, either through the infographic or the video, will have higher perceived efficacy and are more likely to take protective action. Findings suggest that providing information about what to do during a radiation emergency has a statistically significant impact on both perceived efficacy and adoption of protective action. Respondents who saw the informational video were most likely to say that they would take the correct protective actions and had the highest perceived efficacy, followed by those who saw the infographic.

Adherence Patterns and Health Outcomes in Spanish Young Women Participating in a Virtual-Guided HIIT Program: Insights from the Randomized Controlled WISE Trial

Background/Objectives. A notable decline in physical activity from late adolescence to early adulthood affects young women especially. This study aimed to investigate adherence to an unsupervised virtual-guided high-intensity interval training (HIIT) exercise program among young women in Spain. Methods. A total of 106 participants were recruited and randomized to the Women’s Involvement in Steady Exercise (WISE) trial exercise program, administered remotely via a mobile app, and a control group. The primary outcome was adherence measured through daily steps. Secondary variables were patient-reported outcomes of physical activity, quality of sleep, and quality of life, assessed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Health Lifestyle and Personal Control Questionnaire (HLPCQ), respectively. The assessments were performed over 6 months, before the intervention (T0), at the halfway of the program (T1), and at the end (T2). Results. Daily steps revealed a decrease from baseline to final assessment in both groups. Secondary outcomes indicated a shift in physical activity levels, showing a transition from low to moderate and high activity perception. While sleep quality deteriorated post-intervention, quality of life showed no changes. Conclusions. The WISE trial highlights the potential and challenges of an unsupervised virtual-guided HIIT program for young women. While an improvement in physical activity levels was noticed, it also led to a decrease in daily steps and poorer sleep quality. These findings suggest a complex relationship between exercise and lifestyle factors, which could potentially have the greatest impact.

Knowledge and Perception Towards Psychotropic Drugs Among the General Population in Saudi Arabia.

Mental health is crucial to overall well-being. Despite an increase in mental disorders over the past few decades, public awareness remains slow-growing, and stigmatization towards psychotropic medications persists. Therefore, this study aimed to identify knowledge and perceptions of psychotropic drugs among the general population in the Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adults aged 18 years old and older, living in the Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia, from 1 January to 30 April 2024. Descriptive statistics were used to describe participants' characteristics, and categorical variables were reported as frequencies and percentages. A Chi-square test was used to examine the relationships between variables. A total of 717 participants were involved in the study: (52%) were from Jeddah, (25.9%) were from Taif, and (22%) were from Makkah. The mean age was 33.9 years, and 67.1% were females. Among the participants, (20.8%) had experienced a psychiatric illness, (41.7%) had a member of the family who suffered from a psychiatric illness, (39.5%) had a family member who used a psychiatric drug, and only 25 (7%) had a child suffering from a psychiatric illness. Specifically, 20.8% of those with a psychiatric illness demonstrated good knowledge (P=0.001), 16.1% of those with a family history of psychiatric illness had good knowledge (P=0.007), 16.3% with family use of psychiatric drugs had good knowledge (P=0.006), and 24.5% of those who used psychiatric drugs had high knowledge (P=0.001). Overall, (40.6%) of participants had a low level of knowledge and perception about psychotropic drugs, (47.8%) had a moderate knowledge and perception level, and only (11.6%) had high knowledge and perception. Psychological well-being is crucial for health, but misconceptions persist, acting as barriers that impede people from seeking and accepting necessary psychiatric care. The findings highlight the need for targeted public education and healthcare professional training to improve Confirmed understanding and reduce stigma around psychotropic drugs in Saudi Arabia. A multifaceted approach involving policy development, community outreach, and ongoing research is essential for enhancing mental health outcomes and treatment accessibility.

Holo-Stroke: Assessing for Immersive Stroke Care Through Stroke Hologram Teleportation.

Background: Augmented reality enables the wearer to see both their physical environment and virtual objects. Holograms could allow 3D video of providers to be transmitted to distant sites, allowing patients to interact with virtual providers as if they are in the same physical space. Our aim was to determine if Tele-Stroke augmented with Holo-Stroke, compared with Tele-Stroke alone, could improve satisfaction and perception of immersion for the patient. Methods: Kinect cameras positioned at 90-degree intervals around the hub practitioner were used. Cameras streamed real-time optical video to a unity point-cloud program where the data were stitched together in a 360-degree view. The resultant hologram was positioned in 3D space and was visible through the head-mounted display by the patient. Radiology images were shared in Tele-Stroke and via hologram. Likert satisfaction questions were administered. Wilcoxon signed-rank testing was used. Results: Each of the 30 neurology clinic participants scored both Tele-Stroke and Holo-Stroke. Out of these, 29 patients completed the assessments (1 failure owing to computer reboot). Average age was 52 years, with 53.3% of the patients being female, 70.0% being White, and 13.3% being Hispanic. Likert scale score median "Overall" was 32 Tele-Stroke versus 48 Holo-Stroke (p < 0.00001), "Immersion" was 5 versus 10 (p < 0.00001), "Beneficial Technique" was 6 versus 10 (p < 0.00001), and "Ability to See Images" was 5 versus 10 (p < 0.00001). Discussion: Holo-Stroke 3D holographic Tele-Stroke exams resulted in feasibility, satisfaction, and high perception of immersion for the patient. Patients were enthusiastic for the more immersive, personal discussion with their provider and a robust way to experience radiology images. Though further assessments are needed, Holo-Stroke can help the provider "be there, not just see there!"

Analysis of Biological Stress Response as the Impact of Workplace Bullying on Performance Perception

This study aims to determine the extent to which workplace bullying is related to employees' performance perception at health centers and its impact on biological stress. The research was conducted on all employees at eight health centers in Regency X, randomly selected. Workplace bullying was measured using the Negative Acts Questionnaire Revised (NAQ-R), translated into Indonesian. Performance perception was measured using the Performance Perception Questionnaire. Biological stress was assessed through cortisol levels in saliva. Among the 240 participants, the majority (60%) rarely experienced workplace bullying, with an average score of 41.00 (SD=6.532). Most participants (67.1%) had a high perception of performance, with an average score of 67.12 (SD=9.747). Pearson's test results showed a value of 0.038 with a coefficient of -0.207, indicating a significant correlation between workplace bullying and performance perception. The findings also indicate that biological stress levels, measured through cortisol, correlate with lower performance perceptions. Workplace bullying contributes 4.285% to performance perception. This study provides preliminary evidence that workplace bullying can affect employee performance through biological stress mechanisms, highlighting the importance of interventions to reduce workplace bullying to improve employee well-being and performance

Secondary School Teachers Perception of Using ICT in the Classroom

This study explores secondary school teachers' perceptions of using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as an instructional tool in schools across Uttar Pradesh, focusing on variations by stream, gender, and school management type. It also examines the availability of ICT resources and challenges faced by teachers in integrating these tools. Despite significant differences in ICT facilities among school types, teachers' perceptions of ICT do not vary significantly by gender, stream, or management type. Most teachers, regardless of these factors, view ICT as highly important for education. However, challenges such as hardware issues, lack of technical support, and inadequate training hinder effective ICT use. Notably, even teachers who don't actively use ICT in classrooms still have a high perception of its value, influenced by personal use and external exposure. The study employed a mixed-method approach, analyzing data through ANOVA and Chi-square tests, and highlights the potential for fostering learner centered environments given the generally positive teacher attitudes toward ICT.