Playing with spatial toys is associated with increased spatial skills, which are important for success in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Past research on spatial play has focused on physical toys, but digital games that require spatial thinking are increasingly popular, with limited research examining how children and their parents engage with them. The present study aimed to address these gaps by examining how play context impacts mothers' and children's spatial talk and mothers' use of scaffolding behavior, specifically question-asking. Mother-child dyads (N = 60, M = 71.3 months, SD = 7.4 months, 30 female) coplayed with digital spatial games and matched physical toys across two sessions. The digital games included tangram puzzles (Dragon Shapes app) and block-building (Minecraft app), and physical toys were designed to match the digital games. During digital play compared to physical play, mothers and children spoke fewer spatial words, used different spatial language types, and mothers asked fewer questions, including pedagogical questions that aim to promote learning. Further analyses examined the dimensionality of the activities and children's prior play experiences. In an increasingly digital world, it is important to understand how spatial play, whether in physical or digital form, impacts children's spatial development. By demonstrating how mothers and children change their behavior between digital and physical play, this study adds to the growing research on how parents can support their children's engagement with and learning from digital technology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Connecting the semantic reasoning of vision-language models (VLMs) to the precise geometric demands of robotic manipulation remains a fundamental challenge. Although VLMs can interpret high-level commands, they lack the intrinsic spatial intelligence required for tasks demanding precise object placement, orientation, and physical reasoning. Here, we introduce Retrieval-Augmented Manipulation (RAM), an object-centric framework that endows general-purpose vision foundation models with the spatial reasoning necessary for robust manipulation. RAM bridges the semantic-to-geometric gap by grounding abstract concepts into an explicit, object-centric three-dimensional (3D) representation. This grounded information is then provided as augmented context to the VLM, empowering it to decompose complex instructions into a sequence of spatially precise and physically plausible subgoals. We demonstrate that RAM, in a zero-shot setting on a real-world robot, can execute these subgoals to fulfill complex spatial language instructions, complete spatially aware manipulation under the guidance of a single 2D image, and adaptively replan tasks by reasoning about physical constraints like object size and collisions. Quantitative evaluations on the Common Object in 3D (CO3D) dataset also validated that RAM's core vision module generalizes to previously unseen object categories and is robust to variations in shape and occlusions. By providing a structured bridge between semantic intent and geometric execution, RAM represents a critical step toward developing more physically intelligent and general-purpose robotic systems.

Children often use gestures to express concepts before expressing them in speech, particularly in domains rich in visual-spatial information. For example, spatial relations such as left-right are cognitively and linguistically challenging for children. Consequently, 8-year-olds struggle to convey these complex relations verbally, but they frequently rely on gestures to describe these spatial concepts informatively. This study builds on this prior work on the descriptions of left-right relations to investigate further (1) the differing functions of gestures (complementary or redundant) in relation to speech in both children and adults; (2) the change in semantic information conveyed in both of these types of gestures in childhood to adulthood, aiming to shed light on the interaction between spatial language and spatial cognitive development. Eight-year-old and adult monolingual Turkish speakers described pictures of objects in left-right spatial relations shown among a quartet of other types of spatial relations between these objects. Results demonstrated that when describing left-right relations between objects, children, compared to adults, provided more under-informative descriptions (i.e., using “side” instead of “left-right”) in speech but used complementary gestures to convey missing information multimodally. Adults already used informative spatial terms in speech and used gestures mostly redundantly. Moreover, children showed a preference for iconic gestures depicting the relative locations of objects over directional pointing gestures indicating single locations, especially when gestures complemented speech. In contrast, adults showed no reliable preference for either gesture type. These results indicate the significance of gestures as mechanisms of change, alongside speech, in spatial language and cognition, particularly in the context of describing cognitively complex left-right spatial relations between objects. • Children use complementary gestures to convey left–right spatial information that is under-specified in speech. • Adults rely primarily on informative spatial language, with gestures serving a mostly redundant role. • Development from childhood to adulthood involves a shift in both gesture function and semantic content in left–right descriptions.

Purpose This study investigates how design-led processes can cultivate teachers' spatial literacy and agency, enabling more pedagogically attuned school environments. It addresses the limited integration of teachers' lived spatial experience and professional identity in architectural design processes for education. The study is guided by the following research questions: (1) How can a design-led medium be conceived and developed to help teachers understand and articulate the relationship between pedagogy and physical space? (2) How can the application of this design-led medium engage teachers in developing spatial literacy and cultivating agency over their learning environments? Design/methodology/approach Employing a design-based research framework, this study introduces The Teacher's Rider, a three-phase participatory workshop that begins with teachers' pedagogical identity, guides them through a speculative, utopian learning landscape and concludes with visualizing spatial “must-haves” aligned with their educational values. The method uses intuitive, visual tools – such as a poster and guided reflection – to translate teachers' tacit pedagogical insights into spatial design language. Findings The results show that teachers can meaningfully articulate spatial affordances and constraints when supported through design-led reflection. The method helps surface spatial intuitions, stimulate reflective awareness and foster a shared design vocabulary between teachers and architects. Practical implications The method offers architects a replicable framework for eliciting tacit user needs and pedagogically grounded insights, strengthening participatory design processes and creating more contextually responsive and inclusive school environments. Originality/value By bridging the cultural and cognitive gap between education and architecture, The Teacher's Rider repositions teachers as interpretive agents in and co-authors of school design.

Video Question Answering (VideoQA) requires a deep understanding of dynamic video content, integrating spatial reasoning, temporal dependencies, and language comprehension. Existing methods often struggle with long or semantically complex videos due to the lack of question-guided keyframe weight adjustment and the absence of question-aligned cross-modal description generation. To address these challenges, we propose ETR (Event-centric Temporal Reasoning), an adaptive framework for VideoQA. ETR introduces three key mechanisms: (i) a hierarchical weight adjustment selector to identify questions requiring event-centric temporal reasoning; (ii) a T-Route that segments videos into semantically coherent events and dynamically adjusts keyframe weights with question intent; and (iii) a question-conditioned prompting strategy that focuses on key objects to generate textual prompts aligned with a question’s semantics. This hierarchical and adaptive design effectively balances visual and textual information, enhances temporal reasoning, and improves object-centric alignment. Experiments on two datasets demonstrate that ETR achieves competitive performance in fine question-aware VideoQA.

Geometry is the spatial language of the universe where pure logic meets the physical world. Creative thinking allows students to apply geometric principles to real-world challenges. Innovation in geometry is linked to spatial visualization. It allows students to bridge the gap between a formula and solving a complex, real-world problem. Innovative exploration in geometry builds a “gut feeling” for how objects interact in space. Bruner’s discovery model of teaching and learning is very fruitful in geometry because it shifts the focus from rote memorization of formulas to active, hands-on construction of knowledge, leading to a deeper understanding of spatial concepts. This learning approach when guided by an instructor allows students to explore, manipulate shapes, and identify properties themselves, fostering critical thinking, better retention and increased motivation. This model transforms the classroom from a place of “receiving information” to a laboratory of ideas. It also fosters resilience, allowing students to navigate, rather than fear, complex and unfamiliar geometric problem. The spiral curriculum and scaffolding technique in this model help students to handle higher level of cognitive demand revising topics and also facilitating a transition from visual, intuitive understanding to formal, deductive reasoning. The main objectives of this paper is why we follow Bruner’s guided discovery model for teaching-learning geometry at school level and how to implement it in a sophisticated and convenient way in teaching-learning geometry at school level as well as what will be the goal by using this model in modern time where complexity is increasing day to day. This paper is a conceptual/theoretical analysis that examines how Bruner’s Discovery Learning Theory can provide a transformative framework for geometry instruction at the secondary level.

This study explores spatial dynamics in the synoptic Gospels, focusing on how each synoptic Gospel author frames Jesus’s movements and the significance of ‘the house’, with particular attention to table fellowship with Levi as a narrative marker. While Luke depicts Jesus as a wandering teacher, Matthew anchors him in Capernaum, portraying his own house as a hub for ministry. Mark takes a middle approach, linking Jesus to the house of Simon and Andrew. Through both close and distant reading, this article examines how spatial language shapes theological perspectives on early Christian community structures and reveals the distinct narrative strategies that define each Gospel’s portrayal of Jesus.

ABSTRACT Introduction: As digital platforms increasingly mediate language learning, the challenge is no longer simply how to deliver content online but how to design environments that cultivate authentic multilingual practice. While multilingualism has long been linked to enhanced metalinguistic awareness and domain-general cognitive flexibility, the role of multimodal digital environments in fostering these outcomes remains underexplored. Purpose: Grounded in sociocognitive and multimodal interactionist perspectives, this study examines how a cross-device metaverse platform can support multilingual development through spatially organized, task-based, and avatar-mediated interaction. Specifically, it investigates whether multilingual engagement in language-zoned virtual spaces improves learners' communicative performance, affective engagement, and cognitive control compared to conventional instruction. Methodology: Using a quasi-experimental cluster-assigned pretest-posttest control group design, learners engaged in communicative scenarios across English, Filipino, and Mandarin within language-zoned virtual spaces that cued role-appropriate language use. Data were collected using performance-based role-play assessments (code-switching accuracy, communicative competence), oral fluency measures (WPM), motivation and anxiety questionnaires, and a Stroop interference task to assess cognitive flexibility. Findings: Compared to peers in a control condition, learners in the metaverse environment demonstrated significantly greater gains in code-switching accuracy, spoken fluency, motivational engagement, and cognitive control. Specifically, experimental participants showed improved context-appropriate language selection and reduced cross-language interference when shifting between English, Filipino, and Mandarin during task-based role-play scenarios. They also produced more fluent spoken output and demonstrated stronger communicative competence ratings in completing real-world interaction tasks. In addition, learners reported higher motivational engagement and cognitive results, further revealing improvements in inhibitory control and attentional regulation. Collectively, these outcomes suggest that spatially cued multilingual interaction in the metaverse supports integrated gains in linguistic performance and executive functioning. Originality/Value: This study provides empirical evidence that multilingual development is shaped not only by linguistic input but by how digital learning ecologies choreograph spatial, social, and multimodal cues into context-responsive language use. By operationalizing multilingual interaction through spatial language zoning, avatar-mediated tasks, and AI-supported multilingual dialogue, the study positions the metaverse as a semiotically rich pedagogical ecology that can simultaneously foster code-switching competence, oral fluency, motivational engagement, and domain-general executive control. The findings advance multimodal multilingual education theory by demonstrating how context-sensitive interaction design can generate co-emergent communicative, affective, and cognitive benefits in multilingual learners.

Early childhood education (ECE) teachers increasingly use social networks to advocate for their professional recognition through their political dialogues within these platforms. Yet, their strategies for gaining and being appreciated as legitimised professional signals a paradox. In deploying what Bakhtin terms authoritative discourse, language that demands acceptance as a dominant, hierarchical, profaned truth, teachers simultaneously constrain the dialogues of diverse professional voices. This paper employs a Bakhtinian dialogic methodology to examine ECE teachers’ social networking exchanges during the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, Australia (2020), with particular attention to how temporal and spatial contexts shape language strategies. The findings indicate that while teachers summoned authoritative discourse to advocate for their professionalism, this same discourse (un)intentionally silenced divergent perspectives, excluding certain ideas, invoking organisational impunity, and creating ‘us-them’ boundaries that limited professional agency. These insights signal how authoritative discourse operates as a double-edged sword in teachers’ political advocacy, simultaneously extending recognition while atrophying diverse exchanges necessary for robust professional and political dialogues.

Hospital interiors remained decisive sites where spatial form, materials, lighting, and acoustics structured everyday conduct, making the democratisation of design a timely concern for healthcare quality and dignity. The purpose of this study was to theorise and test a “democratisation design” logic that reconfigured disciplinary power into emancipatory spatial practice. A mixed qualitative design method was employed that combined literature synthesis, discourse analysis of briefs and standards, and comparative case studies of five contemporary hospitals to evaluate spatial layout, material language, adjustable lighting, and participatory navigation. How traditional interiors encoded hierarchy through radial zoning, cold hard finishes, uniform high-illuminance lighting, and voice-controlled soundscapes was investigated; these configurations produced routinised flows and asymmetric visibility. Decentralised layouts, nature-based materials, and circadian-tuneable lighting were established to rebalance perception and privacy while sustaining hygiene and throughput. Dialogic interfaces – open corridors, shared decision-making corners, and self-service information – were analysed and were found to reduce information asymmetry, improve perceived control, and increase trust and satisfaction. The findings were summarised as a four-part framework (movement, material, light, sound) showing where specific interventions reinforced or redistributed power across entry, waiting, and treatment zones; across five cases, queuing stress was reduced, wayfinding times were shortened, and staff coordination was supported without increasing infection-control risk or compromising clinical workflows. The results could be used by healthcare architects, engineers, and hospital managers to inform design guidelines and post-occupancy evaluations that align safety and efficiency with agency, dignity, and participation in both new builds and phased renovations

ABSTRACT Little is known about how parental spatial language input relates to children’s spatial cognition or mathematics performance or how children’s own spatial language develops. The current study examined spatial language at 24 months (N = 187 families; 105 boys) and 48 months (N = 115 families; 66 boys), and spatial cognition and number performance at 48 months. Child spatial language was predominantly from the categories of “deictics,” “location and direction,” “continuous amount” and “spatial dimensions” at both timepoints. The diversity of parents’ spatial language (spatial language quality) at 24 months was longitudinally associated with child numeracy at 48 months. Findings are discussed in relation to existing literature.

The paper describes international conflicts as complex confrontations where global actors clash over multiple, often overlapping, interests related to such areas and dimensions as security and military, economy and geopolitics, social and cultural, cyber and information, etc., with reviews of different ideas and existing publications devoted to their study. It also briefly describes the developed Spatial Grasp Technology (SGT) and its Spatial Grasp Language (SGL) designed for creation, investigation, and management of large distributed systems of different natures, while providing examples of SGL programming in both physical and virtual worlds, which can be represented by complex spatial networks or continuous environments. The main ideas and organization of the multidimensional management project, currently in development, are discussed. An example of multidimensional conflict management using interacting physical, economic, transport, and virtual dimensions is provided in SGL with practical solutions covering several communicating dimensions, depending on the circumstances. Further research in this area is outlined as a continuation of the current work. The detailed analysis of international conflicts and their causes is being planned, which may include different interests driving conflicts such as territorial gains, resource acquisition, dominance and power, historical animosities, prestige, and national pride. Recent multidimensional international conflicts, including the latest ones, often featuring complex combinations of direct violence, proxy forces, economic sanctions, and territorial disputes, will be especially analyzed. Different versions of SGT have been successfully tested in numerous applications in different countries, and its latest version, especially suitable for multidimensional management, can be quickly implemented on any existing software or hardware platform.

The relation between spatial language comprehension and mental transformation during early childhood

This study presents a comparative analysis of spatial language use in first-grade mathematics textbooks from Türkiye and England. It investigates the frequency, contextual depth, and pedagogical function of spatial expressions. A qualitative document analysis method was employed, using state-sanctioned textbooks from the 2023–2024 academic year. The results show that the Turkish textbook contains a higher number of spatial terms; however, these are often used in directive statements (e.g., “complete the shape below”) with limited conceptual depth. In contrast, the English textbook includes fewer spatial terms but integrates them into problem-solving tasks, cross-disciplinary activities, and narrative contexts. This approach promotes deeper spatial reasoning and cognitive engagement. The findings suggest that effective use of spatial language depends not only on its frequency but also on how meaningfully it is embedded in instructional content. The study recommends that teacher education programs emphasize the cognitive value of spatial language, and that textbook authors incorporate it in more conceptually rich and interactive ways. Future research should explore spatial language use across different grade levels, international curricula, and real classroom settings to gain further insight into its role in mathematical thinking and learning.

Recent workshops brought together several developers, educators and users of software packages extending popular languages for spatial data handling, with a primary focus on R, Python and Julia. Common challenges discussed included handling of spatial or spatio-temporal support, geodetic coordinates, in-memory vector data formats, data cubes, inter-package dependencies, packaging upstream libraries, differences in habits or conventions between the GIS and physical modeling communities, and statistical models. The following set of recommendations have been formulated:(i) considering software problems across data science language silos helps to understand and standardise analysis approaches, also outside the domain of formal standardisation bodies;(ii) whether attribute variables have block or point support, and whether they are spatially intensive or extensive has consequences for permitted operations, and hence for software implementing those;(iii) handling geometries on the sphere rather than on the flat plane requires modifications to the logic of simple features,(iv) managing communities and fostering diversity is a necessary, on-going effort, and(v) tools for cross-language development need more attention and support.

Purpose: This study examines how nonverbal communication factors of beauty service providers influence customer satisfaction and loyalty intentions. Methods: A survey was conducted with 270 valid responses from customers in their 20s who used beauty salons in the Seoul metropolitan area. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 to assess the effects of nonverbal communication on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Results: The results indicate that body language, spatial language, and auditory language significantly and positively affect satisfaction and loyalty. Furthermore, customer satisfaction was found to mediate the relationship between nonverbal communication and loyalty intention. Conclusion: These findings highlight the crucial role of nonverbal communication in shaping customer experiences and loyalty, offering practical implications for enhancing service quality in the beauty industry.

“Multidimensional international world” refers to understanding the world through its multiple dimensions beyond traditional economic or political measures, by fostering cross-cultural collaboration and balancing global integration with local needs. The paper briefs the developed high-level Spatial Grasp Model and Technology (SGT) which can investigate and manage complex systems with a holistic spatial approach effectively covering different physical and virtual dimensions and their integration as a whole. It then describes basics of multidimensional management system which is currently under development, and provides examples of practical solutions in different dimensions and their combinations in Spatial Grasp Language (SGL), the key element of SGT, with networking representations of the solutions. These include inter-dimensional influence and optimization, finding multidimensional communities, showing multidimensional recovery after disasters, finding dangerous multidimensional groupings, isolated multidimensional components, as well as interaction of physical and virtual dimensions. Different versions of SGT were tested on numerous applications and in different countries, and its latest version, especially suitable for multidimensional management, can be quickly implemented on any existing software or hardware platforms an integrated with advanced communication systems.

Abstract Why do order and complexity arise in a Universe obeying the Second Law of Thermodynamics? This apparent paradox is resolved by recognizing that entropy, a microscopic dissipative process, and disorder, a macroscopic process, are different, although both are directional across time. This think-piece investigates the directionality of complexification. It describes complexity using the borrowed term ‘phase space’, characterizing structures in terms of their interactions across space and time, independently (sometimes) of the underlying physical substrate. Phase space size reflects the number of available interactions, and loosely equates to complexity. Structures can pass through ‘portals’—significant interactions that change the size of their phase space. While portals can lead to larger or smaller phase spaces, it is easier to progress into a smaller space than a larger one because there are more smaller ones; a fact that becomes increasingly true as complexification develops. This asymmetry accounts for why ordered systems seem to progress more often to disorder than the reverse over local timescales. This formulation is used to examine the evolution in living things of spatial representation, memory and language, finishing with consideration of what phase space lies on the far side of the AI portal we have recently reached.

Polysaccharides improve cognitive impairment in mice: A meta-analysis.

Mother, Father, and Toddler Spatial Language in English and Spanish during Play: Associations with Toddlers’ Emerging Spatial Cognition