Virtual Approach Research Articles

Addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in rural community pharmacies: a protocol for a stepped wedge randomized clinical trial

BackgroundUptake of COVID-19 vaccines remains problematically low in the USA, especially in rural areas. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is associated with lower uptake, which translates to higher susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 variants in communities where vaccination coverage is low. Because community pharmacists are among the most accessible and trusted health professionals in rural areas, this randomized clinical trial will examine implementation strategies to support rural pharmacists in delivering an adapted evidence-based intervention to reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.MethodsWe will use an incomplete stepped wedge trial design in which we will randomize 30 rural pharmacies (unit of analysis) to determine the effectiveness and incremental cost-effectiveness of a standard implementation approach (consisting of online training that describes the vaccine hesitancy intervention, live webinar, and resource website) compared to adding on a virtual facilitation approach (provided by a trained facilitator in support of the delivery of the vaccine hesitancy counseling intervention by pharmacists). The intervention (ASORT) has been adapted from an evidence-based vaccine communication intervention for HPV vaccines through a partnership with rural pharmacies in a practice-based research network in seven southern US states. ASORT teaches pharmacists how to identify persons eligible for COVID-19 vaccination (including a booster), solicit and address vaccine concerns in a non-confrontational way, recommend the vaccine, and repeat the steps later if needed. The primary trial outcome is fidelity to the ASORT intervention, which will be determined through ratings of recordings of pharmacists delivering the intervention. The secondary outcome is the effectiveness of the intervention, determined by rates of patients who agree to be vaccinated after receiving the intervention. Other secondary outcomes include feasibility, acceptability, adoption, reach, and cost. Cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses will be conducted to maximize the potential for future dissemination and sustainability. Mixed methods will provide triangulation, expansion, and explanation of quantitative findings.DiscussionThis trial contributes to a growing evidence base on vaccine hesitancy interventions and virtual-only facilitation of evidenced-based practices in community health settings. The trial will provide the first estimate of the relative value of different implementation strategies in pharmacy settings.Trial registrationNCT05926544 (clinicaltrials.gov); 07/03/2023.

Virtual collaborative creative engagement in a pandemic world: creative connection for older adults with lived experience of dementia.

Older adults were disproportionately affected by COVID-19, and isolation and loneliness became key risk factors for mental illness and decreased quality of life. Older adults with lived experience of dementia and their care partners experienced isolation, loneliness, anxiety and depression, already heightened due to social stigma. Reduced access to resources was a notable problem. This Canadian qualitative study investigates the Raising the Curtain on the Lived Experience of Dementia (RTC) Project's virtual turn in program delivery during the pandemic, asking "How did virtual collaborative creative engagement (CCE) impact well-being for people living with dementia and their care partners?"; and "What are key elements of RTC's unique virtual CCE approach?" The study employs reflexive thematic analysis to analyse interviews and focus groups with the project's artist facilitators, researchers, peer collaborators living with dementia, and their care partners. Findings: Themes describe key elements of RTC's unique approach to virtual CCE and include: "Adjusting Expectations and Adapting to Technology"; "Re-imagining Creative Engagement in Virtual Space"; "Sustaining Reciprocal Caring, Learning, and Support"; "Disrupting Stigma and Welcoming a Wider Audience"; and "Supporting Well-being through Empowerment, Community, and Creativity." Findings offer new perspectives on how virtual CCE not only has the potential to decrease loneliness and isolation and associated mental health risks for older adults living with dementia and their care partners, but also can work to disrupt stigmatizing representations of dementia, promote inclusion, and enhance citizenship.

Balancing complexity and restoration in virtual interior environments: user perceptions of organized complexity in biophilic design

PurposeThere is a growing interest in applying the principles of biophilic design to hotel lobbies to enhance positive user experiences. However, there is little empirical research in this area, particularly for abstract or indirect biophilic approaches. The current study analyzed the biophilic strategy of “organized complexity” (which entails structured hierarchical patterns) in a hotel lobby in relation to attention restoration outcomes.Design/methodology/approachA virtual reality approach was used to create three lobby designs, differing only in their degree of organized complexity. A between-subjects study was conducted with 91 participants, evaluating reactions to the lobby designs in terms of perceived attention restoration, perceived environmental complexity and environmental preferences.FindingsA strong positive relationship was found between participants' perception of environmental complexity and feelings of restoration. However, no statistically significant correlation was found between restoration and the objective measures of organized complexity. This suggests that individual preferences or baseline responses may play a crucial role in the benefits associated with this aspect of biophilic design.Originality/valueThe findings suggest a novel possibility – that responses to organized complexity may not be universal but may instead depend on an individual’s background and personal preferences. While the study found that perceived complexity was associated with restoration, the objective features of the environment that incited these perceptions were different for different participants. This indicates that more research is needed into potentially relevant personal factors.

Frequency Regulation of Microgrid with Renewable Sources Using Intelligent Adaptive Virtual Inertia Control Approach

Frequency control of small inertia microgrids (MGs) with amalgamation of renewable energies like wind and solar is a difficult job. Virtual inertia control (VIC) scheme is the concept of enhancing the MGs inertia employing storage elements. In the present study, an optimized fuzzy adaptive virtual inertia control strategy has been proposed for adaptive allocation of virtual inertia constant. To tune the suggested controllers, an improved golden jackal optimization (i-GJO) is projected in which priority is given to the better jackal’s during the search process, and also sine cosine adopted scaling factor is used to modify the jackal’s position throughout search process. The effectiveness of i-GJO method is evaluated by comparing the results with golden jackal optimization (GJO) and other similar recently proposed optimization algorithms. Then, proportional-integral-derivative controllers are tuned in VIC environment with fixed virtual inertia constant (KVT ) using proposed i-GJO technique, and the superiority of i-GJO over genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, and GJO is demonstrated. Finally, fuzzy based controller with constant KVT as well as fuzzy adaptive KVT has been designed using the proposed i-GJO technique. The sensitivity of the controller is also examined under irregular load changes and various rates of RES amalgamation.

Evaluation of full-energy-peak efficiencies for a LaBr3:Ce scintillator through a Virtual Point Detector approach

The aim of this work is to investigate, in a wide range of gamma-ray energies, the validity of the “Virtual Point Detector” (VPD) approach to evaluate Full-Energy-Peak Efficiency (FEPE) values for a Cerium-doped Lanthanum Bromide scintillator (LaBr3:Ce). With VPD approximation, the detector is assumed equivalent to a virtual point inside the crystal where all the interactions can be considered to occur. The distance of VPD from detector cap is evaluated through experimental point source measurements. The knowledge of the trend of VPD depth as a function of gamma radiation energy allows the evaluation of FEPE values starting from an experimental reference value.The validation of the procedure has been performed by applying the VPD approach to measurement geometries already characterized such as a disk source, an Havar foil irradiated inside a target of a medical cyclotron, and a parallelepided sample geometry, an atmospheric particulate paper filter reduced to 6 cm × 6 cm × 0.7 cm dimensions. FEPE values determined by VPD approach lead to radionuclide activities very close to the ones already obtained with measurements carried out with other detectors.

Cloth Interactive Transformer for Virtual Try-On

The 2D image-based virtual try-on has aroused increased interest from the multimedia and computer vision fields due to its enormous commercial value. Nevertheless, most existing image-based virtual try-on approaches directly combine the person-identity representation and the in-shop clothing items without taking their mutual correlations into consideration. Moreover, these methods are commonly established on pure convolutional neural networks (CNNs) architectures which are not simple to capture the long-range correlations among the input pixels. As a result, it generally results in inconsistent results. To alleviate these issues, in this article, we propose a novel two-stage cloth interactive transformer (CIT) method for the virtual try-on task. During the first stage, we design a CIT matching block, aiming at precisely capturing the long-range correlations between the cloth-agnostic person information and the in-shop cloth information. Consequently, it makes the warped in-shop clothing items look more natural in appearance. In the second stage, we put forth a CIT reasoning block for establishing global mutual interactive dependencies among person representation, the warped clothing item, and the corresponding warped cloth mask. The empirical results, based on mutual dependencies, demonstrate that the final try-on results are more realistic. Substantial empirical results on a public fashion dataset illustrate that the suggested CIT attains competitive virtual try-on performance.

S12: Recent advances in therapies for late-life neuropsychiatric disorder

Symposium OverviewThis international symposium combining experts from Canada, Australia and the USA and supported by the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry will present an update on the recent advances in therapeutic interventions for late life mood and cognitive disorders, including late life depression, anxiety and apathy associated with dementia, and preventive strategies including mind-body interventions. Four leaders of the field will present the summary of novel studies: starting with Dr. Benoit Mulsant (CA) presenting the results of the recently completed OPTIMUM study of novel strategies optimizing treatment of late-life treatment resistant depression. He will be followed by Dr. Krista Lanctot’ (CA) update on novel therapies for apathy associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and Dr Nancy Pachana (AU) will present on non-pharmacological approaches to treatment of anxiety associated with neurodegenerative disorders. Finally, Dr. Helen Lavretsky (USA) will present on the recent studies of mind-body therapies used to treat and prevent late life depression and cognitive decline, along with the discussion of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. The panel will conclude with a brief discussion of future directions in the development of therapeutic interventions.Treatment-resistant depression in late life has been understudied and is lacking evidence supporting augmentation or switching strategies. Recently completed OPTIMUM multi-site study (funded by the PCORI) sought to compare effectiveness of augmentation strategies (bupropion or aripiprazole) to switch to bupropion, in the first step of 1-week acute treatment followed by randomization into the 2nd step of augmentation with Lithium or switch to nortriptyline. The augmentation strategies in the first step produced the most robust response compared to switching, and did not differ in the 2nd step. Primary outcomes included remission rates and wellbeing measures. A discussion of future directions will be provided at the end of this presentation.In those with Alzheimer’s disease, apathy is common and associated with decreased quality of life, increased risk of decline and increased mortality. As such, apathy is increasingly recognized as an important treatment target. Recent advances in diagnosis and treatment will be reviewed.In this presentation, several methodological issues will be discussed, such the importance and prevalence of apathy in Alzheimer’s disease (AD); current diagnostic criteria for apathy in neurocognitive disorders, and will present the results of recent pharmacologic interventions for apathy in AD.In this presentation, new focused and innovative treatments for anxiety in persons with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease with co-morbid anxiety will be discussed. Anxiety is common in Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's disease and contributes to increased disability and poorer quality of life. Yet only a small fraction of such patients received any form of treatment for mental health issues. Non-pharmacological approaches to address anxiety are advantageous in these populations. Research on tailored CBT and innovations such as virtual reality approaches for these groups will be discussed.Standard pharmacological therapies for treatment of late life depression offer limited efficacy with the downside of adverse events and drug-drug interaction. Novel strategies are needed for more effective and safe treatment and prevention strategies for mood and cognitive disorders in late life. This presentation will focus on the recently completed studies of Tai Chi for treatment of late life depression, and yoga for prevention of cognitive decline in older women at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Neural and peripheral biomarkers of treatment response will be described. Future directions in mind-body therapies research will be outlined.

Using a Virtual Simulation Workshop to Teach Interns Evidence-Based Feedback Techniques.

Background TheAccreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires residents to demonstrate competence in integrating feedback into their daily practice. With the shift to virtual medical education during the pandemic, the need for new skills in delivering effective feedback through virtual media has emerged. Methodology This study aimed to assess the feasibility of a virtual bootcamp for interns, utilizing virtual simulation workshops to teach effective feedback skills. The curriculum employed a situated learning-guided participation framework. Virtual standardized students participated, and interns engaged in activities such as providing virtual feedback, completing self-assessments, and receiving instruction on feedback principles, including the one-minute preceptor's five micro-skills. Interns repeated the feedback process, with virtual students providing assessments. Data were collected from 105 incoming interns at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in June 2021 and June 2022, using Zoom® as the online platform. Results Competency assessments revealed a significant post-training increase in proficiency/expert milestones (88% versus 47%, p = 0.007). Interns' self-assessments also significantly improved (18.02 versus 16.74, p = 0.001), particularly for previously trained interns (18.27 versus 16.7). Non-primary care interns outperformed primary care interns in milestone scores. The majority of interns (80%) reported valuable learning experiences during the workshop, with 70% expressing confidence in using the one-minute preceptor technique during residency. The one-minute preceptor step "reinforce what was right" was deemed the easiest, while "obtain commitment" and "explore emotional reaction" presented significant challenges. Conclusions This study demonstrates the potential of virtual workshops to enhance intern competency in delivering effective feedback through formal processes and the one-minute preceptor. These virtual approaches offer innovative alternatives to in-person teaching, enabling evaluation at higher levels of Miller's pyramid of clinical competence.

Virtual hospital and artificial intelligence: a first step towards the application of an innovative health system for the care of rare cerebrovascular diseases.

The development of virtual care options, including virtual hospital platforms, is rapidly changing the healthcare, mostly in the pandemic period, due to difficulties in in-person consultations. For this purpose, in 2020, a neurological Virtual Hospital (NOVHO) pilot study has been implemented, in order to experiment a multidisciplinary second opinion evaluation system for neurological diseases. Cerebrovascular diseases represent a preponderant part of neurological disorders. However, more than 30% of strokes remain of undetermined source, and rare CVD (rCVD) are often misdiagnosed. The lack of data on phenotype and clinical course of rCVD patients makes the diagnosis and the development of therapies challenging. Since the diagnosis and care of rCVDs require adequate expertise and instrumental tools, their management is mostly allocated to a few experienced hospitals, making difficult equity in access to care. Therefore, strategies for virtual consultations are increasingly applied with some advantage for patient management also in peripheral areas. Moreover, health data are becoming increasingly complex and require new technologies to be managed. The use of Artificial Intelligence is beginning to be applied to the healthcare system and together with the Internet of Things will enable the creation of virtual models with predictive abilities, bringing healthcare one step closer to personalized medicine. Herein, we will report on the preliminary results of the NOVHO project and present the methodology of a new project aimed at developing an innovative multidisciplinary and multicentre virtual care model, specific for rCVD (NOVHO-rCVD), which combines the virtual hospital approach and the deep-learning machine system.

Enhancing Predictive Power: Integrating a Linear Support Vector Classifier with Logistic Regression for Patient Outcome Prognosis in Virtual Reality Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia.

(1) Background: Approximately 30% of schizophrenia patients are known to be treatment-resistant. For these cases, more personalized approaches must be developed. Virtual reality therapeutic approaches such as avatar therapy (AT) are currently undergoing investigations to address these patients' needs. To further tailor the therapeutic trajectory of patients presenting with this complex presentation of schizophrenia, quantitative insight about the therapeutic process is warranted. The aim of the study is to combine a classification model with a regression model with the aim of predicting the therapeutic outcomes of patients based on the interactions taking place during their first immersive session of virtual reality therapy. (2) Methods: A combination of a Linear Support Vector Classifier and logistic regression was conducted over a dataset comprising 162 verbatims of the immersive sessions of 18 patients who previously underwent AT. As a testing dataset, 17 participants, unknown to the dataset, had their first immersive session presented to the combinatory model to predict their clinical outcome. (3) Results: The model accurately predicted the clinical outcome for 15 out of the 17 participants. Classification of the therapeutic interactions achieved an accuracy of 63%. (4) Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to predict the outcome of psychotherapy patients based on the content of their interactions with their therapist. These results are important as they open the door to personalization of psychotherapy based on quantitative information about the interactions taking place during AT.

An Overview of the Precepts, Attitudes and Role of Governments and NGOs in Generation Z Political Participation in Singkawang City

Generation Z political participation refers to the involvement of generation Z in following various political activities, generation Z is also a generation group that is very close to the virtual world. Generation Z in Singkawang City has a very diverse participation and attitude towards politics. In this case, of course, there must be a role for government institutions and civil society to increase the political participation of Generation Z, but Generation Z really needs improvement efforts made through virtual approaches and social media. Singkawang City, which is a city in 2024, will hold general elections and regional head elections in the same year, of course, the role of government agencies and civil society is very important in increasing political participation. This research aims to look at a review of the perceptions, attitudes and roles of the government as well as NGOs in the political participation of generation Z in Singkawang City. The method used in this research is qualitative research with field research so that the results of this research can recognise the role of government institutions and civil society in Singkawang City in increasing the political participation of generation Z.

Virtual Model Compound Approach for Calculating Redox Potentials of [Fe2S2]-Cys4 Centers in Proteins - Structure Quality Matters.

The midpoint potential of the [Fe2S2]-Cys4-cluster in proteins is known to vary between -200 and -450 mV. This variation is caused by the different electrostatic environment of the cluster in the respective proteins. Continuum electrostatics can quantify the impact of the protein environment on the redox potential. Thus, if the redox potential of a [Fe2S2]-Cys4-cluster model compound in aqueous solution would be known, then redox potentials in various protein complexes could be calculated. However, [Fe2S2]-Cys4-cluster models are not water-soluble, and thus, their redox potential can not be measured in aqueous solution. To overcome this problem, we introduce a method that we call Virtual Model Compound Approach (VMCA) to extrapolate the model redox potential from known redox potentials of proteins. We carefully selected high-resolution structures for our analysis and divide them into a fit set, for fitting the model redox potential, and an independent test set, to check the validity of the model redox potential. However, from our analysis, we realized that the some structures can not be used as downloaded from the PDB but had to be re-refined in order to calculate reliable redox potentials. Because of the re-refinement, we were able to significantly reduce the standard deviation of our derived model redox potential for the [Fe2S2]-Cys4-cluster from 31 mV to 10 mV. As the model redox potential, we obtained -184 mV. This model redox potential can be used to analyze the redox behavior of [Fe2S2]-Cys4-clusters in larger protein complexes.

Informal learning of Spanish in a Chinese music fan community

In the context of digitalization and participatory culture, pop culture has sparked numerous online linguistic practices exhibiting the potential for informal language learning. This study centers around an online community consisting of Chinese fans of Spanish-language pop music. Adopting the virtual ethnography approach and using mixed methods including interviews and web-crawling of fan production, we collected data from one particular member who devotes his free time to translating Spanish-language song lyrics into Chinese, and we analyze how informal language learning takes place in this context. Our results indicate that 1) the flexibility of roles and collaborations within the community contribute to the co-construction of knowledge; 2) fan practices are fueled by the technology-facilitated fulfillment of emotional needs and the formation of a shared identity; and 3) systematic strategies appear when amateur online translators go about trying to translate colloquial expressions in a foreign language. Among these strategies are the triangulation of meanings across lyrics, the use of multiple online tools, a reliance on feedback from fellow community members, and a critical approach to sources with an eye to ensuring their reliability. These findings showing highly specialized information retrieval and critical literacy skills in fan practices could serve as inspiration for integrating lyrics translations into formal language education to enhance the acquisition of non-standardized vocabulary and the cultivation of critical thinking.

Systematic review: oral and maxillofacial radiology as fundamental methods of virtual autopsy

Abstract Refusal of autopsy occurs for various reasons, including religious beliefs and the risk of infectious diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019. Dental autopsy involves invasive procedures, including incision and access openings in the oral cavity. Radiographic techniques can be used as an alternative to the conventional autopsy process in the field of forensic odontology, providing a non-invasive approach that does not involve tissue damage. The current study aimed to analyse the current status of the applicability of oral and maxillofacial radiology for virtual forensic odontological autopsy. A systematic review was conducted in accord with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis protocol. The literature search was conducted from December 2021 to October 2022 using the PubMed, ScienceDirect, and SAGE Journals databases. Article selection was carried out by eliminating duplication, screening titles and abstracts, and reading the entire content of the article. A thematic analysis method was used to identify themes in the collected data. A total of 15 articles were included, and several uses of oral and maxillofacial radiography in virtual autopsy and forensic odontology were identified. Four techniques were identified that can be used for virtual autopsy in forensic odontology. The use of computed tomography (CT) scanning for virtual autopsy was reported in six articles, cone beam CT was reported in five articles, magnetic resonance imaging was reported in two articles, and multidetector CT was reported in two articles. In the studies included in this review, the identified oral and maxillofacial radiograph techniques that are used as the fundamental methods of virtual autopsy in forensic odontology are CT scanning (including multidetector CT), cone beam CT, and magnetic resonance imaging. The different methods of oral and maxillofacial radiography for virtual autopsy were identified as having advantages as well as limitations in their use in forensic odontology. Most of the included studies indicated that the virtual autopsy approach cannot yet stand alone as an identification method, but provides a useful adjunct for gathering dental evidence. Key points

Using immersive virtual reality technology to enhance nursing education: A comparative pilot study to understand efficacy and effectiveness

The U.S. faces a national shortage of nurses. The emergence of human-centered digital technologies has directly impacted nursing education. Using immersive Virtual Reality related digital technology to assist and enhance nurse education is promising but not yet fully understood. This study aims to understand the effectiveness and efficacy of immersive Virtual Reality nursing education approaches through a comparative pilot study. Three immersive Virtual Reality scenarios based on basic nursing skills were developed. A traditional video lecture approach including the same contents was used as a comparable approach to investigate the effectiveness and efficacy performance of the proposed immersive Virtual Reality approach. 22 participants were recruited from a college. Effectiveness was measured through motivation and knowledge gain, while efficacy was evaluated through simulation sickness, user experience, and system usability. The results showed that the VR approach has above “acceptable” efficacy performance, which indicates participants are willing to accept this novel education approach. The effectiveness results indicate that the VR approach has similar performance with the video approach in delivering nursing contents. One limitation of this investigation is that the sample size is relatively small and further larger sample sizes are needed for future analysis.

I am a Genius! Influence of Virtually Embodying Leonardo da Vinci on Creative Performance.

Virtual reality (VR) provides users with the ability to substitute their physical appearance by embodying virtual characters (avatars) using head-mounted displays and motion-capture technologies. Previous research demonstrated that the sense of embodiment toward an avatar can impact user behavior and cognition. In this paper, we present an experiment designed to investigate whether embodying a well-known creative genius could enhance participants' creative performance. Following a preliminary online survey (N = 157) to select a famous character suited to the purpose of this study, we developed a VR application allowing participants to embody Leonardo da Vinci or a self-avatar. Self-avatars were approximately matched with participants in terms of skin tone and morphology. 40 participants took part in three tasks seamlessly integrated in a virtual workshop. The first task was based on a Guilford's Alternate Uses test (GAU) to assess participants' divergent abilities in terms of fluency and originality. The second task was based on a Remote Associates Test (RAT) to evaluate convergent abilities. Lastly, the third task consisted in designing potential alternative uses of an object displayed in the virtual environment using a 3D sketching tool. Participants embodying Leonardo da Vinci demonstrated significantly higher divergent thinking abilities, with a substantial difference in fluency between the groups. Conversely, participants embodying a self-avatar performed significantly better in the convergent thinking task. Taken together, these results promote the use of our virtual embodiment approach, especially in applications where divergent creativity plays an important role, such as design and innovation.

The Implications of Virtual Learning on Plastic Surgery Education: A National Survey of Plastic Surgery Residents and Fellows.

Graduate medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the shift to a "virtual learning" format in many aspects of training. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceived strengths and weaknesses of virtual learning compared with a conventional, in-person format. A 45-question survey was sent to independent and integrated plastic surgery residents and postresidency fellows nationally. The survey collected basic demographic information and evaluated three general categories of virtual learning in comparison to an in-person format: (1) time, (2) learning proficiency, and (3) collaboration. In total, 108 surveys were submitted from 48 different training programs. Participants reported that virtual learning was more efficient (mean: 3.9), conducive to more free time (mean: 3.9), and a more comfortable medium for expressing opinions (mean: 3.5) and asking questions (mean: 3.6) compared with an in-person format. When stratified between training levels, the PGY 1-3 group reported more difficulties in exam preparedness (P = 0.05), motivation to study (P = 0.01) and less time-saving benefits (P = 0.05) with a virtual format than the PGY 4+ group. Lastly, respondents who had higher self-reported levels of multitasking were found to have lower mean Likert scale scores on all questions related to "time," "learning proficiency," and "collaboration" (P < 0.01). A virtual and in-person hybrid approach toward plastic surgery education may be beneficial for encouraging flexibility. Our results demonstrate impairment with collaboration and learning proficiency with a virtual format, especially with increased multitasking, but increased comfort with expressing opinions and asking questions.

SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT NGAYOGJAZZ SEBAGAI FESTIVAL MUSIK DI YOGYAKARTA

This study aims to find out 1). How social media engagement is present in Ngayogjazz as a music festival in Yogyakarta. 2). How Social media plays a role in portraying the Ngayogjazz festival. To achieve the objectives of the study, qualitative research methods were used with a virtual ethnographic approach from Christine Hine where Social media was chosen as the locus of research. Social media theory is used as a foundation in framing thoughts and discussions.Data collection techniques are carried out in two ways, namely observing Ngayogjazz's activities on Social media and conducting interviews to confirm some data found directly with several sources directly related to this event. In addition, existing literature and documentation data are also used as references in describing and analyzing Ngayogjazz events in Social media.The results of this study show that Social media that is present in Ngayogjazz as a music festival in Yogyakarta, using four platforms, namely Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube shows a binding interaction between Ngayogjazz as a festival and the community at large. Ngayogjazz utilizes Social media as one of the strategies in branding itself as a music festival whose presence is taken into account in the country, improvisation and musical interaction that characterize jazz.

Exploring emotional contagion in zebrafish: A virtual-demonstrator study of positive and negative emotions

Emotional contagion, the transmission of emotions within a group, has been extensively studied in mammals but remains largely unexplored in fish. This study aims to investigate whether emotional contagion, specifically in terms of low and high anxiety levels, can be evoked in zebrafish. This freshwater species has been gaining momentum due to its high genetic homology to humans and complex behavioral repertoire, making it well-suited for exploring social behavior. Our hypothesis posits that zebrafish have the ability to transmit positive and negative emotions to one another through visual cues only and that this transmission is robust over time. To test this, we employed a virtual demonstrator fish approach, where videos of zebrafish exhibiting either high or low geotactic behavior were shown to live zebrafish. Geotaxis, the tendency of a fish to spend more time at the bottom of the tank, is a sensitive measure of anxiety, with high geotactic behavior corresponding to high anxiety levels and vice versa. Our findings indicate that the virtual demonstrator successfully transmitted emotional states to the live fish, as evidenced by changes in the time spent at the bottom of the tank, linear acceleration, and fast-turning maneuvers, metrics that quantify anxiety-like behaviors such as geotaxis and erratic movements. Additionally, we conducted a causal analysis using a transfer entropy approach, revealing a significant flow of information from the virtual demonstrator fish to the live fish, indicating the efficacy and potential of this approach in studying emotional contagion. This study provides additional empirical evidence of how visual cues alone from a virtual demonstrator exhibiting high or low anxious behavior can elicit similar behavioral states in bystander fish, highlighting the potential for emotional contagion beyond mammalian and avian models.

THE ENCOUNTER OF DA’WAH DIGITALIZATION WITH URBAN MUSLIM CULTURE

This research aimed to explore the encounter of da'wah digitalization with urban Muslim culture. The attention on this topic was due to the concern about the dislocation of traditional da'wah activities because of the demands of a fluctuating, fast-paced, and dynamic urban culture associated with the transformation from conventional to digital media. A virtual ethnography approach was applied with the data collected through Google Trends and analyzed manually. The results showed that da'wah media, such as images, videos, memes, animations, and podcasts, was becoming a significant trend among netizens. The media was associated with speed, effectiveness, as well as time and cost efficiency in delivering da'wah messages, which was particularly relevant for urban Muslim with fast-paced and hectic lifestyles. Da'wah digitalization also reinforced the urban Muslim culture of instant religious fulfillment. However, the tendency to consume da'wah materials instantly was associated with the risk of disseminating inaccurate religious information and disrupting the fragmentation of religious authority. This showed the need for careful monitoring and management of digital da'wah content to ensure the quality and sustainability of balanced religious education in a dynamic urban context.