Visual Ones Research Articles

Systemic problem of education and professional evolvement of students specializing in «Drama theatre and movie actor» in higher educational institutions

The purpose of the article — to analyze the already existing system of education and professional evolvement of drama theatre and movie actors, and to propose an effective algorithm for working with students of performing art departments in higher educational institutions.
 The methodology. The methodology of the article is determined by the research topic’s peculiar nature, relies on the authors’ practical experience and is conditioned by the purpose of the article. Among the methodological tools, an interdisciplinary approach was employed (thanks to the use of professional descriptions from such disciplines as pedagogical science, psychology, aesthetics and others) and the functional approach, which determines the scientific weight of the issues outlined in the article due to their real functioning in culture and in historical perspective. Also, the axiological method and the interpretation method were used to explain social and cultural factors of future actors’ education and to analyze additional levers and professional evolvement.
 The results. 1. The main areas of future drama theatre and movie actors’ training were analyzed in order to determine the key problems of professional evolvement of students specializing in theatre in higher educational institutions. 2. The stratum of historical course in formation of actor’s profession as an independent professional activity was studied. 3. The main levers of artistic influence and operational tools for future theatre and movie actors’ education have been defined.
 The scientific novelty. Professional artistic education directed at theatre arts should never be silent about the problems of education and professional evolvement of students specializing in drama theatre and movie in higher educational institutions, which problems have already become systemic. One of the key reasons for that lies in the inconsistency with current realities of the world’s theatre process and Ukrainian artistic space.
 The practical significance. The actor is a truly unique and universal profession, yet one should exactly define what namely its universality and uniqueness lies in. The profession of theatre and movie actor does not simply represent the knowledge of certain elements of the craft, tools and instruments that the actor must possess (voice, rhythmicity, development of imagination and fantasy, emotional and psychophysical memory), but also is complemented by in-depth analytical research into the “novel of life” — biographies of people played by actors, the ability to form his or her professional “circle of attention”. It would be highly appropriate to permanently employ physical training elements (language and visual ones, transition from one environment to another etc.). All that and many other components, which the actor deals with when operating within realistic psychological theatre training system, determine the success of professional evolvement.

Archaeological knowledge production: reading mortuary reconstructions

Research on archaeological knowledge production emphasises the contingent nature of understandings of the past. In practice, however, levels of uncertainty and conjecture can easily become less than obvious in interpretations, perhaps especially visual ones. The authors interrogate multiple textual and visual accounts of a Viking-Age burial to demonstrate how selection processes—what to portray or omit—highlight the contextual nature of the knowledge claims in these images. Arguing that the circulation of reconstructions shorn of textual nuance leads to misperceptions, the authors call for transparency in the creation of these images. Rather than definitive depictions of archaeological fact, these reconstructions offer tools for archaeologists and the public to think with.

Multimodal Cues Do Not Improve Predator Recognition in Green Toad Tadpoles.

Simple SummaryTadpoles are known to use their sense of smell to detect the presence of predators, but some studies showed their reliance on vision during social interaction, suggesting that vision might have a role in predatory contexts as well. Here, we investigated how chemical or visual cues of a native predator, or a combination of both, influence the defensive behaviour of green toad tadpoles. We expected tadpoles to reduce their activity when exposed to chemical cues and avoid the area of the experimental arena near to the caged predator when exposed to the visual ones. With both cues, we expected tadpoles to show both responses and with greater intensity. Our results indicate that visual cues alone do not elicit any apparent defensive response, suggesting that tadpoles mainly rely on chemical cues to assess predation risk.The anti-predator behaviour of green toad (Bufotes balearicus) tadpoles was investigated by exposing them to only the visual or chemical cues, or a combination of both, of a native predator, southern hawker Aeshna cyanea. We collected green toad egg strings in the field and tadpoles did not receive any predatory stimulus before the onset of the experiment. To manipulate chemical and visual cues independently, dragonfly larvae were caged inside a transparent plastic container, while chemical cues (odour of tadpole-fed dragonfly larvae) were injected into the surrounding arena. An empty container and water were used, respectively, as controls. The behaviour of individually tested tadpoles was videorecorded for 40 min, of which 20 were before their exposure to stimuli. Five second-distance frames were compared to assess both tadpole activity and position within the arena with respect to the visual stimulus. The tadpole level of activity strongly decreased after exposure to either chemical cues alone or in combination with visual cues, while visual cues alone apparently did not elicit any defensive response. The position of tadpoles inside the arena was not affected by visual cues, suggesting that green toad tadpoles mainly rely on olfactory cues to assess the level of predation risk.

READING "ROMEO AND JULIET’"S ILLUSTRATIONS AS PARATEXT: A CLOSE-UP ON THE BALCONY SCENE

Reading “Romeo and Juliet”’s Illustrations as Paratext: A Close-up on the Balcony Scene. Paratextual elements, particularly illustrations, play a crucial role in how the texts they accompany are understood by their readers. As instances of intersemiotic translation—the result of transfer of linguistic signs into visual ones—, they direct the readers’ meaning-making process by encapsulating not only the illustrators’ own artistic vision, but also by bringing to the fore socio-cultural elements of both the historical context and its contemporary readership. The range of intersemiotic translation techniques in use to do this lead to the creation of illustrations whose degree of faithfulness to the text varies. This article considers a number of illustrations corresponding to the balcony scene in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that were produced in a time span between the 18th century and the present. It looks in more detail at how these illustrations faithfully connect to the original play and to the broad historical context in which it was written or, rather, use them as input only to reflect other attitudes, points of view, socio-cultural tendencies, etc. Article history: Received 15 June 2022; Revised 18 July 2022; Accepted 20 July 2022; Available online 20 September 2022; Available print 30 September 2022 REZUMAT. Ilustrațiile tragediei Romeo și Julieta ca paratext: prim plan cu scena balconului. Elementele paratextuale, inclusiv ilustrațiile, au un rol crucial în felul în care textele pe care acestea le însoțesc sunt înțelese de cititori. Ca exemple de traduere intersemiotică – rezultat al transferului între semnele lingvistice și semnele vizuale –, ilustrațiile ghidează procesul de construire a sensului de către cititori nu numai prin faptul că sintetizează viziunea artistică proprie a ilustratorului, ci și prin aceea că aduc în prim plan elemente atât ale contextului istoric și ale cititorului contemporan. Gama de tehnici de traducere intersemiotică folosite pentru a face aceste lucruri duce la propunerea unor ilustrații fidele sau mai puțin fidele textului. Prezentul articol analizează modul în care câteva ilustrații corespunzătoare scenei balconului din Romeo și Julieta, piesa lui William Shakespeare, produse în intervalul de timp dintre secolul al XVIII-lea și prezent, dovedesc. Cuvinte-cheie: ilustrațiile ca paratext, traducere intersemiotică, scena balconului, Romeo și Julieta de William Shakespeare, re-crearea textului

Ambient Temperature in Online Service Environments

Ambient Temperature in Online Service environments (ATOS) is a sensory cue not directly accessible in current online servicescape technology, but inferred from secondary cues, particularly visual ones. This study integrates research on cross-modal inferences with a situated cognitions framework and the stereotype content model to show that ATOS enhances judgment of service provider warmth, in turn influencing important service outcomes. A pilot study explores the linkages between consumer online and offline experiences, providing evidence for online service environments’ capacity (especially ATOS) to shape customer judgment and behavior. Study 1 examines a tropical island holiday resort to show that online representations of the environment evoke situated cognitions and preferences consistent with high ambient temperature. Study 2 uses virtual tours of cafés to demonstrate that ATOS, through judgment of service provider warmth, positively influences purchase intention and other managerially important service outcomes. Study 3 employs 12 service contexts to replicate ATOS effects, mediated through warmth, and to show that effects are stronger in contexts where service provision is directed more at objects (vs. people). Given that ambient temperature is ubiquitous in all types of service settings and easily adjusted by practitioners, managerial implications outline how service marketers can more effectively employ ATOS.

Sensory basis of food detection in tadpoles of Polypedates maculatus (Anura: Rhacophoridae): an experimental approach

The mechanism of food detection in tadpoles of Polypedates maculatus was experimentally tested. We used a rectangular glass test tank with stimulus zones in opposite ends to provide visual and/or chemical food. For visual cues, boiled spinach was placed inside a glass container, and for chemical cues boiled spinach was placed in a mesh cage. Each tadpole of P. maculatus (either at an early or medium developmental stage) was held at the center of the test tank for acclimation. The tadpole was released, and we recorded whether it approached or did not approach the caged food. Tadpoles of all stages failed to detect food using visual cues. Tadpoles of all stages detected food using chemical cues. In tests using chemical cues, they spent the majority of their time (69.3% by early stage tadpoles and 87.3% by medium-stage tadpoles) near the container with food than in the end with no containers or with only visual food cues. Tadpoles in medium stages spent more time near food (18.1% of total time) than tadpoles in early stages. These findings indicate that tadpoles of P. maculatus detect food by chemical sensory mechanisms rather than visual ones. Tadpoles in medium stages spent more time near food than tadpoles in early stages indicating that time spent foraging increases as tadpoles grow.

The impact of sensory modality on prospective memory: Differences between visual and auditory processing.

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to perform an intended action when the appropriate conditions occur. Several features play a role in the successful retrieval of an intention: the activity we are concurrently engaged in, the number of intentions we are maintaining, where our attention is focused (outward vs. to inner states), and how outstanding the trigger of the intention is. Another factor that may play a crucial role is sensory modality: Do auditory and visual stimuli prompt PM processing in the same way? In this study, we explored for the first time the nature of PM for auditory stimuli and the presence of modality-dependent differences in PM processing. To do so, an identical paradigm composed of multiple PM tasks was administered in two versions, one with auditory stimuli and one with visual ones. Each PM task differed for features such as focality, salience, and number of intentions (factors that are known in literature to modulate the monitoring and maintenance requests of PM) to explore the impact of sensory modality on a broad variety of classical PM tasks. In general, PM processing showed similar patterns between modalities, especially for low demanding prospective instructions. Conversely, substantial differences were found when the prospective load was increased and monitoring requests enhanced, as participants were significantly slower and less accurate with acoustic stimuli. These results represent the first evidence that modality-dependent effects arise in PM processing, especially in its interaction with features such as the difficulty of the task and the increased monitoring load.

Dynamics of alpha suppression and enhancement may be related to resource competition in cross-modal cortical regions

In the face of multiple sensory streams, there may be competition for processing resources in multimodal cortical areas devoted to establishing representations. In such cases, alpha oscillations may serve to maintain the relevant representations and protect them from interference, whereas theta band activity may facilitate their updating when needed. It can be hypothesized that these oscillations would differ in response to an auditory stimulus when the eyes are open or closed, as intermodal resource competition may be more prominent in the former than in the latter case. Across two studies we investigated the role of alpha and theta power in multimodal competition using an auditory task with the eyes open and closed, respectively enabling and disabling visual processing in parallel with the incoming auditory stream. In a passive listening task (Study 1a), we found alpha suppression following a pip tone with both eyes open and closed, but subsequent alpha enhancement only with closed eyes. We replicated this eyes-closed alpha enhancement in an independent sample (Study 1b). In an active auditory oddball task (Study 2), we again observed the eyes open/eyes closed alpha pattern found in Study 1 and also demonstrated that the more attentionally demanding oddball trials elicited the largest oscillatory effects. Theta power did not interact with eye status in either study. We propose a hypothesis to account for the findings in which alpha may be endemic to multimodal cortical areas in addition to visual ones.

Exploring EFL Learners' Metaphorical Conceptions of Language Learning: A Multimodal Analysis.

Owing to the limitations of linguistic modes to portray aptly L2 learners' metaphors of language learning experience, growing attention has been paid to taking advantage of other modes like visual ones to ameliorate this concern. Hence, the present study sought to explore images and metaphors Iranian EFL learners may have in mind about the essence of English language as a foreign learning. To this end, Iranian EFL learners' verbal and non-verbal forms of metaphorical depiction were examined. One intact class, including intermediate male and female learners (n = 11) at a non-profit language institute was selected randomly. The data were collected through both verbal (a single-item questionnaire) and non-verbal (drawings) tools. The learners' drawings and written descriptions were examined so as to both tap into their mental representations of what 'English learning' means to them and get closer insights into the learners' belief system. The study's conceptual framework was mainly built on Oxford et al.'s (System 26:3-50, 1998) perspectives on education and Vygotsky's (Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes, Harvard University Press, 1978) Socio-cultural theory (SCT) of learning. The multimodal analysis of the metaphors evidenced that the learners' verbal and visual metaphorical representations shared the common perspectives towards English learning. Additionally, the extracted metaphorical concepts disclosed the learners' positive attitudes, enthusiasm, and desire for English learning. Results unveiled that most of the visual and verbal metaphorical depictions portray language learning as a joyful, dynamic and discovery individual process. The study ends with presenting some implications and offering some avenues for further research.

Resisting Readability: Dyslexia and Sexuality in Alan Hollinghurst's The Sparsholt Affair

Resisting Readability:Dyslexia and Sexuality in Alan Hollinghurst's The Sparsholt Affair Helena Gurfinkel (bio) In her review in The New Yorker of Alan Hollinghurst's latest novel, The Sparsholt Affair (2017), Alexandra Schwartz scrambles to list what she considers the author's psychological and narrative oversights. In relation to the novel's portrayal of Jonathan "Johnny" Sparsholt, the son of David Sparsholt, of the scandalous titular affair, she writes: Hollinghurst has further handicapped himself by limiting Johnny's ability with words. He is dyslexic, and not much of a talker, though in place of verbal gifts he has visual ones. He becomes a portrait painter, devoting his life, as Hollinghurst has, to the difficult art of verisimilitude, while himself remaining something of a blank canvas. (Schwartz 2018, n.p.) Even if one understands the ironic use of the word handicapped in the context, its use in relation to a learning disability raises a red flag, as does Schwartz's contention that Hollinghurst seeks verisimilitude above all else. The two concerns are related. Hollinghurst has a longstanding but virtually unnoticed interest in disability, particularly dyslexia. In his 1997 novel The Spell, a secondary character, Justin, the partner of the protagonist, Robin Woodfield, has dyslexia, which, in fairness to Schwartz, does not develop much beyond contributing to Justin's characterization as a childlike, dependent character, a charming but perpetually struggling actor. Queerness and disability problematically collide, in other words, to signify a lack of development, an inability to reach adulthood. Hollinghurst returns to his fascination with dyslexia in his latest novel, which links dyslexia and queerness in ways that are at once empowering and epistemologically destabilizing. Upon the publication of the novel in the UK and then in the US, Hollinghurst went on a book tour and gave several public readings and talks in 2017 and 2018. The themes he covers and the questions he answers are similar in many ways. In a number of interviews the writer notes that the novel's narrative structure encompasses multiple points of view, which makes it not particularly easy to follow. He also underscores the theme of [End Page 277] reading threaded through and mentions the difficulty of reading—both texts and people—as one of the underlying ideas of his latest work. Hollinghurst notes that the novel reveals our frequent inability to know, or to read, well those with whom we think we are intimate or familiar. He also states that he "makes fun" of people who cannot read. In the course of the interview blitz he does mention Jonathan Sparsholt's dyslexia, but he humorously lumps the differently abled character with all those who cannot "read" others metaphorically.1 Without unduly elevating authorial intent, one wonders whether Hollinghurst (or his text) dismisses dyslexia, or makes fun of it, or uses it as merely a metaphor for misreading as an epistemological practice. In both cases, the approach is seemingly ableist. I do not believe we can dismiss the novel quite so easily, however. Hollinghurst does deploy dyslexia metaphorically inasmuch as, like queerness, it forecloses the possibilities of legibility and reading, both of which, if unchecked, can lead to the traditionalist taxonomies of heteronormativity and ablebodiness. Simultaneously, Hollinghurst strategically accords Jonathan Sparsholt legible identities (gay and dyslexic) in order to empower his alternative means of reading, living, and representation. "Wordblindness" The first scientific definition of dyslexia belongs to R. Berlin, who in 1887 published a monograph in which he defined it as a loss or impairment of reading ability. Ten years prior, A. Kussmaul had coined the term word-blindness. Since the nineteenth century, dyslexia has been divided into acquired and congenital types; it has been determined that its origin is in the occipital lobe (Smythe 2011, 39). Ian Smythe additionally quotes the following recent definition produced by the Health Council of the Netherlands in his 2011 article in The British Journal of Hospital Medicine: "Dyslexia is present when the automatization of word identification (reading) and/or spelling does not develop or does so very incompletely or with great difficulty" (43). In an earlier article in The New England Journal of Medicine, Sally E. Shaywitz defines dyslexia similarly, focusing specifically on the dimension of...

Visualizing Metaphor: Teaching Metaphor to Conceptualize Personal Experiences

Language power lies behind the iconicity of metaphor, which evokes sensory perceptions and integrates them into meaningful constellations selectively. This selective process makes it possible to conceptualize experiences and also to link new and prior experiences. Thus, the power of metaphor calls for great attention from teachers to focus on figurative language when teaching English language learners so that they achieve the uppermost goal of teaching the target language. This study aims at investigating forms of metaphor, specifically visual ones, and how to teach them in order to help students discover the connection between those constructions and the way of communicating the intended meaning.

Watching the Effects of Gravity. Vestibular Cortex and the Neural Representation of "Visual" Gravity.

Gravity is a physical constraint all terrestrial species have adapted to through evolution. Indeed, gravity effects are taken into account in many forms of interaction with the environment, from the seemingly simple task of maintaining balance to the complex motor skills performed by athletes and dancers. Graviceptors, primarily located in the vestibular otolith organs, feed the Central Nervous System with information related to the gravity acceleration vector. This information is integrated with signals from semicircular canals, vision, and proprioception in an ensemble of interconnected brain areas, including the vestibular nuclei, cerebellum, thalamus, insula, retroinsula, parietal operculum, and temporo-parietal junction, in the so-called vestibular network. Classical views consider this stage of multisensory integration as instrumental to sort out conflicting and/or ambiguous information from the incoming sensory signals. However, there is compelling evidence that it also contributes to an internal representation of gravity effects based on prior experience with the environment. This a priori knowledge could be engaged by various types of information, including sensory signals like the visual ones, which lack a direct correspondence with physical gravity. Indeed, the retinal accelerations elicited by gravitational motion in a visual scene are not invariant, but scale with viewing distance. Moreover, the “visual” gravity vector may not be aligned with physical gravity, as when we watch a scene on a tilted monitor or in weightlessness. This review will discuss experimental evidence from behavioral, neuroimaging (connectomics, fMRI, TMS), and patients’ studies, supporting the idea that the internal model estimating the effects of gravity on visual objects is constructed by transforming the vestibular estimates of physical gravity, which are computed in the brainstem and cerebellum, into internalized estimates of virtual gravity, stored in the vestibular cortex. The integration of the internal model of gravity with visual and non-visual signals would take place at multiple levels in the cortex and might involve recurrent connections between early visual areas engaged in the analysis of spatio-temporal features of the visual stimuli and higher visual areas in temporo-parietal-insular regions.

Diametrical modulation of tactile and visual perceptual thresholds during the rubber hand illusion: a predictive coding account.

During the rubber hand illusion (RHI), the synchronous stroking of the participants' concealed hand and a visible rubber hand induces a conflict among visuo-tactile inputs, leading healthy subjects to perceive the illusion of being touched on the rubber hand, as if it were part of their body. The predictive coding theory suggests that the RHI emerges to settle the conflict, attenuating somatosensory inputs in favour of visual ones, which "capture" tactile sensations. Here, we employed the psychophysical measure of perceptual threshold to measure a behavioural correlate of the somatosensory and visual modulations, to better understand the mechanisms underpinning the illusion. Before and after the RHI, participants underwent a tactile (Experiment 1) and a visual (Experiment 2) task, wherein they had to detect stimuli slightly above the perceptual threshold. According to the predictive coding framework, we found a significant decrease of tactile detection (i.e. increased tactile perceptual threshold) and a significant increase of visual detection (i.e. decreased visual perceptual threshold), suggesting a diametrical modulation of somatosensory and visual perceptual processes. These findings provide evidence of how our system plastically adapts to uncertainty, attributing different weights to sensory inputs to restore a coherent representation of the own body.

The impact of visual thinking in medical education

Abstract Background Considering medical humanities, medicine and art are two areas that resemble each other at several features. Clinical diagnosis involves the observation, description and interpretation of information of which visual ones take an important one. The skills described are important skills in the field of visual arts, as well. Underlying a good clinical practice; clinical examination and observation skills constitute an important place. Although in several studies, these skills are shown to be improved by analyzing visual art pieces, courses intended to improve visual thinking skills are not that much common in medical faculty curriculums. Methods In this article, we share our opinion about the use of visual thinking in medical education by providing preliminary reflection results of learners from the second year of medical education about the visual thinking course that we have recently started to apply in Faculty of Medicine in collaboration with Faculty of Fine Arts in Izmir University of Economics in order to improve the observational skills of learners. Results Reflection results of the learners support the view that training art-viewing skill is helpful to improve observational and descriptive skills. Conclusions Increasing interdisciplinary programs on visual thinking in medical curriculums have the potential to overcome several professional development challenges in clinics.

Specifics of the traffic scene identification problem observed at level crossings, analysed from the train driver’s perspective

Level crossing is an element of the transport infrastructure of a particular type. This is where streams of regulated and unregulated traffic interact. Vehicles of regulated, rail traffic affect on unregulated, road traffic vehicles. This process takes place over a relatively small area. But the associated processes are concerned with long distances and medium speeds. Importantly, the impact may be mutual (mainly on level crossing cat. D). Consequently, a number of diverse problems can be observed at level crossings as well as in their direct vicinity. One of them is very particular, since its intensity and scale are significantly higher compared to other points of the transport network. This is a problem of how the sight organs of a rail vehicle driver function. At level crossings, a rail vehicle driver is incapable of registering all events connected with moving objects in a horizontal plane of the field of view (often, dozens or hundreds of vehicles and pedestrians, rail vehicles, signs etc.). Especially in agglomeration areas, near the railway stations, people may violently trespass into the tracks. Before reaching a level crossing, the driver’s sight organs perform specific movements of variable dynamics, having a direct impact on the traffic safety. Given the context in question, the article discusses the methods used to measure the characteristics of the train driver’s sight organs by means of eye tracking devices. The measured characteristics are: saccadic movements, fixation point locations, blinking etc. The relevant studies were supported by using additional equipment and techniques, including visual and vibroacoustic ones. These studies have been illustrated with reference to the measurements performed in different sections of the railway network. The aim of the research was to analyse the behaviour of drivers of traction vehicles. The research results have been discussed in quantitative terms, thus introducing several new descriptive characteristics. The data thus obtained, e.g. concerning the functions of the driver’s sight organs, have been analysed using numerical data set characteristics. With regard to the context this article the authors also conduct research addresses measurements of the characteristics of the road vehicle driver’s sight organs performed by means of eye tracking devices.

DEAFNESS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA A DIAGNOSTIC DILEMMA

Schizophrenia is one of the most common psychotic spectrum disorders encountered in daily practice.Auditory hallucinations is one of the most prominent presenting symptom.There is still dilemma about the intensity and nature of hallucinations mostly auditory and visual ones in deaf patients presenting with psychotic breaks.Further research and sample based study is warranted.

Diversity of Pigments in Insects, Their Synthesis and Economic Value for Various Industries

Pigments play an essential role in imparting colors to the various organs of invertebrates particularly, insects. Genetic evolution and adaptive pigmentation of invertebrates have been studied which depicted that insect colors respond to the climatic changes. The physical, chemical and structural properties of insect pigments are being studied by researchers for years to elucidate their evolutionary aspects of physiology, metabolism, and economic importance for human welfare. Color development in insects varies within the species of different genera. In this state-of-the-art literature review, we discuss the variety of pigments other than visual ones found in different species of insects. The review also highlights the potential benefits or functions of pigments to insects.

Text as a Game: Modern Strategies for Working with Texts in Future Teachers’ Training (on L. Frank Baum’s tales “American tales”)

The article deals with modern strategies for working with literature in the future teachers’ training process, especially in work with tales. Suggested technologies make it possible to move away from traditional text analysis, to offer interesting interpretations as well as to focus on details. A text comes to life as it receives new interpretations, and visual ones complement the verbal content. This strategy helps make the reading more stimulating. It helps unleash and develop students’ analytical and creative potential: interpret scientific texts, create a lapbook and scrapbook. The examples are discussed on the material of Baum’s tales, “American Tales”, which is a fascinating and original phenomenon of American literature for children, and it provides a considerable space for interpretation. These tales are bright, interesting, and funny and allows to suggest to play with text, details, characters. Such game is impossible without attentive reading and understanding the main ideas of the text. The authors of the given manuscript recommend the following methods of working with texts as calligrams, hero pyramid, mind mapping, six thinking hats by E. Bono, etc. As a result, students begin to read literature more carefully, pay attention to details and better memorize certain episodes. The success of applying holographic technologies in dealing with literature is proved. Thus, the following skills like reading, creative thinking, critical thinking, the ability to express thoughts have been developed as well as the fear of misinterpretation of texts has disappeared.

Visual hallucinations in parkinson’s disease: Experience from a portuguese level 3 hospital

IntroductionParkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative pathology characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. Hallucinations, especially visual ones, are frequent in this context, with an estimated prevalence of 16 to 40% and associated with a less favorable prognosis. These hallucinations can range from coarse formations to well-defined structures.ObjectivesTo assess the prevalence of visual hallucionations in a sample of patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in a Neurology Department of a Level III portuguese hospital. The sample included patients with Parkinson’s Disease observed in an outpatient Neurology appointment between October 1 and December 9, 2019.ResultsIn the period considered, 100 patients with Parkinson’s disease were observed, 65% male, with an average age of 69 years. In 11% of the patients visual hallucinations were reported, of which about half were well defined. All of them had no previous history of visual hallucinations and were under dopaminergic medication.ConclusionsThe results show an inferior prevalence when comparing to the literature, albeit still frequent. Therapeutic adequacy has a well recognised impact at a functional level and prognosis. Therefore we stress the importance of a regular follow-up of these patients, recommending a rigorous and comprehensive clinical review.

Promoting eco-driving behavior through multisensory stimulation: a preliminary study on the use of visual and haptic feedback in a virtual reality driving simulator

This paper describes the design and preliminary test of a virtual reality driving simulator capable of conveying haptic and visual messages to promote eco-sustainable driving behavior. The driving simulator was implemented through the Unity game engine; a large street environment, including high-speed and urban sections, was created to examine different driving behaviors. The hardware setup included a gaming driving seat, equipped with a steering wheel and pedals; the virtual scenarios were displayed through an Oculus Rift headset to guarantee an immersive experience. Haptic stimulation (i.e., vibrations) was delivered to the driver through the accelerator pedal, while visual stimuli (i.e., icons and colors) were shown on a virtual head-up display. The sensory feedbacks were presented both alone and in combination, providing information about excessive acceleration and speed. Four different virtual scenarios, each one including a distracting element (i.e., navigator, rain, call, and traffic), were also created. Ten participants tested the simulator. Fuel consumption was evaluated by calculating a mean power index (MPI) in reference to the sensory feedback presentation; physiological reactions and responses to a usability survey were also collected. The results revealed that the haptic and visuo-haptic feedback were responsible for an MPI reduction, respectively, for 14% and 11% compared with a condition of no feedback presentation; while visual feedback alone resulted in an MPI increase of 11%. The efficacy of haptic feedback was also accompanied by a more relaxing physiological state of the users, compared with the visual stimulation. The system’s usability was adequate, although haptic stimuli were rated slightly more intrusive than the visual ones. Overall, these preliminary results highlight how promising the use of the haptic channel can be in communicating and guiding the driver toward a more eco-sustainable behavior.